Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1889-09-14
Farm AND ORCHARD.
SOME INTERESTING POINTS ON THE
PLYMOUTH ROCKS.
Wool and Mutton Preparing Soil for
Seeding-High Culture and
Pruning-Notes.

America has the honor Of producing a
breed of fowls which has been justly
named the king of the Poultry Yard"
George T. Pitkin, one of Americas leading
poultry breeders, says of the Plymouth
Rock: mo one can with truth deny the
assertion that the Plymouth Rock is the
acknowledged king Of the poultry yard
Take well-bred typical Plymouth Rock,
and there is no fowl more beautiful and no
breed comes as near being an all-purpose
fowl He is large enough and not too
large, will forage and pick up his own liv-
ing where any other fowl can live Though
any chicken that is worth keeping at all
is worthy of being fed enough besides
what he can pick up to keep IN good living
order), and as hardy breed he ranks among
the hardest. His plumage rs to color has
the appear ance Of blue and white, very
regularly intermixed However, by close
inspection we find that there really
is no blue, but black and white. His
entire plumage should be free from black
or white feathers, but each feather should
have black and while, each particular
color running in bars across the feather at
regular intervals; and of late these bars
have been bred on to such a fine degree as
to cause the white and black to run in bars
across the entire plumage over the bird,
and in particular across the breast. Hence
the name, Barred Plymouth Rocks And
there is no better proof of a pare-bred Ply
mouth Rock than these bars Other
good proofs of thoroughbred Rocks are
yellow beaks and shanlls The beaks of
the females may show dark streaks until
they are twelve or eighteen months old
but if the dark does not disappear at the
end of eighteen months something is
wrong it is either a 'culP (for they fire.
qUently occur even among the finest OF
breeds or mongrel mixed breed Ply
mouth Rocks are among the best egg-pro-
ducing breeds, laying large, yellow, and
rather round egg, and about eight or nine
to the pound. There are some strains that
have been bred especially to improve their
laying qualities, and some of these strains
are as near non-sitters as can be found
among the large breeds. Well-bred Ply
mouth Rocks will lay from 40 to Us eggs
per year, and this is from 40 to 70 more
eggs than the common scrub chickens will
lay.
There are now three varieties of the
Plymouth Rock breed, viz: Barred Ply
mouth Rocks Single comb), Pea Comb
Plymouth Rocks combs small with three
rows Of points instead of one), and White
Plymouth Rocks. This last-named variety
has a pure white plumage, but in every
other particular is exactly like the Barred
variety. They are more easily bred true
to the standard than the Barred varieties,
are said to be better LAYERS, and they are
evidently the best breed in existence for
market purpose. They, like the Barred,
are square and plump in body, and their
skin being of a clean, rich yellow color,
they make the best appearance as first
class broilers, which they truly are The
reputation of this valuable breed has been
greatly injured by the carelessness in Sc
lecting and breeding them among farmers
Anything that had even the slightest re-
semblance to a Plymouth Rock was taken
for one and thought TO be as good as any,
and thus this most valuable breed has been
run into almost mere scrubs. Some of this
class OF Plymouth Rocks have been brought
to this coast by emigrants and thus being
imported ~ they were of course fine
birds But fortunately this grade Of
Plymouth Rocks is shortIived; for as the
poultry interest increases, associations will
be organized, poultry shows held, and thus
our farmers will soon know what good
birds are when they see them. Leading
poultry breeders are gradually improving
on this now almost perfect breed, and the
scrub Plymouth Rocks, like the Chinese,
will soon have to go"
WOOL AND MUTTON.
IN, ;-,,,,.,,,,o, sc =, ,.,,J ,+o,,l, . : -. I
is something for breeders TO keep
always uppermost in mind and yet it viii
not do to breed for the looms and spindles
alone, says the Montana Lire Stock Jonr-
nal: The English consume more mutton
than either beef or pork. while the Ameri-
can places mutton as third on his list of
edible flesh products. Once let mutton
become the staple article of food in Ameri-
can households as it is in Australia and
England, and we will breed as much for
the shambles as for the looms; and then
we shall have race of mutton monarchs'
here, Just as there are in the great south
continent Indeed, one magnificent terri
tory has millions of acres that will never
be valuable for any other purpose than
PASTORAL vocations; and as the sheep have
driven out the beef cattle from the rolling
cade mountains in Oregon and Washing
ton, they will do likewise here. 1t is
manifest destiny. Our sheep-breeders
must, if they would be successful in the
future, begin breeding with view to the
greatest possible profit and least amount OF
risk They must aim to produce a grade OF
sheep which will be in demand for mutton
in a season when a "cornered" market
. la.Y 49, as,f, IN, TO ho
leave little or no profit at shearing time.
A high grade staple of wool is good
thing to have and adds much to the ma
terial wealth Of any country, yet there is
always money in good fat mutton, more
especially during the winter months. Just
as no intelligent agriculturist will risk his
future upon one single crop of any staple
product so no intelligent breeder viii
sacrifice the carcass to the fleece One
must go in hand with the other.
PREPARING SOIL FOR SEEDING.
The depth to which the pillow should be
run depends on the character of the soil
and the kind of crop 10 be grown Wheat
and beans require deeper range of feed.
ing area than barley. The stifiest and
poorest soils generally need more working
than good land. Another point to be kept
In view is this, contradictory as the state
ment may seem; that while tillage loosen:
stiff soil, it has the opposite effect upor
naturally light and porous soil. Thi:
arises from the fact that sandy soil, by be.
ing frequently stirred, becomes finer and
finer in its grains or particles which rem
ders its density greater and porosity less
The harrow and clod crusher will have ar
important part to play in the farm opera
tions OF the next month or two. AM
roughness on the surface must be thor
oughly wrought down. 1t is impossible t
cover the seed satisfactorily with the sol
in lump masses while much of the plan
feeding ingredients are thus locked up
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