UMASS/AMHERST

MAN UAL

A COMPLETE GUIDE FORTHE
BREEDER © EXHIBITOR

REV.T.W.STURGES

VICE PRESIDENTOFTHE POULT
LEGHORN CLUS er^-STC-

^

*9

"o^-"^

.9"

DATE DUE 1

UNIV. OF MASSACHUSETTS/AMHERST
LIBRARY

SF

487

S88

CARD

^/t/tM YOU CANNOT DO BETTER ^Hjjfek

^1^ than use Chambcrlaiii's 3iR

"RAPID GROWTH"''^

THEY STAND ALONE! Chick Foods

If you wish to
rear strong and
healthy cbicKs.

■^

TRAHE MARK.

Mr. C, P. Telling:, of Bristol (a most successful Exhibitor and winner of
many prizes, a well-known Breeder of Fancy, also Poultry Critic to the
Press for many years), writes (quite unsolicited by us) ; —

" 102 Thornleigh Road, Bristol, 19th March, 1909.
"I have used Chamberlain's ' Rapid Growth ' Chick Foods for many
years, and after a thorough test can recontinend them above all others,
and I can confidently state that much of my success in the Showpens is
due to these foods, and I find they show unrivalled results both in rearing
and in the general keeping of Exhibition Stock."

*

Ask your CORN DEALER or GROCER.

// any difficulty, send 3d. stamps to cover
postage, and a one pound packet will be for-
warded post free by the Sole Manufacturers,

CHAMBERLAIN, POLE & CO., LTD.,

Poultry and Bird Food Specialists, BRISTOL.

,;^^^^

\

A 2

NO DEAD CHICKS!!!

IF YOU HAVE NOT TRIED

ARMITAGES'

DRY FOOD SYSTEM

OF REARING CHICKENS

YOU ARE ADVISED TO DO SO WITHOUT DELAY

IT WILL PAY YOU!!!

Chickens . .
Reared on .
ARIVIITAGES' FOOD
Weigh 20 ozs.
When 5 weel(s old

The Pullets

commence to

LAY AT

5 MONTHS

OLD

Sold by all Corn Dealers and Stores,

4d., 8d., 1/4, 2/6; per cwt, 20/

manufacturers: aRMITAGE BROTHERS, Ltd.

NOTTINGHAIVI

Digitized by tine Internet Arciiive

in 2010 witii funding from

Boston Library Consortium IVIember Libraries

littp://www.arcliive.org/details/poultrymanualcomOOstur

f^

THE

POULTRY MANUAL

A COMPLETE GUIDE FOR THE
BREEDER AND EXHIBITOR

CONTAINING FULL INFORMATION RELATIVE TO POULTRY HOUSING AND

GENERAL MANAGEMENT, FEEDING, INCUBATING, REARING, INSECT

PESTS, WEEDING OUT THE CHICKS, THE COMMERCIAL SIDE OF

POULTRY KEEPING, DISEASES OF POULTRY, PREPARING FOR

EXHIBITION, MENDELISM AS APPLIED TO POULTRY

BREEDING AND COLOUR IN POULTRY, TOGETHER

WITH A DESCRIPTIVE ACCOUNT OF THE

DIFFERENT BREEDS AND VARIETIES OF

FOWLS, AND NOTES ON MATING ; A

FULL GLOSSARY AND INDEX

REV. T. W. STURGES, M.A.

Vice-President of the Poultry Club- President of the Leghorn Club ; Vice-President
of the Leghorn, Plymouth Rock and Andalusian Club, Black Leghorn Club, Black
Minorca Club, Buff Orpington Club, etc. Author of ^^ Poultry Culture for Profit."

ILLUSTRATED IN COLOUR AND BLACK AND WHITE

SECOND EDLTION

LONDON
MACDONALD AND EVANS

4 Adam Street, Adelphi, W.C.
191 I

This hook is copyricjlitecl, cmd may
not he reprinted unthout permission

PREFACE

When, little more than a year ago, I wrote a small
book on Poultry for Profit, as an aid to the utilitarian
side of poultry keeping, I purposed to write another of
the same size dealing with Fancy poultry. It has
proved a more arduous task than I expected, and has
developed into a much more lengthy work, appealing
not alone to the fancier, but to the utility breeder also.

It has been written amid the stress of many other
occupations, and if at times the connections seem dis-
jointed and the same thing be referred to more than
once, I must beg the indulgence of the reader ; though
the reiteration of important points is not without its
value in a book not meant to be a woi'k of fine art,
but a practical guide for the breeder.

So far as I could call it to mind at the time I have
given the experience gained during twenty years as a
breeder of very many of the varieties named, and some
of every section.

I am indebted to many writers, and have endeavoured
to acknowledge my indebtedness. The expert critic
cannot be more conscious of the shortcomings of the
book than I am myself. If it should prove as popular
as the smaller work it will live to undergo revision,
excision and addition, and I shall be glad to receive
hints and suggestions for the improvement of future
editions.

For the beauty of the plates which adorn the book I
am greatly indebted to the kindness of Mrs. Comyns-
Lewer, proprietress of The Feathered World, who has

vil

. Is ;628

viii PREFACE

kindly supplied many of the blocks, and to Mr. S. H.
Lewer for the excellent way in which the coloured plates
have been produced ; also to Mr. G. Tyrwhitt-Drake for
the frontispiece, and Mr. Hubert Wright for the two
Partridge Wyandotte plates.

For such of the feathers which have not come from
my own yards I am indebted to Mr. Bateman for
Plymouth Rocks, to Mr. Brent for Indian Game, and to
Mr. R. Watson for some of the Partridge Wyandottes.
The undoubted skill of the Rev. J. N, Williams in
making such exquisite drawings of them is a further
cause of indebtedness, and will, I am sure, be appre-
ciated.

I ought also to add my thanks to the proprietors of
Feathered Life for the use of some of the black and
white illustrations included in the book.

To the patience of my publishers and the willingness
with which they have expended both time and money
on its production, I offer my tribute of praise, and hope
the circulation of the book may bring due reward.

Thos. W. Stueges.
Marston Vicarage^ Northwich.
Midsummer Day, 1909.

Rev.T. W. STURQES

Marston Vicarage,
NORTH WICH, CHESHIRE.

Author of
POULTRY CULTURE FOR PROFIT" and "THE POULTRY MANUAL'

vice-president of the poultry club. president of the leghorn club,
vice-president of the leghorn, plymouth rock and andalusian club ; the black
legho;;n club ; black Minorca club ; buff orpington club, member of many

other clubs.

SPECIALIST JUDGE OF LEGHORNS, MINORCAS, ORPINGTONS, etc.

BREEDER AND EXHIBITOR OF

BLACK, WHITE, BUFF, and BROWN LEGHORNS
BLACK, WHITE, and BUFF ORPINGTONS
PARTRIDGE WYANDOTTES, WHITE WYANDOTTES,
BLACK WYANDOTTES* BARRED ROCKS
BLACK MINORCAS. SILVER CAMPINES

Over 2000 Prizes nvon at Leading Sho^vs.

I breed and sell scores of winners every season. Birds always on sale from 7s. 6d. each
and Exhibition specimens from £\ to ;^10. (Inquirers should state the amount they wish to
expend when making application.) Breeding pens sold correctly mated. Other breeds of
varieties than the above can be bought and mated for purchasers when desired.

FOREIGN ORDERS PROMPTLY EXECUTED AND INCLUSIVE PRICES NAMED

(I have exported over looo birds to all parts of the world.)

PAY-OLD CmClvEIMS hatched from my best stock on sale from

Jan. at 42/= and 21/= doz. Prices reduced
after May 1st.

EGGS 10/6 & 21/- doz. for Hatching. Any unfertile replaced

LADY OR GENTLEMAN PUPILS TRAINED IN ALL BRANCHES

Terms Moderate)

Illustrated Pedigree Catalogue post free, stamp.

To Make

Poultry Pay

the best quality foods must be used. These it is our aim to
supply. We pay carriage on ail foods, and when buying
from us customers are dealing — — — — —

DIRECT WITH THE MANUFACTURERS

The follozving are some of our Specialities : —

" Cock o' the Walk "

Poultry Meal

{For Stock Birds and Egg Production)

" Lactam "

Chicken Meal

{Co?itaini?tg io% Dried Mill;:)

" Oatum " Chicken Meal

( Co>itai7iing Meat and other Cooked Food)

Sussex Dry-
Chick Foods

In Five Qualities {clean and free fj'oin dust)

The Genuine " SUSSEX GROUND OATS "

{Finest Quality)

^y We treat all applications with the greatest courtesy,
and make a great point of Prompt Despatch. This
can only be ensured by dealing direct with the makers,
many advertisers acting only as Agents, and having
to hand their orders on to be fulfilled by the
Manufacturer, thus causing delay.

Send for our Price List of all Poultry Foods, which is free, to —

A. THORPE 6 SONS

Sussex Ground Oat Mills, RYE, SUSSEX

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PAGE

Preface . ..... . . . vii

Introduction . . . . . . . . 1

CHAP.

I. On the Housing of Poultry and General

Management ...... 5

II. On Feeding and Food-Stuffs . . .24

III. Incubation by Natural and Artificial

Methods . . . .

IV. On Rearing Chickens
V. Insect Pests ....

YI. Weeding out the Chicks
VII. Preparing Poultry for Exhibition

42
79
92
95

105

VIII. The Commercial Side of Poultry

Keeping ...... 124

IX. Diseases of Poultry .... 152

X. Mendelism and the Laws of Heredity . 170

XI. Colour 214

XII. Asiatic Breeds of Poultry — Brahmas,
Cochins, Langshans, Malays, Aseels,
yokohamas ...... 252

ii TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAP. PAGE

XIII. British Breeds op Poultry — Dorkings,

Game Fowl, Hamburghs, Orpingtons . 282

XIY. American Breeds op Poultry — Domin-
ique, Java, Plymouth Rocks, Wyan-
DOTTES, Rhode Island Red . . 364

XY. Mediterranean Breeds — Black Spanish,
MiNORCAS, Andalusians, Leghorns,
Anconas ...... 419

XVI. Unclassipied Breeds — Campines, Indian
Game, Lakenvelders, Polish, Silkie,
Scotch Grey, Sultan, Sumatra Game,
Sussex 485

XVII. French Breeds — Faverolles, Houdan,
CrIive-cceur, La Bresse, La FlSiche,

OTHER French Breeds

. 519

XYIII.

Bantams .

. 530

XIX.

Ducks, Geese, Turkeys .

. 545

XX.

Glossary op Technical Terms

. 559

Index ....

. 583

WEEKLY

Established 1883.

1

D.

WEEKLY
D.

1

^•' / J

The Oldest, Best

and Most Largely

Circulated Poultry

Journal in the

United Kingdom.

FANCIER, AMATEUR

AND —

POULTRY FARMER

Specimen Copy Free on Application.

Up=to=date !

Bright,

Attractive !

Entertaining .

Practical
Articles and

Notes

contributed

by

Eminent

Authorities.

Illustrations

by the
Best Artists.

Medium

for the

disposal and

purchase of

Stock,

Appliances.

UNIQUE.

Obtainable of all

Bookstalls, News=

Agents, &c.

SUBSCRIPTIONS:

Year 6/6; Half-year 3/3; Quarter 1/8, Post Free.
Foreign — 8/8 per annum Post Free.

Specimen copy free on application to

THE PUBLISHER,

"POULTRY," 12 Mitre Court Chambers, Fleet Street, London, E.C.

CYPHERS
STANDARD INCUBATORS

THE INCUBATOR THAT SETS THE FASHION FOR THE WORLD

The CYPHERS INCUBATOR was first placed on the American Market in
1896, and at once attracted the attention of practical poultrymen because of the
ease and simplicity with which it could be operated and the remarkably good
work it did in hatching chicks and ducklings. It immediately took first place
in the United States and Canada as a practical hatcher, and in the succeeding
years It has steadily and rapidly grown in the appreciation of the public until
it has distanced all competitors.

CYPHERS

INCUBATORS

are in

SUCCESSFUL

OPERATION

in

ALL PARTS

of the

WORLD

CYPHERS
INCUBATORS

NEVER

FAIL TO DO

THE WORK

ENTRUSTED TO

THEM

Until CYPHERS INCUBATORS were placed on the English Market, hot-water
Incubators as manufactured by various English makers, afforded, generally
speaking, the only available means for hatching eggs artificially in this country.
These various makes included machines, good, bad and indiflFerent. But since
the CYPHERS INCUBATOR came upon the scene, even the best makes of
hot-water machines have received such a set-back in popular favour that only
those unacquainted with the pros and cons of artificial incubation will purchase
incubators that are out of date and obsolete.

The CYPHERS INCUBATORS are the original HOT-AIR, NON-MOISTURE,
SELF-VENTILATING machines, and they are doing good work in every country
on the globe where poultry is grown for market.

ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE POST FREE

CYPHERS INCUBATOR COMPANY

U9'^25 FINSBURY PAVEMENT, LONDON, EX,

LIST OF TABLES

PAOK

Proportion of Hens to run with Cock . . 17

Composition of Poultry Foods — U.S. Dept. of

Agriculture ....... 30

Percentage of Constituents in the Bodies of

Fowls, and in Eggs . . . . .31

Digestible Constituents in the Commoner Feed-
ing-Stuffs — Board of Agriculture and
Fisheries ....... 31

Dietaries for the Morning Meal ... 37

Foods for Pens of Ten Fowls ... 38

Morning Food-Mixture for Laying He.vs . . 38

Dietaries for Fattening Fowls .... 40

Tabulation of Results from Incubator . . • 71

Chart for Marking Chickens . ,' . . 77

A Chicken Dietary ...... 81

Order and Constituents of Meals for Chicks . 82

Table of Rates for Parcels by Passenger Train 143

Tabulated Results of Mendel's Experiments

WITH PlSUM SATIVUM . . . . .177

Table giving Outward Appearance and Breeding

Qualities of Dihybrid Matings . . . 182

Total Results of First Crosses — Matings of Un-
like Characters . . . . . .187

List of Dominant and Recessive Characters in

Poultry . . . . . . . .194

Summary of Matings for Colour — Andalusian

Fowl 245

Tabulated List of Names of Hamburghs . . 306

''MAKES LAYING A HABIT''

REARS ROBUST CHICKS

"ClarendO"

POULTRY MEAL

THE PERFECT FOOD

For fowls, DUCKS, and TURKEYS

UNRIVALLED FOR

EGG PRODUCTION

CHICKEN REARING

FINISHING OFF

Price ' 12/6 for 1121b. =^f

Carriage Pt-Jd, England and Wales - - //- extra, Ireland and Scotland.

SOLE MAKERS

I

WHITE, TOMKINS & COURAGE, Ltd.

4S Mark Lane, LONDON, B.C.
LIVERPOOL SEND FOR FREE SAMPLE BELFAST

Pitt & 5C0TT, Ltd

are the most reliable House for the Shipment of

LIVE STOCK (Poultry, &c.)

TO ALL PARTS ABROAD

QUICK DESPATCH. LOWEST RATES.

ATTENTION THROUGHOUT!!!

NOTE ADDRESS

w^- Pitt & Scott, Ltd.

25 CANNON STREET, LONDON
ALSO AT 4 REDCROSS STREET, LIVERPOOL

GLASGOW, PARIS, HAMBURG, and NEW YORK

'Phone Nos.-BANK 749 - - CENTRAL 7635 - WALL 7423.

LIST OF ILIjUSTRATIONS

COLOURED PLATES

"Winning Leghorns — Brown

Pile, Gold Duckwing
Dark Brahmas
Partridge Wyandotte Hen
Silver Laced Wyandottes
Partridge Wyandotte Cock
Brown Leghorns
Black Leghorns
Faverolles
Rouen Duck and Drake

White,

Frontispiece
To face p. 253
387
393
399
441
457
519
547

{Full-page Plate)

BLACK AND WHITE :—

Fig.

1. Poultry House with Scratching Shed

2. Poultry House with Scratching Shed

3. A Cosy Corner

4. Cockerel Pen .

5. Range of Breeding Pens

6. Range op Breeding Pens

7. Stubble House
Egg Testing
Egg Testing ... „

8. Sectional View op Hearson's Incubator

9. Sectional View op Incubator Heater .

10. Standard Cyphers Incubator

11. A Roomy Chicken Coop ....

12. British Chicken Rearer

13. Range op Houses and Scratching Sheds por

Show Birds
Specimen Label
Specimens op Imperpectly-marked Feathers

[Full-page Plate)

14. Diagram to Illustrate Mendelian Pro-

perties OF Andalusian Fowl

9
13

18
19
22
49
53
61
73
75
84
88

109
138

229

245

XVlll

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS

Page

Buff Cochin Hen . . {Full-page Plate) 265

Blue Langshan Cockerel . ,, „ 275

Dorkings ....,, „ 283

Old English Game . . . „ „ 296

Silver Spangled Hamburghs . ,, ,, 313

Silver Pencilled Hamburghs ,, ,, 319
A Group op Typical White Orpingtons

{Full-page Plate) 351

Barred Plymouth Rocks . „ „ 365
Feathers of Typical Barred Plymouth

Rocks .... {Full-page Plate) 373
Feathers op Barred Plymouth Rocks

{Full-page Plate) 379

Partridge Wyandotte Feathers „ „ 403

Black Wyandotte Club's Ideals ,, „ 411

Minorca Club's Ideal Minorcas {In Text) 425

White Leghorn Cockerel {Full-page Plate) 447

White Leghorn Pullet . • „ „ 451

Ancona Cock . . . . „ ,, 473
Feathers op Brown Leghorns, Hamburghs,

Campines, and Wyandottes {Full-page .Plate) 483

Silver Campine Cockerel . ,, ,, 489

Silver Campine Pullet . . ,, ,, 493

Indian Game {In Text) 497

Feathers of Laced Wyandotte, Buff Orping-
ton Hen, Indian Game Hen, and Brown

Leghorn Hen . . {Full-page Plate) 501

Houdan Cock . . . . „ „ 523

Bantams „ ,, 531

Ducks „ „ 544

Fig. 15. Points of a Foavl ..... 558

THE POULTRY MANUAL

INTRODUCTION

This book has been written both to help those who
keep poultry as a hobby and also those who desire to
make a livelihood out of so doing. It is intended for
all who love our feathered friends, and who find a plea-
sure in catering; for their welfare ; for all those who
have a love of the quaint or beautiful, and who wish to
add to that beauty or to perpetuate it. This aspect of
poultry keeping has a wide field of view. It appeals to
the best class among our cottagers, and to the humble
artisan who has only the tiniest back-yard in which to
tend his stock, and who yet likes to have the best pro-
curable, just as it does to those whose circumstances are
more favourably conditioned. We all like to see and to
own the best, and to feel that our efforts are worthily
expended. And our chief reward as poultry lovers lies
in the pleasure of watching the growth and develop-
ment of our stock, and in realizing that we have not
been occupied in vain.

Poultry keeping has a thousand charms. It affords
pleasurable occupation to a multitude whose hands would
otherwise be idle, or, perhaps, be mischievously em-
ployed. It stimulates intelligence which would otherwise
lie dormant, or be exercised in less beneficial directions.

Poultry keeping as a hobby has no social barriers.
It is indulged in by prince and peasant alike. Peers of
the realm and affluent men of business equally share its
joys. And of the latter class, while many take to it as
a foil to their other occupations — a real stay-at-home
recreation to distract the mind from more sordid aims
— others take to it on a larger scale to find employ-
ment for long and leisured hours, as one of the most
delightful occupations of a country life.

It is to this large, varied and ever-increasing class

a INTRODUCTION

that the wonderful growth of the poultry industry in
recent years is due. They are like the patrons of art,
without which art would cease to flourish. As they
learn to perceive and recognize the beautiful they de-
sire to add to their gallery of living pictures, and
desire grows with what it feeds upon. And the more
it is realized that there is room in this pursuit for the
profoundest knowledge and the most painstaking skill
the more fascinating it will become. We all soon tire
of a humdrum affair. There is little sport in a quarry
soon caught or run to earth, and the pleasure is dimin-
ished when the game is bagged only for the gain it
brings, though every man likes a good day's sport as a
reward for his day's outing.

The problem of heredity looms largely on the horizon
of thoughtful men and women to-day, and there is
ample range for the exercise of experiments in the
poultry yard ; experiments which may add to the ex-
tent of our knowledge, and add intensely to the interest
of our occupation.

The reader of this manual is commended to the
perusal of the chapters on "Mendelism" and "Colour,"
and to the list of works on the subject which are men-
tioned. It may increase both his enjoyment and his
profit, and show him that poultry keeping is many-sided
in its interests and kaleidoscopic in its views. And as
the instrument referred to " multiplies an object into
an endless variety of beautiful colours and symmetrical
forms,"" so he may learn something of the mysterious
processes by which nature has evolved the many varieties
and charms of poultry which delight our eyes, and per-
chance may be induced himself to take a part in
humbly directing her energies, and thus gain a deeper
insight into her endless and mysterious activities.

Like the Athenians of old we too delight " to tell or
to hear of some new thing," though it would ill become
us to " spend our time in nothing else." The breeders
of such of the few ancient types which still survive the
deluge which has swept most of them away may think
our task a vain one. But they and us alike may re-
member that it was " the wickedness of the earth "
which brought on the deluge. Many of the old types
would have survived and have exhibited their undoubted

INTRODUCTION 3

charms to-day had not a fancy-ruii-niad destroyed them
for fancy''s sake. We want, not beauty only, but utihty
as well, and it cannot be gainsaid that many of their
descendants are as charming as these ancestors, while
they undoubtedly repay in a more marked degree the
labour bestowed upon them. It has been insisted upon
again and again in these pages that while beauty should
be our quest, as it ever has and ever will be while our
true humanity remains, that beauty should be more than
" skin deep." " Handsome is that handsome does.""

It is the multiplication of the newer forms of beauty
that has brought such an increasing interest into the
poultry world. It has widened the field, and made the
handicapping of the race more even. It affords the
novice a better chance, at any rate for a time, and often
fires the early stimulus which makes a fancier of him in
the end, and sometimes leads him from indulging in his
pastime as a hobby to take up poultry breeding as the
business of his life.

These pages have been written to offer him assistance
in either case, to stimulate his energies, and to fire his
enthusiasm, as well as to save him from some of the
pitfalls which surround his path. The chapter on the
" Commercial Side of Poultry Keeping " will give him
the candid opinions which I have formed as the result
of twenty years' experience. I claim no monopoly of
knowledge, and give my information for what it is
worth. The various aspects of the question are briefly
set forth. They are commended to the would-be
poultry farmer ere he sets forth on a voyage which
may be both pleasant and profitable, but in which he
is sure to find rough and stormy seas, and also to meet
with deadly calms which may prove more trying still.

If his enthusiasm is fired to indulge in exhibition
poultry he is recommended to act considerately, and
not to venture without a preliminary practical expe-
rience. Having decided which breed or breeds he will
take up, he is advised to learn all he can about them,
both by reading such information as he can obtain, and
also by visiting exhibitions of poultry. Until he i<nows
the points of a fowl and how to estimate values — and
this is a difficult acquirement — he should not spend his
money. If, as a first step, he spent both time and

B 2

4 INTRODUCTION

money in gaining experience, he would find it the best
and cheapest method of procedure. Even in the matter
of fitting up a farm and buying his appHances he would
save his fees over and over again, in that he would be
able to purchase wisely instead of floundering on his
way in the rough road of experiment.

As this book deals chiefly, though not exclusively,
with fancy poultry, I shall find some readers and critics
of this utilitarian age who will scoff' at the trouble
taken on fancy points. I shall be told that hens were
meant to lay eggs and not to be gazed upon, and that
both they and their mates were simply meant for food.
To this I reply that " fancy " fowl excel in both these
directions, and, indeed, owe much of their higher values
to these economic qualities which the fanciers have
preserved from extinction, and that they are not the
less useful because they are the more beautiful.

Those who scoff' at beauty insult their Maker and
the work of His hands, for nature is a boundless field
of beauty.

If I am told that, even if the beauty of poultry is"
granted, it is not necessary and is of little value, I
reply that value is not to be weighed in a balance or
measured by a two-foot rule. Value is not constant
but ever varying, and the value of beauty in the eyes of
those who desire it is measured by the labour expended
in producing it. The value of the food we eat and
the clothes we wear are equally fictitious if we measure
them by a purely utilitarian standard, else we might
dress in sheepskins and fig leaves, and eat only the
fruits of the earth. We might as well measure all our
works of art with a tape measure, and appraise them
by the square inch, as attempt to decrv the beautiful
and its value. A living picture should be worth as
much as a dead one ; and if it does not last for as long
a period, it has the power of perpetuating its kind.

Our Maker has implanted the love of the beautiful
and the desire to attain perfection in the hearts of the
best of His creatures, and in the culture of poultry
many have found an outlet for this love and this desire,
as well as an aid to the enjoyment of life, and an
employment to occupy their energies, bringing, in its
measure, due reward.

CHAPTER I

ON THE HOUSING OF POULTRY AND
GENERAL MANAGEMENT

To house the poultry well is a great essential, even if
they are only kept as a hobby, or to supply the house-
hold with eggs. To the breeder who aspires to the
honour of the exhibition world it is a sine quel non. A
generation ago it was a rare thing to find poultry
decently cared for, except in the case of considerable
establishments where expense was no object, and where
a distinct portion of the home farm had been set apart
for their use. Even to-day, in most cases, the " poultry
yard " is the most dilapidated and disreputable part of
the premises. Any odd, out-of-the-way corner, such as
a disused shed, or even over the pig-sty, is deemed good
enough. But there has been a vast improvement in
recent years, and just as the "proper housing of the
poor" is a phrase in everybody's mouth, so it is getting
to be understood that every living creature, if it is
to thrive, should have its house orderly and well
kept.

There is little excuse for it to be otherwise in the
case of poultry nowadays, since ready-made and artistic
houses are on view at every poultry show of any pre-
tension to rank, and may be bought at a price undreamt
of a few years since.

I have dealt with this subject at considerable length
in my former book on Poultry Culture for Profit, from
which I take the following extracts —

" The true method is to get the houses first and the
birds afterwards.

" In building a house, its form or beauty or size will
depend very much upon the taste or wealth of the

6 THE POULTRY MANUAL

owner. It may be made large or small, very orna-
mental or quite plain, but in any case there is no need
for it to be ugly-looking. The chief aim should be to
provide a healthful habitation for its occupants, and in
order to do this there are certain principles which must
be observed.

" It must be weaiher-proqf, so as to keep the birds
quite dry at all seasons of the year. It must allow for
the supply of an abundance oi fresh air without draughts,
and it must be xmll lighted, and, if possible, occupy a
swmy aspect. Its internal arrangements should be easy
of access, and as simple in construction as possible. A
very large proportion of the houses commonly found
among poultry keepers of every class violate one or
more of these principles, and as a consequence the birds
suffer in health.

