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Poultry Notes. :
(By-Coohin.)''- ''??-'?? ?-
TBE PLYMOUTH ROCKS.
No breed of fowls has attracted more at
tention or gained more popularity on ac
count of their sterling qualities than the
Plymouth Bock has during the last few
years. The peculiar make-up of these
fowls has given to them a certain hardiness
which tits them tor the tarm and , rec
commends them to the average poultry'
keeper. Thousands ar now striving to im
prove this comparatively new breed. ' The
aults as well as the 'fine points should
be well understood: During the last year,
or two a number of our fanciers have gone ?
in for a few pens', of this breed, but those
shown, have had 'much variation in color:
such as dark beaks and legs; and indis
tinctly marked plumage. There ought to
a weeding out of the faults which are ap
parent even' in the best strains.' Very supe
rior specimens are bound to be in demand,
and the breeder who can produce Plymouth :
Bock with the best symmertry and color
of plumage, lego, beaks and ear-lobes, with
well shaped combs should reap his reward.
A few remarks on this breed may help on
the good cause, and for the bulk of them I
must draw on that well-known American
authority Mr H. H. Studdard. What the
Plymouth Bock of to-day should be, almost
every fancier thinks he knows. That the
type held in the mind's eye of each separate
fancier is nofa'universalty accepted one is
of little moment; r It is sufficiently near the :
same thing iir all cases' to show that j the
?breed is no longer a thing to beibutan ac
complished fact. /Tears of breeding .will, of;
course;' draw 'the threads' which'weiiv^,'the!
tticaits: of 'forgotten ancestral'1 stock to'a '?
more perfect we_b,: and we shall have a fowl ;
as perfect in its:repr6duotion os any of thei
-longest cultivated varieties of to day ; but!
probably : no period of equal .length will :
show such improvement as the five years;
E'receedirig 1880. Truly '. there :mu=t have
een some good material at hand to make a
cross that in such' a' short time could.be
brpughtto'such a nobly prominent position:
as the' Plymouth Bock holds' to-day. Ii9t \
im' rah what were ? the influences of blood
and breeding that were atwork. Itisn'ow,
generally admitted that the Plymouth Bock,
is : the'result of breeding the, old fashioned,
Dominique (the native American fowl) on1
Black -Java-hens. The originator of ; this,
breed claims to be Dr; J. C. Bennett, whoin:
1849'used a Cochin cock 'with' it hen.of a
cross of three distinct breeds— ^Qreat Malay,,
Dorkin; and Wild India 'owl; 'The Malay,
breed; now well known; was then scarce,!
the Dorkin no doubt rerers to the colored;
variety! and of the Wild India /Fowl .we.
Know juua, unu 11s cross poqmuiy uuu uu
perceptible influence oh thebreedf From
the Cochin blood was! inherited : a rather
triangular ' shape; with a leaning' towards
thei squareness of the, Dorking and a frev
quent fifth toe; the leg feathering must alsoj
be credited to the Cochin, and from' the.
mixed blood of the parent stock comes the
plumage of divers colors, laid on in a'
belter skelter manner, unique,' but hardly
msthetically' correct.' : It'is.yery likely that:
while the admixture of ;so' many unculti
vated- and strong bloods' brought out a
?mixed color, they 'induced also an ' extra-'
ordinary amount of hardiness and' fertility.
But the record of the breed is scanty ; and
sufficient data is not 'possible to: assure us
of .this. This incipient breed ran com-'
pletely out and for years no: Plymouth!
Bocks existed. Then came another, fowl of
entirely new blood thePlymouth Bock-of
'to-day. ? In selecting ? your, breeding : stock ,
you -act exactly as .you would with;- any j
other breed.'viz : the finest and most healthy,
specimens obtainable. , I need hardly, go, into j
'a- description 'jot' the show .^points ,' of this '
valuable breed they are:p'retty well ''known:
to all poultry fanciers, but a very general
complaint will be in the shades of Colo
thrown by this variety, they will perhaps
never be uniform, but much can be done by
judicious .mating. Shall 'orie\ mating be
made for the purp'ose,.pf producing well
'colored males, and another to .produce
females, or shall the fancier mate one way
for. the -production, of -both sexes? Shall
the practice be followed of mating , light
birds of one sex with dark ones. of ' another,
or is it better to select nothing for breed
ing stock excepting medium colored birds
of both sexes, of the same shade of color
like those preferably exhibited together?
These questions are continually agitated
among Plymouth Bock men. Thejreply is,
that while very light and ,yery' darkibirds
should never be '.used as', breeders at all,
yet in the present state of the breed,' moder-
ately light may be mated with
moderately dark ones, or medium (neither
light nor dark, may be mated to medium)
also, different combinations may advan
tageously be made accordingly as .our
object may be to get pullets or cockerels.
That',the_ breed will ever arriye^.at that
stage where, the males will vbe- naturally
produced as 'dark as the females we very
much doubt, and until that time arrives'we
must make the best of. things as we find
?themi-v.and' at:. the- same- time, try to
'bring '.about that 'state' 'of things
;as well as we know how. At
-resent, and ever since the breed was
mown the males have 'run light' and the
hens dark. It will be advisable for the
breeder to make three matings. In the
first, placeallthelighe3tcockerelsandall the
darkest pullets should be rejected! as unfit
to breed. Then considerable attention
should be given to the color of the legs. It;
is important that a breeding cockerel
should have very yellow legs. Mate your
darkest pullets with your lightest cockerel.
Then take those pullets .a few shades
lighter than those; of the first mating and
mate them with a medium colored cockerel.
This mating'will produce a good percent
age of standard chickens especially cocke
rels. Lastly, place the lightest colored
pullets with a darks medium cockerel. In
this mating the sexes are nearly of one
color. As layers Plymouth Bocks will
produce from' 120 to 150 eggs per annum
They oarevhardy, compact birds',' good for
table 'and handsome enough for any 'yard.
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