CHAPTER IV 

 CLASSIFICATION OF BREEDS 



Breeds and varieties of fowls will be discussed here brief- 

 ly from a utility standpoint. Before the days of the poul- 

 try shows and poultry books there were different races and 

 breeds of fowls. There were the Mediterranean or 

 Italian fowls, which were small of size, light feather- 

 ing, active and nervous ; and there were the Asiatics which 

 were large, fleshy, heavily feathered and slow. These 

 characteristics had been fixed before the business of breed 

 making by the modern fancier had begun. The original 

 Cochin weight has not been set any higher, and the 

 minimum weight of the Italians has not been reduced. 

 It would be difficult to conceive of any reason why there 

 should be heavier breeds than the Cochin or Brahma, or 

 lighter ones than the Leghorn, and yet if prizes were of- 

 fered in poultry shows, or other rewards given for the larg- 

 est fowls, it is without question that there would in time be 

 evolved breeds of fowls of much greater weight. 



From the jungle fowl, as we have seen, were evolved 

 through the centuries the Asiatics of large size, and the 

 Mediterraneans of small size. From these two pure races 

 a hundred different breeds and varieties have arisen within 

 less than a century. "The American Standard of Perfec- 

 tion" recognizes 121 breeds and varieties ranging in size 

 from 12 pounds, to about three pounds, not counting the 

 Bantams. 



Standard Classification. "The Standard of Perfection" 

 classifies fowls according to external points of size, shape 

 and color. It divides them into classes, breeds, and vari- 

 eties. The class refers to the place of origin, the breed mainly 



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