" To Keep a House Dry it should be well and
substantially built of grooved and tongued boards. I
prefer the boards to be 1 inch thick, and in no case less
than f inch. A great number of the very cheap ready-
made houses are only | inch or f inch in thickness, and
are very flimsy affairs. Where plain-edged boards are
used they should be covered with laths nailed over the
joints. But these are not so neat-looking nor so
weather-proof, and are more difficult to keep sweet and
free from insect pests.

" A most important matter is the roof, which should
be quite sound, and come down well over the eaves
some 2| inches, so as to carry off the rain clear of the
sides. It is better if provided with a spout to carry the
rain away to a down spout connected with a surface
drain. A puddle of mud round a poultry house is a
very unpleasant and unwholesome sight. The roof
should be covered with felt, and well tarred once a year.
And, in nailing it on, care should be taken that the nails
are not too long, and that they enter the boards and do
not pass between the joints, otherwise they often act as
conductors of the rain, and a house with damp walls or
roof cannot be sweet. If the house is a lean-to, a very
good roof is made of corrugated or sheet zinc. In this
case there should be a lining of thin boards underneath,
as zinc is a rapid conductor of heat, and makes a very
hot roof in the summer and a very cold and damp one.

HOUSING AND GENERAL MANAGEMENT 7

in the winter, on account of the water condensing under-
neath it and dripping down.

" The Floor of the Poultry House, when not raised
above the ground to form a shelter underneath (see Fig. 1),
should be kept scrupulously dry. If the sub-soil is clay,
or at all heavy and damp, the house should be raised on
a sill of bricks placed end to end on all sides. The
foundation should be beaten until solid, and raised to
the level of the brickwork. A little cement on the top
of the bricks outside will throw off any rain. On the
foundation thus formed a beddino; of two or three

Fig. 1. — A House raised 2 feet from the ground and the shelter underneath part
boarded up. The door, on the left, is open, and a sliding wire-covered door is
used during the warm weather. The Scratching Shed is to the right.

inches of peat moss, well broken up, will form a dry
surface. Peat moss is a good deodorizer, but the
droppings should be raked off' at least once a week, and
oftener if circumstances permit. I am not in favour of
what are known as " dropping boards " placed under-
neath the perches to catch the manure. They are a
clumsy device to save a little trouble, and are most diffi-
cult to keep sweet. They frequently soil the plumage
of the fowl, who nill sit on them, and they afford a per-
fect harbour for vermin. Where, however, space is very
limited, and the floor of the poultry house is to be

8

THE POULTRY MANUAL

made use of as a " scratching " shed during: the dav,
they may be used to advantage if the most perfect
cleanhness is observed, and the board sprinkled with
earth or peat moss and cleaned daily.

"Ventilation. — Keeping the house quite dry and
clean is a great help towards ensuring its sweetness, but
this is not sufficient without ample ventilation. We
are, as a nation, valuing fresh air in our houses, and
particularly in our bedrooms, more than we did in past
generations, and we are undoubtedly feeling the benefit
of it in an increased vitality. It is a v/elcome sign of
the times that the modern makers of poultry houses

Fig. 2. — Poultry House and Scratching Shed ventilated from the front.

are adopting this principle in their latest constructions.
What is needed is some simple contrivance by which
the aynount of ventilation can be regulated according to
the temperature and to the number of birds per square
yard the house contains.

" A very good plan is to admit all the ventilation from
the front of the house (see Fig. 2). In a house 6 feet high
in front, of the lean-to pattern, the lower portion should
be boarded up to the height of 3 feet 6 inches or 4 feet,
and the top portion covered with fine-mesh wire netting
fastened from the inside. Over this should be arranged
a light sash framework, which may be fitted either
entirely or in part with glass, and the remainder with

HOUSING AND GENERAL MANAGEMENT 9

f-inch grooved and tongued boards. This can either
be lowered to the bottom of the wire-netted portion in
hot weather, or raised to within a few inches of the top
in frosty or inclement weather. This plan closely
corresponds with our custom of sleeping with the bed-
room Avindow open and the door closed. The ventilation
afforded by the open fireplace in a bedroom may be
imitated in a house with a double-pitched roof by
affording an outlet in the gable ends in the shape of a
window covered with perforated zinc, or by boring a
few holes of f-inch diameter. In a lean-to house it is

L

'W\-%S^:*-^

' '^'-^^

fl

BfriT- i|-

mfrf"^

^^M^^a^^

^^^^1^

^^^1

1

■s '•" .,*;,

^^Hg

^^m

- ^^S

I

R^^PMHi

f$

'■ 'll""^!* ^

JBK

fc^

' ^^2

W

m

ti^^^^^^S

K

M

Fig. 3.— a COSY CORNER.

The Sleeping House to the left has a sliding door which may be left open
in warm weather. When closed in winter, the slide at the top is
opened. The Scratching Shed is on the right hand. Entrance from the '
end.

not needed, as the ventilation afforded by an open
front which is never closed at its highest point is ample.
Another method of securing the same end is by having
a half of the entire front of the sleeping shed made to
slide from right to left (see Fig. 3), in which the perches
are arranged behind the covered portion. In this case,
however, it is much more difficult to keep the floor of the
house dry, owing to the rain beating in. In the old-
fashioned houses, Avhich usually haAC a small movable
window about a foot square, and no other ventilation

10 THE POULTRY MANUAL

except at the apex, it is a decided improvement to have
fine wire netting instead of glass in the window-frame, and
to fix a shding door, made of a Hght framework covered
with wire netting, inside the poultry house. The outer
door can then be left open at night in all but the most
inclement weather, and it should always be left open in
the daytime, to give the house a good airing." (See
Fig. L)

Some of the best houses on the market both from a
sanitary and artistic point of view are made, and at a
moderate cost, by Mr. A. E. W. Phipps, of Harborne.
Two of these houses are shown on pp. 8 and 13. One
of these (Fig. 2) is well ventilated and easily cleaned,
and is useful for all seasons of the year. The sliding
glass window can be lowered in the summer, and raised
to make it more snug in winter. A style of house
fast coming into use is one with canvas shutters,
Avhich are well creosoted or oiled to keep out the wet,
and prevent the canvas from rotting. The ventilation
filters through the canvas (which is placed near the
bottom of the house) and finds its exit near the apex.
The canvas shutter can be raised in fine weather,
but even when closed it admits sufficient light for
general purposes. These houses are well adapted for
keeping light-plumaged birds, as they shut out the
direct sunlight, which fades or destroys the purity
of colour.

The Necessity of Shade for exhibition birds is
dealt with in the chapter on "Preparing Birds for
Exhibition," to which the reader is referred. It is a
good plan to have some at least of the poultry houses
built facing the north, where no direct sunshine enters,
and if a large scratching shed is attached so much the
better, as the valuable portion of the stock can get fresh
air and exercise, which are so essential to health, without
getting blistered or sunburnt, and they can be let out
to an adjoining grass run or open yard when the weather
is suitable.

Sunshine, the source of life, is as essential to show
birds as to other stock in the earlier stages of their
growth, besides during the breeding season, and means
should be taken to provide for it.

Birds intended for Stock Ptirposes only should never

HOUSING AND GENERAL MANAGEMENT 11

be deprived of it. And many breeders, having ascer-
tained the true merit of a bird, and having selected it
for stock, do not bother about shading at all. Even
though it is discoloured in plumage they know that
it will breed correctly, since colour damaged by the
weather does not transmit its blemishes to the off-
spring.

" The Value of Scratching Sheds. — The benefits I
have spoken of are most marked where what is known
as the ' Scratching-shed System "* is employed. This
is nothing more than the use of a house of shelter for
the daytime as the sleeping compartment is for the
night, and the best arrangement is when they are placed
end to end (see Figs. 1, 2 and 3). In these illustrations
the scratching sheds are seen to the right of the picture.
They are of the same width as the house, and may be
of the same height, or a little lower will suffice. They
should be as weather proof as the house, Avith a good
roof. If boarded up in front to a height of 3 feet and
the top portion filled with wire netting they afford
protection against cold winds and ample shelter from
rain.

"The door of entrance for the attendant is better
placed at the end of the shed furthest from the house,
and unless it faces a wet quarter, which should be
avoided where possible, may be left open all day to
admit all the sunshine possible. If a single perch runs
lengthwise in the centre of the shed the birds will often
be found resting upon it in the daytime to preen their
plumage in the sun, or as a shelter from rain. There
should be an entrance for the fowl from the house to
the run, and this is better placed in the side of the
house nearest to the front, so as to be out of the direct
line of draught from the door.

" The shed, having one side less than the house and
not necessarily built so high, or of such stout material,
is less costly. It is better made longer than the
house where space and convenience allow it. Mine
were mostly made at first of the same length as the
house, viz. 6 feet, but I am so convinced of their great
utility that I have since extended them to 10 feet. I
consider that one square yard of these covered runs is
worth 10 square yards of the outside run upon the

12 THE POULTRY MANUAL

grass, and that there is no portion of the poultry
keeper"'s expenditure which repays him so well as this.
The advantages are —

" (1) A dry shelter to which they may go as protection
from rain and wind.

" (2) A dust bath always ready if the floor is covered
with loose litter, or a portion of it set apart for the
purpose.

" (3) A first-class place for early morning exercise.
Fowls are early risers, and when the connection between
the house and shed is left open, as it should be, they
will come out into the sweeter air of the shed, and seek
for any renmants of the last night's supper which may
have been scattered among the litter.

" (4) It is the most convenient place for putting the
laying boxes, which should never be put in the sleeping
house.

" (5) It is a very serviceable place in which to feed the
birds in winter, or more especially when the ground is
Covered with snow or hardened by frost, for the litter
does not freeze if kept dry.

" (6) It is an ideal place in which to bring on an early
moult. If a pen of fowl (without the cockerel) is
shut in such a shed, in July or August, and fed on
half rations in hard corn, which should be buried in the
litter, the warmth and exercise afforded quickly starts
the growth of new feathers and so more rapidly brings
them into condition for winter laying.''

(7) When the " fancier " is weeding out his stock,
they are handy places to keep a score of cockerels,
either to fatten or to await disposal. If these are
properly tended and kept clean they will be in better
health and condition after a month than if allowed to
run amongst and pester the better birds. Scratching
sheds soon repay their cost from a business point of
view, and they add immensely to the comfort of a
fancier's yards. They looh better when built 6 inches
to 12 inches less in height than the house. The
roofing boards should slope from apex to eaves, and
extend far enough over to throw ofl' the rain, and the
felted roof should be kept well tarred.

The Cost of House mid Sheds depends much on the
taste of the breeder. A convenient size is 6 ft. X 5 ft.

HOUSING AND GENERAL MANAGEMENT 13

by 5 ft, to eaves, and 6 ft. 6 in. to apex, and may be
bought at any price from 30,?, to £2, according to
the thickness and quahty of material and the conve-
niences of shutters and screens. Like most other goods
it is cheaper in the end to have a well-made article.
Well-seasoned grooved and tongued boards of f -in. or
1-in. thickness are the best, and the boai'ds should
be placed perpendicularly, running from top to bottom,
and all of one piece, not patched in half-lengths. The
scratching shed having one end supplied by the house,
and consequently requiring less material in its construe-

Fig. 4.— Cockerel Ten.

tion, costs about the same as the house though larger
in area. Many fanciers find it most convenient to buy
the house and erect the scratching sheds at home.

In all cases it pays best to have them built in sec-
tions, fastened together with nuts and bolts, which
should be well oiled before putting together, and
painted on the outside to prevent rust. They can then
be readily taken to pieces and moved when necessary.

Houses of a Less Size, as shown above, 7 ft. X 4 ft., or
a smaller size, 6 ft. X 3 ft. and 4 ft. to apex, are most
convenient for moving about, either in a piece or in
sections. They are much used by fanciers for keeping
show birds in condition. Or they may be used for

14 THE POULTRY MANUAL

half-grown stock, or for a few hens. The larger houses
will hold a breeding pen of from 7 to 10 birds ; and after
the breeding season is over will house, if well ventilated,
20 birds, either adults or growing stock. Such a house
is shown on page 22. If the open ventilated portions
are turned from the sun the birds may be kept in good
show condition, as they have plenty of light without
any damage to plumage, and they may be moved to
fresh grass every day.

Accommodation. — For permanent occupation about 3
square feet of area for each bird is quite sufficient, and if
the ventilation is good and perch-room ample, half this
is enough. Three perches may be placed in a house
6 ft. x5 ft., running the 5 feet length, and 6 or 7
inches of perch-space for each bird is enough for Leg-
horns, and 9 inches for the larger breeds, so that 20
birds or more may be easily accommodated for a time.
Where more birds are wanted in a run, perches may be
placed in the scratching sheds. The autumn is the
time when most birds are on hand and accommodation
is taxed for a time, until the numbers are reduced.
But the more room the birds get in the breeding
season the better, and the same applies to the pick
of the flock, where extra size and stamina are required.
Not 7nore than 20 to 25 birds should at any time run
together in one Jloch.

The perches should all be placed on the same level
to avoid scrambling for the highest spot, and at the
end of the house, in loose slits, so that they can easily
be removed for cleaning.

If taken out on a fine day and washed with a thin
solution of creosote and water they will dry by evening.
This should be done at least twice a year, to keep down
insect pests, and to prevent the spread of elephantiasis,
or scaly leg (caused by a mite), which ruins the
appearance of the bird's legs.

"To keep the house and shed sweet it should be
whitewashed twice a year. In order that the lime may
keep fast, and not rub off upon the clothes of the
attendant or the plumage of the birds, it should be
freshly slaked before using, and to each half bushel of
lime add 1 lb. of salt, and either add a little skim
milk or a little tallow. Nothing is more annoying than

HOUSING AND GENERAL MANAGEMENT 15

whitewashing badly done. It should not be laid on
thickly.

" To preserve the outside of the buildings they may
either be painted or, as I much prefer, be given a coat
of creosote once or twice a year. This is a great pre-
servative to new timber, gives it a most pleasing tan
colour, and keeps away insect pests. It cannot, of course,
be used over painted surfaces, but is intended for newly
erected and unpainted houses. The colour is intensified
by a second coating. A little of it, about a gill to a
two-gallon bucket, gives the whitewash a wholesome
odour without much discoloration and acts also as an
insecticide."

Jeyes' Fluid, which can be bought at any chemisfs or
large provision dealer''s, is also an admirable thing for
the purpose, and has the advantage of being non-
poisonous, even to young stock. Where whitewash is
objectionable on account of its rubbing off, or creosote
because of its colour, Jeyes' Fluid is one of the very
best deodorizers, and a solution of it in water is easily
applied.

Creosote can be purchased from many gasworks and
any " tar '" works. It is a product of coal tar, and in
barrels of 40 gallons can be bought cheaply. When
bought in small vessels it costs more on account of the
can or drum in which it has to be sent away.

For the Floor of the Houses nothing is better than
peat moss where it can be obtained in quantities at
a cheap rate. From 30^. to £2 a ton is an average
price, delivered in lots of a ton or more. It is a grand
deodorizer and saves a lot of trouble in cleaning out.
If the droppings are gathered from the surface once or
twice a week, and the remaining moss be raked over, a
good layer of a few inches in depth will last for three
months or more.

For the Floor of the Scratching Shed peat moss may
again be used, but the fioor of the shed should be
raised some six inches above the soil. If the shed is
raised on bricks, and soil well rammed down be placed
on the bottom, it makes a dry surface upon which the
peat moss can rest. Otherwise, by drawing up the
moisture from the earth, it soon gets damp, and this
destroys its efficacy.

16 THE POULTRY MANUAL

On such a surface of earth the chaff from oats or
wheat makes a cheap and effective scratching material,
and as long as it keeps dry this is almost as good as
peat moss for the scratching shed, though it is not as
good for the house.

Instead of feeding the thrashed oats or wheat in the
shed, some breeders who have a stack of home-grown
oats find it pays better to throw in a bundle of them
for the fowl to help themselves. They do the work as
efficiently as a thrashing machine, and the exercise keeps
them in good condition. Where neither peat moss nor
chaff is available, dry sandy soil or road sweepings are a
good substitute. Many a humble fancier has to be
content with this, and where there is a good depth of it
in a dry state it is wonderful how it helps to keep the
stock in glowing health, even in circumstances which
would appear hopeless to those accustomed to larger
areas and more favourable conditions. I have known
a pen of half-a-dozen birds to be kept in a confined shed
of not more than 9 ft. X 6 ft. all the year round, and
not only to lay well but for the eggs to be fertile, and
strong, healthy chickens to be reared. Such a space
affords room for the cleanliness of a dust bath, and for
abundant daily exercise in scratching for their food,
which is only given in sufficient but not wasteful
measure. It is needless to add that in such circum-
stances grit is always supplied freely, the soil changed
at regular intervals, and an ample supply of green food
given regularly. A cabbage or lettuce hung up two feet
from the floor gives them additional exercise. When-
ever the requirements of feathered life are understood,
and the owner is fond of his stock, and therefore pays
them due attention, it is surprising how well they do
even under the most adverse circumstances. Many a
winner is bred in such surroundings and triumphs over
the exhibits of a more favoured fancier, whose more
ample space and means are not backed up by the same
intelligent interest.

Poultry Fences. — For whatever purpose poultry are
kept they are best in small flocks, not more than 20 to
25, as I have said, being allowed to run together, except
in the case of half-grown chickens, when a few more
may be permitted in the same run, when space is limited.

i

HOUSING AND GENERAL MANAGEMENT 17

In the case of grown-up fowls kept for the purpose of
egg production, the number of eggs produced is largely
increased by such a division. In larger flocks the
weaker ones soon " go to the wall," and although it is
more expensive to have numerous divisions, it pays
better in the end to have three groups of 20 than one
of 60. Overcrowding is as bad for poultry as for man.

When kept for breeding, although it is sometimes
necessary for two or three cockerels to run with 20 or
more hens, it is not successful except where they have
extensive range ; and, as will be described, when breed-
ing exhibition stock, not more than 3 to 10 hens should
run with one cockerel. This number is determined by
the nature of the breed and the time of the year.

The male bird, if he has a sufficient number of hens
in the pen, pays attention only to the birds about to
lay. If it is therefore more convenient to mate up the
entire breeding pen at once, it makes little difference
whether you put 3 or 4 hens, actually laying, and as
many more that have not commenced, but will lay in
a month or so, or only put down the few and add the
others at a later period.

The following table will act as a general guide : —

BREEDS

DEC. TO FEB.

LATE a

KOTES

Bralimas, Cochins, ^

If ejigs are wanted to begin

Dorkings and other V

3 to 4 liens

C to7

inculiating on December 11

lieavy breeds J

in order to get chicks for

Leghorns, Minorcas^
and other light V
hreeds J

January 1 the pens should

5 to 6 hens

8 to 10

be mated early in November,

and any eggs laid after a

week maybe kept for hatch-

ing under hens. Incubator

eggs are better not more than

10 days old

When genial weather comes in

February other stock birds

may be added to make up

the full number

The bulk of the best chicks of the heavier breeds,
which include Orpingtons, Rocks, etc., as well as the
above, are hatched in February and early March, and
of Leghorns, Anconas, Campines, etc., in March and
April, or even as late as early May. Those hatched
earlier in the year are most useful for early shows, but
chickens which are mnhired in June and July fall into

18

THE POULTRY MANUAL

moult, and are useless for winter shows, while those
hatched in June are too immature to breed from in the
following year.

In Planning Out the Poultry Run much depends
on the space at command. When my space was
more limited I successfully kept 12 breeding pens upon
half an acre, as described in Poultry Culture for

HOUSING AND GENERAL MANAGEMENT 19

Profit, each run having an average of nearly 200 square
yards. In these confined spaces, on a light and well-
drained soil, with the grass kept short in the summer-

time, I kept in perfect health from 100 to 300 birds,
the number varying according to the time of year. The
chief difficulty arose in finding ample room for the young
and growing stock in the early summer and the autumn,

C 2

20 THE POULTRY MANUAL

Now that the space at my disposal has been extended
to nearly 10 acres the runs are naturally larger, and
average 500 or more square yards to each pen. A run 20
yards by 20 yards is ample for any breeding pen, and for
most breeds one 15 yards by 20 yards is sufficient. The
larger runs are kept for the growing stock, and especially
for the cockerels, which require ample range if they are
to develop into well-grown birds. It is advisable not
to have all the runs of the same size, as the smaller ones
suffice for a few birds, and the larger ones either for
growing stock or for the time when the breeding pens
are broken up and amalgamated, the hens being grouped
together and the cockerels removed to a small range of
runs suited for one or more birds.

A general view of the arrangement of my own breed-
ing pens is appended, the runs in the middle of the
photograph being about 40 yards long by 14 yards wide ;
part of a square, some 50 yards by 50 yards (about half
an acre) being reserved for young chicken rearing only,
and allowed a rest from June till the new year. The
method of arranging the pens is shown on the next
photograph, where a range of four poultry houses and
runs are placed on either side of an avenue or gangway
50 yards long and 9 feet wide. Each of these runs is
about 35 yards by 12 yards — this area of 420 square
yards being ample for a breeding pen (Figs. 5 and 6).

The Gangvoay is purposely made wider than is neces-
sary so as to allow the passage of a barrow, and also to
make room for a cool brooder for chicks which have
left the warm foster-mother — the shelter of the fencing
on either side affording a protection from cold winds.

The attendant, passing along this avenue, can feed
and water the eight breeding pens in one journey, and
water can be laid on to supply the whole, and so save
labour. The other parts are laid out in the same way.
I do not claim that my plan is an ideal one, but it is
the one I thought at the time to be the best adapted for
my purpose, and I refer to it in order to impress upon the
beginner the advisability of having his poultry farm, be
it small or great, properly planned out, so as to save
him as much labour and time as possible. Many poultry
yards I have visited are as complicated as a maze or
puzzle garden, and look as if the breeder had set him-

HOUSING AND GENERAL MANAGEMENT 21

self the task of making his work as difficult as possible,
instead of the reverse.

The fencing in both photographs is of an average
height of 2 ft. 6 in. It serves the double purpose of
providing shade and shelter from the Avind from which-
ever way it blows, and of keeping the birds in the
different pens from fighting.

Unless made to order it will be found that the fencing
supplied by most makers of appliances is very deficient in
height. It is usually supplied from 18 inches to 2 feet,
the latter being seldom met with. It should be at
least 2 ft. 3 in., and is better when 2 ft. 6 in., since any
of the taller cockerels can do each other serious damage
over a fence 2 feet high. Where expense is not a first
consideration the best protection at the bottom of a
fence is galvcmized sheeting, which is made in a uniform
width of 2 ft. 2 in., and in any lengths from 4 feet to 12
feet to suit purchasers. This is absolutely wind-proof and
sight-proof, which a wood fence rarely can be, and if the
bottom is painted for a few inches up, when it is fixed,
to prevent rust, and the body of it occasionally painted,
it will last a lifetime. Where valuable birds are kept,
worth from £\ to .£'10 each, or more, it is the wisest '
economy to use it.

A Wood Fence is easily erected. Its appearance and
cost depend on circumstances and the breeder's taste.
Any rough boards will suffice, and if the height is
uniform and the posts sufficient to keep it firm, and the
Avhole is well creosoted, it may be made presentable in
appearance, even if made of odd pieces, such as bacon
boxes or packing cases. If a timber yard is handy the
matter is simplified, or boards can be bought in bulk
ready for erection from makers of poultry appliances.
When cheaper timber cannot be found, a good-looking
fence can be made of |-inch grooved and tongued
boards, which cost \^d. per square foot, or by having the
rough American boards of 1^-inch thickness sawn into
half-boards, w^hen the cost is reduced to about |fZ. a
square foot. The cost of making a fence 2 ft. 3 in. to
2 ft. 6 in. high is about Qd. per lineal yard.

The Posts to sustain the fence and wire netting at
each corner of the fence should be 3 inches square,
and other posts 3 in. x 2 in. placed at intervals of about

22 THE POULTRY MANUAL

15 or 18 feet, with smaller stakes about If inches square
every 5 or 6 feet apart — two between the heavier stakes.
If a 6-in. deal is ripped in two at the timber yard, and
then sawn into four, it will make eight stakes, and a
length of 15 feet makes 16 stakes 7 ft. 6 in. long, at
a total cost of 3.?., or a trifle over 2(7. each. The average
cost of a deal 3 inches thick is 'ihd. per square foot.

Creosote or tar should be applied to the bottom of
each stake or post to prevent rotting. They are best
driven into the soil to a depth of 15 or 18 inches, and
the whole of the surface should be painted with creosote.

Fic4. 7. — Stubble House.

Wire Netting is placed on the top of the wood
fence, and the 4-ft. wire of 2-in. mesh is the one I
use and the one generally adopted by other breeders.
The cost of this varies from time to time. When cheap
I have bought the 19-gauge wire at 8,?. for 50 yards,
4 feet wide, but its present price is 10,?. It pays
much better to buy 18-gauge because it is stouter and
heavier, and lasts twice as long. Its cost is 20 per cent,
more than the 19-gauge. It is fastened to the posts
with thin wire staples.

It will be seen that the cost of such fencing is rather
high, and when all the materials have to be bought at
the prices I have named amounts to lOcZ. or 1,9. per lineal
yard, and the life of the wire is not a long one. I

HOUSING AND GENERAL MANAGEMENT 23

prefer all the fences of a uniform height of 6 ft. 6 in,,
as either light or heavy breeds can be interchanged as
occasion demands. If I kept the heavier breeds only, such
as Orpingtons, Rocks or Wyandottes, a 5 ft. 6 in. fence
and 3-ft. wire would be ample, or if Cochins and
Brahmas a foot less. It is the cost of the divisions I
have named which deters most fanciers from adopting
them, and this gives their poultry yards such a woe-
begone appearance. Where natural fences provided by
a thick hedge are at hand, a little wire netting at the
bottom will often suffice. Where possible it is well to
arrange for the runs to communicate with an open
paddock or field, to allow the birds a more extensive run ;
while a movable house placed on the autumn stubble,
or on a fresh clover run, is beyond price in its value for
bringing on the growing stock into their full size and
vigour. (See Fig. 7 and Mr. W. Calway's advertise-
ment for excellent types of stubble houses.) I consider
that there is no food in the world so good as a fresh
crop of clover ; and the short -growing perennial clover
is the best to bring out the full quality of the stock,
especially for the clean-legged breeds. And where this
cannot be provided naturally, the best clover hay cut
short, scalded and soaked well the night before it is
given, or the clover meal so much favoured by American
fanciers could be used with great advantage much
more frequently than it is by English breeders. But
this brings one to the subject of feeding, which is dealt
with in the next chapter.

CHAPTER IT

ON FEEDING AND FOODSTUFFS

No part of the poultry breeder''s work is more im-
portant than a knowledge of the correct way to feed
his stock. If breeding and the right " strain " is the
first element of success, feeding is the next, for the
best-bred stock, if badly fed, will never develop into
first-class specimens. And though this fact should be
evident even to those who breed for " utility " only,
since an over-fed bird, with its organs overlaid with fat,
can never lay well, and an under-fed bird can never
attain its true proportions for the table, it is constantly
ignored, and the same monotonous ration is given in-
discriminately all the year round. To the breeder who
aspires to exhibit it is of far greater importance. A
chicken stinted in food, or fed with the wrong kind,
becomes stunted in growth, and in the larger breeds,
where size is an important factor, success is more
often due to correct and careful feeding than to any-
thing else.

