244 THE AMERICAN BREEDS OF POULTRY 



color. There has been no change in the Club Standard as far as the 

 aims and ideals of breeders are concerned, except to eliminate the 

 accentuation of red over the wing-bows and produce one even shade 

 of rich brilliant red; hackle, back and wing-bow matching; and then 

 to breed this color as rich as possible down to the skin. 



The Single Comb Rhode Island Reds were admitted to the Stand- 

 ard in 1904. The Rose Comb Rhode Island Reds were admitted to 

 the Standard at Minneapolis, Feb. 13, 1905, as American Reds. F. D. 

 Baerman of Dunellen, New Jersey, a prominent breeder of the time, 

 was influential in having the Minneapolis meeting of the American 

 Poultry Association, adopt the name of "American Reds." A storm 

 of protest followed this action, and Chas. M. Bryant of Wollaston, 

 Massachusetts, was instrumental in changing the name to Rose Comb 

 Rhode Island Reds at a special meeting held in Pittsburgh, April 14, 

 1905, which meeting rescinded the action of the Minneapolis conven- 

 tion. 



The Revision Committee that had charge of the 1915 Standard 

 dropped the name Rhode Island, and called the varieties simply Single 

 and Rose Comb Reds, but the breeders again protested and the name 

 remains as originally adopted. 



Mating Rhode Island Reds. The good specimens of no other breed 

 are more widely distributed than those of the Rhode Island Red 

 breed. This accounts in part for the big classes of Reds seen in the 

 poultry exhibitions. So many breeders have some of the best quality 

 that a large number of different breeders are able to compete in the 

 large shows. No one or two breeders have a patent on the produc- 

 tion of fine quality Reds. 



This wide distribution of good birds is a good thing for the breed. 

 Small breeders are encouraged to go forward, and the interest in 

 Rhode Island Reds is kept at a high point. While the problems of 

 mating require close study, they may be mastered, as the successes 

 of countless breeders testify. 



The darkest feathers in a Rhode Island Red hen may be taken as 

 the measure of her breeding value. The hackle is usually the darkest 

 red section of the female. If you are to produce rich colored cockerels 

 you must have a rich hackle in your females. If there are black stripes 

 in the female's hackle, her cockerels will show the same fault. If the 

 female's hackle is orange colored, in part or whole, her cockerels will 

 be light in color of neck. If the female has black peppering on the 

 wing-bow the same defect will show in a number of her cockerels. 

 The breeder can get a good line on the breeding value of his females 

 by their darkest feathers. 



Evenness of red color is of major importance. There should be a 

 coat of one shade of level color. Two colored males are of no value. 

 A bird that is of rich red over wingbows and top of back and of 

 orange color in lower hackle and saddle, shows poor breeding. Orange 



