306 AMERICAN POULTRY ASSOCIATION 



natural desire of those who admired the plumage of the Light 

 Brahma. On the other hand, then, Plymouth Rocks had proved 

 their worth and, popularity as such, and those who desired a gen- 

 eral purpose fowl with Light Brahma plumage, naturally thought 

 of a Plymouth Rock-Light Brahma combination or amalgama- 

 tion. This idea can hardly be called purely original, inasmuch as 

 this identical task had been before successfully accomplished by 

 breeders of Columbian Wyandottes, and this accomplishment 

 may have convinced Plymouth Rock admirers that the same color 

 scheme could be transferred to their chosen favorite. We have 

 noticed, heretofore, that the later Plymouth Rock varieties did 

 not originate as early as the corresponding varieties of Wyan- 

 dottes, as well as the fact that there are not as many of them. 

 This does not, necessarily, indicate a lack of interest or initiative 

 on the part of Plymouth Rock breeders ; it may, on the contrary 

 indicate the state of very general satisfaction with varieties 

 already existing. 



The Foundation. Seemingly, the most direct way to combine 

 Light Brahma beauty and Plymouth Rock usefulness was to 

 cross the Light Brahma and White Plymouth Rock. All that is 

 desired above and beyond what the White Plymouth Rock 

 already had, was the acquisition of black in certain sections. 

 With this acquisition, some very undesirable features such as 

 the Brahma shape, the comb too, and too heavy body and leg 

 feathering were bound to be transmitted to the offspring of such 

 a cross to a greater or less extent which features could, of course, 

 be eliminated by years of a selective breeding. And this was 

 the process by which the variety was originated and in part 

 established. There was some doubt as to whether the offspring 

 of such crosses could be so mated from generation to generation 

 as to gradually eliminate the undesirable features and at the 

 same time retain those qualities that were so much sought after. 

 The plan was feasible, however, even though perplexing and is 

 the process by which certain strains were originated and in part 

 established. 



Advantage was naturally taken of the pre-establishment of 

 Columbian Wyandottes and the fact that we have spasmodically, 

 from this, as from all rose comb varieties, single comb sport c 

 and, as if nature wished to assist, some of these were much more 

 like Plymouth Rocks than like Wyandottes. Many of the 

 Columbian Rock breeders were eager to secure these sports, and 



