Milford chronicle., 1932-01-29
SMALLEST BOY WINS
BIGGEST r. o. P. PRIZE
VIM. Melvin, Of Greenwood, Takes
S95 in Contest

T-S III WutNNA
The winners in the r. o. p. essay
contest which has been conducted
among several hundred future farm
ers of America Vocational Agricul-
ture High School Students) and 4-H
boys and girls in Delaware, were
recently announced by the judges.
This educational feature was spon-
sOred by the Record of Performance
Poultry Breeders Association of
Delaware, an organization of breed
ers of pedigreed high producing
poultry under the supervision of the
State Board of Agriculture. The
State Department of Vocational Edu-
: &lOn and the extension service of
the University of Delaware cooper
ated at the fullest extent in making
the contest a success.
William Melvin, Greenwood, won
: first place, prize $25; Clifton Short,
Caesar Rodney School, second, SIS;
Norman T.. Collins, Middletown
School. third, $40: Charles Peck.
Harrington School, fourth, SIS; Rus
sell ID. Messick, Greenwood; Harry
Fifer and Frank Cataldi, Caesar Rod
ney School; Virgil L. Waller, Sea-
ford School, and David Postles, Mil
ton, other prize winners.
Melvin, Collins and Messick are ac-
tive i'll both All club work and the
vocational agriculture; all other
prize winners are vocational stu
dents only.
The subject of the contest essay
was GLOW Record of Performance
Cockerels Will Improve Delaware
Farm Flocks" The winning assay
follows:
I'm considering the value of record
of performance pedigreed cockerels
to ilOcks, we must first consider what
is required of record of perform
ance cOckerel They must he FROM
dams with a trap nest record of two
hundred or more eggs of at least "A
ounces to the dozen, of good shell
texture, and without tints in the
white shell breeds. Their sire must
be from dams OF at least 225 eggs
with the same requirements as to
size and color of eggs and shell tex
ture.
As well as the egg producing
QudllllcSs liey HluSl pISHt9S NSi tam
physical qualities. Their heads must
have a masculine appearance and
show health vigor. and vitality.
without the use of the trapnest,
we would be likely to select a cock
erel from Il poor producer, or one
that produced eggs of inferior size,
shape, or color, although he possess
ed good physical qualities and from
all outward appearances was a good
specimen of cockerel.
"The longer the pedigree behind
each record of performance male |
bird, the more benefit he will be the |
flock to which introduced. The chick
ems will be better producers and |
great benefit will be derived of pedi-
greed cOckerels.
at has been proven that the abil- |
ity to transmit the good qualities of |
high producing females is largely /
through their male Offspring. If |
you have good hen and a scrub !
male the off spring will not be good.
Longevity is another important ,
consideration i'll pedigree work.
Through the trapnest, we may know
how the individual birds produce and !
hold up over Il period of years.
"Now since we have considered !
the good qualities required of a rec
ord of performance cOckerel, we will |
proceed to note the benefits to the
average flock by their introduction. |
In the first place, the eggs of Il rec
ord of performance flock will bring /
premium over ordinary eggs, for
Matching purposes or on the market,
as they will have the size and the
shell texture for carrying over !
distance to market and the color for
appearance. They will also be bet +
ter producers. Therefore, you will
make more money from them.
''In the second place, the chick will
show vitality over the average flock
and i'll this connection all adult
record of performance birds are
blood tested for 'Bachillary White
Diarrhca' Mortality will run much
lower in fOcks from record of per-
fOImance stock than from ordinary
bred aOcks. AS the birds grow old
er, the pullets will show the vitality /
of their sire and be in better cOndi-
tion for fall and winter egg produce
tiOn. Fewer birds will reach the age
of maturity as culls.
advantages from record of per-
formance pedigreed cockerels are
not confined to the egg producers.
Broiler raisers also realize a decid-
cd benefit from this practice. Aside
from lower mortality and increased
vigOr, broilers from record of per-
formance stock have been known to .
weigh one-fOurth to one-half pounds
more per bird at the age of twelve T
weeks.
"The introduction of record of {
performance stock will continue to
benefit us and we will find ourselves ;
in an endless chain of improvement I
il we practice breeding with the use 4
of pedigreed birds. Pullets will lay ,
more eggs thrOug hthe winter and =
continue later in the fall with less y
brOodiness. AS a result of these &.
many advantages pedigreed cock +
erels, our poultry records will show
a larger net profit at The end of the !
year"