It is not many years ago, and within the memory of
most middle-aged fanciers, since the majority of poultry
keepers in England fed their stock almost exclusively
on maize and potatoes ! ! In many country places, and
among the humbler class of fanciers, the practice still
continues, and it is perfectly surprising Avhat wonderful
results are obtained by this method, especially by those
who keep the lighter breeds, such as Minorcas and
Leghorns. Birds fed on these foods put on flesh
rapidly, and it seems to have a wonderful effect on the
growth and development of the lobes of show birds,
although it has a tendency to make them yellow instead
of white. But the practice is ruinous to the constitu-

24

ON FEEDING AND FOOD-STUFFS 25

tion, and is one of the chief sources of the perennial
liver disease Avhich decimates the farmers' yards every
autumn. I only mention this prevalent custom to illus-
trate the slip-shod method of feeding often adopted,
and not to condemn the use of maize, maize meal and
potatoes, all of which have their place when used with
discretion. The fancier of to-day is better enlightened,
and his aim is " quality in the stock " more than cheap-
ness in the cost of food, and the price he is prepared
to pay for his food cannot be illustrated better than by
a reference to the host of advertisers of patent foods
ranging fro in 12*. to 20,?. per cwt. This must be
profitable to the purveyor, or there would not be such
a rush to get the business. Many of the foods adver-
tised are very valuable aids to the fancier, and it pays
him to use them for the choicest portion of his flock,
especially when growing the chickens or in preparing
the adults for the show-pen. But the chief cause of
their extensive use is either lack of knowledge or lazi-
ness on the part of breeders, who prefer to have the
mixing of meals done for them rather than do it for
themselves. It is a difficult and painstaking matter
to feed poultry always to the best advantage, and it
is heightened where many breeds are kept in the same
yards, since laying hens want different food from table
birds, and both require different food, alike in quality
and quantity, at various seasons of the year — more
nitrogenous food and in greater quantity when they
are laying than when they are not, at least a third
more. Previous to moult they need less in order to
induce it, and when fairly started to moult more
generous food to sustain the great strain upon the
system, besides additional aids, such as boiled linseed,
of which 10 per cent, to 20 per cent, should be given
twice a week. When feathering is slow, flowers of
sulphur, in proportion of one tablespoonful to each
ten birds, sprinkled upon and mixed twice a week with
the soft food, given as the morning meal, is a great aid.
The fancier has other difficulties, as pointed out in
the chapter on " Preparing for Exhibition," since maize
in any form is injurious to the plumage of white birds,
and even red wheat is said to act in the same way,
while it has no ill effect upon buff or black plumage ;

26 THE POULTRY MANUAL

and iron, so generally given as a tonic, has a similar
effect in imparting a yellow tinge to the white plumage,
while it is beneficial to black or dark-coloured birds.
These effects on the plumage are much more marked
when given at the period when birds are undergoing
the moult.

These are only samples of the difficulties which
attend the successful methods of feeding. They may
seem trifles, but little points like these make all the
difference in the keen competition the exhibitor has to
meet, and they are important to all breeders whether
they exhibit or not.

For the Egg Producer a valuable lesson may be
learnt by the simple observation of nature. Eggs are
plentiful in the springtime among all our feathered
friends, not simply because the weather is genial, and
all nature sings the love song and calls to mating, but
because of the abundance and variety of food she offers
in the springing grass of the field, in the plentifulness
of insect life, and the myriads of worms and slugs.
Note how the laying hen seeks for them and greedily
devours them when she has an open field for exercise,
while she passes them unheeded at other times when
her system is not undergoing the strain of egg-pro-
ducing. See how the young chick races after the
tiniest insect within its reach, and devours to repletion
worms thicker than its tiny legs, and learn that if we
want eggs we must supply animal food at other seasons,
when nature is dormant.

If we zeant eggs all the year round, we must plan
an eternal spring so far as animal food is concerned,
and provide for it in one of the many forms it can be
obtained.

For the Young Stock in the same way, if we want
them to form flesh and bone and sturdy frames, nitro-
genous food must be given, especially in seasons when
nature denies it them. The dried flies and ants' eggs
found in the best dry chicken foods is one source, frag-
ments from the table or bits of offal from the butcher
is another, while finely-ground green bones, i. e. fresh
bones with the marrow and gristle and clinging meat,
provide not only flesh food but the mineral matter
which goes to make the frame.

ON FEEDING AND FOOD-STUFFS 27

The Prevailing Fault is that fowls in confined places
are fed too much on cereals, without a sufficient supply
of animal food and of grass or green food in one form
or other ; and that those cereals which contain too small
a proportion of albuminoids are too freely used.

The heme of the breeder is fat stock. It spells ruin in
the breeding pen, it diminishes the number of eggs, and
renders those which are laid unfit for hatching healthy
stock. Eggs are either unfertile or contain weakly
germs, and the chicks which hatch look as sickly as a child
born with the jaundice already marked on its skin.
It may sometimes be necessary to feed up a fowl for
exhibition, but the lazy and inactive life it is forced to
lead during its preparation, and throughout the show
season, renders it, in many cases, quite unfit for breed-
ing purposes. They are as useless for breeding as prize
cattle at a fat-stock show, until a long time after the
showing is over and they have been reduced, by scanty
fare, the use of purgatives, and rigorous exercise and
outdoor life, for the purposes of the breeding pen.

To Promote Winter Laying the same course has
to be adopted. It is no easy matter to reduce to a
healthy state stock birds that have been over-fed. The
exterior fat may be taken down, but the internal organs
retain it longer. The method is to reduce the rations,
giving only half fare, to avoid fatty foods such as
maize and wheat, and to give food rich in albuminoids,
to feed chiefly on hard grain and to make them scratch
for it by burying it in the litter of the scratching shed.
For soft food, a plentiful supply of green stuff, such as
cabbages, turnips and chopped clover hay, should be
given, and well-scalded bran, -which is rich in nitrogen,
mixed with it, as well as lean meat. A dose of that
golden remedy Epsom salts is an assistant.

But prevention is better than cure, and a fairly lean,
hungry condition, flesh and not fat, is best kept up by
judicious feeding from the time of moulting until the
breeding season comes round again.

For this purpose I append a few notes on the values
of the more common foods generally used, and, for those
who will take the trouble to read it, a tabulated list by
which the changes may be rung to any number of tunes,
to please the varied circumstances. Few people care to

28 THE POULTRY MANUAL

take the trouble, and some who would do so do not
understand the subject. An analysis of food-stuffs is
a good general guide ; for even though samples differ,
and no two tables are quite alike, yet they are near
enough for all practical purposes. The mixer of meals
for the fancier is like the dispenser of medicines for
the ailing. He has his place in the community, but is
often called in where a little knowledge practically
applied would save his services. Good food is better
than physic, and a doctor's harvest is sown by a bad
cook and grown by the unwise eater.

In order that the reader may have a fairly complete
list of the values of feeding-stuff's I append two tables of
food values, No. 1 being taken from various reports issued
by the Departments of Agriculture in the United States
of America, and No. 2 from Leaflet 79 issued by our
" Board of Agriculture and Fisheries."

The former gives a complete analysis o± the entire
contents, and the latter deals only with the " digestible
nutrients," and leaves out of the account both water,
ash and fibre, and the indigestible portions of the
proteids, nitrogen-free extracts and the fats. This
accounts for the difference in the percentages. They
are given as the average of many samples. It is evident
that some samples are richer in protein or albuminoids
than others — the richer and better-grown samples
having more carbohydrates, i. e. starchy matter, etc.

Meaning of the Terms used in the Tables —

Water. — " All plant substance, all animal tissue, all
the material things with which man comes in contact
in his daily life are made up more or less of Avater."
This is evident in green plants and juicy fruits. It is
equally true of, though less apparent in, cereals and hay.

Ash. — The mineral compounds of plants and feeding-
stuffs. These are numerous and in varying quantities,
the principal minerals being potash, soda, lime and
magnesia, etc. It will be noticed that there is a large
proportion found in the skin or husks of the cereals, e. g.
oats, barley, bran, and in hay and the grasses. The
amount found in clover in an easily assimilable form is
one of its valuable properties in forming the frame of
the growing stock. A hen with a good grass run rarely
lays eggs without a good shell. Note the large pro-

I

ON FEEDING AND FOOD-STUFFS 29

portion in " animal meal " and in " green bone," and
hence its necessary use.

Fibre. — The thread-like portion of the tissues of
plants and animals. The indigestible parts. These
are diminished in proportion when the cereals are finely
ground, cf. maize and maize meal.

Protein. — The nitrogen compounds of foods both
vegetable and animal. Of all the nitrogen compounds the
albuminoids exercise the most general functions in plant
and animal life.

Albuminoids. — The nutritive portion of food, of which
the most concentrated familiar form is the albumen or
white part of an egg. That portion of the food which
provides flesh-forming material.

Carbohydrates. — Those parts of the food-stuff con-
taining starch and sugars. These are designated in the
first table as the nitrogen-free extracts. The elementary
composition of this part of the food contains Carbon,
Hydrogen and Oxygen. "They may properly be
called the fnel of the animal world." They are the
storehouse of sun-derived energy. They provide warmth
and fat. Maize heads the list, followed by wheat,
which is a hint for their use in very cold weather, but
they are too rich in fat.

Fat. — Of the various fats found in food-stuffs it
should be remembered that 1 lb. of fat equals 2| lb.
of carbohydrates in heat production or fat formation, so
that food like maize, which is rich in both carbohydrates
and fat, is very fattening in its nature. Linseed, being
rich in oil, gives the gloss to the plumage, as described
in the chapter, " Preparing for Exhibition."

Albuminoid Ratio. — The feeding value of foods is
often expressed in what is termed the albuminoid ratio,
i. e. the proportion of albumen to the carbohydrates.
For example, the albuminoid ratio of oats is said to
be 1 to 6*8, that is, 1 part by weight of albuminoid
matter to 6*8 parts of fat and carbohydrates, both
expressed in carbohydrate value, or, as the farmer might
say, one part of flesh-forming food to nearly 7 of
fattening food. In estimating this ratio the percentage
given to " fat " should be multiplied by 2^ and added
to the carbohydrates, and then divided by the albu-
minoids. Thus the arithmetical formula to express the

30

THE POULTRY MANUAL

albuminoid ratio in oats is (4-3 x 2-25 + 44-7) ^8 = 6-8.
(See Table II, where the fats in Oats are given as 4-3, the
Carbohydrates as 44*7, and the Albuminoids 8.

There is some little difficulty in working out these
various ratios, but the trouble is well repaid. Those
who desire to go further into the intricacies of feeding
should buy Jordan's Feeding of Animals, in the " Rural
Science Series," which gives elaborate details.

TABLE I

The Composition of Poultry Foods

Keports of Agricultural Departments in "U.S. America

IN IOC

LB.

KIND OF FOOD

i.i

VtTATER

ASH

FIBRE

PROTEIN

o S «

S5

FAT

Corn, or Maize

10 -G

1-5

2-2

10'

3

70-

4

5-0

Barley .

10

9

2-

4

2-7

12-

4

69

8

1-8

Oats

11

0

3-

0

9-5

11-

8

59

7

5-0

Rye

11-

6

1

9

1-7

10-

6

72

5

1-7

Rice

12

4

0

4

0-2

7

4

79

2

0-4

Buckwheat .

12

6

2

0

8-7

10

0

64

5

2-2

Sunflower Seed

8

6

2

6

29-9

16

3

21

4

21-2

Cow Pea

14

8

8

2

4-1

20

8

55

7

1-4

Millet .

13

8

2

6

7-7

11

4

61

3

3-7

Wheat .

10

5

1

8

1-8

11

9

71

9

2-1

„ Screenings

U

6

2

9

4-9

12

5

65

1

3-0

Maize meal .

15

0

1

4

1-9

9

2

68

7

3-8

Oatmeal

7

9

2

0

0-9

14

7

67

4

7-1

Barley meal .

11

9

2

6

6-5

10

5

66

3

2 -2

Pea meal

10

5 ■

2

6

14-4

20

2

51-1

1-2

Animal Meal .

5

1

28

6

—

40

0

—

26-8

Dried Fish Mial

10

8

29

2

—

48

4

—

11-6

Horse Beans .

11

8

3

8

7-2

26

6

50

1

1-0

Linseed .

S

1

4

7

7-3

21

6

27

9

30-4

Ground Maize £

md

Uals,

equal parts

13

0

2

2

5-7

10

5

64

2

4-4

Bran

12

8

5

9

8-1

16

0

53

7

4-0

Pollard (Sharps)

12

1

8

8

4-t)

15

6

60

4

4-0

Dried Blood .

8

6

2

7

0-5

86

4

1

5

0-3

Fresh Green Bone

34

2

22

8

—

20

6

1

9

20-5

Skim Milk .

89

0

0

7

—

4

8

5

0

0-5

Potatoes

78

9

1

0

O'G

- 2

1

17

8

0-1

Turnips .

90

5

0

8

1-2

1

1

6

2

0-2

Carrots .

88

6

1

0

1-3

1

1

7

6

0-4

Cabbage

91

0

1

1

—

2

1

5

5

0-3

Lucerne (green)

71

8

2

7

r-4

4

3

12

8

1-0

„ (hay)

8

0

7

4

23-0

14

8

44

2

2-6

Red Clover, Green Fodder .

70

•8

2

1

8-1

4

4

13

5

1-1

Alsike Clover, in bloom

74

•8

2

0

7-4

3

9

11

0

0-9

,, ,, dried (haj) .

9

■7

S

3

25 -fi

12

8

40

7

2-9

Mixed Grass and Clover Hay

12-9

5-5

27-6

10-1

41-3

2-6

To these may be added for comparison the following
percentages of constituents : —

ON FEEDING AND FOOD-STUFFS

31

WATER

ASH

FIBRE

PROTEIN

55-8

3-S

-

21-6

41-6

3-7

_

19-4

S-6

48-9

—

3-5

ShsU

49-8

65-7

0-S

11-4

—

Whole Body of a Laying Hen
Whole Body of a Capon or

Fatted Cockerel
Dry Matter of a Hen's Body
Dry Matter of Eggs

Fresh Eggs .

17-0

33-9
38-5
38-6

S-9

Note the close similarity between the constituents of
the dried body of a hen, and of the egg she produces to
form the chick. Note, also, the large proportion of water
in the fresh egg, and the necessity for a constant supply
of • it — seeing that in every dozen eggs there ia nearly a
pint of water; and, further, that as 11 per cent, of the
egg is lime to form the shell, the need for lime in the
form of oyster shell or mortar, etc., where hens are kept
in confined spaces, is obvious.

TABLE II

Digestible Constituents in the Commoner Feeding-
Stuffs — (chiefly Wolffs figures)

Keport of Board of Agriculture and Fisheries

FEEDING-STUFFS

ALBUMINOIDS 1

CAKBO-
HYDRATES

Linseed Cake
Linseed ....
Beans ....
Peas . . . .
Dried Grains .
Wet (fresh) Grains
Bran (wheat) coarse
Wheat ....
Oats ....
Barley ....
Maize ....
Walt Dust (combings) .
Hay (average meadow) .
,, ( „ clover) .
Oat Straw
Locust Bean Meal .
Potatoes

Swedes ....
Turnips ....
Mangolds

Treacle (Molasses) .
New Milk
Buttermilk
Separated Milk
Whey ....

per cent.
24-7

1
1

1
11
3
4
3
0-8

per cent.
9
25
1
1
0
1

per cent.

1 Some of these foods also contain Amides, but as these are comparatively
unimportant they are included in the Albuminoids. The Amides is a nitrogenous
compound found in plants and tuberous roots. They are soluble in water. They
differ in many respects from the Proteids.

2 This figure is got by the usual method of converting Nitrogen into terms of
Albuminoids, but it is very much above the true figure for the digestible
Albuminoids in Treacle.

32 THE POULTRY MANUAL

From a large number of experiments made at the
New York experimental stations, it has been demon-
strated that simply to maintain a fowl when not laying,
in good health, but without loss or gain in flesh, re-
quires much less food in bulk, and a much less propor-
tion of Proteids, or a lower Albuminoid ratio. Thus,
while 4 lb. of food is sufficient for a day's rations to
maintain 20 fowls of an average weight of 5 lb. each,
it would need 5| lb. for the same hens in full lay,
and while the former need only a nutritive ratio of 1
in 7'4, they need a proportion of 1 to 4'6 when laying.
In other words, fowls when laying need flesh-forming
foods, Albuminoids, in the ratio of 1 part to 4 of Carbo-
hydrates, while the hen at rest needs only 1 part to 7.

And the growing chick needs nearly the same ratio
as a laying hen. The hen is parting with her albumen
to form the egg, the potential chick, and the growing
chicken needs it for the development of its body, which
is composed almost exactly of the same constituents as
the egg ; whereas the fowl at rest needs only to main-
tain its bodily heat and vigour.

It will be seen, therefore, that the error is a great
one when the breeder gives the same kind of food, and
in the same quantities, to his stock all the year round.
For some of these hints I am indebted to the analysis
given in Mr. Jordan's book on Feeding of Animals,
before referred to.

Hard and fast rules cannot definitely be laid down,
and very much must be left to the fancier's intelligence,
which is indispensable for success. No error can be
greater than to suppose that poultry feeding is a
simple matter, a mere child's play. It is true that
poultry will live, like the slum child lives, in the most
haphazard fashion. But to secure the best results
intelligence, watchfulness and care have to be taken at
every step.

Notes on Food Values

A few simple notes on the principal cereals and the
ground meals which are made from them may be more
easily understood than the tabulated list, and I arrange
them chiefly in order of their importance.

I

ON FEEDING AND FOOD-STUFFS 33

Oats are almost a perfect food when the sample is
a good one and they are short, plump and fat. They
are better suited to adult fowl than growing stock on
account of the large amount of fibre.

Ground Oats are equally good, but they should be
finely ground. The husks of coarsely ground oats are
apt to cause crop-binding and indigestion to chickens.

Sussex Ground Oats are the nearest to perfection on
account of the fineness of meal, due to the special
methods they employ in milling them. The best I have
seen were obtained from Messrs. A. Thorpe and Sons
of Rye, Sussex. Mixed with a little biscuit meal and
a proportion of meat meal, or dried fish meal, it is an
excellent food for chicken rearing as well as laying
hens.

Oatmeal is again an excellent food for all but the
very youngest stock. The "pinhead"" form of it is
valuable to mix with the dry food for young chicks.

Wheat is another first-class food, but too rich in carbo-
hydrates, and is almost as fattening as maize. It is
good, when kibbled or broken, for young chickens from
a month old upwards, but they need green bone or meat
meal, or the addition of kibbled peas, to bring it up to
a proper ratio.

Sharps, Middlings, Thirds and Follards are various
names given to the meals which are cast aside in making
fi.our. I have tried to arrange them in the order of
their fineness, the Sharps being nearly as fine as the
flour. These are exceedingly useful for the soft food,
and are the richer in albuminoids — the white flour, the
starchy carbohydrates, having been removed. Two of
Sharps and one of Barley Meal is a staple diet, and
the pity is that the foreigner sends us his flour and
keeps the Sharps at home, hence the relative dearness
of it, as there is a big demand for all we get made here.

Bran is excellent rf scalded before use, as it is other-
wise an irritant to the intestines. It has a high albumi-
noid ratio, and is first rate for putting on size after the
chicks are half grown. It should be used sparingly at
first to see how it suits the fowl. Its value is not
sufficiently realized.

Maize. — The food more relished than any other by
most poultry. It is too rich in carbohydrates and fat

34 THE POULTRY MANUAL

if fed alone. Excellent in winter fed alternately with
oats, if not overdone in quantity, and if flesh food is
added. Maize should not be given to fowl with white
plumage, as it discolours them, especially at moulting
time. Cooked Maize is said to be more digestible and
not so fattening.

Maize Meal is about the same in quality, but forms a
capital mixture with Bran and with Sharps. It makes
the mixture more crumbly and palatable.

Beans are not often given to poultry except in the
form of Bean Meal, when it forms a very rich albumi-
noid food, and heads the list in this respect, and is
valuable when added to other foods, such as Maize or
Sharps, to bring up the ratio.

Peas and Pea Meal are much the same as Beans.
Poultry eat them more readily, and there is less husk.
White Canadian Peas are the best. Peas and Beans
want using with caution, and only about one part in
six mixed with other meals.

Buckwheat is rather a fattening food and not rich in
albuminoids. If of good quality and free from dust it
is a useful grain for young chicks, being small, but it is
not easily digestible. It is useful boiled and mixed
with Bran for older fowl. It is much used for fattening
fowl.

Barley is not a good food, and is not much relished
by fowl. When made into meal it is useful to mix with
Shai-ps.

Dari. — Another fattening food. Chicks like it, but
it is not flesh-forming.

Hempseed. — Rich in oil. Good for chicks when
feathering, and a good pick-me-up at moulting time,
but too fattening and too expensive for general use.

Linseed. — Very rich in oil, the highest percentage of
any, but also good in albuminoids. Excellent for the
moulting time.

Rice. — Useful as an occasional food for chicks, and
when boiled whole much relished. It stops attacks of
diarrhoea or scour when given once or twice, but it is
not rich in nutriment.

Rye is not so much relished as most other cereals, but
is very nourishing, and cheaper than others.

Sunjioicer Seed is not a general commercial com-

ON FEEDING AND FOOD-STUFFS 35

modity. Poultry relish the seeds, and they are a first-
class conditioner, but few fanciers grow enough to be
of much use. There is a great quantity of indigestible
fibre in them, but they are very rich in oil, and the
albuminoid ratio is one in four.

Sh'im Milk is one of the most valuable of all foods,
and where easily obtainable should be in more general
use for promoting the early and quick growth of
chickens, and for putting on size. Farmer fanciers have
a great advantage over others, and many a breeder of
high-class poultry keeps a cow to provide the milk for
his chicks. Note its richness in proteids.

Clover Hay is not as much used by us as by the
American fanciers. They show us the lead, and as we
learn to appreciate its value we shall use it more for
winter feeding. Chopped finely and scalded the night
before using, it adds to the bulk of the food, as well as
to its value, and is easily digested.

Clover Meal is supplied from America, and is sold by
purvevors of fanciers' foods. It is valuable if used with
discretion, but it sometimes acts as an irritant to the
bowels, and I prefer clover hay.

Other Gi'een Foods, such as Swedes, are a most con-
venient form of giving green stuff in winter. Cut in
two and placed in the scratching shed, or the outer
run, fowls relish them when grass is not obtainable.
Mangolds are better after Christmas, when they are
riper. The average price of either of these is 15*. per
ton, and no food is cheaper or more economical at the
price. They should be protected from the frost, and
any frostbitten portions should be cleared out of the
way of the fowl. Lettuce is excellent food for chicks,
and so are fresh cabbage leaves, or a whole cabbage
hung up in the scratching shed finds food and employ-
ment at the same time. Dandelion Leaves and Young
Grass cut short are very valuable additions to the food
of young chicks.

Animal Food is a necessity both for building up
the frame and for egg-producing. The most convenient
way of giving it is in the form Crissel, as sold by
Spratfs Patent Co., or beef scraps and the like, but a
cheaper form is in butchers' offal. A sheep's belly or
head can often be got for a trifle, and after cleaning and

D 2

36 THE POULTRY MANUAL

boiling make a valuable addition. Green bones, i. e.
fresh bones unboiled, can often be got at from 6d. to
8d. a score pounds, and when these are finely ground in
a bone mill, which costs only a few shillings, is the
cheapest food obtainable and very valuable for promot-
ing growth. The mineral matter in the bones adds
growth of frame, and supplies lime for the egg, while
all flesh meat is rich in albuminoids, and helps to
provide a well-balanced ration.

Where size is required an excess of flesh food some-
times destroys its beneficial effect by bringing on the
birds to lay at too early an age. It should therefore be
fed sparingly as they approach maturity. It also has
the effect of developing the combs of the cockerels too
rapidly, especially in the Mediterranean breeds.

Dried Fish Meal is another valuable aid, rich in pro-
tein, and is the basis of Liverine, a most excellent patent
food alike for adults and for growing chickens. I
prefer fish meal to meat for chicks, and for general
use in summer for the older birds.

Pateyit Foods are valuable to the breeder of high-
class stock. The makers are myriad, but a few old-
established and high-class firms are the best. Biscuit
Meal, scalded and dried off" with sharps, ground oats
or barley meal, makes a palatable breakfast. The
chief objection is its cost for general feeding, though it
pays the breeder of valuable birds to use it. Many of
the patent meals have a perfect albuminoid ratio, made
by carefully selecting the various cereals, and having
them ground and mixed together, and though they are
comparatively costly, it pays to feed them to young
stock destined for the show-pen.

Grit and Oyster Shell should be at hand in every pen.
The former to aid in digestion, and the latter for making
the egg shells. Fowl deprived of it cannot be healthy
when they are kept in confined spaces.

Grit serves the place of teeth to the fowl and assists
the gizzard in grinding and masticating the food. A
fowl without grit is as badly off' as -a person with im-
perfect teeth, and both suffer from indigestion as a
consequence. When fowl have been kept without it
for a short time, it is interesting to notice how greedily
they devour it when freshly supplied. Even when it is

ON FEEDING AND FOOD-STUFFS

37

given at the same time as food to hungry birds they
will consume the grit before their food. Nothing could
show plainer its necessity, A hundred fowl need at
least 1 cwt. a year of grit besides oyster shell. Both
should be kept in a grit-box placed in each pen or
covered run.

A Few Dietaries for the Morning Meal

No. 1.

No. 2.

Sharps

. 2 parts.

Indian meal

. 2 parts.

Barley meal

. 1 part.

*Bran

. 1 part.

Meat meal

. I part.

Sharps

. 3 parts.

Meat meal

. h part.

No. .3.

No. 4.

Pea or bean meal

. 1 part.

Potatoes (boiled)

. 2 parts.

Sharps

. 3 parts.

*Bran

. 2 parts.

*Biscuit meal .

. 2 parts.

Maize meal

. 1 part.

No. 5.

No. 6.

Ground oats

2 parts.

Cut raw bone .

. 5 part.

Maize meal

2 parts.

*Bran

. 1 part.

Ground bones .

^ part.

Sharps

. 2 parts.

*Cut clover hay

. 1 part.

Those ma',

rked thus

(*) should be scalded.

These and other combinations can easily be formed
and changed from time to time. Fish meal, meat meal
or bone meal may alternate, and in winter time, when
grass is not plentiful, clover hay, cut very short and
scalded the night before, makes an excellent addition.
A few swede turnips boiled soft the night before, and
warmed up in the morning, or other vegetables, such as
cabbage, lettuce, cauliflowers, treated in the same way,
and mixed with any of the above, add to the bulk of
the meal and form a cheap and beneficial diet. An
ounce of salt (two small table-spoonfuls) should be
added to the water for each 100 fowl. This acts as
a preventive against feather-eating and the habit of
pecking combs. Until the fowl are accustomed to
the salt it is better to add rather less than the above
quantities to the water with which the meals are mixed.
My own custom has been to feed adult stock twice only
during the day, viz., morning and evening. In cold
and wet weather they are not let out till the time of
feeding with the warm, soft food, but in fine weather an
hour or so before the meal.

