Plymouth Rocks. 
201 
"Mrs. W. F. Weeks, of Rockville, Wenlworth Falls, N.S.W., for very man\ years has been a very large 
importer, breeder, and exhibitor of Barred Rocks. This lady has been very enterprising, and has sent birds 
to nearly every Show in N.S.W., and to several in Queensland and Victoria, and in many cases has scored 
very successfully. 
"Mr. A. Muggridge, of Neutral Bay, N.S.W., some five years ago imported a real good trio, 
selected, I believe, by that all-round judge, Mr. Enoch Hutton. Mr. Muggridge has been breeding on a 
Hmited scale since, and generally exhibits a few good birds at the Sydney Shows. In '95 he won first in 
cocks, second in hens, and fourth and sixth in cockerels. 
" Mrs. W. H. Webb, of Bathurst, together with her many other breeds, has for some years been able to 
muster a few good Rocks, and has been successful at Provincial Shows, and occasionally in the metropolis. 
"Another lady, Mrs. Tremlett, of Marrickville, N.S.W. (lady Fanciers in N.S.W. have strongly favoured 
Rocks), is a very staunch supporter of the breed, and if only as the breeder of that great hen, 'Champion 
Tremlett,' the best barred hen yet seen in Australia, deserves to be famous ; but Mrs. Tremlett has always 
been noted as a breeder of good pullets, and in this respect is far ahead of the majority of Rock breeders 
on this side of the Murray. 
" Mr. John W. Pender, ' Drumfin,' Oakhampton, West Maitland, is certainly entitled to the pride 
of place amongst the breeders of N.S.W., as the most consistent supporter and successful exhibitor 
of Rocks in that colony during the last decade. Many of the cockerels bred by him have been 
of exceptional merit, and two which he exhibited at the Sydney Show of 1895 I was particularly 
struck with. No. 283, which was second to Mr. Maxfield's 'Champion Sensation,' was a splendidly 
barred bird right throughout, from crown to tail tip, with an exceptionally good hackle, and of 
excellent type, but was rather on the small side as a cockerel. Mr. Maxfield purchased him the 
same season. He filled out a lot the next year, and could always beat ' Sensation ' as a cock, 
and is, in my estimation, the second best male Barred Rock in ^'ictoria at the present moment. No 
282 was even a better bird, hardly so good in hackle as 283, but a marvellously big bird, of grand 
type, and splendid wide legs ; but when judged, one of his tail sickles was missing, and, judging 
under the Club's Standard, I reluctantly had to pass him. This was very hard luck for Mr. Pender, as, 
failing this accidental deficiency, this bird must have beaten ' Sensation,' who was the Champion of both 
Victoria and N.S.W. for that year, Mr. Pender's bird being so much better in hocks, and from the good 
colour of the sickle feather he carried, I felt sure that the missing one had been lost by an accident. The 
rule of passing a bird for being deficient of a sickle or sickles was very hard in a case like this, and Messrs. 
Franklin Bros.' Champion in '94 was passed at Brighton, Victoria, for a similar reason ; but, as bulled tails 
were so common a few years ago, the rule was an actual necessity. 
"The fame of Messrs. Franklin Bros., of Sebastopol, Ballarat, has been high in the Rock world for now 
close on ten years, and deservedly so, too. Those gentlemen understand the art of showing a Rock as it 
should be exhibited — perhaps better than any other exhibitor in this country. Their birds are always shown 
in the pink of condition, and if a bird is a bit off they prefer keeping it at home, never mind how good a 
specimen, rather than risk a chance defeat by others of, perhaps, indifferent quality. In this they show their 
wisdom, and teach a well-needed lesson to many exhibitors who often persist in showing their best birds 
when quite out of form, thus openly courting defeat. This latter class of breeders are quite forgetful of 
one of the first principles of the reasons for holding Shows — viz., that the public may be taught to compare 
the wide difference that exists between pure-bred stock and common Poultry, and if the former are not 
exhibited in Show condition, the untrained eye will note but little difference, and be apt to discount the 
benefits obtainable from keeping good stock in preference to bad ; and in penning their birds in such grand 
condition the Messrs, Franklin Bros, have fully earned the best thanks of all lovers of the breed, as it is the 
sight of such Rocks, as they exhibit, in ideal condition that catches the eye of novices, and induces them 
to take up the breed in preference to others. Anyone who has seen a Franklin team once or twice can nearly 
always pick out every one of their birds at following Shows, simply by their superb condition alone ; but in 
