242 



EXPERIMENTAL FARMS. 



BREEDS GOOD FOR EGGS AND MARKET. 



Fig. 



-Barred Plymouth Rocks. 



Barred Plymouth Rocks. — This breed is one of the most popular on the continent as 

 an all round fowl for the farmer, and deservedly so. The females mature quickly and 

 lay well in winter, with moderate protection and proper feeding. The eggs are not 

 quite so large as those of the Minorca or Brahma, although of good marketable size for 

 home and United States markets. Some strains lay larger eggs than others. The 

 chickens are hardy and vigorous. The cockerels have put on more flesh per month, 

 with the same rations, than any others tried at the Central Experimental Farm in six 

 years. After the first month or six weeks the cockerels, with proper care and pushing, 

 ought and will put on flesh at the rate of one pound and a quarter per month. A farmer 

 ought, with a little trouble, to be able to put on the market Plymouth Rock cockerels 

 weighing eight pounds per pair, or four pounds each, at the end of four months. What 

 an improvemeut there would be in the weight and quality of the chickens sold on the 

 markets of the cities if the majority of farmers bred Plymouth Rocks instead of the 

 '' scrubs" usually seen about the barnyards'? There are three varieties of this popular 

 breed, viz., the Barred, White and Buff. The latter is a new comer. 