38

THE POULTRY MANUAL

The Evening Meal should be given about an hour
before dusk, or in the summer time about 6 p.m., so as
not to keep them too long without food. It should be
of hard corn, and alternated. Wheat or oats in warm
weather, with an occasional feed of maize, and in the
winter alternately oats and maize.

The following six dietaries are a modified form of some
dietaries recommended by the " Board of Agriculture.'"

Foods for Pens op Ten Fowls (averaging about 6 lb. each in
weight) from the Commencement of their Laying Season

MORNING

MIDDAY

EVENING

WEIGHT
OF FOOD

Ounces

rOOD-STDFF

WEIGHT
OF FOOD

Ounces

GRAIN

WEIGHT
OF FOOD

Ounces

GRAIN

1.— 2
*3

2

Lean meat

Bran

Cut clover hay

Barley meal

12

Barley

15

A¥hcat

2.— 2

*3

3

2

Cut raw bone

Bran

Chopped calibage

Sharps (middlings)

12

Oats

15

Maize

3.— *2
*3
3

2

Meat meal
Bran

Chopped cabbage
Boiled potatoes

12

Oats

15

Wheat

4.— 2

*3

*3

2

Lean meat

Cut hay chaff

Bran

Pea or bean meal

12

Oats

15

Maize

5.— *3
3
4
2

Bran

Chopped cabbage
Rough oatmeal
Lean meat

10

Barley

15

Maize

e.— *2

3

4

*3

Bran

Barley meal
Fine ground oats
Cut hay chaff

10

Oats

15

Maize

Those marl-ed thus (*) should be scalded.

For laying hens during the winter a very good morn-
ina: food-mixture can be made as follows —

Scalded bran

Well-cooked maize meal .

Pea meal

Sharps ....

Cooked lean meat .

Chopped and scalded clover hay

4 parts,
2 parts,
2 parts,
1 part,

1 part,

2 parts,

ON FEEDING AND FOOD-STUFFS 39

with a light midday feed of oats, and an evening feed
of either wheat or buckwheat, or, if the weather he very
cold, of broken maize.

No exact weight of food can be given as a measure,
since the bigger fowl eat more than the smaller and
more at one time than another, but for average fowls
of 5 to 7 lb. weight 1 lb. of hard corn is enough for
9 to 12 birds.

Briefly, the rules are — feed regularly, and give only
as much as they will eat greedily. Don't leave any food
lying about from one meal to another. And should
this at any time be found out, starve them for the
next meal. Let an abundance of clean drinking water
be provided, and have it kept in earthenware vessels
in a cool place protected from the sun's rays. Zinc or
iron vessels are wholesome enough unless it is desired to
add medicine to the water, when a chemical action often
takes place not favourable to health.

To Fatten Fowls

The feeding directions given so far have been intended
for stock birds, laying hens, or growing exhibition stock,
and a rich albuminoid ration has been insisted on. The
book has not been written for the utility breeder chiefly.
A few lines on the fattening of poultry may be useful,
however, since the fancier has a number of mis-marked
birds only fit for the table. If they are well fed they
will be in good condition for killing when taken direct
from the open run, and most fanciers do not bother
about fattening ; they either eat them, or sell to the
higgler, or send them off' alive, in batches, to the
London Smithfield Market.

Where fowls are kept in sufficient number to make
it worth while, or where the owner is sufficient of an
epicure to desire a fatted chicken for dinner, a great
deal of flesh can be added in a short time by the use of
proper foods.

The Principles of Fattening to be borne in mind
whatever the method adopted are (1) to give an abund-
ance of fat-producing foods, rich in carbohydrates, in an
easily digestible form, (2) to keep the birds fairly warm,
(3) to induce rest and avoid exercise.

40 THE POULTRY MANUAL

To do this they may be kept in groups in confined
quarters, and given twice a day as much soft food as
they will eat, but without leaving any lying about to
spoil their appetites. No water should be given, but
grit may be provided. Fattening coops are used by
the fatters, and any fancier may buy or make his own.
The coops are about 18 in. high and the same depth,
and may either be divided into compartments of about
10 in. wide for single birds, or 24 in. wide to hold three
or four birds. The bottoms are made of slatted wood
to enable the excreta to fall through, and they should
be raised some 2 ft. or more from the floor, supported
on an open framework, with earth or ashes underneath
to catch the droppings. A removable trough should
be placed in front at feeding-time, and taken away or
turned over after the meal, and not allowed to become
foul.

The best foods are barley meal, maize meal, Sussex
ground oats, oatmeal and boiled potatoes. No hard
grain should be given.

Dietaries

No. 1. No. 2.

Sussex ground oats 3 parts. Sussex oats . . 2 pai'ts.

Maize meal . . 1 part. Barley meal . . 2 parts.

Wheat meal . . 1 part. Boiled potatoes . 1 part.

No 3.

Buckwheat meal . 2 parts.

Maize meal . . 2 parts.

Barley meal . . 1 part.

The greater proportion of ground oats the finer is
the quality of the flesh said to be. If mixed with sour
skim-milk boiled, the digestive organs stand it longer.
A little rouffh fat boiled with the water and mixed in

o

the meal adds to its efficiency.

The food should be given in a moist condition. Two
to three ounces each meal per bird is about enough,
though they should be given as much as they will eat
with a relish. If the appetite fails a change of food
may induce its recovery.

The time usually taken to feed a bird plump is 14 to
21 days. They don't stand long confinement, which
causes them to mope and go back, or die.

ON FEEDING AND FOOD-STUFFS 41

They may be crammed by hand with pellets of food
moistened in milk. But this is a troublesome business,
and it is better to get a cramming-machine, which
does the work more cleanly, rapidly and with greater
efficiency. It is easy to feed 100 or more in an horn-
by this method. There is a hopper to contain the
food, an attached indiarubber tube is passed down
the mouth into the bird's crop, a pedal is worked by
the foot to eject the food until the crop is filled. The
birds look forward to meal-time, and in the earlier
stages do not seem at all to object to it. But food
is given independent of the bird's appetite until it is
fatted sufficiently. The extra amount of flesh put on
a bird's body by this process is surprising — its food
value being doubled in a short time if the birds are of
the right kind and are taken at the proper age, either
between the moults at about 12 weeks old, or later,
just as soon as the adult moult is finishing. The object
is to put on rich flesh, infiltrated with fat, and not
layers of coarse fat.

There is a prejudice in England against yellow-
legged and skinned birds, white legs and flesh being
the favourites. Orpingtons, Faverolles, Dorkings,
Game and their crosses take first places, but Wyan-
dottes and Rocks are good. The lighter breeds do
not fatten so rapidly, and are better killed at about
12 to 14 weeks, when they are plump and excellent
eating. For their values see the chapter on the " Com-
mercial Side of Poultry Keeping," which may help the
fancier to sell what he has to dispose of in this way.
Values are various, and the intrinsic value of a fowl not
wanted for stock or exhibition purposes is simply what
it will fetch in the open market.

CHAPTER III

INCUBATION BY NATURAL AND
ARTIFICIAL METHODS

Natural Incubation. — Old-fashioned people prefer
old-fashioned ways, and many others who would scorn
to be called old-fashioned, yet, through innate cau-
tiousness and conservatism, fight shy of incubators of
every kind, and prefer to hatch all the chicks they need
by means of " the broody hen.""

At the outset there is this to be said for their notion,
that they prefer " Nature's way." And when the hen,
moved by Nature's impulse, either chooses and makes
her own nest, or the owner makes a decent one for her,
and she takes kindly to it, " Nature is hard to beat.""
Moreover, it may safely be estimated that nine small
poultry-keepers out of ten hatch all their chicks in this
way, and even in farmsteads where large numbers are
hatched the incubator is only just beginning to find its
way.

There are many fanciers also who swear by the
hen, and whenever possible hatch by Nature"'s means
and allow the hen to brood her chicks afterwards. Some
large breeders rear a broody race for this purpose, the
aim being to have sitters of medium size, well feathered,
with clean, or only slightly-feathered legs, and of
thoroughly broody instincts. In this way they are
spared the trouble of hunting all over the district to
find a broody hen, and avoid the danger of introducing
disease from this source.

Like every other plan there is something to be said
for and against trusting to broody hens.

Against the method it may be noted —

(1) Hens are very difficult to find xvhen zcantcd, e. g.
42

INCUBATION 43

although I keep about eight pure breeds which become
broody in summer, I have often hatched out a thousand
chickens in the early months of the year, by means of
incubators, before I have had a single broody hen. If
I had trusted to hens alone these chicks could not have
been hatched. Some years the scarcity of broodies is
remarkable, especially when the season is late and cold.
But, whatever the season is, the fancier desires early
chickens, and this alone should be sufficient reason for
the employment of an incubator. The hen does not
Avant to sit till she has finished her batch of eggs, and
in many cases even the sitting breeds will keep on lay-
ing for three months or longer without becoming
broody. The fancier w^ants the first eggs to hatch as
much as the last, and often more so.

(2) Broody Hens are often uncertain in Temperament. —
Nothing is more provoking than to have a valuable lot
of eggs spoilt by a hen refusing to sit to the end of
the twenty-one days. This is a constant occurrence,
especially with cross-bred hens which may have a large
element of non-sitting; blood in them. The fancier who
pins his faith to the broody hen should always have an
incubator at hand in case of such an emergency.

(3) Hens are often Dirty or Clumsy. — An egg broken
in the nest quickly breeds fleas, unless the greatest care
is taken to remove all traces of it, and this often necessi-
tates re-making the nest, and washing in warm water all
the other eggs, much to their detriment. Nothing is
more fatal than to have a hen sitting near a cindered
path, or to have ashes from the hearth to dust in.
The cinders adhere to the feet or the feathers, and fall
to the bottom of the nest, when the weight of a hen
pressing the eggs upon a hard or pointed surface breaks
the shell. The hen is often blamed for the carelessness
of her owner. A dj-y dust -bath of fine soil should
always be at hand.

Lice breed apace on the hen's warm body during the
period of incubation, and, unless she is well dusted with
insect-powder and kept clean, the chicks themselves are
infected and so have a bad start in life.

A heavy hen often crushes the weakened shell when
the chick is about to hatch, and a vicious hen will peck
out and eat the crushed chick, and sometimes after

44 THE POULTRY MANUAL

being thus started, will serve the whole hatch the same
way. When it is found that the shells are unduly brittle
it is best to remove them to an incubator to finish
hatching, and to replace the chicks, if necessary, under
the hen after they are hatched and dry. It is better to
leave either two or three of the eggs under the hen to
keep her steady on the nest, or if all are removed to
place a few common eggs or platter ones for the same
purpose.

The Advantage of the Hen. — On the other hand,
if the hen is a good sitter, of proper size and weight,
and if she is kept clean, nothing can be better.
Wyandottes of any breed, Orpingtons of small or
medium size, or Rocks, make excellent mothers, or a
cross of either of these breeds with the Game fowl or
the Silkie cannot be surpassed.

To obtain Broody Hens. — Hatch the stock early so
that they will lay in the winter months and become
broody early in the year. Remember that a hen does
not want to sit till she hsiS Jinished laying, and therefore,
where they are kept for this purpose and not for
breeding, give them plenty of flesh-food to hasten the
output of eggs, or give a little ovary tonic for the same
purpose. By this means the clutch of eggs is sooner
laid and broodiness comes earlier.

A hen will hatch delicate eggs from imbred stoch where
an incubator will fail. The finest mechanism does not
approach Nature, and the gentle and regular heat of a
good hen will produce and maintain the life that an
incubator will smother.

For this reason bantam eggs are better hatched under
hens, even if they are removed for the last day or two
and placed in an incubator to hatch out.

Stale eggs are best placed under a hen. A hen that
brings a brood of fifteen or eighteen chickens from a
stolen nest, must have laid the first of the eggs from
which the brood comes at least a month before she
began to sit. Such eggs would not hatch out in an
incubator, and very few practical workers of a machine
would place eggs in for hatching if more than ten days
old, and they certainly hatch better if not more than a
week old.

For this reason eggs which have been sent from

INCUBATION 45

abroad, or dispatched to foreign parts, should always
be placed under the hen, and not in an incubator.
After a journey eggs should be allowed to rest on their
sides for twenty-four hours, or more, before being placed
in an incubator or under a hen.

Selecting the Eggs for Hatching. — Not every egg
which is laid is fit for the purpose of incubating, and,
in cases where birds are kept in confined runs or have
been overfed and allowed to become too fat, the pro-
portion of eggs suitable for the purpose is not a large
one.

Any eggs which are much above, or below, the usual
size laid by the hen should be rejected, also any which
have a rough surface, or are covered Avith nodules at
the end, or have any irregularity in their contour.
That this caution is needed I know from the fact
that eggs are often sent out even when purchased
at a high price, quite unfit for hatching. I have
paid forty -two shillings a dozen for eggs from noted
stock, of which over a half have been either double-
yolked, or hardly bigger than bantam eggs, or rough or
thin-shelled ; and if they are sent to me others must
have the same experience. Senders of such eggs are
either ignorant, or are guilty of gross carelessness, or
act from unworthy motives. It is quite possible to get
a dozen eggs, each of which would prove fertile, and
therefore not returnable, but none of which would hatch
a healthy chicken. It is a waste of both time and
money to attempt to hatch eggs not suitable for the
purpose.

Sometimes a valuable hen will lay eggs which are
rather thin in the shell. If placed under a hen these
would be certain to get broken. But they may hatch
out in an incubator. If it is found that a hen is break-
ing her eggs, an examination of the shell may show this
to be the cause, and all similar eggs shoxild be removed
from her and placed in an incubator. It will usually be
found that such eggs are either very large or have a
suspicious-looking surface, and this occurs more fre-
quently in hens of the non-sitting breeds, or in cases
where egg-production has been forced by the use of
condiments or stimulating foods. The remedy is obvious
in the case of birds kept at home, viz. a diminution of

46 THE POULTRY MANUAL

the food-supply, and an addition of Epsom salts to the
drinking-water, and a supply of oyster-shell to make
shell-forming material.

How to make the Nest. — A hen by nature makes her
nest on the ground, in a shady and secluded spot,
usually in a hedge-bank when she has free range, or
under a clump of timber. It is a simple affair, a shallow,
circular hole in the soft earth, very lightly covered with
hay or grass, and lined with feathers from her breast.
Frequently nothing but the bare earth suffices. The
fancier has to provide the nest when he keeps his birds
in limited runs, and it is necessary that he should make
it of suitable material and of the correct size. The
best plan I know of I have described in Poidtry Culture
for Profit. Nest-boxes should be about fifteen inches
square, of sufficient height to allow the hen to walk on
and off the nest comfortably, and the top sloped to
throw off the rain. If made too large, eggs are apt
to roll into the corners, or the hen makes her nest
awkwardly. If too small, the eggs get crushed. It
should be round in shape, of well-beaten earth, very
slightly hollowed, so as to allow the eggs to roll to-
gether, but not so steep as to render the eggs liable to
roll on the top of one another. I prefer the bottom of
the box to be of half-inch mesh wire-netting, and to be
placed on the bare earth. This helps to keep the nest
slightly moist, and prevents rats from burrowing. A
strip of wood three inches deep nailed over the front at
the bottom keeps the earth in its place, and the lid at
the front should either be hinged to this, or loosely
fitted, and have at least an inch of open space the whole
length of the top to admit light and air. Many a
valuable lot of eggs is lost through the hen being too
closely shut in, and most nest-boxes supplied by the
makers fail in this respect.

The nest should be lightly littered with soft hay, and
pressed into shape — an inch in depth is sufficient, a little
more being required in winter months than in summer.

When the nest is ready place the hen gently on it,
with a dummy egg or two placed in the nest, and shut
her in. When she has quietly settled you may place
the eggs under her.

The number depends on the season and the size of the

INCUBATION 47

hen. In winter nine to twelve is ample for a good-sized
hen, while in the summer thirteen to fifteen may be
safely given. She, should have as many as she can com-
fortably cover. If too many are given, first one egg
and then another may get chilled during the period of
incubation, and so the whole clutch be lost.

Feeding the Hen. — At regular stated periods each
day the door of the sitting-box should be opened, and
food and water placed in sight of the hen.^ If she
walks off comfortably herself, this is the best plan. But
if she is a close sitter, or reluctant to leave the eggs, or
where many hens have to be attended to and time is
valuable, it is better to lift off the hen at once, gently
placing the thumb over the wings and the fingers under
the thighs, taking care that no egg is clipped beneath
the wing. The door of the nest-box should be closed,
and the hen allowed about five minutes, or less in winter,
to feed and relieve herself, and in the warmer weather a
longer time to enable her to take a dust-bath, which
should always be handy. Where several hens are sitting
close together, they may be got off the nest at the same
time and allowed to feed together, if they agree. When
time has expired, allow the hen to walk on the nest
herself. Any attempt to put her on may lead to dis-
aster with the eggs. Care should be taken to see that
the hen goes on her own nest, and, above all, that two
hens do not get on the same, otherwise broken eggs
may be the result.

A date-ticket should be fastened on the front of the
sitting-box, stating the time of setting and the number
and breed of the eggs. And, where hens are due on
different dates, it is a good plan to have tickets of
different colours, e. g. all red tickets for one date and
blue for another. When many hens are set this is a
great help, as you can see at a glance which eggs are
due to hatch.

The structure of an Egg. — The section of an
e:gg on the plate subjoined will give some idea of its
wonderful mechanism.

^ The period of broodiness is a great strain upon a hen^ and
she should be well fed with as much maize or wheat as she will
take. She has to take two meals in one, and should have enough
to maintain the heat of the body. Grit should not be forgotten.

48 THE POULTRY MANUAL

A. The outer shell, which should be strong and even
in its surface.

B and C. Two layers of skin, a double membrane,
one of which (B) is attached to the shell over the Avhole
of its surface, and the other (C) separate from the shell,
leaving the air space at the thick end. These mem-
branes are attached at all parts except the air space. .
The empty shell of a new-laid egg may be skinned,
and the air space be seen between the two layers.
They are drawn apart in the sketch to show their
distinctness.

D. The air space, which performs the function of
taking in oxygen from the air to sustain the life of
the chick. It enlarges, as shown in the diagram, while
the process of incubation proceeds.

E, F, G. Layers of albumen which are super-imposed
about the yolk as it passes down from the ovary.

H, H. The chalazae, which hold the yolk suspended,
and always convey the germ at the top of the yolk, to
the upper side of the egg nearest to the body of the
hen, as it lies in the nest. It has been suggested that
always turning the eggs in an incubator hi the same
direction may so twist this elastic mechanism as to
break it.

I. A membrane which encloses the yolk which holds
it in a sac and the ends of which form the chalazae.

J. The yolk, which, like the white of the egg, is
formed of various layers.

K. The Central Cavity or Utricle. The womb in
which the germ lies and which is connected with the
albuminous portion from which it is fed.

L. The germ, which is too minute to be seen with
the naked eye. It is enclosed in its sac before it leaves
the ovary of the hen and before the albuminous folds
envelop it. It is impossible to tell the sex of an egg
from its outward shape or appearance.

Testing the Eggs.— A great deal of valuable time
is saved by testing the eggs to see whether they are
fertile or not. Where a darkened room is available
the eggs may either be tested when the hen is taking
her daily meal, or at any convenient time in the day.
They should be carefully carried in a box or basket
lined with hay or wool to the darkened room. A

\

-Ytarrv AihC' ^ .

Cj-L'Tl^

/

/

t^iecb^

EGG TESTING.
(For explanation see pp. 48, 51.)

49

INCUBATION 51

duplex paraffin lamp is the best light I know of for
testing. The egg should be taken in the fingers of
both hands, and lifted from the box in the position in
which it has lain, and held between the eye and the
light, so that all the illumination is excluded except
that which passes through the egg. If the egg is
fertile, after six or seven days' incubation the top half
of the egg will be opaque, and in a good light the eye
and head of the chick can be seen encircled with a
network of veins. If it is quite cleao', like a new-laid
egg (which the novice should have with him as a guide),
it is sterile or unfertile. If a faint, thin red line ap-
pears, and the body of the egg is otherwise clear, the
yolk is broken. If a dark circular blob of black ap-
pears, the chick is dead in the shell. Learners should
mark doubtful eggs with a ?, and test a few days later.

It is better to err on the safe side, especially in the
case of valuable eggs. I have often had eggs returned
to me after a week's incubation, as unfertile, which con-
tained live germs ; and on more than one occasion I
have placed such eggs in the incubator at once, and have
hatched out strong chicks, despite a journey of twelve to
eighteen hours by post. It is possible to be too clever.
On some occasions I have boiled the supposed unfertile
egg and then cut it in half, showing the dead chick
embedded in the albumen, and have returned them,
with additional eggs, to the indignant purchaser for his
inspection and information.

A little experience is the best guide, and testing is
simplicity itself after a little practice. The late Mr.
Wm. Cook gave me my first lesson, on the occasion of a
visit some eighteen years ago, and I have never ceased
to be grateful for the help afforded, and I have in turn
helped many others. A little help by one who knows saves
a lot of time. With a good light a hundred eggs can
be tested in five minutes when taken from an incubator.
When taken from a hen the eggs should not be kept
away more than a few minutes and not allowed to get
cold, and the eggs should not be turned and twisted
about, nor held for more than a few seconds near the
strong light and heat of a lamp.

The advantages of testing are many. In the early
part of the year, December to end of February, accord-

E 2

52 THE POULTRY MANUAL

ing to the severity of the weather, many eggs are
unfertile. Probably 50 per cent, are clear on the
average, for while one breed or one particular pen of
fowls may do well, another may fail altogether.

(1) Where three or four hens are set at the same
time, the fertile eggs may often be transferred to half
the number of hens, and the others started again, or
the contents of two incubators may be placed in one.

(2) The presence of unfertile eggs is detrimental to
the others, as they not only do not attain the same
heat, but more readily lose what heat they have when
the hen is off the nest, or while the eggs are being
turned or cooled in the incubator, and the delicate
germ in the living egg is chilled.

(3) Testing also shows the breeder which of his hens
or which particular pen of birds is at fault, and his
attention is called to the fact a fortnight earlier than
would have been the case if he had not tested them,
and so leads him to remedy the evil. One pen of birds
he may find too fat, or the cock is inactive or clumsy,
or may have too numerous a harem. I count the
advantage gained in this way the most valuable of all
the results of testing.

(4) As a general rule it will be found that the pen
which has most unfertile eggs has also the weakest
germs in the eggs which remain, and the germs will
only partially develop, or the chicks come to the birth
and have no strength to come forth. The patience of
the fancier is often tried by a series of provoking
stages. First, unfertile eggs, then weak germs, then
chicks fully developed but dead in the shell, and then a
few weakly chicks hatched.

The main causes of this series of disappointments
in hatching are —

(1) The hens have been overfed in the autumn, or
overshown.

(2) The cock has been overshown, or kept penned
up too long without sufficient exercise.

(3) The stock is unhealthy from other causes.
Testing helps to discover the cause at an early stage,

and points out the remedy.

When the chicks are hatching it is best not to disturb
the hen too frequently. Hens, like mortals, differ in

I N

4

=5 'ZZ

"^5

INCUBATION 55

temper, and while one is docile and patient and will
allow frequent handling, another grows peevish and
will crush her eggs or kill the chicks.

If she is gentle and doing well, the shells may be
removed once or twice during the day, but the chicks
should be allowed to remain under her till they are
dry and strong. The hen should have a feed of hard
corn, either on the nest, or after gently lifting her off.
In the latter case it is best to remove most of the
chicks till she settles down again, Avhen they may be
placed under her and allowed to rest for twenty-four
hours without food. It is a mistake to feed chicks as
soon as they are hatched.

Before removing the chicks to a coop the hen should
have a good feed, and then she will settle down quietly,
and feed the chicks instead of gobbling it all up. The
dainty morsels provided for them are too great a
temptation for her after her prolonged fare on hard
corn. (For further details see chapter on " Rearing.")

Artificial Incubation. — It is now time to add a
few notes on the management of an incubator. Some
of its advantages have been already noticed. The
fancier Avishes his birds hatched in the early months of
the year when broody hens are scarce. In most cases
he has finished his hatching for the year before his
neighbour has thought of starting, or indeed before he
has any hens wanting to sit.

This feat he accomplishes by the use of a good in-
cubator. His " utility " friend who pokes fun at the
fancier as a mere " breeder for feathers," and who fights
shy of "them new-fangled machines," and who still
holds the deluded opinion that hens "hatched by
machinery " cannot be expected to lay, waits in
patience, or impatience, for broody hens, which become
broody late in the season, because they began to lay
late, and then at length hatches out a few broods in
May or June. These late-hatched chickens in their
turn commence to lay only when warm weather comes,
while the fancier's fine-feathered stock, early-hatched,
lay their store of autumn and winter eggs, because
their owner knows the value and use of an incubator.

Few up-to-date fanciers are without an incubator,
and many farmers and utility breeders also know their

56 THE POULTRY MANUAL

worth, and have learnt by experience the aid they bring
in producing early and vigorous stock.

To choose an Incubator. — It is " penny-wise and
pound-foolish " to buy a cheap incubator. My advice
to the novice is to avoid them as he would poison.
Buy a machine which has made a name, and has stood
the test of time, and let others buy the new ones, which
are puffed up to the skies as " hatching every fertile
egg." Those who advertise their claims to the extent
of improving upon Nature, can only go one step further
and state the capacity of their machines to " bring a
chicken out of every egg^"" whether fertile or not ! ! !
There are incubators made which cost as much to
" puff" in the press as they cost to produce in material
and labour. A good machine for one hundred eggs costs
d£'4 or more if skilfully put together, of the best materials,
and well finished. Examine a cheap incubator with its
ill-seasoned timber, rough-moulded brass fittings, utterly
lacking in accuracy, a machine-made, jerry-built in-
cubator, albeit highly lacquered and varnished, with the
well-made, sober-looking article, and the sight of it
alone ought to be sufficient. If you want a good
article you must pay for it, and you will find it the
cheapest in the end by far. Distrust instinctively the
overwrought and bombastic statements which claim all
the virtues under the sun. Common-sense flouts the
nostrums of the quack.

There are several reliable incubators on the market,
and, generally speaking, they rank in merit in direct
proportion to their cost. The man who likes a bargain
may often buy a good second-hand one, if he has a good
practical acquaintance with them, and is able to test
the vital parts of the machine, but the novice had far
better trust to the maker and order a new one.

