PLYMOUTH ROCK STANDARD AND BREED BOOK 371 



crackers are the sweet kind, and if not, they can be sweetened 

 with sugar or molasses. The value of the food as a weight 

 producer may be further enhanced by mixing with scalded 

 milk. It should not be forgotten that these birds must be 

 growing feathers and that it is sometimes necessary to aid 

 them in this. Nothing that I know of is any better for aiding 

 feather development than dessicated fish. A little may be' 

 added to one of the mashes each day. 



The Best Forcing Menu. To make myself plain, the best 

 forcing feed consists of the broken scratch feed, the sweet 

 cracker mash and the beef and meal mash with wheat or 

 mixed grain for the hearty meal at night. In very cold 

 weather a few kernels of whole corn might be thrown the 

 birds, after the evening meal and the last thing before they 

 go to roost. A very little buckwheat may be added to the 

 grain mixture. 



Feeding for Color. With reference to feeding, two classes 

 of birds might be considered, as each class must be fed in a 

 different manner. They may be divided into white birds and 

 others. The methods of feeding each differ, but the methods 

 that have already been described are tolerably well suited to 

 either class. These methods can be modified somewhat and 

 are then better adapted to each of the special classes. 



Feeding White Birds. By white birds, I refer to those that 

 have white in their plumage, not necessarily only the solid 

 white varieties. Barred, Silver Penciled, and Columbian 

 Plymouth Rocks, for instance, should be fed precisely as pure 

 white birds are. 



It is a generally recognized principle that clear white color, 

 often described as pearl white, chalk white, or dead white, 

 cannot be obtained in its clearness and purity when these white 

 birds are allowed oily foods. Therefore, yellow corn, meat 

 scraps, meat fats, or any foods of an oily nature are excluded 

 from their diet. Those who wish to feed meat and are still 

 very cautious, may boil fresh beef, allow the liquor to stand 

 and cool, when the fat may be skimmed off. The meat and 

 broth may be reboiled and stirred into the mash, which has 

 already been thoroughly mixed. Cut green bone should be 

 treated in the same manner, if fed to white or partially white 

 birds. After boiling both lean meat and green cut bone, you 

 will find an amount of fat that will surprise you. 



Foods That Develop Gloss. For the varieties which re- 

 quire a glossy plumage, the fats and oils are a great help if 



