116 THE AMERICAN BREEDS OF POULTRY 



the fanciers of twenty years ago admired the winners of that time. Every period 

 Iras its limit of perfection for that period, but energy and ambition always declare 

 there shall be improvement. The Standard of Perfection must from time to time 

 be subject to change along with the growth of our ideas of the beautiful and our 

 ability to reproduce these ideas in the living bird. Barred Rocks can be brought 

 by fine graduations to a feather that will make the present-day winners no more 

 to be compared with those of ten years hence than the tidal wave of Mount Pelee 

 to a ripple against the Statue of Liberty in New Yotik harbor. 



The following year at the New York show of Dec. 29, 1908, to 

 Jan. 2, 1909, the battle broke anew, and the thunder of the giants' 

 cannon planted along the Barred Rock trench in the vast arena re- 

 sounded not only within the walls of the historic Garden, but was 

 heard by breeders of all varieties of Standardbred poultry throughout 

 America. The attention of every breeder was focused upon New 

 York. This year Thompson, Bradley, Welles, Hawkins, Grove Hill 

 and Gardner came into combat. There was a score of lesser lights 

 hoping for even a minor prize in the hotly contested classes. When 

 the smoke of battle had cleared away it was found that Judge Schwab 

 had given 1st cock to Grove Hill; 2d cock, 2d cockerel and 1st pen 

 to Thompson. Welles won 1st on the same hen, "Fluffy Ruffles," 

 which had carried him to victory the year before. She was not in such 

 good condition this year, but was still the wonder of the hen class. 

 Gardner won 1st pullet, Hawkins won 1st cockerel, and Bradley had 

 to leave the field with 2d pen and several lower prizes. While Thomp- 

 son did not win either 1st place on cock or 1st on cockerel, he empha- 

 sized the value of his birds by going out of the Garden, buying log 

 chains and padlocks, coming back and fastening his cages with them, 

 and as we shall hereafter see, Thompson's estimate of the valtie of 

 his male line was amply justified. 



Constructive breeding of the big five. Of the five great breeders, 

 Hawkins, Bradley, T^atham, Welles and Thompson, it can be said 

 that each had his own strain, and each had his own following among 

 the bityers of Barred Plymouth Rocks who fancied certain established 

 qualities that were characteristic of the strain into which they bought 

 winners or new blood to reinforce their own flocks. 



At this time we can look backward and see more clearly in a review 

 of the past, the aims, the opinions, the influences of these masters of 

 the Barred Rock fancy, than was possible when the day and hour 

 brought us close to the details and the struggles of their work. 



Influence of Hawkins. The business of Hawkins was perhaps the 

 largest over a longer series of years than any other poultryman of 

 his day. In the twenty years, from the early eighties up into the 

 dawn of the twentieth century, Hawkins probably sold a quarter of 

 a million dollars worth of stock and eggs for hatching. Considering 

 the fact that the best eggs sold for five dollars a sitting in those days, 

 and poultry papers, which are the breeders medium for reaching 

 buyers, had only a quarter to a third of the circulation that is held 

 by the leading publications today. Hawkins' success was phenomenal 

 —and he was pointed to as the big man in Standardbred poultry. 



