PLYMOUTH ROCK STANDARD AND BREED BOOK 335 



running well down the feather, laced tail coverts, and undercolor 

 bluish-white. The comb in both sexes should be of excellent 

 type. While such a pen is worth a strong price it will be worth 

 the money for future results. 



Females Lacking in Color. "A male bird as described in the 

 ideal mating, but darker in plumage, the black in cape showing 

 well into the back, and some feathers of back may even show a 

 tendency to black striping. Undercolor, dark slate. Mate to 

 females considerably lighter than in the ideal mating. This is a 

 good mating for results, often producing ideal show birds. 



Females of Too Strong a Color. "To utilize very dark, even 

 smutty necked and ticked backed females. This mating is better 

 adapted to practical purposes, but by its use good results can be 

 obtained where it is necessary to use such birds. To females of 

 this character, mate a male with flights about one-third white ; 

 neck and cape rather light, but hackle showing fairly good stripe 

 and clear white edging; back, clear white and undercolor light. 

 While this mating will throw some culls, it will produce a very 

 fair percentage of good birds. 



Extremely Light Females. "This is also a mating that 

 should be chiefly relied upon to produce birds for commercial 

 flocks and utilizes very light colored females which often have 

 light or pearl-colored eyes. Mate these to a male bird that 

 would be discarded as a show bird for too much color in back. 

 He should show very dark hackle, even smoky edge ; cape and 

 undercolor so dark as to show in web ; wing as near solid black 

 as possible in flights ; eye, very strong bright red. Remember, 

 a red eye is a strong breeding eye. It is very desirable in a male 

 bird. Such a cockerel as here described will often moult the 

 second year into a great show bird, though almost disqualified 

 as a cockerel. 



"This is an extreme mating, but it makes reasonably valuable 

 females that would otherwise have to be discarded, and very 

 often it will produce a percentage of show birds. 



"Matings like numbers three and four and other matings in 

 which the defects of one sex are offset in the opposite sex often 

 meet the wants of a beginner whose purse will not reach a more 

 desirable mating, and from such matings a very good flock is 

 often started. A greater percentage of culls can be expected, but 

 many good birds will also be produced, and from these the 



