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UNITED STATES. OF AMERICA.

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Philosophy of Judging.

A MANUAL UPON THE SCORING OF HXHIBITION
FOWLS; INTENDED TO MEET THH WANTS OF
THE GHNERAL BREEDER AND THE
HXHIBITOR, AS WHLL AS THE
PROFHSSIONAL JUDGE,

SS \

he BY }
oer LCE AmYD Ef. S. RA BCOCK,
ILLUSTRATED BY

7? bes RY Ee

oer SOEYRIGHT Res.

NOV 16 1889

WASHINGTO™

(ING

1889,
W, D. PAGE, PUBLISHER AND PRINTER
FOST WAYNE, IND.

COPYRIGHT—1889. _

- D. PAGE.

All Rights Reserved.

i Rett

ot

PicPe ATOR Y= NOT ms.

The main objects of this book are outlined in the introduc-
tory chapter; the classes of readers whom it is designed to
help, are suggested by the sub-title.

The general breeder, though he has no intention of becom-
ing a professional poultry judge, certainly needs to understand
how to score his fowls. The score does not make the fowl—
the fowl makes the score—but the score does, to a large extent,
measure the pecuniary value of the fowl.

The breeder is constantly applied to for fowls scoring a given
number of points; and unless he understands how to score
them he must either send the birds out, hit or miss, which is a
very unsatisfactory proceeding, or hire an expert to score
them for him, which reduces his profits. If he can learn how
to do this himself he can thus save himself much trouble,

some annoyance and not a little expense.

The exhibitor needs to possess similar information in order
to properly select his fowls for exhibition. Unless he does he
may leave the highest scoring specimens at home, and though
really possessing birds that would enable him to win in the
exhibition, he is, through lack of the necessary information,

placed in a subordinate position. Of course he can hire an

expert to select his fowls, but this makes an expense that he
is often unwilling and sometimes unable to incur.

The book makes its own appeal to the professional judge ;
and, should its positions be adopted in practice and its reasons
be accepted as sound, it cannot fail to render judging much
more uniform and satisfactory throughout the country.

As the work is based upon the practical experience of a
judge who has for years been before the public, and has scored
thousands and thousands of fowls annually, the reader can
accept with a considerable degree of confidence the method of
scoring advocated in this volume.

There needs only to be added the sincere wish of the authors
that their aims may not fail and that the book may be of real

service to the breeder, the exhibitor and the poultry judge.

CHAPTER. 1:

INTRODUCTORY.

HILOSOPHY deals with laws, principles and reasons;
art, with the application of rules, regardless of the under-
lying principles. The philosophy of judging fowls is, therefore,
a statement of the correct laws upon which accurate judging is
based, an explanation of the reasons why certain “cuts” are
made for given defects, an attempt to get at the basic princi-
ples which should govern a judge in the poultry exhibition.
The American Standard of Perfection gives the rules of the
art of judging; the poultry judge in his work in the exhibition
room illustrates the application of those rules; but the philos-
ophy of judging goes deeper than either the Standard or the
work of the judge, for it furnishes the reason for each of his
acts in the application of the Standard to the fowls exhibited.
Correct, accurate and satisfactory judging of fowls requires
not only a knowledge of the art, but of the philosophy of
judging. The former is sometimes erroneous, always arbi-
trary; the latter is ever reasonable and just. It is possible
that correct awards may be made by one ignorant of the phil-
osophy of judging; he may follow some cast iron, inflexible
rule that really does justice; but until he understands the
principles upon which judging is based, until he is familiar
with its philosophy, he cannot know that he is correct and
cannot explain to others why he has given the score he has to
any specimen.

6 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING,

A philosophy of judging is, therefore, necessary, if accurate
and intelligent judging of fowls is desirable. If the principles
upon which judging is based are fully comprehended, we may
expect greater uniformity in the scores given by different
judges, and greater satisfaction in the awards; fewer com-
plaints will be heard and juster criticisms will be made:
wrangles will to a large extent cease to disgrace the poultry
exhibition, and disagreements will be settled by a reference to
plain and reasonable principles.

The object of this work is to supply the need of a collection
of principles upon which poultry judging can be intelligently
conducted. Viewed in its true light it is a commentary upon
the Standard, serving to explain the reasons upon which it is
based, and pointing out, where such is the case, any departure
from true principles in that work. Its aim is to collect and
collate principles, to explain rules, and to shed light in dark
places. It is hoped that it will prove valuable alike to the
poultry judge, the poultry breeder, and the poultry Standard
maker. ;

The principles upon which a Standard is based are not arbi-
trary but natural, are not made but discovered. Only violation
of principles is arbitrary. To discover true principles one must
go to nature; must of her take lessons; must consult her in
her varied developments. Whenever one deserts nature there
is danger of violating principle, of becoming arbitrary and
unreasonable, and at last of becoming extremely absurd. To
use a figure of speech, borrowed from one of the learned pro-
fessions, we may say that nature is the constitutional law, the
Standard the statute law of poultrydom. To the former the
latter must bend. If the statute law, in any of its provisions,
is in conflict with the constitution, it is to that extent null and
void. It may remain on the book, but when brought before
the proper tribunal, the Supreme Court, it is declared uncon-
stitutional and, therefore, of no effect. In the same way an
arbitrary, unnatural and absurd requirement in the Standard

INTRODUCTORY. ri

of Perfection, coming into conflict with the higher law of
nature, will become nugatory and void. Nature, however, is
to be sought at her best, not at her worst or even her ordinary
developments. Only the best of nature will suffice for the
perfect of man. A standard tor a hundred point fowl must be
made from the.most perfect sections discoverable in nature,
fitly and harmoniously blended into one symmetrical whole. -
Better than this we can never expect to do; happy are we if
we do as well.

As the judge considers the statute law of the state, so the
poultry judge should consider the Standard and its application.
He should be perfectly unbiased, free from fear or favor, just,
impartial, knowing neither friend nor foe. His first concern is
what is the meaning of the Standard. This he is to gather
from the language of its descriptions, from the definitions of
its technical terms, and from the known intent ef its makers.
Oftentimes a statute, otherwise obscure, becomes perfectly
clear and intelligible when the intent of the legislators is
known. It sometimes happens, however, that the intent is so
obscure as to lend considerable force to the observation of an
acute lawyer, that in passing statutes legislators generally have
no intent. In such cases its meaning must be ascertained
from its own terms and from the common understanding of
those terms in the community. Another and very vital con-
sideration is, whether the requirements of the Standard are in
conflict with nature, and therefore nugatory and void. This is
a question to be decided only aiter due deliberation. The
Standard should be upheld if possible; its requirements should
be insisted upon if any reasonable explanation can bring them
into conformity with nature; the benefit of every doubt be-
longs to the Standard; but if, after all, there is a flat antag-
onism between the Standard and nature, if there is no possible
way to harmonize the two, then ought not the judge to uphold
the higher rather than the lower law, ought he not to decide

8 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

in favor of nature rather than of an arbitrary, unnatural and
perhaps absurd requirement ?

It would be well, if there were a tribunal, properly consti-
tuted, to determine differences of opinion as to the meaning
of the various requirements of the Standard, something which
would correspond in its action toward the Standard to the
Supreme Court of a state in its action upon the statute law of
that state. We, long ago, advocated such a tribunal to settle
differences of opinion among judges and thus secure a greater
uniformity in the interpretation of the Standard, and, as a
consequence, greater uniformity in the scores of fowls. We
do not despair of seeing such a tribunal eventually estab-
lished; it does not exceed the bounds of possibility that the
American Poultry Association will see its need and will create
such atribunal. That differences of opinion do exist is well
known; the poultry papers are filled with complaints of this
nature; and artists, by their illustrations, give additional evi-
dence upon this point. In the old Standard of Excellence the
back of a number of breeds is described as ‘‘Broad and flat at
the shoulders and of medium length; the saddle broad and
rising with a concave sweep to the tail.” In illustrating such
breeds, and so in pictorially interpreting this requirement of
the Standard, many artists have produced cuts in which the
cape, back and saddle are all taken in this ‘concave sweep,”’
the concave line extending from the neck to the tail without
break or interruption, and no flatness of the back is indicated ;
and yet these cuts are claimed as life-like, in some cases as
actual portraits, and true interpretations of the requirement
above quoted. Butdo such cuts give a true interpretation of
the requirement? Oughta poultry judge to be influenced by
them? Was such the intention of the framers of the Stand-
ard? Is this in accordance with the requirements of nature ?
Do not the fowls, as a matter of fact and of common observa-
tion, have a back which appears flat across the shoulders,
slopes downward to the saddle, and rises with the saddle in a

INTRODUCTORY. 8)

concave sweep until the tail is reached? And if such is the
case, are not the illustrations wrong, and as interpretations of
the Standard in conflict with nature and presumably with the
Standard makers? These illustrations do influence some
judges in making their awards, .but ought they to exercise
such an influence? And until there is established a com-
petent and authoritative tribunal to settle such points of
difference, how can we hope to secure perfect uniformity in
judging ?

In this work we expect to show cuts that are made from a
careful study of living specimens, that will be, indeed, ideal
cuts, but at the same time in harmony with nature. Later we
shall give actual measurements of living specimens, showing
the proportions that exist between the different parts, and ex-
plaining more fully the true principles upon which all poultry
cuts should be made. We hope to not only justify the use of
natural, life-like, pictorial representations of fowls, but also to
prove that such representations are really more beautiful than
the misleading monstrosities that have perverted the taste and
blinded the judgment of judge and breeder throughout the
country. The artist has faithfully wrought out pictures that
ought to do much to correct the vitiated taste of the people
and to call us all back to sound reason, common sense, and a
purer ideal in poultry matters.

THe AvTHORS.

The subject of profile has been quite fully discussed in the
poultry journals of late, but as there are some who do not
fairly appreciate the difference between a profile view and the
view ordinarily shown in poultry pictures, I have made a
rough sketch indicating the principal points of variation. The
profile is the same as the profile of ‘‘ Mainspring No. 6565” in
the body of this work, while the dotted lines represent the dit-
ference in contour in a quartering view below the eye—the

10

a Oe

PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

[ This sketch also shows our method of measurement. |

INTRODUCTORY. 11

view most frequently given in pictures, the artist’s aim being
usually to represent the fowls as one would see them standing
in their own yards. A quartering view shows to a greater or
less extent the width of breast, hence the outline of breast has
a more forward sweep; but when the fowl is below the eye the
breast also appears to hang somewhat lower than in a profile
view. For these reasons, those who have not carefully studied
the subject will consider our profiles too scant in breast. Below
the eye the width of the back is also shown to some extent,
thus changing its contour. There are numerous other changes
also, some of which I have outlined while others are too slight
to be thus exhibited.

Most fanciers have in their mind’s eye an idea of what a
fowl] should look like in a picture; this ideal is produced there
by the pictures they have seen rather than by the fowls they
have seen. Hence it became necessary in the profile move-
ment to continually urge fanciers to go to their fowls and study
them; and I must here repeat the request—study nature. We
must get our ideals from her and we must make our Standards
by her guidance, not by our whims. The ideal that is ‘‘twenty-
five per cent. better than nature” is a fraud—a delusion.

Referring to the pictures in the body of this work: Ina
strictly profile view only one leg would be shown, but it has,
for various artistic and other reasons, been deemed advisable
to show both legs. In those cases where the fowl is repre-
sented as standing with one foot raised, the length of the
thigh shown is the proper length and not the shortened view
that would naturally result from such an attitude. The shape
of all other portions of the fowl—the body, neck, tail, etc.,—is
profile view as we interpret it for the various breeds. Our
study has been Nature and the Standard. We hope our work
may be found of practical value; we do not claim each picture
is faultless.

THe ARTIST.

C PAP EER is

PROFILE.

bot the thirteenth annual meeting of the American Poul-
try Association, held at Indianapolis, Indiana, Janu-
ary, 1888, a new principle was introduced into the Standard, a
principle which has been productive of much discussion and
no little warmth of feeling, and which has received various
interpretations. At its fourteenth annual meeting held in
Buffalo, New York, January, 1889, after a vigorous discussion,
and after one thousand copies of the Standard of Perfection
had been printed, embodying this principle, the American
Poultry Association reconsidered its action at Indianapolis,
and removed profiles from the Standard. We believe this
action was injudicious and really set back the hands on the
dial of progress. The principle, however, will survive, and
the time will come when the American Poultry Association
will regret this, its latest action. Evidence of the value of pro-
file is not wanting and of its survival of the action of the
American Poultry Association. Specialty clubs, whose object
is to encourage, foster and develop some variety or breed of
fowls, have already been formed, and some, at least, of these
have adopted profiles as a guide to the training of the eye and
the development of the tase for the perfection of form in those
breeds. But outside of these clubs, and outside of the mem-
bership of the American Poultry Association, there are hun-
dreds and thousands of breeders who recognize the value of
profiles and who will eventually create a sentiment for the

14 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

issuing of them in the Standard that will admit of no denial.

“Truth crushed to earth shall rise again;
The eternal years of God are hers;

But error, wounded, writhes with pain,
And dies among his worshippers.”’

This now historical resolution was introduced by Mr. P. H.
Scudder, and in its amended form was in these words :

‘““T move that the chair be empowered to add to each of the present
committees, detailed for the purpose of revising the Standard, two or
three breeders from those here assembled; that each augmented coim-
mittee be empowered to select from such ideal outlines as nay be
offered a composite or single outline that shall be the typical repre-
sentative outline of the breed in charge of the committee ; also, that
committees raise funds for the purpose of procuring such outlines.”

What is profile ? In an article by the mover of this resolu-
tion, profile is clearly defined, and we cannot do better than to
quote from that article, Mr. Scudder’s definition: ‘‘A perfect
profile, in other words a profile as sharp and distinct as a view
of half an orange, admits in the case of fow] illustrations of
but one point of view, a point of view on a line drawn at right
angle to the meridian line of the bird under inspection, or at
right angle to a line that would split the beak, head, comb,
neck, body and tail of the bird into two equal portions.” This
definition Mr. Scudder has enforced with such logical clearness
that it leaves no chance for doubt as to what was his under-
standing of the meaning of the term, whatever may have been
his intention as to its application in judging. The point of
view is correctly taken, for, as he says, ‘‘A profile drawing
gives us more square inches of delineated form than any other
possible drawing that is trve to life.” And more than that, it
is the view which exhibits more clearly than any other the
characteristics of the creature delineated, be it bird or beast or
man. It is the view selected by all artists in representing all
manner of live stock, horses, cattle, sheep, swine, as well as
poultry. Itis the one view by which any creature can-be

PROFILE. 15

most perfectly represented to the eye, and its true symmetry
be shown.

What is its relation to symmetry ? Considering this ques-
tion, independently of the action taken by the American
Poultry Association, there can be no grounds for dispute.
Symmetry, cousidered not as a section in the Standard’s scale
of points, but of itself, is a harmony of parts and proportion
where the various portions are fitly blended together, each
suited to the other and each heightening the effect of the
other. Symmetry is therefore an element, and an important
element of beauty, and is itself the product or result of per-
fection of the parts. All parts that are perfect in form and
perfectly united produce perfection of symmetry. Symmetry
has nothing to do with color, but is dependent upon form, a
product of perfection of form. Profile representing form, and
representing the largest and most perfect typical view of form,
is an important element of symmetry. It alone conveys’ a
very distinct idea of what symmetry is. Profile is therefore a
part, an essential and controling part of symmetry, but is not
the whole of symmetry.

Profile, considered in connection with the action taken at
Indianapolis, was defined, in the instructions to judges in re-
‘ference to its application in judging the section denominated
symmetry as follows: ‘‘In the application of this section the
profile outline of the different breeds should the guide so far
as the side view or profile is represented. All other defects in
shape found in the specimen shouid be considered under the
subdivision for shape in the section where the defect is | ocat-
ed,” a definition which, though perhaps slightly ambiguous,
fairly represents the intent of those who voted for profile
and symmetry at the Indianapolis meeting. We believe a
clearer and more exact definition might have been given, but
this was too much fora certain faction who, at Buffalo, secured
its repeal.

In introducing profile the American Poultry Association has

16 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

brought to the attention of breeders a far-reaching principle,
and one, which, if it had remained in the Standard, would
have been productive of important changes in judging, espec-
ially in the line of securing greater accuracy and uniformity,
for its influence would have been felt, not only in the section
of symmetry; but in all sections where form is considered. As
the profile would have represented the shape of the comb,
beak, head, wattles, earlobes, the sweep of the breast, the posi-
tion and carriage of the wing, the contour of the fluff, the
position and length of leg with appendages, the shape and
carriage of the tail with its sickles and coverts, the back with
the curving line of the cushion, and the arch of the neck,
when viewed from the side, it would have furnished a guide
to judging form in all of these sections. It would have repre-
sented to the eye of breeder and judge alike what must be
deemed perfection of form in these parts, so far as the form
can be considered from one point of view.

When the influence of profile is seen to thus extend not only
to symmetry but to all sections in which form must be con-
sidered; when it is known to be the interpreter of the written
descriptions of the configuration of the various parts of the
fowl, it at once becomes evident that the introduction of pro-
file outlines into the Standard was one of the most important
and far-reaching innovations ever made by the American
Poultry Association. The wisdom of its introducton was de-
pendent upon the perfection of its execution. Ii the profiles
were life-like, were in harmony with the anatomy and the
development of the fowls, were, as the resolution demanded,
“typical representative outlines of the breed,” they would
have worked good and only good to the poultry interests of the
land; but if, on the other hand, the profiles were unnatural,
were in conflict with the development of the fowls, were
merely ideals that had no likeness to anything in the heavens
above, the earth below and the waters under the earth, their
influence would have been pernicious and only ill could result

PROFILE. 1 a¢

from their adoption. We are not to condemn a good thing,

however, because it may be abused. We approve, and most
‘heartily approve of profiles, but we insist that their value

depends upon their correctness, that in the last analysis appeal

must be had to nature, and that the only profiles that can bea

benefit to the poultry interests, and of service to the breeder,

the exhibitor and the judge, are those which are produced
~ from a close and careful study of the fowls themselves.

How, then, ought profiles to be made?

They should be accurate, and accuracy can only be obtained
by the closest attention to all the details of a fowl. If one
could find that in any given breed the height of the fowl bore
a certain definite relation to its length, that the length of the
body had a fixed ratio to the length of the leg, if, indeed, the
various parts bore a certain fixed relation to each other, and if
that relation could be discovered and was representable in
mathematical terms, then the making of profiles could be
brought to very great accuracy. To determine whether any
such relations existed, and if they did exist what they were,
we made the following measurements :

PLYMOUTH ROCK MALES.
Noyt.

Height, from ground to top of comb, 25 inches; back, from
ground, 17 inches; keel, from ground, 7 inches; length of
shank, 5 inches; length from front of breast to rear of fluff, 12
inches; saddle-hangers beyond rear of fluff, 23 inches; from
fluff to a drop-line from the extreme rear of the tail, 5 inches ;
the top of the tail from the ground, 20 inches; the eye from
the tip of the beak, 2 inches; length of head and beak, across
the eye, 33 inches; front of breast, behind a drop-line from
the tip of the beak to the ground, | inch; eye, the bird stand-
ing squarely, was exactly over the nail on the middle toe.

No. 2.
Height, from ground to top of comb, 243 inches; back, from

2

1s PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

eround, 17 inches; keel, from ground, 63 inches; Jeneth of
shank, 5 inches; length; from front of breast to rear of fluff,
125 inches; neck, across under wattles, 4 inches; the eye, from
the tip of the beak, 2 inches; length of head and beak, across
the eye, 35 inches; front of breast, behind a drop-line from the
tip of the beak to the ground, 3 inch; eye, the bird standing
squarely, over the middle toe, near the point; the legs together,
a line from the back to the ground, along the line of the
shanks, divided breast, and fluff exactly in the middle.
No.3.

Height, from ground to top of comb, 24 inches; back, from
eround, 16 inches; keel, from eround, 65 inches; length of
shank, 5 inches; length, from front of breast to rear of fluff,
112 inches; saddle-hangers, beyond rear of fluff, 2 inches;
from fluff to a drop-line from the extreme rear of the tail, 43
inches; the eye, from the tip of the beak, 2 inches; length of
head and beak, across the eye, 3} inches; front of breast, be-
hind a drop-line from the tip of the beak to the ground, 1 inch.

No. 4.

Height, from ground to top of comb, 24 inches; back, from
eround, 15 inches; keel, from ground, 7 inches; length of
shank, 55 inches; length, from front of breast to rear of fluff,
13} inches; saddle-hangers, beyond rear of fluft, 2 inches;
from fluff to a drop-line from the extreme rear of the tail, 5
inches; the eye, from the tip of the beak, 2 inches; length of
head and beak, across the eye, 33 inches; front of breast, be-
hind a drop-line from the tip of the beak to the ground, 3 inch.

ING "5.2

Height, from ground to top of comb, 23 inches; back, from
ground, 15 inches; keel, from ground, 7 inches; length of
shank, 5 inches; length from front of breast to rear of fluff, 18
inches; saddle-hangers, beyond rear of fluff, 2 inches; from
fluff to a drop-line from the extreme rear of the tail, 45 inches;
the eye, from the tip of the beak, 1? inches; length of head

PROFILE. 19

and beak, across the eye, 3 inches; front of breast, behind a
drop-line from the tip of the beak to to the ground, 4 inch.
ING. 6:

Height, from ground to top of comb, 25 inches ; back, from
ground, 16 inches; keel, from ground, 73 inches; leneth ot
shank, 53 inches; lene from front oF breast to rear of fluff,
123 inches; saddle- Renoore beyond rear of fluff, 2} inches;
from fluff to a drop-line from the extreme rear of he tail, 43
inches; the eye, from the tip of the beak, 2 inches; lone ot
head aiid beak, across the eye, 34 inches; front of breast, be-
hind a drop- ine from the tip of the beak to the ground, 4 inch.

The above were were all prime specimens, the last three
being exceedingly well developed in breast and muscle. They
were placed in an upright, alert, natural position in order to
obtain measurements that would be of value. The better to
compare these measurements, we have tabulated the speci-
mens together, as follows:

SPECIMENS. | 1 Be eae Ie NRG
Plemht eGnamelies) . .. so. 'l) BS 243| 24 | 24 | 23 | 25
Back rony sround:< lst y sea. ee, FAVE: ts" | ASR Ae
Keel, from ground COs le Ga) eo) gale ae
Bias emetN Ola. bow se e J) oO |B i 5) OAl- oo4
Body and fluff, length of . . . . || 12 125 | Lis) 1Sh13 |) ee
maddleshaneerg.. ws ee) a x 24 BN Des Pealy $Oe
eee Ola) oe <5 SY Mie Bae, 5 z| 5 | 48} 42
Bye, mona 4ip.ot benle,, 3 gc i Qe ve) 9 | 2 Ue Oa
Length of head and beak. . . . Oo), oe] OF Sal os Oe
Front of breast behind beak . . 1 x; 1 4 3 4

|

20 PHILOSOPHY CF JUDGING.

The average of the above six specimens is given in the fol-
lowing table:

bei hit) 5 pete 5 Se PRR oe PEGs ae
RCE eS ne. a Bytes at ee cepa en ns cubes eee

12) gM ee erage rig. Rat ract linea cach Sen ae A By 8)
DMM KT yo gh.s cee RN cs ceed “2 (pene te eeA arena eli
Bod yan Muwihy. se Were ee ele ee eee ee are ea)
Suddleshaneers® a. ei tent ose Sse oe kel
CALTON Pale aol see nehee he ene oer) ge ee ee
Eye, from tip of beak .. . 1.96
Length of head and beak .. . Pat oes 72 5)
Breast cbc mG ealaes. «Si vat tas youd aatactre cre OA

This last table may be said to give pretty accurately the
measurement of a really first-class Plymouth Rock. Made, as
it is, from rehable data procured from the actual measurement
of high scoring specimens, its dimensions and proportions are
such, or nearly such as should appear in any profile drawing
that can be said to be hfe-lke, natural and typical of the
variety. It is important to note, however, that, though in
every instance the extreme point of the breast fell behind a line
dropping perpendicularly from the point of the beak to the
ground, from a half inch to an inch, in specimens remarkable
for the fullness of the development of their breasts, the speci-
mens appear to have their breasts curve out beyond the point
they actually reach; and to give the specimens the full benefit
oi this appearance, we have have, in our profile drawings,
represented the breasts in their convex curves to reach a line
falling perpendicularly from the tip of the beak to the ground.
Such latitude of drawing is admissible, for it represents the
appearance to the eye and gives the specimen the full benefit
of the greatest breast development, a point of excellence in
breeding stock that deserves encouragement.

Referring again to our table of measurements of Plymouth
Rock males, we find that a specimen that measures 24} inches

PROFILE. 21

in height will measnre 16 inches to the centre of his back, or
in other words that the height is to the height of the back as
3 is to 2. This then is one ratio that is pretty nearly accurate.
Again, we find that the specimen which measures 24} inches
in height measures 123 inches from the front of the breast to
the rear of the fluff, or that the ratio between the height and
the length is represented, nearly as 2 is to 1. Again, if we
compare the height of the centre of the back with the length
of the body we find that the average is 16 to 125, or in round
numbers as 4 is to 3. The keels average about 7 inches from
the ground, and are about 7% of the height of the back so that
in a representation the depth of the body from the center of
the back to the keel would be represented by 9, while the space
between the keel and the ground would be represented by 7.
The extreme end of the tail reaches about 42 inches beyond
the fluff, and not, as is so frequently represented, extending
not more than half or three-fourths of the requisite distance.
Between the shortest and longest beak, measured from tip
to the eye, there was a variance of half an inch, and the
average varied from the shortest but a third of an inch, while
the average varied from the longest but one-sixth of an inch.
These averages and proportions are of the greatest value in
arriving at the true proportions of a Plymouth Rock profile.

For the same purpose, to determine what if any relations or
proportions existed between the various parts of a fowl, we
made the following measurements of Light Brahma males.
The proportion existing between the yarious parts will be
found to be quite similar to those which exist between the
same parts of Plymouth Rocks.

LIGHT BRAHMA MALES.
No. 1.

Height, from ground to top of comb, 25 inches: back, from
ground, 16; inches; keel, from ground, 7} inches: length of
shank, 53 inches; length from front of breast to rear of fluff,

29 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

14} inches; saddle-hangers beyond rear of fluff, 2} inches; from
fluff to a drop line from the extreme rear of the tail 5 inches;
the top of the tail from the ground, 21 inches; the eye from the
tip of the beak, 2 inches; length of head and beak, across the
eve, 34 inches; front of breast, behind a drop line from the tip
of the beak to the ground, ? inch. This specimen was
remarkable for development of breast and tail.
No. 2.

Height, from ground to top of comb, 26 inches; back, from
ground, 16 inches; keel, from ground, 83 inches; length of
shank, 55 inches; length from front of breast to rear of fluff, 13
inches; saddle-hangers beyond rear of fluff, 2 inches; from fluff
to a drop line from the extreme rear of the tail, 5 inches; the
eye from the tip of the beak, 2 inches; length of head and
beak, across the eye, 3} inches; front of breast behind a drop
line from the tip of the beak to the ground, 4 inch; eye, the
bird standing squarely, was over the tip of the middle toe.
This specimen was exhibited at Boston, in 1887, and was the
fullest breasted one in his class. |

No. 3.

Height, from ground to top of comb, 27 inches; back, from
ground, 17 inches; keel, from ground, 8 inches; length of shank,
5} inches; length from front of breast to rear of fluff, 14%
inches; saddle-hangers beyond rear of fluff, 2} inches; from
fluff to a drop line from the extreme rear of the tail, 5 inches;
the top of the tail from the ground, 22 inches; the eye, from
the tip of the beak, 2} inches; length of head and beak, across
the eye, 3? inches; front of breast behind a drop line from the
tip of the beak to the ground, 1 inch; eye, the bird standing
squarely, was over the tip of the middle toe.

PROFILE. 20
Tabulating these specimens, we have the following:
SPECIMENS. | 1 | 2 33
Height, (in inches) 25 26 27
Back, from ground . 164 | 16 18
Keel, from ground ... 1% 83 8
Shank, length of . 53 D3 53
Body and fluff, length of 14; | 18 143
Saddle-hangers . . 24 2 Ze
ear On Gall ssar ers 5 5 5
Eye, from tip of beak 2 2 a
Length of head and beak . 3% 34 ot
Front of breast, behind beak 3 D 1
The average of the above three specimens is given in the

following table:
Beets 25k
Back
Keel
Sms ee! rs
Body and fluff .
sSaddle-hangers
Rear of tail . . .
Eye, from tip of beak

Length of head and beak . .

Breast, behind beak .

A ig

0S
3.90

iS)

bo

a5

By uniting the two tables of average we have the following

for ready reference :

Height.
Back .-.
Keel .

P. ROCK.

. 24.25 .

sl:
6.96 -

L. BRAHMA.
205
- 16.75

8.

24 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

Saibke s Sei i see et ag oe OI eee See
Body anceMil sie cde Ps TZ Oe ee
sadclesbaneers: ss 2 45 4. BAD ee ees
Reqreor tase hs te tae CAS bee eee
Eye, from tip of beak . 96 «oe = Ses

Length of head and beak DBO! ce hes tamer ORO
Breasts bebimuvpeale = = lamas GaGi ace eae eee

The most cursory examination of the above table shows the
~great similarity in the structure of the breeds, and especially
in the proportion of the parts The greater height of the
Brahma is balanced by the greater length of the body and of
the shank, anc the greater distance of the keel from the
ground. <A nice calculation will show, however, slight but im-
portant differences, especially in a slightly fuller development
of breast and a slightly greater depth cf body in comparison
with the height in Plymouth Rocks, the details of which itis
not here necessary tc enter upon, as the averages speak for
themselves, and every reader can make the necessary mathe-
matical calculations. Our purpose has been to show one of
the means of arriving at correct iilustrations of profile, and one
which we have followed in making our life-like outlines.
3ut the profiles ought not only to be accurate but they ought
to exhibit in every detail the highest degree of pertection pro-
duced by nature. It is not sufficient to give a portrait of a 95
point bird, for the profiles ought to exhibit a bird that can
score 100 points. How are we to obtain this perfection, and
at the same time not depart from nature? Were we to take a
stand at a horse fair and have one thousand Percheron horses
pass in review before us, would it not be strange if in that
number there was not one, which, by his superb carriage, well
knit limbs, beautiful proportions, and well developed muscles,
would prove nore attractive than all the others? Would not
such a horse when accurately portrayed, make a_ profile suffi-
ciently good to judge the other nine hundred and ninety nine
by? And if upon close inspection, we discovered that in one

PROFILE. 25

or two minor sections—if there be such a thing as minor sec-
tions _—he was inferior to some of those present, and we added
to his portrait the perfections which he lacked, would not such
a portrait make a profile sufficiently severe to judge not only
the one thousand, but ten thousand or a hundred thousand
Percheron horses by ? Were we to make profiles by which to
judge Percheron horses would we not do this very thing; go to
nature, study the Percheron horse as it is, and from the devel-
opments as we found them make our profiles ? Or take another
example. If we were to make a profile by which to judge all
oak leaves, would we not make a study of oak leaves as they
are produced, and from this study, selecting one excellence
here and another there and combining them into one whole
thus make a profile by which all oak leaves could be judged ?
And ought we not to do the same thing in making profiles of
fowls? Ought we not to study them? Just as we studied
the Percheron horse rather than the works written about them
by horsemen, just as we studied the oak leaves rather than
treatises on botany, so we ought to study fowls rather than
books about them in order to make profiles by which the fowls
can be judged. And as in the case of the horses and the leaves
we took what we found, not what our imaginations might have
created, as we selected excellences, but only such as nature
developed, so in making our profiles of fowls, we found the
best breast nature made, the best head, the best neck, the best
back, the best tail, the best body and the best leg, and com-
bined them into one whole tostand asthe symbol of perfection
in profile. We select and we combine the best that nature
produces, but we do not outrage nature by seeking what we
might vainly desire her to produce. Our combination may be
more perfect than nature herself produces, but every element
in it we have taken from nature and are therefore justified
in using. To such a profile it is possible for a small percentage
of our fowls to approximate; they seldom and probably never
can fully reach it; beyond it it is impossible for them to go.

26 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

But as some can reach it in one part, and some in another,
they taken collectively may equal it, though singly each will
fall short of it. Such a profile gives a perfect measure, and a
just and reasonable one, to apply to the fowls themselves in
arriving at a just estimate of their value.

What use, then, ought we to make of profile in judging
fowls? We offer it as a measure of value. Just as the mer-
chant uses his yard-stick to enable him to give you your
complement of cloth, just as the farmer uses his bushel-basket
to ascertain the quantity of potatoes he is selling, just so is
profile used as a means of ascertaining the correct shape and
proportions of the fowls which are judged by it. And as the
merchant doesn’t deduct part of the cloth because he measures
it with a yard-stick, and the farmer doesn’t withhold part of
the potatoes because he measures them in his basket, so no
part of the score of a fowl ought to be withheld because it is
measured by profile. Used in this way, as a measure, a guide, a
help, and, if the breeder desires, as an ideal to breed to, profile
outlines, made as we have described, so that they are “typical
representative outlines of the breed,” become of the greatest
possible value. Incorrectly made and incorrectly used, they
are simply a delusion and a snare.

NOTE.

In carrying out the principles advocated in this chapter, in
order to make the profiles typical and life-like and yet ideally
correct, Mr. Feleh has made a special study of the following
birds: The Partridge and White Cochins of George W. Mitch-
ell; the White Leghorn cock and hen of Knapp Bros.; the
Langshan cockerel and pullet of E. P. Kirby; the sweepstake
pen of Minorcas of Willard Knapp; all first and special prize
winners at Buffalo’s immense exhibition; the Crystal Palace
Langshan winners of J. R. Pope; the first prize Buff Cochin
cockerel and pullet at Newburg, N. Y., belonging to W. F. M.
Sinith; the Dark Brahmas of R. B. S. Hart, winners of the

PROFILE. oN

first prizes at Providence, R. I.; A. F. 8. Lyon’s White Wyan-
dotte cockerel, Storm King, and his mates, winners of first
prizes at Meriden and elsewhere; also, the grand Plymouth
Rocks of A. A. Anderson, of Boone, Iowa. As none of these
birds score less than 943 points, and some as high as 974
points, but a trifling change in their profiles is needed to
produce the profile of an absolutely perfect bird. And as
the change is so slight the profiles, though not intended as
portraits, will serve to indicate fairly well the characteristics
of these excellent birds. Our illustrations are, therefore,
ideal, but an ideal founded upon nature, not the mere fruit
of free imagination, and, as such, we believe them thoroughly
adapted to the use of judging.

BAVA W)
ANd
x‘

\ ‘ A\
rat _ »
aN

Fi

CHAPTER ELE.

SYMMETRY.

GIN the previous chapter we pointed out what symmetry, con-
sidered in and of itself, is; that it is really a resultant of the
union of the various parts of the fowl, a product of form.
Perfection of parts, fitly joined, make perfection of symmetry.
One has said that “symmetry is to fowls what varnish is to
furniture—it puts the polish on,” but it would have been more
correct to have said that “symmetry is to fowls what the polish
is to turniture—it is the result of the varnish which has been
put on.”

In this chapter we consider Symmetry as a section in the
Seale of Points in the Standard.

Much confusion has arisen from these two ideas of symme-
try, and for a portion of this confusion the AMERICAN POULTRY
Assocration and the American Standard of Excellence are respon-
sible. The first division for Standard use and for Score Cards
was a four fold one, the sections being Symmetry, Color, Size
and Condition. Under Symmetry the whole of form was con-
sidered: under Color, all relating to color; under Size the appar-
ent size of the specimen ; and under Condition its condition at
the time of exhibition. The scale then figured but fifteen
points, and when it was raised to one hundred points, an in-
consistency was introduced. Symmetry, which had been synon-
omous with form, and was, indeed, the whole of form, was
subdivided, but instead of using, as logically and historically

30 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

it ought to have been used, the whole of symmetry in the sub-
divisions of form, a portion was retained as the result of form.
The earliest was the most consistent score care, for it dealt
with qualities, and conditious, not the result of qualities. It
had form, color, size and condition in a mass, and really those
are the only tangible qualities we can find in our fowls. When
the subdivision was made those four fundamental qualities
ought to have been all that could have been found in the score
card or the Scale of Points. But the Association, consciously or
unconsciously, did something beside subdividing, they intro-
duced an entirely new factor, so that in the Scale of Points are
now to be found five fundamentals instead of four, Form; the
Result or Product of Form, called Symmetry; Color; Size;
and Condition. The Result or Product of Form is an inter-
loper; it does not belong in a scale which attempts to deal only
with the tangible qualities to be found in a fowl. Because it
Was once used as synonomous with a tangible quality, it has
been retained and become synonomous with an intangible
quality, and between its former and its latter definition it has
been a iertile producer of dissension, an unjust element in
scoring, a means of concealing ignorance or fraud, and alto-
gether an unmitigated nuisance. These may seem like strong
words, but those who are familiarly acquainted with the exhi-
bition room will bear witness that they are true.

The objections to Symmetry as a section in the Scale of Points
as a cutting power in the Standard, are, first of all, that it is
impossible to define in words with sufficient accuracy for prac-
tical use an indefinite result of the combination of qualities.
Some sort of a definition can be made—we have attempted it—
but it is not and can not be made sufficiently accurate, fixed
and inflexible to afford a satisfactory result in scoring.

Again, its flexibility, its difficulty of close fixed definition or
description, renders it an easy cover for the ignorance of one
and the fraud of another judge. Upon the tangible qualities
the judge can be held to account for any marked departure

SyMMETRY. 31

from the definition or description, but upon this intangible
something, as unsubstantial as the fabric of a dream, he can
not be held to an account. His cut may be one point,—we
have heard it said that some judges mark their cards one out
in symmetry before leaving the Secretary's office, to save time,
—or it may be more or less, and his only answer is that he
deems it a just cut. In aclose score he can give, if so disposed,
the advantage to the inferior fowl and defraud the better bird
of the deserved prize.

Again, it renders the score card unintelligible to the exhib-
itor. He can understand a cut for form or color, for weight or
condition, but for Symmetry he can not, and as he puzzles over
his score card he is none the wiser for the out on Symmetry.

And still again, as usually applied, Symmetry results in a
double cut for the same defect, and the score of the fowl is
thus actually lowered beyond what it ought to be by the full
amount of the loss on symmetry. Te be sure, there are two
ways of obviating this difficulty; one by confining the cut for
defect in form, either to the place where it is located or to
Symmetry alone, and the other by makinga nice mathematical
calculation of the percentage that the total amounts jor form
bear to the whole number oi points cut for form, and then
deducting this percentage from the eight or ten points allowed
for Symmetry. But both of these methods are such as to
render the score unintelligible or to consume so much time as
to prohibit their use. As a matter of fact they are seldom
used, and never satisfactorily, and they make two bites at the
cherry instead of taking it at one. The general, asthe most
popular method, is to cut at once for Symmetry even though it
results in an unjust double cut.

So long as Symmetry remains in the Scale of Points, however
much injustice it may work and however severely it may be
condemned, it must be considered by the judge in scoring the
fowl.

In applying this section, in the absence of a profile, the

32 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

judge should force the specimen into a natural and typical
position for the breed, and then compare the fowl, with the
ideal profile he has in his mind of a perfect specimen of the
breed, taking into consideration also the views presented from
different positions so as to include the harmony of all the
parts taken as a whole. His ‘deal has supplanted the profile,
as well as the picture of the fowl from different positions.
With this mental picture he compares the fowl, noting care-
fully the points of difference between the two. It will seldom
or never happen that the fowl and the mental picture will
coincide in all particulars. There will doubtless be in each
case Many agreements and some differences. The neck may
be less arched, the breast have less fulness, the back follow
different lines, the tail have a different carriage, or some other
divergence from the lines of the mental picture be present.
The differences are to be collected and the sum total of them
to be calculated as a percentage of difference from the sup-
posed perfect mental picture. Whatever this percentage may
be, it should be deducted from the whole number of points
allotted to Symmetry in the Scale of Points. In doing this the
judge will often be surprised to find the frequency with which
1 is maiked on the “out” column against Symmetry. As 8
points is the value given to Symmetry in nearly all the Seales,
and as very few birds are exhibited which are not reasonably
good in Symmetry, the cut of 1 point, being a cut of 125 per
cent., will be found just in nineteen out of twenty cases. Even
when the birds are quite different in their detects, as when
one is too long in back, another too short in leg, and another
with faulty carriage of the tail, the effect on Symmetry may be
the same and all deserve the same cut. As few people under-
stand this matter, and as they see the birds differing in form
but suffering the same cut, it seems to them a matter of sur-
prise, and judges are frequently made the object of cheap
witticisms and pointless jokes, due to the ignorance of the
would-be facetious persons.