With the incubator the maker sends out a book of
instructions which describes the mechanism of the
machine and gives directions for its successful working.
He is as anxious as the purchaser that good results
should be obtained, and if any difficulty arises he is
usually willing to explain it, though it must be added
that some makers and their agents are as ignorant as
they well can be, and have probably never worked an
incubator in their lives, and their " directions " may be

INCUBATION 57

described as " comical directions to achieve tragic
results." The best general directions for working a
hot-water incubator are given in The Prohhm
Solved, by Charles Hearson. An incubator should
not be looked upon as a " slave to do the work of an
idle owner, but as a helpmate to be treated with intel-
ligent understanding." It supplies the heat of the hen,
and your intelligence takes the place of her instinct.
Read and understand the directions sent out with the
incubator, and try to understand its mechanism.

The best place for the Incubator. — I have seen them
working in all kinds of places, both indoors and out,
from cellar to garret indoors, and from any odd kind
of outhouse to incubator-rooms constructed on purpose,
and many of the latter have been the worst places of
all, built and placed in defiance of every known rule
for successful incubation. A very great deal of the
success or otherwise depends upon the place where the
incubator is worked.

The essentials are threefold, viz, evenness of tem-
perature, quietude and freedom from vibration, and
good ventilation without direct draught. The first is
the great thing, and for this purpose nothing is better
than a dry cellar, or a room built partly below the sur-
face level. If built of stone or of 14-inch brickwork
with a cavity wall so much the better, and the windows
should be so placed as never to allow the direct rays of
the sun to alight upon the machine. A north window,
or north-east or north-west is all right, and a south
aspect the worst of all. In cases where the only build-
ing available for the purpose has a southern aspect
Venetian blinds should be placed before the window,
and if placed outside as well as within, so much the
better. The essential point is that the temperature
within the room should be kept as equable as possible,
and therefore a steady northern light is the best, and
this is also the reason why thick walls are preferable.

Many of the so-called incubator houses built of |-inch
grooved and tongued boards and placed in an open,
exposed situation Avhere the sun can beat upon them,
are the worst of all places. In the spring and early
summer, when the outside temperature varies from 30°
in the morning to 70° or 80° at noon, these houses vary

58 THE POULTRY MANUAL

very greatly in temperature, and no incubator, however
delicately regulated, can hatch well in such circum-
stances. The safe temperature in the incubator drawer
may vary from 102° to 106°, though not long at the
latter height, and if it reaches 107° or 108° every germ
would soon be destroyed or so weakened that the chick
when hatched would not survive. It will therefore be
readily understood that sudden rises in the temperature
of the air with which every machine must be fed,
cannot have anything but a detrimental effect upon
hatching.

In the summer all machines, wherever placed, have
to be watched and seen to occasionally, and when the
maximum heat is attained, and the lamp is burning at
its lowest height, it is better to put out the light for a
few hours, until the machine falls to 102° or 103°, than
allow it to get over-heated. For the same reason it
will be noticed that an incubator is easier to work in
the winter and early spring, December to end of March,
than from April to June. And the same is true of
artificial rearing. When warm weather and variable
temperature arrive natural methods are better than
artificial, except in circumstances where the conditions
for hatching and rearing are of the best.

A wooden building, such as described, is better if
built with stout 3-inch battens, and lined inside, having
a Q-inch cavity wall, and the roof the same. But even
then it is not as safe as a building of brickwork.

The jloor oj the building is best of brick, stone, or
cement, so as to be free from vibration, though this is
not as essential as equable temperature.

The ventilation should be ample, so that the air may
be always fresh. When one enters in the morning the
room should not smell of lamp fumes, or feel " stuffy,"
as it will be very apt to do where several incubators are
at work and several lamps burning, when the ventilation
is not good. Even a hen cannot hatch out her brood
if shut up in an ill-ventilated nest -box. The rule must
be : the more fresh air the better, if without direct
draught.

Crippled chickens are the outcome not only of sudden
noises or vibrations such as are caused by the slamming
of a door, or the jolting of the egg-drawer (though this

INCUBATION 59

is an undoubted cause), but also of anything which
diminishes the vitality of the germ. There are always
more cripples from a pen of birds where the stock are
not in first-class health than from a vigorous breeding
pen. There are more when the hatch is either hastened
or unduly delayed by irregularities of temperature, or by
trying to hatch eggs which are stale, or from immature
stock ; and I am disposed ' to think that insufficient
ventilation is another cause.

When the conditions necessary for healthy incuba-
tion are not provided, only the very strongest chickens
hatch, and if the remaining eggs are examined it will
be found that a large proportion of the matured chicks
which have failed to hatch have deformed feet or beaks.

The Dead in Shell mystery is not yet solved, but
more will be found in incubators than under hens,
providing the hens have had proper nests, and I am
inclined to think that the causes will be found to be
those I have described, and that many of the " dead "
would have been crippled had they survived. The
great cause is undoubtedly lack of vitality in the parent
stock, and when this is not the case it is through im-
proper conditions when hatching. Some of these will
be mentioned later on, when typical incubators are
described. Where the incubator beats the hen is in
not breaking the eggs or not forsaking them, and in
not crushing the chickens when hatched.

Those persons who only wish to rear a few chickens,
and do not wish to hatch them early in the year will do
best to keep to the hen, and to keep a few of a broody
race, such as Orpingtons, Wyandottes or Rocks for this
purpose ; but those who wish to rear early chickens,
either for egg-production in the winter or for exhibition,
must use one or more incubators. And if the breeder
has valuable birds, and wishes, as he naturally will do,
to hatch every egg, he should have at least three incu-
bators, so that he can start a fresh one every week.
Eggs for an incubator should not be more than a week
old, though a few days longer is not a serious matter.

It is not advisable after starting an incubator to add
fresh eggs at intervals^ it is better to defer the start
for a few days, and then keep the next lot of eggs for
another week. In cases where it is necessary to put in

60 THE POULTRY MANUAL

a few more eggs the cold eggs should not be allowed to
come into contact with those already started, but a
piece of cotton wadding or a thick layer of flannel
should be placed around the eggs already in the in-
cubator. This can be removed after 24 hours, as the
newly-added eggs will have become warmed. But it
should be remembered that they will not be as warm as
the eggs a week or more older. On and after the 14th
day the animal heat of the chick is added to the
imparted warmth, and eggs with a live chick in them
will remain warm for a much longer time while the
eggs are being turned, or the drawer open for airing,
than fresher eggs.

The presence, therefore, of the newly-added eggs is
apt to chill and retard the more advanced. Hence the
advice to hatch out one lot before adding others.
During the last two days of incubation the eggs should
not be turned at all, or the drawer opened, whereas if
any eggs are in a less advanced stage they need turning.
The difference in heat is so marked that an expert
could distinguish, by handling, between eggs 14 or more
days old and those a week or less, as also between those
containing dead and those containing live chicks.

The number of various incubators now on the market
is legion. They are practically of two types, known as
hot-water and hot-air incubators.

Hot- Water Incubators

Of the hot- water or tank incubators there are many,
but the best and most widely known and used is that
known as Hearsoii's Patent Champion Incuhator^ which
is now the property of Spratfs Patent, Limited, who
are the proprietors. This was patented in 1881, and
to-day there are probably more in use than of any
other make. For some 20 years it stood practically
alone. But after the patent expired a host of com-
petitors sprang up. Some few have approached it for
efficiency, and may be obtained at a less cost, but none
have excelled it, so far as my experience goes, and very
few are at all fit to be compared with it. I have had
one of Hearson"'s machines working for 19 years, a
period of six months each year, and it is in nearly as

INCUBATION

61

good a condition now as when I bought it. The cap-
sule, which was the main secret of the patent, is still at
work, and has never wanted attention. In no other
incubator that I know of is it safe to work without
having a spare capsule at hand in case the one at work
should fail.

-■ This capsule, which is seen in position in the section
of Hearson's Incubator below, consists of two copper
plates superimposed and hermetically sealed at the

Fig. S.

edges. Within the two plates are a few drops of a
liquid composed of ether and alcohol, etc., which boil
and expand at a temperature of 98°, just as water boils
at 212°. When the capsule expands it raises the lever
which rests upon it, and this lifts the damper over the
lamp-flue and lets off" all excess of heat. There is no
other capsule so delicately adjusted or so strongly made.
The mechanism of Hearson's Incubator will be readily
miderstood from the sectional view shown above

A A is the tank of water^ filled at tube R.

B B — Movable egg-tray.

C C — Movable water-tray covered with perforated galvanized

62 THE POULTRY MANUAL

cover and canvas cloth to allow absorption of moisture and air
without draught.

D D — Holes in the bottom and false bottom for admission of
fresh air^ the arrows showing its course.

E E — Holes for admission and exit of fresh air in back and
front of incubator.

F — Damper over flue V^ Avhich lifts to let out the heat^ Avhich
would otherwise travel along L, the copper tube which passes
through the tank.

G — Lever.

H — The lead w^eight which is used to slide nearer the damper
to increase the pressure on the capsule S, and so increase the
temperature at which the damper lifts.

K K — Slips of wood which are placed under B B to raise the
eggs nearer to the tank. These are removed when duck eggs
are being hatched.

L L L — Lamp chimney and flue which passes through the tank.
This flue makes a return passage, and the heat escapes at W in
a chimney placed behind the flue F, and not as shown in the
section.

M M — Sawdust or other non-conducting packing materials
used to insure an equable temperature. (Li cheap machines
this is very scanty.) The external measure of Hearson's 100-egg
machine is about 29 inches and the internal measure of the egg-
drawer 20 inches.

N — Tank thermometer.

O — Strong steel needle or lever resting on the capsule S and
communicating with the lever G at P. A slight elevation at P
causes a much greater elevation at F, and so the slightest rise
in temperature is automatically adjusted.

P — Milled head screw beneath which the lever O is placed.
. R— Filling tube.

S — Thermostatic capsule, resting on a platfoi'm placed above
the eggs, just to allow the egg-drawer to be moved without
interference.

T^ — Petroleum lamp with chimney. (These lamps are so well
made that they outlast, many times, the life of any other 1
know of.)

V — Chimney for the discharge of heat when not needed.

W — Chimney for discharge of heat after passing through the
incubator tank.

How to start a Hot-water Incubator. — First select as
directed a room with equable temperature, a firm floor,
and good ventilation.

Then provide a platform upon which to place the
incubator. This should be not less than 30 inches square
for a 100-egg machine. A convenient height is 24
inches. If much higher it is awkward to turn and test
the eggs.

See that this table is perfectly firm and quite level.

INCUBATION 63

and after the incubator is placed in position see that it
is perfectly level as adjusted by a spirit-level, on the
bottom of the egg-drawer, when the drawer and the
water-tray are removed. This is essential to obtain the
best results. The incubator should stand at least 8 or
10 inches away from any outside wall.

See that the capsule is in position and the platform
not bent or twisted in transit, and further that the lever
O rests in the centre of the capsule and works freely,
without catching the side of the tube through which it
passes.

See that the lever O rests under the milled screw
P in the hollow made to receive it, and that the fittings
are truly adjusted, and that the screws which fasten the
lever G to the base of the machine are not binding but
allow the lever to work freely, and also that the damper
F covers the chimney exit completely.

Now slide the lead weight H back close to the milled
screw P, and then screw down the screw P until it just
raises the damper F, and then ease it by a slight turn
till the damper rests lightly but firmly on the flue.
Then place in the water-tray, half-filled with water,
covered with zinc tray and the canvas cloth. See that
the latter is first soaked in water before being placed
over the zinc tray, and that the edges are tucked under.
If carelessly placed and the edges are allowed to over-
hang the water-tray, capillary attraction will draw out
all the water and wet the wooden floor upon which the
tray rests. On the other hand, if the cloth is not wetted,
it will not draw up the moisture for distribution, but
will remain dry.

Next place the egg-drawer in position.

Afterwards the water-tank may be filled until the
water escapes by the overflow, which is provided by a
screwed plug at the side of the Incubator. In winter
it is better to warm the water till it is milk-warm. In
summer weather this is not necessary. It is much
better for the machine to warm slowly than to start it
at once with hot water.

Care should be taken to fill the tank with soft water,
as very hard water has a bad effect on the solder in the
tank.

Next trim and fill the lamp, taking care that the wick

64 THE POULTRY MANUAL

is not turned so high as to smoke, and remembering
that the flame increases in height as the heat increases.

The machine may now be left till the heat increases
and the damper rises. If it has been set correctly this
will occur when the thermometer in the drawer registers
97° to 98°.

As this heat is not sufficient for incubating purposes,
the weight H should be slid a few inches down towards
the flue F, and when the damper again rises, if the
temperature is not 103°, slide it further until that heat
is attained. The drawer is then ready for the eggs.

How to put the Eggs in the Incubatoo\ — They should
first be selected as already described, rejecting any that
are too large or too small, any with either a greasy or a
rough surface, or misshapen.

It is best to mark the eggs on one side with the date
when they are put in, and with the initials of the breed,
so 1^ may mean put in on the 21st instant, Minorca eggs,
or j3^ on the same date, Orpington eggs. On the oppo-
site side it is sufficient to mark with a X . These marks
are useful when turning the eggs. Better results are
obtained when the drawers are not filled to the utmost
extent. It is better to leave the corners empty.

It is better to put the eggs in with the date upper-
most, and when they are turned at night to leave
the X uppermost, as it is a convenience to have the
date uppermost when testing the eggs before turning
them in the evening.

Taking the Temfperature. — The temperature of the
egg-drawer should be taken twice daily. The best time
to do this is in the morning before turning the eggs, and
at night before repeating this operation. The thermo-
meter should rest either between two fertile eggs, or
just above them, as the machine is made for one or the
other.

It is not safe to take the temperature at other times,
as a record, e. g. if taken shortly after turning, the heat
of the drawer might not have regained the normal, or if
taken two hours after turning, the thermometer may
read too high, since the water in the tank would have
risen while the damper was down after turning, and the
eggs have become a degree or more too warm, until the
excess of heat thus gained had been let off*.

INCUBATION 65

Notice should also be taken that the damper is slightly
raised before testing in the morning. If it is down and
the eggs are a little below the right temperature, you
will then know the cause of it, and see that the lamp
is turned higher another night.

You should also see that the mercury is right in the
thermometer. A particle sometimes gets detached and
hidden at the outer end furthest from the bulb, and so
it would read lower than it actually was. This should
be shaken into position, or the bulb placed into water
heated to say, 110°, and when the mercury meets remove
the thermometer at once and the broken parts will join.
You ought also to have at least one officially tested
thermometer by which you may judge of the accuracy of
the others. This may be done by placing both in a
vessel of water heated to 105°, and seeing that they
both register the same degree of heat.

Turning the Eggs. — The eggs should be turned in
the incubator twice each day. It is better not to turn
them exactly to the same place uppermost each day.
The object of turning is to prevent the germ from
adhering to the skin of the egg lining. The germ
always floats to the top of the egg, and either allowing
it to remain in one position too long or always turning
it exactly to the same spot may have injurious effects.

If the young germ, during the first few days, gets
attached to the shell, the yolk to which it is attached
becomes broken, and a thin, red, circular line denotes
the catastrophe when the egg is held up to the light for
testing. This is illustrated on p. 53.

There are more broken yolks in artificially hatched
eggs than in those placed under a hen. The causes are :
(1) the egg remaining too long in one position ; (2)
overheat in the temperature ; (3) weak germs.

Position of the Eggs. — It is advisable, on turning the
eggs, to change also their position in the incubator.
Those from the corners should be moved and placed
near the middle. The corner eggs do not seem to
receive either the same amount of heat or the same
ventilation, and therefore a change is best. Hearson's
is as good as any machine for regularity of temperature
in all its parts, but one or more clinical thermometers,
self-registering, placed in various parts of the drawer
F

66 THE POULTRY MANUAL

will show which parts have registered the greater heat,
and so guide the experimenter.

Cooling the Eggs. — The drawer should be left partly
open for a few minutes when the eggs are turned. In
cold weather there is no need for this during the first
week. A few minutes the second week, and from the
10th to the 18th or 19th day from 5 to 10 minutes, but
in no case long enough for the eggs to feel cold to the
hack of the hand.

The best test is the length of time taken to regain
the required heat after the drawer has been put back.
It should regain it in an hour, or a little longer at
most. If it takes longer the eggs have been aired too
long.

Trimming the Lamp. — This should be done daily.
The best way is to turn out the lamp before one opens
the drawer to turn the eggs. This prevents the heat
of the tank increasing while the eggs are out to cool.
After the eggs have been aired and the drawer returned,
trim the lamp. It is better to turn all the eggs before
trimming the lamp, as one^s fingers are cleaner and less
liable to soil the eggs.

Testing the eggs has already been partially described,
together with the advantages of so doing. The various
stages of incubation, as shown on p. 53, will be a help
to the beginner.

The fancier who would like to observe carefully the
various stages in the growth of a live chick in the shell
from the 1st day till the 21st can best observe this, if
he has fertile eggs of little value, by taking an egg out
each day, and after testing by holding it up before a
strong light, in a darkened room, lay the egg on its
side. Then gently remove a part of the shell and the
skin on the upper side, when he may observe the embryo
floating quite at the top. After thirty-six hours he
may see the heart pulsating and the little network of
arteries. By the 4th day the network of arteries is
much enlarged, and the curved position of the embryo
may be seen with the head and tail meeting. By the
7th day the chick begins to open out, the head is
largely developed and the eye is plainly seen, and the
chick is capable of movement, and the day following
the head is larger than the whole of the rest of the

INCUBATION 67

body, and the eye a large black speck as large as a
small pea. From this time the development is very
rapid. Of course this is not the way to test chicks you
wish to hatch out alive. But it shows what you may
expect to see while looking through the more or less
transparent shell when you are testing.

The 1th or Sth day is the best time to test. — A white-
shelled egg is the best to try at first. On holding the
egg erect with air-space or thick end at the top, the
body and head of the chick will be seen in the centre
with the blood-vessels branching on either side, looking
more like a black spider with red legs than anything
else. This is shown on the plate (p. 53). The best
way to test is to take up the egg as it lies naturally
on its side in the drawer, holding an end with the fingers
of either hand. Hold this up to the light of a duplex
lamp with the chimney (but without the globe), and
hold the egg so as to intercept the whole of the light.
The light is better if placed 6 to 12 inches belozv the
level of the eye. As the chick floats at the top with
the yolk beneath it, covered with the network of veins,
the upper half of the egg will be opaque, and the lower
portion clear. The difference between such an egg on
the 7th or Sth day is observable in an instant, and
where the egg-drawer and the light are conveniently
placed, two or three minutes is ample for testing 100
eggs. By testing them in this position, holding them
in a horizontal position (and not erect), there is no dis-
turbing of the position of the embryo, and so less danger
of inj ury as well as more speedy testing.

An addled egg, or one containing a dead germ, is
cloudy in its appearance, and the veins are indistinct,
or if the death has occurred a day or two before, not
observable at all. And as the dead mass has no net-
work of veins to hold it i?i situ, it moves about with the
slightest turn of the shell. These eggs should be
removed, as they soon taint the air in the egg-chamber,
as well as chill the other eggs every time the drawer is
opened.

An unfertile egg is as clear at the end of 7 or 8
days as on the first day, and when such an egg is
broken the yolk will be found intact and quite distinct
from the white, and without any smell. Such eggs are

F 2

68 THE POULTRY MANUAL

as good as new-laid eggs for making cakes or pastry, or
even for frying. If simply boiled they have not the
same fresh appearance, and they are apt to taste a trifle
musty if used for making a custard. Those who prefer
to feed chicks on boiled egg or custard will find them
useful for this purpose.

A Broken YolJc. — There are nearly always a few eggs
in which the development has been stopped after the
first few days by the germ having become attached to
the shell. All the arteries break and the blood flows
to the line of attachment and makes a circular line
round the egg. This is shown on the plate (p. 53, Figs.
2 and 2a). On opening such an egg the yolk will be
found to be as fluid as water. These should also be
removed or they become decayed.

On the 14<th or 15th day they should be tested
again. A living chick will have filled the entire egg,
except for the yolk not yet drawn into its body. The
egg is opaque throughout except at the thin end, and
perhaps a few veins may be seen at the other end. The
air-space is enlarged and clear. Chicks that are not
developed, but only partly fill the egg, like those tested
on the 7th or 8th day, should also be removed.
Examine one as a test of your judgment, and you will
find a dead chick. If in doubt mark the egg with ?
and look at it again later on. Such eggs are a danger,
especially those which only half fill the shell, as they
smell badly, and may explode owing to the gases which
result from the decomposition of the chick.

After the l^th day it is better not to turn the eggs,
and it is not necessary to air them on the 20th day,

A higher temperature is often observable during the
last week of hatching, as the heat of the living chick is
added to the heat from the tank.

Burn the lamp zaith a loxver flame, or even alter the
lead weight H by moving it back a little if the heat
rises above 105°. And if your room is unfortunately
one that gets hotter in midday turn out the lamp
altogether for an hour or more to prevent undue
increase of temperature.

If the room keeps a fairly steady temperature of from
50° to 60° in all weathers there will be little need to alter
anv arranijements, and the same is true of winter and

INCUBATION 69

early spring, but there is no incubator on the mm'liet
which can adjust itself perfectly, if the room in which it
operates is liable to great fluctuations of temperature.
In this respect the hen is supreme. Her body keeps
fairly constant in temperature in all weathers, and
where there are only few chicks needed I prefer the
hen for summer hatches and summer rearing.

Do not he fussy and open the drawer too often when
the chicks are due. The eggs need moisture during
this period. If you feel under a hen when hatching
she is like a vapour bath. Opening the drawer too
often lets out the moisture and chills the eggs. It
should only be done for an instant once or twice at
most in the day, to take out chicks that are dry and
can stand well on their legs, when they should be
removed to the drying-box at the top of the machine,
with which all good hot-water machines are provided.

Moisture. — The question of moisture is still the crux
in dealing with artificial incubation. Beyond all ques-
tion many chicks die in the shell which should have
hatched, and the cause of death is either too much or
too little moisture. After twenty years' experience I
think no better plan than that suggested by Mr.
Hearson has been devised. I find better results when
moisture is supplied from the start as he suggests.
Many writers suggest no moisture till the 10th day.
I do not find this to answer as well, and there are
certainly more " broken yolks " when no moisture is
added till so late a period.

The zvater in the trays should he changed once a week;
and fresh canvas cloths used. The old ones should be
washed before using again, and at the first they should
be made sufficiently large to allow for shrinkage. The
water-trays should also be rinsed and scoured with a
hand-brush to remove the mucous, and if a feza drops of
Jeyes' Fluid be added to the water all the better.

There would not be so many complaints of over-
moisture if the eggs were sufficiently aired, and if the
room was properly ventilated.

Where many incubators are at work and eggs are put
in at various dates it is better to have one day of the week
fixed upon for water to be freshly placed in all the trays.

After every hatch the drawers and the bottom of the

70 THE POULTRY MANUAL

incubator should be lightly washed with water (to
which a few drops of Jeyes' Fluid have been added) and
allowed to dry before a fresh hatch is begun. Dirt
and foul smells must be avoided at all costs.

After the hatch is over, remove any eggs that may
not have hatched. A well-regulated hatch should be
finished exactly in 21 days. Some few eggs may not
have had the same heat as the rest, or the germ may
not have been as strong, and therefore the hatching is
delayed. If any of the chicks have not pipped the
shell by the 21st day they should be tested by placing
in a pail of water heated to 105°. If they are alive the
egg will wobble about. If dead they remain still. If alive
the shell should be gently broken at the thick end,in that
portion zvhich floated above the water-line, which is the
air-space. If the chick is living its beak may be
liberated, but care should be taken not to make the
enveloping membrane bleed. If it does not bleed when
moved it is a sign that the chick has absorbed the yolk
and that the inmate is fit for liberation, and more shell
and membrane can safely be removed. Chicks are
occasionally saved in this waj?^, but, as a general rule,
it may be taken for granted that a chick which cannot
liberate itself is weakly, and has a poor chance of
survival, even if it be set free.

It is interesting to examine all eggs which fail to
hatch, and to try and ascertain the cause of failure.
Some will be found dead at various stages of growth,
from the 7th day onward to the 18th. These I usually
mark in my list as dead in the shell. Others have even
pipped the shell, or are ready to do so, and these I
mark as "failed to hatch."

If the yolk is burst or unabsorbed, and the contents
are sticky, it is a sign of overheat during some portion
of the hatch. If the skin is dry and the air-space large,
there has probably been a lack of moisture, or the shell
has been too thin and porous. If, on the other hand,
the egg is packed like a sausage and there is no room
for the chicken''s head to liberate itself, there has been
too much moisture, or the eggs have not been " aired "
sufficiently.

In some cases where the chick has not hatched it will
be found that the legs and feet are misplaced, and the

LNCUBATION

71

toes, instead of being folded like a half-closed hand, are
either sprawling open, or the legs are crossed, or the
toes bent and crippled. This may be the result of a
violent shaking, or noise, or through the chick being
suffocated and the limbs being displaced in its struggles.
A tabulated list of results should be kept by every one
who hatches on a large scale ; recording the number of
eggs put in, the number of unfertile, broken yolk, dead
or addled, " failed to hatch," cripples, etc., together
with a list of temperatures. An ordinary note-book,
such as a quarterly rent-book, with its 13 columns and
cash columns makes a handy and suitable book to
record the hatching season for a year, and a comparison
of the one list with the other and noting the results
proves an excellent guide for future operations. Crippled
chicks will mostly be found either living or " failed to
hatch," from weakly stock or hens which are too fat.

Jan. 1.

Hearson 100-Egg Ijscubatob

Due Jan. 22.

a

W
J

g

lJ

o

p

J

13

«

BREED

o

R

<

S

a

REMARKS

Black Orpington .

30 10

4

4

__

12

Buff Orpington .

20 4

—

—

16

White Orpington

24 2

—

1

1

20

Black Leghorn .

30 0

2

—

—

—

28

104 16

6 1 5

1

-

re

= 86%.

In arriving at the percentage the 16 unfertiles are
deducted from the 104 put in. The total hatched is
divided by the number of fertile eggs left in the
incubator, so 76 -7- 88 = "86.

A list should also be kept of the temperatures, thus —

TEMPERATURE

DATE

<&

g

M

i%

« 2

REMARKS

0

0

0 S

^5

a. >

ft H

Jan. 1

Eggs put in, 104

86°

42°

131°

103°

103°

» 2

30

40

185

103

104

>, 3

42

48

126

108

108

„ 14

50

55

124

104

104

Air eggs 10 niin

„ 18

43

48

127

105

105

,, ,, 15 min.

„ 21

48

48

126

105

105

Eggs chipping.

„ 22

—

—

—

—

—

76 chicks hatch.

72 THE POULTRY MANUAL

Thus, if in my list of temperatures I find the
incubator has been on several days too low a tempera-
ture, I can account for the lateness of the hatch ; or if
it has been too high I can account for a premature
hatch, or for broken yolks or cripples.

If I find, as in the " Black Orpingtons," a large number
of unfertile eggs, I am led to expect a larger number of
delicate germs showing " broken yolk " or " dead in
shell,"" and I am led also to look to the health, or the
mating of the stock birds.

I can look back for nearly 20 years and see the record
of every hatch of eggs, and though "all mysteries ^ are not
cleared up, because " all knowledge " has not arrived,
yet many things are clear which once were puzzles.

