RHODE ISLAND REDS 243 



ties, productiveness and usefulness, a dozen other new varieties, as the 

 creation of fanciers, came upon the scene. Today the Red excels 

 them all as the sun excels the moon. It has proved to be the most 

 permanent success of any new breed in recent years. 



The Red was the more lastingly built. The work of man is great, 

 but the work of nature is greater. Nature co-operated in making 

 the Rhode Island Red. The race, in the long years of Its beginning, 

 enjoyed the liberty of the farm yards and open fields; the birds were 

 grown rugged, not soft; they roughed it and were not pampered; and 

 nature helped to weed out the physically undesirable. Unaided by 

 nature, they would not have succumbed to circumstances and their 

 constitutional taint would have been reproduced. 



Nature's contributions to the Red were assured health, without 

 which there cannot be productiveness, activity and early maturity. 

 As a new Standardised, the breeders of poultry received the Red 

 with all its virgin fertility; as vigorous, healthy fowls, good foragers, 

 fast growers, prolific. 



The birds were first exhibited as Rhode Island Reds by Richard V. 

 Browning of Natick, Massachusetts, at the Providence (Rhode Island) 

 Show, 1895, the early exhibits were a motley, uneven lot of birds. 

 Nothing ever looked more like farm-yard fowls. There appeared to 

 be no "established blood" in their veins, but the fowls proved to be 

 rough, unfinished diamonds that have since become gems in the set- 

 ting of poultry culture in America. 



In February, 1898, the Rhode Island Red Club of America was 

 organized in the Coffee Tavern, Fall River, Massachusetts. Daniel 

 P. Shove was the first president. 



The first Standard was drafted by the Club, and it called for a 

 color of plumage as follows: 



General surface rich brilliant red except when black is desired. Free from shaft- 

 ing, mealy appearance or brassy effect. Depth of color (red) is slightly accentuated 

 on wing bows and back, but the least contrast between these parts and the hackle 

 or breast the better; a harmonious blending is what is desired. The bird should be 

 so brilliant in luster as to have a glossed appearance. Other things being equal 

 the specimen having the deepest and richest red, salmon, or buff undercolor shall 

 receive the award. Any smut or white in the undercolor is to be cut hard. The 

 quill of the feather should be red or salmon. White showing on the outside of the 

 body is to be cut harder than white that is out of sight. Black is desired in the 

 u.nder-web of the wing flights. The main tail feathers and two main sickle feathers 

 are to be black or greenish black. The greater tail coverts are mainly black, but 

 as they approach the saddle they may become russet or red. The blending of the 

 red body with the black tail is gradual, thus preventing any sudden contrast. With 

 the saddle parted, showing the undercolor at the base of the tail, the appearance 

 should Ve red or salmon, not whitish or smoky. The hackle should be free from 

 black, although a suspicion of black, that can hardly be found, would not cut the 

 bird much. White in hackle will be cut harder than black. The wing bars should 

 be free from black, and all black in the primaries and secondaries should be out 

 of sight when the wing is folded. 



The early breeders knew that the color of their birds would have 

 to be improved, and it is truly remarkable how definitely and accu- 

 rately they laid down the rules and specifications for an ideal red 



