120 THE AMERICAN BREEDS OF POULTRY 



He had set his mind and his heart on breeding a feather in which 

 the black bar was soft black and the white bar was white, and in 

 which the black bar cut ofif sharply and did not fade to gray before 

 the white bar was laid on. This is a vital consideration in a Barred 

 Rock feather today. In Latham's words, which are as vital today 

 as when he penned them: 



We must have contrast between the two colors of the bird — a wide difference 

 between the colors. The edges of each bar must end abruptly and the contrasting 

 color begin sharpl)', not softening or blending one into the other. 



Latham took up the Barred Rock when the barring was weak, the 

 dark bar was blue black and the light bar was grayish white. The 

 barring was wide, making the white bar wide; and as summer advanced 

 the females presented a faded-brown appearance, and the pullet breed- 

 ing males looked washy. He put more bars on the feather, got them 

 straighter, and by widening the dark bar, got the bars of nearer equal 

 width; he iinproved the distinctiveness of the bars and brought the 

 color of each bar into itself. 



He did not breed a big type of female, and the old defect, "broken- 

 down behind." due to the females of the variety laying on too much 

 fat around the intestines in their abdomen, became absent in his 

 strain. 



The work and success of Welles. Welles carried on his breeding 

 operations in a more limited way than any one of the big five. Tt 

 was always a disadvantage under which Welles worked, for in selling 

 his trade, he often sold himself short, and the sudden sickness or acci- 

 dental death of a bird would occasionally cripple a year's hatching 

 and rearing operations. 



While Welles was prominent in the variety and formidable as a 

 competitor, his greatest stroke was in producing "Fluffy Ruffles," the 

 fainous 1st prize hen at the New York show of Deceinber, 1907. 



Welles was a careful breeder. .After he produced old Fluffy, he 

 began to use her, and wrote of bis plans as follows: 



I have her with a large, fine Idue-barred cockerel and will at the end of tlie 

 season liave about fifty cliicks from her. She is a wonde'rful hen, and I do not 

 expect many as good as she and I may not get any quite as good, liut I will get 

 tome good ones. Next season this blood will be diffused throngliout my whole 

 flock, wliere it will work to advantage, and as it is all the same family, good results 

 are bound to come. 



The great popularity of this line of breeding can be at once under- 

 stood when it is stated that that old breeder of champions, A. C. Haw- 

 kins, began to advertise in his catalog "FlufTy Ruffles" blood. 



This famous hen was of fair type and good size, but most of all 

 she was the proud possessor of exceptional barring and color. She 

 had a rich, velvety, very clean, dark bar, somewhat wider in propor- 

 tion than the light bar; and this light bar was very clean, approach- 

 ing v/hite. Withal the bird was darker, somewhat larger, and had 

 heavier bone in her shanks than the general run of strictly pulletbred 



