36 



Pair of Ideal Light Brahmas. 



all White I'ljmiouth Rocks are not alike; for he has seen the production^ 

 of plants and animals of many kinds and has noticed that individuals from 



the same seed or the same 

 parents vary sometimes a 

 gi-eat deal. The first step, 

 then, is to learn what is the 

 correct type of White Plym- 

 outh Rocks. I think the best 

 way to learn this is by care- 

 fully studying a good ideal 

 illustration of a White Plym- 

 outh Rock. The ideal drawing 

 represents a bird perfect, ac- 

 cording to the artist's inter- 

 pretation of the ideas of the 

 best breeders and judges, in 

 ever}^ section, — a bird free 

 fi'om faults. Sometimes photo- 

 graphs are obtained which are 

 quite as good and look more 

 true to life, but the photograph 

 so often fails to do typical 

 birds justice in their best points, 

 and so often distorts some sec- 

 tions, that I think it much safer for those who want to learn the best 

 types in the different breeds to study the ideal drawings first, and so 

 learn to make proper allowance for faults in specimens they see, and. 

 also in photographs and drawings 

 that are portraits of individual 

 birds, and hence show in some 

 degree the faults of the fowls 

 they repi'esent. 



It will help one to appreciate 

 the points of excellence in a 

 breed if he will study, in con- 

 nection with the ideal repre- 

 sentation of it, the authorized 

 description of the variety pub- 

 lished in the " Standard of Per- 

 fection." This description tells 

 him briefly what the drawing 

 shows him, and by studying the 

 two together he gets a better 

 apprehension of the type than 

 he could from either alone. From 

 book and pictui'e one who had 

 never before seen a White Plym- 

 outh Rock could get an idea of it good enough to make it impossible 

 for him to be imposed upon with fowls of different type, or with fowls 

 having serious blemishes. 



Ideal Single-comb Rhode Island Red,, 

 Male. 



