BUILDING UP A STRAIN.

Dominion, Volume 15, Issue 284, 26 August 1922, Page 17

BUILDING UP A STRAIN.

(1) What is a strain? A short, comprehensive definition or description would be: a family of some variety of fowls, or other live stock possessed of one or more distinguishing, transmissible characteristics. The characteristic may be one, as shade of colour in eye, peculiarity of comb, length of body, carriage of tail, and such-like, or, the characteristics may be several. One, as well as many, may make a strain. The characteristic or characteristics must be distinguishing—that is, not common to the other families or .specimens of the variety.

It might be possible that two strains possessed the same charcteristic, or characteristics; but in that case the strains, if not otherwise differentiated, would in reality be but one strain. Further, the characteristic or characteristics must be transmissible—that is, the chickens bred from fowls of a given strain must, when bred together reproduce such characteristics. (2) The above definition or description of a strain, with the brief commentary upon its terms, shows that time is needed for its building up. It would be possible, for example, to purchase here and there a fowl having one or more peculiarities and in this way collect a flock having the same characteristics. For example, one might select from a hundred flock of a given variety, one specimen from each flock having a deep red eye to their progeny, and until this character had become inheritable, one of the requirements of the definition of a strain would bo lacking. It would be necessary to line breed year after year until the characteristics became fixed and uniformly transmitted. Time is needed to fix any characteristic transmittable, whether shape of comb, colour of eye, length of body or fecundity. And yet it is not uncommon for a breeder of a variety of fowls, which he has had. perhaps, for only a year or two refer to them as my strain, when, as a matter of fact, it would be impossible for him to have produced a strain in so short a time. (3) How long a time is required td produce a strain will depend upon the number or the peculiarities of the characteristics by which the strain is distinguished. If a breeder attempts to build up a strain upon a single characteristic, he would find possessing the several desired characteristics. In other words, he will have more material to work with. Some characters are fixed and become transmissible more quickly than others. White in plumage is a characteristic easily fixed and easily transmissible. Great prolificacy, on the other hand, requires a much longer time to secure and render it transmissible. It will then be difficult, or, to be more accurate, to name a fixed period which will be sufficient in which to build up a strain. It is fairly safe, however except in cases of marvellous prepotency, to say that not less than five years will be required, and that if there are several distinguishing characteristics, probably seven, ten, or -even more years will be necessary. As an instance take the writer’s strain of Black Australs. It took eight years of careful line breeding, selection and culling to eliminate the short backs, loose feathering, and coching tails, without losing the pro-lifacy-that has made this breed famou>.

The skill of the breeder, also, will be a factor in the length of time required to build up a strain. One breeder will do it much more quickly than another and particularly will this bo the case if several distinguishing characteristics are involved. (4) Is it best that there should be strains? Yes, certainly it will be best if the strains develop one or more desirable characteristics more perfectly than they would otherwise be developed. It will not be best if some insignificant character is selected, and is developed at the expense of more valuable qualities. In conclusion, I may state that there are comparatively few real strains built up. Where hundreds are advertised, tens do not exist.

I do nit mean to say that nine out of every ten amateurs intentionally attempt to deceive by advertising as strains fowls which do not meet with the requirements of a strain. Many, doubtless, do not fully realise the meaning of the term “strain.” They consider it synonymous with “fowls.” “My strain” to them simply means “my fowls.” Others see no harm in buying fowls of A’s strain, and after breeding them a year or two, calling them their own strain. If the fowls possess the characteristics named, the buyer gets his money’s worth, and to him it may be and usually is a matter of indifference whose strain he is purchasing. A few—a very few—possess real strains, and are entitled to advertise them as their own. But such men are almost invariably men whose hair has disappeared or grown very thin on the top of their heads.