60 THE PEOPLE'S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK. 



nearly as possible, and reaching sideways to the ear-lobes and wattles, meet- 

 ing also under the throat. In texture the face ought to be as fine and smooth 

 as possible. The ears are large and pendulous, and should be as white as 

 the face. Any fowls with red specks in the face are considered very faulty. 



WRIGHT says the other principal varieties of Spanish fowls are Minorca or 

 Red-faced Black, the White, the Blue or Andalusian, and the Ancona, Gray, 

 or mottled breed. The plumage of the White Spanish is of snowy white- 

 ness and resembles somewhat the White Leghorn. We found the Spanish 

 in Western New- York to be very susceptible to disease, and great care was 

 necessary to keep their combs and wattles from being frost-bitten. In a 

 warm climate, we dare say, the Spanish as a class cannot be beaten. They 

 do not do well in confinement; they are predisposed to roam; such has been 

 our experience with them. 



THE PLYMOUTH ROCKS. 



This breed of fowls we hardly think is known outside of the New Eng- 

 land States. It is said the Plymouth Rock is produced by crossing a Cochin 

 China cock with a hen, a cross between the Fawn-colored Dorking, the great 

 Malay, and the Wild Indian. The cock has been bred to stand, at a year 

 old, from twenty to twenty-five inches high, and weigh from eight to ten 

 pounds ; the pullets from six to seven pounds each. Generally speaking, the 

 pullets are very early layers ; commencing at five months of age and con- 

 tinue to lay until the molting season. They lay a medium sized egg, of a 

 rich and reddish-yellow color. The plumage of these fowls is very rich and 

 variegated, showing off in the sun the most brilliant hues. The cocks are 

 usually of a beautiful red or speckled color, and the hens of a darkish brown. 

 Some of the colors thrown by this breed are not dissimilar to the Dominique 

 fowl. They have very fine flesh, and are fit for the table at an early age. 

 The legs are quite large, and usually blue or green, but occasionally yellow 

 or even white, and frequently having five toes upon each foot. Some of the 

 varieties have the legs occasionally slightly feathered. They have large 

 single rose-colored or red combs and wattles ; cheeks are rather large ; tails 

 stout and short, and very small wings in proportion to their bodies. The 

 chicks are quite hardy and have the same uniformity in size and appearance 

 as those of the pure bloods of primary races. The hens make good mothers 

 and close setters. 



THE JERSEY BLUES. 



These fowls were bred to some extent twenty years ago, and were 

 deemed by many a very valuable breed. In 1855 we bred them for a time, 

 but finding them possessed of no superior qualities, discarded them for the 

 White Shanghaes. The color of the Jersey Blue is a light blue, sometimes 

 approaching a dun ; the tail and wings rather shorter than those of the com- 

 mon fowl ; the legs are generally black, though we have bred them of a dark 

 blue color, somewhat lightly feathered. They proved with us perfectly 



