Hopkinsville Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1889-1918, 1901-10-29

l. K. Felch Tells Of Ills Early
Acquaintance With Several
Varieties of Fowls.


legitimately claim lineal descent
from the Plymouth rocks, for their
first0aDcestors were pure albino
products of the barred family.
81 In the winter of 1876, at Bangor,
Me-, Mr.. Frost exhibited the first
sixlWhite Plymouth Rocks. / was
judging the exhibition. He offered
to give me one of the trios; but in
stead of taking them, / advised him
to go on breeding them, telling him
1 did not see why the same law
that followed pigeons would not fol-
low albinism in fowls. knew white
from Blue Rock pigeons mated to-
gether often breed white. This he
concluded to do, and bred them UNI
der the name of "Dirigos. " Others
secured them, and by some they
were called, "Snowhakes" for a
time; but when adopted by the
American Poultry Association they
went into the Standard as "White
plymouth Rocks.
They were less troubled with
feathered shaks during their early
days than their blue ancestors.
Like all albinos, they seemed to
lack the hardness of the colored
birds, and fluctuated in their hold
upon the breeders, so that their
classes in our exhibitions were
never large ones. This condition
has been influenced much by the
prevailing belief that all white
breeds are less hardy than the col
ored ones, but since the White
Wyandottes-a seemingly hardy
white variety-have become so pop
ular that prejudice is dying out,
the White Rock variety has taken
on new life, and to-day we find the
breed regaining the favor of the
fanciers.
From the day these first albinos
were shown.u up to 1890 and 81,
they passed a varied existence, un-
der many adverse circumstances
and a strife for general acceptance
when at the Indianapolis meeting
for that year they were placed on
the list of thoroughbred fowls; but
l can assure the public that never
in any exhibition for the twenty
FIVE years since their introduction,
has there been exhibited six birds
of this breed better in shape, in col
or, orzwith brighter orange legs
than those six,tat Bangor in the
winter of 1896.
During their early history the
most trying defects were blueish
green under theIscales in fore part
of the shanks and the white so prev.
alent in the earlobes; but all ex
hibits were held rigidly up to the
law for disqualification for white in
earlobes, and shanks other than
yellow, until by rigid selection the
race appeared in the color the
Standard demanded.
There were several attempts to
swallow them up under other
names. white Middlesex" was
one. Single comb white fowls with
smooth yellow shanks were thus
showed at Buffalo, but under that
head failed to be recognized.
1t will be noticed that the White
Rocks plodded along tor fourteen
years before they secured Standard
recognition. 1t matters not who
besides may claim their pro-
duction and introduction, to Mr..
Frost belongs the honor,
One cannot we'll write of them ex-
cluslvely, for the present product
is so closely connected with the
White Wyandottes that to give an
accurate history they must be ac-
knowledged as, in their present
form, an amalgamation of blood.
Notwithstanding the fact that the
White Rock antedated the White
Wyandotte ten full years, We see
that the White Wyandottes were
accepted and placed in our Stan
dard 1891 edition) the same year
as the Rocks. The White Wyan-
dotte was first brought to notice by
the Rev. Mr. Briggs, then living in
Ohio, some four years or more be-
fore they were accepted.
Their early history also was