SYMMETRY. ae

There may be departure from the mental picture which
ought not to be cut by the judge. The mental picture should
not be considered alone, but should be construed with the
authoritative written description of the breed, and any charac-
teristic which is specially valuable in a breeding fowl, and
which is indicated in the written description, even though it
produces a departure from the mental picture, should pass un-
cut. For example, such a fulness of breast and roundness of
quarters as would surpass the mental picture, being a quality
that enhances the value of the bird in the breeder’s yard, as
the fowls nearly always fail in that direction, and also being a
characteristic which would comply with the description,
“round, full and carried well forward,” is a departure from the
mental picture that deserves to pass uncut. Or, again, if the
neck of a specimen is more arched than in the mental picture
of the breed, and the written description calls for a ‘well
arched”’ neck, this would be an over-development which ‘in
the yard of the breeder would be productive of excellent
results and would add to the value of the specimen, and
because of these facts ought net to be cut. But where the
over-development can not be harmonized with the written
description, where it is something that breeders desire to avoid
and its presence detracts from the value of the bird as a stock
bird, there the over-development should be cut as a defect, the
amount of the cut, of course, proportioned to the degree of this
excess. For example, the back of the males in Brahmas and
-the American varieties—with the exception of the Javas—
must have a concave sweep to the saddle; the back, with the
cape from the neck to the saddle, must have a gentle down-
ward slope; the hackle, nearly or quite covering the cape,
allows this downward slope to show just enough to give an
idea of length to the back; and while an under-development
which does not permit the specimen to come up to the lines of
the mental picture is a defect, an over-development, which
makes the line of the saddle straight or destroys the concave

3

34 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

sweep of the back, because it changes the characteristics of the
breed and cannot be harmonized with the written description,
is a still greater defect and deserves a severer cut. In the
Cochins, nature demands a well developed cushion and a con-
vex sweep to the saddle, and in the females the abundant
plumage carries this convex sweep almost to the points of the
hackle. The words in the description of the male Cochin, “a
gentle convex curve to the tail,’ convey the same meaning,
that of an oval or rounded back and saddle. For years breed-
ers have labored to secure this development, and the breed has
responded to their efforts. If aCochin should exceed the con-
vex lines of the back and saddle in the mental picture, this
excess is not to be reckoned a defect, for it complies with the
written description, and corresponds with the natural charac-
teristics of the breed, it is a quality that is desired by the
fancier and desirable to the breeder. :

In other cases, over-development may be a defect, and yet
such a defect as to demand a light cut in comparison with its
departure from the mental picture. For example, in Plymouth
Rocks and Brahmas we desire the tail to be well spread at the
base, but all have seen specimens in which the tail was so
spread as to be a fault. While such an over-development
could scarcely be passed without some cut, yet as this is a
development in the right direction and as such a bird might
prove specially valuable in the breeding pen in correcting the
more serious defects of whip-tailed, narrow-saddled specimens,
it will be safe to err, if this be an error, on the side of too light
rather than too heavy a cut.

These are nice points, and cannot well be tabulated in a
series of values for each defect. The proper cut for each must
be determined by the judge in each case, giving a due consid-
eration to the effect upon the particular specimen under
examination. He is the best judge who can so regulate these
cuts as to do justice both to the appearance of the fowl and to
his value as a stock bird, who can so cut for detects as to pun-

SYMMETRY. By

eo |

ish all departures from the perfect development of the bird
and at the same time encourage the true characteristics of the
breed, even in those superlative efforts of nature from which
excessive development arises.

While we have thus discussed the application of Symmetry
as it will probably be applied so long as it remains a section in
the Seale of Points in the Standard, yet, as we believe at no
very distant period the anomaly of cutting the measure as well
as the thing measured will be removed from the Standard, we
shall strive to show a more excellent way of ascertaining the
value of symmetrical fowls.

CHAPTER IV.

THE DECIMAL SCALE.

HE Arabic system of notation, the system which has been
familiar to us all from our earliest initiation into the mys-
teries of numbers, proceeds by tens. The American system of
moneys is based upon a series of tens. When the French
savants would make a truly scientific system of measurements,
they fixed as their unit of length upon the metre, and upward
and downward from that reckoned by a series of tens. This,
the decimal system, is universally recognized as the most con-
venient ever devised. Easy of representation, easy of calcula-
tion, it presents a means of ascertaining distance, quantity and
value, that will never be surpassed. This same decimal sys-
tem we apply to our scale for ascertaining the score of fowls.
In order to avoid any appearance of infringement of the copy-
right of the American Poultry Association upon its Standard,
and because the principles of judging can be equally well illus-
trated whatever value is given to any scale or the sections of a
seale, and because we believe, for reasons soon to be given,
that this is the best possible scale, we have used in this work
a seale consisting of ten sections, €ach section having assigned
to it a uniform value of ten points, the whole amounting to

38 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.
one hundred points, and have called it, from the principles
upon which it is made,

THE DECIMAL SCALE.

Weecht-and Condition = 3 5.5 pane ee 0
Comb—Comb.and! Crest “<7... 03"... ser cee
Head—including Earlobes,*Wattles and Beard . 10

ING Ces coos Rs 5 ak nnn) RS ee tes epee atin tee a
Baeles ase se RPE ae Pk eS ph Re aces ee MD
IBrCastinerdey fo csuet 6 ee toes ha ade met) See J at oe ern)
body—ineludime the Wut G2. ae Se LO
ASE airstream ara icy ct 25-2 [icy hein agra Meme Verena ary U0)
SDE a, Siete sok oe ER Daca 6, CoN a: Sess ah pee IG

Legs and Feet—including Thighs, Shanks and
TROR Ss Sigs hades: ust a te mane: oo nel eo +c ah meee)
otalee: = vs arin soe sre OO

This Scale can be, and in its application should be, subdi-
vided into form and color, and an equal subdivision gives us
the following

DECIMAL SCALE:

Weight and Condition—Weight 5, Condition 5, . 10

Comb—and Crest. .. . Form 5, Color 5, . 10
Head, with adjuncts, . . Form 5, Color 5, . 10
NGG ati us ies et erie Ae oe HORM, Color 5, . 10
Back te oi tisie 6) tikes icgee ORI aD) Color 5, . 10
IBRCAR LE pels sma crepein ORI cor Color 5, . 10
BOGWAS hee cae Scat [oy Org, Color 5, . 10
WAMGR is “ones ee) Crue aes ORES, Color 5, . 10
Daily <ahes ee, 08, Beat Gu. ryemeo Orin. Color 5, . 10
Legs and Feet, ~.5°)<,-» Pormin; Color 5, . 10

Oth kes Sate OD. P 50 100

Under Form, is included of course the length, width, size,
outline, in fact all that goes into the configuration of the fowl;

THe Decrmal SCALE. 39

under Color the ground color, the markings, and all that
depends upon the color or colors that are found in the speci-
men.

The advantages of the Decimal over other Scales are numer-
ous. Among them, the first and most obvious is the ease with
which it can be applied. Each section being of equal value,
and each subdivision being one-half of the whole section, it is
not difficult to remember the Scale in its entirety. Where
varying values are given to the sections of a Seale the task of
remembering each would be great and with most men impos-
sible. As the percentage system is, and wisely, used ‘in
making “cuts” in the score, the ease with which these cuts
ean be made with the Decimal Scale is a strong recommenda-
tion. Ten per cent. of a section is one point; ten per cent of a
subdivision of a section is one-half point. But if we have 4, 6,
8, 10, 12, and the like for values of sections, and we cut ten
per cent. we get such fractions as ?, 3, 1, 14, and so on. Other
percentages are calculated with hke ease with the Decimal
Scale and with much greater difficulty with Seales in which
the sections vary in value.

Again,we have one Scale for all the breeds instead of a special
Seale for each breed or class. The result of this is that all
breeds enter the exhibition upon equal terms and no one breed
is handicapped by a specially unfavorable Seale. With Scales,
such as have been in vogue, made to fit the peculiarities of a
given breed, and a large number of points given to some one
or two sections in which these breeds are particularly excel-
lent, in all competitions for sweepstake prizes, the first prize is
mortgaged before hand to some one, or at least to one of some
two or three breeds, and all of the others are practically out of
the race.

This Scale, by giving equal value to each section, encourages
the breeding of the best ‘‘all round” fowl], instead of the
developement of some single section at the expense of all the
others. When a very large number of points is given to a

40 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

single feature, breeders direct all their efforts to the production
of that feature, and succeed, perhaps, in its remarkable de-
velopment at the ruin of the fowl as a whole. If 20 or 25
points were given to the face of a White-faced Black Spanish,
or to the comb of a Leghorn, or to the crest of a Polish, it
would not be many years before almost all the value a White-
faced Black Spanish possessed would be an enormous facial
development, or a Leghorn a splendid comb, or a Polish a
remarkable crest. The other characteristics would be lost
sight of, the breed be ruined for all purposes but to show its
face, its comb or its crest, and the value of such fowls would
rapidly sink below quotation. These are not merely imaginary
results. The experiment was tried on the White-faced Black
Spanish, and had not the Scale been reformed the breed would
have been utterly ruined. As it was, it suffered severely and
has yet not fully recovered from the disastrous effects of the
experiment.

The Decimal Scale is founded on the principle that perfec-
tion is perfection. No fowl is perfect that is not perfect in all
its parts. Perfection of all the parts is perfection of the
whole; imperfection of any single part is imperfection of the
whole. The aim of the breeder is to produce a perfect fowl.
If he fails in a single point, he fails altogether of attaining his
full purpose. So far as the accomplishment of his purpose is
concerned, one section is of as much importance as another
section. In estimating his suecess or tailure it becomes neces-
sary, therefore, to assign an equal value to each section. The
Decimal Scale recognizes these facts, and gives expression to
them. It is founded upon this great underlying purpose of the
breeder. It, and it alone, of all the Scales proposed for the
measurement of the values of fowls, fully recognizes this
principle.

Because the Decimal Seale is so easy of application, because
it applies uniformly to all breeds and enables them to compete
upon an equality, because it encourages the breeding of the

THe DErcIMAL SCALE. 4]

best fowls rather than the development of a single feature at
the expense of all the others, because it is founded upon
scientific principles and recognizes the great purpose of the
breeder, because, in a word, it is the only Scale that will do
exact justice to all breeds and all breeders, we believe that it
will eventually be adopted by the American Poultry Associa-
tion and will be applied to the judging of al! varieties of fowls.

In this Scale we have no place for Symmetry or Profile as a
section. We do not believe in ‘‘cutting’’? our measure when
we “cut” the fowl. But we shall make use of the profile
outlines in ascertaining the true meaning of the written
descriptions; we shall use them, in the only possible legiti-
mate way, as an illustrated definition of the words used in
describing the various parts or sections of the fowl; and we
shall, therefore, in the application of our Scale avoid all double
cuts and prevent all injustice in the scores of fowls. Where
the defect is located there it will be punished. If the breast is
faulty the ‘‘out”’ will be found against ‘‘ Breast”’ in the score-
card; if the back is misshapen it will be sufficient to look at
“Back” in the score-card. This Scale will, therefore, render
all score-cards lucid and intelligible. In it is no room for the
flexibility that Symmetry as a section possesses, no place for
ignorance to seek a cover and for fraud to hide its head. With
this Scale the judge must know his duty and must do it, and
this is as it should be. All honest poultry judges desire to be
held to the strict performance of their duty, and if there are
any dishonest judges you will find them hostile to the Decimal
Scale. Wedo not mean that all who oppose the Decimal Scale
are dishonest, but we do mean that all dishonest judges will
be likely to oppose the Decimal Scale. There may be honest
men in the opposition; all the dishonest will certainly be
found there; for this Scale means honest, fair, square, just
judging, and that is what dishonest men do not like.

Although the Decimal Scale departs in form from the Scales
used in the Standard, both in giving an equal number of

4? PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

points to all the sections and in eliminating the objectionable
section—Symmetry, yet we boldly claim that it is in strict
harmony with the plain intent of the makers of the Standard
and of the Standard itself. All Scales are but a means to an
end. The end proposed by the Standard is to ascertain the
true value of each specimen upon a perfect value of one
hundred. Double cuts were never intended to be made. The
true end is to ascertain, by deducting the value of all apparent
defects, the real value of the specimens scored. A Scale
which leads to a double deduction for any cefect is one that
fails to accomplish the purpose of the Standard... H, then, the
Decimal Seale avoids all double cuts and enables the judge to
ascertain the exact score of a fowl, and other Scales lead to
double cuts and thus produce a fictitious score, it is perfectly
obvious that the Decimal Scale is the only one which is in
harmony with the Standard. We assume that this position is
correct, and to illustrate its correctness we give a score of a
Light Brahma cockerel by the use of a Scale with Symmetry
as a section, and by use of the Decimal Scale.
Score by Scale with Symmetry as a section:

RSV AMAIA UTS as rasa. eS Soka rome ee, ct late coy Yespica eae se ens

Condition and weight . BE ee

Head esr wt oe no tae ee Si omene

Comb, side view all right but divisions crooked 2

Wattlesyamndseanlobesi. 7-0) tgs ee ae Se ee

Neck. too straight. color go00G susra) . = a. il
Back, astridle roached: lS sCOlOG na: 2 2 se ls
Breast, too flat . A Sana co ar 1
Body and thutive a Woe eel neem es
Wines, badvcolor ame tights seen a ae oy lh
Tail, shape good but white in sickles. .... 1
Legs and toes, middle'toe bare 2%... 1
Total<OUtss: <.Vajhs, date eee lel

SCOres. See ore a eee)

THE DECIMAL SCALE. 43

In this specimen we have a neck faulty 25 per cent.; back, 25
per cent.; breast, 20 per cent.; and as all these are of a nature
to affect the profile decidedly and markedly, we consider that
25 per cent. on Symmetry is a just cut.

The same bird scored by the Decimal Scale gives the follow-
ing result:

Weight and condition. ...:+---:
Geet ex. ters Baas a Se
Head withadjuncts .

Neck, (25 per cent..shape,.0).. = +. =," '-. +4 1}
Back, color, 4; shape, 25 per cent., fete ces eater bles
Breast, 20) per cent. shape. .°- 9: + ++" +: 1

BOE Wee (ys ies. oh se

Wings, bad color . te Dae Oe ST
AR a aaa et Fe Be Oar ture Micarna tee eyatean, HA ot
Legs and toes . 1

Motat Outs. ee a ee

eT ee aa aa des ee no-cost ee

Will any one, can any one, reasonably, claim that these
sections are not cut all that justice demands for the detects
mentioned? If, then, these defects are cut all that they
deserve, does not the fact that, under the old Seale, with Sym-
metry as a section, the bird can score but 89 points, and under
the Decimal Scale, with Symmetry left out, the bird scores 90
points, does not, we say, this fact prove that the bird has been
robbed of one point in its score to which it was justly entitled ?
And does not this fact further prove what we have long main-
tained, that Symmetry as a result claims honest admiration,
but Symmetry as a cutting power in the Standard is a thief and
a robber? Does not this fact prove that former Scales are
detective, and that for a perfect Seale, a just measure of the
value of a bird, we must have recourse to the Decimal Scale?
Does not this fact justify us in adopting in our work, especially

44 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

as in it we are dealing with the underlying principles of judg-
ing, the Seale which will give the fairest results? Does not this
fact, especially when taken into consideration with the other
important facts that the Decimal Scale can present in its behalf
and which we have imperfectly called attention to, prove that
the Scale we advocate is the one that. ought to be used in the
Standard, and that, as the people become more familiar with
the inequality of the working of other Scales, in time, and
perhaps not a very long time, will be universally adopted?
We leave the answer of these questions to the candid reader,
feeling’ confident that the facts will lead him to conclusions in
harmony with those that we entertain.

Bee wat 4 pi eos ee |

APPLICATION OF PRINCIPLES TO THE SCORING OF THE
DIFFERENT BREEDS.

ASIATICS.

GIN this, and in subsequent chapters, we shall consider the
application of principles to the scoring of the different
breeds of fowls. It will be unnecessary to consider all the
breeds in the Standard, but enough will be considered ‘to
discuss and illustrate the scoring of all. In the former chap-
ters we treated of the instruments to be used; in this we
discuss the use of those instruments.

We have, as instruments, the written description of the fow]
in the Standard; the profile plates, as a pictorial definition of
the written description; and the Decimal Scale by which we
estimate the value of each section.

A good mechanic must not only have good tools, but he
must know how to use them; a good poultry judge must not
only have a good Standard, but he must be familiar with its
contents; a correct profile, but he should understand the
anatomy and development of the different varieties of fowls;
a perfect scale, but he must understand its use. He should
have a good eye for figure and accurate knowledge of color.
Above all, he should have a good stock of common-sense—a
quality that is, it must be confessed, none too common. Any
one thus furnished, by the dilligent exercise of the faculties
he possesses, can become a good poultry judge.

46 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

In all editions of the Standard .of Excellence, the Asiaties
have held the first place; for patriotic reasons the American
class occupies that place in the Standard of Perfection. We
select the Asiatics to first treat of, because in that class we
have a great variety of types of form and color with which to
deal. In form there are no less than four distinct types, in
color still more. The Light Brahma presents one type, the
Dark Brahma—despite the vote of the thirteenth meeting of
the American Poultry Association—another; the Cochins a
third, and the Langshan a fourth.

While we are aware of the force of the argument that it is
unscientific to have two varieties of Brahmas with two types
of form; while we are ready to admit that all varieties of a
breed should be identical in form and differ only in color and
markings; while we agree with breeders like Mr. H. A. Mans-
field that the first mistake was in calling the Dark Brahmas
Brahmas at all, yet in our appeal to nature and in our dealing
with facts, we are obliged to confess that there is a difference
in the typical shape of the Light and Dark Brahma, and that
unless this is recognized, injustice will be done. As the Light
Brahma was the original breed, and as its shape has become
fixed by long years of breeding, no Light Brahma breeder
would consent to have his fowls brought to the Dark Brahma
type. And as the Dark Brahma in its origin possesses a
portion of Cochin blood, as its shape is intermediate between
the Light Brahmas and the Cochins, and as this shape has
become fixed by years of painstaking breeding by some of the
most eminent breeders in the land, no Dark Brahma breeder
will consent to adopt for his variety the type of the Light
Brahma. Here is a case where we believe the Standard
violates nature, and as nature is the supreme power, the
Standard will have to yield to its inexorable requirements.
What are the differences in form between the Light and Dark
Brahma’? <A superficial view gives a general resemblance,
sutiicient to deceive the novice. He sees the combs, the necks,

APPLICATION OF PRINCIPLES. A7

the backs, the tails; in fact all the sections of the two breeds,
identical in shape. In fact he finds them so described in the
Standard of Perfection, and in the Standard of Excellence he
can find but a single difference indicated, and that in one
clause relating to the cushion of the hen. But a more careful
and critical examination traces small but decided differences,
which in the aggregate amount to a quite different type. Let
us examine the sections in detail and see the resemblances
and differences.

In the head, the comb, the beak, the eye, the wattles and
the ear-lobes, the form is or ought to be, identical in both
breeds, the differences being only those of color,

In the necks we find a change. The neck of a Dark Brahma
is shorter than that of a Light, the plumage is longer, fuller,
the fibre more curled, so that the curve is sharper and more
marked.

The backs furnish another difference. The back of the
Dark Brahma is shorter than that of the Light, the saddle and
cushion are more fully developed, the plumage is more
abundant and more curled. The males have a higher and
broader saddle, and longer saddle feathers; the females have a
more ample cushion and the outline of the back is not, save
in exceptional cases, a clean cut, pronounced coneave line. In
a word, the Dark Brahma back approaches more nearly that
of the Cochin than it does that of the Light Brahma.

The breasts also differ. That of the Dark Brahma is broad
in front, with prominent quarters, causing it to have a flatter
and deeper appearance, while that of the Light has a fuller
and more pronounced forward sweep. This difference is
more marked in the males than in the females, and if the
examination of the breasts of females was confined to that one
section alone, and the difference in cushion and fluff was
unnoted at the time, there would be little injustice in deserib-
ing their breasts as identical in shape.

Body and fluff also give a further difference. The body of

48 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

the Dark Brahma, because the keel bone is carried lower, is
less rounded at the sides. The fluff is longer and more abund -
ant, creating a greater fullness at the stern.

The wings are essentially identical in form, but it is an error
to describe them as small. They are above medium size, the
bows very near the front line of the breast, so near that a
square will not show one inch between them and the front of
the breast, and they cover as large a portion of the sides of the
birds as do the wings of Plymouth Rocks.

The tails furnish still another difference in form. The male
Dark Brahmas have larger and longer tails than the Light
Brahmas, and they are carried in a more upright manner; the
sickles, lesser sickles, and coverts, while larger, are more roll-
ing, have a sharper curve, and resembie in general character
those of Cochins rather than those of Light Brahmas. The
females have tails more buried in the cushion than the Light
Brabma ftemaies.

The legs furnish one more point of difference. The Dark
Brahmas have a shorter leg than the Light, a greater profusion
of hock feathers, the whole producing a different outline to the
leg.

If, then, we find the Dark Brahma with a shorter neck, fuller
hackle, a shorter.back, more ample cushion or saddle, a flatter
breast, a less rounded deeper body, a fuller fluff, a more up-
right, fuller and longer tail, and a shorter leg with fuller hock,
if we find the plumage more abundant and in texture more
Cochin like, if we find as we do, that the Dark Brahma in
form is intermediate between the Light Brahma and _ the
Cochin, are we not justified in saying that it is a mistake to
describe the two breeds in the Standard as identical in form ?
And are we not also justified in representing the Dark Brahma
with an outline of its own, and judging it by such an outline ?
Is not such a course sensible and philosophical? Would we
not be guilty of a grave injustice to the breed were we to do
otherwise? We shall, therefore, for the purpose of this work,

Light BRAHMAS. 49

consider the type of the Dark Brahma different from that ot
the Light, and shall assume without further proof at this time,
that in the Asiatics there are four types of form, that of the
Light Brahma, the Dark Brahma, the Cochin and the
Langshan.

LIGHT BRAHMAS.

We select for portraiture—in this case departing from a
purely ideal outline, but giving one that is so near an ideal as
to be practically perfect—what we believe to be a fair compro-
mise between the two original strains of Light Brahmas in the
United States, the Autocrat and the Felch, or, as we think it
should have been called, the Chamberlain or Imperial Strain.
The former strain is descended from the well-known “Auto-
erat,” while the latter is descended from the birds that were
found by Mr. Knox in New York harbor, on board the Indian
Merchantman, in 1847. To portray, in a work like ours, the
extreme type of any one strain, however great the temp-
tation to do so, would be unfair. The rights of others must be
consulted, and as thousands of men and women are breeding
Light Brahmas made up from a union of these strains, we have
endeavored to respect their rights. Our subject, Main Spring,
No. 6565, sired by Tri Mountain, No. 6448, dam, Juanilla-
Second, No. 6272, and sold for $75, winner at Columbus with
score 934 and 94 points,—is three-eighths Autocrat and five-
eighths Felch blood, and we defy any beholder to deny that he
is an impartial representative of the two strains. His actual
measurements are as follows, his age being at the time ten
months, and his weight twelve and one-half pounds :

BIG, an Sees oak at icea ay eres manent pe TUG te
Pacis Irom GrOUmd a? Boe tee ia we oe
Peel irom erouiid,..igees oes. Soe ao
S07) A Saliba a 2 ee ge ae aa
Pemebroode Pi, 502 nr tee os) oie LE
Sie Mane ers isis fe se eke es Ae

50 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

bear Ol ari cromien nels | ete cnet ee eae
Eleight, of ail trom erounds =). i809 22
Bive trGm blip Of Bede 0%. arson tO apt
beneth of tiead- and Beak, = vss 2 saaqee
Breast, behind drop line from Beak,.. % “

A drop line from the eye strikes the rear of the nail en the
middle toe of the foot on which the weight is resting.—See
introduction by Artist. In this speciinen we have one that is
absolutely true to the general characteristics of the two strains,
and is therefore “typical of the breed.” In this profile and
outline we have not only one that is true to lite and harmon-
izes the two strains, but one that is a model sufficiently severe
to judge the best five per cent. of the variety. A specimen
that can fill this outline can be passed as perfect in profile. In
presenting such an outline as a fit representative of the largest
breed of fowls, we hope to win the approbation of all who de-
sire to see inaugurated a system of poultry illustration that is
true to life, and that is a true teacher of the form and symme-
try of fowls. To go beyond this would be to make an outline
that would give false ideas, represent a fictitious rather than a
real symmetry, and in the end prove a detriment to breed and
breeder alike.

Before dealing with specific varieties, it is necessary to re-
mark that in Weight and Condition the application of the
Scale is practicably alike for all varieties that have Standard
weights. The judge has only to ascertain the actual weight of
the specimen, and deduct the two points per pound, or pro-
portionately for fractions of a pound that the specimen falls
short of the Standard weight required, provided, of course,
that it does not reach the disqualifying weight, in which case
itis excluded from competition. Under Condition, is consid-
ered the health, the cleanliness, and the amount of flesh of the
specimen. A specimen excessively fat or very poor and
emaciated deserves a cut from 4 point to 2 points, according to
the degree. A fowl in perfect flesh is one with full muscles,

Licgut BRAHMAS. 51

in good heart, but neither very thin nor very fat—in fact, just
about prime condition for breeding. For a weeping eye cut
1 point; for distemper, far enough advanced to produce a
fetid breath, 1 point; for chronic or decided roup banish them

i
WAN
f

|

|

eer a TRA

Y
from the show pen; for roughness of shanks from 3 point to 3
points for scaly leg. For uncleanliness, from 3 to 2 points,
though if this is due simply to the effects of confinement in
the show pens it ought to pass uncut.

:

As we have before remarked, and as our Scale shows, we

52 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

make no cuts for symmetry as such, though we punish the
specimen for all the defects there are in the various sections. In
relation to symmetry we are in the position of the drummer,
who on his first trip charged to his expense account a new suit
of clothes, which the firm promptly disallowed; but on his
return from the second trip he presented an account free from
such an item. ‘‘Ah!” said the senior partner of the firm,
“this account is more like it. I don’t see any charge for a new
suit of clothes in it.” “No,” said the drummer,” there is no
charge for a suit of clothes in it, but they are there all the
same.’’ So in our cuts for defects of form, we have in reality
-punished the specimen for every departure from true symme-
try, and placed the punishment where it belongs, in the sec-
tions in which the defect is located. Our illustrations are
used as a guide to an idea of true form, as a pictorial definition.
of the printed description of the various sections, as a yard
stick to measure the specimens with. By means of these
illustrations we can better determine the percentage of defects
and thus more easily and more accurately determine the
amount of the ‘‘outs”’ of the specimen under consideration.

Returning now to the Light Brahma, we consider the first
section in the Scale.

The Comb.—The comb of the Light Brahma is technically
named a pea comb. It consists of three divisions, with
depressions or channels running from front to rear, the middle
division being the highest. It has not inaptly been described
as resembling three single combs pressed together and united
at the front and rear. In its perfection, each division is
straight, the middle having seven serrations, the sides each
having five serrations, rests firmly upon the head, and the
whole comb has a rocker shape, the upper surface following
very nearly the curve of the crown of the head. Such a
comb, being properly proportioned to the size of the bird (see
illustration), would have to pass uncut. But such combs are
rare, though the Light Brahma breeds very excellent combs.

LigHt BRAIUMAS. :

{
a.
we

If the middle has grown so fleshy as to cause it to fold or
become serpe ntinecut 1 point; if the comb is turned to one
side in the rear, and thus changed the Standard outline in all
three divisions, cut from 14 to 3 points, in proportion to the
amount of defect; if the comb be too large, cut from 3 to 13
points. When the comb is large and loose and falls over from
one side to the other, the bird should be disqualified, always,
however, in this as in all disqualifications, giving the benefit
of the doubt to any specimen under consideration. All pea-
combed breeds will be subject to a like application of the
Seale, except that in a new variety a judge might be excused
for a little greater leniency in making cuts.

The Head.—TYhis section includes the head, with beak,
eye, wattles and ear-lobes. The head of all Brahmas, and
especially of the Light Brahma, is large, with the skull broad
and overhanging the eyes. This is such a characteristic point
that it ought to be carefully preserved. Any departure from
this, such as narrowness of skull or depression in front of the
comb which destroys to any extent the perfect arch of the
beak and head, deserves a cut from 3 to 1 point. The wattles
and ear-lobes should be so developed as to have their lower
edges on a level line with each other. A male without wattles
should be deemed an unworthy specimen, and when exceed-
ingly small should be cut 2 points, as such a development, or
rather lack of development, is regarded as indicative of a want
of vitality ; while large, heavy wattles are regarded asa sign
of vigor and prepotency, and should, therefore, receive a less
cut, say + to 1 point In the female the head is less heavy in
proportion to the size, because of the smaller wattles, which
cannot be said to be well developed. This smaller develop-
ment of the wattles is compensated for by the full throat—
almost a median wattle or dew-lap—which is a development
of Joose skin extending from the under part of the beak to the
neck.and covered with minute feathers. This is a character-
istic and much-prized feature. Even if over-developed so as

54

PUILOSOPHY

Fig. 1.—A perfect hackle feather.

OF JUDGING.

to be somewhat gross In appear-
ance, or if somewhat small in
size we should pass it uncut,
but if entirely wanting it should
be cut a full point. We feel
that the tendency towards pro-
ducing Light Brahmas with
small fine heads, small wattles
and exceedingly small combs,
is a dangerous one, leading to
a want of vigor in the breed,
and we trust that both in illus-
tration and in judging the true
characteristics of the breed will
be encouraged and promoted.
Our illustrations, we trust, are
in the right direction, and will
aid in this good work.

The Neck.—li the neck is too
long or too short, cut 5 point;
if the head is carried so far
forward as to injure the arch
of the neck, making the neck
appear straight, cut 1 point;
when the head is in proper
position, the eye being over the
point of the middle toe, if the
neck is arched more fully than
is shown in the illustration, no
cut should be made, for the ex-
cess complies with the printed
description and is a feature that
is valued by the breeder, tor
the majority of fowls fail in

LicgHt BRAHMAS.

Fig’ 2.—Blunt point and black running to the outer edge.

Ut
Or

this direction. The main color
of the Light Brahma is white,
the embellishments are black,
consequently there is a con-
tinual tendency towards a re-
version to the predominating
color. The quill end of the
hackle feather being white,
when shown separate it 1s
robbed of half its beauty. A
perfect feather may have its
black centre or stripe stop near
the- point of the feather or
reach the point by a single
fibre. If the black in the stripe
has a metallic lustre, and ex-
tends up as far as it is ever
exposed by the wind to the sun
and air, and in other respects
be Standard, it should be uncut.
The under color may be black,
gray or absolute white for one-
half the length of the feather
and should receive no cut. The
higher the stripe extends un-
broken by any other color, the
more appreciated it is, but if it
extends two-fifths of the length
of the feather from the tip up-
wards, the requirement of the
description should be regarded
as complied with and the
feather should pass uncut. The
usual defects are a want of

Hh

PHILOSOPHY

Lacing perfect, but black centre faded out to a streaked gray color.

oo.

9

Fig.

OF JUDGING.

lustre to the black in prime
specimens, and the loss of color
in the poorer specimens. The
want of black in the striping
should be cut from 4 to 3%
points; if the black centres
fade from a rich metallic black,
for two and one-half inches
from the point, to a dirty gray
or nearly white centre, cut
from 3 to 3 points, according to
the degree. The white in over-
black specimens often becomes
smutty by a discoloration of the
whole surface of the lacing or
by a narrow smoky outside
edge to the white lacing, both
having a similar effect on the
general appearance of the neck.
When the smuttiness is slight
and as indicated in Fig. 2, it
should pass uncut, even if the
under-color above the cross-
line of the same be entirely
black ; but smutty lacing should
be cut from 3 to 2 points, and
when the neck is black in all
parts, including lacing, for a
distance of two inches, or when
the black of Fig. 1 widens and
creeps up the outer edge of the
white lacing until the white
lacing is obliterated for an inch
at the point, the specimen

LigHt BRAHMAS. 57

should be cut 23 points. A hackle feather, so iong as to com-
pletely hide the shoulder gives a taper appearance forward
and greater apparent posterior weight; such a feather is-not
so desirable as one that reaches down on the shoulder and
thus exposes the squareness of the shoulders and gives
prominence to the breast quarters; yet it is preferable to one
too short, causing the neck to look slim, and justly demanding
acut of from 3} to 1 point, while the long hackle would pass
uncut, or at the most be cut not more than a half point. The
necks of the females have a less fullness of hackle than the
males, the feather becoming a black-webbed feather laced
with white. When the centres are faded from black to a gray
mixture, and from that to nearly white, they demand a cut of
from } to 3 points. (See Fig. 3.)

The Back.—Fhe true Brahma back—that which is found in
fowls but often misrepresented in pictures—is the one that
should guide the judge in scoring. What is the true Brahma
back? By the aid of the feathers crowing out of the arm of
the wing at the shoulder joint, the cape is formed, which pre-
sents a flat table-like surface, which will be completely covered
by the hackle, if correct in abundance, when the head and
neck are forced back. From the cape down the shell-bone of
the back to near the hip joints there is a downward slope.
The saddle, from this point, rises in a concave sweep to the
tail—more marked in the males than in the females. It is
this downward slope that gives the lengthened appearance to
the back and body of a Brahma when compared with a Cochin.
The plumage lies closely and smoothly, almost like a marble
surface, with no indication of individual feathers, due to the
whalebone-like fibre ot the feathers. The true Brahma back
then consists of the flat portion at the cape, the downward
slope to the saddle, and the concave sweep to the tail. (See
our outline.) If the back runs in a straight line from the
hackle to the tail, making a nearly right angle with the same,
cut from 4 to 14 points, as in degree of failure of the concave

58 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

lines of the saddle. Such specimens are generally wanting in
saddle plumage, and present a narrowness in front of the tail
which should be cut from 3 to 1 point. In Exhibition
Brahmas, however, the back is seldom cut more than from
3 to 1 point, and the color from 3 to 1 point, so that 2 pcints
cut for back do not often occur. Whenever the over-develop-
ment of the saddle is such as to convert the concave into
convex lines it should be cut from 4 to 1 point, but when it
does not reach that degree, and yet is fuller than our illustra-
tion indicates, if it produces a wide back and is accompanied
by a well spread tail, it should pass uncut, as these are points
that all admirers of the breed greatly appreciate. The surface
color in the back of the male should be white; the under-
color white, light bluish gray, or even slate, the latter being <
very valuable indication of the merit of the bird as a breeder.
By surface color we mean that portion of the web of the
feather which is exposed to the action of the hght and air
when the feathers lie normally. By under-color is meant all
the rest of the feather, including not only the fluffy part, but
the covered portion of the web. For the fluffy portion we use
the term under-fluff. The surface color if white, or the under-
color if white, light bluish gray or slate, must be passed as
pertect. If the slate shows through, shading the surface color
into a gray or slaty hue, there should be made a cut of from
>to 1 point. If occasional ticks of black appear in the web
of the saddle of males inside of two inches of the tail coverts,
we would not cut at all, but if they were clearly over the shell-
bone they must be cut; 4 point will generally be found a
sufficient punishment. If positive black ticks extend across
the back, disqualify. In females the surface color is white ;
the under-color white, or hght bluish gray. Such would have
to pass uncut, but any other color would have to be regarded
as defective.

The Standard disqualification for black in the web of the
feathers has caused many heart burnings through the manner

Light BRAHMAS. 59
in which it has been applied. It has often been grossly mis-
applied, and birds have been disqualified that ought to have
won. The language, however, is clear. The black must be
positive black in color, not a shading of gray or slate, as many
have supposed. All that is not white is not black. If the
black is positive, clear, metallic black, then it amounts to a
disqualification, provided there be enough of such spots to
warrant the judge in resorting to this summary measure of
disposing of the fowl. When there are from six to ten feathers
affected by these positive black spots—of the color of the
stripe in the hackle oi a first-class specimen—or when the
spots become large a less number might be considered
sufficient, the judge should disqualify, but not otherwise.
Why? Because nature has demonstrated that if the flights
in the wings of the males are to be black, and three-fifths of
the flights in any reasonable number of the females, the
under-color of the back will be dark, and the dark under-color
causes these spots. If we are to have the best ‘‘all round”
color for our flocks we must treat these spots more leniently
than has been the custom with some in the past. But though
they do not amount to a disqualification they still remain a
defect in color, and the dark spots in the back of a female,
even if of a dark slate color, should be cut from 3 to 14 points.
The females seldom show much shading of yellow, but this is
a common defect in males, and should be cut from 3 to 14
points, according to the depth of color it attains.

The Breast.—Our illustration gives a side profile view, and a
specimen which can fill such lines would be passed as perfect
in the form of the breast. If a specimen should be found
exceeding this fullness of outline, and introducing by such
fullness no new characteristics, because such superlative efforts
of nature are very desirablein the breeding pen, and because
they do not contradict the written description of the Standard,
such a specimen would also pass uncut for form of breast.
Indeed, between two specimens, otherwise equal, the one

60 PHILOSOPHY. OF JUDGING.

having the greatest development of breast would deserve to be
placed first. Such specimens are to be highly prized, and
generally prove sure winners. The faults in the form of the
breast are a flatness and want of fullness, which are cut from
+ to 2 points. Nineteen out of every twenty exhibition speci-
mens fail to the extent of 20 per cent. in the full forward
sweep of the breast, and, therefore, receive for this defect a
cut of 1 point. Asa full forward sweep or curve to the breast
is invariably accompanied by perfect quarters, such a full front
means a full score for form of breast. The color of the breast
is seldom or never faulty. Never being exposed to the burn-
ing rays of the sun, like the back, the surface color remains an
immaculate white, free from all objectionable yellow tinge.

The Body.—This section includes all in the rear of the front
point of the keel-bone, so called, the second joint of the leg
in dressed poultry, and the fluff, and excludes, of course, the
thigh proper and the wings. Under this section must be con-
sidered all these parts in scoring the fowl. This is a section
that seldom is cut in scoring. Specimens deemed worthy of
exhibition almost never are faulty in this section. Not one
per cent. of all the Light Brahmas that are exhibited are
defective when this section is reached. When faulty at all,
the defect will be found in too great a flatness of the sides and
a narrowness of the fluff, which should be cut from 3 to 1
point. The plumage is almost invariably white, free from
yellow tinge, reasonably clear, and therefore passes uncut.

The Wings.—This is a section that calls for the closest
scrutiny. Few clearly understand the amount of surface
covered by the wings of Brahmas. They are fully one-third
larger, in proportion to the size of the bird, than those of the
Cochins. The throat, wattles and wings are characteristic
traits of the Brahma, the difference between which and the
corresponding features of a Cochin is difficult to describe to a
novice, but readily understood by an expert. Our illustration

Ligur BRAHMAS. 61

properly brings out these features. Note the wing and the
space it covers. Heretofore they have been portrayed too
small, the artists having followed the language of the Standard
rather than the development of the fowls. In nature, the
wings when folded, reach nearly the entire length of the body.
The faults of form are usually in the twisting of the feathers
and the folding of the wings. Twisted feathers in the pri-
maries or secondaries should receive a cut of from 1 to 2 points.
Imperfect folding of the wings should be cut from 3 to 13
points, in proportion to the defect. The chief defects, how-
ever, are those of color, rather than of form. In the wings of
the male the primaries are to be black, or nearly so; we
should say that four-fifths black would be sufficient to answer
the Standard requirements. It is very desirable that the black
should be positive in its character, and that when white
appears it should be clear white. The shoulder coyerts or
wing fronts are white mixed with black near the edge, and the
wing coverts are white. For white in the primaries, and for
too wide a white lacing on the upper edge of the secondaries
a cut of from } to 3 points, in proportion to its departure from
the required four-fifths black, should be made. For yellow
tinge on the coverts cut from 1 point to 13 points, the latter
when the black shows through. In females lighter colored
wings are admissible, and when, in the primaries and secon-
daries, black predominates over the white, no cut should be
made; but if the black becomes less than one-half then a cut
of from 3 to 2 points should be made, according to the degree
of the defect. Coal black flights in either sex can not be
called a defect or be cut; indeed, while such flights might
transgress the exact language of the Standard description in
some cases, as they are a most desirable feature and such as
would be required in the Standard if they could often be
attained, instead of being a defect they are a peculiar excel-
lence and entitle the possessor to rank ahead of another
specimen in all other respects equal but having flight feathers

62 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

partially white. The secondaries are edged with white in the
upper web and cannot be judged technically as described in
the Standard. If the white edge be too wide it may be cut as
a detect.

