FOWLS 



55 



as the old Dominique or as the occasional flocks of the old 

 native stock that had been bred with some attention to size 

 and to uniformity in other characters. 



To every foreign breed these practical poultry keepers found 

 some objection. The Dorking was too delicate, and its five-toed 

 feet made it clumsy. The Hamburgs, too, were delicate, and the 

 most skillful breeding was required to preserve their beautiful 

 color markings. The superfluous feathers on the heads of 

 the crested breeds and on the feet of the Asiatics were equally 

 objectionable. All the Euro- 

 pean races except the Leghorns 

 had white skin and flesh-colored 

 or slate-colored feet, while in 

 America there was a very de- 

 cided popular preference for 

 fowls with yellow skin and legs. 

 The Leghorns and the Asiatics 

 met this requirement, but the 

 former were too small and their 

 combs were unnecessarily large, 

 while the latter were larger fowls 

 than were desired for general 

 use, and their foot feathering 

 was a handicap in barnyards 



FIG. 44. Barred Plymouth Rock hen 



(Photograph from Bureau of Animal 



Industry, United States Department 



of Agriculture) 



and on heavy, wet soils. 



So, while fanciers and those 

 who were willing to give their poultry special attention, or who 

 kept fowls for some special purpose which one of the foreign 

 breeds suited, took these breeds up eagerly, farmers and other 

 poultry keepers usually became interested in them only to the 

 extent of using male birds of different breeds to cross with 

 flocks of native and grade hens. In consequence of this promis- 

 cuous crossing, the stock in the country rapidly changed, a new 

 type of mongrel replacing the old native stock. 



