CHAPTER VI 1 



WHITE PLYMOUTH ROCKS 



First \\'hite Plymouth Rocks came as pure sports of the Barred 



variety — Some other blood was probably iutroduced into the early 



strain,-. — Leading breeders of the past — Prominent breeders of today — 



Quaiiries to seek when selecting birds for the breeding yard. 



The origin of the White Plymouth Rock is generally credited to 

 Oscar F. P'rost of Monmouth. JIaine. who exhibited six of his birds 

 at the Bangor (Maine) show in 1876, and advertised and promoted 

 the variety for some years thereafter. The birds were white sports of 

 the Barred Plymouth Rock \ ariety. 



Pureblooded Plymouth Rocks. F. W. Proctor of Massachusetts, 

 writing of his personal knowledge of the Frost stock, has stated that 

 in 1S84 his attention was called to the variety bj- an advertisement of 

 Mr. Frost, and he purchased two sittings of eggs. The chicks that 

 hatched were of a "dark color" and "their first plumage came uni- 

 formly of slate color"; and I\Ir. Proctor states that "I believe this 

 original stock was what it purported to be — an albino Barred Rock." 



While Frost has received the full credit of origination of White 

 Plymouth Rocks, Wm. P. ^^'oodward of Maine makes a prior claim. 

 Writing to U. R. Fishel under the date of Oct. 13, 1904, ISIr. Wood- 

 ward stated: 



I was the first one to raise and exhibit the White Plymouth Rocks. I had a 

 pair on e-xhibition at the Eastern Elaine Fair held at Bangor, this state, the year 

 before ^Ir. Frost got hi? chicks. Mine were raised from eggs of Barred Rocks of 

 the Essex strain. Unfortunately my birds were both cockerels but Dr. G. \V. 

 Twitchel and rayself thought they were a pair at the fair. ^fr. Frost liad a few 

 pullets the next year, and the ^^'lnte Plymouth Rocks were bred from them. 



Sports or Albinos. Mr. Woodward credits the origin of his white 

 sports to the Essex strain. According to T. F. McGrew, who wrote 

 a bulletin on "The Plymouth Rock" for the U. S. Department of 

 Agriculture, 1901, many of the white sports that appeared in flocks of 

 Barred Rock breeders in the earh- historj- of the breed, seemed to 

 come from the Essex strain. As related in the chapter on Barred 

 Rocks, the originator of the Essex strain had injected a dash of Light 

 Brahma blood into his line of breeding to clear up the barred 

 color. Now, when white sports occurred they were said to be the 

 result of "throwing back" to this white blood. 



The words "reversion" and "atavism"' are used to indicate "throw- 

 ing back." Perhaps "reversion" is the proper word to use in explain- 

 ing the appearance of ^^'hite Plymouth Rocks for it indicates resem- 

 blance to a nearby ancestor, while "atavism" means the reappearance 

 of a character possessed by some very remote ancestor. 



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