The choice of breed must depend upon the object for which the fowls are kept, whether chiefly for eggs or to produce chickens, or for both; the climate, soil, and situation; the space that can be allotted to them; and the amount of attention that can be devoted to their care. If fowls are to be bred for exhibition, you must be guided by your own taste, pocket, and resources, as well as by the suitability of the situation for the particular breed desired. The advantages, disadvantages, and peculiarities of the various breeds will be described under their respective heads. In commencing poultry-keeping buy only young and healthy birds. No one sign is infallible to the inexperienced. In general, however, the legs of a young hen look delicate and smooth, her comb and wattles are soft and fresh, and her general outline, even in good condition (unless when fattened for the table), rather light and graceful; whilst an old one will have rather hard, horny-looking shanks; her comb and wattles look somewhat harder, drier, and more "scurfy," and her figure is well filled out. But any of these signs may be deceptive, and the beginner should use his own powers of observation, and try and catch the "old look," which he will soon learn to know. All authorities agree that a cock is in his prime at two years of age, though some birds show every sign of full vigour when only four months old. It is agreed by nearly all the greatest authorities that the ages of the cocks and hens should be different; however, good birds may be bred from parents of the same age, but they should not be less than a year old. The strongest chickens are obtained from two-year old hens by a cockerel of about a year old; but such broods contain a disproportion of cocks, and, therefore, most poultry-keepers prefer to breed from well-grown pullets of not less than nine months with a cock of two years of age. The cock should not be related to the hens. It is, therefore, not advisable to purchase him from the same breeder of whom you procure the hens. Do not let him be the parent of chickens from pullets that are his own offspring. Breeding in-and-in causes degeneracy in fowls as in all other animals. Some birds retain all their fire and energy until five or even six years of age, but they are beyond their prime after the third, or at the latest their fourth year; and should be replaced by younger birds of the same breed, but from a different stock.