146 



THE AMERICAN BREEDS OF POULTRY 



Baker, of Kansas, has gone further than any of these in establishing 

 a family of Buff Rocks and building up a great breeding establishment. 

 Baker has shown himself to be one of the most constructive breeders 

 in this country; he has had the hardihood to show in New York and 

 Chicago, as well as Kansas City, and he has been sportsman enough 

 to show under good judges and poor. 



Baker has had the foresight to keep the utility quality of his birds 

 paramount, and has been capable enough to do this and still develop 

 all Standard points. While some breeders have been faddists on a 

 five-point comb regardless of the shape of head, and others have 

 bred a lemon color regardless of the fact that such a color runs 

 out in the first generation of the customer's breeding, and still others 

 have bred a long back, even though the body was so deficient in 

 substance that there scarcely was room enough for the wing shoul- 

 ders, and again others have produced an elongated profile even 

 though the shanks bent together at the hock joints, we can point 

 with pride to this breeder who has seen the whole chicken and each 

 section in its true proportion to the whole, and has produced a well 

 balanced type of Buff Plymouth Rock. 



Baker made his start in 1903 by buying into the Dr. O. P. Bennett 

 flock, so he is today breeding Burdick's Nuggets in a straight line 

 of descent. After five years of breeding he brought out the first and 

 color special cockerel at the Kansas City show, and since has won 

 largely at important shows east and west. 



Correct shade of buff. No 

 color has aroused greater en- 

 thusiasm than buff. No subject 

 has given rise to greater differ- 

 ences of opinion than the cor- 

 rect shade of buff, and breeders 

 of today, as of yore, compare 

 birds together and carry sample 

 feathers to the shows to illus- 

 trate and make plain their con- 

 ception of true Standard buff 

 color. 



The Standard calls for "an 

 even shade of rich golden buff." 

 "Golden" means like unto the 

 shade of color found in the 

 twenty-dollar gold pieces that 

 were coined in 1896 or 1897, 

 when T. F. McGrew first wrote 

 the description. "Since then," 

 1st prize Buff Plymouth Rock cock, and says Mr. McGrew, "the shade of 

 grand champion of entire show, all varieties co lor of these coins has been 

 competing, Kansas City, Mo., 1919. Photo ,-,, ,, p . , , ^ 



competing, 



by courtesy, C. R. Baker. 



changed." "Rich" does not mean 



