The Improvement of New Hampshire Fryers

THE establishment of definite standards for measuring desirable traits of fryers, as well as reasonable assurance that predictable amounts of improvement can be made are needed before the adoption of an elaborate breeding program involving meat production may be regarded as a sound commercial venture. Recently a nation-wide attempt to stimulate interest in the improvement of poultry from the standpoint of meat quality has been initiated under the auspices of a commercial concern (the U. S. Egg and Poultry Magazine for 1946 may be consulted for a series of publicity releases on the “Chicken of Tomorrow” contest). The tacit assumption underlying such an effort is that breeders in the field can in a relatively short time produce by selection a bird markedly superior to the current product. The question, whether or not this assumption is fully justified requires examination. It is generally conceded that the characteristics of birds desirable from . . .