When Nature has taught the hen to hatch every
fertile egg, and especially the eggs of prize-bred stock,
then, and not till then, can Ave expect the incubator
to do the same. Most practical men will agree that
the incubator will hatch out a greater percentage of
strong chicks during the cold months, and, if well-
managed, as many in the warm weather also, and
mortals should expect no more than this.

The Hot-Air Incubatoe

I have written so much about the hot-water incubator
that little space is left to speak of the more recent
hot-air machines, Avhich are so popular in America, and
are becoming increasingly popular with us.

Many English fanciers use them exclusively. The
cautious man uses both, and finds by experience which
kind suits him best, for the situation has a great deal
to do with the matter after all.

Personally, I have had as good results from one as
from the other, and the great merit of the hot-air
incubator is that it is less trouble to manage, and its
initial cost for a good machine is also less. The hot-air
machines, like most things American, are not made so
substantially as English-made goods, and I doubt very
much whether their life of usefulness would be so long.
But they do their work effectively and are very
ingenious.

From actual use of various kinds I find the most

INCUBATION

73

useful to be The Cyphers Standard Incubator — the
cost of one for 140 eggs being a trifle over £h.

They are sent out ready to start work, except the
fixing on of the legs, which are numbered and attached

Fig. 9.— sectional VIEW OF INCUBATOR HEATER

A — Top-cover casting. B — Warm-air pipe casting. C — Upper
flange casting. D — Exliaust-pipe casting. E — Lower flange
casting. F — Connecting chimney casting. G — Air-spaced
asbestos jacket covering entire exterior of heater, 2J inches
thick. H — Fresh-air chamber, in which pure fresh air drawn
from outside the machine is thoroughly warmed before it passes
into the machine through the warm-air pipe, B. Lamp fumes
or carbonated air cannot gain access to this chamber. K —
Large escape flue connecting with primary lamp-flue or chimney,
I, by means of connecting casting, F. This insures all lamp
fumes and gases of combustion being discharged in the outer air,
where they cannot gain access to the incubator. The outline of
lamp-burner shows position of lamp in relation to heater. L —
Escape-flue for surplus heat, which is controlled by the tin disc
shown above it, and which disc is operated by the regulating
device.

by screws — a very simple affair, which any person can
do in a few minutes. Full directions for working the

74 THE POULTRY MANUAL

machine are sent out with each incubator, with diagrams
showing the adjustment of the different parts. As
each machine stands on legs which raise the height of
the top to 3 feet 6 inches, there is no need of a table.

It must, however, stand perfectly level and firm, and
should not be placed too near to an outer wall, but be
removed some 8 or 10 inches away.

In these machines there is no tank for hot water, and
there are no water-trays to be placed beneath the eggs.
The whole of the moisture needed is supplied (a) by
the egg itself, and by (b) the moisture in the air which
is diffused by means of a woollen diaphragm placed over
the top of the egg-drawer. As there is not direct
admission of air to the egg-chamber the moisture of
the egg is not stolen from it, and the fresh air which is
taken up into the machine from the outer air, by a
fresh air passage by the side of the central cone of the
lamp, is heated on its way and then diffuses itself
through the diaphragm over the eggs, and out by another
chamber underneath the eggs. This operation is best
explained by the sectional view of the incubator heater,
which is appended.

Important improvements have recently been made in
the Standard Cypher Incubator, and the latest form
of it should be obtained. The appearance of the
machine is very attractive. The latest development is
shown in the accompanying illustration. The advantage
of this style of incubator is that there is no bother
about supplying moisture, and less danger of fouling
the machine through neglect. The arrangement for
turning the eggs is of the simplest. The double-
panelled glass door shows the way the chicks are
hatching, and is a source of great pleasure and astonish-
ment alike to children and grown-up visitors, as the
chicks alight when hatched from the egg-tray upon a
canvas bottom underneath, which serves as a drying-
box, and the door need not be opened till the hatch is
completed.

When it is found that a little moisture is required,
an arrangement is made and sent out, to provide this
during the last few days of incubation. Or a simple
and effective plan is to moisten a cloth in hot water
and spread it out on the tray which is beneath the eggs.

INCUBATION

75

The warm air soon absorbs the moisture. In cold and
wet weather I have never found the addition of moisture
in any form necessary or desirable. A guide to its
need is found by judging of the air-space in the egg
when testing on or about the 18th day (see plate of
eggs, page 49). If it is unduly large, moisture may be
required. Directions are given in the book sent out
with each machine.

In this incubator the eggs need very little airing or

Fig. 10. — Standard Cyphers Incubator

cooling, as fresh air without direct draught is supplied
all day long. The eggs should not be turned after the
19th morning, and the drawer should not be opened.

As there is no hot- water tank with its solid body of
heat to overcome, should the outer temperature rise,
there is less danger of overheating, and I have found
fewer eggs with broken yolks than in any hot-water
incubator.

The regulation of the heat, in this, as in the hot-
water machine, is largely dependent on the management
of the lamp, which should only be turned high enough

76 THE POULTRY MANUAL

to give sufficient heat. In either class of machine, hot
water or hot air, the damper should only be lifted
about Y^g inch when the proper heat is attained.
Unnecessary heat is not only wasteful but dangerous,
as the raised damper does not let out all the heat
but only a portion of it.

In hot weather, this type of incubator, like the hot-
water type, is best worked in a room of equable tempera-
ture, and though it is less difficult to manage in ill-
adapted places, it does best in such suitable situations
as I have described.

When the chicks aj'e hatched, if not too many in
number, they may be allowed to rest in the drying
chamber for 24 hours. If, as often happens, this is
overcrowded, the strongest of them should be taken out
and placed in a rearer, which has been prepared for
them, or under the hens which are to brood them.

Marking the Pedigree of the Chicks. — Before
treating of the methods of rearing, a few notes on the
best way to mark the chicks is desirable.

It often happens that the fancier desires to dis-
tinguish the chickens hatched from some particular hen,
or more frequently to mark the progeny of one pen of
birds from those hatched from another pen of the same
breed.

Pedig^ree Hatching-trays. — One of the advantages of
the Cypher machine is that in addition to the ordinary
tray upon which the eggs are placed for hatching, the
makers issue pedigree-trays which have several distinct
compartments into which the chickens fall when they
hatch, and from which they cannot escape to mix with
other chickens until they are liberated by the attendant.
This tray is only brought into use on the 19th day,
when the eggs are turned for the last time. These
eggs, all of which should be marked on the small end the
day they are collected from the nest, or at least on the
day they are put down for incubation, may then be
placed in distinct divisions of the pedigree-tray, and
then replaced in the incubator and let alone till the
hatch is over.

Whether the pedigree-tray is used, or other methods
are adopted, such as taking out particular eggs and
placing in another incubator to hatch, or under a hen,

INCUBATION

77

the chicks should be marked before being put into the
brooder.

Toe-punching. — The best method, because of its
simphcity and the readiness with which it is done, and
the indelible nature of the mark when once impressed,
is by punching a small round hole in the web of the
chicken's foot.

Instruments for this purpose are supplied by many
makers and only cost a few shillings. So many breeders
are now using the toe-punch that the mark is no
longer a distinguishing one between one breeder and
another, and the Poultry Club has given its sanction
to the use of a toe-punch which makes a small round
hole only. The breeder should make his chart of marks
at the begiiming of each season and always have it at
hand, taking care that the same pen is always marked
in the same way.

The marking is quickly done and practically painless,
and it would not be difficult to mark 100 chickens in a
few minutes. If any of the tiny holes should show signs
of growing up again after a few days, the operation
should be repeated, when the hole will be permanent. I
append a simple chart for one breed only. It is very
seldom indeed that so extended a list would be required.

Chart for Marking Chickens

NO. OF

HEN OR

PEN

BREED

RIGHT
LEG

LEFT
LEG

REMARKS

1

White Leghorn

^l\

/l\

Palace cock and 1st Dairy hen

2

0

,, ,, and V.H.C. Dairy

3

0

4

0

1908 Club Show cock mated to
own daughters

his

5

0 0

1908 hen mated with her son

6

0 0

7

0

0

Utility pen

8

0

0

9

0

0

10

0

0

Thus ten distinct pens could be marked with not
more than two marks for each chick, and the number
could easily be widely extended.

This method is far more simple than placing a ring on
a chicken's leg, as this requires changing from time to
time, and there is a danger of its growing into the leg.

78 THE POULTRY MANUAL

and so laming the chick for life, or of the ring becoming
detached and getting lost. The toe-mark need be a
guide to the operator only. It should prove an invalu-
able guide for future mating, and when used in connec-
tion with the trap-nest should give him the pedigree of
each bird in his yard. As the chick grows, a numbered
ring could be worn to give the date of hatching, or
such further particulars as may be worth recording.

CHAPTER IV

ON REARING CHICKENS

It is easier to hatch chickens than to rear them, and
many a chick of champion pedigree, which might in
turn have been the champion of the year, has been lost
through the ignorance or indiscretion of its owner.

Moreover, valuable chicks can be bought for two or
three shillings apiece when a day or two old, and, if
properly reared, would be worth as many pounds apiece.
The value of rearing is, therefore, a very great part of
the poultry-keeper's business.

The rules for correct rearing are, in the main, only
such as common-sense and a knowledge of the chicken's
constitution will dictate. Treat them as you would
treat little children. Give them suitable food, of the
right kind, at frequent intervals, and not too much at
a time. Exercise special cleanliness both in feeding
and bedding. Let the water or milk be sweet and
clean. Do not overheat or overcrowd. Let them have
plenty of exercise and fresh air, and there you have the
whole thing in a nutshell.

Like many other directions this is easier said than
done, and a few detailed hints must therefore be given.
A whole treatise might be written if all sorts and con-
ditions of chicks were to be considered, and much must
be left to the reader's discretion.

To start at the beginning, when a chick is hatched
Nature has provided it with food enough to keep
it alive for a week. If you want a demonstration
of this break open a common egg on the 19th or
20th day of incubation, and notice the large umbilical
sac which contains the greater part of the yolk of the
egg, unabsorbed in the process of the chick's growth.

79

80 THE POULTRY MANUAL

It is only waiting for the chick to breathe and to
break its shell before being drawn up into the body,
there to be absorbed as the chick's food.

Notice further, that when you hatch out a weakly
chick, or a cripple which you have not the heart to kill,
and allow it to remain in the drying-box, it will live
for a whole week without either food or water.

Note again, if a chick should die at the age of 3 or
4 days, and you open it for examination, you will find
part of the yolk still unused.

A chick needs little food for the first feiv days. This
is Nature's lesson. It is better to keep the chick tvithout
food or ivaterfor 24 hours. If incubator-hatched allow
it to remain in the drying-box. If under the hen leave
it in the nest. And for the first few days feed
sparingly. Thousands of chicks die through being
gorged with food, from diarrhoea and indigestion thus
set up. Of course, chicks will eat at once, and often
survive and thrive if fed on unsuitable food, in the same
way some children would live if fed on half-bricks or
hob-nails ! You simply cannot kill them. But this is
no more the maimer of feeding a young aristocrat than
a prize-bred and delicately-born chick. And just as
some children are born with livers, and are jaundiced
from birth, so are some chicks, which absorb enormous
yolks, many of which are of too bilious a nature.

Is Wet or Dry Food best ? — The dread scourge of
chickenhood is diarrhoea, and many fanciers firmly
believe that soft food is the cause. Other fanciers
declare that chicks fed on dry food never attain their
proper size. Both are right. The best food for the
first few days is a collection of small seeds, such as
is supplied by Armitage Brothers, the original vendors,
or Spratfs Chikko, or similar "dry chick food." A
little hard-boiled egg and stale breadcrumbs is not a
bad start, if given sparingly, and only as an alternative
meal with Chikko. The point is not to give much for
a start, and always to provide fine grit for the chicks
to peck at from the first.

Soft food undoubtedly builds up the body faster, and
to greater size, and after the first 10 or 14 days, when
the chick has got well on its legs, soft and dry food
should be given alternately, with hard grain for the last

ON REARING CHICKENS 81

meal. To continue hard corn only for any lengthy
period may be useful to grow Bantams, or to produce
hard and short feather, but can never provide bulk
and bone, Avhich most fanciers desire in the popular
breeds.

A Chicken Dietary

For the first few days chicks want little and often,
and should be fed every two hours, and as above
recommended, but dry food should predominate.

Or they may be fed on canary seed and groats or
pinhead oatmeal.

After the first few days a little biscuit meal scalded
is a good food midday or between the feeds of dry food,
or a feed of boiled rice, boiled whole and dried off' with
finely ground oats or sharps.

A good dry chick food is made up of

3 parts canary seed,
2 parts millet seed,

1 part hempseed,

2 parts groats,

1 part finely cracked peas.

Some of the patent foods, such as " Cereal Meal,'*'' are
first-class food to be given after it has been scalded
and dried to a crumbly mass — alternating this with
Armitage's dry food or Chikko.

After the first three weeks the above combination of
seeds is improved by the addition of half as much by
weight of cracked wheat. A kibbling mill should be in
every fancier's yards. They can be regulated to grind
to any size.

After the chicks are a month old a little kibbled
maize may be added to advantage. Flesh food should
not be forgotten, and a little soaked Crissel, or scraps of
meat finely cut up, is greatly relished, and should form
one meal a day, given about noon. A feed of biscuit
meal mixed with skimmed milk, or stale bread crusts
served the same way, or a little boiled potato, all form
a varied and nutritious ration of soft food.

82 THE POULTRY MANUAL

The order of meals for chicks from 2 to 8 weeks old
may be as follows : —

7 a.m. — Armitage or Spratt's Chikko.

8.30 „ — A warm meal of soft food.
10.30 „ — Another meal of dry food, cracked wheat
being added after the third week.

1 p.m. — A meal of finely chopped meat or Crissel.

2.30 „ — A soft feed of biscuit meal, to which
may be added an equal part, sharps,
oatmeal, or finely ground oats. Either
in combination or alternately.

4.30 „ — Another of the same.

6.30 „ (or later) — Another feed of hard corn.

Three feeds of soft food and three of hard and one
of flesh food. A little chopped green food, fine grass,
clover, lettuce, or dandelion should, be given at least
once a day, and may be given with the meal at noon.
Soft food should always be fed in troughs and none
allowed to lie about and get sour. The coop should be
moved daily. Even the hard food is best fed in troughs
to prevent waste, and one designed so that the chick
can eat yet not scratch out the food is the best. Do
not forget that chicks need fine grit from the first.
Provide it in a small separate vessel.

After the age of 8 Aveeks or so, 4 or 5 times a day
is enough to feed, and after 3 months only 3 or 4,
diminishing to 3 times, when they are 4 or 5 months
old. The same food as fed to laying hens is a suitable
dietary, but biscuit meals, and some of the patent
foods, are excellent for the purpose. Chickens need a
high albuminoid ratio, and flesh food or fresh green
bone should not be forgotten. Scalded bran and
Sussex ground oats are first-rate foods. (See Chapter
II on " Feeding,'' p. 33.)

Artificial Rearing or Natural ?

There are two methods of rearing as of hatching.
The fancier who wants early chicks must use artificial
rearers, as he will want chicks before there are any hens
to brood them. The method of feeding is much the
same for both, and each method has its advantages and

ON REARING CHICKENS 83

the reverse. For small numbers of chicks in the spring
and summer hens are best. For winter rearing and
large numbers foster mothers are indispensable.

Natural Rearing

The hen welcomes her brood and deserves the enjoy-
ment and rest of it after the arduous labour of hatching.
It is best to allow the chicks to rest under her wings on
the nest for 24 hours. She may either be lifted off and
fed with hard corn, or, if she is restless, a little food be
placed near her on the nest. Maize is as good as any-
thing for a few days. If smaller grain is given she will
persist in inviting her brood to share it with her, and it
is laughable to see her try to make them eat even the
huge grains of maize.

A keen eye for colour is one of the hen's instincts, but
she has apparently no capacity for numbering. She is
as happy with 2 or 3 chicks as with 20, and her brood
may be augmented or diminished without disturbing
her serenity, if the chicks are either added to or taken
from her while she is on the nest. She will also take
to chickens of any colour if they are added before she
has commenced to brood them in open daylight. But,
as a rule, if chicks of another colour than those she
hatches are put to her, she is spiteful and will soon kill
them. There are exceptions, and some hens are so
gentle for a few days that chicks of any colour may be
added to their broods. When several hens are put out
together with broods it is better either to place wire
netting to make separate runs so that chicks confided
to one hen cannot escape to another, or to place
chickens of various colours under all the hens, when
they will not distinguish a neighbour's chicks from
their own if they are of the same age. But a division
is the better and safer plan at all times, as it is annoy-
ing when a brood, say of a dozen, has been entrusted
to each hen, to find at night a score under one and
four under another.

When day -old chicks are bought, and a hen has not been
purchased with them, any quiet broody hen will take to
them if she has been sitting for a few days. It is better
to remove a few of the dummy eggs from under her,

G 2

84 THE POULTRY MANUAL

and place part of the chicks with her before entrusting
the lot, to see if she takes kindly to them, and then add
the rest of the brood. They are better left under her
on the nest for a few hours, or for a whole night, before
placing her out in a coop. Hens differ as much in
temper as their mistresses. One will adopt a brood at
any time, even as soon as she commences to be broody.
You may remove a single platter egg, and add a brood
of a dozen or more chicks, and she will take to them
regardless fo the miracle of production of a dozen chicks

Pig. 11. — A Roomy Chicken Coop made from a bacun box, with sliding door,
and well ventilated.

from a single egg. Whereas another, after sitting
three weeks, will not take to a single chick. It is well,
therefore, for the purchaser of chicks to have more than
one broody hen in readiness, or to have his " nurse "
in the shape of an artificial rearer ready for any
emergency.

The hen should he dusted with insect-powder a few
days before the chicks are due. If this has been
neglected it should be done before she is placed out
with her brood. Otherwise the body lice, with which
she may be covered, leave her to prey upon her tender
brood. Lice cause as many deaths among young chicks
as bad feeding.

ON REARING CHICKENS 85

The coop into which she is placed should be roomy
in dimensions ; not less than 24 to 30 inches square, so
that the chicks may have pure air. and room to escape
while she dusts and shakes herself.

She should be fed first with grain or coarse food
before the more delicate morsels are put down to her
brood, otherwise she may devour it all. I prefer the
hen to be cooped up, and the chicks allowed their
liberty to get in and out through the open bars of
the coop. A warm sunny aspect in winter and a cool
shady one in summer are desirable.

Water should be placed always within her reach. It
is best in a vessel she can only just reach with her beak,
and a chick vessel is ample, so that they too can drink
without getting drowned. It should be changed several
times a day in warm weather, and always kept out of
the sun's rays. Warm and fetid water is one of the
main causes of diarrhoea.

I like the coop to be lightly littered with fine peat-
moss. Too much is apt to suffbcate the chicks for the
first week or two till they are robust.

Both hen and chicks should be periodically examined
to see that they are free from lice, and special care
should be taken to see that the heads of the chicks are
free from the insect known as the " tick." (See next
chapter on " Insect Pests.")

No soft food should be left about to get sour, as
this is also a common cause of diarrhoea. If the chicks
are seen to suffer from this complaint, boiled rice, boiled
with the grain whole (and not in a pulpy mass) and
sprinkled with a little powdered chalk, is a good pre-
ventive. It should be remembered, however, that
diarrhoea is sometimes hereditary in chicks hatched
from diseased stock, and may not be due to sour or
improper food.

The coop should be frequently moved so as to prevent
the accumulation of food on one spot.

If the chicks are feathering badly a little flowers of
sulphur sprinkled on their food is a help.

The age they should be taken from the hen depends
on the weather and on the hen herself. In cold weather
they may stay till seven or eight weeks old, if the hen
broods them kindly. But care should be taken to see

86 THE POULTRY MANUAL

that they are not overcrowded, and when they go to
rest around the hen or on her body they are better
without her. In warm weather they may do without
a hen after a month. Care should be taken in the
summer that the combs of the Mediterranean breeds,
especially of the cockerels, do not get " sprung" or over-
grown through too close contact with the hen's body,
or from the heat of the rearer.

Ventilation. — The front of the coop should not be
shut up too closely. Chicks must have sufficient venti-
lation. It is not sufficient to have a few holes bored
in an otherwise closely shut-up coop. A 3-inch space
either of open bars or of fine-mesh wire-netting should
be allowed. And in summer weather, where there is
no danger from cats or vermin, the whole coop is best
left open.

The number of chicks to a hen depends on the size of
hen and of the coop, and also on the weather. Nine or
ten are plenty in winter, and twelve or fifteen in summer
are about the usual limits.

A cool brooder may be provided after they leave the
hen. Or if the coop is ample in size they may rest in
the coop they were reared in, with a good thick bedding
of hay or peat-moss. The first few days after the
change from the hen to loneliness is the particular time
to notice. After they have got over the change they
thrive better without than with the hen. If the nights
are cold and the hen has been taken out, or neglects to
brood her flock, a storm-lantern may be placed in the
brooder, as described in my smaller book. Poultry Culture
for Pi'ojit. The Dietz Victor lamp is the best I know
of, and costs only 2*. Qd. The lamp should be protected
by a coil of wire-netting fastened to a board, and the
lamp placed inside the circle. If the wire is covered with
sacking to keep out the dust so much the better.

One of the small poultry houses, about 4 feet 6
inches X 3 feet and 3 to 4 feet high, makes a capital cool
brooder. If vermin are about, the house should either
have a wooden floor, or be covered at the bottom
with fine-meshed wire-netting, so that rats cannot
burrow underneath.

Green bone is one of the very best foods to form
bone and frame in growing chickens. If given in large

ON REARING CHICKENS 87

quantities it forces the growth too rapidly. One pound
is ample for a group of sixty chickens, eight weeks old,
and for forty chicks when four months old.

It should not be given when chicks approach maturity,
unless it is desired to bring them on to lay at an early
period.

Artificial Rearing

There are very many good rearers on the market,
both hot-water and hot-air machines. One of the best
is at the same time one of the oldest, Hearsoii's Hydro-
thermic Rearer. It has three compartments : (1) A
sleeping chamber, which is heated by a copper tank,
the water of which is heated by a lamp placed on the
outside ; (2) a nursery, which has a wooden floor, and
is covered with a glass roof; (3) an outer run upon
the grass. It is an expensive rearer, but is well-made
and has a long life, and is invaluable for rearing early
chickens. It is as easy to rear them when snow is on
the ground and keen frost is in the air as in the genial
springtide. This is a Mot-water Rearer. There are
other good hot-water rearers in which the tank only
partially covers the surface, around which copper
tubes run, raised a few inches above the heads of the
chicks. Only rearers with copper fittings should be used,
as others speedily corrode and get out of order. The
hot-water rearers, if well made, are naturally the
most expensive on account of the copper fittings, and
the necessity for their having a good wind-proof lamp
attached to them. I find these the best for winter and
early spring rearing.

Hot-air Rearers, like hot-air incubators, are cheaper
to buy, and if a good one is selected and managed with
care they do very well. In all these rearers the heat is
gained from a paraffin-oil lamp. These may be divided
into two styles, (a) The Etiglish machines, which have
the lamp in the centre of the rearer, surrounded by a
guard of perforated zinc, or fine-meshed wire, with a
metal cone or hot-air chamber over them, which
refracts the heat ; or (6) the American type, in which
the floor of the rearer is raised, and the lamp placed
underneath. In this case there is a bottom of galvan-
ized iron, with a raised cone to receive the heat of the

88 THE POULTRY MANUAL

lamp, and a wooden floor on the top upon which the
litter is spread, and upon which the chicks are placed.
The raised zinc cone in the centre of the sleeping
chamber gets heated. This is surrounded by a wire
guard, and covered with a revolving top, which can be
raised higher as the chicks develop in size. A fringe
of woollen material encircles the top, and under and
between this fringe the chicks nestle. Arrangements are
made for the admission of pure air from outside, and
this is warmed, and allows a constant current of fresh
air to circulate. Such a rearer as the last one de-
scribed is made by the Cyphers Incubator Company,
and I have used it successfully for several seasons. The
bother with them is the difficulty of trimming and

Fig. 12. — British Chicken Rearer.

tending the lamp, especially in boisterous weather.
With a little experience they are easily managed, and
if they are kept clean they give highly satisfactory
results. These rearers are rather heavy and cannot
easily be moved about, and the exit to the grass on the
lawn wants banking up with earth to make a decline.
They are best fixed near a wall or upon a cindered path,
otherwise the earth and grass in the vicinity get quickly
soiled.

There is one of these rearers seen at the extreme left-
hand corner of the view of the open chicken rearing
space on page 18, Chapter I on "Housing." Another
American rearer is seen in the " Avenue "" photo on
page 19, which is useful either as a rearer for young
chicks, or as a cool brooder.

The British rearers are mostly after the type of

ON REARING CHICKENS 89

the white rearer shown in the centre. These are 6
to 7 feet long and 2 feet wide. The space on the left
is the sleeping chamber, the centre with the smaller
window is the chicken nursery for feeding, and the
wired-in run on the right admits to the grass run. This
type as well as the hot-water rearer on the right of
the picture are easily moved about daily to fresh
ground. One of the best is the " Perfection " rearer
made by Phipps, of which an illustration is shown, p. 88.

The heating lamp is of the hurricane type, and is
placed in the centre of the sleeping chamber. There are
cavity walls around this, and fresh air is admitted from,
the outside at the bottom and emerges at the top of
the inner chamber. If the lamp is kept well and care-
fully trimmed there need be little smell ; but after all
the care which can be dispensed they are not so pure in
this respect as the American type with the lamp outside
and anderneath, nor are they as free from draughts.
Still, I have used them with considerable success for
many years.

The chief danger in all these rearers is in not being
able to regulate the heat properly. If the chicks get
overheated they contract diarrhoea or colds, which are
detrimental to their growth. Their success depends on
the care and attention of the attendant, and in seeing
that they are not overcrowded.

The feeding of artificially-reared chicks is the same
as that of those reared naturally. This has already
been described. The water should be placed in the
middle chamber for the first week, and in the outer
compartment on the grass run afterwards.

The grass run should be used from the first, or after
the first few days. The sooner chicks are hardened off
the better, and as soon as they are strong on their legs
they should be allowed to run on the open grass, in an
extended run encircled with wire-netting 18 inches or 2
feet high, and of 1-inch mesh. Get the chicks upon
fresh ground by constant moving.

There are a feio donHs to be observed.

DonH overheat the chicks. For the first week from
85° to 90° is ample^ and afterwards 80° is sufficient,
and 70° to 75° after a fortnight. They want greater
heat in cold weather, and more when tiny than after-

90 THE POULTRY MANUAL

wards. The true test is that they lie comfortably
about the whole of the sleeping compartment, and
neither pant for breath nor huddle together in one
corner.

DarCt overcrowd. — A rearer that holds 50 to start
with is overcrowded when they are three weeks old ; 30
is a good number to run together, and more than 50
in a group should never be attempted, even in the
largest rearer, unless as a temporary expedient, and when
you are likely either to sell a part of them or are pre-
pared to divide them. Economy in the number of
rearers is false economy.