The Tail.—In the male we look for a full sickled tail, the
first and second sickles extending beyond the main tail-
feathers some three inches, the five smaller sickles or tail
coverts growing shorter as they approach the body, yet their
points reaching to the tip of the tail proper. These lesser
sickles are not more curved than a scimiter. The lesser
coverts extend upon the greater coverts to about two-thirds of
their length. In a proper carriage of the tail, which should
be tolerably upright, the top point of the tail would be ona
level line drawn from it across the neck somewhat below the
wattles. The tail proper is fairly well developed. If the tail
be earried too high or too low, cut from 3 to | point, the latter
cut being generally more than enough to punish any specimen
for this defect. If the tail is not well spread, but is close and
pinched, it should be cut from 1 to 15 points, this being a
serious fault and contrary both to the Standard description
and the natural development of the breed; while an over-
expansion of the tail, being an error in the right direction,
would be cut lightly if at all, 3 point probably being ample in
almost any but a very exaggerated case. If the sickles are
straight cut 1 point. The plumage of the Light Brahma being
white, with an embellishment of black, as a rule the quill
ends of every part of the plumage are white; tor this reason,
the lower inch of the tail feathers next the skin should not be
eut, even if they are white or black. To dig down to the
lower extremity of the feather, in search for white, and to cut
for it when found, is an error, but sickles that are white so far
up that the wind by lifting the coverlets might disclose it, are
faulty, more faulty in a cockerel than in a cock, as age is apt
to bring in more white. <A cockerel having sickles showing
white for two inches from the quill end should be cut 1 point ;

LicgHt BRAHMAS. 63

if the white shows above the tail coverlets the cut should be
from 1 to 13 points. The sickles being the most beautiful, and
therefore the most valuable part, of the tail, deserve to be
cut with greater severity when defective. The lesser coverts
are black, edged with white, the combination being one of
great beauty, and if the black is lost and they become wholly
white—the coverlets remaining black—-we cut 1 point. White
extending up the main tail-feathers for more than an inch is ¢
defect, and when showing much above that cut 1 point. If
the main tail feathers are tipped with white, cut 1 point. In
the females the tail should be fan-shaped, wide at the base,
spreading out laterally; in color the main feathers should be
black, except the two upper or “deck”’ feathers which have a
white edging. The tail coverlets, like the ‘‘deck” feathers,
are black with an edging of white. The lesser coverts are
wholly white. This makes the tail of the female lighter
throughout than that of the male, and as a matter of fact the
female is a lighter bird throughout. The tail proper should
show for its entire width for a full inch or more beyond its
coverts, is neither rolled nor pointed, nor is it buried in the
cushion feathers. The curling feathers that fill in the space
between the two sides of the tail proper, are generally white
with but few colored feathers mixed in, while those of the
male are largely made up of black or black and white, whiten-
ing out as they approach the fluff. In accurate judging,
philosophically conducted, all these matters are to be caretully
weighed. If the coverlets are white they should be cut 1
point; but if in addition the tail proper be one-third white
from below, or the tips are white, a further cut of from 1 to 14
points should be made, thus making a ‘“‘cotton-tailed”’ bird
liable to be cut from 1 to 23 points.

The Legs and Feet—Under this section are considered the
lower thigh, or what is called the drumstick in dressed poul-
try, the hock joint, the shank, the toes, and the plumage oi
the same. The lower thigh should be comparatively stout,

64 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

the lower portion with the hocks should appear in profile, the
plumage being webbed and smooth ; the fluff should not stand
out about the thighs as in the Cochins, being less abundant.
We have no objection to the outside of the hock joint being
covered by the plumage of the thigh, but if there is any ap-
pearance of vulture hock, the specimen should be cut from 4
to 2 points; if the defect demands a greater punishment than 2
points, nothing is left to be done but to disqualify. The shanks
should be medium in length, not so short as to give the speci-
men a dwarfish appearance, which is not a Brahma character-
istic, nor should they be so long as to give the bird a crane-like
appearance. Of the two evils the former is the less and a cut
of 3 point will generally be sufficient; but for the latter a more
severe cut should be made, say from 3 to 13 points, the latter
for an extreme case. When the shanks do not stand straight
but bend in at the hock joint, forming in a greater or Jess de-
gree the defect known as ‘‘knock-kneed,”’ cut from 3 to 3 points,
according to the amount of the defect. The shanks should be
in color yellow or reddish yellow, and heavily feathered down
the outer sides, covering the outer toes with these feathers. In
mature hens, as distinguished from pullets, a light yellow
shank ought to be allowed to compete on an equality with the
bright yellow shank of a chicken, for age with the exhaustion
that follows reproduction and confinement, bleaches out the
shank. A reasonably yellow shade should pass uncut. A
very pale straw color in the shanks and toes of hens should be
cut but slightly, not more than 3 point. A flesh colored shank
disqualifies. If the feathering on the outer side of shanks be
too light; if it, when pressed down, will not reach to the end of
the outer toe it should be cut from 3 to 1 point. The outer
and middle toes should be feathered to the end, but if both
are bare, and the shank feathers when pressed down will reach
to the extremity of the outer toe the bird should not be dis+
qualified. A bare outer toe, however, is a serious defect and
should be cut 14 points. A bare middle toe, owing to the

Light BRAHMAS. 65

lesire of some breeders to have the fow] so bred, and owing to
the fact that when heavily feathered there is a tendency to
vulture hock, should be cut more leniently and a cut of 1
point is sufficient. If both middle and outer toes are bare,
then the cuts should aggregate 2} points.

For greater convenience of reference we tabulate the cuts to
be made. The first table, for Condition, will not be repeated,
as it is applicable to all breeds.

CUTS FOR CONDITION.

MG tem bOG IOAN: < \. Mekiys ce ew essere le. > whale ee! ee ete
Weeping eye 1
DSM oral er vas 8) GR, vee 1
Roughness of ana 5 to 3
Uncleanliness. . . 5 tO
CUTS FOR FORM.
COMB.
Wrooked-niddle: SeCtION. i vacc «. “=, Ae ea te le 1
Muilwuree sections crooked... 60 2s irs Se a or CO
Too large . x to 15
HEAD.
INErOWNESS: OF sleUlbs ea ayo be oa et ike se ee LO
Neng simalll wathles >2y caste a epee:ocgs eit = ee gre 2
Very large wattles ee os
Lack of throat in hen . 1
NECK.
Too long 4
Too short. D
TUS Sev Tate eae enn ee le nie aa sag on nen Cane cera Re 7d
ream hackle, causing shimmneck < . 4 .°. .. « .) + 9 torl
Too lone and flowing nackley sw. 2) 2... Foe. A
BACK,
Pametrarant or roached ). oi.) 28.) z tol
Narrow in front of tail + to-l
eminem PP gs gs Cra ee Se eS Netw es a oe x to |

5)

66 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

BREAST,

Flatness . . . eee Mere a he a ere kame time (Tc)

Lack of Sania ap Ay ee ee SB hee Sere a ere 1
BODY.

Flatness of sides.and narrowness of fluff... . . .. dtoed
WINGS.

Pwisted jeatirers 9 vt. Ws Oe a ie eo
impericettoldine’.. Pix ‘eg igo tks terns heen deh te ee
TAIL.

Carried too high x to I
Carried oo low -% 2. sernn 4 to 1
Closeramdpinehede ts 4 eae no LA cue Ree bee dole eee eee
Spread too much 4

Strmehtsiekles «sale hk Sea te) ee ee eee |
LEGS AND FEET.

Approach to vulture daoch . 3.55 “heat. Ss ae ee

Phamks CoOocsMOrts 02. ls 1c, gactge ln Seta ein eee cee ce ES he 4

Sheaniks-too ome Tos cris Sh ee he 2k, Tyesety: bean ueelioe eee
mimo CK SK MGE cans fat ete ne seer eco pce 3 to3
Too light leg feathering 3 to

!
ISAC! OULCPAGOC- Me pala Tar no, op tert aes et hacia Cee os eee 13
Bare middle toe ses" 3 aoe melee 1

CUTS FOR COLOR.

NECK.

Want of striping in hackle 4 to 34

faded color am stripes tan Seer ae ie 3 to 3

Smutty lacie. 5. . BP ed dee wg: + to 2

Solid black for two moles Fon nee Ae ce ae eke sc 23

Faded: stripetm: hen’s hackle. (27... 5 a eee 3. cL eee bone
BACK.

Gray or'slaty shading on suniacen 9: ite. tie Fees fee eee
Black ticks over shellfbGne: aie oe wr eee Pee. eee

Black ticks extending across the back to hackle. . 1 Disqaetie
Dark slate spots in back of female. 92%." Jos . 7.) pale
Yellow tinge .s: 6-8 S600.) Os Ser a ie ee eS

ne

LicgHt BRAHMAS.

WINGS.
WWhitesopriitiaries. of males: wo: 5 6 esa 20g + to 3
White in upper edge of secondaries (male) ..... ; to 3
MeN Gw LMG OR COVeTICe: a Sal oe cae ee ee te ee tees
Primaries of females, more than one-half white ... 4to2
Secondaries of females, more than one-half white . . 3 to2

ATs
White in sickles two inches from body. ..... . 1
WW ilhiestiesuel les above cOveriets + a. isles eak os. ae to 13
NINE SUP RSR0 ac) 6S ee aur ea Ron rea te 1
DV hte Gnimaaintartl feathers. <0. 0.0 8 yee ee we |
Wihite-tipsto main. tail feathers ....o... 0. 2 6 6%. 1
RVibate coverlets.on female 2.4). a, wis. ee 1
White main tail feathers one-third length ...... to 14
DV hire tips, main: tail leatherpyat: ac koe aa) 1 to l3
SEM OLEOMM Agia Pe oy treater pyle. «> oa hace ta BIW to 23
LEGS AND FEET.

Fale;straw color on hens shanks, i =): ois. t,. A

DARK BRAHMAS.

As we have already shown, the Dark Brahma differs from
the Light in shape. It is true that by a vote of the American
Poultry Association at its thirteenth annual meeting, held at
Indianapolis, Ind:, in January, 1888, the Dark variety was
required to be described in form the same as the Light, but it
is quite probable that the breeders of Dark Brahmas will still
adhere to a differnt shape for their variety, and the judging of
Dark Brahmas and Light Brahmas will differ only in the
matter of the application of the Standard to color, and what
we have already said in reference to judging the Light variety
in shape will apply to the Dark variety.

In this work, however, as we make our appeal to nature,
and as we wish it to be reasonably complete so that it will
meet either condition of the Standard, we shall consider the
form of the Dark Brahma as it is, and as it ought to be in the
Standard, midway between the Light Brahma and the Cochin.
This is the form that we find, and what we should expect to
find from the origin of the breed. The best record of the
origin of the Dark Brahma—one which we think cannot be
successfully controverted—is that it sprung from a cross of the
Marsh fowls—which were Cochins—and the Gray Chittagongs,
w brood of chicks bred and sent to England by George P.
Burnham, of Melrose, Mass. These chicks were further
subjected to a cross with the pea-combed Light Brahmas, and
to a still further cross with the Partridge Cochin to secure the
very desirable accuracy of penciling. After some twelve
years of careful breeding in England, the fowl was returned to
the United States in 1865 as the Dark Brahma. It is easy and
interesting to trace in the fowl itself the evidence of its
composite origin. Its pea-comb and its general shape show

WY

\\\)
WAN

Z

\

MAYS AY
\ NW A

4h
NN

Dark BRAHMAS. 69

the influence of the Brahma blood; its shorter appearing
back, fuller cushion and saddle, looser plumage and different
tail mark the general infusion of Cochin blood; its beautiful
penciling and the not infrequent ruddy tinge to the body color
of the hens point with an unerring finger to the effects of its
union with the Partridge Cochin. History, so far as it has
been preserved, and the effects of nature, coincide in their
testimony that the beautiful Dark Brahma is of composite
origin and is acompromise in type between the Cochin and
the Brahma.

While it is true that occasional specimens may be found
exhibiting the true Light Brahma type of form, it is equally
true that others can be found which exhibit the true Cochin
type, and we believe the Dark Brahma could more easily be
bred to the true Cochin type than to the true Brahma type.
It would have been more in harmony with the natural develop-
ment of the breed to have classed it with the Cochins than to
have required it to conform to the extreme type of the
Brahma, and we believe that its breeders would have been
better satisfied if it had been called a Pea-combed Cochin than
they will be with the present vote of the American Poultry
Association.

However this may be, we shall consider the Dark Brahma
as we find it, and have found it for years, in the hands of its
most eminent breeders. Our illustration gives the true
characteristics of its type, and should be considered in con-
nection with what we say in reference to its form.

It is unnecessary to enter upon details in the first three
sections of our Scale, for the first is a general section applying
to all breeds alike, and the Comb, Head, Ear-lobes and Wattles
of the Dark and Light Brahma are essentially alike. There is,
however, a slight difference, those features of the Dark
Brahma being rather smaller in proportion to the size of the
bird, than they are in the Light Brahma. But this slight
difference, while it should be regarded in the actual scoring of

70 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

the fowl, calls for no further comment than to call attention to
its existence. The principles of scoring, the method of mak-
ing cuts. will remain unchanged. We therefore pass to the
next section.

The Neck.—The actual length of the neck of the Dark
Brahma equals that of the Light Brahma, but, owing to the
greater length of the hackle and its more curved character,
its apparent length is not so great. The arch of the neck is
more marked, and in judging should be required. Bearing
these facts in mind we should for form make the following
cuts: Neck too long, 3 point; neck too short, 3 point; neck
too little arched, 1 point; hackle so scanty as to cause the
neck to appear too slim, 3 to 1 point. While the hackle of a
Light Brahma male is a white feather embellished with black,
that of the Dark Brahma male is a black feather embellished
with silvery white. This makes a considerable difference,
although the description could be in almost identical words.
The Light Brahma feather removed from the neck loses half
its beauty, but the Dark Brahma feather when so removed
does not. A Light Brahma breeder, when he wishes to show
a hackle feather seeks a black or blue ground to exhibit it
upon, but the Dark Brahma breeder can show his feather
upon almost any background The under-color of the Dark
Brahma is black or dark slate, which causes the central stripe
to appear more intense in color, but when closely examined it
will be found that the metallic lustre does not extend further
up the feather than the feather is exposed to the sun and the
air. In scoring we should cut for white under-color from 3 to
13 points; for a dead, lustreless black stripe, from 3 to 1%
points; for the silvery lacing, if its outer edge be edged with
black, or if it have a rusty or yellow shading, 3 to 13 points.
This black edging, producing what is termed a “smutty neck,”
is caused by the central stripes extending to the points of the
feather and thence around the outer edge. Such specimens
have hackle feathers with dull or wide points to the central

DarRK BRAHMAS. 71

stripes. The smutty edging to the silver lacing is never seen
in a feather in which the stripe does not reach the extreme
point, but this reaching of the point of the feather is not of
itself a defect that requires to be cut; it is only when it spreads
out beyond the point and obliterates to a greater or less extent
the silvery embellishment that it needs cutting. As the effect
is not so glaring in Dark Brahmas as in Light Brahmas, the
defect can be passed more leniently in the Dark variety, when
it is of the same extent, than in the Light. In the females
the necks of the Dark and Light Brahmas look more nearly of
alength than in the males, owing to the fact that the fuller
plumage of modest hue of the Dark Brahma is offset by the
lighter hue of the Light Brahma—white being a color which
always produces an appearance of fullness. From careful
examinations which we have made, which, perhaps, may have
been exceptions to the genera] rule, we believe that the Dark
Brahma females generally carry the head farther forward than
the Light Brahma females. Ii in a flock of Dark Brahma
females a drop line from the eye to the ground would strike
the tip of the middle toe, a similar drop line in a flock of
Light Brahmas would strike a point near the instep. A Dark
Brahma female should pass uncut for carrying its head far
enough forward in a Light Brahma to cause a cut of } point.
Here is an example of the Cochin tendency of the breed, not
oiten noted by judges and breeders. For this reason also a
Dark Brahma female having a neck as well arched as is re-
quired for a Light Brahma female should also pass uncut.
Specimens having extra penciled breasts are apt to have the
black centres of the hackle also penciled, and as this is a fault
which generally accompanies a super-excellence, it should
be treated with charity; a cut of from } to 1 point will be
sufficient.

The Back.—The back of the male appears shorter and
broader than in the Light Brahma, owing to the more.
abundant plumage of the back and saddle. The saddle begins

4 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

to rise near the centre of the back, as it curves to the tail, and
in many specimens the line is nearly a straight one. Our idea
of the back, as we find it in nature, is, that it should have a
broad, flat cape, which gently slopes to the centre of the back,
and from which point the saddle rises in a gentle concave
sweep to the tail, much less pronounced than in the Light
variety. The saddle should be full, and its feathers long.
Such a back, approximating in its outline to that of a Cochin,
would in the Light Brahma require to be cut, but in the Dark
Brahma should be deemed perfect. Nor would we cut it for
less fullness as it approached more closely to the type of the
Light variety, for it would still agree with the description of
the Standard. But as it varied from this form and took on
more of the convexity of the Cochin, it should receive a cut
of from 3 to 13 points. In this way due allowance would be
made for the composite origin of the breed and for the natural
development due to such origin, while at the same time the
Standard description would remain unviolated. The color of
the centre of the back is a silver gray or steel gray, called in
the Standard a silvery white; the color of a freshly broken
bar of steel we should call perfect. Ii this color is mixed
with black, bronze or red, or the whole is shaded with yellow,
acut of from 5 to 2 points should be made. If the saddle be
so tarnished, or the black stripe demanded in its feathers be
faded out to a gray or white, cut from 3 to 2 points. Absolute
white in the under-color should be cut from 3 to 15 points. In
females the outline of the back is far more Cochin-like than
in males, and we are of the opinion that quite a cushion is
deemed desirable by many breeders. For a really straight
back, and even for one that was slightly cushioned, we would
not cut for form. But when pronounced in cushion we would
cut 1 point. A long, closely feathered back we would cut 1
point; a narrow and oval one from wing to wing, 1 point.
The cape and shell-bone should be flat and have a gentle slope
towards the tail. Such a want of penciling as failed to pro-

Dark BRAHMAS. 73

duce the dark lines parallel with the outlines of the feather
should be cut from 3 to 13 points. A decided pepper and salt
pattern to the feathers, even if pure in shade, should be cut

+ points. If the ground color is shaded with brown, cut 5 to
15 points, in proportion to the amount of the brown.

The Breast—In the male the breast is broad, and, as com-
pared to that of the Light Brahma, flat, but having prominent
quarters and well rounded sides; it is also deep, owing to the
fact that the keel-bone is carried low. In making our cuts
this peculiarity of shape should be borne in mind. For ex-
cessive flatness of the breast a cut should be made of 4 to 2
points. For want of proper roundness and prominence of the
quarters, from 5 to 1 point. For lack of proper depth, from 3
to 1 point. In color the breast is solid black. For a breeder
we prefer a male with a breast that is dotted here and there
with smal! white dots, but such a breast would have to be cut
in an exhibition specimen from } to 1 point; and if these
white spots should amount to splashes of white they should
be cut from 13 to 2 points. In the females the breasts are less
prominent than those of the Light variety. Judges, unwilling
to acknowledge this natural development, often cut severely
for what is a natural characteristic of the variety, and thus
do a serious injustice to the variety. By confining their
attention to the actual lines of the breast, and giving due
credit to its fullness and roundness, they can afford to pass
its apparent smallness as compared with that of a Light

srahma. There will be opportunity to cut enough for want of
penciling to relieve the tenderest conscience for all the
leniency shown towards the apparent size. If a breast ap-
pears wedge-shaped when viewed in front, it should be cut
from 3 to 1 point. When color is reached the judge has
generally enough cutting to do. For want of penciling on the
throat and the upper part of the breast cut from 3 to 24 points.
For brown shading in the light ground color cut from 3 to |
point. Some very fine specimens, to all appearance on a

74 PHILOSOPHY OF * JUDGING.

general survey, will disappoint the judge upon a_ closer
examination, tor though the dark lines are beautiful and stand
out clearly, the ground color will look clouded, as if saturated
with molasses and water. We have seen this defect cause a
difference of 25 points between the scores of judges, the one
considering only the general appearance and being misled by
the sharp dark lines, while the other carefully censidered each
feature and weighed the whole. Careful examination should
be made, but it should be done quickly, and first impressions,
when the mind is free from bias, and a sharp, quick examina-
tion of each section and part of the section has been made,
will generally be found to be correct.

The Body.—By reason of the deep keel the body of the male
does not look quite as round at the sides as that of the Light
Brahma, but it must be in keeping with the broad breast.
The proper thickness can be quickly detected by looking at
the legs, for, 1f they are straight and wide apart the body will
invariably be all that is desired in form. Tbe detect for form
in this section, if any exists, will generally be found in the
fluff, which has been added to it; if that is so close and thin
as to prominently display the thighs, cut 1 point. The color,
if black, or black slightly frosted with gray, will pass uncut;
if splashed with white, or dotted with irregularly shaped
white spots, cut from 3 to 15 points. Ii the fluff is broad, but
not hanging below the keel-bone, and is in color dark slate or
black frosted with gray, it will pass uncut; if white, cut 1
point; if dark slate, but opens white, cut | point. When the
body was joined to the breast in one section, its defects were
apt to slip by unnoticed, but since it has become a section by
itselt it will undergo as rigid a scrutiny as the other parts. In
the females, if the body when viewed from the front preserves
the oval lines of the breast, do not cut for form. If the fluff
clearly drops below the keel-bone cut 1 point. If the pencil-
ing fades out and does not extend down to the thighs, or if it

~!
omy |

DarkK BRAHMAS.

be streaked with gray, cut 1 point. If the color be light gray,
steel gray being the perfect color, cut 2 point.

The Wings.—The wings of the Dark Brahma are much
larger than those ot the Cochin, and nearly of the size of
those of the Light Brahma. The size of the wing and its
carriage well forward, so that but little of the breast appears in
front of the wing-fronts, form one of the greatest distinguish-
ing differences between the Dark Brahmas and the Cochins,
and this, with the comb, are almost the only purely Brahma
features, in form, that we find in the breed. Our illustration
is intended to bring out these features, and, unlike the usual
representations with very small wings, is true to life. The
wings should be in harmony with the size of the structure,
and it cannot be called small. A medium sized wing, how-
ever, by disclosing more apparent breast, 1s regarded as an
excellence, and though seldom seen, we should not cut for
small size. When set on low down it causes a serious defect,
making the cape oval, which causes the back to look narrow
and of ill shape. While this causes a eut in the back, the
defect is itself a real one, and should receive a cut of 1 point.
If the primaries are badly folded, cut from 3 to 2 points. For
white spots in the upper webs of the primaries and secondaries
of males cut from } to 3 points. For rust in the smaller wing
eoverts cut 4 to 14 points. For white or rusty color in the
larger coverts, which torm the wing-bar, cut from 3 to 13
points. For bronze or brown in the outer webs of the
secondaries, which mars the beauty of the triangular white
tips in the rear of the wing-bars, cut 3 to 1) points. In the
females the usual “outs” are for want of penciling. When
the ground color seems to consist of steel gray and brownish
eray, both penciled, and gives a patchy appearance, cut 3 tol
point. For “ pepper and salt”’ penciling, in which the dark
color predominates, cut i to 14 points. For white in the
primaries cut from » to 13, and in extreme cases as high as 3
points.

76 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

The Tail.—The tail is an annual. If a cock lives to be five
years old he will have had five tails. When shown in the
usual exhibition season, from December to February, this
annual will not have reached its full maturity; it will be about
three-fourths grown. The judge has to pass upon three-
fourths grown tails rather than fully matured tails, and he
ought to remember this fact. The question he should ask
himself is, ‘Is this a perfect tail for the state of its growth ?”
The males, especially in their second year, have a well de-
veloped tail, but as they are not shown at the time of the full
development of the tail, the term needs to be modified by the
facts. In the show season, ‘medium size” is the term which
best expresses the true state of the bird’s development. To
judge a bird in the show season by a rule which would apply
only to his full development, would be an egregious error, and
no good judge would be guilty of it. The most perfect type of
form in the female, we find in the full muscles and fine de-
velopment that precedes laying, for after reproduction has
begun the hens breed out of shape. Everything, indeed,
hinges on age, and without considering age judging becomes
unreasonable unscientific and unphilosophical. Taking into
account then the question of age and the development that is
to be expected at the age, we should cut for straight sickles
and nearly straight lesser sickles in the tail of the male |
point; for too upright carriage, approaching to squirrel tail, 2
to 13, the latter when the tail was really squirrel; for want of
expansion at the base, not in keeping with the full saddle, 3 to
| point; for white in the tail 3 to 3 points, according to the
amount. We look for a more pinched tail in the Dark
Brahma female than in the Light, but if it be really of Cochin
shape it should be cut 1 point; when partially fanned out
laterally it should pass uncut, and when well spread, equaling
that of the Light Brahma, it should be regarded of so great
value as to place the bird ahead of another equal in other
respects but lacking in this full expansion. For too upright

DarK BRAHMAS.,

~]
“I

carriage, in extreme cases called squirrel tail, cut 3 to 1
points; for drooping carriage of tail, 1 point; for bad color,
to 1 point; for white at the roots of the main tail feathers,
to 135 points.

The Legs and Feet—When compared with the Light Brahma,
the Dark Brahma has slightly shorter legs, stout and large in
bone, and more like the Cochins. The plumage on the thighs
and at the hock joints is more profuse, and as the fibre of the
feather is more whalebony than in the Cochins they suffer
more from vulture hocks than do the Cochins or the Light
Brahmas. As all this isa natural characteristic of the breed,
it should be carefully considered in scoring to prevent in-
justice. A hocked bird is one that has a full development of
plumage about the hock joint; when not only full, but stiff,
it becomes a vulture hock. If we had to score a_ Light
Brahma, a Dark Brahma, and a Cochin, that bad hocks of an
equal size, the one on the Light Brahma being really sufficient
for disqualification, we should disqualify the Light Brahma,
cut the Dark Brahma 2 points, and the Cochin 13 points.
The reason is plain. The stiffness of the feather on the Light
Brahma would make a vulture hock and demand disqualifica-
tion; the greater profuseness of plumage on the Dark Brahma,
entitling it by nature to have a larger hock, and the less stiff-
ness of the feather would entitle it to not more than a 2 point
cut, while the softer feather and the more curled web of the
Cochin would make the evil still less, and a cut of 13 points
would be amply sufficient correction for the defect. Remem-
bering then the natural development of the Dark Brahma, we
should cut for bare middle toes, | point; for bare outer toes,
13 points; for bare middle and outer toes, 25 points, provided
the shank feathers, when pressed down, would cover the outer
toes, if not then disqualify. The hock should be completely
covered by the plumage. If the hock is large, and the feather
is partially stiff in quill and curls about the hock, cut from 3 to
2 points; if the specimen is very bad, and the judge is satis-

Bales Dele Roles

78 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

fied that it has not been tampered with, cut 3 points and give
it the benefit of the doubt; if a cut of 3 points is not sufficient
for the defect the bird should be disqualified. With the fuller
feather development that the Standard of Perfection permits,
larger hocks may be expected in the exhibition room. To
avoid disqualification, and to save as much as possible in the
score, there is a temptation to tamper with the hock feathers,
and by breaking the quills cause them to curl about the hocks.
Last season we saw cases where the feathers were thus broken
in from three to five places. Such a specimen should be
promptly disqualified, even if the evil would not have caused
disqualification had the bird not been tampered with. Either
this should be done, or the judge should carefully consider
what the cut would have been if the bird had been shown in
its natural condition, and then add to the cut that would have
been given, from 1 to 13 points for the broken feathers. Ex-
hibitors may growl, they may even threaten the judge in
private letters, but they will carefully keep out of print, for
the exposure of their crookedness is not what they desire.
Something must be done to check this evil, both in the inter-
ests of common decency and fairness to honest competitors
who show their fowls in strict accordance with the rules of the
society holding the exhibition. When the hocks bend in,
producing a tendency to knock-knees, cut from 3 to 5 points.
For too short shanks, cut 3 point; for too long, 3 to 14 points.
For too light leg feathering, 4 to 1 point should be cut. The
shanks and toes are reddish yellow in males and dusky yellow
in females, and anv reasonable yellow or dusky yellow re-
spectively should pass uncut. In fowls, a light straw color
should be cut but 1 point. Shanks having a real flesh color,
pinkish white, black, or real willow, should disqualify the
specimen,

AQ on
y

x \ Ya
<I OQ
SARS > So SE
Siessss ;
SY

DaRK BRAHMAS.

CUTS FOR FORM.

[For Comp and Heap, see table for Light Brahmas. ]

NECK.

MEGS INOS Ol Chianti ete oR ait aplay a a ee

WRcraESNOeGT ts nee Sa, ak e's, ae bates eae :

Rooslittie arched: 6.4 00. pels Meas BS:

Seanty hackle, causing slim meee et Sian ea Sees 4
BACK.

MGGre@iInyes is aa ow eee as 3

Pronounced cushion in ‘female

Long, closely feathered in female

Narrow and oval in female :
BREAST.

201071 RR a ea A 4

hack or roundness of qilarters os foci <25. 4.6 4

OG See UCT Tee ee ae: RR nes Rome 5)

Wedge-shaped in female ee Fe 4
BODY.

hoo close and thi tothe... aie x ahs ee

Fluif below keelin female ...... :
WINGS.

Too low set . feats yma ie ee ae

Badly folded dighta:. =i aye 4
TAIL.

Seraelit niCkles sc. chr me es he at os

STOR ego: ei ean 0 ee

Want of expansion at base .. . lacs : 4

Cochin-sWaped in female ..... .. .. .
Droopingin-temale. ..- 2. ..

79

bole woh

80 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

LEGS AND FEET.

Bareanidddletoés 14.5.0 2) aie eee
Bare outer toes :

Bare outer and middle ence

Large hocks

Renock KMeesit a =. ue ee eae
Too short shanks

Too long shanks :

Too hght aaa on aes

CUTS, FOR COLOR:

NECK.

White under-color

Lustreless stripe .....

Siimityiedoime Si. sf = ee

Penciled hackle in Sales fA aa
BACK.

Shaded with foreign colors .-.......-
Warmished: Sandie «|| Gant peers

Faded stripe in saddle . .

Wihrbe WMder-GolOr <select tec ead vee
Imperfect penciling in female. ... .
Pepper and salt penciling. .....
Ground color shaded with brown

BREAST.

VV YALE CLOG fold sa a ake Diath ba: Deh) ay een ote
Wihitessplashes ia2" rites oe. cy ae eee
Want of penciling on female .......
Brown shading on ground color... .
Molasses and water ground color .

]
ly
25
4 to 3
5 tO 3
)
4 to 13
5 to J
3 to ls
x to ls
2 to 13
+ tol

NR NR WIR De Wie
S
bo

boy
Ca
©
—
|

to 2

DarRK BRAHMAS. SI

BODY.
Motted~or splashed with white = 025 sei. Se eee tO 19
White on fluff ER Oe DY otk 9 aac © eae |
Pia opemiae wither fe auarrwies fy ook 1 ke deat ce I
Lack of penciling on thighs (female ) |
Streaked with gray |
eb ray STOUNE COOT aes 5. ks Yee ee Cet le ere A

WINGS.
White spots in upper web of flights . x to3
Rust on smaller wing coverts ...... to 1s
White or rusty color on larger coverts x to 13
Bronze or brown on outer webs of see dati Pe x to 13
Patchy ground coloron female ...... x to 1
Pepper and salt penciling . x to 13
White im flighta+-2 -. -. » to 3

TATE.
White in tail 3 to 3
Bad color (female ) ee eae, We ; ton
Wihceat rOObG rete culers | Recs es SA ola}, mates ea c i to 14

LEGS AND FEET.

Light straw color on shanks of fowls... ..... . 1

a -

COCHINS.

The Cochins present the third type in the Asiatic class, a
type which is not inaptly described as one of convex lines.
The breast, the neck, the saddle or cushion, the tail of males,
the fluff, the sides, all present the convex as their line of
beauty The fact that so many Cochin fanciers are ‘‘solid
men’’—solid at least physically—lends some force to the say-
ing that our pets look wonderfully like ourselves, a saying,
however, which it will not do to push too hard. In all the
varieties we find the same general type, though in some it is
more pronounced than in others. The Buff Cochin represents
one extreme of the development, the Black, perhaps, the
other. Between these extremes the other varieties fall, but, as
the type is one, as the Standard description is the same, as
Cochin breeders are successfully bringing their towls to a sub-
stantial unity of type, as the application of the Standard to
form is the same, we shal] treat of the scoring of form of all
varieties together, and consider the scoring of the several
varieties for color separately.

The typical Cochin we have represented in our illustration,
an illustration made from a careful study of the breed itsell.
The male Cochin is a long feathered, soft feathered, square,
heavy looking bird, with shortish looking neck and legs, heavy
fluff, the saddle rising with a gentle sweep from the middle of
the back to the tail; the female possesses similar characteristics
as to shortness of limb and length of feather, head carried
forward, cushion pronounced, fluff abundant. In this short-
ness of joint and of body we believe that egg production has
been more or less sacrificed, for the longer bodied, shorter
plumaged specimens of the Cochin family lay the largest eggs

COCHINS. 83

and the most of them. The Partridge Cochins have less pro-
nounced convex lines than the Buff, and their eggs are larger
and quite as numerous; the Blacks have the least convex lines
and they are beyond dispute the most prolific layers of the
largest eggs among the four varieties. For a long time the
White variety failed in extreme Cochin development, but of
late years marked improvement has been made, and those
exhibited at last winter’s shows were among the best we have
ever seen. We call attention to these matters at the outset.
for, as the practical qualities lie at the foundation of the whole
poultry interest, without which it would languish and decline
if not perish, we hold that seeming defects, considered from a
purely fancy point, which do not injure but rather tend to
promote intrinsic merit, should be cut more leniently than
those defects which clearly injure both beauty and merit.
We do not forget, however, that the Cochins, and especially
certain varieties, are highly faney and greatly fancied fowls,
and that the Standard is the supreme law, where it does not -
conflict with nature, and in exhibition specimens, with which
the judge is primarily concerned, the most perfect develop-
ment is to be desired. The Standard of Perfection, intenticn-
ally or otherwise, has foreshadowed this principle in describing
the back of the male as haying “a gentle convex curve to the
tail,”” but a specimen exhibiting even more than this, in fact
with a full and pronounced conyex sweep, ought not to be cut
for this over-development in excess of the Standard descrip-
tion. A ‘‘gentle convex curve” is also demanded for the
cushion of the female, and any over-development would not
be a defect. Such over-development, except in cases of ties,
deserves no extra credit, for a specimen sufficiently developed
to fill the outline of our illustration ought to pass uncut.

The strongest characteristics of the Cochin are the form of
the back, the saddle or cushion, the carriage and size of the
wings. The birds which are the best in weight, back, wings,

84 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

breast, and tail, other things equal, are the ones that deserve
the highest honors.

As a passing remark upon color, we desire to correct an
erroneous impression. It is generally thought that penciled
birds will not score nearly as high as solid colored or self-
colored birds. In a slight degree this is true, but not to the
extent that is generally supposed. The American Poultry
Association has recognized this fact by voting that in sweep-
stake prizes, when the scores between solid and_parti-colored
birds are the same, the parti-colored birds shall be declared
the winners. To that extent the vote is just. But, when it is
remembered that in penciled birds the colors are distinct and
almost never clouded, and that in self-colored birds the color
varies in shade and produces cloudiness, the difference
between the two is seen to be not as great as is generally sup-
posed. Imperfect penciling is offset by want of clearness in
the self-color, and in the Buff, Black and White varieties there
is nearly as much difference between a clear, rich buff and
the faded buff, a metallic black’ and the dead, faded and rusty
black, and a clear, shining white and the yellow shaded white,
as there is between the sharp, clear penciling and the broken
pepper and salt of the Partridge. The cuts will be of nearly
the same amount. The fact is, that perfection is about as
difficult to obtain in the one case as in the other, and when
obtained is to be as highly valued. Any departure from per-
fection deserves a cut of the proper percent, and an imperfectly
penciled back is no more imperfect than a rusty black, a faded
buff, or a stained white, provided the percentage of departure
from perfection is the same. The Decimal Scale which we use
recognizes this, and is therefore founded upon true and philo-
sophical principles.

Bearing in mind these general principles, and the small but
specific differences in the varieties, we consider the form of the
Cochin as substantially one and illustrate the proper scoring
of the form.

COcHINs. 85
The Comb —The Cochin comb is small in comparison to the
size of the bird, and should have five or six points, either to be
considered perfect. Deep serrations are not to be considered
a defect; better too deep than too shallow, for the comb will
stand more firmly upon the head. For every point the comb
fails of five, cut 1 point. If it is wide and curled from the
bottom of the rear from pressing on the back of the head, cut
from 3 to 13, in proportion as it turns to one side at the rear.
If it fall over from the top to one side, or if the comb be
twisted over the beak, disqualify. A twisted comb is one
that forms a loop on both sides of a line drawn from the beak
= 3 through the median line of the comb to
i a its rear (as in a); but if only one loop is
formed (as in B), caused by the too
rapid growth of the top, the disqualifi-
cation of a twisted comb is not estab-
Re a lished, but only a defect, which should
be cut from 3 to 1 point. For a comb that is too large, cut
from 4 to 13 points, the latter only in excessive cases.

The Head.—The head of a Cochin is small, when compared
with the size of the bird or with a Brahma of equal weight,
but it should not in the male have any appearance of
efleminacy by narrowness or flatness over the nostrils, such a
defect deserving a cut of from 3 to 1 point. The ear-lobes
should be fairly developed and the wattles of rather more than
medium size and pendulous in character. Large wattles are
not a serious defect, while small ones are. It is seldom
necessary to cut for too large a size of wattles, while for smal]
wattles there should be a cut of from 3 to 3 points, the latter
only when no wattles appear.

The Neck.—The hackle in males should be abundant and
long enough to cover the shoulder points and cape; if the
hackle fails to cover the shoulder points, cut 1 point. If the
neck is nearly straight, cut 1 point. If the neck is too long or

86 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

too short, cut 5 point. In the females the head is carried
forward enough to cause in a Brahinaa cut of 3 point. The
faults in the neck of females are generally for color, but if the
neck is too sliim—and not apparently so because of color—cut
from 4 to 1 point; and for too long or too short a neck, cut 3

point.

The Back.—In the male the cape is flat and broad, the back
has a downward slope towards the tail until it reaches the
saddle, which commences at a point just back of the hackle
and gently rises to and nearly envelopes the tail. Not in one
case in five hundred, unless the specimen be very fat or the
plumage is assisted by curling, is there any convex sweep to
the saddle. We are speaking of the birds as nature produces
them, not as the Standard describes them. The saddle, how-
ever, is full and should pe nearly as broad in front of the tail
as the back is at the shoulders, from which point it rounds off
around the nicely rolled tail. A spare or narrow saddle should
be cut from 3 to 1 point; for flatness or depression that allows
the tail to cut through the same, 5 to 1 point. In the females
for a failure in the convex line of the cushion, cut 1 point; for
narrowness of back or cushion, 3 to 1 point.

