500 



POULTRY CULTURE 



Fig. 495. White Plymouth Rock hen 



(Photograph from owner, Rockandotte 



Farm, Southboro, Massachusetts) 



breeds nearly the same in size are 

 arbitrary. It is no advantage to a 

 Plymouth Rock to have a body a very 

 little longer than that of a typical 

 Wyandotte, or to weigh a little heavier ; 

 but the heavier fowl furnishes more 

 meat (if the proportion of bone, offal, 

 and edible meat are the same), and 

 (other proportions being approximately 

 the same) the longer-bodied fowl fur- 

 nishes more of the preferred white meat 

 than the other. This last is true as to 

 all poultry ; if a breeder, whatever kind 

 or variety he is working with, wants to 

 get the largest possible proportion of 

 white meat, he must give particular 

 attention to length of body, not be- 

 cause length is more important than 

 the other dimensions, but because the 

 lack of it gives an impression of 

 plumpness and meatiness that is often 

 misleading.! If Standard type is not to be considered, the longer the body 

 can be made without unduly lengthening legs and neck, or making the bird 

 unsymmetrical, the better. 

 When Standard require- 

 ments as to shape must be 

 observed, the body should 

 be as long as may be with- 

 out departing from the ap- 

 proved type ; that is, in 

 selecting breeding birds, 

 the breeder of table poul- 

 try of a Standard variety 

 should always keep away 

 from the short-backed and 

 short-bodied types of that 

 variety. 



! In the open market 

 this is an advantage to 

 the short bird ; for a regu- 

 lar trade where the buyer 

 practically relies upon the 

 seller to give him satisfac- 

 tory goods, the long-bodied 



bird, if properly filled out, Fig. 496. White Plymouth Rock cock, 

 is better. graph from Rockandotte Farm) 



(Photo- 