DonH neglect to clean the rearer out regularly. Never
let it smell foul from the accumulation of excreta, and
donH neglect to trim the lamp daily, and to change the
wick frequently. Remember the lamp is always burning,
and even with best oil (which should always be used)
the wick soon gets choked with dirt, and then combustion
is not perfect. A good brand of oil is known as
" White Rose " which is better than " Royal Daylight."
Russian oils should never be used ; they are too
gross.

Don''t overfeed the chicks. Keep them hungry and
expectant for the next meal, and don't leave food to lie
about to get soiled or sour.

DonH let the water get warmed either by sun or the
rearer, and see that the vessels are well rinsed out and
the water changed constantly.

DonH forget to disinfect the rearer from time to time.
A few drops of Jeyes"* Fluid and water removes all
traces of bad smell and prevents stuffiness.

Keep the chicles growing. — Any check in chickenhood
from malnutrition, lice, or colds means stunted growth
in the adult stock.

If well attended to chicks will grow and develop in a
rearer as quickly and make as fine birds as those reared
by a hen. A clumsy mother may crush or kill a
chicken now and again, or a poor one may forsake her
brood, but carelessness and inattention to little details
may spell wholesale loss, or deterioration of a large
brood in a rearer.

Have a spare lamp always ready in case one goes
wrong. The hurricane lamp is the breeder's best

ON REARING CHICKENS 91

friend, especially in hurricane weather, which every one
should expect in the early part of the year.

Remove the chicks to a cool brooder as soon as they
can safely be moved. The more air and the more free-
dom they can get the better for them, and the more
robust stock birds they are likely to make.

CHAPTER V

INSECT PESTS

The losses in the poultry yard, both among the
young and the adult stock, through parasitic infection,
are very great indeed. Cleanliness is a major element
of success.

Without any attempt to give a scientific description
of the very numerous insect pests that afflict poultry, it
may be briefly stated that there are three distinct groups
of insect and mite pests, viz. : (1) fleas, (2) biting lice,
(3) mites.

The Flea affects the poultry house, with the laying
nest and the sitting box, and they feed upon the blood
of the fowl. They are only found in dirty and neglected
places. If the old straw, hay, or other material of the
nest were cleared out once a month they would seldom
be found. It is the same with the sitting box. The
material should be changed after each hatch of chicks.
The flea lays her eggs (nits) in these places, and the
warmth of the hen hatches them. The nits give rise to
little white maggots, and a wriggling mass of them may
be found at the bottom of a neglected nest. These
larvae take two or three weeks to mature, so that if a
nest is clean to start with there is little chance of any
being found at the finish of the hatch.

The most frequent cause of their presence is a broken
Qg^. If this soils the nest material, and it is allowed
to remain, fleas are sure to generate.

If a hen on the nest breaks an egg it should be at
once removed. The remaining eggs should be washed
in water of a temperature of 105°, and the whole of the
hay or other material of the nest be removed, and fresh
hay put in its place. A little of Jeyes' Fluid sprinkled
in the bottom of the nest, or a few drops of creosote,

92

INSECT PESTS 93

mingled with the surface of the soil before the hay is
placed in position, will prevent a recurrence. And the
same treatment should be followed if from any other
cause fleas or their larvae are found. The feathers of
the hen's breast should also be cleansed. Thousands of
valuable sittings of eggs are spoilt every year through
neglect of these simple precautions. In a well-conducted
poultry farm fleas find no home.

Lice are much more difficult to deal with and are
very numerous in variety. One kind aff'ects chickens
and another adult fowls ; one kind afl'ects the head and
another the tail ; and others, different parts of the body.

The dust hath is Nature's remedy and the fowls' chief
means of effecting a riddance. Lice subsist chiefly on
the skin and feathers of the fowl, and cause intense
irritation. Adult fowls ought to be periodically examined
and dusted with pyrethrum powder, which is almost as
effective, and very much cheaper, if mixed with an
equal weight of flowers of sulphur. The male stock
bird in particular should be frequently dusted.

The deaths from lice among young chicks are very
numerous ; and wherever a chick appears to be ailing
and its wings drooping, and it goes about with its
mournful "peep, peep," lice may be suspected.

One kind which affects the head and neck of the
chick and commonly called the tick, is especially fatal,
and pyrethrum powder does not seem to kill it. They
cling very tightly to the skin of chickens, and are
difficult to clear away. Pyrethrum powder mixed with
a little salad oil and applied lightly Avith the finger,
removes them, or a similar application of white pre-
cipitate ointment very sparingly used. Chicks should
be periodically examined to ensure their entire freedom
from their greatest pest. The bodies of the chicks, as
of the hen, can be cleared from ordinary lice by the use
of pyrethrum powder.

The Mites are another scourge. These are of two
main kinds.

The Red Mite, which infests the poultry house and
the nests. It is found, when present, usually under
the ends of the perches upon which the fowl roost.
They are very minute in size, and in colour vary from a
pale grey to a blood red. The younger ones are pale,

94 THE POULTRY MANUAL

but the adults are charged with the hfe blood of the
fowl upon whom they feed at night. They live in the
crevices of the house, or in any crack or unevenness of
the perch. Poultry cannot thrive in an infested house,
and thousands of hens are killed upon the sitting nest
through their infestation. They multiply with alarming
rapidity, and often swarm where least suspected.

The best cure I know of is a liberal application of
creosote to the house, both inside and out.

Creosote is not valued by the poultry keeper as it
ought to be. It is cheap, and can be obtained from
most tar works at about 6d. a gallon, when bought in
quantities. It is very useful for colouring and preserving
houses instead of paint, and it is a sure cure after two
or three applications to any house, no matter how badly
it is infested. The ends of the perches should be soaked
in creosote, and the perches periodically washed with it.
Half water and half creosote makes a strong solution,
and its effect is heightened if a piece of washing soda as
big as an egg is added to each bucketful. The perches
should be allowed to dry in the open air before being
replaced ; and if a house is so badly infested as to
require all the crevices inside to be treated with it, the
fowl should be removed and the house well aired and
dried before they are replaced.

Feather Eating or Depluming Scabies is the other
kind of mite. It lives at the bottom of the feather of
the fowl, and is so irritating to the birds that they
pluck the feathers out to get rid of the pest, and often
thus learn a vice which is difficult to cure. Fowl may
often be seen with the feathers eaten off close to the
skin, and with necks and heads nearly bare. An appli-
cation of creosote ointment, i. e. pure creosote (not the
commercial product), about six or eight drops mixed with
an ounce of lard and worked well together is sufficient ;
and this should be rubbed over the affected parts.

It is not a pleasant matter to write of these things,
and to think that our feathered friends are not as dainty
as they seem. But if we care for them we shall give
them the means of ridding themselves of their pests by
the ever-present dust bath, and cleanse their houses and
nests, etc., for them, since we compel them to use these
for our benefit.

CHAPTER VI

WEEDING OUT THE CHICKS

The best stock in the world and the most carefully-
mated pens will only throw a limited proportion of
really high-class stock fit for the show-pen. The
exhibitor's aim is to separate, if not to clear out, all
the second-rate birds as soon as he can, and to devote
extra attention to the most promising part of his flock.

Separating the Sexes. — One of the first duties is
to separate the sexes before the cockerels become trouble-
some. In the lighter br.eeds, such as Minorcas, Leghorns,
Anconas, Campines, Hamburghs and other non-sitting
breeds, this should take place when they leave the hen,
or when they are removed to cool brooders. A Leghorn
or a Campine will often crow at this age, and sometimes
as early as six or seven weeks. The precocious cockerels
fight among themselves, and worry the pullets, which
cannot grow for molestation. Both sexes grow better
when they are in separate runs.

The heavier breeds, such as Brahmas, Cochins,
Wyandottes, Orpingtons, Rocks, Dorkings, Langshans,
etc., need not be separated so early, as they live in
peace together till three months old, or longer. But
the presence of the female sex brings on the cockerels
to early maturity and stunts their growth. They should
be separated before they become quarrelsome.

Where distinct pens are kept for cockerel- and pullet-
breeding, and space is limited, the breeder only wishes
to keep a few of his pullet-breeding cockerels, as the
supply always exceeds the demand, and many breeders
kill off a half or more at a very tender age, even before
they are ready for a chicken-pie. It is from his point
of view waste of time and money to rear more than he

95

96 THE POULTRY MANUAL

is likely to want or be able to sell, and, unless he is one
of the fortunate ones with an established reputation, it
pays better to kill and eat than to grow to adult age
and sell for a few shillings, which barely covers the cost
of the food they have consumed.

In some breeds careful observation can distinguish the
sex as soon as they are hatched. The size and shape of
the head, the colour of the legs, or the distinguishing
markings of the head are a sufficient guide to the
expert, e. g. Black Leghorns with yellow legs and beaJcs
are nearly always cockerels. Barred Rocks very light
in fluff colour and with a large patch of white on their
heads are nearly always cockerels, while any that are
entirely black, with dark legs and no white spot, are as
certainly pullets. In the Mediterranean breeds the
comb of the male chick is usually larger and paler in
colour from the start.

It would be dangerous for the novice to act upon
these hints, but they may serve as a guide to his
observations, and if he marked a few chicks, by toe-
punching or otherwise, and then watched for results to
test his judgment, he would, after a time, rarely make
mistakes.

If he either cared to kill a chick, or wait till one
died, he could, on opening it, see the male organs, or
note their absence, in two tiny specks, the size of canary
seeds on either side of the spinal vertebrae.

In self-coloured breeds of the heavier races, such as
Orpingtons or Wyandottes, it is very difficult to distin-
guish the sexes, even at from 8 to 12 weeks old. The
combs of both sexes are then about the same size, and
the wattles have not begun to develop— these latter
often afford the first indication.

The gi'owth of the tail feathers is another sign. Tlie
cockerels feather more slowly, and the tail feathers are
not, as a rule, developed at such an early age.

The saddle-hackle is often the first real test, as the
growth of these longer, narrower, and more pointed
feathers is a sure indication of the male sex. It often
happens that a cockerel has been placed among the
pullets in error, and the first traces of the saddle-hackle
feathers is the earliest definite indication of sex.

In the laced, pencilled, or barred breeds the signs of

WEEDING OUT THE CHICKS 97

sex are more readily determined — as well as the signs
of the waster — sooner than in the self-coloured, though
the Jirst feathers are by no means a sure indication of
what the final plumage will become, e. g. the Partridge
Wyandotte looks more like a barred bird than a
pencilled one until the adult feathers shoot out, at the
age of 3 or 4 months, and the breast of a cock -bred
cockerel will have rusty feathers instead of black, and
the same is true of all birds of the black-red type. A
Brown Leghorn cockerel that may develop into a
champion looks a perfect mongrel at 8 or 10 weeks
old, with a brown breast and a general appearance of
rustiness. The breeder knows this, but the novice may
easily err in judgment.

Mismarked cockerels of the lighter breeds are usually
plump and good eating at 3 months old, and are worth
more for killing at that age than at any other. After
the spurs begin to shoot, and the head-points develop,
they soon get scraggy and tough.

Fatal Faults

There are certain " serious defects "" which may be
observed at an early age, and mark out the chicken as
a " weed " from the fancier's point of view. These the
reader will find detailed at the end of the " standard
of perfection " which is drawn up for each breed, e. g.
"any bodily deformity ,'"* such as crooked toes or
shanks, spinal curvature, deformed beaks, etc. In all
four-toed breeds the possession of more than the re-
quired number ; and in all clean-legged breeds, traces
of feather on the shanks, which never moult naturally,
and vice versa, clean-legged specimens of feather-legged
breeds are serious blemishes. Very faulty serrations of
the comb in Leghorns, Minorcas and most of the
Mediterranean breeds, or side-spikes in any of the single-
combed breeds, are the indications of " weeds." A rose-
comb in a single-comb breed, or single-comb in a rose-
combed breed, is necessarily a fatal defect. Decidedly
wrong colour of the leg or of the lobe are also fatal
defects, though more caution is needed in rejecting
these, and more details may be useful.

Leg-colour changes with the development of the

98 THE POULTRY MANUAL

bird, e.g. a yellow-legged bh-d has quite a dusky or
bronze cast at 3 months old, and in some breeds, and
some strains, the leg-colour does not clear until
maturity, and, in the case of pullets, not until they are
about to lay. If the bacJc of the shank and under the
foot is yellow there is hope for improvement in the
scales which cover the front.

The zvhite-legged varieties are often a pale yellow at
the time of birth, and frequently retain the yellow cast
until about 3 months old, when the colour changes to
white, at the same time as the adult plumage begins to
appear. A chick whose legs are of a bluish shade
rarely improves.

Black or darJi slate-coloured legs are rarely, if ever,
black in chickenhood, and almost follow the same rule
as the black plumage, in which the more white the
better at the time of hatching. The top of the shank
may be dark, but the lower portions have a yellowish
or pale flesh-coloured tinge, and, as a general rule,
those with the palest tint at birth have the best colour
afterwards.

Singularly enough, some yellow-legged birds, e.g.
White Leghorns, are almost white at first and deepen
in colour to pale yellow afterwards.

The whole series of these changes is more or less ot
a mystery, and I am inclined to think that these marks
of chickenhood have their tale to tell of the origin of
the breed, just as " the embryonic changes in the foetus
of viviparous or oviparous animals, in the womb, or in
the egg, pass roughly and rapidly through a series of
forms which represent the succession of their ancestors
in the past." Does the yellow cast of the White or Buff
Orpington chickens^ legs indicate their descent from
the Buff Cochin? Or the pale tint in the White
Leghorn its alliance with the White Minorca ? These
are only suggestions, which might be multiplied
tenfold.

It is evident that chicks should not be rejected by
the novice until the approach to maturity or its actual
arrival.

The Lobe. — This adornment is of vital value in the
show-pen. Its development is late in the growth of the
chick. Nearly nil breeds are hatched with red lobes

WEEDING OUT THE CHICKS 99

which are of a pale tint, those of the white-lobed
breeds, the Mediterranean race, being a trifle larger
and more prominent than the Asiatic or American
breeds. As the chick grows the whiteness appears, but
it is often tinged with red, and should not be rejected
on this account. It is usually very small in area till
the adult feathers have been fully grown. It develops
with the growth of the comb, and often doubles itself
in size in the few weeks before laying commences. The
cockerels' lobes develop more rapidly than the pullets'.
Traces of red in a white lobe, or of white in a red one,
most frequently disappear. But when either blemish is
very marked and covers a large proportion it rarely
altogether passes away.

The Plumag^e. — There are great changes in plumage
colour both at the time the first chick feathers appear
and when this is cast at the age of three months, or
later, for the adult plumage.

The white fluff" is succeeded by black feathers in all
the black breeds, as Orpingtons, Minorcas, Leghorns or
Langshans, and the more white there is about the head
and breast the more brilliant the final plumage is likely
to be. The black of the Barred Rock changes into the
black and white bars, and the curious Game coloration
of the Campine does the same, though no one would
think such a change was possible. When various breeds
are crossed together it is singular how the colour of the
young chick reverts to that of its black-red ancestors
at a similar age. The colour of the body of a black-red
chick is fawn with a broad brown stripe running down
the back from beak to tail and narrow alternate bands
of black and white on either side of it. Darwin calls
attention to this fact as one of the indications of a
common origin.

The Fluff — It is too early to judge much till the
fluff stage is past in most breeds. But a black spot
upon a buff chick's head is a sure sign of black or
mottled plumage later on, just as a big white blotch
and light fluff' is a sign of a too light Rock cockerel.
Smutty or slate-coloured fluff' in any buff" breed at any
age is a serious defect and is never overcome.

When a black chick is black all over at the time of
hatching it rarely, if ever, finally attains to a brilliant

100 THE POULTRY MANUAL

black plumage, though a black chick with brown fluff' at
the time of hatching often develops all right, though
sometimes there are traces of brown in the flights, or
of red feathers in the neck.

The Flight Feathers are one of the most import-
ant parts of a bird's plumage, and an important indication
of its value as a breeder.

ChicJce?i flight feathers are not much of an indication
until they are cast for the first adult moult.

Black chicks commonly have several white flights,
especially the outer feathers. They cast them at various
ages, according to the vigour of the bird, the time of the
year when it is hatched, or from other causes. Some
new flight feathers are usually seen at three months old,
and they are a most valuable indication of the chick's
probable worth.

I have said white is succeeded by black, but when the
second feathers come white, or partly white, in breeds
whose plumage should be pure black, it is a serious de-
fect. When the inner web only of the feather should be
black, it is equally serious if this is smeared with white.

A more marked defect is when the secondary feathers
show this defect, i. e. the outer feathers which appear on
the surface when the wing is closed. Such birds are of
little value for the show-pen, even when the other points
are good, and a cockerel showing these defects is worth-
less as a breeder of show stock. Where the Avhite is
slight or occurs in transverse bars it is often caused by a
stoppage in the growth of the feathers at some stage,
but even then it is a sign of weakness. As I have
remarked, in another part of this book which treats of
the various breeds, this is not so serious a defect in a
two-year-old bird, as there is often a lack of colour pig-
ment at that age which would not reappear in the
progeny, or at any rate not in its first year.

Chicken Feathers. — Novices should notice the
difference in the shape of the adult flights from those
of chickenhood. The latter are narrow, and pointed at
the end, and are succeeded by broader feathers with
rounded ends. It is these broader feathers which should
be noticed in examining a half-grown chick. These
pointed feathers are an indication of chickenhood but
not a sure test of age. I have known late-hatched

WEEDING OUT THE CHICKS 101

chicks retain many chicken feathers till twelve months
old, while other early-hatched chicks have cast them all
at five months.

In huff" breeds the first flight feathers are oiten faded
in colour and white at the tips, and the bird appears a
waster, but these feathers are commonly followed by
others of a pure buff colour, and of a deeper shade.
When the new feathers appear with much white in
them, the bird is either a waster or second-rate, and the
same is true when the inner portion of the flight or
secondary feathers is black or much pencilled with black,
or when the fluff* is either pure white or smutty.

Such are some of the indications which should deter-
mine the breeder to weed out his stock, or at least to
separate them into various groups.

Cull them severely, and pay special attention to the
best. That is the advice an experienced and successful
exhibitor would give. If such a one could pick out one-
fourth of his chicks at three months, he would expect
to cull these again later on, and the breeder who gets
one good bird in ten is a-fortunate one. It is this scarcity
of high-class specimens which makes them so valuable.
Of course the percentage of good stock varies with the
different breeds and with the successive seasons.

I have had years when 50 per cent, of the stock of
certain pens were fit to exhibit, and indeed have been
shown and won, and other years when not 10 per cent,
have been of the same relative merit. This is not only
to be accounted for by the difference of the luck of one
season, as compared with another, but the standard of
perfection is progressive. It is not that your birds are
not as good this year as last, but some other breeder or
breeders have made a step further in advance than you
have, and your best are not good enough. Hence the
need of untiring effort, and of the study of the minutest
details. To be as good as the rest of the field,
and when possible to lead it, is the fancier's aim. Every
spring-time the annual struggle is renewed, and just as
Nature gives us a hundred blossoms for one ripe fruit, so
in the struggle for pre-eminence the ninety-and-nine
have to fall behind. Now and then there are individual
birds which approach perfection and carry all before
them for the year, and then years elapse before another

102 THE POULTRY MANUAL

as good is produced. The standard of excellence is by
no means uniform year after year, and many a timid
owner, either indisposed to compete or afraid of the
ordeal, keeps back the best bird of the year.

Where room is limited it pays best to kill early and to
kill often, as there is more room to hatch and rear others
and to bring up the best only. Ninety-nine novices out of
one hundred are afraid of this. They see a prospective
winner in every chick, and learn slowly to recognize values.

Where room is unstinted the division is still necessary,
though the slaughter may be less. The pullets always
have a value above killing-price for laying and for
breeding stock. The rankest waste in the Fancy is to
keep on worthless cockerels, till they are twelve months
old or more, in the hope of a sale which is never realized,
and then to have to make soup of them or give them
away. Seeing that Avild birds go about in pairs, where-
as the average number we keep is not more than one
cockerel for half-a-dozen pullets, it is obvious that
" cockerels were made to kill and be eaten," and the
more so that a merciful law now forbids us to enjoy the
sport of seeing them kill each other.

Utility stock is often furnished from these mismarked
chickens, and those who have room to rear them and the
business capacity to sell them, may find it more profit-
able to keep the robust portion of them to mature age.
These birds are only roasters from the fancier's point of
view. They are as good as his best, and often better,
for the breeder who only wishes for table-birds or eggs.
The very fact that they are mismarked is often an in-
dication of vigour, as it points to a reversion of a former
cross, or is indeed the direct result of one when the
right kind are few and the evident hybrids many. To
kill or to keep depends on circumstances.

The final selection is more difficult. There are no
perfect birds, and specimens which approach the ideal
are few and far between. In addition to size and style,
or type and carriage, there are head-points, such as
comb and lobe and colour of the eye, to consider, to say
nothing of the dress or plumage.

The eye colour is difficult to determine at an early
age, as it changes in colour, like the eyes of infants,
which change from blue to hazel or brown in their early

WEEDING OUT THE CHICKS 103

years. A good black-eyed chick is nearly black from
the first, a liquid, smoky black. But a red-eyed chick's
eye is first of a yellowish-green hue, which changes from
yellow to orange, and finally to red. Needless to add
many of them stop at an intermediate stage, hence the
common failing of daw-coloured eyes in Leghorns and
Buff and White Orpingtons, which should be red, and
when found form one of their most attractive features.
A light eye in a dark bird never deepens in shade after
it is half-grown. On the other hand, a black eye
commonly turns bay or red with advancing age. The
question of dominance is treated in the chapter on
Mendelism, but the whole question is a difficult one,
and need not trouble the fancier in his weeding-out
process till the final stage. A collection of data on the
various changes in shade from the time of hatching
until the final chicken moult, and any further changes in
the second year, would, however, be of interest and value.

In colour of plumage and marl^ing alone there are
but few which approach perfection, and this is particu-
larly the case with barred, pencilled, or laced breeds.
A glance at the plates of feathers so beautifully drawn by
my friend, the Rev. J. N. Williams, from actual feathers,
taken from some of the most perfect specimens bred in
1908, Avill give an idea as to the fancier's aim. But it
must not be expected that one bird in a hundred will
show its entire plumage in so perfect a form. There
may be individual feathers even on some of the " wasters"
which are comparable with them, but the tout ensemble
is a different matter.

How to estimate the values of the different parts is
an art not to be described in a single brief chapter. It
is the study of years, and needs the eye and skill of a
born fancier to understand and to appreciate. More-
over, it is only partially true to state that " Like begets
like."" The converse is often nearer the truth, as the
intelligent and appreciative reader of the various
chapters describing the numerous breeds will understand.
Many a specimen not fit to grace an exhibition pen is
almost worth his weight in gold as a breeder. If the best
always bred the best, money would win in a canter every
time. The longest purse would buy the best and breed
the best, and the lead once attained would always be kept.

104 THE POULTRY MANUAL

That it is not so is the hfe of the Fancy, maintaining
its interest, and giving an opening to every one who
has sufficient patience and skill to take a place in the
front rank.

I have attempted to indicate the qualities necessary
for breeding, but the methods of achievement are as
various as the many roads which lead to London, and
I have only drawn a sort of map which points out one
way which the wayfarer may take with some degree of
safety and pleasure.

The last two months of the chicken's growth to
maturity may sometimes be, to the fancier, the most
disappointing of the whole period. The neck-hackles
and wing-bars of his black birds may develop coloured
feathers, or the wings of his buff may grow " mealy," or
the black feathers may come in the tail. His white birds
may put on too yellow a colour, and so rob him of his
golden dreams, or the rust on his Brown Leghorns corrode
his hopes. His chances even at the best are as fickle as
the weather-chart in the spring. He may pick out a good
" breeder " here and there, and if he has luck may find
a Derby winner now and again. Among the best only
one can be first, and the best horse may not win after
all. But as it is " better to have loved and lost " than
" never to have loved at all," so the true fancier goes
merrily along, and if he fail now and again he keeps a
brave heart and hopes for " better luck next time."

To turn again to the sorting-out process— that period
of blighted or budding hopes — the fancier will find,
roughly, three divisions.

(1) Cockerels and pullets to kill, and some of the
latter, as of the former, do for simple utility purposes.

(2) Birds more or less approaching the standard, and
of various values for breeding purposes.

(3) Those likely to make exhibition stock, some for
minor, and a few for major shows. He will often find a
fair proportion of the former, and as like as " Tweedle-
dum and Tweedledee," none standing clear away from
the rest ; many fit for a place in the race, none certain
to win. Happy is the fancier who knows a good one
when he sees it, and happier still when he finds that his
estimate has been a true one, and the reward of the
trophy repays him for the season's toil !

CHAPTER Vll

PREPARING POULTRY FOR EXHIBITION

In the previous chapter I have intimated that it is
not always the best bird which wins. I now go a step
further and say that the best bird is not always in a fit
condition to be sent to an exhibition for competition.
It may be the best in size, shape, perfection of plumage
and all the other points which make an ideal specimen,
but unless it is in perfect " condition," and unless the
plumage is shown in a cleanly state, unsoiled by dirt
and unfaded by sun and exposure to the weather, it has
little, if any, chance of gaining the premier award, or
even of being " noticed " at all.

When the breeder has selected his best birds, he has
the further task before him of preparing them for ex-
hibition, and if he has bought a bird in show condition,
even if he has paid a stiff price for it, he has to keep it
in show form, or a specimen worth pounds speedily
becomes worth only as many shillings, and altogether
worthless for the show-pen.

It is the art of doing this which places the profes-
sional exhibitor or the experienced amateur at so great
an advantage over the novice, who fails to show his
exhibits to the best advantage. The following hints
may be of advantage to him, though there is no teacher
like experience.

Preliminary Stages. — As the poet is said to be born
and not made, so the ideal chick is the product of care-
ful mating, and no care can convert a mongrel into a
prize specimen. But the best chick ever born may be
ruined by careless rearing.

A prime factor in the sum of success is health and
vigour from the day of hatching to the day of exhibi-

105

106 THE POULTRY MANUAL

tion. A chicken ailment allowed its course, even for a
short period, may so blight and stunt the growth oi
body, or damage the colour and growth of the feather
as to destroy all chance of success. " Condition " goes
a long way to ensure a prize. Care is therefore
needed from start to finish, and by " care " is not
meant coddling, but the reverse. Where the chick has
healthy conditions all along it is astonishing at timess
how little else is needed in some breeds to ensure
success. Different breeds require different treatment,
and there are few rules which apply to all breeds alike
more than the general one of taking care of health,
stamina, and growth.

The breeds with large combs, like Minorcas and Leg-
horns, are often spoilt at an early age by enforced
growth through stimulating foods, or the cockerels'"
combs are ruined by remaining too long under a hen,
or being allowed too long in a heated rearer. The
combs are pressed over to one side instead of growing
erect, or they are prematurely sprung, and although
they may grow erect they frequently develop " thumb-
marks," as they are called, i. e. hollow indentations on
one side, as though the thumb had been pressed into it
while in a plastic state. A little early care in removing
such chicks— if from a hen, and the weather is cold, into
a " brooder "" not overheated ; or if from a rearer into
another of less heat — would save them. Over-crowding
has the same result and from the same cause, overheat.

