50 Barred and White Plymouth Rocks. 



from head to tail, then with a stiff brush in clean tepid soft water, 

 brush briskly downward from neck to rump till no suds is perceptible. 

 A clean, soft sponge is to be used to follow the brushing. Be care- 

 ful to rub down every feather with it several times, so as not to ruffle, 

 and then go over the same course again, using clean water only. 

 When the plumage is dry, a second careful brushing or combing will 

 smooth and arrange the feathers nicely. 



Of course, it is understood that the birds must be fed on certain 

 kinds of food preparatory to the time of showing, to get them in 

 proper condition. A mess of barley and buckwheat for breakfast, 

 vegetables, boiled rice and milk, with a handful of coarse, brown 

 sugar stirred in, and allowed to cool, or corn meal boiled in milk 

 for dinner. After the mid-day meal, a handful of hemp seed and 

 sunflower seed, and in the evening a whole mess of sound corn and 

 wheat. 



The day before taking the birds to the show room, sponge their 

 beaks, faces, combs, wattles and shanks with a mixture of alcohol 

 and olive oil, then rub these parts off clean, and the fowls will look 

 bright and lively, if they have not gotten cold by the washing. To 

 avoid this, the birds should be washed in a warm room, and placed 

 by the stove or fire place until perfectly dry. A warm mess of 

 mush, well seasoned with cayenne pepper, the drink, too, made 

 stimulating and heating, and a warm bedding of fine cut straw in their 

 coops will help them a great deal. 



Mating. — February is a good month to make up your breeding 

 pens if you intend to set the eggs under hens, but if wanted for 

 incubators, January is better. The number of hens to be associated 

 with a cock depends on the season, the breed and the limits of their 

 runs. In early spring, when the birds are confined, six hens with a 

 cock are enough in order to secure fertility, for the male is not as 

 amative then as a month or two later. 



Nothing is gained by having the chicks come out too early, unless 

 one has a close glazed house or warm coop to set the hen in and 

 raise the chicks until the weather permits them to have a run out of 

 doors. March is early enough in our northern climate to have the 

 chicks come out. April and May, too, are good months for Plym- 

 outh Rocks, but if breeding for market, the earlier the better for 

 broilers. 



FEEDING. 



Feeding the Young. — Next in importance to comfortable 

 shelter is generous and judicious feeding. The first two weeks they 