The Breast.—In the male the breast should be deep and
well rounded in front. For any undue flatness in front, cut 3
-to 1 point. The breast of a Cochin is never so full in the
quarters as that of a Brahma, and its lower keel carries the
breast meat lower down and causes the convex lines to describe
a longer arc. The quarters also appear less prominent, but
the breast looks wider and broader. These characteristics
must be carefully taken into consideration in cutting for form.
In the females the posterior weight and heavy fluff causes the
breast to look much smaller than it really is, as any one can
demonstrate by taking a pair of scissors and cutting away the
fluff. For this reason the breast is often unjustly cut when
the fault is located in the body section and due to the develop-

COCHINS. 87

ment of the fluff. Ii the breast, viewed in iront, appears,
wedge-shaped, it should be eut 1 point; for lack of proper
sweep in front line, 3 point is generally sufficient, the forward
carriage of the head causing the are from the throat to the
thighs to be longer than in Brahmas, a distinction that must
be noted if justice is to be done,

The Body.—In the male we look for a deep keel, fairly well
rounded sides, and fluff that is heavy, stands out, and gives to
the thighs and hock joints a large appearance. For want of
thickness in the body that does not harmonize with the full
breast, cut 1 point. For a pinched and short plumaged fluff,
cut 1 point. In the temales, if the fluff drops abruptly down
back of the keel-bone, cut 1 point. If the fluff is shrunken,
causing the stern to look narrow, cut 1 point.

The Wings.—The set of the wings is important, as if too.low
down it destroys the flatness of the back. For a defect of this
kind, cut 3 to 1 point. For imperfect folding of the wings,
cut from 3 to 2 points, according to the degree of the detect.

The Tail.—There is no feature which has been more mis-
represented in illustrations than the tail of a Cochin. Instead
of being almost wholly buried in the saddle, not over two-
thirds of its bulk is so buried. In our illustration we have
striven to represent this feature as nature produces it in the
extreme type of her development—the Buff Cochin, the
variety which of all the Cochin family is the most Cochin in
characteristics. A tail as good, as fully buricd, as is shown in
the illustration, should not be cut. If smaller and more
closely rolled together it would be an excellence that would
not add to the score but would entitle the specimen to a
preference on an equal score. Cochins: have sickles, but the
plumage is soft and curling and therefore adheres closely to
the tail and rolls over and hides the tail proper. If the tail be
large and expanded it should be cut I point; if the sickles are
prominent, cut 1 point; if the sickles are stiffand straight,

88 PiiiLOSOPHY Or JUDGING.

cut 4 to 1 point. If in the female the tail is fanned out, cut 1
point.

The Legs and Feet.—The thighs and hock joint should be
completely covered with the plumage, and the shanks and toes
heavily feathered. For bare middle toes—the Cochin being
the most profusely feathered family of fowls—cut 15 points.
If middle and outer toes are bare, disqualify. The shank
bone, long and small, cut 5 to 1 point; thinly feathered thigh
and shank, disclosing hock joint, 3 to 1 point. Any approxi-
mation to knock-kneed, 5 to 3 points. While the hocks may
be large, vulture hock is a disqualification. Nor need the
hock be nearly as large as is represented in the Standard
illustration to be such a vulture hock as to require disqualifica-
tion. If, instead of curling around the hock the feathers run
straight back and are stiff in quill the disqualification of
vulture hock exists. For any approach to vulture hock, but
not reaching the: point of disqualification, cut from 3 to 23
points. If more than 24 points are demanded as a proper
punishment for the defect the bird should be disqualified. If
the feathers are broken ts cause them to curl about the hock,
either cut an extra point beyond what the specimen would
have deserved if the feathers had not been broken, or dis-
qualifv. The feathers were broken for a purpose, and he,
who breaks them, has no just cause of complaint if the judge
disqualifies the specimen. If the feathers have been pulled
out of the hock plumage, a matter easy to discover, disqualify
the specimen without hesitation. The absence of such
feathers is prima facie evidence that the bird was disgualitied
or that the exhibitor thought it was. It is well in such cases
for the judge to agree with the evident opinion of the
exhibitor.

——F-

COCHINS.

CUTS FOR FORM.

COMB,

For each point less than five .

Turning aside at reat

Looped to one side
Too large .

NOG MARLOW): —.- <
Too small wattles .

Too short hackle
Too straight

Too long

Too short.

Too slim (female )

HEAD.

NECK.

BACK.

Spare or narrow saddle

Flat or depressed saddle .

Not convexed cushion .
Narrowness of back or cushion

Noo tat. oss

BREAST.

Wedge-shaped hemialen ;
Lack of front sweep (female)

Lack of thickness .
Pinched fluff .

30DY.

Dropped fluff, rear of Gea fgemate)
Narrow stern (female)... .. -

Too low set... .
Imperfect folding .

WINGS.

hoe DOR bole

ie bole

Nie ple

bol

toe bole

89

to
to

to 1

to 5

to |
tort
to 1

1
Ton

to |

ee a

to |

to 2

1
to 1:

1

1

90 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

TAIL.

ow large and expanded’. 2 Ga 0 5 ese oe eee eae ]
RICHES RONEN ey shag ste Pee, aes Rae, ken ama |
Sipkles Stitt amd straint.” “tert. os fe are a
Rannednout-(fema@le)., £:a he ae Wee vate ots eect) ae ]

LEGS AND FEET.

Bare: middlentGes 2% <a 66 doe eee Ao eet aes wee 13
Shami lone.andismails gees os coe eu Bee + to I
Thinly feathered thigh and shank . 5 to |
Knock-knees . . SS ire ae 1403
Approach to vulture hock . 3 to 23

PARTRIDGE COCHINS.

While form could be considered together, color must be
considered separately for each variety, and we begin with the
variety exhibiting the greatest variety of colors and the most
intricate method of marking. Indeed, beside this variety, all
the Cochins are self-colored birds. While there is no disput-
ing about tastes, and one man will prefer the beautiful golden
hue of the Buff, another the spotless snow of the White, and
still another the metallic lustre of the Black, we believe that
not a few will unhesitatingly declare that of all Cochins the
Partridge is the most beautiful. Our own private taste isa
matter of concern to no one but ourselves, and so we express
no opinion upon the matter. All are excellent, all are
valuable, all deserve cultivation. This at least, we do venture
to say, that the Partridge Cochin presents the greatest diffi-
culty in breeding and the greatest complication in judging,
and, therefore, for the purpose of this work deservedly
receives first consideration. Although to preserve the rich
colors and secure the beautiful pencilings something has been

PARTRIDGE COCHINS. Q]

lost in shape, yet the color and the penciling make for this
loss adequate compensation. The first section for considera-
tion is:

The Head.—The eye should be red or bay, this color being
the most desirable, and any departure from it should be cut
from 3 to 1 point, the latter cut to be made only when the eye
is of some color other than a shade of red or bay. It yellow
or any foreign surface color appears in the ear-lobes it should
be cut from 4 to 14 points. If the color of the plumage is
faded, dull or poor, cut from 3 to 1 point. More than the
latter amount will seldom or never be required for this detect.

The Neck.—The hackle of the male should be a rich or dark
orange bay, striped with black. Ii the lacing be a faded lemon
hue it should be cut 3 to | point. For bay color intermixed
with the black of the stripe, or for want of metallic lustre to
stripe, cut from 3 to 13 points. In the necks of the temales
the defects are almost invariably for penciling of the black in
the hackle, and as it is safe to say that prime penciling upon
tho back, breast and wings is never found without more or
less penciling of the black in the hackle, in other words as
this is a defect that accompanies the greatest excellence in the
variety, it should be cut lightly, 3 point generally being
sufficient, and in extreme cases 1 point being ample. Bear in
mind that with 5 for color 4 point is 10 per cent. of the whole
color and 20 per cent. of the black if the striping and lacing
are evenly divided, and when we come to cut 1 point we take
20 per cent. of the whole color and 40 per cent. of the biack,
an amount that ought to satisfy even the severest judge. The
want of striping in the lower part of the neck plumage often
causes an appearance of shortness of neck that is improperly
cut under form.

The Back.—In the male, if the under-fluff is white, cut 3 to
1 point. Ii the black stripe of the saddle gives way to a chest-
nut or bay hue, cut 3 to 2 points If the lacing fades from a

Q? PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

rich red to a lemon color, cut from 3 to 2 points, according to
degree, and the same for mossiness, discoverable in some
specimens. The color detects of females are generally in the
amount and character of the pencilings. For penciling of the
pepper and salt pattern, instead of the clear lines that run
parallel to the outline of the feather, cut from 3 to 13 points.
For failure of the rich reddish-brown,—the so-called mahogany
color,—in the ground color, cut 5 to 15 points.

The Breast.—In the male it should be a rich black. Any
splashes of red in cockerels should be cut 3 to 1 point. In the
females the pencilings are the greatest faults and receive the
heaviest cuts, for which reason they seldom score higher than
the males. For want of penciling, or for ‘“‘pepper and salt’ in
throat and breast, cut from 3 to 33 points. <A “clay breast,”
that is one not penciled, or one that is absolutely free from
penciling for more than one-half its surface, should be passed
as an unworthy specimen.

The Body.—In the male the color is black in tront of and on
the thighs, the soft fluff a dead black. For red or bronze all
along the side and over the upper thigh cut 1 point. In the
females the body loses somewhat of its intense shade as it
leaves the breast and generally fails entirely in its pencilings
when it reaches the fluff, where the two colors merge into one.
The penciling, however, should extend over the body and
thigh, though we do not expect the same brillianey in colors
at these points For want of it, cut from 3 to 1 point. Fora
fading of the rich ground color to a pale or clay color, cut
from 4 to 1 point.

The Wings.—The wings add greatly to the beauty of the
variety in both sexes; in the male the richness of the colors
and the brilliancy of the bar, and in the female the perfection
of the penciling and the proper shade of the ground color,
are to be sought tor and highly prized. Bronze or red in the
bar cut $ to 1} points. For the want of a narrow edging to

PARTRIDGE COCHINS. 93

the primaries, and for the want of brilhancy to the rich red
on the outer webs of the secondaries, cut 5 to 2 points; for
white in any part of the wing from 3 to 2 points. In females,
the want of well defined lines in the penciling cut from 3 to 2
points; white in the flights from 3 to 2 points. In the last
thirty years great improvement has been made in the pencil-
ing of this variety, and yet they do not score any higher, for
greater accuracy in judging has gone hand in hand with the
improvement of the fowls. Nature gives better models to breed
to and to score by, and as nature changes her type, the judge
' who follows nature must change his judging. It was as diffi-
cult thirty years ago for birds to reach the type of perfection
of that day as it is for birds to reach the present type of per-
fection in our day. And it will always be so, for as we ap-
proach our ideal it recedes from us like the line of the horizon,
and the unattainable is always in view but always unattained.

The Tail.—As the tail must be black, any white disqualifies
in the male. In the female black in the deck feathers and
upper tail plumage, that gives a dull heavy color to the tail
and destroys the richness of its ground color, cut 4 to 13
points.

The Legs and Feet.—In the male the thighs should have a
plumage of rich black; when tarnished with red or bronze cut
x to 1 point. The thighs in females should be rich brown,
penciled like the body but less distinctly. For loss of pencil-
ing or for faded clay brown color, cut 3 to 1 point. For white
in the plumage of the shanks and toes—a bad defect in males
cut from 3 to 2 points.

CUTS FOR COLOR.

HEAD,

Eye, other than red or bay, . . . . {0.8
Foreign color in ear-lobes. . . mieten tote nS 2 SF touks
Pia Ne ge Ue cc cs a) st oS eh es Os 2 tnd

Q4 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

NECK.
Redunisiripe wllaeklet..x) suet Ok Nee
Wantcolmetallicduster im stripes \ <r: eek eo es ee eee

Penciléed'stripesin: dtackle i (iémale). et) se 2% 268k
BACK.
White in under-fluff . ;
Chestnut or bay in saddle stripe .
Pepper and salt penciling (female)
Faded ground color (female)
BREAST.
Splashes of red in cockerels .
Want of penciling (female)
Pepper and salt penciling (female )
BODY.
hed or bronzealong side@: <<: a wc. et Se a
Want of penciling (female) .
Fading of ground color (female) .

WINGS.

Bronze or red in bar

Want codeine om Primaries... 3 se. se ene aerate
Want of brilliancy to edging of secondaries

Webi in aitrys Darin teeta eae Le ee eek age ahem, pec ae

Want of penciling (female) .
White im fichis"(female yr rie 2 a ee.

THE TAIL.
Black in deck feathers and upper tail plumage (female)
LEGS AND FEET.

Thighs tarnished with red or bronze... .. ..
Loss of penciling (females) .. .

Faded ground color (females). .......
White in shank and toe plumage . . .

— moe NR we

We NR we

Loe Whe

Loe De Nie WR

NH Nie NIH po Nie hie

to
to

to

to

to
to
to
to

to

to
to
to
to

bo

we

BUFF COCHINS.

In scoring Buff Cochins some judges have considered only
the surface color, but is this sound policy ? Would a breeder,
one who really understood this variety be satisfied with a bird
that had a white or a dark under-color? Would he not expect
the bird with the white under-color, especially if mated to one
with a similar lack of depth of color, to produce chickens that
would be blotched with white and mealy about the wings ?
And would he not expect the bird with the dark under-color
to breed chickens with more black about them than is desira-
ble? If this is so, ought not the judge to give some weight to
the under-color of the specimen ? These are questions that
will bear studying.

Under-color is generally lighter than the surface color, for it
is not exposed to the effects of the sun and the air; but there
is a vast difference between a clear buff of light shade and
clear white under-color. We have exacted that the quills of
the feathers at least shall retain the buff color, and we believe
that under-color which is white, or which is so dark—has so
much of the black element in it—as to permeate the plumage
with blue streaks, deserves to be considered defective, while
white quills are certainly foreign to prime specimens. The
color defects in this variety are found in the differences of
shade, running from a dark red buff through a rich clear buff,
to a nearly white color. For this defect in Neck, Back, Breast,
Body, and Wing Coverts, a cut of from $ to 1 point should be
made, and in the same sections for white under-color a like
cut should be made. Ii the j udge is in doubt whether to cut
us much as 4 point in any section let him check it thus, *,
two such checks being considered equivalent to a cut of }
point in footing up the scores. If when the scores are footed,

Q6 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

two specimens are found to be equal, but one of them has an
uncancelled check, that bird should be placed below the other,
for it shows an ‘“‘ out’’ which has not yet been subtracted.

In the wings we like a clear, dark buff; black to any positive
extent should be cut 5 to 1 point. White in the primaries or
secondaries is a more serious defect than black, and should be
cut from 3 to 3 points.

In the Tail we look for a clear, rich buff or chestnut, some-
times shading into nearly or quite black ; the, black is not a
serious fault, and should be cut lightly if at all, but if there is
a decided show of this color cut 5 to 2 points. For white in
the tail, cut 3 to 8 points, in proportion to the amount.

The plumage of the legs and feet should be a rich, clear
buff, and if in such plumage an isolated white feather should
occur we should regard it as strong evidence of some injury
when the bird was in a pin-feathery state, and pass it uncut;
but if the plumage were of a pale, light buff, and a white or
partially white feather should occur it would be presumptive
evidence of a loss of color, and should be cut as a defect. For
white in the shank or foot feathering a cut of 3 to | point will
be sufficient.

CUTS FOR COLOR.

NECK.

Winevenceshade i 2.05 Bess ae Geos a 4 to |
White in under-color .. . 4 to |
BACK
Umewven shade: -. 9 3 2 oe: eee ee de ee
Wehite- in wndercolor.).” <- caeeeee e e i to 1

BREAST.
Dine venrshad Gk =k Mies Mien Se acer te Wee bee
MVhite in AIderzcOlon.42.4 0 siagireue meer ets eee we aves

bole Nie
ener
ey 2)
—_ —

BODY.
Unevenishade™ 2102 Sites eee aan ere oleh eee i to 1
White im tunder-color (6.2525 shee ee ee es eee z to 1

BLACK COcHINS. 97

WINGS.
Uneven shade in-cOverts. ist Ph Acer. a we x to 1
White in under-color . . + to 1
Eee let etal Aelcn Agee of onc Sa) dys gee eee GT
White in primaries or secondaries... . 2... ; to 3

: WARDS
IB eae Lester Leet on) noe el oot 25, iy deere eA Es eyes x to 2
White in tail . 3 to3
LEGS AND FEET.

Vy TEES 07 522279 125 cea gee ee ee eo 2 hone

BLACK COCHINS.

While we are considering defects of color, it will not be out
of place to allude to two matters of form in which this variety
suffers more than others. First, in the back, which has less
convex lines and is usually defective to the extent of 1 point ;
second, too large and stiff plumage in the tail, owing to the
introduction of Langshan blood, which causes a deserved cut
of from 3 to even 13 points. We call attention to these matters
in passing.

The perfect color is a rich, lustrous metallic black, and the
defects are usually those arising from a dead, rusty or brown
black. They affect the score as much as the defects already
spoken of in the Buff variety, 3 to 1 point in the several
Sections being the usual cut for the departure from perfect
color. In the wings occur slaty, sheeny spots that should be
cut from 3 to 2 points, as they approach white, which dis-
qualifies. For white in leg and toe feathering a cut of from 4
_to 2 points should be made. White in any other part of the
plumage disqualifies. As these black fowls are hardy, practical
stock and pay in poultry and eggs we should allow this fact to
temper our judgment in considering their special features.

7

98 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

CUTS FOR COLOR.

NECK.
Dullkor rusty awe 77. See + to 1
BACK.

Datlor musty lane... oi) 2 eat. Se are es ORE 3 to |
BREAST.

Puller risty.Wae sy 3)2.'v sais ache eee ee eee - 3) elu
BODY.

Dall-orsrusty hue Mee Gee ote en eae cas oneal Ome
WINGS.

Dallor rusty Coverts 1s oe ae ee: es
PHEEY SI OUS va-) Reet gematnet cate Was 1 CON iy teribe tas can ea
TAIL.

Dull or rusty hue. . . 4 to 1
LEGS AND FEET.

AV nite sin qolmaa ees! ia cn ate. sae Se cate -pahage ute ay haat nee cae

WHITE COCHINS.

In this variety we desire a pure white plumage, feathers
other than white being a disqualification. To interpret this
disqualification strictly and literally would be to exclude
nearly every male bird from competition, for we find a yellow
shading to the plumage, yellow quills to the feathers, and not
infrequently minute spatters of a dark color which could be
successfully imitated by forcing any dark fluid through an
atomizer upon the white ground color. Disqualifying for such
defects is to be strongly condemned. A reasonable size or a
prevalence of these dark spots should be had before disquali-
fication is resorted to. Brown, red, absolute black feathers, or
any feathers that show a distinctly and positively foreign type
should, of course, disqualify. Disqualifications are summary

WHITE CocHINs. 99

and arbitrary means of shutting a bird out of competition,
and should never be resorted to unless they are positive and
unequivocal in character. While it is best never to err, it is
quite difficult not to, and it is far better err on the side of
leniency than on the side of severity. For this yellow or straw
shading, or canary color, in the neck, cut } to 1 point. For
yellow quills in the wings and tail, cut from 3 to 1} points,
considering them with the discoloration on the wing coverts.
For cloudy dark color—minute specks above alluded to—in
wings or tail, cut from 3 to 1 point. Unless the defect deserves
a cut of a full 13, the specimen should not be disqualified. No
disqualification for color can be said to be positive in character
that would not cause a cut of such an amount. For color of
shanks, cut from 3 to 3 points; if more than that is required
it will be necessary to disqualify.

CUTS FOR COLOR.

NECK.

Re Mow, phair ste mean tate enia a ht gs esas eee
BACK.

SCENT Oy steers (kc aie aie ae oat Oe NOE tea oi, | a Re | ee 4 to 1
BREAST.

Yellow shading . ; z tol
BODY.

ViellOwmeSmACia eo. Wee c eo ala tb. Pahoa gk hg ee + tol
WINGS.

Yellow shading of coverts and yellow quills... . . z to 13
Minute -specks-of dark >. 47. 's' 22-1. . Seeds 3 tol
TAIL:

Yellow shading and yellow quills .......... 3to 13
ities Cheol Garin ie i. 4 ek nt es 3 tol
LEGS AND FEET.

Color other than yellow of shanks and toes ..... 3to3

LANGSHANS.

The Langshan, in respect to its origin and relationship, and
concerning its judging, has caused more controversy than,
perhaps, any other breed admitted to the Standard. Were it
within the scope of our purpose we could make an extremely
interesting chapter upon this fowl, but as we are not concerned
with its origin and are only interested in its proper judging,
we are obliged to omit many facts interesting in themselves.
but not pertinent to our work. The Langshan presents a type
of its own, a type which the Standard emphasizes, and which
must be adhered to to keep the fowl from approaching the
Cochin in its characteristics. There is a tendency among some
breeders to make the Laugshan each year more like a Black
Cochin in form, and it is the clear duty of the judge to so
upply the Standard that these Cochin-shaped birds will stand
little chance of winning in the exhibition room. Were judges
to ignore the two distinct types, and so ignore the require-
ments of the Standard, the time would not be far distant when
it would require a more than ordinarily good eye to tell one
from the other. Such a state of things need never to occur.
Black Cochins can and should be bred to the true Cochin type ;
Langshans should be held to their own type; and judges
should see that prizes are so awarded as to make it perilous for
a Cochin breeder to exhibit a bird of the Langshan type, or a
Langshan breeder to exhibit a bird of the Cochin type. That
such has been done in the past we know. That crossing of
the two varieties has been more or less resorted to we know.
And that the judge now has an important and sometimes
difficult duty to perform we know. We hope, however, that
this work will assist in keeping breeders, exhibitors and

LANGSHANS. 10]

judges alive to the importance of breeding and showing Black
Cochins that are Black Cochins, and Langshans that are
Langshans, in form and type as well as in name.

The Langshan, as compared with the Cochin, differs in the
carriage of the body, which is more upright; in the length
and earriage of the tail, which is longer with longer and more
pronounced sickles and hangers and is carried at a greater
elevation; in the length of the shank, which is longer in pro-
portion to the size of the bird; in the length and character of
the plumage, which is less profuse and of a closer and harder
character; in the color of the skin, which is white instead of
yellow; and in the color of the bottoms of the feet, which is
pink or flesh colored instead of yellow, as well as in other
minor points, which are more fully considered under the
various sections.

Langshans have been mercilessly disqualified for white in
the plumage in the past, no other breed probably having been
disqualified in so wholesale a manner. The wording of the
Standard, as it was interpreted by many, required this; we
believe a more liberal interpretation should have been given.
Under the revision in the Standard of Perfection white in the
feathers of the shanks and toes will be excepted from the
disqualification for white in the plumage. In this breed, as in
all others, a disqualification ought to be clear and unmistak-
able, and the white ought to be positive, absolute white to
disqualify. Mere discoloration, a mere fading from the intense
black, was never intended as a disqualification. Hf, for ex-
ample, the tip of the feather of the wing were faded out, and
disclosed a clear white centre, it could not be ignored, but to
disqualify a bird for one such accidental spot, provided it was
no larger than a shot, would be a real injustice. It would be
a defect; it ought not to be regarded a disqualification. The
defect could be cut, and the bird remain in competition. But
if the spots were frequent, or if a single spot of clear white of
reasonable size appeared—not in the feathers of shanks or

7

102 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

toes—then the bird would have to be disqualified. The same
leniency which is accorded to other black breeds should be
accorded to the Langshan. While we are of the opinion that
disqualifications ought to have no place in the Standard, or
that they ought to be reduced to the lowest possible number
and be as uniform as possible for all breeds, the judge’ must
apply those found in the Standard, but should so apply them
as to work justice and not injustice, as to encourage and not
discourage the best specimens, as to elevate the breeaing of
high class fowls, not depress or destroy this pursuit. Reason
should govern him, and all specimens should have the benefit
of any doubt. If a judge hesitates whether to disqualify a
specimen or not, if he is in doubt about the propriety of so
doing, he will be wise not to disqualify. With these principles
in mind let us look at the proper judging of this variety.

The Comb.—The Langshan has a larger comb than the
Cochin. If straight and evenly serrated it would pass uncut,
even if so large as to be cut on a Cochin. Ii smaller than is
usually obtained it would still pass uncut, for such combs add
to the beauty of the breed and are difficult to obtain. A comb
so large as to be cut 1 point in a Cochin would not require a
cut of more than 5 point in a Langshan, there being about
this difference in the natural development of the two breeds.
For size the cuts should be from 3 to 15 points. Imported
birds, as a rule, have larger combs than those bred in this
country, probably due to our careful Standard and the greater
eare of our breeders. If the comb is not straight, if it has
twists in it, it should be cut from 3 to 2 points. There should
be not less than five nor more than six points to the comb, and
for every point less than five and for every point more than
six, cut 1 point. In the females, and especially in the adults,
a tendency to thinness and folding in the comb exists, and
should be cut from 4 to 3 points, the latter cut often being
required. This tendency is increased by the requirement for
heavy weights, for the more the weight is forced the greater

LANGSHANS. 103

the tendency to exaggerated defects of the comb. This isa
matter of common observation, especially in all breeds
naturally having rather large combs. With a reduction of
weights the score of this breed will be raised about 2 points
on the average, though the highest scoring birds will probably
not be much affected. As it has been in the past, the birds
that win are generally those which have not been cut on
comb.

The Head.—A slim, peaked head should be cut from 4 to 13
points in extreme cases. The color of the plumage is generally
perfect. The eye must be dark brown or hazel, and if not, it
receives a cut of from 3 to 1 point. For wattles exceedingly
small, giving an effeminate appearance, cut 2 points. For very
large and coarse wattles, cut from 3 to 1 point.

The Neck.—The neck is longer than that of the Cochin, is
not carried so far forward, and the plumage is long and of a
bright metallic black color. For failure of shape, as seen in
the profile, cut from 3 to 1 point. The defects are chiefly those
of plumage, and particularly in the under-color. If absolute
white it is a disqualification, but for shades intermediate be-
tween that and the dark slate, which is the proper color, cut
from 3 to 2 points. If more than 2 points are required—which
is 40 per cent. of the whole color—the bird should be disquali-
fied. If the hackle has a reddish or bronze hue, cut from 3 to 2
points; if the red or bronze becomes prominent and gives the
color to the feather, disqualify.

The Back.—The back should neither be convex like that of
a Cochin, nor concave lke that of a Brahma, but should form
a straight, inclined plane from the middle of the back to the
tail. Any deviation from this, whether it be towards the
convex lines of the Cochin—a not uncommon defect—or
towards the concave sweep of the Brahma, should be cut from
> tol point. The saddle of the male is narrower than ina
Cochin, and should it be broad like that of a Cochin, cut from

104 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

5 to 1 point.: The cuts for color come from a loss in shade and
in brilliancy. As the color departs from a greenish or
purplish lustrous black to a plain black, cut 5 point; to a dead
black, cut 1 point; to a brownish black, cut 13 points. For
‘defective under-color, approaching white, cut from 3} to 13
points.

The Breast.—The very upright carriage of the breast causes
it to lose the prominent appearance demanded in a Brahma,
and a breast that would be cut for lack of forward sweep in a
Brahma | point: would, pass uncut-in a Langshan. But while
the breast is carried so much higher, and the forward sweep is
impaired, the quarters must be rounded, and a wedge-shaped
breast would require a severer cut than in a Brahma, for this
very higher carriage makes it a greater defect; for such a
breast cut from 3 to 15 points. For lack of prominence, due
regard being had to the natural deveopment of the breed, cut
} point. Generally these two defects balance’ the breast
defects in other Asiatics, at an average cut for both of 3 to 1
point in ordinary exhibition specimens.

The Body.—The body seems shorter than it really is, and it
is sometimes accompanied by undue tullness in front of the
thighs, which with the fading of the color should be cut from
+ to 1 point.. :The fluff. in males is less abundant than in
Cochins; its rear sweep is about the same but it does not so
stand out about the thighs. If too full, like that of a Cochin,
cut 4 to 1 point. The female has a heavy fluff in comparison
with the male, and for profuseness should not be cut, but if it
drops down abruptly at the rear of the keel-bone, cut 1 point.
The color of the body is a clear black, not having the lustre of
the upper parts of the fowl, but it sometimes becomes rusty or
of a brownish shade, which should be cut 5 to 1 point.

The Wings.—The Langshan has the largest wings in the
Asiatic class. They should be carried high to prevent a round-
ness to the flat part of the back. For too low set wings, cut 1

LANGSHANS. 105

point. For imperfect folding, cut 3 to 13 points. For twisted
feathers, cut 1 to 2 points. The chief defects, however, are a
want of lustre and light clouded spots. For dead black in the
shoulder coverts, cut 1 point; for lustreless greater coverts,
which form the bar, 1 to 1} points; for clouded light spots in
primaries and secondaries—not absolute white—3 to 2 points.

The Tail—The high, well-developed tail with its long
sickles and its profuse hangers, is the chief embellishment ot
this breed. A small, Cochin-like tail should be cut 3 to 2
points; small, insufficient sickles, 3 to 1 point; want of lustre
in the plumage, 3 to 14 points; indications of white or light
color in the under-fluff of the coverlets and the quill ends ot
the main tail-feathers, $ to 13 points; light spots in the web ot
the feathers, } to 1 point; straight sickles, 3 to 1 point; low
carriage, 4 to 1 point; squirrel] tail,.3 to 14 points. As the
breed naturally carries its tail higher, a cut of 13 1s as severe
for squirrel tail as a cut of 2 would be fora Brahma. The
distance from the back of the head to the tail in a Langshan
is not more than one-half as much as it is ina Brahma. All
such things must be considered in giving a true score. Fora
pointed tail in the female a cut of from 3 to | point should be
made.

The Legs and Feet.—The shanks and lower thighs must be
longer than in other Asiatics. The shank now must be well
clothed and the outer toe must be actually feathered or the
specimen is disqualified. For a short, Cochin-like leg, cut 1
point. Middle toes well feathered, cut 1 point. For shank
thinly feathered, cut 3 to 1 point. For approach to knock-
knees, cut 3 to 3 points. For white in shank or toe-feathering,
cut $ to 2 points. Yellow on shank or foot disqualifies.

106 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

CUTS

MoO glare ear faa scale
Saeco utes 0 wake, cost ouse
Too many or too few points
Bad combs (females) . .

Slim and peaked .. .
Small wattles. . .
Large, coarse wattles .. .

Bad shape snwisn. 5h sarees

Convex or concave ... .
Cochin-like’saddle: .«.-. .

Wedge-shaped ......
Lack of prominence.

Fullness front of thighs. .
Too abundant fluff .. .

FOR FORM.

COMB.

NECK.

BODY.

e . e . . . .

Fluff dropping down (female)... . .

Too low set. .
Imperfect folding = 5 sy.
Twisted feathers . ... « .

POO“ Sin ai. von ea, Sites oe
Smit SiCklesy:. sles osnerto nts
Siralontrsielkles < y-tine:
Low carriage . .

SquUinrely iw. "5. Saaermeraaee
Pointed tail (female) .. .

WINGS.

Nie iH

t+
O

ie Nie

e)
_

eS et

LANGSHANS. 107

LEGS AND FEET.
Too short legs . bd ont a Sy ee ]
Middle toes well maskered. Pay ete, ee ee ee 1
Stanlethinlgsieatmered .~ < ss ae ws ee els TOF
ianocwemMeereee, 2s 2. Bates etn eet nee

aie
Yr

CUTS FOR COLOR.

HEAD.
WIRE WIE eh coe ae hay (etal! a ve) a ee eam an oe ety BOUe
NECK.

Light under-color . . 3 to 2
Reddish or bronze tinge . x to 2
BACK.

Plain black . 3
Dead black . 1
Brown black . 13
Light under-color . . x to 13
BREAST.
fea eat SEP. ee bene snug ee wes see EO
Light under-color. . . 3 to 2
BODY.

Rusty or brownish black 3 tol
WINGS.

Dead black shoulder coverts . : 1
Baptreless.ercater- COverts=.) s- son seste eo eee ee ed TONG

Clouded spotsamitim ate) woy so sce EN ns hi ar eee tO

TAIL.
Want of lustre... 3 to 13
Light under-color. . z to 13

re errGan Wein ws ee speeds “Se ees BF FO.T
LEGS AND FEET.
Witteanles and toe feathers ... . 5... 0s sss $to2

aan
Wad) \)
mn
; \\

AWN
iment ny \
Zaid p Winkninin¥ \)

aunt

Ml
ni
Wy mn H

wt

CEA Lee ek.

APPLICATION OF PRINCIPLES TO THE SCORING OF
THE DIFFERENT BREEDS,
CONTINUED.

THE AMERICAN CLASS.

HE American Class comprises the Plymouth Rocks, of
which there are three Standard varieties,—the Single
Combed Barred, the Pea-Combed Barred and the White; the
Wyandottes, of which there are also three varieties,— the
Silver, the Golden and the White; the Javas, of which there
are three varieties,—the Black, the Mottled and the White;
the American Dominiques and Jersey Blues. The class is a
large one, numbering eleven varieties, and is characterized as
preeminently a practical and useful one. It is unnecessary to
enter upon the details of judging all these varieties, for the
principles can be fully illustrated by the consideration of a
part of the whole number. For example, we omit the Ameri-
can Dominiques because under the Plymouth Rock we con-
sider all that need be said about the plumage, and under the
Wyandotte we consider the principles applicable to judging
arose comb. It is true that the comb of the Wyandotte and
that of the Dominique differs somewhat in character, but the
general principles remain the same, and he who has mastered

110 PHILOSOPHY OF. JUDGING.

them can very easily make the special applications necessary
to be made to this variety. For like reasons we omit the
Javas and the Jersey Blue. And further, it may be here said
that in the breeds to be hereafter considered the questions
that might arise in reference to omitted breeds will be fully
considered. It is our purpose to illustrate principles rather
than to furnish scores for specific breeds, so that one may
become an intelligent judge of all breeds.

Inasmuch as the several varieties of a given breed are
required to have the same form, we shall discuss first the form
and then under the specific varieties the coor, as was done in
the case of the Cochins.

PLYMOUTH ROCKS.

As the Plymouth Rock was the earliest of the distinctively
American breeds, and as it occupies the first place in the
Standard of Perfection, we first select it for consideration.
Upon the question of its relative merits we need not enter.
That it is a good, useful and practical fowl, and that it is a
widely popular one, needs no argument to establish. Its pri-
ority in time, alone, would entitle it to priority of considera-
tion.

The Plymouth Rock in size takes a middle position between
the Asiatics and the smaller breeds like Leghorns and Ham-
burgs. It has neither a Cochin nora Brahma shape, though
it approaches more nearly the latter than the former, as the
measurements which we have given clearly indicate. Yet
there are small, specific differences which give it a type of its
own. It is medium in the length of its joints, but tolerably
deep in the keel, which when exposed to view will be found
to be oval in shape, the white meat continuing well back upon
the same and giving a roundness to the sides of the body. In
the past, illustrations of this breed have given a larger forward
sweep to the breast than was natural, and, as we think, less

PrymMoutH Rocks. 111

thickness in front of the thighs. In our illustration we have
attempted to show the breed as it is, when viewed at an alti-
tude of about three and one-half feet from the ground, the
ordinary point of view when seen in the exhibition room.
The illustration will be of great aid in arriving at a true under-
standing of the correct Plymouth Rock form.

The Comb.—In the single combed varieties, the comb is of
medium size, whether compared with the combs of other
single combed varieties or compared with the size of the fowl.
It should have not less than five nor more than six serra-
tions—either number to be considered perfect; the serrations
should be rather more than medium in depth; the comb
should be straight, well balanced upon the head, and with a
base sufficiently thick to cause it to stand firmly. For each
point Jess than five and more than six, cut 1 point. Fora
twist over the beak, cut from 4 to 2 points. For turning ‘to
one side or curling from underneath in the rear part, cut 3 to
13 points. For each side sprig cut 1 point. In the pea-
combed variety the comb, to be perfect, should be as described
for a Brahma, but as the Brahmas have had many years in
which to perfect their combs and the Plymouth Rocks but few,
it would be unreasonable to expect as perfect combs upon the
latter as upon the former. While perfection is perfection, yet
a judge would be excusable for greater leniency in cutting the
comb of the Plymouth Rock than of the Brahma. While we
give specific cuts, as large as those given for a Brahma, the
judge should not forget nature and the present development
of the breed. If the central division becomes folded or
serpentine, cut 1 point; if the comb be turned to either side,
so as to cause all three sections to become crooked, cut from 13
to 3 points: If the comb be excessively large and coarse, cut
from 4 to 13 points. If loose and shaky upon the head, cut
from 3 to 14 points. A lopped comb, whether single or pea,
disqualifies.

DoH bole

112 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

The Head.—lf the skull be narrow and the head slim, cut |
point. For a long and nearly straight beak, cut 1 point. In
single combed variety, if the wattles are short and wrinkled and
‘are not pendulous, cut 3 to 25 points; if they are excessively
large and coarse, 3 to 13 points. In pea-combed variety, if the
wattles in the male are shorter than the ear-lobes, cut from 3
to 3 points, the latter when they are altogether wanting.

The Neck.—The neck should be neither short and thick nor
long and cranish, but should be of good length, with a nice,
sweeping arch,—not so pronounced in the curve as the Wyan-
dotte,—and a hackle that reaches well to the shoulder and
completely covers the cape, but does.not extend much beyond
that. If the neck is too long or too short, cut 4 point; if the
hackle is so scanty as to cause the neck to look very slim, cut
1 to 1 point; is the hackle is too long and flowing, cut 4 point;
if the head is carried forward so as to destroy the arch of the
neck, cut 1 point.

The Back.—li the back deviates from our outline to that of
what is knewn as a roached back, cut 4 to 2 points. Ii the
back be narrow and the saddle be pinched, cut 1 to 15 points.
In the females the rear part of the back drops slightly as its
plumage reaches the tail, giving a slight indication of a cushion.
If the back is full, even if it could not be said to be cushioned,
it should not be cut, but if nearly concave in the rear part it
should be cut 3 to 1 point. Cape, oval from side to side, cut 3
to 1 point.

The Breast.—A breast, which in its forward sweep and in
the roundness and prominence of its quarters will fill our
illustration, must be considered perfect inform. As it falls
away from this, defects arise. For flatness in front, cut from
} to 1 point; for failure in the oval sweep of the quarters, pro-
ducing a wedge shaped breast when viewed in front, cut 3 to 1
point. In the females, owing to the greater fullness of the
fluff, the breast appears smaller than it really is, and, unless

PrymMoutH Rocks. ita tes

this fact is borne in mind, it will be likely to be cut too
severely. If the forward curve and the fullness of the quarter
are defective, cut from 3 to 1} points for the combined defects.

The Body.—The body should be compact, round enough at
the sides to mateh the breast, and deep enough in the keel to
fill the outline we have given. If the keel be too high, so as
to give too little depth of body, cut |! point. If the fluff be so
abundant as to stand out about the thighs and destroy the
profile of the lower thigh and hock, cut 1 point; if-so thin and
sparse as to give the thigh a long, thin appearance, cut | point.
In the females the fluff is much more abundant than in the
males, and if so abundant as to cause a cut of 1 pointin a male
it would be passed as perfect in the female. Little beyoud the
hock joint remains in profile on account of the abundance of
the fluff. A pinched, thin fluff, that discloses a long thigh,
should be cut 1 point; such a fluff generally accompanies: a
thin, flat body, which should be cut 1 point additional. The
more common fault, however, is a dropping down of the abdo-
men, causing the rear line of the bird to fall much below the
keel; this should be cut 1 point.

The Wings.—lf the wing be set on so low down as to cause
the cape to be oval, cut 1 point; for bad folding of the pri-
maries, $ to 2 points, the latter when folded outside the
secondaries; twisted feathers, 3 to 2 points.

The Tail.—The tail of the male is not small, as it has been
described in the past, such description causing the forcible
premature moulting of the sickles, but it is really of medium
size with full sickles. Unless it is so full and high as to stand
above the lower line of the wattles, it should not be cut for
over size. Its four sickles should extend beyond the tail
proper, the lesser ones fully to the tip of the main tail feath-
ers, and the coverts reach well up to these coverlets, while
the lesser coverts should be abundant enough to cause’ the
back to be nearly as wide at the rear of the shell-bone as at

8

114 PriLtosopny or JUDGING.

the back of the cape. The back should slightly taper to the
tail. Too great a width—one wider at rear than at cape—cer-
tainly approaches the fullness and looseness of plumage that
characterizes the Cochin and is undesirable, but these tail em-
bellishments, that are too often considered in the saddle, must
be abundant enough to prevent a drop in front of the tail. A
narrow, pinched tail should be cut from 3 to 2 points; straight
sickles, } to 1 point; approach to squirrel, $ to 15; carried ina
drooping position, 4 to 13. In the females the carriage of the
tail is less upright than in the male. When carried too up-
rightly, cutting into the cushion, it should suffer 5 to 1 point;
if pointed like a Cochin’s, cut 1 point.

