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Profitable Breeds of Poultry
Title
Profitable Breeds of Poultry
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Date
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Outing Publishing Company. New York
Excerpt
CHAPTER I STOCK — GOOD AND BAD
In making a start with poultry, to select a good breed and, within that breed, the most suitable variety, is important. The statement reads tritely, but the truth involved is often hidden from the beginner. Since poultry-raising may be entered into, on a small scale, with little capital, and since accounts of big profits made by it appear frequently in print, it appeals to many persons who have slight business experience and no special information. One novice commences with the idea, acquired from some battered human almanac, that scrub hens are as good as any; another goes for instruction to the nearest owner of fowls, whose knowledge may be very limited. Another, who would discount a neighbor's advice as prejudiced, pays a large price blindly to a stranger, on the strength of a noisy advertisement.
It is unfortunate that the printed matter which usually falls into the beginner's hands is not of a critical kind. Catalogues issued by breeders and poultry-supply houses are one-sided, and poultry journals are conventional. The custom is to divide breeds roughly into three classes : the meat class, the egg class, and the general-purpose class. Within any one of these broad divisions, the journals must avoid editorial opinions as to comparative value. The regular answer, for example, to the oft-repeated question concerning the relative merits of Orpingtons, Plymouth Rocks, Wyandottes, and Rhode Island Reds is: “All are good, and none is better than the others." This answer may be correct, as far as it goes; nevertheless there are differences which it is worth while to understand. I suppose most poultry keepers in whom the fever persists discover their favorite breeds by trying many. The process, though interesting, is wasteful.
In making a start with poultry, to select a good breed and, within that breed, the most suitable variety, is important. The statement reads tritely, but the truth involved is often hidden from the beginner. Since poultry-raising may be entered into, on a small scale, with little capital, and since accounts of big profits made by it appear frequently in print, it appeals to many persons who have slight business experience and no special information. One novice commences with the idea, acquired from some battered human almanac, that scrub hens are as good as any; another goes for instruction to the nearest owner of fowls, whose knowledge may be very limited. Another, who would discount a neighbor's advice as prejudiced, pays a large price blindly to a stranger, on the strength of a noisy advertisement.
It is unfortunate that the printed matter which usually falls into the beginner's hands is not of a critical kind. Catalogues issued by breeders and poultry-supply houses are one-sided, and poultry journals are conventional. The custom is to divide breeds roughly into three classes : the meat class, the egg class, and the general-purpose class. Within any one of these broad divisions, the journals must avoid editorial opinions as to comparative value. The regular answer, for example, to the oft-repeated question concerning the relative merits of Orpingtons, Plymouth Rocks, Wyandottes, and Rhode Island Reds is: “All are good, and none is better than the others." This answer may be correct, as far as it goes; nevertheless there are differences which it is worth while to understand. I suppose most poultry keepers in whom the fever persists discover their favorite breeds by trying many. The process, though interesting, is wasteful.
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