GENERAL UTILITY BREEDS 



69 



are of medium length. In all breeds except the Wyandotte 

 the bodies are much longer than they are deep (Fig. 48) . 



Disposition. — In disposition the American breeds are just 

 about half way between the 

 Mediterranean and Asiatic 

 types. They are quite ac- 

 tive, roaming a considerable 

 distance in search of food, 

 and with some powers of 

 flight; after they once ac- 

 quire the habit they can fly 

 over a six-foot fence. They 

 are not nervous or easily 

 frightened like the egg breeds, 

 and if carefully managed are 

 easy to handle. 



Maturity. — The general 

 utility breeds mature rather 

 quickly, the time varying 

 with the breed. It generally 



Fig. 45. — ^Eggs of the general purpose 

 breeds have a brown shell, are of good size 

 andin quite general demand. The Cornell 

 Poultry Department was the first to use 

 the egg stencil to label shipping cases. 



^ Fig. 46. — General purpose breeds 

 bring in a revenue from both eggs and 

 meat. A Barred Plymouth Rock cock- 

 erel dressed for market. 



takes from four to six months for the American breeds to 

 begin to lay eggs. Their feather growth is fairly rapid, 

 much more so than in the Asiatic breeds. In breeds in which 



