PLYMOUTH ROCK STANDARD AND BREED BOOK 279 



but for the fact that when the red becomes too dark it obscures 

 the black striping in hackle and saddle which, in the eyes of 

 most breeders and fanciers, mars the beauty by diminishing the 

 brilliancy of the plumage. For this reason, the modifying word 

 "brilliant" is included in the Standard description. When the 

 red becomes so dark in shade that it obscures the black strip- 

 ing, it becomes dull perhaps dingy describes its appearance 

 more fittingly and the color is therefore no longer brilliant 

 and fails to meet the Standard description, which prevents varia- 

 tion within these limits that, either the red must have body 

 enough or must be dark or deep enough to be "rich," but not 

 so dark that it is not "brilliant." 



The red shade which is preferred is perhaps difficult to de- 

 scribe, and perhaps it is fair to make a statement to the ef- 

 fect that there is one opinion as to the shade of color among 

 breeders, as to state that all the males are of one shade in plum- 

 age. The "rich, brilliant red" demanded by the Standard cer- 

 tainly gives a positive idea as to color, but one cannot from 

 this 'description settle upon an exact shade that is to be pre- 

 ferred to all others. From the word "rich," one is justified in 

 ruling against the yellowish shades of red, and because of the 

 "brilliant," one can conclude that too dark or dull shades are 

 not to be given preference. It seems that what we might, for 

 lack of a better term, designate as a "happy medium," is per- 

 haps the desired shade, for all agree that the yellowish shades 

 are not desired and very dark shades make dull and unattrac- 

 tive plumage. As a guide as to whether the red shades are be- 

 coming too dark or not, the degree in which they obscure the 

 black striping in neck, back and saddle may be considered. A 

 sufficient contrast between the red and black to enable the ob- 

 server to distinguish between them, upon fairly close inspection 

 only, should be maintained. 



Correct Striping. In order to maintain the desired contrast, 

 two essential color characteristics must be maintained. First, 

 as already pointed out, the red must be of the desired shade 

 and not too dull. Second, the black stripe must be a lustrous, 

 greenish-black, sometimes described as a metallic black. 



Neck. The striping in this section should be sound, that is, 

 unbroken ; as explained, the stripes should possess a greenish 

 lustre and should be found even in the smaller feathers near 

 the head. Too often, only the larger and longer feathers at 

 the base of the neck are thus striped. 



