176 
The Australasian Book of Poultry. 
General Characteristics of Barred Plymouth Rocks. 
THE cock. 
Head. — Medium in size, showing fair width of skull with nice arch and carried upright, the colour of the 
head feathers greyish white barred with dark blue, almost black, to the skin ; Beak, yellow in colour, stout at 
the base, and well curved at the point ; Eyes^ bay in colour, bright and intelligent ; Comb, bright red in 
colour, fine in texture, with moderately deep serrations six or seven in number and quite free from side sprigs, 
the comb should be very firm and carried perfectly erect ; Ear-lobes, bright red in colour, only moderate in 
size, not to hang pendent or loose, but of uniform width with a slight inward curve at the ends, quite free 
from white or yellow spots or streaks ; Wattles^ bright red in colour, of fair length and nicely rounded, on no 
account to be long or pendent or purse shaped, but on the other hand rather oblong ; Neck, well arched and 
of medium length, with hackle feathers full and flowing, covering the shoulders, colour greyish white, barred 
evenly and regularly to the skin with bluish black, giving the effect of a bluish tinge to the feathers, this 
barring must be distinct; Back, broad at shoulders, appearing flat between the shoulders, but forming a slight 
graceful curve from base of neck to root of tail ; Saddle, fair length, the feathers flowing well over the wing 
secondaries, colour greyish white, barred right to the skin with bluish black, a shade deeper than the neck 
hackle and saddle hackle ; Breast, full, deep, and round, giving the bird a massive appearance, colour 
greyish white, barred with bluish black, even and distinct in barring right to the skin, this barring is not as 
close as the top feathers 'of neck, back, and shoulders, but the alternate bars of grey and bluish black should 
be of uniform width ; Body, wide, of good depth and well rounded at the sides, well balanced on stout well 
proportioned legs, the breast and body both presenting in profile a close approach to the outline of a semi- 
circle, colour greyish white, barred with bluish black, the dark lines presenting the appearance of rings across 
the body and breast ; Wings, medium in size, well folded and carried closely to the body, the wing-butts on 
the lower edges well covered with the breast feathers, the barring distinct and even, not too dark, but to 
harmonise with the rest of the plumage, white in the primary feathers of the wings or brown bars on the wings 
are serious defects ; Tail, medium in size, spread at the junction with the body, and well filled in with soft 
curling feathers, sickle and tail coverts fairly developed, the whole tail carried moderately upright, colour 
greyish white, barred with bluish black; the tail should present a rather cone-shaped outline when viewed from 
behind, that is, wide at the base and narrowing to the top, not spread out laterally, the sickles should be 
quite free from white or discoloured bars ; Eliiff, moderately full, without, however, hiding the hocks and 
thighs, colour bluish grey, the feathers near the thigh webbed and fairly well barred, other portions of fluff 
soft in texture ; Legs, thighs large, strong, and well covered with webbed feathers, colour greyish white, 
barred with bluish black; Shanks, medium in length, large, strong, and set on wide apart, colour yellow, of 
a golden shade quite free from black scales ; Toes, straight, and well spread, colour yellow ; Carriage, 
upright and commanding, graceful, and imposing ; Weight, cocks ii lbs., cockerels 9 lbs. 
THE HEN. 
Head. — Medium in size, with fair width of skull, showing nice arch, and carried upright, colour of the 
head feathers, same as the cock ; Beak, yellow, and well curved ; Eyes, bay, bright and intelligent ; Comb, bright 
red in colour, small in size, fine in texture, with serrations of moderate length, and quite free from side sprigs ; 
the comb should be firm and erect on the head, the serrations forming an almost straight line from front to 
back ; Ear-lobes, bright red in colour and of fair size, quite free from white or yellow spots or streaks ; 
Wattles, bright red in colour, well rounded, and of moderate size ; Neck, medium in length, well arched, 
colour as in the cock ; Back, broad, forming a slight concave turn from centre of back to root of tail ; the 
back should be of moderate length, the cushion moderately developed, colour uniform from base of hackle ; 
Breast, broad, full, and deep, colour as in the cock, the barring extending to the roots of the feathers, the 
breast invariably being the most evenly barred portion of the body ; Body, broad and deep, well rounded at 
the sides, not flat-sided, colour to match the breast ; Wings, medium size, well folded, and carried closely to 
the body, colour a shade darker than neck, breast, and back, wing-bows barred evenly across with very dark 
