THE BEST BREED.

Northern Advocate, 9 December 1893, Page 7

THE BEST BREED.

booking at Poultry From the Stanifpoint of a Market Poultry man. Who will satisfactorily and with general approbation state whicli is the best breed? From a farmer's standpoint there is no such thing as a, best breed, for when beauty and oddity are taken into ac-

A SILVER WTANDOTTE FKIZK WINNER, count as well as utility, or rather in preference to utility, all breeds have special traits which will endear them to fanciers. Looking at poultry from the stand-, point 6f a market poultryman, the question assumes an entirely different i aspect. Whether eggs or meat are wanted as a specialty the size of the fowls and tho proportion of meat to offal must always be considered, as sooner or later the laying stock must be disposed of on account of age, and then the advantage of weight ia felt. In this connection a correspondent of The Fanciers' Journal thus sums up the matter. He says: Take Leghorns, for instauce — veritable egg producing machines. They will certainly prove remunerative for a time, but when it is found necessary to renew a yard on account of age 100 Leghorns will' not average over four pounds apiece, while Minorcas, just as good layers, vail average feix pounds, and Light Brahmas from bight to nine pounds^ Again, the rearing of lOd pullots'will entail :Jsdthe rearing of about 100 cockerels, which must be disposed of as market fowls, and then every additional pound in weight means the price of one dozen eggs. From the above it should be easily seen that Leghorns are not the best fowls for market poultrymen. A larger breed is needed, even if the egg production ia to be reduced. Light Brahruas are a good breed, the main objection to them being their slowness to put on flesh as chickens, making them in consequence undesirable as broilers. Minorcas make a splendid all purpose fowl, but again in their case something is wrong, As chickens they are not sufficiently hardy to make them as profitable as they should be, and as fowls they suffer greatly from severe winters, which causes their production of eggs to be seriously affected. Langshans ai*e good layers, have size in their favor, and they are hardy, but they have the Asiatic trait of maturing slowly, which detracts somewhat from their value. The pure breeds at present rightfully laying claim to the title of all purpose fowls are the Wyandottesand the Plymouth Rocks, with the scales tipping in favor of the last, owing to their greater average weight and a slight superiority in number of eggs per year. They are both hardy, mature quickly and when full grown and over a year old are easily fattened. While they would seem to fill the bill they are not perfect. If kept in their purity, they are liable to suffer from the effects of inbreeding and to lose much of their vitality and power of healthy and vigorous reproduction. If all breeds offer objections, what then is the market poultryman to do? He will begin by carefully selecting for his breeding pens healthy, vigorous pullets of some large breed in order to

obtain the required size, Light Brahmas preferred, and mate them to Leghorn cocks likewise healthy, iv order thereby to graft a great power of egg production on an abundance of flesh— adding by the same means quick development and early maturity. The best breed for the market poultry man, then, is the breed which he will himself create in the shape of a perpetually renewed cross, and a rich vitality will be maintained on a par with size and egg production. Longevity of Mules. Many men use mules because of their greater longevity. A moment's reflection will show that the plan has business economy in it, for leaving "Gut the question of the peculiar solidity of thenbones, hoofs, tendons, ligaments and muscles, rendering these parts so little liable to injury as compared to the same parts in the horse, there is the fact in their favor that they can be counted on for an ; average period, of. Ift years' service against 8 or 10 years in the case of the/norse.