The Legs and Feet.—The legs should be of medium length,
the lower thigh of the male and the hock joint of the female
appearing in profile. The thighs should be stout in com-
parison to the weight, the shanks medium long with good
sized bone, but free from all stiltiness; if the shanks are short
and dwarfish, or if they are long and slender, cut 3 to 1 point.
The toes should be straight and look strong. If any be
crooked, cut from } to 1 point each that are so deformed.

CUTS FOR FORM.

COMB.

Too few or too many points (each)... - . i-. + .> > |
WISE ook fo. sie een Ra See Oe ee 3 to 2
Purine ab mearn ak. w5hse he eee eke Be os ees ae
Kach side sprig . aS Thea So Bigs SPOT real ae i
Central division: crooked (pea) su" 0. =.) sua! ats |

-\+
-~

Ail divisions crooked (pea) i. 8) soe ce un ee Spe

Excessively darce)! thes i- e ieee are a ae hie "oy a ss
Loose*und shaky en 20 co. te Se eee «a
HEAD.

INaitrow:. ss ktllics. 55, em ot gee onsen eeaar otic rien ays wn) tie = 1
Lone..straightbeakie sGatetieu ss See ieies) > a cs peter if

+ to 23

Short-wattles (single combed). ge. deferens Fis wares

ti

SS

aS UMS \

ws aN

Aw
OMS

NW

PitymMoutH Rocks. 115

Large, coarse wattles (single combed) ........-

x to 13
Short wattles (pea-ccombed) ..-.--.+-.- 4 to 3
NECK.
Wow done. pres. ols eee MS A
Too short. 2
Seam yee gcse ale ree pina eo 1 to 1
Mirype lA MD CRLO: ose ne oe Goer aris es hte nee oe so maca 1
eaten WAC Nn og SAG Ba ce Ph dS ea a ets ea eae 1
BACK.
Remete ne dees oe ore Pont PE SS Te oes Zap eae a me
INEIRRG Wi ote iasites Seritan aks, Skranid Wee a ee Set eee range
Nearly concave (female)... 2 26. ee we ee ee $tol
Aiveles Wee chee ake eck iors, weap S40 aA as ol elon
BREAST.
Pater GPOMe te ene ce hapten - Gere nta: eer LO top h. 6 he Oe
Medee-ahapelw ate. #2 2s ee dt. os ds s+ oe. oe Bhp
Defective curve and ee Wea hee ee eae Sy Ome

BODY.

MaieGee Demo Mh: Foto of 4+ ne he, oe eee es ee ose ede
Moora imate coping sls sxe ease te outtce a: Med aay
OP oss ipaes Wiis omic te tt aiscccsy ear ata on eure cele
Pinched mut (remaale))cn een bebe hess aay mn vee os uaa
Hint joodsy <.0.gaie | Leib Se boe Ma ieahitans ete yrange tater a 5
Dropping down Hehind fe alge Se ek aes, Mee Gh at hk are

ee

WINGS.
A Mevawe (oicchc(et Gas = Ree Ce grein oe areca ate een Ey aero 1
Primanes badly tolded w= 6 580g 27 iss ate ee Spt

OT wie apee PINE ER = teat Mat irik Mabe eure ites Peo ta) eebOra

TAIL.

Werrow andspinehied Gah 4 eae ee Vel Ge aw 3
Site etclies na Sema oS eae ke eB
Spline leeantinmeeeh ooo wie. ee eo tee a! ts 3 tO DS
Miraupnt se cattiamely +: (fis Who Weeitetts aes eS

to 2

116 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

Toouwprieht Gemale)-' ise. 7he ees es
Pombed- Cochin-like .j"5- 4204 ke ee) a ee 1
LEGS AND FEET.

Too short shanks . . MRO
Teo toneshanks </. <2. z to I
Crooked toes (each) . 5 tou

BARRED PLYMOUTH ROCKS.

Although the single and pea-combed varieties compete
separately, yet as their color characteristics are the same, for
convenience, we consider them together. Our remarks upon
color will apply to all Dominique or, as our English cousins
call it, cuckoo-colored plumage.

Over the question of what is the true Plymouth Rock color
there has been much controversy, yet there is really a sub-
stantial agreement among the controversialists. The trouble
has been that the question has been approached from entirely
different points of view. One side has described the feather
when removed from the plumage, the other the plumage as it
appears in the mass. The constituents of the Plymouth Rock
color are simply black and white. These two colors are laid in
parallel bars, one alternating with the other, and according to
the relative proportions of the two colors the feathers have
been classified as hght, medium and dark. If the black bars
be broader than the white the feather becomes dark, while if
the white bars be the wider the effect upon the feather is to
make it light in shade. But when these feathers are placed
in a mass, as they appear upon the fowl, black and white dis-
appear and the eye notes a bluish tinged plumage, apparently
made up from two shades of blue. The Standard has at-
tempted to describe both the feather and its appearance.
Whatever may be argued as to the correct description of a

BARRED PiymoutH Rocks. 1g re

Standard—whether the feather or the effect upon the eye
should be selected—it is obvious that the beauty of the speci-
men depends upon the effect of the plumage upon the eye,
and it is this effect that the judge must consider when scoring
the bird. There is a vast difference between the appearance
of a bird that has a plumage that looks as if it were of a bluish
gray barred with a dark or slaty blue, and one that seems to
have a grayish white plumage barred with clear black, yet the
difference in the feathers when plucked and separately exam-
ined will be comparatively slight and will depend upon the
relative amount of the two colors that are used in the trans-
verse bars. In speaking of the color, even when speaking of
feathers, we shall use terms that apply to the appearance of
the feather when in its proper place upon the bird. This can
make no confusion if properly understood at the start, while it
would be well nigh impossible to distinguish in description
between individual feathers, even between those that produce
a lightish colored bird and those that produce a dark, smutty,
unattractive looking one.

However described, judges and breeders have come to a
general understanding of the true Plymouth Rock color,
although there has been a mistake in the mind of some as to
the true color for an exhibition male. Cocks and cockerels
that have had a plumage so dark as to cause the bars to look”
positively black, have been—erronecusly—preferred to birds
whose plumage seemed to be composed of a clear bluish gray,
barred with bars the color of oxydized silver. But these
darker birds are really less beautiful than those of a lighter
shade, and as they are progenitcrs of dark, smutty, and even
black females, they ought no longer be encouraged in the show
room; from that as from the breeder’s yard they should be
banished as defective in plumage, giving place to the lighter,
better and more beautiful bird. Such birds are as much

extremes in color as are the nearly white and barless birds so
often seen.

118 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

The perfection of a transversely barred plumage lies not
only in the two colors, but in the arrangement of the bars
relative to each other. These bars may so come as to give a
broken, zig-zag pattern, almost making the bird look speckled
in extreme cases, or they may so lie as to produce nearly par-
allel iines—or zebra-like stripes—across the breast and over
the body. These zebra stripes are a great ornament—the
finishing touch to the Plymouth Rock plumage. In time past
too little attention has been paid to this great excellence; in
the future it is destined to come into great prominence. An
examination of a large number of specimens has convinced us
that this excellence is seldom to be found except in connection
with feathers having from five to six bars, and the use of
nearly barless males in order to produce females of a light
shade results in a lessening of the number of bars and conse-
quently of the chance of obtaining these zebra stripes, and is,
therefore, to be condemned. The only effectual way to con-
demn it is by regarding the plumage that fails in these stripes
as defective and to cut for the defect. These bars are formed,
like the concentric rings about the cone of the larch, by the
proper overlapping of the parts. As the feathers lap over each
other the first bar of the upper feather comes on a line with
the second bar of the feather beneath, and so, as the feathers
lie side by side, the lines extend parallel with each other, and
the beauty of the specimen is greatly heightened.

To recapitulate, we say that the judge is no more concerned
with a single feather when removed from the fowl—except in
cases of disqualification—than a reader has with a clause in a
sentence dissevered from its proper connection; that in judg-
ing Plymouth Rock color he must consider the effect upon the
eve, and describing that effect he says that the perfect color
is bluish gray crossed with transverse bars of slaty blue; that
zebra stripes are very desirable and must be added as a quality
of the perfect plumage; and that, as these stripes are pro-
duced by five or six bars, a plumage with a less number of

BarreED Puymoutu Rocks. 119

bars is not perfect; that bars which look on the fowl] black—
although the perfect bar when examined alone, may be
black—are extremes in color, and extremes are not desirable.
In a word, the judge of Plymouth Rock plumage deals with
things as they appear to the eye, and in describing them in
this work we shall speak of appearances of the feathers upon
the fowl, not of their appearance when examined separately
and apart. Bearing these distinctions in mind, we examine
the several sections.

The Head.—For an eye other than bay in color, cut from 4
to 1 point. Pale, faulty color in the ear-lobes—not enamelled
surface color, which disqualifies—cut from 4 te 12 points.

The Neck.—While an even shade throughout the plumage is
desirable, it is one thing to desire it and quite another and
different thing to get it. The neck, as a matter of fact, owing
to the wider light bars upon the feathers, is generally lighter
in shade than the breast. For white in the under-fluff, cut
tol point. For a fading from the desired bluish gray barred
with dark blue—remember we speak of appearances—cut
from } to 1} points. Many specimens have solid black feathers
in the hackle, and should be cut for each feather 3 point.
Splashes of black or white—except in wings and tail—dis-
qualify, and this defect is more prevalent in the neck than
elsewhere. A single black or white feather does not make a
splash, but if three solid black feathers come together they
should be interpreted as a splash and the specimen be dis-
qualified; if the three were partially black it would not
amount to a disqualification. Partially black feathers should
not be cut a half point if found. Prime colored specimens are
very liable to have solid black feathers in their plumage.
When exhibited by the knowing ones they are not there, but
when shown by the novice they are cut. It is really a serious
question whether such feathers asa judge knows are natural
to a prime specimen should be cut at all. As it is, the novice

120 PuILosOPpHY OF JUDGING.

generally loses cn the score because of his ignorance. It
seems unjust for one to suffer and perhaps lose a prize when
another who is less scrupulous about removing a feather wins.
The law has a maxim that what can be rendered certain is
certain, and exhibitors have adapted this to their needs by
saying that an exhibition bird is one that can be so made by
a little reasonabie dressing up—as one washes and shaves and
puts on his best suit to attend church, or another that grooms
and curries and fits his horse to win a race. If fowls must be
shown in their natural condition, then to pluck feathers is
dishonorable; if all agree that the plucking of an isolated
feather here and there is to be expected, the dishonor ceases.
But on the whole it would be better to leave them in and in-
struct the judge to either not cut for such or to be very lenient
in his cuts.

The Back.—The Standard demands an even shade through-
out the plumage, but in the past we have observed a predispo-
sition to black—as they appear in the mass—bars upon the
back, in all specimens whose hackle was dark enough to pass
uncut. We are of the opinion that we must allow an ap-
parently lighter shade in the hackle if we hope to secure backs
free from these black bars. The acknowledged fact that males
with such bars in any part of the plumage breed very dark
progeny, ought to render us the more willing to accept the
lighter necks, and at the same time cause it to cut more
severely for the black bars. For this defect we think a cut of
} to 1 point deserved. For white in the under-color, void of
barring, cut 4 to 13 points. For reasons already pointed out
we have said that plumage which has less than five bars
ought to be regarded defective, and we believe that in males
seven bars are desirable. Any section in which the plumage
has less than five bars, we think ought to be cut at least 1
point. Indistinet barring in the female should be cut 2 to 1
point. The downward slope from cape to cushion is apt to
appear darker than the balance of the plumage. This often is

BarRRED PrymMouTH ROcKs. 121

due to the lack of full growth of the feathers, the dark bars of
the feather over-lapping almost joining those of the feather
over-lapped, causing a blotchy appearance or the appearance
of too wide dark bars; it may also be due from a black or
smutty condition of the under-color. If it proceeds from the
former cause the cut should be very light; if from the latter,
a cut of from 1 to 14 points would be just; for in the former
case the defect is but temporary and will disappear with the
growth of the plumage, while in the latter it is permanent.
By lifting the plumage it will be not difficult to determine the
real cause.

The Breast—The plumage of the breast should be a soft
bluish gray to the skin, barred with dark slaty blue bars, and
as the color fades from this desired appearance, a cut of from
1 to 1 point should be made. The zebra stripes, caused by the
dark bars, are not as distinct in front as could be desired, but
the lower part of the breast should have this finish, and if it
is lacking a cut of 1 point will not be amiss. The females are
darker in shade, and their appearance is more accurately de-
scribed as bluish gray barred with blue black. They, as a
rule, are better lined, and if the breast is broken up in these
lines a cut of 3 to | point should be made for the defect. Bars
appearing positively black, cut from 2 to 1 point.

The Body.—It the color be so light as to be white in the
under-color, cut | point; if the zebra lines are not well de-
veloped, cut 3 to 1 point; if the fluff is black or too light to be
called dark bluish gray, cut 1 point. In the females, loss of
the zebra lines, cut 1 point; color so light as to lose the clear,
blue shade, 3 to 14 points; bars that appear positive black in
color, + to 14 points. Extremes in color should be cut
severely, while slight deviations from the true color can be cut
more leniently.

The Wings.—In the males the wings are disposed to run to
the light extreme, while in the females they have the opposite

122 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

tendency, and run to the dark extreme. White appearing in
the primaries of the male should be cut 3 to 2 points; wing
coverts that lose their clearly defined blue and become sheeny,
» to 1 point; smutty bars in the secondaries, 3 to 1 point. In
the females the wing defects are generally found in the pri-
maries and secondaries, which are smutty and nearly black,
the light bars being wanting. While all Plymouth Rock wings
would be more accurately described as marbled than as barred,
and if either, and of the true color, should be passed as perfect,
yet we give our preference to a barred wing, and in case of
ties would place such a bird ahead of one having marbled
flights, other things being equal. Dark, smutty primaries and
secondaries should be cut 4 to 2 points, and when both black
and white appear, in objectionable combination, a cut of 13 to
} points should be made,

The Tail.—¥or white in the sickles, cut 3 to 2 points; white
in tail proper, 3 to 1 point; fading of color and failure in the
regular barring of the tail, cut 3 to 25 points. In the female
the defect is generally a clouded and black color. Indistinet
marbling or barring of the tail, cut 3 to 1 point; when white
is added to the foregoing defects, cut 15 to 3 points. Positive
black bars in the upper tail and coverts, cut 1 point.

The Legs and Feet.—The color of the plumage of the thighs
should match that of the body, and the zebra stripes should
be preserved. For loss of these features in the plumage, cut 3
to 1 point. The shanks and feet should be yellow; if the
scales are black, cut 3 to 13 points; dusky or brown shading,
cut 3 to 135 points.

CUTS. FOR COLOR.
HEAD.

Bye other than bay 2).
faulty color Unedr- lo Wess ss stasis ease Oe eee be ema

to 1
to 14

Nie Nile

BARRED PLyMouTH ROCKS.

NECK.

ea EESTI CT MULE. sw), 40 io) skedpres: Ses oe wate LS
ea IIGI es Pac Sales bs eae obtuse hee heag Gaure he. bs
Islack feathers (each). «. 2. a0 ee 2 es

BACK.

el eal ae ts Ab an waits: waa ese ee ees
Meniteumbarred wnder-color. . se 2s a
Mercsttnometive DATS Susp e le Bad oi Rte ies
Indistinct barring (female) .....

Smutty back (female)... .

BREAST.

Ten Tig CUCITDG Sota een ae ae can re ie
ackeot zebra Stripes. s.rs- ss ee
Lack of zebra lines-tiemale)... . . {. -. ss
ta aaa cUL tae ee hacer Se Ay le) Ay ch aly Ste ee

BODY.
MOMTeAUTMGT-COlOl a: accetho 2 6 Jo Bes Gs Ces
Lack of zebra stripes UE EU age te coh ee ene
igi binck-or teodteht : 7. 4°-< 3.44 es Get

Maes olzebraciines: (female). 2) 6%) . 2 soe 2 a a
Too light color (female )

Bincibars. ses Se.

WINGS.

WMMGe TMDrIIMIAVIes’ ss + Te) epee et, vege ee
Sbeeny COVErtS o <Tyler ity OF ia 5)

Smutty barsin secondaries ....+-+.-.-..-.
Smutty primaries and secondaries (female)... .
Black and white primaries and secondaries (female).

TAIL.

IPE AETENSICIGIGR) 20. .e TANYSe Gee Meh le sal we tsa Ue
Weatremtetarl proper. + 20. 6 Go. - 2

Naded tail =. PT SS ek ee arene
Indistinct barring (female) ..-.-..-.--++-+-+--

wi

bole Loe

Roe bole

No pole

bole bie

NH NR DR NR bie

Wie WIR Wie Nie

to

to

ole pol

124 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

indistinct barring and white. ac. .,-. 22." > ee ee
Black bars in upper tail and coverts... .. -°. ..% ]

LEGS AND FEET.

Defective thigh plumape - =... °F 5 Ss m9 ci a
Black scales to shanks’... 2): Sase! “eet ew on
Dusky or brown shading toshanks ........ 4 to 14

WHITE PLYMOUTH ROCKS.

We have spoken of the White Plymouth Rock as one
variety, and that a variety with a single comb; but we are not
ignorant of the fact that some claim that the Americam Poultry —
Association by accepting Plymouth Rocks with pea-combs and
also accepting the White Plymouth Rock with such combs as
the Barred variety has, accepted both single and pea-combed
White Plymouth Rocks. If such be a fair interpretation of
the action of the American Poultry Association, as some hold,
we have four instead of three varieties of Plymouth Rocks.
If this be so, it will not require the addition or the blotting of
a line of our work, for we have already discussed the judging
of both single and pea-combed Plymouth Rocks for form, and
the color of white birds can be considered together, as the
scoring would be upon exactly the same principles. It is un-
necessary for us to decide this matter, and we leave it to those
who are specially interested to interpret the action of the
American Poultry Association upon this point.

While the plumage of the White Plymouth Rocks is de-
scribed as pure white throughout, we find many of the
chickens when first hatched having the appearance of having
been dipped in a weak solution of indigo, or of having crawled
through a sooty stove pipe. This dark down sometimes re-
mains in a darkish under-color, and the birds possessing it are
often the whitest of the flock in surface color, just as is the

WuitrE PirymoutH Rocks. 125

case with dark under-colored Light Brahmas. Such an under-
color, especially if confined to the under-fluff, ought not to be
regarded as defective. An under-color which is pure white is,
of course, perfect.

The color defects of a White Plymouth Rock will be found
in yellow quills and a yellow shading to the plumage, often a
clear canary color on certain sections. For any departure
from the pure white the proper percentage must be cut, and
when all the sections are properly considered these self-colored
birds will be found to have lost nearly or quite as much in
“outs”? as their barred cousins. The main outs will be found
in the sections most exposed to the sun, i. e. the neck, back,
wings and tail, while the breast and body will suffer but little
in color, though generally more defective in form. The cuts
for color in necks will range from 0 to 14; in backs, 3 to 14;
in breast, 0 to 1; in body, 0 to1; in wings, } to 23; in tail, 0
to 13. The difference between pure white and the yellow-
tinged white which we often see may be compared to that
between a cut of cloth that has been bleached and one that is
unbleached. Canary color through the neck should be cut
from 4 to 2 points; canary color in the back, cut from 3 to 2
points; canary color in the tail, if the web be tinged through,
cut from } to 14 points, and if the quills also be yellow, 3 to 2
points; for a yellowish feather in the wing, 3 point should be
eut, and this cut may be increased to 3 points if the quills are
all yellow tinged even if the web remains white. If the quills
are white there is a chance that the webs will whiten out; the
defect may be due to over-fatness, and should, therefore, be
eut more lightly. But if the quills are yellow the defect in
the web is likely to be permanent, and the defect demands a
severer cut. Temporary defects do not demand so severe
punishment as permanent ones. Our table will give the
necessary details.

126 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

CUTS FOR. COLOR.
NECK.
Mellow shadincess «.-.~ 3 ahs & aie
BACK.
Yellow shading .
BREAST.
Yellow shading

BODY.
Yellow shading .

WINGS.
Yellow feather eva
Yellow shading and quills .

TAT.

Yellow in webs. ... ae
Webs and quills yellow ......

LEGS AND FEET.

Color other than yellow, faded from right shade

noe

bol

Nie Ni

ao oc

Ee)

=
Nie

bo

WYANDOTTES.

The three varieties of Wyandottes, Silver, Golden and
White, are required by the Standard to be of one shape, and
that the shape of the original variety, the one first admitted
to the Standard. For some time to come the Golden variety
will be more likely to be cut for form than either the Silver or
White, for while many White Wyandottes are absolutely pure
in blood, being ‘“‘sports”’ trom the Silver variety, all the
Golden Wyandottes are acknowledged to be the result of
crosses, and consequently present not only a variance in form
when compared with the Silver but also when compared with
each other. This is a matter that will be overcome by careful
breeding, and the three varieties will be brought to substantial
unity of form. We shall, therefore, consider them as of the
same form, the correct outline being given in our illustration.

The Comb.—In this breed the comb, though described as a
rose, has characteristics that separate it from other rose combs.
The comb of the Hamburg is regarded as the typical rose
comb, and is, therefore, the one with which other rose combs
are naturally compared. The Wyandotte comb differs from
the Hamburg in being rather smaller, in having a less pro-
nounced spike which has a downward instead of an upward
tendency, and in having an oval sweep on top, like the line of
the crown of the head instead of being flat. Our illustration
brings out these characteristics. A comb which drops down
flat upon the neck back of the crown of the head, or that
turns up at the rear, instead of preserving the sweep of the
skull, must be regarded as faulty and be cut 1 point. There is
in some strains a tendency to produce large overgrown combs,
which demand a cut for size of from 3 to 3 points. Some are
hollow in front, as if a portion of the comb had been cut out,

128 PHILOSOPHY OF. JUDGING:

and should be cut from 3 to 2 points. The combs have many
faults and usually are cut for all their defects from 3 to 2
points, while in exceptional cases they are cut from 23 to 4
points on a value of 8 points, or 50 per cent.; by our Scale such
a cut would, of course, be 5 points. A comb that is so large
and fleshy as to fall over to one side disqualifies the specimen.

The Neck.—The neck of a Wyandotte is shorter and with a
more pronounced arch than that of a Plymouth Rock; the
arch is carried farther backward and meets the head at a more
acute angle; the plumage is more curved, and by reason of the
shortness of the neck, looks more abundant; the whole neck
having a larger and thicker appearance than that of the
Plymouth Rock. While we, therefore, expect a short neck,
we do not expect one so short as to make the bird look
dumpish, and a neck which is too short, as well as one having
the opposite defect, should be cut 3 point. A scanty hackle
should be cut from }to 1 point. The loss of arch should be
cut from 3 to | point.

The Back.—Compared with the length of the bird, the back
is medium; compared with that of a Plymouth Rock it is
short. The longer plumage adds to this effect, and makes the
bird look rather blocky. A greater fullness of saddle is found.
The back looks broad and flat across the cape, the downward
slope is short, and the saddle rises with a concave sweep to the
the tail. The defects for form are not many, and the cuts will
vary from 3 to 1 point, as a rule, though in exceptional cases
they may be mcre. For a pinched saddle, causing a narrow
back, cut from 3} to 14; for a straight back, 3} to 14; for a
roached back, 1} to 2. Narrow backs are a quite common de-
fect, but roached backs are rare. In the females the most
common fault is a want of fullness to the cushion, demanding a
cut of from 3 to | point.

The Breast.—In many breeds we find the description of breast
in the same or very similar terms. The breasts differ some-

W YANDOTTES. 129

what, but language is incapable of expressing the differences.
Bat when language fails, art intervenes, and our illustrations
will do what Standard descriptions are unable to do. By
reason of the shortness of the Wyandotte’s legs, and the gen-
eral shortness throughout its whole structure, its breast has a
broad, full look. We demand the fullness of our illustration,
and permit nature to exceed it if she can. The defects for
form generally amount to from 3 to 13 points in males, and 3
to 1 in females. If flat in front or wedged shaped, or lacking
in the fullness of the quarters, it should be cut for either de-
fect from 3 to 13 points.

The Body.—lf the body have reasonably well rounded sides
and deep keel, with a corresponding fullness of fluff, it should
pass as perfect. The cuts for body in males will probably run
not far from 3 to | point, and in females about the same
amount. Lack of depth, flatness of sides, too spare or too
abundant fluff and dropping down behind would each be cut
from 3 tol point; a slight overfullness of the fluff, not indica-
tive of weakness, would pass uncut.

The Wings.—The wings, serving both as a means of flight
and as a shield to a large portion of the body, and especially
to that portion which contains the vital organs, are large, and
are so represented in our illustrations. The fronts of the bows
extend forward flush with the breast, its plumage only reach-
ing beyond them. The Standard description of medium size,
interpreted according to natural development, means that the
perfect wing must be of medium size when compared with all
Wyandotte wings, for it is folly to say that it is not large when
compared with the wings of the breeds in the Asiatic and
American classes. It covers a relatively larger surface upon
the sides of the fowl than does the wing of a Brahma upon its
sides. A very large or very small wing would be defective,
but its size is seldom a matter for consideration, the carriage
and the folding being the main considerations in judging the

9

13 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

form. The wings should be carried high enough to cause a
flat cape across the back, and one that is drooping is detective
and should be cut 1 point. For imperfect folding, cut from
3 to 2 points, the Jatter amount when the defect called a
“slipped wing” is present. By this term is meant a wing in
which the primaries are folded outside of the secondaries.

The Tail.—Our illustration of the tail is made to show the
development to be expected at the show season. Later in the
season the tails are larger, and in cocks during their second
year the sickles will be found hanging in longer points and in
a much more curved form. Such development should not be
cut. Straight sickles, however, should be cut 1 point. If the
whole tail be spiked or pinched, cut from 4 to 2 points. The
top of a well proportioned tail should reach a line just below
the wattles, and from that to two inches below the wattles
would be high enough to pass uncut. A much greater or less
development would be a defect and deserve punishment ac-
cording to the degree of the defect. In the female we look
for a well developed and well spread tail, and one that is
pinched and narrow should be cut | point.

The Legs and Feet.—The thighs are short and the shanks are
rather short. The cuts for thighs will almost invariably be
confined to the plumage, while length of shank in excess of
our illustration and fineness of bone may cause a cut of 2 to |
point. For each crooked toe, cut 1 point.

CUTS FOR ORI.

COMB.

Spike dropping Upon Neck yin. we Cer eo = 1
Spice CUMMING Dy «can wien ole taney Mee ieee cst sae 1
OVETOLO WE Ls ic co tn ee ne eee + to 3
Hollow in front . x to 2

W YANDOTTES.

Paw Shorts eee os hws we he
Too long
Too short hackle
Loss of arch
BACK.
Too narrow. . -
Strawwht «2s. >
Roached . BAS AR:
Faulty cushion (female). . -
BREAST.
Flat in front .. -
Wedge-shaped
Failure in quarters ..- -

BODY.
Lack of depth . . 2
Flatness of sides
Too spare fluff
Too abundant fluff
Dropping down behind

WINGS.
Drooping . op
Imperfect folding .

TAIL.
Straight sickles .
Spiked or pinched
Pinched (female) =... 4.0. = =m:

LEGS AND FEET.

Too long shanks
Crooked toes (each) .

Nie Nie

Ne WR Ne wie

Nie NR Ne

Nie NR NR NR Ne

bol

Nie

oie

oe Le

to i
to |

to 1
to 12
to 2
TOL

to 13
to 13
to 13

to
to
to
to
to

ee ee ee ee)

to 2

£o%2

SILVER WYANDOTTES.

The Silver Wyandotte, as it must henceforth be called, was
for some time the only Wyandotte, and long before it bore
that name it masqueraded its many excellences under various
other designations. Its own origin has been a matter of
dispute and upon that question, although holding very decided
opinions, we do not care to enter. But that it is the progenitor
of the other two varieties is not questioned. The White asa
direct “‘sport”’ or, as is probable in some cases, the result of
crossing, and the Golden as a cross in which the Silver
Wyandotte was used, must yield the precedence, in time at
least, to the Silver variety. Fev, if any, varieties require
more care in judging or present more perplexing questions for
solution. The form is easily disposed of, but when the color
is reached, this is the work, this the labor. A man who can
correctly judge Silver Wyandottes has laid a good toundation
for becoming a first-class ‘‘all round” poultry judge.

The Neck.—In our Decimal Seale the neck has ten points
allotted to it, and in its sub-division five of these are given for
color. This amount in the actual consideration of the plumage
of the neck should again be sub-divided equally, giving two
and one-half points to the central black stripe, its regularity
and intensity of lustre, and two and one-half points for the
silver gray or silver white lacing of the feather. Then, when
a black neck comes up for consideration, we say it the lacing
be wanting for two-fifths of the length of the hackle, causing
the lower two-fifths to be black, that at least four-fifths of the
beauty which lies in the edging is gone, and that the cut
should be four-fifths of two and one-half points, or eighty per
cent., which would be 2 points. And if, in addition to this
state of things, the centres have no metallic lustre, another

SILVER WYANDOTTES. 135

ow

cut of at least 15 points would have to be made—for a lack-
lustre black greatly mars the beauty of the specimen—and
the neck would receive a cut of 34 points. A neck that
would require such a cutting is rare, but in the males from 1
to 23 points are common, and in females, which as a rule have
much better defined neck plumage, the cuts range from 3 to
14 generally. The neck in females, considering the character
of the plumage, has become exceedingly good. In the males
the gray and mossy appearance is getting to be more common
than smuttiness. While at a distance, because of their silvery
looking hackles and saddles, they appear almost faultless, a
close examination discloses that the stripes in the hackles are
nearly obliterated, the mere points of the feathers being black
and the remainder a faded dark slate color. Such stripes,
even though the lacing be perfect, should be cut twenty per
cent. of the whole neck, or 2 points, for certainly eighty -per
cent. of the points for the black striping are wanting, and
fully eighty per cent. of the beauty of the stripes gone.

The Back.—The color of the back of the male is silver white
or silver gray, both having the same effect. The cape is silver
gray and black, or quite black, in the male; the back silver
gray with black centres, but showing only the silver gray on
the surface; and the saddle silver gray striped with black.
When the lacing of the saddie feathers is tainted with straw or
copper color, and the black damaged by gray and copper, we
cut for the former 4 to 2 points and for the latter 4 to 2; but
for both defects the cuts do not generally amount to more than
3 points. For as the defective centres generally have more per-
fect lacing, what is lost on the one defect is partially gained on
the other. In exceptional cases, however, the defects are so
ageravated that a cut of 50 per cent. of the whole allowed for
back should be made—which in the Standard is 8 points,
making the cut + points—or by our seale 5 points. In females
the perfect back has a black plumage with small white centres.
The question that has troubled judges in the past is what is

134 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

meant by ‘‘small.”” We think that a ‘feather one-fourth or
one-third of whose web was covered by pure white should be
considered perfect; that is a small part of the whole feather
and gives a small white centre. It was certainly never in-
tended that so minute a portion of the feather as the shaft, or
the shaft with a narrow white margin on each side, should be
considered as answering the Standard requirements. Had
that been the intention it is altogether probable that it would
have been so expressed. A reasonable portion of the feather
was meant to be white. It is clear to any thoughtful person
that in a teather three-fourths of an inch wide, laced with
black one fourth of an inch wide, the white would represent
much less than one-fourth of the entire surface, and while it
might not look like a very small white centre, when the feather
was plucked from the back, it would upon the back, by the
over-lapping of the teathers, look quite small.

|The single feather portrayed is from the centre of the back. |

The effect produced by this overlapping of the feathers,
‘ausing a change in the appearance of the white in the back
both in shape and quantity, has doubtless led to the use of
the expression, ‘“‘small white centres.’”? In interpreting the
language of the Standard, we are to consider all the facts bear-
ing upon it, in order to arrive at its true meaning. The color
defects in the female are generally a bronze or reddish discol-
oration of the white, and a slaty hue to the black, and should

SILVER WYANDOTTES. 135

be cut in proportion to their amount. The Standard of Per-
fection makes pencilings in the wnite a defect, but it they are
slight and coal black in color, and if the white retains its
silvery shade the cut should be a light one, especially if the
centres are large. The distinctness of the contrasting colors is
important, and as a breeder we would rather have one with large
white centres slightly penciled with black, than one with
smaller centres unpenciled, but showing discolorations of the
white, for such—as adults—invariably have discolored rusty
white centres. In the past the cuts for these defects combined
have in pullets been } to 14, and in hens 1 to 3 points. The
rusty white centres are a serious defect and greatly mar the
beauty of the bird, and therefore deserve to be cut with con-
siderable severity. But 3 points is certainly all one dare to cut
for color of white in back, and by an equal division between
the white and black, according to our scale, 23 points would be
all that could be cut. If our scale were in use we should draw
the line at 23 points, for it would be difficult to defend anything
beyond that for this defect, and a judge needs to be prepared
to defend all his cuts. Were we to draw out in detail these
cuts we should say that for penciling in centres cut 5 point;
for discoloration of the white from 3 to 2, and in extreme cases,
23 points; for slaty hue to the black, + to 2 points.

The Breast—The predominant color of the breast in the
male is black, the white being its embellishment, in this re-
spect the bird resembling the Dark Brahma. In an exhibition
specimen the breast should look quite dark, the white centres
being so small as to be almost covered by the over-lapping
plumage. When the plumage is lifted each feather should
show a white centre. For a fine breeder we should not desire
over one-eighth of the surface of the web white, and in an
exhibition specimen we should pass uncut a breast showing
feathers from one-eighth to one-third of the web white. Large
white centres are invariably accompanied by a white outer
edge to the black lacing, a defect which is obviated in the

136 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

nearly black feathers. Before we ean secure well laced upper
breasts and throats in females we may be obliged in the future
to acknowledge solid black breasts in the males as unebjec-
tionable. At present such a breast no longer disqualifies, and
in view of the fact that such birds are valuable in the breeding
pen, we recommend that all cuts on breasts in males that are
less than one-eighth white in the web, but are not quite solid
black, be cut from 3 to 14 points, in proportion as the white
diminishes from the cne-eighth. When the white centres
exceed one-third of the web, if the black lacing remains
intact, we would be lenient in our cuts, for they are accom-
panied with color defects in the body section which will be
there cut, and do not mar the beauty, while at the same time
such birds are valuable to mate to over-dark females. A cut
of from 3 to 1 point would generally be sufficient. A slaty
hue to the lacings, and irregularity in the lines where the
black and white meet, are the other color defects most coim-
monly found, and should be cut for the slaty hue from 4 to 2
points, and for this irregularity from 3 to 13 points; but from
1 to 2 points for color are about all that we find in exibition
specimens. In the females the breast plumage is generally
more defective than in males. There is about the same
difficulty in getting a well laced throat in a Wyandotte as
there is a well penciled throat in a Dark Brahma. The in-
herent tendeney which gives a black throat to the male and a
nearly white throat to a female is one of the mysteries in
Wyandotte breeding that as yet ‘no fellow can find out.”
Two-thirds of the defects that call for cuts are found in the
failure of the lacing of the throat and upper breast, and re-
quire cuts from § to 2 points. The white in the breast-plumage
should be one-third of the web of the feather, though we
would not cut if it covered one-fourth or two-fifths of the
surface of the web. A breast, however, which was two-fifths
white, ninety-nine times in a hundred, would show white
lacing to the black that would have to be cut from J to 1 point.

SrLvER WYANDOTTES. 137

Three-fourths of the cuts made upon the female’s breast are
for color, the shape seldom requiring over 1 point.

The Body.—The male is black or black slightly frosted with
white upon the under part of the body. Sometimes a splash
of white occurs upon the body in front of the thighs, which
should be cut from }to 1} points. The fluff should be dark
slate, or dark slate powdered with gray. A smutty dead black
fluff is defective, and a white fluff still more so, and these
defects should be cut from 3 to 1 point at least, the cuts for
color of body on males running from 3 to 2 points. In the
females the color is generally less faulty, but defects should
be cut as found, about as follows: For white under part of
body, } to 1; for smutty black fluff, 3 to 1; for white fluff, 3 to
1; the larger amount being cut when the detect is pronounced.
A purplish or slaty black fluff would pass uncut.

The Wings.—In the male the Standard calls for “a double
spangled bar.” If the bar, or bars, are wanting, the defect
should be cut 2 points. HH by loss of color there are two
separate and distinct bars across the wing, cut 1s points.
When the bar is solid black with no spangles through the
centre, cut } point. If the entire outer web of the secondaries
were white and the quill slate or black, we would not cut, for
the white triangular tip beyond the bar is a beauty greatly to
be appreciated, but if this outer web were penciled with brown
or black, thus clouding the triangular tip, we would cut from
} to 2 points, in proportion to the amount of clouding. White
in the upper web of the primaries should be cut 3 to 2 points,
and a solid white feather in primaries or secondaries should be
cut 1 point. The rose of the wing should be on the surface a
clear silvery white, and when marred with black or bronze
should be cut from 3 to 2 points, the latter when nearly black.
In the females the rose should be one-third of the web surface
white. These centres are sometimes penciled and sometimes
the feathers become spangled instead of laced. These detects

138 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

should be cut from 3 to 13 points. These defects change the
Standard description and deserve to be cut, but as they do not
generally show much upon the surface, exhibitors are apt to
think them severe.

The Tail—White in the tail of the male is a common fault.
Sickles white above the tail coverts snould be cut 3 point, and
from that even to 2 points when this defect affects all four of
the sickles and the lesser sickles, for these sickles, greater and
lesser, are the finishing touch to the whole tail. Giving 10
points to tail, we would divide as follows: Sickles, 3; cover-
lets, 2, lesser coverts, 2; main feathers, 3. When the coverts
are wholly gray, cut 1 point, while if wholly black or black
laced with silver gray or white, allow them to pass uncut. If
the tips of the main tail feathers are white, cut 1 point; white
appearing at the base, 5 to 2 points, as it shows from one inch
to half the length of the tail. In the female the lesser coverts
may be black or black with white centres, but when penciled
so as to appear grayish or bronzed, cut 5 to 1 point, as this
causes the upper surface of the tail to present a grayish ap-
pearance.

The Legs and Feet.—lt the thigh plumage of the male is
black or black slightly frosted with gray, it should pass uncut;
if the thighs are really gray, cut 1 point. In the shanks a
good reasonable shade of yellow should pass, the straw color
to the legs of hens being as perfect as the bright yellow in
pullets, age and the effects of breeding making the latter fade
to the former. Light straw, approaching white or flesh color,
should be cut from 3 to 13, the latter for extreme cases, but
when purely flesh color, or any color that cannot by a liberal
construction be construed as a shade of yellow, must dis-
qualify. A single greenish yellow scale would be too trivial a
defect to cut, but black scales and dark cloudings to shanks
and toes should be eut from 4} to 2 points, in proportion to the
degree of the defect.

SILVER WYANDOTTES. 139

OUTS FOR, COLOR.

NECK.
Lacing obliterated for two-fifths length... .- . +; 2
Gentres without lustre... < ) eee 8 a ee 4
FimedvOts DLACKOStrI PE sje lo p< Seo ge ee ete res 2
BACK.
Lacing tinged with copper or gray. - - to 2
Black tinged with copper or gray 4 to 2
Penciled white centres (females) . 4
Discolored white centres 1 to 24
Slaty lacing. ..- - +. tor?
BREAST. f
Too dark breast . + to 14
Too Heht. . --- - F tO
Sip CIP foe eee 8 1 to 2
Irregularity of line ae een colors 4 to 15
Failure of Jacing (female) . + to 2
White edge to black lacing 4 to 1
BODY.
White splash . - 4 to 13
Dead black fluff. chloe lg Lg eel stort
RAT dee LMR iccd «at aah = ea, Paved = pas eke gs tol
White under parts (female). .----+-+-+:- 4 to 1
Smutty black fluff (female) .0< 3 7. = “:-)+.- i tol
White fluff (female). . - 3 to 1
WINGS.
TEE Bs 021 ae ae ae a 2
Wiiremaratc Dare. 267 eee ee ee 13
Solid black bar... - - Sue hace Lise er ee ate: 3
Penciled outer web of Po ee Sates 4 to 2
White in upper web of primaries... - +--+: 4 to 2

Solid white primary or secondary feather .-.--- - ]

140 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

Rose marred with black or bronze - Soto,
Penciled centres (female) . s to ds
Spangled instead of laced (female) . x to 13
ATs
White in sickles 4 to 2
Gray coyerts 2 |
White tips to main feathers . 1
White at base of main feathers x to 2
Upper surface grayish (female) + to 1
LEGS AND FEET.
Gray ciiems (Mee ) mene) es a. Pen” NN on et! ak ee 1
Faded shanks. . aa 1 to 14
Black seales and dark clouding + to 2

GOLDEN WYANDOTTES.

