COLOR AND STRUCTURE OK PLUMAGE 



97 



nest records, that good layers are late molters. Such hens may molt 

 quickly, once they start, because they are birds of unusual vigor. In 

 molting and coming out fresh and new and beautiful again, every bird 

 somewhat resembles the fairy form in the legend of the phoenix, that 

 mythical bird of Egypt that arose with renewed youth from its 

 ashes. Nature's plan seems to be that the world shall be ever young 

 and fresh, and in the new green grass, the new foliage of the trees 



Early molter. Silver Wyandotte that began molting in June. Her 

 egg record for the year was 85 eggs at Missouri Poultry Experiment 

 Station. The lacing of this hen's plumage is* defective. She has what 

 are termed "mossy centers." 



and the new plumage of the birds, we embrace fresh youth and beauty 

 from year to year to the very end of life. 



The process of molting is that of shedding the old feathers and 

 growing new ones. It is done in the late summer and fall, perhaps 

 to provide a new suit of warm clothing for winter. The average hen 

 does not lay while she is molting, and it is common practice to put 



