standard varieties of chickens. 
5 
cessive amount of fat in the abdominal region. here the fowls have 
free range, however, this trouble is not likely to occur. 
They are sitters and make good mothers. r l his is an important 
consideration where the farmer keeps only a small Hock and does 
not wish to invest money in hatching and brooding equipment. All 
of these birds are layers of brown eggs. In consequence, they are 
not as suitable for conditions where a premium is paid for white eggs; 
under such conditions, where large poultry farms have been estab¬ 
lished, the White Leghorn has come to he the most popular fowl. 
All the American breeds are clean legged; that is, they have shanks 
free from feathers. They also have yellow legs and skin, except the 
Java, in which the legs are black or leaden blue and yellow. In the 
markets of the United States the former is a desirable point, as the 
demand is for yellow T skin and legs in table fowls. 
BREEDS AND VARIETIES. 
The American class includes the following standard breeds and 
varieties: 
BREEDS. VARIETIES. 
Plymouth Rock_Barred, White, Buff, Silver Penciled, Partridge, 
Columbian. 
Wyandotte_.‘White, Buff, Silver, Golden, Partridge, Silver Pen¬ 
ciled, Columbian, Black. 
Java_Black, Mottled. 
Dominique. 
Rhode Island Red_Single Comb, Rose Comb. 
Buckeye. 
In describing these breeds and varieties it is the intention to give 
only a general statement of their appearance and characteristics. 
For a description sufficiently detailed to enable one to breed exhibi¬ 
tion specimens it will be necessary to refer to the American Standard 
of Perfection, a book published by the American Poultry Association, 
which is the guide by which all the .poultry shows in the United 
States are judged. 
THE PLYMOUTH ROCK. 
The Plymouth Rock has been for years the most popular breed in 
the United States. The Barred Plymouth Rock was the original 
variety and was developed in the United States, various lines of 
blood being used in the making. It is probable that the Dominique, 
the Black Cochin, the Black Java, the Brahma, and the Pit Game 
were used for this purpose. The size and type or shape of all the 
varieties of Plymouth Rocks are supposed to be identical. In gen¬ 
eral the breed may be described as a good-sized, rather long-bodied 