The plumage of the Golden Wyandotte is the counterpart of
that of the Silver, with the exception of the ground color,
which is golden bay instead of silvery white. The defects in
this variety are produced by the same causes as in the preced-
ing, and are cut in the same manner. The golden color may
be marred by pencilings or injured by light shadings or white,
for which the cuts will be the same as tor the reddish and
bronze shadings and the pencilings of the Silver. The black
lacings are subject to the same rusty or slaty shadings, and, of
course, to similar cuts. At present we believe there will be
found a little more irregularity in the divisions of the colors,
which may cause rather more severe cuts. But the principles
of scoring are the same and need not be here repeated. For
details we refer to what we have already said concerning the
Silver Wyandottes.

WHITE WYANDOTTES.

As we have already said, in speaking of white varieties, the
color faults consist in the shadings from pure white to which
all varieties with such a plumage are subject, and which affect
the score nearly as much as do the want and imperfection of
pencilings and barrings in parti-colored varieties. Perfection
of color is just as much prized and has just as much value in
a self-colored fowl as in, one that has several colors, and the
failure to reach perfection is about as marked, and will so
appear when the bird is properly scored. We are of the
opinion, however, that the females which will honestly score
95 points in this variety are more numerous than in the laced
varieties, and that perhaps there will be found a few more
males to do the same. The number of the latter, however,
will be much less than many suppose. The -fact that this
variety has yellow legs and a yellow skin, and that the blood
is loaded, so to speak, with yellow pigment, will make the
work of producing pure white birds sufficiently difficult to
satisfy most fanciers. The straw or reddish color will show
upon the surface, and ordinarily cause cuts of from 3 to 14
points in the neck and back; straw colored wing coverts and
yellow quills in primaries and secondaries will cause cuts
upon the wings of from 3 to 15 points; and yellow in the
quills of the sickles and the main feathers of the tail will
cause cuts in that section from 3 to 1 point; so that the
number of birds that will score above 91 or 92 points will not
be large.

In some strains yellow quills appear to an alarming extent.
If a yellow quill is found in one wing, in nineteen cases out ot
twenty a yellow quill will be found in the corresponding
feather of the other wing. If dark color is discovered in a
feather of one wing its mate feather in the other wing should

142 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

be carefully examined, for it may happen that it will have
become positive black in the second feather, which dis-
qualifies.

GCULS. FOR: COLOR.
NECK.
Yellow ssa. 2.) 2 06 js xoue. re re) bp oe tees

be

BACK.
Velo waslraddnits ois setts (aS ae Soren ey ie tae ee

~

BREAST.
Vielloweshiaditioy (i si-44 aah teins ee 2 ee eee

BODY.
Yellow shading . + tod
WINGS.

GSUMT OSes 1272 18] 02) eel Nie ele Raa eee eek) ar aliens el Sasa or 3 4
Yellow saadmp and; quills: "oye ce as Soe ot eg ee
TAIL.

Yellow in webs .. =.=. + to 14
Yellow in webs and quills . x LOZ

LEGS AND FEET.

Color other than yellow, faded from right shade . . . 3to3

CHAPTER VII.

APPLICATION OF PRINCIPLES TO THE SCORING OF
THE DIFFERENT BREEDS,
CONTINUED.

GAMES.

OR a long time English and American breeders have been

developing a fowl that is a great departure in form trom
the original stock. The Pit Game retains the original type.
The prevailing characteristic of the modern Exhibition bird is
expressed in the term “reachiness.”” Length of shank and
thigh, length of neck, and a general slimness throughout,
except at the shoulder, has been sought for as the acme ot
perfection. It isacommon proof that fanciers are drawn to
extreme types, but after a certain limit has been passed, the
gain in type is a loss in grace and beauty. Already in England
we begin to see signs of the inevitable reaction, Classes tor
the old fashioned Game are being provided at some of the
leading shows; prominent fanciers are beginning to character-
ize the modern Game as ‘“storks;’? and ‘‘reachiness’”’ is a
quality that is beginning to lose some of its attractiveness in
certain influential quarters. While, to a limited extent, we
cannot help approving this reaction, we sincerely hope that it
will not go too far. We believe that the Exhibition Game

144 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

ought not, and will not, revert to the Pit type; that it should
have a type of its own; that that type should be a combina-
tion of substance and elegance, of grace and strength. An
‘xhibition Game should possess enough of this quality,
‘“veachiness,” to give ita thoroughbred appearance; enough
of substance to make it look powerful and strong. Too great
a length of neck and limb produces an impression of feeble-
ness, and feebleness is not a quality that heightens beauty. A
weak looking bird can never produce a teeling of satisfaction
in the beholcer, and the sense of satisfaction is one of the
elements which helps to determine the question of beauty.

In our illustration we have attempted to present our ideal of
the Exhibition Game. We may have departed somewhat
from the ideal of those fanciers who find in *‘ reachiness”’ the
sole quality worth breeding for, but we believe we have not
departed from nature in her best developments. We cannot
believe that it is wise to make a profile for a class—an absolute
rule by which the whole class must be judged—trom the most
exceptional development of a single variety in that class, and
we do not hesitate to affirm as our belief, that only the
extreme types of the Black-breasted Red Game can reach or
nearly approximate to the profile which has been adopted by
the American Game Club—a profile, let us cheerfully say,
which is the best embodiment otf the extreme type of
‘“‘reachiness’’ that we have yet seen, and which emphasizes
the characteristic for which extreme fanciers have for some
time been breeding. If this profile had been limited in its
application to the single variety which can approximate to its
requirements, its results on judging would not have been so
widespread, but as there is but one description in the Standard
for form in the whole Game class, and as the American Game
Club has adopted this profile for all varieties and will use its
influence to secure the judging of them by this profile, the
Pyles, Duckwings, and other varieties will have to be con-

GAMES. 145

sidered in reference thereto, so far as this profile ean have any
influence upon judging. :

To compel them to submit to this rule, based upon some
rare exception, would be similar to requiring all the members
of the human family to be joined together in pairs by a
cartilaginous band, like the Siamese twins, because nature in
one of her moods had produced such a type. With the illus-
tration which we have given, we believe that all the Game
class can be fairly judged, and that by bringing them to this
type the fowl will be brought to its greatest beauty. In what
we have said we do not wish to be understood as criticising the
gentlemen who procured the Game Club’s profile. If the
“reachy’’ modern type is to prevail, if the chief merit of a
Game is its length of joint, then, while the profile may be
open to some objections, we can consistently commend the
spirit of the work. As we understand it, that was the object
and desire of these gentlemen. We call attention to this
matter because we are obliged to, because we believe the type
we have illustrated is really more beautiful, and because we
believe that, while it is now nearer to nature, it will before
long become the accepted type among fanciers of the Game
fowl. Certainly the trend of opinion is in this direction, and
we shall be happy to chronicle the consummation of so-much-
to-be-desired a result.

What do we find in. our best specimens? Do we not find
the point of the hackle meeting the rear edge of the cape at a
point from which the back takes a straight line to the tail
coverlets? Is not this point some two to two and a half inches
to the rear of the shoulder joints? Is not the perfect height
in a Game cock twenty-five to twenty-six inches? Are we in
error in saying that a bird of this height is superior to one of
more than twenty-six inches, other things equal? Ought a
bird twenty-seven inches in height to win over one that is
twenty-five? Of course, between one twenty-seven inches in
height and one less than twenty-five, other things equal, the

Io

146 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

latter bird should win, for an exception in favor of height is
better than an exception that falls below the ideal height.

But exceptions are not more valuable, nor so valuab‘e, as the
rule which gives us the perfect height, for with perfection of
height perfection of form is likely to be found. Comparative
length of bedy, and comparative breadth at the shoulders,
must be united with the ideal height to produce the ideal
Game torm, yet when length, breadth and height are duly
proportioned any height may be considered pertect.

The straight line of the back should slope downward to the
tail. This can be seen when the backle reaches the rear edge
of the cape; if it falls short of that there will be a depression
in front of the line which gives the back an arched or
‘‘roached’”’ form. We have seen illustrations in which the
hackle reached only to the shoulder joints, but if they had
been true to life, they would have caused the back to have
this roached appearance. But dare any Game breeder main-
tain that a furnished maie has a hackle of this length in its
natural state? Would that be a perfect representation of the
true Game form?

The yent in a prime specimen comes near the thighs, with
a nice roll to the soft plumage under the tail as it meets the
crease at the vent. The shortness of the plumage gives a neat
tucked up look to the stern, adding greatly to the vivacity and
activity of appearance of the fowl.

In the true view for the profile—that is when the fowl is
placed at an elevation of three and a half feet from the ground
and in a position by which a line from the eye of the observer
is at right angles to the plane which would divide the fowl
lengthwise in the centre,—a drop line from the eye of a Game,
standing in an erect posture, will touch the middle toe near
the nail. Such a position our cut represents, and a fowl which
equals our representation should be passed as perfect in sym-
metry so far as the profile view is concerned, when judged by

GAMES. 147

a Scale of Points containing symmetry as a section. Such is
the true carriage of the Game towl.

The Comb.—The adult males always and the young males
usually are shown “dubbed” or trimmed. The trimming
should be done smoothly so as to leave no rough or ragged
places. Wheén improperly done it should receive a cut of from
5 to | point, in proportion to its imperfection. Tf the cockere!s
are untrimmed and the combs are other than small, fine in
texture and evenly serrated, cut from } to 23 points, the latter
cut to be made when the comb is coarse in texture and has
folds or twists or is unevenly serrated. Hf the comb is large
in size and twisted in front, cut 25 points. To females, as they
are shown undubbed, the rule for cutting undubbed cockerels
applies, though the cases will be rare, when 23 points will
need to be cut.

The Head —The head should be very long in appearance
and have a clean, lean look. The beak should be strong and
slightly curved. If the head be short in appearance or the
beak much curved, cut from 3 to 13 -points. A weak looking
beak should be cut from 4 to 1 point, according to degree.

The Neck.—The neck should be nearly straight, nicely
tapering from the shoulders to its junction with the head,
which gives a gentle curvature to it, most pronounced at its
upper part, long in appearance, and with short, close hackle
which should never extend beyond the cape feathers in the
centre of the back. Ina perfect specimen the hackle meets at
the back of the cape feathers, at a point from which the back
makes a straight line to the tail. Any illustration representing
a shorter hackle is not in accordance with nature, and the
specimen so represented is either deficient in hackle naturally
or the lower feathers have been pulled out to produce this
effect. As we have already said, such a hackle would produce
in nature a roached back, a defect not to be tolerated in a first-
class specimen. A short hackle is very desirable but a roached

148 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

back is very undesirable. If the hackle is so long as to cover
in part or wholly the shoulders of the wing, cut from 3 to 15
points, the latter in an extreme case in males, and in females,
when the hackle impairs the prominent appearance of the
shoulders, cut 1 point. If the neck in either sex is too short,
cut from from 5 to 1 point.

The Back.—The back should be wide at the shoulders, nar-
rowing to the tail with a curving taper at the sides, while
viewed in the profile, it should be a downward sloping straight
line. Itis not inaptly compared to a flat-iron in shape when
viewed from above. Any departure from a straight line in the
profile producing a convex curve, should be cut from 3 to 13
points, the extreme cut being for a well developed roached
back. A hollow back is seldom seen but should be cut the
same as aroached back, from 3 to 13 points. For narrowness
of the back which shows want of substance cut from 3 to 1
point. For lack of downward slope in the carriage of the back,
when the profile line becomes horizontal, cut 1 point.

The Breast.—The breast of a Game should be well de-
veloped, but the erect carriage and length of neck and limb
produces a very different impression. The ‘robin breast’”
that is so greatly a desired feature in other breeds, is not to be
had in a fowl that carries itself so erect as the Game. Viewed
from the side, the breast extends but little forward of the
wing tronts; viewed in front it is wide, the quarters well
rounded, the upper sides having a sharp curve which is in
keeping with the prominence of the shoulders, and the lower
taking a Jonger arc in their sweep to the keel-bone. For full-
ness of breast, which necessarily accompanies a_ low carriage,
eut 1 point. For narrowness of breast viewed from the front,
cut | point.

The Body and Stern.—The body should be well rounded at
the sides, and feel solid and hard in the handling. There
should be a sense of firmness and compactness in the body.

(GFAMES. 149

Flat sides should be cut from 3 to 1} points. The stern
narrows from thigh to tail, and from keel to tail, and any
bagginess, is a serious fault, and should be cut from 3 to 14
points. The vent should be near the thighs—old cockers say
the vent should be between the legs—and anything like a
long stern and the vent placed far from the thighs should be
regarded as a defect worthy of a cut of from 4 to > points.
All slimness and lightness of the posterior parts ‘ett come
from closeness and hardness of plumage, not from a lack of
muscular development. In this breed as in no other strength
is all important, for strength is an element of its beauty. The
muscles should be firm and hard, the pelvis bones near and
firmly held together. An open peisae Is a sure sign of weak-
ness, an indication of lack of vigor. In the female we expect
the above to be slightly modified, for the necessity of pro-
ducing eggs demands a more open pelvis and results in a
somewhat fuller stern. This produces a less prominent breast
in appearance and causes her to look thicker through the
thighs. This modification, however, is slight, and is only a
sexual difference, the eects of the male applying very
closely to the female.

The keel bone should be straight, anda crooked one, though
nee a disqualification, is a defect aie ‘+h should be cut from 3 to
2 points. If this seems a large cut it is to be remembered that
the closeness of the plumage on the Game and its peculiarly
erect carriage, brings this defect prominently into view, very
much more so than in longer feathered breeds. A short crook
is not nearly so bad as a long curvature, for the latter turns
the whole body to one side, and is a more certain indication of
constitutional weakness. The fermer might have resulted
from an accident, but the latter could hardly be referred to
that cause. The latter should, therefore, oe cut with twice the
severity of the former.

The Wings.—The wings should be large, powertul, adhering

150 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

closely to the body at the tip, closely tolded, the fronts slightly
detached from the body and carried well forward toward the
front line of the breast. The prominence of the wing fronts
and their slightly raised position at the shoulder, gives the
fowl the appearance of alertness and readiness for action which
isa characteristic of the breed. In our opinion the wing should
reach the entire length of the body, though not extend beyond
it. Extreme shortness of hackle will be likely to influence the
length of feather in other parts, and if it is bred for, it is prob-
able that the wings will become shorter, and will, theretore,
cease to be so characteristic a feature of the breed as it has
been in the past.

~The usual defects in wings are imperfect folding, and car-
riage over the back; the latter, especially in females, is often
so marked, that the plumage of the back is nearly or com-
pletely hidden by the wings. A loose, badly folded wing is an
abomination in a Game and should be cut from 3 to 2 points.
When carried over the back it should be cut one point. The
fronts partially or wholly hidden in breast plumage cut 4 to 1
point. For twisted feathers in the wing cut 1 to 2 points.

The Tail.—¥or the past fifteen years the tail of the Exhibi-
tion Game has been diminishing in size, and if this is continu-
ed for a like period and at the same rate, it will be our duty
to chronicle the fact that the fashionable Game is a tailless
bird, able to compete with the Rumpless fowl if it only can
get rid of the ‘“pope’s nose.”’ Is it not time to call a halt and
save the most beautiful feature of the fowl? In the profile, to
which we have before referred, the extreme shortness of tail
has been illustrated. The other extreme is found upon the old
fashioned Pit fowl. Neither the one nor the other should be
regarded as perfection, but one such as we have represented in
our illustration. This we have made as small as proper pro-
portion, balance of parts, a true idea of grace, beauty and
symmetry, and typical characteristics will permit. The craze

(JAMES. Till

for long shanks, crane necks, and bob tails, brought about by
a probable infusion of Malay blood, should be checked. Game
breeders owe it to themselves and to their fowls to secure this.
We go far enough when we say that-the tail should be medium
smali, that it should by no means look large nor exceedingly
small, but that it must have leneth enough to give the style
that is so taking to the eye. The tail is popularly deseribed as
a “whip tail,” but it should not be a whip with the tip broken
off, robbed of its flexibility and snap. In carriage the tail
should be a little above the horizontal. It carried too high it
should be cut from }-to.25 points, the full cut being for the de-
fect known as squirrel tail. If too large and bushy it should be
cut from 3 to 3 points, the latter when broad and wide like the
old time fowl. The sickles should not be cut for length, pro-
vided they are nearly straight and narrow and properly taper-
ed and the secondary sickles are in keeping. Proper propor-
tion demands this. If the neck, the shanks, the thighs and
the body are all long, the sickles and tail coverts should also
be long to be in keeping with the rest. A Game’s tail is short
only when compared with a fowl like the Hambure. It is
medium short when compared with the tails found on fowls
of its own breed. A comparatively short whip tail in a Game is
of course to be preferred to a large, long Game tail. The com-
parison of length and size must be confined to the breed under
discussion, and not carried to other breeds.

In the temale the tail is carried a trifle more erectly than in
the male, as her carriage is less erect than that of the male,
and the line of the back less descending. The angle of the
tail with the back, however, is the same. The defects in shape
and carriage of the tail in females are usually 3 to 13 points.

The Legs and Feet.—The thighs should be long, and firm in
muscle. They cannot be called muscular, in the sense of ap-
pearing large, for they look rather smal] and light, but at the
junction with the second joint, they look large in proportion

152 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

and denote strength. A short thigh is bad form, and should
be cut 4 to 2 points. The shanks should be strong in bone,
clean, long, and smoothly scaled. Any bunches under the
hock joint or enlargement of the bone below should be cut 3
to 15 points. Too short shanks should be cut, like the thighs,
from 3 to 2 points, the latter being demanded only in extreme
cases. The thighs slope but little towards the hock and the
shanks should stand perpendicularly, or nearly so, be well
apart, parallel, and if they bend inward at the hock, becoming
‘knock-kneed,” should be cut 3 to 3 points, this detect being
so observable in this breed as to demand a severer cut than in
most breeds. Natural absence of spurs cut 2 points.

The toes should be Jong and rest flatly upon the ground, the
hind toe being placed low down. ff the rear toes only touch
the ground at the tip, cut 1 point; ii the same are turned in
so as to form a right angle with the inside toe, cut 1 point for
zach toe. Hach crooked toe, cut 1 point. Absence of toe nail,
cut 3 point. Loss of first joint of any toe, cut | point.

CUTS £OR FORM,

COMB.

|Heny GTO) Sec mpoTi el Oyu 0) caeeerede ds ep One wee Lek tt Reis ese +-to 1
Bad shape, SiZG, Obes Scr saue eae ee es on ee een
Rarcevand twisted safe at ae nee ete ene ee 23
: HEAD.
el €(0) Gl A ene ate tata ae ee ON e eeet MeRn AM aS eines pigs Eek Pe (6) 8
Too curved beak? ovine ~ ls See ee er er
Wienk peal nti ale soar: Cen n ae tne eae Cena) cn er Cameo
NECK.
Poes tone: haclel etait fet Gees ares eae soak ee hoa ois —sost Je eee
Toovlonejor shortmeck<7ites) & 4 lei Ae: Bean) eee
BACK

Rodehed: ak. ees Ae oe A RT Es Se ee

Hollow .
Narrowness .
Horizontal

Too tull
Too narrow .

Flat sides .
Bagginess .
Long stern
‘Crooked keel .

Badly folded
Carried over back .
Fronts hidden
Twistea feathers

Carried too high

Too large and bushy

Short thigh .
Bunches

Short shanks
Knoeck-kneed .
Absence of spurs .
Rear toe too high .

Forming right angle.

Crooked toe -
Absence of nail .
Loss of first joint .

GAMES.

BREAST.

BODY AND STERN.

WINGS.

TAT.

LEGS AND FEET.

Nie NR Nie Nie

bol

hole

wie Doe

Die Nl Dole roe

to

to

iROY

Nie Wie Wie

bole

BLACK BREASTED RED GAMES.

THE MALE.

»

In speaking of varieties, it is unnecessary to describe any-
thing but color, for our remarks upon form, already made,
apply to all varieties alike. It is true that the Black Breasted
Red and the Red Pyles are usually superior to the other
varieties in form, having been more largely raised and more
carefully bred to a high standard. But the Standard of Per-
fection recognizes but one form for all varieties, and the only
difference possible to make in scoring the varieties for form is
a more liberal interpretation of the terms of the Standard in
accordance with the development of the varieties as they
actually appear. Either this must be done or the other
varieties must score lower tor form. We have already indi-
cated what the judge should do.

The Beak, Head and Eyes —For any color other than light
or dark horn in the beak, cut § to 1 point, the latter if it be
flesh color or yellow. The eye, if it be other than bay or red
in color, cut $ to 1 point, the former if the color be a faded
bay, the latter if it be not bay or red or some of their shadings.
The plumage is light red, but darker in shade than the hackle,
and usually requires no cut.

The Comb, Wattles and Ear-lobes.—All should be perfectly
red, but white in the ear-lobe is a common defect, and should
be cut 3 to 1 point in both sexes. :

The Neck.—Light red or orange, free trom black stripes, is
the demand of the Standard, and any variation from this de-
mand must be considered defective. A striping of the hackle
with black, brown or bronze should be cut 5 to 24 points. A
deep red shade of the whole hackle, cut 1 point. The front of

BLAcK BREASTED RED GAMES. 155

the neck is black, and white in under-color, or red or bronze
in the surface, should be cut 5 to 1 point. It is a mistake to
judge front of the neck with breast, as is indicated by the de-
scription of color in the Standard.

The Back.—The color of back and the ‘‘rose”’ of the wings
should match in shade and they both should be crimson red.
The Standard description “red” is too indefinite, as there are
many shades of red. The saddle should shade out into the
brighter color of the hackle. Any black, brown or bronze in
the surface Should be cut 3 to 23 points, and white in the
under-color should be cut 3 to 13 points, but so pure in color
is this variety that one point in the past has seldom been
exceeded in the cuts for back, but now that the points for
color have been greatly increased we may find specimens that
will be cut from 1 to 2 points in isolated cases. .

The Breast—Any color other than black is to be severely
punished; a mottled breast in a Black Red Game ought to
have been a disqualification as much as in a Partridge Cochin.
This defect should be cut 1 to 3 points, and white in the under-
color 3 to 15 points.

Body and Stern.—Are both black, or should be, but the
detect most commonly found is that the red of the back creeps
down the sides, mottling the surface beneath the wings and
powdering the stern with red or salmon. This should be cut
» to 1 point, and does not deserve a very severe cut, for a nice
saddle is apt to be accompanied by this detect.

The Wings.--The wing rose or shoulder coverts, so called to
distinguish them from the wing-coverts forming the _ bar,
should be crimson red, and when foreign color of any kind is
found in the red, or when the red is found in the bar, which
should be blue black, or when the outer edge of the primaries
have no maroon or bay edging, the wing is defective, and
when all of these defects exist should be cut from 1 to 2 points,
in proportion to the defect. White in the primaries or secon-

156 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

daries should be cut 3 to 2 points. The wing fronts are seldom
faulty, being almost always of the required black. For want
of bay edging to primaries, cut 5 point; for red, bronze or
eray in the wing bar, 3 to 1 point; for black in the rose of the
wing, 3 to 1 point.

The Tail.—The tail, including main feathers, sickles, lesser
sickles and coverts, should be black. For red shafts and tips
to coverts and coverlets, cut 1 point; white in any part of the
tail, 4 to 2 points; white in sickles, being the most objection-
able defect in tail, 5 to 13 points.

Legs and Toes.—li the black of the thigh be streaked or
mottled with ‘red or gray, cut } to 1 point. Any shade of
willow in shanks should go uncut, but any other color, as
flesh, blue or yellow, should be cut 3 to 13 points. Flesh
color is the most objectionable, and should be cut 13 points.
Yellow and blue, being the colors that more closely approxi-
mate to willow, should be cut 1 point. If the bottom of the
feet are yellow or flesh color, cut 1 point; if the toes be shaded
deeply with yellow, 4 point; if wholly yellow or blue, 1
point.

We have been speaking only of the male, but comb, wattles,
ear-lobes, shanks and toes of both sexes should be alike, and
further reference to them is unnecessary.

THE FEMALE.

The Head.—The plumage is of a golden brown and is almost
never faulty to a punishable degree. The eye is subject to the
same cuts as in the male.

The Neck.—li the black stripe is penciled with any foreign
color, or if the lemon colored lacing of the feather be smutted
and rendered darker than it ought to be by any other color, or
if the outer edge or the point be darkened by a foreign color,
cut 5 to | point.

BLACK BREASTED RED GAMES. leave

The Back.—In prime specimens the back is of a brownish
color penciled with a darker brown or black. The shaft of
the feather we like to see of the lighter shade of these colors.
The ground color becomes detective by running into a dark or
molasses brown, which gives a very objectionable reddish
shading to the back and destroys the light shafting of the
plumage. This defect is cut 3 to 2 points, and in specimens
not up to exhibition quality may deserve even a more severe
cut.

The Breast——-A medium shade of salmon color at the throat,
shading into an ashy brown beneath, is a perfect color for this
section. Any brown penciling in this is cut 3 to 1 point, and
a faded-out hue—called wheaten in Game parlance—is also cut
1 1 ;

», to 1 point.

The Body.—The body color is seldom defective, being an
ashy brown, but when darker must be cut 3 to 1 point, in pro-
portion to the amount of streakiness with dirt color or black.

The Wings.—The wings, excepting the primaries, are of
brown penciled with a darker brown or nearly black, with the
shafts of the lighter color. The primaries and upper web of
the secondaries are a brownish slate, shading to nearly black,
the best specimens we think are nearer a blue-black slate than
black. Colors foreign to this must be cut 5 to 1 point, as in
degree.

The Tail.—TYhe tail proper is of a slaty brown, nearly black,
the two top feathers being powdered with brown, and the
coverlets are of an ashy brown penciled with a darker brown.
When the pencilings are so dark or so prominent as to destroy
the ashen shade in the ‘‘ deck” feathers and the coverlets, cut
2 to 1 point, in proportion to the degree of the defect.

158 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

CULS HOR COLOR.
Male.
BEAK, HEAD AND EYES.
Wrong color in beak
Wirone color ameye)..4 sae- one.
EAR-LOBES.
Witten rey yar ee Pan
NECK.
Stripe in hackle .
Deep red hackle
White under-color
Red or bronze surface .
BACK.
Black, brown or bronze
White under-color
BREAST.
Mottled
White under-color
BODY AND STERN.
Mottledvor streaked) oy. 27i¢. kee
WINGS.
White in primaries and secondaries
Want of bay edging to primaries
Red, brown or bronze in bar
Black in rose .
TAT.
> ‘ . .
Red shaite- and tips to,coverts: : = /eic)-." =:
Writes aot Sate 6c oe peel Polen Slane ate
Whiten siekies” 3 e.+2t- saya ete ee ee
LEGS AND TOES.
Séreaked:. pamela ete Gey eye ees ee Se
Wrong color in shanks

bole

Loe

oe

bom

Loe bole

bo

Nike Nie

|

~~)

Loeb

Loe Nie

BLack

Wrong color to bottom

Shaded toes . .
Yellow toes.

Penciled stripe
Smutty lacing
Dark edging

Reddish shading

Penciled .
Too light .

Too@arks ss...

Foreign color .

Too dark deck feathers
Too dark coverlets

BREASTED RED GAMES.

-

Female.

NECK:

BACK.

BREAST.

BODY.

WINGS.

TAI

Nie pole

Nie le

to |

to-l

+
=
>
lo

BROWN RED GAMES.
THE MALE,

The Head.—Under the new Standard the head of a Brown Red
(ame must be orange, the beak black or very dark brown, the
eyes black or brown, and tbe face, wattles, comb, ear-lobes,
dark purple or black to secure the specimen from color cuts.
The color, it will be observed, is very dark and shows much
depth. The color of the head is seldom or never cut. A beak
shaded with yellow or flesh color would be cut 3 to 1 point.
The eyes, if paler than the Standard description, would be
cut 3 to 1 point.

The Neck.—The hackle must be lemon in color with a dis-
tinct black stripe in each feather. Any penciling of the stripe,
any mossiness of the color, any show of foreign color, or any
fading of the stripe should be cut from 4 to 2 points, according
to the amount of the defect.

The Back.—VYhe back is now described as lemon instead of
dark red, and the saddle like the hackle. <A departure from
the correct shade of the back should be cut 3 to 1 point. If
the saddle be dark red, cut 1 point; a deep orange red, 3 point.
Want of stripe in saddle or fading of the same, 4 to 1 point.

The Breast.—The ground color should be intense black, each
feather having an even lacing of lemon. Red shading through
the entire web should be cut 3 to 3 points, as it approaches the
old-time Ginger Red; when it becomes fully a Ginger Red the
specimen should be passed as unworthy. <A solid black breast
should be cut fully 3 points, or passed as misclassed, but when
the beak, eyes and saddle are Standard in color, we should
cut the 3 points and permit the specimen to compete.

baad

Brown RED GAMES. 161

The Body and Stern.—A good black is ‘demanded, and _ all
foreign shading should be cut 3 to 1 point. The grav or red
frosting on the stern and along the side of the body, cut 1
point. “Eee :
The Wings.—Fronts are black and seldom faulty. The
or shoulder coverts should be lemon, and when tainted
with black or brown cut 3 to 1 point. If the black bar is
tarnished with lemon or red, cut 3 to 1 point. Any color
other than black found in primaries and secondaries, cut 3 to
1 point.

?

“rose”

The Tail.—No color but black is permissible. Straw, lemon
or red in shafts of sickles should be cut 3 to 1 point. White
in the tail proper ought to disqualify, but as it does not, it
should be cut 3 to 25 points.

The Legs and Feet.—¥or any toreign shading in the black of
the thighs, cut 4 to 1 point. Any color other than dark willow
or nearly black in the shanks should be cut 3 to 2 points. A
blue leg we would cut 1 point; a yellow or flesh colored, 2
points. If the bottoms of the feet are yellow, cut 1 point; if
the whole of the feet are yellow, cut 2 points. Only dark
willow or black should be passed as perfect.

THE FEMALE.

The Head.—Is required to be golden or lemon, and if foreign
color, as for exampie, reddish brown, be present, cut 3
point. For beak, eyes, shanks and toes, cut the same as in

the male. The comb, wattles and earlobes of the female,

though described in the Standard as the same as those of the

male, are usually darker than in the male, and if of a light red
shade, should be cut 3 to 1 point.

The Neck.—The hackle is lemon with a black stripe, or, as
we would prefer to describe it, black with a lemon lacing. If
the black is penciled with lemon, cut 3 to 1 point. For a black
or smutty lacing to the outer edge of the lemon color, cut 5 to

If

162 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

5 points, as it approaches a decidedly smutty appearance at
the base of the hackle.

The Back.—The back is now required to be black, but if
shaded with brown should be cut very lightly, for this brown
cast to the color is a characteristic from which, the variety
takes it name. If the brown be too prevalent and too pro-
nounced, cut 1 point.

The Breast.—The ground color should be black and the
lemon lacing evenly distributed. For reddish shading in the
ground color, cut 4 to 25 points.

The Body and Stern.—Should be black, but a dusky black
may be passed uncut. A reddish tinge, however, should be
cut to 1 point.

The Wings.—A reddish cast should be cut 5 to 1 point.
Sheeny, slaty blue spots that look light in the primaries or
secondaries, cut 5 to 15 points. White in any part, cut with
severity or pass the specimen as unworthy of competition.

The Tail.—¥or any color other than black, cut from 3 to 13°
points. Seldom is it necessary to cut more, but if there should
be sheeny light spots and reddish shading a cut of from 14 to 5
points would be demanded. Such birds seldom get into an
exhibition.

*

CUTS FOR COLOR.

Male.
HEAD.
Beak shaded with yellow ....... 5 to 1
Baleteyie 5 Pas putin on (Acs ee nea ce ele tee) ar, Cue a
NECK.

Penciled stripe
IM OBSSIWERS Tim set he aay Be te :

Ni Nie
an Ie
o

bo Le

Foreign color . 5 to 2
Badedisstrtpeeocty 22 -ot ett ee ae tgs dae Ctra es 4 to 2

Brown RED GAMEs.

BACK.
Wrong shade .
Dark red saddle
Orange saddle . .
Want of stripe in saddle .
Faded stripe

BREAST.
Red shading through web... ...
Souc black breast: < iv60 oF se.

BODY AND STERN.

LENO MONO posi Soe Fe
Garay or red frosting .

WINGS.
Black or brown in rose
Tarnished bar
Foreign color in flights

PAT:

Straw, lemon or red in sickles .
White in tail proper

LEGS AND-FEET.
Foreign color in thighs
Wrong color in shanks .
blue shanke or. so <r 3 :
Yellow or flesh colored shanks. .
Bottom of feet yellow .
Whole feet yellow

Female.
HEAD.
POreien COhor:~ x...
Comb, ete., light red
NECK.

Penciled stripe in hackle
Smutty lacing

Dh Ne pole

Lol bo

ee I

ae wd

to |
to |

to 3

to |

to 2

to

164 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.
BACK. /
SOOO LL Se ee oe Awa eather one eae |

BREAST.
Reddish sha dite ht, Bes. 2S Peon Mae LLO2e

BODY AND STERN.
Rem Oishi Wie: 5 e.0t 45s. <8 ese ga: oe aoe o Na lio]

WINGS.

Reddish cast 3 to J

Sheeny spots in flights x tos
: ATI.

AVRO COMGE wel teoeen\ 5 tO aie

Light spots and reddish shading . . te oe oa eeOee

DUCKWING GAMES.

We consider Silver and Golden Duckwings together, for
they differ but little in color in the males except in ground
color of hackle, back, wing and saddle, and in the females stil]
less, the difference being mainly a difference of shade. The
arrangement of the colors, markings, and the like, “are
identical, and the colors vary only as we have indicated.

THE MALES.

The Head.—The plumage of the Silver male should be
silvery white; of the Golden, straw color. Color foreign to
these should be cut 3 point. The beaks in both varieties are
horn, light or dark, but the beak of the Golden is generally
the darker. A yellow beak in the Goldens should be cut 3,
and a flesh colored beak 1 point. In the Silver, cut 3 point for
blue beak and 1 point for flesh colored. The eyes should be
red or bay in both sexes and both varieties. Fora very light
faded bay, cut 4 point; a brown, yellow or daw eye, cut 1
point.

DuckwinGg GAMES. 165

Lhe Neck.—Silvery white and straw color, free from black
stripes, are the colors of the hackle for the Silver and Golden
varieties respectively. The defects are black or brown, com-
mon to both, and are cut 3 to 2 points, the latter when the
hackle is distinctly striped. Yellow in Silvers and white in
Goldens should be cut } to 1 point. The throat is blaek in
both varieties.

The Back.—The Silver male has a silvery white back and
saddle, the Golden a bright copper or golden colored back and
light golden or straw colored saddle. In the Silver the pre-
vailing defects are black in the silvery white, stripes in the
saddle and black and copper color in the back, which should
be cut 3-to 23 points; in the Golden the defects are black and
yellow in the topper color, and black and reddish brown in
the saddle, causing a like cut of 3 to 24 points.

The Breast.—Both varieties have a solid black breast. White
and red are the usual defects, causing a cut of from 4 to 1
point in show specimens and 1 to 3 in birds unsuitable for
exhibition.

The Body and Stern.—A reasonable black should pass uncut.
If stern is powdered with gray, cut 3 point; gray in front of
legs seldom beyond 3 point in exhibition birds, 1 to 2 points in
breeding and second-class stock.

The Wings.—In Silvers the detect to be looked for in the
“rose” is black or copper color, whieh should be cut 4 to 1
point; in Goldens, light yellow, white or black feathers, which
should be cut } to 1 point. Wing fronts are black, but in the
Goldens the band is wider than in the Silvers, and a narrow
band of black to the wing front of the Goldens may be justly
cut 3 point. White in the upper or inner web of the primaries
or secondaries of either variety should be cut + to | point.
Bronze, white or copper color in the blue-black wing bars
should be cut 3 to 1 point. Brown shading in the outer web
of the secondaries and want of white or straw color in the outer

166 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

web of the primaries cut 3 to 1 point, and 2 points when half
of the secondaries are affected with this brown shading in
either variety.

The Tail.—Any foreign color, such as white in the sickles,
to 2 points; white shafts in coverlets or red or copper, 3 to
point ; white in main tail feathers, 5 to 15 points; is a serious
defect in the metallic black of the whole tail. The total cuts,
however, in exhibition specimens will seldom exceed 13 points,
while in others they may reach a total of 3 points.

>
|

The Legs and Feet.—Any toreign color in thighs cut 3 to 1
point. Shanks must be willow, and any departure therefrom
should be cut 3 to 13 points. We would cut a bronze shank 3
point, a blue 1 point, and a vellow 13 points. The feet and toes
would follow in a similar order of yalue, but should not be cut
beyond one point. Shanks and feet of both sexes require the
same treatment in scoring.

THE FEMALES.

The Head.—In the Silver the plumage is silvery gray, in the
Golden dark gray, and if tarnished with reddish brown should
be cut 5 point.

The Neck.—The same difference in plumage of neck as of
head exists in the two varieties, the hackle having a black
stripe. For penciling in hackle, cut 3 to 1, and for a smutty
hackle 3 to 13 points.

The Back.—The back of the Golden is darker than that of
the Silver on account of its heavier penciling. For reddish or
dark brown discolorations, the more common defects, cut from
» to 13 points.

The Breast.—In both varieties the breast is salmon color, but
is darker in the Golden than the Silver. The defects are a fad-
ing to an ashy color, for which cut 3 to 13 points; anda brown
penciling down the quarters, for which cut 4 to 1 point. We

DucKWING. GAMES. 167

would not cut a dark salmon breast on a Silver but we would
cut a light salmon breast on a Golden.

The Body and Stern.—Foreign color in body and stern should
be cut 3 to | point.

The Wes. —The wings of the Golden are distinguishable by
a brownish asb color along the lower portion of the shoulder
coverts, a mark which is absent in the Silver. In the Silver
the brownish color, (legitimate in the Goldens) should be cut
4 to 1 point. In the Golden the common defect is an approach
to the Black Red -color, the wing having a dark brown or red-
dish shading which should be cut 3 to 1) points as the wing
approaches the color of the wing of the Wheaten hen, The
shafts of the feathers should show light gray in the Golden
and white in the Silver variety. In the quill feathers of the
wings the defects to be cut are usually a brown shading or pen-
ciling of the feather or white in the upper web, or foreign color
in the same and should be cut 3 to | point.

The Tail.-The tail seldom requires cutting in good speci-
mens. <A reddish shading to the coverlets and two upper main
feathers, should be cut 5 to 1 point.

CUTS FOR COLOR.

Male.

HEAD.
Foreign Color 3
Yellow beak in Golden : : 4
Hlesh colored beak-in Golden. 3s: 02... ns va hie 1
bine colored. beak im Silver dss 8 4
Hiesh.corored-peakiin Silvers” 6 8226 eo. ese ee 1
Sides eel | else estes WISE Le cw SK ES alae 4
Drowe yellow Or daw @yes. @ - . 6 on ee ae ie,

NECK.

Brown or black in hackle . ae 5
Yellow in Silver and white in ee De eS: ey See

168 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

BACK.
Black in Silver
Copper color in Silver
Stripes in saddle
Black and yellow in Gelden .
Black and reddish brown in saddle
BREAST.
Whitevor red? in; Wreast. ..;2, -#:- 4, a: «
BODY AND STERN.
Powdered with gray
Gray in front of legs
WINGS.
Foreign color in rose. Poe ey
Narrow band in fronts of E Oolded
White in upper web of flights .
Foreign color in bar
Brown shading in outer web, secondaries,

Want of white or straw in outer web, primaries

Half of secondaries shaded with brown .
TA TL.
White in sickles
White shafts in coverlets
Red or copper in coverlets’ .
White in main feathers -
LEGS AND. FEET.
Foreign color in thighs
3ronze shank .
Blue shank .
Yellow shank .
Feet and toes wrong color .

Female.
HEAD.
Reddish -browat tarnisii, ayes ese eee

bole

tol—

LO

ca el ne)

bo t

lle Nie he Nie

bo

wl

OF |OXO. ©
IO ROS ROO bS

NE wie Ne ne Ne

toe

Rep PyLE GAMES. 169

NECK.

