10 Barred and White Plymouth Rocks. 



these numbers, as the moult comes in the autumn, and the most try- 

 ing months of the year are November, December and January. 



In commenting upon the above record, the London Live Stock 

 Journal s&ys : "The figures are interesting, and they upset some of 

 our preconceived notions. That Redcaps, White Leghorns and 

 Houdans should bf beaten by Plymouth Rocks, is to say the least, sur- 

 prising, and we should be inclined to doubt whether another test like 

 this would show the Plymouth Rock as well as this one does. It 

 must be remembered that both the I.angshan and Plymouth Rook 

 are sitters, and would be engaged in maternal duties during the time 

 for which this record is given, therefore their laying must have been 

 more constant than with any of the other varieties. 



Indications of Sex and Quality. — Mostly every experienced 

 Plymouth Rock breeder, has in his mind's eye, an ideal of his own 

 of some feature in the makeup of the breed that he looks for in the 

 chicken, to indicate and serve as a guide to its value as a breeder or 

 exhibition bird when fully matured. Of course, the plumage is the 

 great disideratum, and to it breeders bend all their acquired knowl- 

 edge and skill in the effort of prejudging it. 



At an early age, very little indication of type, symmetry or 

 carriage is shown, and the chicks, when hatched, do not even show 

 uniformity in color throughout. Many appear with a white spot on 

 the head, and a white or light stripe running down the necky breast 

 and underpart of body, and a mixture of white and black on the 

 back ; others come black, showing only a small white spot on the 

 head, and a light stripe down the neck and breast. The chicks 

 feather early and rapidly from the start. When they are about a 

 week old, enough of their chicken feathers appear on the wings to 

 give the experienced breeder a fairly good indication of what their 

 future plumage will be, but it is only on the next change of feathers 

 that one can judge with tolerable accuracy. 



The sexes, for the most part, show in the nesting feathers, and 

 again when the wing feathers sprout three-fourths or an inch out. 

 When bars of white and black appear, it is almost certain of a male, 

 and when the wing feathers show black for an inch or two, followed 

 with faint light bars, and becoming more distinct with each succes- 

 sive line of bars, they show a female. Again the chick that shows 

 much white on head and continuation of the white stripe down the 

 breast, and under the body, will, as a rule, grow to be a light colored 

 cockerel, with white in wings and tail. The female seldom shows 

 white on the back, though sometimes a little white appears on the 



