38 



unable to personally select his stock he can protect himself in Tjuying 

 from a breeder at a distance by carefully stating what he wants and 

 insisting that fowls be shipped him on approval. If he takes the neces- 

 sary precautions to protect himself at every point from his own inexpe- 

 rience as well as from the possible disposition of some with whom he 

 deals to take advantage of his inexperience, a man runs little risk of 

 parting from his money for fowls that are not what he requires. The 

 risk cannot be absolutely eliminated but it can be so reduced that the 

 buyer is reasonably safe from loss. It may take him some time to find 

 what he wants and to get started, but the delay is not lost time if he is 

 learning to buy on his own judgment, for as a rule one has to learn to. 

 do that before he gets fairly started in breeding poultry, and it is much 

 better and more economical to learn before buying than to learn by 

 buying what you do not want. 



Another point comes up here. Suppose one makes a fruitless search 

 for fowls of the kind he had decided he wanted, — cannot run across 

 birds that suit him, — but in the meantime does find birds of another 

 variety that seem to him to be just what he wants ; should he drop his 

 first choice and take the others? Supposing a case as stated I would 

 say yes. The fowls which suited might not be the best type of their 

 kind according to prevailing opinion, but if they are what is wanted the 

 name by which they are called and their superficial points are of only 

 minor importance. While I have used the White Plymouth Rock in the 

 illustration above, any other Plymouth Rock is the same in everything 

 but color. The Wyandottes and Rhode Island Reds are in the same 

 class and diflfer practically from the Plymouth Rock principally in size 

 and shape, and not radically in either of these respects. Ordinarily a 

 Massachusetts or New England farmer would not want to go outside of 

 these three breeds to look for stock. Indeed, this is the class of stock best 

 adapted to the wantsof most poultry keepers evei-y where, and as a rule the 

 preference of a poultry keeper for any particular variety of this class is due 

 to his having happened to get stock of that variety which suited him. 



A brief comparison of the thi-ee breeds and their varieties will indicate 

 how like they are in essential qualities, and also show the superficial 

 diflTerences which would sometimes be considered in making a choice, 

 and which in a few cases do have a marked influence in determining the 

 popularity of the variety. 



All are medium-sized fowls, the Plymouth Rocks as a class a little 

 larger than the others, and a little longer in coming to maturity. 



Of Plymouth Rocks there are three varieties. Barred, White and Buff. 

 Unless he had a color preference, a taste for appearance to satisfy, it 

 would make no difference to the poultry keeper w^ho wanted a fowl of 

 the Plymouth Rock type which of the three varieties he took. 



In Wyandottes the number of varieties is greater, and most of them 

 are more difficult to pi'oduce in such uniformity of color as will satisfy 

 even a moderately critical taste. The White and Buff Wyandottes are 

 the only varieties of the breed in which the farmer looking for stock 

 would do well to take stock if he found what he wanted. Of the other 

 varieties the Golden Laced, Silver Laced, Partridge, or Golden Pencilled, 

 and Silver Pencilled are difiicult to breed, and the farmer who is not 