Penciled hackle + to 1
Sinutty hackle x to 14
BACK.

Redeish«discGloravione sis of. +4 bled gels “y ceaae. Vee tO
RREAST.

Faded color + to 14
Brown penciling on quarters 7 to |

; BODY AND STERN.

Been GONON par ees Gn he on SMa as cmt ie ee Ko)
WINGS.

Brownish shade in Silvers ap? + to I

Dark brown or reddish in Goldens . : 5 LO Vs

Brown shading or penciling of quill feathers . 5 to. 4

White or foreign color in upper webs x ton
TALL:

Pee RNC oT Se See hae me ee ky oe ca LOmd

RED PYLE GAMES.
THE MALE.

The Head.—White or yellowish brown in plumage of the
head, cut 3 point. Beak other than yellow or willow, cut 3 to
1 point. In both sexes eye should be red or bay; for a faded
bay, cut 5 point; for brown or daw, cut 1 point.

The Neck.—Black appearing in hackle or throat, cut 5 to 13
points, and 23 whenever well defined dark colored stripes
appear in the hackle feathers.

The Back.—Spattering of black through the plumage should
be eut 3 to 1 point. Faded color in back and saddle, cut from
x to 1 point.

The Breast.—For darker than Standard color with brown or
dark chestnut, cut 3 to 13 points, and when brownish red, cut
23 points.

170 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

The Body and Stern—When the stern and thighs are
streaked or spotted with red, copper color or black, cut from
} to 2 points, in proportion to the amount of discoloration.
When this foreign color is confined to the body under the
wings 5 point is sufficient.

The Wings.—Black spots and splashes appearing in any part
of the wing, or the rose or any part of the red of the wing
fading to yellowish red or white, cut 5 to 2 points

The Tail.—For foreign color in the tail, splashes minute or
large, cut 3 to 2 points. White upper surtace with clouded
under surface of the tail proper should be cut 3 to 1 point.

The Legs and Feet.—Willow or yellow legs are permissible,
though ,we believe only yellow legs should have been con-
sidered pertect. If the legs become white or nearly so, cut 3
to 1 point. Any foreign color in thighs, cut 3 to 1 point. Feet
follow the rule for shanks, and shanks and feet in both sexes
should be considered alike.

THE FEMALE.

The Head.—Beak other than yellow or willow, cut § to 1]
point, the latter for flesh colored beak. Foreign color in
plumage, 5 to | point.

The Neck.—Color other than Standard, cut 3 to 1 point, the
latter being seldom exceeded.* Black is the usual detect.

The Back.—The cape, which is considered with the back,
will be shaded with the color of the hackle in prime speci-
mens, but should not be cut for this shading. Reddish shading
in the back proper, or black spatters in it or the cape, should
be cut 3 to 13 points.

The Breast.—lf the breast is so light as to be properly de-
scribed as white shaded with red, cut 3 to 13 points, and if
clear white, 25 points. :

The Body and Stern.—The temale should be free from all
foreign color in body and stern, except near the breast, where.

te

Rep PYLE GAMES:

.

the salmon fades into the white or creamy white.

iv)

If this

shading has not faded out before the thighs are reached the

defect should be cut 3 to 1 point.

The Wings.—Black or copper color or brown in any part of

the wing should be cut 3 to 13 points.

The Tail.—The cuts are the same as for male.

CUTS: FOR- COLOR.

Male.
HEAD.
White or brownish yellow .
Betis WIOHe- COMOF 2 9c003 sens re 8
Bde eyes enn sk,s Pape wits es
Brown-or daw @yé 9. 5 <0: 202s +
NECK.
Black in plumage .-
Dapessieapes. ts bo eee STS
BACK.

Black spatters
Padedecolore c-2 & cc
BREAST.
Too dark (foreign color) .
3rownish red .
BODY AND STERN.
Red, copper or black streaks .
Foreign color under wings .
WINGS,
Black spots or splashes .. +--+ +--+ >
Faded red
TALL:
Splashes of foreign color
Clouded under surface
LEGS AND FEET.
White or nearly so
Foreign color in thighs

bole

Nie Whe

“

cot
~
fe)

~

St
(2)
to

ang ie
w YW
Sy eG)

172 PHILOSOPHY OF. JUDGING.

Female.
HEAD.

Wrong color in beak x to |
Foreign color in plumage x to |
NECK.

Foreign color . 7 oa
BACK.

Reddish shading 3 to 15
Black spatters 3 to 13

: BREAST.

PETA SASS Cate le aco Get Cee toe Nt wi) 0 ist eb eg ep
White breast . 25
BODY AND STERN.

Redsia DRUMIASe aay ae al. cee Segue th Leh karen ann
WINGS.

Black, copper or brown . 3 to 14

BLACK AND WHITE GAMES.

It *is unnecessary to repeat what we have already said in
reference to solid colors. Purity of color, intenseness and
brillianey, freedom from foreign color, uniformity in the
different sections, all these are to be sought in Games as in
other breeds, and the lack of any or all of these is to be cut in
proportion to its amount. The percentage system applies
throughout.

GAME BANTAMS.

Speaking generally, Game Bantams are Games of a dimin-
utive size, and should be identical in figure and color as the
corresponding varieties of Games. The following measure-

GAME BANTAMS. sis:

ments, furnished by Mr. E. R. Spaulding, whose success as a
breeder of Black-breasted Red Games and Black-breasted Red
Game Bantams is a guaranty of the high quality of the stock
measured, will serve to show the difference of proportion
which exists between Game towls and Game Bantams.

No. 1—Game Cock.—Weight, 6 pounds; height, 26 inches;
back, at hackle point, 17 inches; hip, 15 inches; from front of
breast to vent, 9 inches; neck, 9 inches; tail, 6 inches; shanks.
Ginches; thigh, 7 inches; eye, from point of beak, 24 inches;

head and beak, 33 inches. Eye over instep close to shank.

No. 2—Game Cock.—Weight, 7 pounds; height, 28 inches;
back, 18 inches; from front of breast to vent, 93 inches; neck,
9} inches; tail, 6 inches; shanks, 6 inches; thigh, 7} inches;
head and beak, 53 inches; eye, from point of beak, 24 inches.
Posture, as in No. 1.

toe bo

No. 3—Game Bantam Cock.—Weight, 20 ounces; height, 14
inches; back, 9 inches; front of breast to vent, 5 inches; neck,
oO]

6G inches; tail, 45 inches; shanks, 3 inches; thighs, 34 inches;
head and beak, 2} inches; eye, from point of beak, 12 inches.

For more convenient reference we tabulate these threc

specimens: "
NOs: No. 2. No. 3.
BV Grethitic t+ ce. 4; os eas OUNCES: =-b1L2 ounces: |. 20: -onmees:
Bieieii. ~.. ine oe obnnehege ~2esinches, 14 inches:
RerCke bas) Pin i. 6 nx bee aie eek eS poss: Eee te
iS acta ee A aol ia Sal 5 ear
Dreastto vent: 2 2. oy eer. Oht 93 ape a:
Neck . AE AN Ce!) Stegian gs * Gostac
COS Pte ak ae an «Se de Garis Aa tee
PNG te eo on yes oO Bua, SAG
pa Rs Ree ee nea ay (sO Bao oe
Kye from beak he a, ae theese ee
Mieadwand heakAs Ss... “84 “ St ae Zahn

yA PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

Comparing Nos. 2 and 3, because the height of 2 is just
twice that of 3, we find backs in same proportion, body ot
vreater proportionate length in No. 3, neck shorter in pro-
portion to height in No.3 than in No. 2, tail longer in pro-
portion to height, shanks of the same proportion to height,
thighs shorter, and beak and head longer. And yet No. 3 was
an exceptionably good Bantam. The contrast with No. J
would have been more marked in some respects.

In judging Game Bantams a due allowance should be made
for this difference in structure, and at the same time breeders
should be encouraged to bring up the Bantam to the exact
figure of the larger fowl. Much, very much, has been ac-
complished in this direction and the progress has been so
vreat that it is unnecessary to go into details concerning their
judging. He who can score Game fowls will have no difficulty
in judging Game Bantams.

CPAP Ter VEEL.

APPLICATION OF PRINCIPLES TO THE SCORING OF
THE DIFFERENT BREEDS,
CONTINUED.

CRESTED BREEDS.

‘BOR twenty years, previous to the revision of the Standard
in 1883, the crested breeds suffered from a Standard and
a Seale of Points made upon a false principle. The crest was
the controlling section. To it all the other sections had to
yield. The large value given to it made a fine-crested bird,
though very inferior in other respects, a sure winner. A poor
crest, though the bird was in other respects fine, gave it no
place in the race for prizes. The inevitable result was that
breeders sought to obtain crest at the expense of everything
else, and while the crest gained the whole fowl suffered. Had
this been continued crested breeds would have become
extinct, or, if not extinct, worthless for all practical use.
Under its pernicious influence size diminished—bones grew
smaller, muscles weaker, and practical qualities suffered a
ereat loss. And though this Standard was framed to encourage
the breeding of exhibition specimens, exhibition specimens
were bred in less numbers year by year until the crested
breeds had almost disappeared from the poultry shows. The
reason was clear enough to those who gave it a little thought.

meri PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

The practical qualities are the foundation of the poultry in-
dustry. Rob a breed of utility, and breeder after breeder will
desert it in disgust, until very few will be found who will keep
the breed. The beautiful Polish were once famed for their
remarkable prolificacy. Few breeds. excelled them in ege¢
production. But when bone and muscle had been sacrificed
for erest, egg production rapidiy diminished, constitutional
weakness increased, and he was a brave man who would dare
to keep the fowls. In 1885.a change for the better was made.
The value of crest in the Seale of Points was reduced, and
gradually the Polish has been gaining ground and making its
appearance in the poultry exhibition. The Scale was again
improved at Indianapolis in 1888, and the Polish fowl will
gain thereby. But not until the true principle is recognized,
upon which the Decimal Scale is founded, that perfection in
every part is of equal value and that perfection of parts makes
perfection of the whole, will the Polish and other crested
breeds gain the position to which their merits justly entitle
them. When this isdone many more breeders will keep these
beautiful fowls, and the numbers in the exhibition room wili
be multiplied. There will be a gain not only in practical
qualities, but in exhibition excellence. Larger, stronger, finer,
more beautiful birds will be bred, and in greatly increased
numbers, and the long rows of tuese highly ornamental fowls
will be a striking feature of our exhibitions.

The Comb and Crest.—In the crested breeds, the less comb
the better, as a general rule, and natural absence of the same
in Polish should not be regarded as a defect. If the comb is
large it should be cut with severity, as size in comb interferes
with the symmetrical proportions of the crest. Ii the comb is
trimmed it should be cut 3 to 24 points, for it is only fair to
suppose that it would not have been trimmed if it were
reasonably perfect in size and shape. In the larger Polish,
1 to 2 points will be a sufficient cut for all defects in comb.
In Polish Bantams there is a disqualification which ought

CRESTED BREEDS. LE

to render the trimming of combs a disqualification also,
though it does not. In the single combed variety shanks
other than silver or white are a disqualification, and in
the V-combed variety shanks other than blue or slaty
blue disqualify. By dubbing the comb it would be very
dificult to tell to which variety the bird belonged, and
the disqualification for wrong color in shanks would be
rendered nearly nugatory. To sum up the cuts for comb, we
would cut those with more than two prongs of equal length
from 3 to 2 points, as prongs multiply and take irregular
shape; 2 points if single in shape; 3 to 2 points for excess in
size; 1 to 2} points for amputations, as the scars indicate
whether small or extensive. But more important than the
comb is the crest. Size in crest is important but not all-im-
portant. Shape, compactness and perfect fit. are of more
importance than size. <A perfect crest is one that, with color
Standard, is as large as possible and at the same time is
globular in shape and fits squarely upon the head, the feathers

presenting a full convex surface free from hollows and.

straggling feathers falling in every direction. The usual
defects are want of size and irregularity of shape. The larger
crests are most apt to suffer in shape, while the smaller ones
are generally of better shape but suffer in size. The cuts for
form will in exhibition specimens run from 10 to 40 per cent.
For straggling condition of large crests, caused by the feathers
falling forward, a cut of 3 to 2 points is generally sufficient,
and a like cut for want of size will be a just one in the majority
of cases.

The Head, Wattles and Ear-lobes.—The head of crested breeds
is provided with a protuberance upon its crown, and this is
governed largely by the size of the crest. Hf the crest is of
correct shape and right size, the head will be found correct in
shape. The nostril should be arched, and if flat should be cut
1 point. The ear-lobes should be round, and if pendent should
be cut | point. Wattles not of Standard shape and size, will,

12

as kr cae PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

in the unbearded varieties, be cut $ to 1 point, and in the
bearded varieties will pass uncut, the defect being transferred
to the beard. Size and shape shouid govern this, and for lack
of either cut 5 to 15 points, according to the degree of the
defect. :

The Neck.—The hackle is long and fine in fibre, giving a full
plumage to the neck and producing an appearance of short-
ness not seen in shorter plumaged fowls. This feathering also
gives a full arch to the neck. The neck is seldom cut in shape,
except tor too great straightness caused by the head being
carried too far forward. For this fault 5 to | point is sufficient.

The Back.—Yhe hack should form a straight line from the
cape to the tail. The back not infrequently is more or less
roached, and should for this detect be cut 3 to 14 points; and
in case of a tie between a straight-backed and a roach-backed
bird we would award the prize to the former, for the latter is
aspecies of weakness and deformity, though not sufficiently
marked to disqualify under the disqualification ‘“ crooked
backs.’’> In males the saddle plumage should be long and
flowing, and when it lacks this character should be cut 1 to 13
points. Saddle depressed or parted in front of tail, cut 1 point.

The Breast.—lt any fowl, other than the Bantams, carries its
breast so far forward that it will touch a perpendicular line
from the end of its beak to the ground, the Polish is that fowl.
The fullness of its plumage assists in doing this. We have
seen specimens that would fairly do this, but none that would
exceed it. <A profile made on life lines should represent this
development, but as the fullness of the quarters deceives the
eye, the fowl really appears to be more fully developed than
it is. Hence our profile strives to present the true appearance
and somewhat exceeds the life lines of development. The
defects in the breast are wedge-shape and a loss of prominence
to the quarters, and should be cut, as in other breeds, 5 to |
point for each.

CRESTED BREEDs. 79

The Body and Flugf—The bedy should be tapering towards
the tail, the sides well rounded, the fluff less prominent than
in the American breeds, but not so scanty as in the Games.
Shape needs Jittle cutting, but if sides be flat, or fluff too full
or too scanty, cut 4 to 1 point for each defect.

The Wings.—The wings are large and should be well placed
and well folded. For wrong carriage or imperfect folding, cut
3 to 1 point, the latter seldom requiring to be exceeded.

The Tail.—The tail is full and moderately upright. In
shape it is almost always good ; in carriage as it approaches the
squirrel tail it should be cut 3 to 2 points. These large tails
are carried in various positions, shifting from one to the other,
and demand the exercise of great care in deciding whether or
not they come under the disqualification “wry tail.” It is
necessary that this disqualification be of a decided character,
and in doubtful cases the bird should compete but may be cut
from 3 to 2 points, according to the amount of variation from
a habitually proper carriage. If more than 2 points seem de-
manded we should think the bird ought to be disqualified. In
determining whether the bird has a wry tail or not take the
specimen in hand, the keel resting on the hand with the bird’s
head towards you. He will drop his tail, and in doing so will
part the coverts and the saddle feathers. If this parting be to
one side of the centre it will be safe to say the bird is wry
tailed, for the division will be at the place where the bird
habitually carries his tail, and if that place is to one side of
the centre the tail is clearly a wry tail.

The Legs and Toes.—For any departure from the true length
of shank, which we show in our profile, cut 3 to 13 points,
5] ’ 4a a
whether it be in too great or too small length. Crooked toes,
» to 1 point each, according to degree, and from 4 to 2 points

for enlarged joints of the same.

In considering color we group the varieties together for the
sake of greater condensation, and for the reason that already

180 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

we have illustrated the principles which govern color cuts so
fully that the necessity of discussing separate varieties does
not appear pressing, and tor the still further reason that the
arrangement of colors is the same in several varieties, which
enables us to group them together with a due regard for clear-
ness and consistency.

The Comb and Crest.—The crest of the several varieties
usually fails from 10 to 30 per cent. in color, and this per-
centage should be deducted from its full color value. In our
Scale we have given 5 points for color, and the cuts would
therefore be from 3 to 15 points, and this will generally be
sufficient. In tne White Crested Blacks we have seen crests.
that were fully 50 per cent. defective in color, and would re-
quire a cut of 23 points to do them justice.

The Head, Wattles and Ear-lobes.—The color of head will
seldom or never require to be cut, as the crest covers it so
fully. Wattles are usually cut only for shape when cut at all.
But the ear-lobes, which should be white, are often tinged
with red, and should be cut 3 to 15 points, in proportion to the
amount of red shown.

The Neck —The cuts for color in neck will seldom exceed 2
points, and will run from 3 to 2. White in the under-color ot
the Golden, want of spangles to the tip of the hackle feathers,
a black edging running along the outer edge of the spangled
feathers, penciling of the black in the centre of the feathers of
the laced birds, dullness of hue in the Blacks, yellow tinge in
the Whites and Silvers, any or all these faults may be present.
In Golden and Silver Polish the plumage may be spangled or
laced, neither having the preference, but in the neck plumage
of both they are nearly always spangled.

The Back.—Pencilings in the centre of the ground color

above the spangles should be cut 4 to 1 point; a mixture of
spangling and lacing, | point; white in under-color of Golden,

CRESTED BREEDs. 181

3 to 2 points; want of spangles on tip of saddle plumage, 3 to
points; straw color in white specimens, 4 to 13, and in males
even 2 points may be demanded.

bo

The Breast.—In solid colored specimens the color cuts
usually run from 3 to 1 point, and in the spangled or laced
from 3 to 25 points.

The Body and Fluff—The color detects will be white in
under-color of Goldens, dull, rusty color in Blacks, want of
lacing or spangling in the parti-colored varieties, and usually
are small, requiring a cut of 3 to 13 points in first-class speci-
mens. In Goldens the thighs and fluff will darken until
almost black is reached in the fluff. The average cut for
body and fluff in females is | point; in males, 3 to 13 points.

The Wings.—In White specimens the color fails usually $ to
13 points for yellow shading; in the spangled and laced, 1 to
3 points for lack of spangling or lacing; in the Goldens, 3
to 13 for white in the wings; and in the Blacks, 3 to 23 points
for dullness of color and sheeny or white spots.

The Tail.—White in the sickles of the Golden variety is a
not uncommon fault, and is cut 3 to 2 points, and even 33
points when sickles, coverlets and tail proper are all con-
taminated with white. Yellow quills, except in isolated cases,
is the only fault in the tails of the White, and is cut 3 to 1
point, the latter cut being seldom exceeded. Pale, slaty and
small white spots are the usual defects in the Blacks, and
require cuts from 4 to 23 points. In the Silvers, want of
spangles to tip of sickle feathers and a clouding of the tail
proper with black are defects, causing a cut of 3 to 24 points.

_ The Legs and Toes.—Very little cutting can be done for
color in shanks and toes, for a decided departure is reason for
disqualification. A cut of 3 to 1 would be the extent.

182 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

CUTS FOR FORM.

COMB AND CREST.
Comb. trum tesa eae ee ree han te ven eres
NGEC-ihian two! promod h pete tae ey ee
Single in shape .
Bacesa he Sizes. 5 kG ee res a Neier a eRe
Want ob SIZzenMrCHOSton. sho oem See lan kes
Irregular crest
HEAD, WATTLES AND EAR-LOBES.
Plat nostrils. ats os 2.4 ks ee ee ee
Pendent ear-lobesis «3.9 2. <se e eeies
Wattles wrong size and shape
Imperfect beard
NECK.
Mo Ossieelibe Mpa rode rtads auecutee ea see deat eee
BACK.
Roe Gels. sham ces nian cal chal cep. phate ay Mee tee a whe
Short saddle feathers
Depressed Saddle: yey se tes eee oc eee eke rca sae
BREAST.
Wedoessliape ree Sea 7), Seibel he rate rae
Lack? OF prominence “|... Sis sie At eh ee aes
BODY AND FLUFF.
Plat. cidlesia ad and ra ytinciel bast bi. Stee ea ec
Mutt too tll On too neatmbys 2 so cwate Orit salar tolenes
WINGS.
WW rOme Carney «ns cl cetek: Takaka oak pumas, hens
Pm pecect LOLITAS se cb. ace oie nie emer eae

MOO CTOGE cas eta hie sae Pio Gh ae Sia en re eae cots

Carned aside, NOt Wryn \s\ 0% see ce pate one oe
LEGS AND TOES.

Neo long.shanks, try) byte eee

Too short shaaks et ok oe ee eee eee) wins:
CroGleeGihOGs ace aa eee ie ae a se ae ce
Halarced jommts.9. s= "soe meee er,

Nie Wie

>
°
bo bo tw

Nie we

Ne WR

toe

Wie

IH poe Whe Wie Lia Nie

fe)

bole woe

We Ne NR WR

et
ro)

o)

=
o

t+
o)

ie

lo Ww Wh

co
ie)
=

are
fo)

en
fo)

ct
>)

bet

no by

CRESTED BREEDS.

CUTS FOR COLOR.
COMB AND CREST,
Imperfect color (crest).
HEAD, WATTLES AND EAR-LOBES.
Red im @ar-lobes.. <0 2.) ee
NECK.
White under-color in Golden
Want of spangles .
Black edging
Penciled stripe aS Raein lo). hy ee cpemee aes
LAT Gn VA Soa; aa ae
Yellow tinge Cae
BACK.
Penciling in ground color -.

Mixed spangles and ISIC NS aa ee eager
White in under-color (Golden) .. . . . ee

Want of spangles to saddle
Straw color in Whites . a ae
BREAST,
Off color in solid colored
Off color in Spangled
BODY AND FLUFF,

White under-eolor Oldie eae om, Sr
Dull color (Black) .
Want of Jacing or spangling .

WINGS.
Yellow shading (White)
Imperfect spangling . a te ary
Maite: (Goldenj i. 4-5), me cai eces Mel's
Dullness or sheeny or white spots (Black) . .

MANY;
White in sickles (Golden) .

White all through tail (Golden)

Yellow quills UWiharte ys: . 4

Pale, slaty or white spots (Black )

Want of spangling, elouced tail (Silvers) .

183

3 to

to

Ne

to

to
to
to
to

Loe Dl Doe Doe bole nop

bole

to

to
to
to

LO bm

to
to

bol bole

to
to
to

aa Dl bole bole
ct

bole hoje
oo -
=)

bole
7+
oe)

Nolet bole bole
er e¢

x to

to :

IN IO W bo be

ly

184 PuitosoeHy or JUDGING.

LEGS AND TOES.
Baded, shankeandtOes, pu ssed clap accent 5 occas ee ee er

POLISH BANTAMS.

Only the white crested White Polish Bantams are recognized
by the Standard, though there are Silvers and Goldens bred,
and there will in time probably be a variety tor each variety
of the larger fowl.

Among the Whites two classes are recognized, the white or
silver legged with single combs—the original Polish Bantam,
and the blue legged with V-shaped combs. The latter, be-
cause it possesses more of the true Polish characteristics,
should be preferred, and we look for the time to come when
only the V-combed birds will be permitted to compete. It
should be the object of the breeder to transform his stock to
these characteristics as rapidly as possible.

The Polish Bantam, like Bantams in general, is shorter in
the joints, shorter in plumage and shorter throughout than
the full sized fowl, although it possesses the general Polish
characteristics. Having due respect to this difference in
structure, the judging of Polish Bantams will follow the rules
for judging Polish fowls, and it is unnecessary to. repeat what
we have said upon this subject.

CHAPTER LX.

APPLICATION OF PRINCIPLES TO THE SCORING OF
THE DIFFERENT BREEDS,
CONTINUED.

THE MEDITERRANEAN CLASS.

HE Mediterranean Class consists of a group of fowls hay-

ing many characteristics in common, high single combs
erect in the male, drooping to one side in the female, rather
slender bodies, erect carriage, full tails and nervous tempera-
ment. They are among the sprighthest and most active of our
fowls and are celebrated the world over as prolific layers. The
class includes the Leghorn with its numerous varieties, the
Minoreas, the Andalusian and the Spanish.

As not the least worthy breed, we consider first

THE LEGHORN.

The Leghorn is subject to no weight clauses, but has instead
of weight a section denominated Size.

The Size.—Size is scored by comparison. When too small
the cut is 3 to 1 point, the latter when the birds are very small.

The Comb.—In the male should be erect, carried well back
over the neck, deeply serrated and having five or six points,

186 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

the former preferred. In the early days of the breed the
comb was very large, similar to that seen on Minoreas, but
under the influence of climate and careful selection its size
has been reduced, and one of medium size is preferred. If
there are more or Jess than the Standard number of points, 1
point should be cut for every point in excess or deficiency. If
the rear of the comb comes close down upon the neck it is
faulty, and should be cut 1 point. If it is narrow at the rear,
cut 1 point. If the rear turns to one side, cut 5 to 13 points.
If too large, like a Minorca, cut 3 to 23 points. Very large
combs are apt to be faulty in other respects, and are sometimes
cut as much as 5 points. Rough texture, cut 3 to 2 points.
The female’s comb is judged like the male’s, but must fold to
one side. Uneven folding, cut 3 to 1; semi-ereet comb, § to
3, OF more as need may be.

The Head.—For wrong color of eye, cut 3 to 1 point, the
latter when the bay has faded into a yellow or pearl color.
Wattles that are too small, so as not to meet the requirement
of pendulous, should be cut 3 to 1 point. Wattles torn or
damaged by fighting, cut 5 to 1 point. Head carried forward,
1 point. |

The Neck.—The neck should be carried back so as to give
prominence to the breast, and should be well arched. Cuta
nearly straight neck 1 point; short hackle, | point.

The Back.—The plumage adheres closely to the shell-bone,
the saddle makes a sharp concave sweep to the tail, and were
the saddle plumage like that of the Game there would be little
difference in the conformation of the back. If the saddle is
depressed by a squirrel tail, check the defect and consider it
when the tail, which causes it, is judged. A short Game-like
saddle should be cut } to 1 point. Any tendency to roach
back, cut 3 to 1 point.

The Breast—In appearance the breast is very full and car-
ried prominently forward; in fact, the head and neck are

THE LEGHORN. 1S7

carried so far back that the hackle flows back, displaying the
wing fronts somewhat and the full extent of the breast, in-
creasing its apparent size so much that one would suppose a
line dropped perpendicularly from the point of the beak would
cut at least two or three inches off from the front of the breast,
when as a matter of fact the specimens are exceedingly rare
whose breast would touch such a line. Only actual measure-
ment will convince the sceptical, but that tried will satisfy
any doubts. The breast should be very full in the quarters
and the upper part exposed to view. For failure of prom-
inence in front outline, cut 3 to 1 point, and a like cut for lack
of fullness in the quarters.

The Body and Fluff—The body in the male should taper
towards the tail, the fluff being rather scanty ; in the female
the fluffis somewhat fuller and there isa more perfect apparent
balance of breast and posterior weight. The body should’ be
rounded at the sides, plump and closely feathered, a medium
in this respect between the American and Game classes. For
flatness of sides, cut 3 to 1 point; for too scanty or too abund-
ant fluff, 3 to | point.

The Wings.—Wings when faulty in form are so tor bad ear-
riage or imperfect folding, either defect being cut } to 1 point.

The Tail.—The tail should be full, erect without being squir-
rel, and in the male furnished with full flowing sickles. Squir-
rel tail is a common defect and should be cut } to 2 points.

The Legs and Toes.—A prime Leghorn should have rather
long legs, short dumpy legs destroying the airy graceful ap-
pearance which isa true leghorn characteristic. A medium
long thigh and a long shank add much to the beauty of the
breed. The Brown differs from the White Leghorn in form
principally in this respect. Its legs are shorter, and cuts for
shortness of legs are much more common than in the White
variety. The probability of the Black-red Claiborne Game
with the White Leghorn as a component of the Brown may

188 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

help to solve the reason for this tendency. Short legs should
be cut 4 to 2 points. We have never yet seen a Leghorn that
required to be cut for too long legs. Crooked toes cut 3 to 1
point for each toe, the latter if the toes are decidedly crooked.

CUTS FOR FORM.

SIZE.
“POOSR IMAL? ie oon oss os gate a) ei pay ete: ea 9 RO epeegtares tee
| COMB.
Too many points, each 1
Too few points, each 1
Rear too: close ta.MeCk 30. oe eee toe A sc lsas 1
Rear too narrow ]

]

Rear turns to one side 4 to 13
Too large. = ...= 4 to 23
Rough texture ta 3 to 2
Uneven folding (female) 4 to 1
Semi erect (female) . 3 to 13
HEAD,
Wrong color eye 3 to J
‘Too small wattles . x to 1
Wattles damaged by fighting 4 to 1
Head carriedttorward . 7 20 Ses 1
NECK.
Nearly~straighiseek tonsil ee eee ene Bee 1
Short hackle
BACK.

Short saddle + tom
RodebbaGhes:-S sake sis es epee eee es Se + to ]
BREAST.

Failure of prominemeey: <.ceiet <a y et ee
Pailure ith quarters =F 4 GPa e ee Br a: Es

BODY AND FLUFF.
Hisiceidese te. uo iho>. 7s 2 oeucae eens

bole
et
o
—s

NS : Me a <

Sant
z= \
SS
~

WHitE LEGHORNS. 18%

Too scanty fluff . 2 to |
Too abundant fluff ZO
3 WINGS.

AG Carlinwe: 950: 5/55 ek i to 1
Impertect folding . 3 to |
TAT:
pian Le) merck cesses te ner ae eae tone hag We eee + to 2
LEGS AND TOES.

Too short legs x to 2
Crooked toes . 3 tol

WHITE LEGHORNS.

In speaking of varieties we shall, of course, only consider
color, for the form of all Leghorns is the same, or ought to be,
and must be scored as of the same shape. In considering the
White first, we do so because it has retained the true Leghorn
characteristics through so many years, and has not shown the
effects of crossing that now and then crop out in other varie-
ties. We have not considered the Rose combed varieties, as
such, because they are required to be identical with the single
combed in everything but the character of comb, and the
combs are scored as other rose combs, regard of course being
had to their specific shape.

The Head.—We are of the opinion that as a rule Leghorns.
are cut too severely in ear-lobes for want of perfect enameled
white surface. We are prone to forget the percentage of defect
and cut in the ear-lobe of Leghorns either without regard to per-
centage arbitrarily or to estimate the percentage upon the full
value of the section of which the ear-lobes form only a part
If the surface is one-fifth red only 1 point can be justified; if
two-fifths red only 2 points. Red blemishes, the result of fight-
ing, should be cut less severely than if the result of nature, and

&

190 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

when the cause is known the judge ought to govern himself
accordingly. The plumage of the bead will seldom be requir-
ed to be cut, never beyond 3 point.

The Neck.—The plumage should be pearly or creamy white,
but astraw color or yellow tinge should not be construed as
creamy white. For this defect, common in males, cut } to 1
point. Yellow or straw color in the shafts of the feathers, cut
3 to 15 points. In the case of a tie a clear pearly white should
win over one having a milk white—a white with a faint sug-
gestion of yellow.

The Back.—Yeilow or straw color, cut 3 to 13 points. It
will rarely be necessary to cut more.

The Breast.—Cut $ to 1 point for straw color in shafts and
surface.

The Body and Fluff—This section is not faulty in color once
in five hundred times.

The Wings.—-The most faulty section in the variety. Yellow
quills in primaries and secondaries, cut 5 to 2 points; straw
colored coverts 3 to 2 points.

The Tail.—Color seldom requires a cut beyond 1 point.

The Legs and Toes.—A bright yellow leg, when the plumage
is clear white, a difficult thing to procure in the males, adds
ereatly to the appearance of the bird. A reasonably yellow
leg, such as may be described as dark straw color, should go
uncut, and a light straw color in hens should compete on an
equality with a bright yellow in pullets, The exhaustion of
reproduction in a fowl which has no seasons of recuperation
like the setting breeds, will bleach the brightest yellow legs to
a pale yellow, and the nature of the fowl must be considered
in correct judging. Black scales, cut 4 to 13 points; light
colored shanks and toes in chickens, 3 to 15 points.

Brown LEGHORNS. 191

COLS FOR COLOR,

HEAD.

PeCOpuMae Ara OWER Eira: sip staf ies.) eee la, We Rew has

Nellowstinee to plumace. oa 4). eh eS ee i
NECK.

Yellow tinge to surface . z tol
Yellow ineshafts 4 to 13
BACK.

Yellow tinge x to 13
BREAST.

LGU CES SANT CE iy A a ake ARTE arta Na el arh al 28 55) |
WINGS.

Yellow quills . 3 to 2
Yellow coverts . . par hye
TAT.

SIGH Oa oe DSi 8 Sea eaa ae ae 2 EN aie ae Pe ene 1

LEGS AND TOES.
Black scales 5 to ls
Light shanks . x to ls

BROWN LEGHORNS.

It is unnecessary to go into the details of scoring this variety
for it belongs to the Black-red type, and in our previous
chapters we have fully discussed the matter. See application
of principles to Partridge Cochins and Black Breasted Red
(vames.

But concerning white or gray in the plumage, the scoring or
disqualifying for which has occasioned nine-tenths of the
trouble in the show-room, and has been the fertile source
from which unreasonable protests have arisen, it is necess ary
to speak. In the revised Standard the disqualification reads:
“White or gray in any part of the plumage except at the roots
of the tail and under-color of the hackles and saddles, and the
sickles of cocks.” To disqualify, this objectionable white or
gray must be positive in character, be present beyond a

192 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

reasonable doubt, and must be considered with reference to
the nature of the bird. All strained interpretations of this
clause should be avoided. Common sense and good judgment
should govern the judge. If there is any doubt the specimen
should be given the benefit and cut for a defect instead of
being disqualified. In times past disgraceful protests have
been entered fora thread line of questionable gray near the
quill end of a primary feather, a defect that would be cut with
severity if the specimen had been discounted 3 point. And
such protests have been sustained and a 95 point bird, fairly
entitled to compete and fairly deserving of the first prize, has.
been disqualified.

Faded drab-colored spots and tips in brown and_ black
plumage, if laid upon metallic black, will look ¢ ray or white,
but if laid upon white the tull outline of the feather will
appear and the true color will be seen. Such faded spots and
tips should be cut 3 to 3 points. In many wings we see bluish
slaty spots that affect the black color and are justly punished:
by a cut of } to 2 points. Whether to cut or to disqualify
should be first decided by laying the doubtful spot upon a
white surface; if clearly within the disqualification the speci-
men must be disqualified, but if there is any doubt about it,
eut in proportion to the amount of defect present.

It is also important to remember that the quill point and the
first fibre of the feather in Brown Leghorns are white, that in
fact, next to the skin the bird is comparatively white all over,
and that if the disqualification is followed literally there is not
a Brown Leghorn that is not a disqualified bird. For this we
ought not to disqualify, but if the white or gray gets beyond
the under-fluff into the web then the bird must be promptly
disqualified. White extending from one-half to one inch in
the hackle should be cut 3 te 13 points; white in under-fluff of
saddle of the same extent should suffer the same cut; white
in under-fluff of back, cut 1 point. White or gray (absolute
in character) extending beyond one-half inch of fibre at quill

B. ano D. Lecuorn.—B. ann W. MINoRGCas. 193

point in tail, primary or secondary feathers, should disqualify.
A single feather with a mere dot of white or gray should not
disqualify—it would be a rank injustice, defensible only by a
too technical and strained interpretation of the disqualifying
clause. We have seen birds disqualified for a spot which
looked as if the color. had been destroyed by a drop of acid,
which, indeed, might have been the cause, and the rest of the
plumage almost faultless. If such an interpretation is to be
had a judge would almost be justified in removing the feather
to stop controversies, contentions and unpleasant discussions
among exhibitors. Such interpretation, however, ought not
to be permitted, and if exhibitors will protest, will insist upon
injustice being done that their birds, which are inferior to the
one they protest against, may win, judges and executive com-
mittees ought to stand firm and not weakly yield to the angry
words of disappointed competitors. They will gain in the end
the good will and respect of the majority of men, for justice
is more loved and more lovable than injustice.

BLACK AND DOMINIQUE LEGHORNS.

These varieties require no more than a passing reference.
For form they are scored as all other Leghorns; for color the
Blacks are judged like other black fowls and the Dominiques
like Barred Plymouth Rocks.

BLACK AND WHITE MINORCAS.

These two varieties are very similar in shape and general
characteristics to the corresponding varieties of Leghorns.
They have, however, much larger combs, similar to those which
the first importations of Leghorns possessed, are somewhat
heavier in body and are larger boned throughout. If the comb

13

194 PurLosopHy oF JUDGING.

should be too small, say of a medium size like that of the high
bred Leghorn, it would suffer a cut of 2 points, and generally
for size the comb should be cut 3 to 2 points, asit departs from
the large size demanded in the breed.

The Minoreas are, also, subject to weight clauses, instead of
“size”? as in Leghorns. The color of legs is different.

In all other respects the remarks upon judging Leghorns
apply to judging Minorcas.

WHITE-FACED BLACK SPANISH.

That there is a near relationship between the Black Minorca
and the White-faced Black Spanish is generally beleved ; that
one was the progenitor of the other is not impossible, but
which is the parent and which is the child no man knoweth.
The Black Minorca used to be called the ‘ Red-faced Black
Spanish,” and it would not be impossible to develope the white
face from the white of the ear-lobe gradually encroaching upon
the face, a tendency which is only too common. If such speci-
mens were systematically selected and bred trom, in time
the white face would be secured. The large extent which it
covers would be secured more gradually, but we know that the
surface has been very greatly enlarged within our own day.
In the sixties the Spanish was larger than the Minorea, but
we have seen them gradually changing places until the former
is the smaller of the two. If the disqualifications in the face
were removed and a uniform scale adopted, it would have a
strong tendency to undo the evil that has been done in the
past. The scale in the new Standard will greatly help in this
work. Once Black Spanish cocks reached 9 pounds in weight
and hens 8 pounds, but “‘how have the mighty fallen!” Ii
the old time weight and vigor could be regained, it would pay
handsomely to sacrifice much on face and ear-lobes. No breed
shows more clearly the evil effects of breeding tor a single

WuHitE-Facep BLACK SPANISH. 195

feature than this. The Spanish has come well nigh being a
white face and nothing else. Its deterioration has been due
not to any inherent weakness in the fowl but to the folly of
the breeders, who have followed a most pernicious Standard
and ideal.

In the Spanish we look for a tall upstanding fowl, clad in a
brilliant black plumage. Short legs are an abomination. A
slender long thigh, rather long clean cut shank and long
straight toes are needed to give the bird its characteristic
figure. Short legs, including thighs, shanks and toes, should
be cut from 4 to 2 points, the cut increasing as the shortness
produces a dwarfed appearance. The plumage is close and re-
sembles somewhat that of the Game, making the bird look
more slender than it really is, and this characteristic should be
insisted upon and looseness of plumage when marked cut as
a defect. The breast should be prominent, and if it fails in
this respect should be cut } to 2 points, as may be required.
The tail should be carried in a rather upright manner, and
when too depressed or too erect should be cut 5 to 2 points.
Scars in comb, showing that a fold has been taken out over the
beak and the edges have grown together, indicate admirable
surgical skill, but also denote that a twisted comb has been
straightened and the bird should be disqualified. How far
trimming is allowable is an important question. By common
consent and general practice the fine hair-like feathers are often
removed from the face, adding to its smoothness and apparent
surface and making the bird appear more attractive. Such
birds, because of their more attractive appearance awaken
greater interest in poultry. At the same time no judge should
be deceived. The birds should be judged on their actual
merits, and those which are untrimmed in the face, and which
if trimmed would equal those so treated should be considered
and scored upon an equality. If thisis done no great harm
can follow from the practice. The resort, however, to the
brutal practice of inserting wires or long pins into the comb to

196 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

insure its straightness and erectness should be followed not
only by the disqualification of the specimen but of all entries
of the exhibitor, and it would be well if there was added a
complaint and warrant issued at the instance of the Society
tor the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.

