Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1907-02-28
THE IDEAL FOWL.
II. N. Barker Describes How He Pro
ducad ornamental Rocks"

i
Editor Times Republicans:
| Being the recipient OF inquiries SIM
| liar to the enclosed card, and as you
people, with the best Of intentions, have
in the past, given space to articles
| appearing in the local papers, concern
| ing the writer and his products. and
on different occasions have sent me
sample" copies of your paper, 1T seems
no more than proper that the favor be
acknowledged. and hope that you may
not be abused or insuted by reading
some particulars concerning one OF
! these products.
| From boyhood up tie writer has
| been great admirer Of fine fowls OF
various kinds, but does think the hen"
should be a thing of profit as well as
a thing OF beauty; but sudden extreme
changes in climatic conditions as is
| experienced in northern Iowa, usually
drives the average "biddy" out of serv-
Ice during the more Indictment months
OF winter, for careful observation con-
vinces me that hens with frosted
combs, wattles or toes. will lay very
few eggs. If any at all, while Oh the
other hand, hens that are closely con-
victims to some disease. A half cen-
fury residence in northern Iowa has
proven to the writer that fresh eggs
during winter months, the weather
zero or below, are quite a treat, and
seldom met with; and while there are
very many varieties of hens that will
lay we'll during the spring and sum
mer; but after years OF careful OBJ
servation did incline more favorably
toward the barred Plymouth Rocks.
and the brown Leghorn varieties, both
! kinds universally noted for their large
and snowy combs and wattles, with
noted absence of feathers on legs and
feet, and did my best to obtain the
best strains and keep them So of these
two breeds; with the result that 1T was
soon evident that very marked differ
ences existed between the two breeds.
The Rocks made an ideal fowl for the
table, either as fries" when young
or baked" when full grown, while they
We're very good layers, with eggs per-
ceptibly larger than many other var
ieties Of fowls. and the "Leghorns,"
tho a much smaller fowl in size, in
laying proclivities, for exceeded the
Rocks" but their eggs, like their
bodies, were not nearly SO large. And
thus it seemed that for general pur-
poses these two kinds were about as
near the ideal" fowlas could be gound,
but when the sudden changes of a Sc
we're winter came on. the writer was
grieved to see many of his finest
speciments or both Rocks" and Leg
horns" suffering with frozen, combs,
wattles and toes, some even died, so
badly were they swelled that they ate
with great difficulty. Then did 1t oc-
cur to the writer that IL such q thing
was possible, fowl clothed in feath-
ers from beak to toes, as were the great
northern white owls, of which several
had failed victims to the writer's
craftsmanship in years gone by. AS
1t seemed that II hens could embody
these particular traits they could surely
withstand any sudden climatic changes,
and If properly fed would In measure
respond with fresh eggs even tho many
degrees below zero weather, ana blow
,nr storms should surround them.
With this thought In view, guided by
all the practical common sense the
writer had, he went to work with the
result that he now has the very birds
he had conjectured could so we'll stand
the severe cold of an Iowa winter. Not
only the fowl has he, but for nearly a
decade OF years he has had fresh eggs
to use and to sell, each winter no mat
ter what the thermometer registered,
which all simply proves how the feath-
cred world will respond to careful Sc
lection and careful crossings but to
bore you with something that would be
of very little interest is not the intent
OF this note, yet to take one fowl with
a "topknot," a second with feathers
or wattles, third with very small
comb. and a fourth with feet full feath-
cred, and produce a fowl having all
these traits, is a proposition that the
average amateur or novice would
promptly pronounce an impossibility.
H H. BARKER,
ROWAN, Iowa.
Indiana Tests Oats.
A. T. wiancko, agriculturist Of the
Indiana experiment station. has made
known the results of the oats variety
ltests conducted last year. including the