permaculture

["Lawrence F. London, Jr." <lflj@bellsouth.net>]

http://www.boingboing.net/2008/10/12/plymouth-rock-monthl.html
Boing Boing - A directory of wonderful things
Plymouth Rock Monthly -- old magazine for chicken aficionados
Posted by Mark Frauenfelder, October 12, 2008 6:57 PM | permalink
200810121852
As the proud owner of five Plymouth Barred Rock chicks, I was interested in 
this post on Homegrown Evolution
(http://www.homegrownevolution.com/) about a magazine called the Plymouth Rock Monthly, which had a circulation of 
40,000 in 1920. Maybe I should re-launch it with the goal of 200 subscribers.

    What magazine had 40,000 subscribers in 1920? Answer: the Plymouth Rock Monthly, a periodical devoted to our 
favorite chicken breed. We have two "production" Barred Plymouth Rocks in our small flock of four hens, and we've found 
them to be productive, friendly and, with their striped plumage, an attractive sight in our garden. While the internet 
is an amazing resource for the urban homesteader, there are a few holes in this electronic web of knowledge. In short, 
would someone out there please get around to scanning and putting online the Plymouth Rock Monthly? All I can find are 
images of two covers lifted off of ebay.

    The February 1925 issue, at right, promises articles on, "Selecting and Packing Eggs for Hatching", a poetically 
titled essay, "The Things We Leave Undone", "Theory and Practice in Breeding Barred Color", "White Plymouth Rocks", "The 
Embargo on Poultry", and "Breeding White Rocks Satisfactorily". Incidentally, the Embargo article probably refers to a 
avian influenza outbreak of 1924-1925 that repeated in 1929 and 1983.

    By the 1950s interest in backyard and small farm flocks vastly decreased and the Plymouth Rock Club of America, the 
publisher of the Plymouth Rock Monthly, collapsed down to 200 members from a peak of 2,000. Thankfully, interest in 
keeping chickens is now on the rise again and an informative magzine, Backyard Poultry has been revived. Plymouth Rock 
fans can read an article about the breed in the latest issue of Backyard Poultry.

Plymouth Rock Monthly
http://www.homegrownevolution.com/2008/10/plymouth-rock-monthly.html
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