74 



RHODE ISLAND REDS 



head of every yard as I went by and got an answering crow 

 from all of them, yet they are docile and gentle. 



The eggs I hatched in incubators this year were over 

 ninety per cent fertile and hatched strong chicks, chicks 

 that lived and grew as well as those hatched and raised by 

 hens at the same time. 



I received a letter the other day from a customer who 

 said "send me another sitting of Rose Comb Rhode Island 

 Red eggs. I like the way your eggs hatch." That is the 

 kind of fowls our farmers want, fowls that are good layers 

 the year 'round, that lay eggs that are strong in fertility 

 and will hatch strong, vigorous chicks that live and make 

 good broilers at an early age, and hens that will bring a 

 good price as roasters when they are no longer needed for 

 breeding purposes. 



Another class of our citizens who are largely breeding 

 the Rhode Island Reds are professional and business men 

 who like fresh eggs for breakfast and like to raise poultry 

 as a recreation in their spare time. Many of this class are 

 not only interested in the utility qualities of the Reds, but 

 like them for their exhibition qualities as well. They like 

 a flock of handsome, even-colored birds that they can show 

 their friends and boast about. 



I received an order from a doctor the other day who 

 ' asked me to send him two yearling hens of the Roanoke type 

 as he Was the breeder of the fine bloods of his county and 

 did not want to lower his grade. For this class of poultry- 

 men the Reds are just the thing, as they combine the useful 

 and beautiful. While I do not receive "over one hundred 

 letters a day from all over the world in regard to Rhode 

 Island Reds, in one way or another," still I get one now 

 and then from someone in this or adjoining states who says 

 he is raising Rhode Island Reds and saw my birds at such 

 a show and liked their color and wanted a cockerel, pullets 

 or eggs, which I take as evidence that a good many who 

 . first went in for Rhode Island Reds simply for their utility 

 qualities are now turning their attention to the fancy as well. 



Southern Fanciers Coming to the Front 



Many of our fanciers are trying to breed Reds that will 

 win anywhere and that many of them are succeeding will be 

 seen by visiting the winter shows. A few years ago the Reds 



were not a very large class at any of our fall fairs and winter 

 shows. Most any Red that would score ninety was good 

 for a first or second prize. Now, Red Alley is the center of 

 attraction at most of th^m and at several this last winter 

 (1909) Red cocks won specials for the highest scoring cock 

 in the show, all breeds competing. There were some good 

 ones of other breeds there too, while pullets scoring ninety- 

 one or two by a judge with a national reputation did not 

 get an H. C, which I take as evidence that some of our 

 fanciers are breeding them very close to the top. 



Mate for Shape and Type 



In mating up Reds our first consideration should be 

 shape and type. They have long bodies, broad and deep,, 

 the typical shape of the egg-laying hen and we cannot keep 

 up the utility qualities or the breed characteristics of the 

 Reds without it. A red Wyandotte or a buff Rook is not a 

 Rhode Island Red and should not be awarded a blue ribbon 

 at any show, no matter how good a color it may have. The 

 next consideration should be size. All of our breeding stock, 

 both male and female, should be up to standard weight or 

 over. A good many poultrymen claim that a bird gets its 

 size and shape from the hen and its color from the cook, but 

 a fancier who breeds Single Comb Rhode Island Reds tried 

 some undersized cockerels last year with large hens and he 

 says there is nothing in it, for when he weighed up his birds 

 last fall fi:om those matings they were all under weight. 

 The best results I ever got were from large cocks of extra 

 good shape. The color we want is red, not buff. Chestnut 

 or chocolate is not red. I have obtained good results from 

 birds with some smoke in undercolor, but birds that show 

 smoke, smut or peppering in their outer color will not do 

 to breed exhibition birds from, neither will buff or dark 

 males with straw-colored hackles. What we want is a 

 bright, even-colored red that will look like a bunch of Mexican 

 sage when at a distance. I have found it a little hard to 

 get the black markings just like the Standard requires, but 

 by studying our birds and using a little brains when we 

 make up our breeding pens, I believe that we, the fanciers 

 of the southland can breed as good Reds as are to be found 

 anywhere. 



RHODE ISLAND REDS IN ENGLAND 



A LETTER FROM AN ENGLISH IMPORTER TELLING OF HIS SUCCESS AND OF THE PROGRESS THEY 

 ARE MAKING IN HIS COUNTRY— THE YELLOW SKIN AND YELLOW LEGS ARE PROVING POPULAR ABROAD 



W. ROGER.SMITH, ENGLAND 



[Note: The following interesting^ letter was received from one of our correspondents across the water in answer to our 

 inquiry relative to the R. I. Reds in England. D. E. H.] 



The Wergs, Wolverhampton, Eng., May, '09. 

 Gentlemen: ' 



You ask for my opinion of the Rhode Island 'Reds in 

 England which I shall be most pleased to give, giving in the 

 first place my own exppience in breeding them and why I 

 commenced to keep them. 



Some years ago a friend of mine while in the United 

 States brought over a pen of birds of the old type — large, 

 hardy fowls — the male chocolate coloured and the females, 

 layers of large and very brown eggs. After breeding a quan- 

 tity of young stock, he advertised eggs for sale and sold 

 quite a few but as they did not breed true to colour, the 

 demand was not great. 



I purchased some eggs from him and was so pleased 

 with the birds hatched as winter layers and table fowls that 



I determined to go in for them on a large scale. I sent to 

 the United States for some eggs from one of your well known 

 breeders. I was able to raise some chicks and among them 

 were a few good coloured cockerels and pullets. I then sent 

 to the same breeder for some hens which, when delivered, 

 were more like Buff Rocks, although I paid a fair price for 

 them. I considered I was badly treated. I have since im- 

 ported some fairly good birds both single and rose comb 

 varieties and from them have a nice lot of young stock and 

 am pleased to say have had a most successful breeding 

 season, while the demand for eggs has been far greater than 

 I could supply. None of the imported birds lay such large 

 brown eggs as my original stock. I find them Al as winter 

 layers and also as a table fowl. 



I do not believe that the people of England mind their 



