80 POULTRY PRODUCTION 



The Whites were admitted to The Standard n\ ISSS and the 

 Butt's and Partridge varieties in 1894. "' The Silver Pencilled, 

 Black, and Cohunljian varieties were later additions. 



The lihodc Island Reds came nearer to being originated 

 as a farmer's breed than perhaps any other. According to 

 Brown,- "This breed was the result of crossing by farmers 

 li\-ing on tlie shores of Narragansett Bay in New England, 

 who lia<l no idea of producing a new breed, l)ut of securing 

 strong, vigorous, and [)r(jfitable fowls." The foundation of 

 this breed was laid sixty years ago, when some Bed Cochins 

 and Malays were brought to Westport, Mass., and Little 

 Compton, B, I., 1)\' sailors. These were crossed with the 

 native stock, an<l tlie resulting offspring seemed particularly 

 suited to the ])revailing conditions. 



Later other crosses were made, which probal.)ly included the 

 Bose Comb Brown Leghorn and the Wyandotte. 



While fouls ^\crc exhibited under the name of Rhode 

 Island Be<ls as early as 1879 or 1880, a standard was not 

 adopted for them until 1901. There arc but two varieties, 

 the Single Comb and the Rose Comb. 



All American breeds lay a brown egg that is neither so 

 dark nor so uniform in color as the egg of the Asiatics. 



These breeds have for the most part been singularly free 

 from injurious fads, though the present breed standards 

 are laying too much stress on noi^-economic points. The 

 Plymouth Bock and Bhode Island Beil l)id fair to be victims 

 of too much emphasis on absolute color requirements; while 

 the Wyandottes, as a breed, have probably already suffered 

 from the extreme short body and that roundness that calls 

 rather loose and heavy feathering to its aid. 



Mairs^ found, in slaughter tests, that birds of the American 

 class gave a better dressing percentage than either the Asiatic 

 or Mediterranean. 



The PLx'glish Class. — The English class consists of five 

 breeds, Dorking, Bed Cap, Orpington, Cornish, and Sussex. 

 Of these, the Orpingtons alone have obtained a position of 



' Brown, Races of Domestic Poultry. 



2 Loc. cit. 



^ Pennsylvania Bulletin No. 87. 