In plumage the color should be intense black with a green
irridescence. Any section in which the color recedes to a dull,
dead black should be cut 3 to 13 points. For bluish or slaty
blue spots and faded tips in the primaries and secondaries, cut
4 to 2 points. If the face becomes thinly enamelled or
wrinkled badly, cut 3 to 2 points, and the same for ear-lobes
and wattles when the former and the inside of the upper part
of the latter are other than smooth in surface and opaque
white in color.

CHAPTER X.

APPLICATION OF PRINCIPLES TO THE SCORING OF
THE DIFFERENT BREEDS,
CONTINUED.

THE HAMBURGS.

HE Hamburg is one of the oldest, one of the most beauti-
ful and one of the most prolific laying breeds of the whole
race of domestic fowls. It has the charm of an authentic
history of more than two centuries, of a figure that is graceful
and elegant, of plumage brilliant in color or accurate in mark-
ing, and of great economic merit. Its six varieties are resolv-
able into three classes, the Penciled, the Spangled and the
Self-colored. The Penciled Hamburgs are of two varieties,
Silver and Golden, alike in markings and differing only in
ground color; the Spangled, of which there are two varieties,
also differ in ground color, being white in one and golden bay
in the other, and are somewhat larger than the Penciled; and
the Self-colors, the Black being the largest variety of Ham-
burgs, and the White a smaller variety but little bred and
very seldom seen in exhibitions since the Rose-combed White
Leghorn made its appearance.

/

198 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.
THE SPANGLED HAMBURGS.

Our illustration is of the Silver Spangled variety. The
white and black imprint is true in color as it is in profile to
living specimens and is typical of the whole breed.

The Spangled are somewhat larger than the Penciled varie-
ties. They seem also to be a trifle longer in body and
possessed of a greater profusion of tail feathers, but this is
always the case in the larger variety of a breed—greater ap-
parent length of body, neck and shanks, with no real de-
parture in shape and proportion. It is quite probable that the
Spangled and Penciled varieties are of different origin; it is
quite certain, that, though they may have descended from a
remote common ancestor, they were developed under different
conditions, the Spaugled birds being of English and the Pen-
ciled of Dutch breeding, However this may be, they are now
and for many years have been subdivisions of one breed and
are properly classed together. The ear-lobes in the Spangled
varieties have a tendency to become elongated and pendulous,
like those of the Leghorn, and, no matter how good in color,
such ear-lobes should be cut a point. First as to the shape to
which all varieties must conform.

The Comb.—The rose comb of the Hamburg is, perhaps, the
most typical rose comb we possess, the original from which all
others may be described as departures to a greater or less
degree. It should be square in front, of good size, but not too
large, well filled up in the centre, the top covered with small
points, and ending in a well developed spike which turns up-
ward slightly. Such combs are difficult to obtain, but are
generally better in the Penciled than in the Spangled varieties.
As a rule it may be said that the larger the Hamburg the
poorer the comb. The defects to be looked for are too great size,
hollow in the centre, too great width, and a spike which is
imperfectly developed or turns in the wrong direction. These

THE SPANGLED HAMBURGS. 199

.

defects cause cuts of from } to 5 points in the exhibition speci-
mens. Too large a comb, cut 3 to 3 points; hollow in the
centre, 4 to 2 points; too wide, 3 to 2 points; spike too small,
to 5 points,—we make this cut large as absence disqualifies ;
spike turning down, 3 to 1 point. When the combs are so
large as to obstruct the sight in front or when the spike is
naturally absent, the specimen must be disqualified.

The Head.—The head should be both short and small. If
either too large, or if long, like a Game, it should be eut from
4 to 1 point for the defect.

The Neck—The neck is tapering and the hackle full and
flowing. A short hackle is a fault, not being in keeping with
the characteristics of the breed, and should be eut 3 to 14
points. If too short, too long or too straight, cut 1 point.

The Back.—Yhe back in its profile line should be straight,
the saddle havi ing a sharp concave sweep to and near the tail;
viewed from above it should taper towards the tail. A roach
back should be cut 3 to 2 points. The saddle feathers should
be long and flowing, and a failure in this characteristic should
be cut 5 to 2 points.

The Breast the breast should be round as a ball in the
quarters and forward sweep. If it be flat in front or wedge-
shaped, cut 3 to | point.

The Body sae Flufi—A round and symmetrical body, with
straight keel and rather short fluff, is required. For flatness
of sides or too abundant fluff, cut \ to 1 point, and for curya-
ture of keel, 3 to 2 points.

The Wings.—Wings are large and carried rather low. For
bad carriage or poor flolding, cut } to 1 point.

The Tail.—The tail should be foe well expanded, and ear-
ried at a moderate elevation but not erect, in both sexes, and
well furnished with long flowing sickles and coverlets in the
male. The Hamburg’s tail is one of its chief points of beauty.

200 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

If carried too erectly, cut 3 to 2 points. If sickles and coverts
are not of the right character, cut 4 to 2 points; generally
speaking, the tail will seldom be cut for form.

The Legs and Toes.—The legs should be medium long to
give grace to the carriage. If short and dumpy, cut 3 to even
3 points when of a decidedly Creeper character.

CUTS FOR FORM.

COMB.
Too large . x to 3
Hollow in centre 3 to 2
Too wide . 4'to 2
Spike too small . 3 to 5
Spike turning down . > to 1
HEAD.
Too large . 3 tol
Too long + to I
NECK.
Too short. 3 to 1
Too long 3 to 1
Too straight 3 tol
Too short hackle 6 to 13
BACK.

Roached...ci) si Mene serene os + to 2
Short;sacidbesteathiercvet. soft: litany -pedeee ee: eee eee i to 2
BREAST.

1 Pence ee eee es MIE Cog AN renames OR i, 0 oh, ba ito 1
Wedge-shaped x to 1
BODY AND FLUFF.

Flat sides . + tod
Too abundant fluff + to
Crooked keel . x to 2

y

UA

THE SPANGLED HAMBURG. 201

WINGS.
Bad carriage . 4 tol
Poor lowe FoSee! oe Ses Sh erie eS io I
TAIL.

POGsCTECt atc s ho Se x to 2
Shore s.ckles- avid Coverts: 2) 2 fre Sa 8 4 to 2
LEGS AND TOES.

SUNG) ASE ROO ReC RU IUCR Oh Gear her reer a bate here amemey 5 rey

There are but two sections in the Silver Spangled Hamburg
which differ in color characteristics from the Golden Spangled,
and concerning which it is necessary to speak. With the
exception of the sections ‘‘Neck’”’ and “ Tail,’ what we say
concerning the scoring of the Golden will apply to the Silver
variety by a simple substitution of a white ground color for
the golden hay, with what that implies in reference to under-
color, 6te:

The Neck.—The neck should be of a silvery white hue,
tipped with black, and the straw colored shadings and loss of
spangles to which it is subject cause a loss ef 3 to 13 points for
the former and $ to 25 points for the latter.

The Tail—In all its upper parts the tail is white, each
feather being tipped with a round black spangle. If the
spangles approach a crescent shape we cut $ to 23 points; for
black streaks along the sickles and coverlets of the male or
upper plumage of the female, 3 to 2 points. If, viewed from
above, the feathers appear white and have the correct spangling
they should not be cut. In nearly all cases, even in speci-
mens pure in the white above, the under parts will be dark in
color. 1f this discoloration is hidden from view, we would
pass the bird, as only the upper surface is described in the
Standard.

202 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.
THE GOLDEN SPANGLED HAMBURGS.

The Head.—For wrong shade to plumage of head, cut, if
needed, 4 point; for wrong shade to beak or wrong color of
eye, 5 to 1 point; for white in the face, 3 to 2 points.

The Neck.—lfi the neck is smutty, caused by the black run-
ning up on each side of the hackle feathers, cut 5 to 2 points;
for white in under-color and web of feathers, 5 to 3 points;
indistinct striping in both sexes when stripe loses its greenish
lustre or the shafts are light, 5 to 1 poimt. Clearness and
purity of both colors add greatly to the beauty and value of
the specimen and are justly highly prized by breeders.

The Back.—<As the back loses its rich bay and clear metallic
black it should be cut 3 to 1 point; the saddle as it fades to a
yellowish bay, 3 to 13 points, and 3 to 13 points for a fading of
the stripe to a dull brown or black. In the temale if the
golden web be penciled with black or if crescent-shaped
spangles appear, cut 5 to 2 points. If the spangles become
wholly crescentic throughout the whole plumage the bird
must be disqualified. If the ground color is a pale buff, cut 3
to 1 point.

The Breast.—Loss of spangles or feathers laced, cut 3 to 2
points; if solid black feathers appear, disqualify.

The Body and Fluff —White dots along the lower part of
the body are of frequent occurrence and should be cut 3 to 2
points. The golden bay faded to a light buff, cut 3 to 2 points,
and 3 to 1} points for crescent-shaped spangles.

The Wings.—The under webs of all quill feathers are a golden
bay, upper webs black rounding the tip in a crescent form on
the lower web. The bows are rich golden bay spangled with
black, and a failure of round black spangles at the tip should
be cut 3 to 2 points, in proportion to amount of defect. The
bars are formed by oblong black spangles at the tips of the

THE GOLDEN SPANGLED HAMBURG. 203

coverts. Two distinct bars are required, and failure in them
is cut 3 to 2 points, as they depart from Standard requirements.
Absence of distinct bars disqualifies. White in primaries and
secondaries, cut 3 to 3 points, according to prevalence.

The Tail.—Black is required. Cut 3 to 23 points for white,
and 3 to | point for bay in the coverts. Tn the female the tail
is oe Goat faulty save for a streaking of the coverts with black,
which detect cut 3 to 2 points, as may be required.

The Legs and jen of blue shade, cut 3 to 3 points;
if more than 3 points is required, disqualify.

‘ CUTS FOR COLOR.
HEAD.
AY POMC COM MNUNAT SE ew ed Soyo ie ae ws oR 4
Wrong shade to beak . x to 1
Wrong color of eye 5 to 1
AV AB besa ahetes ob lees! erie) eS aa SAVES pd wt A hes os + to 2
NECK.
pmutty.paekle. 2... 3s Be Wy sk ay teeters: Ie 3 to 2
White in under-color and w hab Ege 1s (eb take epee a eth dang
Indistinct striping 3 to]
BACK.
Faded color : x to 1
PAGO RACOAGS «0b iii enced on tecn hha el A. seme Jag ody 4 to Ld
Faded stripe 4 to 14
Penciled web . x to 2
Crescent spangles . : 3 to 2
Mero il rou COLON 2 gigtnc. a) <ceeit se te! > to 1
RREAST.
Loss of spangles or laced feathers x to 2
BODY AND FLUFF
White dots . ‘ Sl aa es Cae ee te x to 2
Meee) AMEE atte eS ek es x to 2
Crescentic spangles . x to 13

204 PHILOSOPHY. OF JUDGING.

WINGS.

Pailure invspaneles: sve) ate ie = Re Nes 4 to 2

Failure in bars + to 2

White in quill feathers 4103
TAIL.

White in tail . 5 to 23

Bay in coveits : x to 1

Streaked coverts in female 1 to?

LEGS AND TOES.
Fading of blue + to3

THE PENCILED HAMBURGS.

In considering the Penciled Hamburgs we shall confine our
remarks to the Silver variety, because by the substitution of
“golden bay” for “white” or “silvery-white” what is said of
the Silvers will apply to the Golden. Just what term should
be used in describing the ground color is open to question.
The English authorities describe it as a “rich gold color,” the
American Standard as a “rich bright bay” or “reddish bay,”
while we would prefer to call it dark golden bay in the males
and golden bay in the females. The following small difference
may be noted in the two varieties. The brown or bronze
lacings to the sickles of the Golden are somewhat broader
than the white lacings to the Silver variety. With this note
we may dismiss the Golden.

While form is important, color gives the finish to the
Penciled Hamburg, and it is in color where the birds are the
most liable to fail.

The Head.—The plumage of the head is selcom faulty, never
more than } point. A faulty beak should be cut 3 to 1 point;
the eyes if of the wrong color, 3 to 1 point; and if the white
of the ear-lobe creeps up into the face, 3 to 2 points. White

THE PENCILED HAMBURGS. 205

in the face disqualifies only in the Black variety, and in that
only in cockerels and pullets.

The Neck.—In both sexes the plumage of the neck should
be clear white. The defects to be looked for are a vellow tinge
and a tendency to a rayed or spangled appearance at the base
of the hackle. For the former cut 4 to 1 point and for the
latter 4 to 13 points.

The Back.—In the male clear silvery white is required, and
yellow shading found for which cut 3 to 13 points, as may be
required. In the females the feather is white with bars of
checkered black, the dark bars being wider than the white
ones. The females seldom suffer from yellow shading of the
back. If the bars are irregular or if the white be intermixed
with black, cut 3 to 14 points.

The Breast.—Seldom faulty in the male; in the female often
so, the black bars being affected with reddish white, and want
of dark penciling marring the beauty and rendering the speci-
men too light in color. For this defect, cut as may be needed,
+ to 3 points being the usual amount.

The Body and Fluff—The body of the male should be
silvery white, showing a slight penciling about the thighs. A
clear white body is a defect, asa male showing no penciling
would be worthless to breed finely penciled pullets. The
absence of a shght marking really deserves to be cut 1 point.
In the female the body should be penciled, and for failure of
penciling cut 3 to 13, according to amount of defect. The
fluff should be gray in both sexes, darker in the female than
the male, a white fluff demanding a cut of 1 point if breeding
values are to be recognized.

The Wings —In the male the surface of the wing when
closed is in the main white, but as the coverts, forming the
bar in many breeds, are penciled with black in their upper
webs, in deep colored specimens a faint bar appears. Such a

206 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

bar should be required, and certainly should not be cut, but a
distinct bar must be condemned as foreign to the breed.
Upper web of secondaries, with the exception of a narrow
edge of white, is black or very dark slate color. The exposed
part of secondaries, known as the ‘“ wing bay,” is white. The
black shows through along the upper edge of bay, and for so
doing is not cut. Yellow shading to the bow or bay, 3 to 1
point. In the wing of the female we expect penciled bows.
Primaries, lower edge white penciled with black, upper web
black or dark slate more or less penciled with white. Secon-
daries, lower web white, upper web black or slate penciled
with white with an edging of white to upper edge of feather.
Failure of accurate penciling in bows, cut 3 to 2 points; failure
of proper penciling in secondaries and primaries, } to 2 points.

The Tail.—The defects of tail are excess of black in the
male and loss of penciling in the female. Sickles wholly black
or gray throughout, cut 3 to 2 points. White in tail proper,
eut 3 to 1 point. Coverlets wholly white, cut 1 point. Wholly
black coverlets we would pass uncut, as black with a very
narrow edging of white is the perfect color of sickles, and in
order to secure them it is often necessary to permit the cover-
lets to be black, if at the same time we hope to secure a coal
black tail. For imperfection of penciling.in the tail of the hen
and tor mossing in the coverts, cut from 3 to 2 points.

The Legs and Toes.—The thighs will seldom need to be cut
for color. The legs and toes should be blue or leaden blue in
color. If all blue shade be gone, disqualify; but before dis-
qualifying cut from } to 3 points. A cut beyond that cannot
be given, and if required the specimen should be disqualified.

CUTS FOR COLOR.

HEAD.
Hawlty- plumage a O.5i%.) Sead gee oeelee, eae ay oo eee 4
Wrone: shadeito beak yicc% 1.4 sal bees Aes es ee

THE PENCILED HAaMBuRGs.

Maron rcolortoveyews. s. xo 4 ee).
White in face .
NECK.
Yellow tinge Sat te 4 Se
Rayed or spangled fendeney Bayes, sat LRP ae eee
BACK.

Yellow tinge Sat)
Mossing of Wane Geouiale) Ua Siaeia, Seta Raa ee ee

BREAST,
Mossing or failure of bars (female)

BODY AND FLUFF.

Absence of dark penciling (male)... . .
Failure of penciling (female) ......
VERE ORIIUMEbS se act

WINGS.
Absence of faint bar and color in wing bay (male)
Failure of penciling bow and coverts (female)
Solid black secondaries

TAIL.
Black or gray sickles
Myiiipcatetail proper. a sis; 2c.
MEMRDeTEOVERIGtS | ce. ve ge. ea) oe
Failure of penciling (female)

LEGS AND TOES.

Faded shanks ..

207

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bol bol en oo
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eye (2)

Dol bole

NIH pole pole

mt tb ot

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pk

Dole pole

ot ct
=)

ae

Oo

CHAPTERS:

APPLICATION OF PRINCIPLES TO THE SCORING OF
THE DIFFERENT BREEDS,

CONCLUDED.

BANTAMS.

oh ee are popularly supposed to be exact reproduc-
tions, on a smaller scale, of the breeds and varieties from
which they are descended. A Game Bantam is supposed to
be a little Game, “only this and nothing more ;” a Polish
Bantam, a petite Polish; and a Rose-comb Bantam, a diminu-
tive Hamburg. That there is a close resemblance cannot be
denied, but it is a resemblance, not an identity of form. As
we have already shown by actual measurements of Games and
Game Bantams, there is a difference of proportion, even in the
most perfect specimens. This difference is one of a general
shortening of joints and greater compactness of build. Ac-
curate judging requires a recognition of this fact, and while
we would not describe in words a difference in judging form,
we would represent the varieties by illustrations made on lite
lines, and then apply the principles in the same manner. It

14

210 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

will, therefore, be unnecessary to go into details for judging
Bantams.

Bantams clearly indicate the need of profiles in judging, for
by profiles made in accordance with the anatomical develop-
ments of nature we can represent the exact differences in
shape and justify the less severity of cuts for form which
really accurate judging requires. Every good judge now
recognizes this difference in form and cuts with less severity
the defects in Bantams than he does in full sized fowls. He
may sometimes err by too great laxity in cuts, an error which
good profiles alone can correct.

In judging Bantams, therefore, we would apply the Standard
description of form in the same manner as for larger fowls,
ever keeping im mind the differences which nature makes,
shght though they be, and would have these differences repre-
sented to the eye by profiles true to nature, by which the
descriptive terms in the Standard are illustrated. Profiles, as
an illustrated definition, as a representation of the meaning ot
the description, as a guide in judging form, are needed in all
classes of fowls, and in none more than in the pets of the
poultry yard, the ever popular Bantams.

In judging color, Bantams and larger fowls are placed upon
an equality, and what is said of the one applies to the other.
In this there is no change, for the colors are identical, not
merely similar.

In combs, to speak of specific differences, we find judges
ignoring, in Sebrights for example, the disqualification,
“‘natural absence of spike’’ in the females. In the males it is
applied, but in the females nature does not produce a well-
developed spike, the comb being so very small the spike is
reduced to a mere point. Even if the point be entirely want-
ing and the comb be what is technically known as a “club
comb,” it is passed with a cut of 1 point. Judges recognizing
the work of nature are compelled to take this course, even
though those who have more strength of lungs than knowl]-

BANTAMS. DA MS

edge, howl that the judge is lowering the Standard. But he is
doing nothing of the kind. Nature has made her Standard,
and nature is the ultimate authority. All Standards which
clearly violate nature in her best developments can be applied
only by doing great injustice and giving sound cause tor com-
plaint. When correct profiles illustrate our Standard the
vociferous ignorance of some will be silenced, accuracy ot
judging will be vindicated, and better results and a better
understanding between exhibitors and judges will follow.

With the Bantams we close our illustration of the applica-
tion of principles to the scoring of different breeds. We have
not taken up every breed and every variety, but we have con-
sidered, we believe, every feature which is possessed by all
breeds and varieties, and in such detail that anyone who will
inaster the principles can with a little experience become a
good judge of fowls. It has been our aim not only to assist
in the development of judges, but to aid every breeder ot
thoroughbred stock in acquiring the knowledge of judging
which is so essential to him in breeding, in exhibiting and in
selling. To breed successfully one must know how to estimate
the value of his birds; to become a successful exhibitor, one
should be able to select his best specimens; and to sell his
stock at fair prices he must know what each bird will score, so
that he will not sell his highest scoring specimens for a song
and send out as exhibition birds those which are unfit for
competition. We hope that this work, used in connection
with the Standard, will in some measure accomplish these
greatly to be desired results.

CHAPTER XTItl.

CONCLUSION.

CCURATE judging requires, first of all, a thorough
study of nature. A judge must familiarize himself
with the natural development of the different breeds and
varieties. Unless he does this he can never know what is
perfection in nature, for words and pictures are not alone
sufficient to represent all that nature produces. They are
aids, valuable aids. Their use cannot be dispensed with. But
after all, they are only aids.

He must also study his Standard. The requirements for
exhibition specimens are laid down with care, the scales by
which their value is estimated are therein given, and he needs
to know them before he undertakes to apply them. They are
his tools, and the use of tools is what makes one handy with
them.

He should judge with confidence. First impressions are
generally best impressions. A judge ‘“‘who hesitates is lost.”
The minute he begins to doubt, loses confidence in his own
judgment, he will find himself revising and re-revising his
scores until he makes ‘“‘confusion worse confounded.”

PA. PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

He should judge all birds in the same light, and the best
light obtainable. There is a vast difference in the appearance
of a fowl in the dim, subdued light of the coop, far from the
window, and in its appearance when brought into the full sun-
light. Its excellences and its defects are alike concealed. This
is true of all breeds, and especially so of the parti-colored
fowls. «Take the Barred Plymouth Rock for example. To
judge one-half of this class in the clear, morning light, and the
other half in the waning hours of a winter’s day, and do
justice by it, is simply impossible. A cloudy or overcast day
is a poor time to judge this fowl; the two shades of blue color
which compose the plumage require the best possible light to
bring them out to the best advantage. Just in the shade, out
of the clear sunlight, where the light is clear but not glaring,
is the best possible position in which to judge the fowl. If the
day be cloudy remove every bird from its coop to the window
and let the light fall upon it over your right shoulder, doing
the work between the hours of nine in the morning and four
in the afternoon, and each specimen will receive even justice.

He must handle every bird that is scored. Surface ap-
pearance is often deceiving. The under-color may be faulty.
The surface may appear so, but upon lifting the feathers it
may prove but an appearance. Visitors, who only judge by
surface color, and that, too, in the dimness of coops, often
pass very unjust criticisms upon a judge. They forget that in
the light in which they view the specimen, many serious
defects may be covered and many great excellences obscured.

A beginner, who intends to become a poultry judge would
do well to begin by boldly scoring many breeds rather than to
make an exhaustive study of one. By doing so he will all
along be making a comparative study, of types, and will soon
learn to distinguish a typical bird of any breed or variety. If
he confines his study to a single breed its shape and charac-
teristics will become fixed and will color his estimates of other
breeds. He will be in danger of allowing individual types of

CONCLUSION. htt

some single strain to warp his judgment and render him unfit
to do justice to the real type which nature makes out her
composite of different strains.

Ties arise which the judge is expected to break. We often
hear men say that if two birds score alike, say 93 points, one
is just as good as the other. But is that true? Are two
birds ever of equal value? Take two 93-point birds and place
them side by side, and will not there be a choice between
them? We have yet to see the breeder that would not prefer

one to the other. And if there is a choice, even though it
cannot be expressed in the total of the score, ought not the
best bird to win? In breaking ties there is one principle which
is always safe to follow, that is give the preference to the bird
that will be of the greatest value in the breeding pen. To
break ties upon this principle, the judge needs to know some-
thing of the principles of breeding. The better breeder he.is,
that is the better he understands the principles of breeding,
the better can he apply this principle to the breaking of ties.

Great caution should be used in disqualifying specimens.
Disqualification is a summary method of rejecting fowls, and
should be employed only when the disqualifying cause is
positively present. Any reasonable doubt should be given to
.the bird and the fault cut as a defect.

Among the disqualifications which arise to destroy the peace
of mind of the judge is that tor plucking feathers. Go into
any exhibition, and how many specimens are there which do
not show some feather or feathers removed? If the judge
reasons that these feathers have been plucked, and disqualifies
in a wholesale manner, he will bring down upon himself the
wrath of the exhibitors; if he cuts for the missing feathers he
may be ignoring the Standard. Yet as some of the feathers
may have been moulted, or not have grown since the moult,
although their absence may cause suspicion he may do in-
justice by disqualifying. If there is evidence of recent pulling,
which a close examination will disclose, he ought to disqualify.

216 PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.

In other cases he can only fall back upon what good judgment
may dictate and a reasonable interpretation of the Standard:
requires. If the removals are extensive he will undoubt-
edly find it necessary to disqualify, but if less than three
feathers are gone it would, under ordinary circumstances,
especially in some classes, be difficult to justify disqualifi-
cation.

Any clear evidence of mutilation of fowls to better their ap-
pearance demands their prompt disqualification. We have
seen, for example, a Hamburg’s comb made over by taking
out a triangular piece from the centre and the edges brought
together to reduce its size, and the leveling of the points upon
the top, and the corrugations remade—in fact, the whole comb
amass. of scars. And yet that bird won the first at an exhibi-
tion in Chicago, where it was shown by the importer! The
bird, of course, should have been disqualified.

And finally, the judge should use care in Jiis scoring, and,
while performing his duties as expeditiously as possible, should
examine every bird thoroughly. Great speed, united with
accurate judgment, is attainable, but only as the fruit of long
years of experience and extensive practice. It takes but a
very brief time to thorougbly examine any bird, provided the
judge knows his Standard and its interpretation. Fear, favor,
and the bope of reward should not influence his decisions.
The birds, not their owners, should be scored. In performing
his duties, the honest judge knows no man and cares for none.
He sees a hundred or a thousand birds to score; this is his
task, and he sets about it in a systematic way, disqualifies
when he must, values defects according to sound principles,
sets them down as they are, and lets the awards come as they
may. If ties arise, he breaks them when notified of their ex-
istence, as his knowledge and judgment dictate, and his work
done leaves to those who think they know much more than he
to criticise, praise er condemn the awards he has made, with
asense of having done his duty and a mind that is not dis-

CONCLUSION. pay
turbed by the criticism of friend or foe. While he would be
glad to receive praise for his honest endeavors to do right, he
often has to be contented with the bare consciousness of
having done his duty as well as he could. The kindly word
which would have cheered him is often withheld. But it is
not always so. There are hundreds who recognize his honesty
and ability, and whose kind words are as sweet incense to
him. The rose may have its thorn, but the rose is neverthe-
less beautiful and worth the plucking.

INDEX.

PAGES.

Preiaberye a Oper sce i Bei i ks Gee eee tee 3

CHAPTER I.
PF OM CLOTH 5 ate cey coves pce dozens ee ae ee a ee 5-11
CHAPTER II.

BrGtiler Sat ete forsee. Se ie ee
Measurements of Plymouth Rock males... . . als
Measurements of Light Brahma males... . .°. oF

CHAPTER III.

SPARENELG GE Veen ean tem ce oe eon Peete ater tie gee ee el eM ad fat U8 ew gee 29-35
CHAPTER IV.

he. Wecwmak Sale a. 2 toy en eee ES Oe ane
CHAPTER V.

Application of Principles of Scoring to Asiatics. . . . 45-107
LIFE oop 3 ore 0110221 gee ae Pe EG Vache ai 49
Dark Brahinigge se” 2°02 ace: arc ee Wiles: ae ee ee 68
COP MANB heh Sax, Joe Shots al ae crane eye ene otis oom 82

is Dartrideemca a! fo vita aa ak Cee 90
me int nse ae es So ee ee tas a 94
“ 1 BE Vel eee eras Oa tee et gan ae iene TG oN eek 97
a White Ee ci ey Se SEES ee eee eee ee 98
ET aves) ns his teeg Rae AMICa We murse ner ys rs aN Moana 4. 100
CHAPTER VI.

Application of Principles of Scoring to the American
OlAGS S.A Os ee ee. Se
Plymouth Rocks)? 2. eer ene Ev gta 110
= we Barked nme urea om oot ot i ee 116
e 3 W lhitepeabeae ord. s re cv Oh pe eee 124

INDEX.

Wyandottes

‘ Silver
Golden .
re White

ce

CHAPTER VII.
Application of Principles of Scoring to Games .

B.- Bo Red

Brown Red .

Duckwing

Red Pyle .

Black and White

Game Bantams .

CHAPTER VIII.

PAGES.
127

132

140
141

. 145-174
154
160
164
169
172
172

Application of Principles of Scoring to the Crested

Breeds . Begs WR
| BYad Ets 6 ame eon nee
Polish Bantams .

CHAPTER IX,

. 175-184

176
184

Application of Principles of Scoring to the Mediter-

ranean Class
White Leghorns
Brow Leehorviscc sa 2- 2.2 a
Black and Dominique Leghorns .
White and Black Minorcas
White Faced Black Spanish .

CHAPTER X.

Application of Principles of Scoring to Hamburgs .

Spangled Hamburgs
Golden Spangled Hamburgs .
Penciled Hamburgs .
CHAPTER XI.
Application of Principles of Scoring to Bantams .
CHAPTER XII.
Conclusion

185
189
191
193
195
194

. 197-207

198
202
204

. 209-211

- 213-217

_. PREMIUM ee

Kngland’s Yards.

_? ANGSHAN——

WINNER OF TWENTY-FIVE GUINEA CHALLENGE CUP
AND
GOLD NIE pALsS
AT
CRYS LAL PALACE SHOWS:

Three Years in Succession.

CHAMPIONSHIP OF ALL ENGLAND.

At the Royal Jubilee Show, the Queen being President of the same, I
won ist and 2d on Cock and ist on Hen.

In three years I have won more prizes on LANGSHANS than any six
English exhibitors combined.

I will be pleased to serve American fanciers at prices ranging from $3.00
to $100.00 each for males, and $3.00 to $30.00
each for females.

I refer, by permission, to I. K. FELCH, Esq., Natick, Mass.

R. J. POPE,
BARCOMBE, SUSSEX,
ENGLAND:

Met CPE eis

Partridge & White Cochins.

We have spared no pains to secure the
best blood for the foundation of our strains
and in our hands they have almost invar-

iably won the first place.

At all the Prominent Exhibitions
they are Winners and reach
the Highest Seores.

For richness of color and accuracy and

beauty of penciling they are exceedingly

fine, while for size and weight they excel
the noted strains of to-day. If money, skill
and care can maintain them in their pres-

ent position, which is

At the Front,

We shall most certainly keep them there.
We shall be happy to give prices on fowls

and eggs in season, on application,

FOR FOR
White Goehins, | Partridge Cochins,
APPEY ZO APPLY TO
MITCHELL & RUSSELL GEORGE W. MITCHELL

Lock Box, 675, : Lock Box, 675,
BRISTOL, CONN. BRISTOL, CONN.

Ez
>
¢
é
)
?
)
)
€:

- A.A. ANDERSON, -

BREEDER OF

Plymouth Rock Fowls

AND

Collic Dogs.

There is no science which demands more skill and careful
attention to details than the science of mating and raising thor-
oughbred poultry stock; especially is this true of breeding

Plymouth Rocks.

If I have “slipped in to the FRONT RANK asa Plymouth
Rock breeder,’ as the American Journal puts it, it has been by
close study and hard work, and I may be pardoned in saying

_) that I have bred birds for which I have refused $100.00 a pair, and

‘ those reaching the following scores by such judges as Messrs.
, WARD, PIERCE and FELCH, to-wit:

Coeks to Seore 942; Hens, 962; Cockerels, 94;
Pullets, 95.

My stock have been winners every where, and I feel I have
the right to call your attention toit and assure you I will send
such to one and all ordering that shall satisfy even the most
exacting.

Write for prices and particulars to

A. A. ANDERSON,

BOON E22

layers of the largest, pure white

Se ; oy eggs of any of the breeds, and
me produces as many in the year as
@ the Leghorns. - - - - -
WN
SS

et eeere This breed of fowls is noted as the

My Strain of them has = me = = =

Won the Principal Prizes

Wherever they have been exhibited. At Buffalo they won First,
Second and Special on Exhibition Pens, with the International
Society’s Gold Prize. These birds are all full standard
weight, coal-black plumage, pure white earlobes,
clear red faces, and have reached the score
of 95, 96, 96%, 97 and 97% points.

They Stand Without a Rival, - ~ ~
The Champions of America,

And Ishall spare no pains to maintain them in their present
position.

For subsequent winnings and prices for fowls and eggs in their
season, address

WILLARD KNAPP,
FABIUS, N. Y.

No. 286 Gano Street, e PROVIDENCE, R. ik

BREEDER OF

é

+ Darls Brahmas. oo

A genuine strain, produced by the judicious mating of birds direct
from

Lady Gwydyr, of England,

With my ewn foundation stock, which for years I have been breeding

with great success.

This strain is invincible in the exhibition room, IT WINS WHERE
IT IS SHOWN. At the largest exhibition ever held in the City of
Providence; I showed fifteen specimens scoring from

go to 95% Points,

Which, considering the delicate pencilings so essential to this variety,
must convince all that my general average equals that of

Any Yards in the United States.

My winnings have been on birds of my own breeeding, none having
been purchased ‘‘ to capture the show.”

I Sell My Birds on Their Merits.

EIGHT YEARS OF SUCCESS IN THE SHOWS will, I hope, secure
your confidence and patronage.

B@-Write for particulars and prices.

KNAPP BROS.
“*e,, ® White —

Ss
"Bg
) g Produce

NJ

Have stood at the head of the Leading Prize Winning Strain of this
noble variety since 1883, having won more FIRST, SWEEPSTAKE
AND SPECIAL PRIZES at the principal shows than all other strains
combined.

We have also bred that Celebrated General Purpose Fowl, the noble

- White Wyandotte, -

since 1886, and have a record on this variety that has NO EQUAL.

OO

Highest Honors at NEW YORK, BOSTON, BUFFALO, PHILA-
DELPHIA, INDIANAPOLIS, SYRACUSE, ELMIRA, UTICA and
CORTLAND, and our customers have won the Leading Prizes with
birds of our breeding in Canada and nearly every state in the Union.

Seu www ee

CHOICE BREEDING and EXHIBITION birds (reared on large farms
and with free range) for sale at all times. HGGS
from our Choicest Matings, $3.00 per 15, $5.00 per 30.

Our Annual Catalogue free to all who are interested, giving highest
prize record ever won by ANY breeder of ANY variety.

Address,

. meme KNAPP BROS.,

Lock Box, 2. es el PR) IN oe

“S288

SNCs Re ea ee sae ee
x X = = = <
Q a PRIZE WINNING

Butt Cochins and
Vight Brahmas.

OSC ar)

Pan

Champions of the Show Room at Madison Square Garden, New York

City; Rochester, N. ¥., and’ Newburgh, N.Y.

Sweeping Record on Buffs At Newburgh, N. Y., in the largest
’

show of Buffs of the season Kast,
I won first and second on breeding pen of fowls; first and second for
best pair of fowls; first and second for best pair of chicks, and first
on Breeding Pen of chicks, including Silver Cup and seven Specials
offered in this class, [I. K. Felch, Judge], this being only a repetition
of the honors won at Rochester, N. Y., February, 1888, when the
highest honors were given my birds over the crack pen of the In-
dianapolis Show. In this show I won first and third on breeding
pens; second, third and fourth on Cocks; first, third and fourth on
Cockerels.

Brahma Record.

At Madison Square Garden, Dec. 14th to 21st, 1887, my Brahmas
won first and second on Cockerels; first, second and third on breed-
ing pens; first on Hen; second on Pullet. Brahmas bred by me, in
the hands of my customers, during the winter of 1888-1889, received
scores ranging from 92 to 96 on Pullets, 91 to 94 on Cockerels, and go

to 94 on Cocks.

MOTTO:— Goob Stock at GOOD PRICES FOR THE SAME.

Stock always for sale. Eggs for hatching in season. Send for
Circular and Price List, and mention this work.

WM. F. M. SMITH,

INGE Sag eae Nee ae

pe LOM ICING.

Brown Egg Strain of White

WYANDOTTE

In presenting my claim for the best strain of White Wyan-
dottes in the States, I say that they are typical in every
sense, my foundation blood in the females being white
“sports”’ from my justly popular laced variety; when inbred
for three years they were mated to the cock,

FRANKLIN, No. 6642,

A prize-winner at Boston’s immense exhibition, producing
the noted females,

MAUD, No. 6644, SCORE 96”,
EMPRESS, No. 6645, SCORE 96, anpb
LYONS’ BELLES, SCORING 93 TO 94%

Honest points. As single birds, in pairs and in pens, they
have been winners of first prizes in company with the follow-
ing to which they were mated to lay the foundation of this
strain,

STORM KING, No. 6643,
SCORE 95,

America’s model White Wyandotte male, and together were
acknowledged as

AMERICA’S BEST PEN FOR 1889.

For particulars of breeding since which time and for
prices of FOWLS and EGGS IN THEIR SEASON, and for list
of prizes won, with all other desired information, address

Pee eas. A LYONS,

GREENFIELD, MASs.

NEPONSET WATER PROOF PAPE

PATENTED DEC. 28, 1885.~~~~~~~~——————~—

/ eh /
VX / ov
~~ oN

Se i! Nowa

>” \\ ENO? :

4 NEPONSET
ees ROPE
/ ROOFING

FABRIC

Cis,
VW inp y)

ne- /
AS
l TN H

é Is not affected by Heat, Cold or Rain, and will secure a neat,
PERMANENT water and wind proof building, at the least pos-
; sible cost. There is no fabric now on the market that equals our
“Neponset”’ papers. - = - - : % = = -

The No. 1 NEPONSET ROPE ROOFING FABRIC makes a
first-class covering at one-fourth the cost of shingles, and if
properly taken care of will last as long. Used asa siding it pre-
sents a very handsome appearance. We also make this in a No. 2
grade, which is excellent but of course will not last as long.
These papers enable you to use the cheapest of lumber. These
p papers varnished can be used as CARPETING. - - =

BLACK NEPONSET BUILDING PAPER is much better than
tarred paper. Clean to handle, vermin proof, and is the best
building paper yet produced. Used asa sheathing paper it will
save fuel. A trial will convince you of its absolute superiority.

MANUFACTURED SOLELY BY

BON) ES RSS Se 3 ONS

EAST WALPOLE, MASS.

FOR SALE BY ALL DEALERS.

KIRBY’S LANGSHANS.

eee es

SSK IK OK OOK K IKK KOK KK KKK KK

«
IX
X|

©
a
é

\ \
‘
oN

SKORIK

NS,
eo

See KX

Having VWon at

THE GREAT BOSTON
EXHIBITION

For 1887 and 1888, in classes of seventy-five and eighty
entries, securing

THE SILVER CUP AND SOCIETY’S
MEDALS

For best Cock, Ceckerel, Hen or Pullet, three out of
the four prizes for males, all the prizes for pullets and
three out of the four prizes for hens, showing speci-
mens which won on the following scores, viz: 94% to
95% for cockerel; 96 for the cock, CHAMPION; 96 and
96% for hens; and at the late

BUFFALO INTERNATIONAL
EXPOSITION
Three first prizes, with the Sweepstake Special Gold
Prize for the best four males and four females, owned
and bred by the exhibitor, scoring 96 points, am I not
entitled to assert that I have the

BEST STRAIN OF LANGSHANS IN THE
UNITED STATES ?

PRGOVGU We Atel OuEa aay 97 o - - = 2 2 Z

WHITE PLYMOUTH
ROCKS

I claim that I have the best Black and best White
breeds of fowls for general uses.

For full particulars of subsequent winnings, record
of scores, and prices for eggs and fowls,

ADDRESS

SK KKK KK KK KKK KKK KKK KKK KKK KKK KK KK KKK KKK KX

E. P. KIRBY, FAST CHATHAM,

De ae OER GS OS. SA

ak
cs |
2 we
IN DEMAINA POLIS.” UND:
wood | Sse ae of ay
POULTRY, DOGS, BIRDS
AND PET STOCK OF
ALL KINDS
AG = = Made to Order.

For a fair index of the quality of the work, refer to the pictures

bearing the imprint

In this book and in the best Poultry Journals of the country during

the past few vears.
Prices reasonable, but not in competition with those

of. any other engraver.
CORRESPONDENCE INVITED.

pi | “THE FORT WAYNE NEws,”’ |

DAILY AND WEEKLY,

ea ‘“POULTRY AND PETS,”’
MONTHLY. =
| *“THE PHILOSOPHY OF JUDGING.” | ZD

FINE BOOK AND JOB PRINTING
A SPECIALTY.

See AAG EZ,

Publisher: and: Printer,

FPoRrT VWAYNE:

ONIe)

FINE PRINTING FOR
© POULTRY FANCIERS
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