PLYMOUTH ROCK STANDARD AND BREED BOOK 823 



or narrow V-shaped center of white, inside the black stripe at 

 the upper end ; and this particular stripe must have the border 

 as the clause, "tapering to a point near its lower extremity" 

 would signify, because otherwise, the black stripe would termin- 

 ajte at the extremity. Two saddle feathers are shown, Plate 108, 

 the first one weak in striping, and the second an ideal or nearly 

 ideal feather. 



It will be observed that this stripe has not the same character 

 as the saddle stripe of the males of other parti-colored varieties 

 and does not, as stated above, correspond in the pattern to the 

 hackle striping of parti-colored males of this or of other vari- 

 eties. The hackles and saddles of all other varieties of Plymouth 

 Rocks do, however, correspond as to color patterns. 



Between the upper termination of the V-shaped stripe and 

 the bluish slate of the undercolor, a white band of greater or 

 less width should intervene. This is desired because it is consid- 

 ered that if the stripe extends to the slate of the undercolor, the 

 male that carries it will throw females with black on the surface 

 of the backs. This is demanded, not only as a point of indi- 

 vidual exhibition merit, but as a safeguard in breeding. A better 

 and clearer idea of how the feathers of the back and saddle very 

 gradually acquire the character of the tail feathers is shown by 

 the series of six feathers in Plate 109, 1 from center of back, 2 

 small saddles, 3 saddle, 4 tail-covert, 5 large tail-covert, 6 smaller 

 sickle. All are ideal or nearly ideal feathers for the positions 

 on the back and tail which they occupied. 



The Wings. The fronts, white except that portion which is 

 covered with breast feathers which may be partly black. The 

 bows, coverts, and outside of the secondaries are white ; when 

 spread, both primaries and secondaries should show black. With 

 the exception of a narrow edge of white on lower web, each pri- 

 mary should be solid black. Such flights are hard to produce 

 because a mixture of white with black in one or more of various 

 ways is but natural in a variety that has a predominance of white 

 in its plumage; splashes of white very often occur in the center 

 of the upper or broader web of flight feathers, as shown in Plate 

 110, feather No. 1, while gray splashes near the end of the 

 feather and white at the base are faults that are frequently seen. 

 The latter two defects are shown in Plate 110, feather No. 2, 

 white feather No. 3 shows the white at base, which is a defect, 

 though it is, on the whole an illustration of a very good feather. 



