10 THE HOME. POULTRY BOOK 
Rhode Island Reds, which are prolific layers of 
large brown eggs and which are heavy enough to 
dress well for the table. These are the breeds usu- 
ally found on the farms where pure-bred fowls of 
any kind are found. They are hardy, easy to care 
for and tame; they are good sitters and make good 
mothers. 
Most breeds are divided into several varieties and 
some into many like the Wyandottes, of which there 
are white, buff, silver, golden, silver-penciled, par- 
tridge and Columbian. There are barred, white, 
buff and Columbian Plymouth Rocks, but the Rhode 
Island Reds are confined to one variety, except that 
some have single and some rose combs. They orig- 
inated in the state from which the breed takes its 
name and among professional poultrymen who were 
seeking a superior all-round fowl. The Red has 
grown amazingly in popularity and is now closely 
crowding the Barred Plymouth Rock, which for 
years was the one breed seen everywhere. A Rhode 
Island White has now appeared. 
The one objection to the Reds from the point of 
view of the amateur who has a liking for handsome 
hens is the difficulty which is experienced in get- 
ting uniformity in coloring. There are many varia- 
