STANDARD CLASSIFICATION 



69 



Terms Explained. It should be noted in the above outline 

 and description given later that the three terms, class, breed, and 

 variety, are used with distinctive meanings. 



Class is used to include the larger groups of birds. The classes 

 relate to their place of origin or their natural habitat, as, for in- 

 stance, American class, English class, French class. 



Breed is used almost entirely to designate body shape and 

 form. For instance, in the American class are the Plymouth Rock, 

 Wyandotte, and Rhode Island Red, each one a distinct breed and 

 each one having distinctive body shape or type. The Plymouth 



FIG. 40. Buff Orpington pair, a popular variety of this English breed. (Photo by Suns- 

 wick Poultry Farm.) 



Rocks' bodies are represented by oval curves, the Wyandottes' 

 by circular curves, and the Rhode Island Reds' by rectangles. 

 This difference can easily be distinguished from the accompanying 

 sketches (Fig. 39). 



" Breed " is also used to designate both shape and variety color, 

 yet in such cases the proper distinction has been partially over- 

 looked. This error is especially pronounced in the Orpington 

 breed; there the tendency has been to create new varieties at a 

 sacrifice of shape, it being quite common to find Buff Orping- 

 tons with a buff color, but representing anything but the 

 Orpington shape (Fig. 40). Another example is among White 



