The New York herald., 1921-10-02

TURNS FROM HORSES
TO COCKS AND HENS
w. 4. ID. Stokes Now Bending
His Efforts to Production of
Fifty Pound Capon.
LIKE BREEDING TROTTERS
BOOSTERS That Are Peter the
Greats and Justin Morgans
Worth 81, 900 or More.
LIKE BREEDING TROTTERs
BY GURNEY C. CUE.

Since he sold Peter the Great, 2:O7K.
Patchen Wilkes Farm. in Kentucky.
w. Z. d. Stokes has turned his attention
TO poultry breeding. With character
istic enthusiasm and interest in the prob
lens of heredity which the field affords
he is working to increase egg production
and the weight of fowls for the table.
Horses and hens obey the same laws
OF inheritance. he says. and experiences
with the trotters have their analogies
with the chickens. even to the matter of
"early speed"
Illustrating this Mr.. Stokes tells of
the recent discovery that 10 per cent. of
the fresh eggs now coming from the
large poultry farms OF the country are
defective in having blood clots in their
yo,ks, and that the defect has been
traced to the practice of "early training"
or In other words. forcing the pullets
to lay at five and six months old. before
they were sufficiently matured.
Another fact or theory of interest to
horsemen Is that there are Peter the
Greats. Justin Morgans and Commandos
among the roosters. some of which sell
1OT 91,VVV Ut iIloTc. IL 10 Chleiiy tHIOu6H
the male bird, so he asserts, that
egg production in certain flocks and
families has been so greatly increased
since the professors of genetics set their
heads to the task.
IF a cock that comes from ESQ egg
strain on both sides Is mated with a
hen OF 100 egg strains" he said the
other day, "the pullet of this cross will
usually produce about 200 eggs a year.
Ia uyill he No
for transmitting high egg production. If
you reverse this formula. however. and
breed a cock from 100 egg strains to
hens of $50 egg families. the pullets OF
this cross will only produce about 100
eggs q year. To insure continued high
egg production in a flock you must have
cocks and hens that come from such
ancestors on both sides of the house. In
each strain of remarkable egg layers 1t
il found that 1t originated with the
progeny of some wonderful cock--a
Peter the Great or Justin Morgan that
has stamped his characteristics on ms
descendants to remote generations, Just
like Abraham Of old.
"The heavy table fowl also have their
exceptional individuals from which SCI
entific pou.trymen have lately produced
a new breed known as the Jersey black
giants that mature early and weigh
when caponized as high as 20 pounds. !
have recently seen specimens that
weighed pounds when three months
old. Turkeys will become thing OF
the past when this breed Of chickens Is
perfected. Some day they will be bred
to weigh so pounds. 1t may take 90
years to accomplish this, but have faith
enough in the principles of genetics TO
believe it will be done, and II l had
$4,000 to spare to-day ! would ocer
It as a prize to the man who first pro-
duced the SO pound capon."
1t is not generally known that wnen
the Patchen Wilkes Farm was the larg-
est nursery of trotters in the world Mr.
Stokes invited w. S. Anderson. professor
of genetics in the University or Ken
lucky, to make any experiments ne
desired with the breeding of stock there.
And for years Prof. Anderson took ad-
vantage of this opportunity to study the
subject of sterility and fecundity IN
stations and mares, with results w1ich
soon will be set forth in bulletin or
book. The Kentucky scientist was the
guest Of Mr.. Stokes during the recen!
international Congress of Eugenics, ana
while in New York he related to the
writer some experiences with the famous
trotting and running horses OF the Blue
Grass region which when publisheo VIII
30 far toward revolutionizing the meth
DDS Of progressive breeders in handiins
ot.t