The attainment of size depends more on feeding, free-
dom of range, and the separation of the sexes than
upon anything else, providing the chicks are hatched
from large and healthy stock.

The removal from, one fen to another also has a
marked eff'ect, just as a change of scene affects the
health of the holiday-seeker. It keeps the frame de-
veloping and checks precocious maturity. When a
pullet is about to redden up and develop her comb
previous to laying, the change from- one pen to another
will check this development, and as she never looks so
well as when she is about to begin her life''s Avork of
filling the egg-basket, it is better to have her in this
condition at the time of exhibition, whenever this is
possible.

PREPARING POULTRY FOR EXHIBITION 107

To secure good comb and lobes is an important matter.
" Head-points " very often count for more in the
show-pen than they do in the scale of points, and they
certainly form one of the most attractive features.

This is more important in the Mediterranean breeds
than in those with smaller combs, though every breed
looks best just as it arrives at maturity. In order to
grow a good-sized comb the treatment is different for the
two sexes. We have seen that heat develops a cockerel's
comb, and often to such an extent as to spoil it. A
medium-sized comb is all that is desirable in a cockerel,
and it should be proportionate to the bird's size, and be
perfectly erect and firm at the base. As heat forces the
comb in chickenhood, so it does at later stages. A low,
stuffy roosting -house, or a perch too near the roof often
causes the comb to go over. In the same way a long
stay in a show-tent on a broiling summer's day, or at
shows in a hall such as the Dairy Show extending over
several days, often causes a comb to lean over to one
side. The same effect is caused by too much flesh meat
or stimulating foods. In such cases a comb-guard should
be used, though a bird with a well-made and moderate-
sized comb rarely needs one. Such " guards " are
advertised in all the poultry journals, and if the length
of the comb from the beak to the back of the head
where it is separated from the skull, and also the depth
of it are given, one can be got to fit. Most breeders
make their own from a piece of bent wire after they
have got a pattern. Such a guard, by pressing against
the side which leans over, keeps it erect. They are fixed
easily and in a few minutes, and after the bird has
grown accustomed to it he wears it without discomfort.
It is sometimes necessary to tether the legs, by tying a
piece of soft, stout string, or tape to the legs, just below
the spurs, leaving the legs about four inches apart, so
that he can walk but not raise the foot to scratch it off.
This may be taken off when he is used to it. Due care
in management and in breeding render this unnecessary.

Pullets'' combs require the reverse treatment. Heat is
needed to bring them into condition. Confinement in a
show-pen erected in a fairly warm, cosy place, and feed-
ing on a stimulating diet brings them out wonderfully,
and a little warm milk and bread has a similar effect.

108 THE POULTRY MANUAL

Many of the best Minorcas come from cottages where the
owner has his show-pen for training built in a shed at
the back of his kitchen chimney, and I have before
now seen them in the hving-room. In cold weather
the ideal place is in a specially-built exhibition room,
with its stove for heating as required.

The shape of the comb and its graceful fall over
to one side is often assisted by gentle manipulation
and a little vaseline. Friction causes growth and
softness, and correct falling over, when this does not
come naturally. Care should be taken that this is not
overdone, or the bright freshness of colour leaves the
bird, and it loses in condition more than it gains in
correct size and texture. A daily run on the grass,
where this is to be had, soon restores the freshness.
Comb guards are also used to train the pullefs comb to
fall over either side of the face.

The white ear-lobes develop at the same time
as the comb, and here again a little gentle manipulation
often proves of assistance both in the removal of creases
and in extending the size. They should first be washed
with a little soap and a Jlne cloth or a soft sponge, and
freed from all dirt. Then a little cream applied, or a
" lobe mixture," which consists of oxide of zinc and
glycerine. A little of this put on and gently worked
in with the thumb and finger improves its colour
and increases its size. Before putting back in the
show-pen the lobe mixture, or " emollient cream," as
it is often called, should be dried off" by dusting with
a little powdered oxide of zinc ; and before sending to
a show it should all be washed off again with a little
warmed water or milk, and dried, though it is safe
enough to apply just a touch of the powder to
dry it.

The whiteness is improved by keeping the bird in
a fairly darkened room, or by hanging a cloth before
the training-pen. This must again not be carried on
too long or the pullet loses in condition. Rough
treatment, or bruising by applying friction too briskly,
often causes the lobe to blister, and so does leaving it
in a wet condition.

Year-old birds often get the lobes rough and blistered
by the weather, and sometimes stained with red.

PREPARING POULTRY FOR EXHIBITION 109

Confinement in a show-pen, or in a cockerel-box, out of
the sunhght often restores them.

Exposure to the weather often coarsens the lobes both

1

1

^^^^^B

M----.^

^H: ^

■

^^Pv^"

■

of young and old birds, and for some time before an
exhibition they should be confined to shaded houses and
runs. When a large scratching shed with a northern
aspect is available it forms an ideal place. Such a house

110 THE POULTRY MANUAL

is shown in the adjoining plate. Birds have here ample
room for exercise, and plenty of light without sunshine
during the hot part of the day ; but they can be let out
upon a grass run in the early morning and, when the
sun is not too strong, in the afternoon, if the weather is
fine.

Red lobes, on the other hand, often show streaks or
patches of white. In some breeds, e.g. Wyandottes, a
half of the lobe or so is often of a pale colour, and some-
times quite white. The Standards allow for this up to
about one-third of the surface, but if more it is a serious
defect, and of course the purer the red colour the better.
It is a temptation to which some fanciers yield, in their
desire to gain a prize by unfair means, to cut out the
white portion or to skin it. Such practices cannot be
too strongly condemned, and when discovered should be
punished. It is not only unsportsmanlike but unjust to
others. The excuse is sometimes made that it has been
accidentally torn or pecked. It is true that a scar thus
made leaves its mark, and that there is loss of colour in
the damaged portion, but this is usually distinguishable
from a deliberate cut or other attempt at faking.

When a bird is moulting, or out of condition, these
marks or streaks of white often appear, and the remedy
is obvious. All that can legitimately be done is to give
a tonic. A little gentle friction often restores the
colour for a short period. It is also a curious fact that
where there is a latent tendency to whiteness, the bird
often shows it for one moment, and then, like a maiden's
blush, the colour comes back for a while. A pullet
about to lay often turns pale. Momentary paleness
passes quickly, and the touch of the judge's stick, as he
turns the bird for inspection, removes it. Birds which
have a tendency in this direction usually go white after
they are a year old. When they are kept up for show
purposes the tendency develops, and nothing has so
good an effect as a run out in the open air.

Shady Runs and Sheds. — This leads to another matter
of importance, viz. the necessity of shading from rain
and bright and powerful sunshine. Some birds seem to
suffer little from exposure to all Aveathers. A black hat
does not turn brown in a day, but a lady's gaily-trimmed
one may be ruined by a shower, or its colour absolutely

PREPARING POULTRY FOR EXHIBITION 111

faded in an afternoon, and so it is with the gay plumage
of our feathered friends. Even the sombre black loses
its sheen by long exposure, while a delicate buff-coloured
plumage may be ruined by an afternoon's shower followed
by scorching heat.

Brilliant plumage is secured by freedom from exposure
to the elements, and here again the man of means, the
possessor of various appliances, the man who lays him-
self out to win, has a decided advantage, though he is
often beaten by the humble fancier who uses his
judgment and makes the best use of the means he has
at hand.

The huff breeds and the tvhite suffer perhaps more
than any other from the effects of sun and rain. Very
few of the winning buff pullets at our greater shows
have had their freedom since the time their adult
plumage began to show itself above the chicken feathers,
say at four months old. They are kept in shaded houses
and runs, and only let out in suitable weather. Nothing
is more vexatious to a fancier than to find his best and
most promising pullets spoilt by a few days' exposure to
sun and rain. The back and saddle feathers suffer
most. The wet seems to linger there, and if dried in
the sun the tips of the feathers become bleached past
redemption. A few days is enough to ruin the hopes
of a year.

Buff cockerels stand the weather better. The feathers
are harder, and only continued exposure has much
effect, though it is apt to produce what is known as
" brassiness."

Barred codioxls, as Plymouth Rocks, suffer in the
same way ; and though some strains stand exposure
better than others, all are more or less affected by it.
This " brassiness " is partly a matter of breeding (see
chapter on " Plymouth Rocks "), but those bred in the
best way, and most likely to stand the weather, are as
jealously guarded by their owners as the rest.

White cockerels suffer in the same way from exposure.
In their case the white plumage turns a yellow tinge,
especially about the neck- and saddle-hackles and the
back (the places where the Gallus Bankiva sported his
red pigment in ancient days before he had any white
descendants). In many strains this colour manifests

112 THE POULTRY MANUAL

itself in spite of all the care bestowed upon them in
the matter of shade. But even those which approach
nearest to the pure albino are jealously shaded from
sun and rain combined, though they may get their
daily outing when weather permits.

The white pullets do not suffer to the same extent.
But the breeder who has a few choice birds is well
advised to shade his stock while the new feathers are
growing. If in spite of protection they are still
" sappy"' a run in the sun, curiously enough, dries up
the sap, and the birds improve in colour. All the
same, the difference in purity of whiteness between a
shaded and an unprotected bird is marked.

Other Breeds also suffer. — The delicate pencilling of
the Brown Leghorn exhibition pullet, or that of the
Partridge Wyandotte pullet, suffers if wet plumage is
allowed to dry in the sun, and the effect is more marked
if this occurs when the feathers are yet tender and the
plumage is not quite matured. It is not open air and
daylight, but the sun in the heat of summer, especially
if it follows rain, which spells the mischief

Where there are no scratching sheds facing north
as shown in the photographs, either a cockerel-house
about 7 by 3 feet and 4 feet high, which can be moved
daily (see Fig. 4) answers the same purpose ; or a canvas
frame which keeps out the sun can be hung up as a
shutter in houses or runs which face the south.

Even black breeds suffer a little, and the brilliance
of sheen such as is seen on a Black Hamburgh or a
Black Orpington undoubtedly is lessened by exposure.

Aids to Brilliant Sheen. — The bright gloss or
sheen on the plumage of fowls depends largely upon
the health and vigour of the bird,, and is itself a sign ot
fitness or condition. A pullet never looks so fresh and
bright as when she is about to commence to lay. It is
Nature's bridal dress of attractiveness. The fancier
has it in his power to produce or to augment this
attractiveness, by the use of " pick-me-ups " in various
forms. The quicker a bird gets through its moult and
puts on its new season's attire, the more brilliant it is.
Some birds, in vigorous health, need little or no assist-
ance, but in most cases a little flowers of sulphur
sprinkled over the soft food is a valuable aid, and the

PREPARING POULTRY FOR EXHIBITION 113

same effect follows the use of a little well-boiled linseed,
a teaspoonful or so to each bird, mixed with its morning
meal. It liberally supplies the oil gland, from which
the fowls dress and preen their feathers.

For dar'k-'plumaged birds a little iron in the drinking-
water is a valuable tonic ; half-a-drachm to a gallon of
water is ample. Or a little saccharated carbonate of
iron mixed with the soft food, a piece as large as a pea
to each bird, is said to have even a better effect on
account of its being more readily assimilated by the
system. If preferred it may be given in the form of
pills containing five grains of the composition. Either
of these are simple and inexpensive aids, and if the
fancier does not care to take the trouble for himself, he
can purchase them ready-made from any vendor of
poultry medicines.

Whether the effect undoubtedly produced by iron,
in giving brilliance to black or red feathers, is caused
solely by its tonic properties, or whether it adds to the
store of pigment is uncertain, though I am inclined to
think it is due to both causes. Vigour and brilliance
go together ; but as the effect of doses of iron oil white
plumaged birds is to give a yellow tinge to the feathers,
there is little doubt that it forms an addition to the
store of pigment.

Iron is hyurious to zvhite plumage, as indicated above.
A noted breeder of White Orpingtons attributed his
non-success one season to the fact that his birds were
supplied with water from a well impregnated with iron !
I am doubtful whether small doses of sulphate of iron,
such as half-a-drachm to two gallons of water, would
have any appreciable effect in discoloration. The
breeder who wishes to test the effect of iron can easily
prove the matter by giving strong doses of it, e. g. the
five-grain pill as recommended, to one or more of his
birds which are not good enough to exhibit, and to
treat such birds in every other way as he would those
whose purity of colour he wishes to preserve.

The effect of iron on huff 'plumage is doubtful. It is
said to produce patchiness. If it rendered the feathers
containing particles of black ticking more conspicuous,
as is most probable, it would not have a desirable effect.
What it is also likely to do is to augment the colour of

114 THE POULTRY MANUAL

the hackle feathers, wing-bow, and back, which is the
natural receptacle of red pigment.^

Colour-feeding and Food Effects. — In spite of the
well-known effect of cayenne and other foods on the
plumage of canaries I am not a believer in the effects
of colour-feeding on poultry. I have never yet met
with any one who has been able to produce a good buff
colour on his poultry by this means. To be of service
it must deposit the colour equally on all parts of the
plumage, and the bird must be of an eveii colour to
start. No feeding could possibly make a patchy bird
even, or even a " mealy "^ bird sound, and I believe that
few breeders attempt it. The proper method is to
breed the colour and then to preserve it.

There are certain foods which have an effect on
colour. Maize is known to have the result of turning
white plumage yellow, and is therefore a dangerous
food for white birds, especially during the time they
are acquiring their adult plumage, i. e. from four months
old until the moult is completed. If persistently fed, it
promotes the growth of yellow fat, which may be the
cause of the yellow tinge.

Red wheat is said to have much the same effect, and
it is certain that many of the most successful breeders
of white-plumaged fowl feed chiefly on oats. The effect
of feeding on maize, etc., is not so marked between the
moults.

Care during Moult is of the utmost importance,
not only in the case of growing stock, but for older
birds when they are intended for the show-pen. The
quicker an old bird moults the better. In order to
induce it, nothing is more serviceable than to allow the
broody kinds to sit, and even to rear a brood of chicks.
At other times it should be remembered that fat birds
moult slowly, and therefore to half-starve them and to
confine them in warm and sheltered quarters starts the
moult ; and when they are well started, and the demand
is great on the constitution, a more liberal supply of
food should be given.

Hanging in moult, as a protracted moult is called,

1 When a tonic is needed for white fowls, a little flesli-meat
or bread or biscuit soaked in milk is a natural one. A quinine
pill or a few drops of ovary tonic has a similar eifect.

PREPARING POULTRY FOR EXHIBITION 115

has a very bad effect, and is also a sign of a weakly
constitution. The quill or sheath of the feather does
not fall off, and this is especially the case with the tail
feathers. Then is the time for a tonic. If the use of
linseed and sulphur does not have the desired effect, a
capsule of cod-liver oil with a few drops of colchicum
wine has a good result. In bad cases it is advisable to
remove the sheath with the hand, taking care not to
damage the feather. The sheath bleaches or destroys
the colour, and a badly-moulted bird is rarely fit for
exhibition.

The effect of lice on the body is also detrimental,
and all moulting birds should be kept free from insect
pests (see Chap. V). They not only do harm to the
new feathers but also weaken the bird's constitution.
A little care more than repays the trouble, as many
valuable birds are ruined by neglect at this time. They
should also be liberally supplied with green food during
this period, and nothing is better than a supply of
cabbages, lettuce and dandelion leaves.

Leg-colour is best pres.erved by moisture, and a run
out on damp grass is the best of all. Chalky soil is said
to be injurious to yellow-legged birds, and sandy and
clay soil good for them. A little olive oil gently rubbed
in will help ; while if the birds are at all inclined to
" scaly leg " nothing is better than to wipe them with
a paraffin rag.

Moulting the Scales. — It is often forgotten that birds
moult the scales of the leg at or about the same time as
their feathers. Where they do not fall away naturally,
in time for the show, it is better to assist them. A little
gentle pressure, or the insertion of the finger-nail under
the edge will cause them to fall away. But great care
is needed not to pull them off before they are ready to
fall or the underlying one will be bruised and discoloured.
The scales, like the feathers, fade in colour. A yellow
leg is pale, and looks much brighter when the new
scales appear. Black-legged birds are nearly always
lighter — turning a slate colour after the moult — while
a dusky yellow becomes bright.

Cleaning the scales requires great care. If the legs
are dirty before sending to show, they should first be
well washed with a hard brush and soap and hot water.

I 2

116 THE POULTRY MANUAL

Frequently in light-legged birds the scales want cleaning,
like one's finger-nails. A quill of a feather, cut like a pen
with a broad point, or a match, or even the penknife will
take away the dirt. But it is better to leave it in than
to wound the flesh underneath, and great care is needed to
avoid this. After cleaning, another good brushing and
washing removes the remainder. If birds are kept clean
they rarely need anything beyond the surface cleansing.
It should be well done both back and front, as nothing
looks worse than half doing. After washing and
thoroughly drying, a little oil or a trace of vaseline
well rubbed on, and off again, brightens them, but white-
legged birds are better without any oil, and should be
rubbed dry.

Taming the Birds. — A bird is naturally wild and
alarmed when first put into the confined space of
an exhibition-pen, 24 inches square, unless it has
been accustomed to being handled. On the other hand,
almost any breed, even the wild Ancona, Leghorn or
Campine, may be taught to feed from the hand of the
attendant who, by gentle means, begins at an early age
to take the trouble of handling them. It is never safe,
in any breed, to take them right off the open run and
send to a show. Some of the heavier and quieter
breeds take kindly to the show-pen at once, but others
rush or fly about when approached, or dart into a corner
and try to hide or escape. It is, therefore, advisable
loeeks before the show to accustom the bird to a show-
pen, if only for a short time each day, until it will come
to meet you at your approach, and almost take food out
of your hand and stand being touched without alarm.
A bird that shows itself badly has great odds to fight
against.

Washing Fowls. — White-plumaged fowls very often
want washing before being exhibited. In a clean place,
where the birds have been carefully treated, I have
known even white birds such as Leghorns and Orping-
tons, and the Light Brahma, exhibited successfully with-
out washing. But as a rule they need it, and are the
better for it if the operation is well performed. Other
birds besides white birds are frequently washed, e.g.
Barred Rocks, Black and Buff Orpingtons, and all the
heavily feathered-legged breeds as Brahmas and Cochins.

PREPARING POULTRY FOR EXHIBITION 117

In many of the breeds with heavy feathering and fluff
the bird looks much increased in size, as the fluff" stands
out better after the washing. This washing is best done
a couple of days before a show.

A practical lesson is better than any description, and
the novice is fortunate who can see an experienced hand
at work.

Three things are needed to do the work thoroughly/.
(1) To get the soap well in and all the dirt out. (2)
To get the water well in and all the soap out. (3) To
dry the bird efficiently.

The utensils needed are, one or more tubs or zinc
vessels, oval in shape and capable of holding 10 or 12
inches of water ; where they can be had it is better
to have three vessels, one for hot water, heated from
105" to 110°, to wash the bird ; another to hold warm
water at about 80° for rinsing out all the lather ; and
a third for cold or only slightly tepid water for the
final rinsing. Where water is handy and only a single
bird is to be washed one vessel may suffice. A good
soap is needed, either Spratt's white dog soap, or
Sunlight soap, or better still Eux. It is better not to
apply the soap direct to the plumage, but to make a
good strong soapy solution of the consistency of jelly
first and to have this at hand for use as required.

First wash the bird's legs, and, if very dirty, in a
separate water. Then take the bird in both hands, with
the thumbs on the wings and the fingers under the
thighs, and immerse all but the head in the water. Move
it about and get the water well into the plumage right
down to the skin. Then apply the lather to one part
at a time in a methodical way. The wing feathers
should be well worked in the hand, taking care not to
break them. The back, sides, and breast should be
worked across as well as down, getting the hand well
into the feathers and fluff*. These will not readily break
when soaked well in water. The under-parts and about
the tail are the most likely to be neglected. Wash each
part till no more dirt will come out. Do the head and
neck last. A piece of soft flannel is as good as anything
to assist the hand in taking off" all surface dirt.

Should a bird faint during the earlier stages of bhe
washing, a douse of cold water will bring it round. I

118 THE POULTRY MANUAL

have washed scores and never had such a thing
happen.

After every part has been well washed, souse the bh^d
well in the water to remove all the soap, and with a
sponge remove all the lather. Then place it in the second
bath of clean warm water. For each operation soft
water should be used. Remove in this bath all the
lather, getting the water well into all the feathers and
the fluff. Rinse the bird thoroughly, for it is as
important to get the soap out as to get the dirt
removed. If any soap remains in the feathers they will
not web out properly but stick together, and a half-
washed bird is worse than one not washed at all. This
operation is not a long one if the water is ample, and
the bird is well moved up and down in the water after
the soap has been removed.

Then comes the final tub in cold water, or water only
tepid. For white birds some writers recommend a little
blue. But no amount of blue will make a sappy or
tanned bird white. If any is used it should be a
little^ and care should be taken that the colour is not
allowed to settle in the bath. The colour itself should
be in a linen bag, and only just moved about to colour
the water before the bird is put in. A washed and
dried bird which shows traces of the blue is worse than
if none at all had been put in.

Needless to add, this is of value only for white birds,
and it should not be used for buff or coloured specimens,
unless it be for Barred Rocks. I have heard breeders
commend the use of a little Candy's Fluid for black birds
as helpful for the sheen, but have not tried it, and
should doubt its value.

After the bird has been well rinsed in the third water
to remove all traces of soapiness, and to close the pores
of the skin against cold, it should be taken out, and
stood upon a table. It is generally docile enough now,
and looks greatly diminished in size. All the water
possible should be squeezed out of the bird by passing
the hand down its feathers. It is most difficult to
remove the last traces from the thighs and under the
tail. A sponge will take up the greater portion, and
then a towel or two will absorb the rest, care being
taken now to rub the feathers in one direction from

PREPARING POULTRY FOR EXHIBITION 119

head to tail. When finished, if the bird is held by
both legs firmly in the right hand and the breast sup-
ported by the left, and then the left hand be quickly
lowered, the bird will flap out and expand its wings and
tail, and they will fall again naturally into position,
as well as shake out any remaining water.

Then comes the Drying. — Fanciers who have many
birds to wash usually have a drying-box for the purpose.
They can be bought or made at home. One 4 feet
6 inches high, 3 feet wide, and 2 feet deep from back
to front will easily hold two or three birds. In the
front it opens like a cupboard. Two feet from the
ground it is divided by two or three strips of wood, and
covered with fine-mesh wire-netting, and a few inches
above this is placed a perch running lengthwise, upon
which the bird stands. On the floor is placed a lamp,
and over it, attached to the division, is a radiator to
deflect the heat, which rises into the upper chamber.
The doors of this are made of framed canvas shutters
and are closed, while the top is similarly covered. The
advantage of this is that the heat is equally distributed
over the whole compartment, and the moist air helps
the feathers to fluff out better. The heat can be
regulated as required.

The usual method of the smaller fancier is to place
the bird in an unlined poultry hamper of ample dimen-
sions and to place it near an open fire, but not near
enough to scorch the bird, or dry it too fast. The dis-
advantage of this method is that the bird will face the
fire and only one side gets well dried. Care should be
taken to see that the hamper is clean and not dirty,
and that clean straw is placed at the bottom. It is
better to cover with a sheet, either the whole of the
hamper, when the bird may be more easily turned
round, or to leave open only the part nearest the heat.

Heavily-feathered birds require several hours to dry,
and I prefer to do the washing in the early morning
and attend to the drying during the day. If done at
night the fire should be kept in and the hamper covered
to keep away cold and draughts, as nothing is worse
than to leave a bird all night in a cold room in a half-
dried state. A few drops of camphor in a bolus of
meal helps to keep away a cold, and the bird should

120 THE POULTRY MANUAL

be fed sparingly on hard corn, as it is liable to contract
diarrhoea after the ordeal, probably caused by the
excitement of it and by a chill.

After it is dry it is best placed in a sheltered pen
upon clean straw, and care taken that it does not get
soiled before the show, or by being sent there in a
hamper that is dusty or dirty. The difference between
a well-washed and a half-washed bird is very marked,
and its being well done goes a long way to ensure
success.

Straw colour in white birds shows more after washing
than before, and is objectionable from a show-point of
view. Such phrases as " Straw colour is to be avoided "
are common in the official standards of perfection. A
slight sappiness, as it is termed, is common enough in
young white birds whose feathers are still growing, or
in old ones during the moult, and such birds need very
careful washing, if indeed they should be subjected to
such an ordeal. It is a singular fact that the sun has
the power to take this " sappiness " or slight tan colour
away, and a run out in the open often produces this
effect. But the straw colour which is objectionable is that
which is either inherent in the bird's constitution (as in
White Leghorns and Wyandottes with their yellow
shanks, or White Orpingtons, which are the descendants
of the Buff' Orpington), or that caused by the sun
tanning the feathers. This remains and increases after
the plumage is fully developed.

Can this he removed? and would it be a legitimate
thing to do .? The answer to the first question is. Yes.
I have seen a bird shown by one exhibitor showing
traces of the tan after the moult had been completed,
and then bought at a low price on account of this
colour, and a short time afterwards shown spotlessly
white and awarded premier honours at a leading show.
And I believe the "bleaching" had been done by a
chemical process which left its traces on the webbing
of the feather. I have seen other birds suspiciously
white, an unnatural dry chalky whiteness, which looked
as if similar means had been employed. The practice is
said to be a common one with American fanciers. I think
it a perfectly legitimate proceeding to prevent a bird
from getting discoloured, but the method which bleaches

PREPARING POULTRY FOR EXHIBITION 121

a bird that has the colour in its system is very question-
able, and bordering on dishonesty, and is undoubtedly
so if such a bird is sold as an albino, or as a pure white-
bred bird. If ever bleaching should be declared " legal "
and right, I should have no hesitation in declaring the
method by which it is done so as to put all on an equal
footing. Till then I neither practise it myself nor show
others the way to do it. Birds can be bred and kept
white, and that is the only fancier-like proceeding.

Washing huff-coloured birds requires great caution.
I have known instances, and they are common, ot
fashionable and soft-coloured buffs being ruined and
rendered harsh in shade by washing, and of specimens
bought for £^0 or more being reduced in value to
£5 through a careless wash. This is the effect of the
alkali in the soap, heightened by the use of very hard
water. Where a bird is very light in shade but quite
even in colour, a washing has been known to deepen
its shade and to increase its value. A buff bird of the
correct shade should not be washed, and there is no need
to do so if it is carefully tended. If it must be washed
through getting soiled great care should be taken not to
use a coarse soap (a white curd soap is the best), to use
only soft water, and to wash out all traces of the soap
before drying. If a little vinegar is put in the last
rinsing I believe this would neutralise the effect of the
alkali, and make it possible to wash a buff bird without
altering its shade. It is certainly worth a trial.

Final Preparation for Exhibition. — After a bird
has got through its moult, and been trained so as not
to flurry itself in a show-pen, and fed up to a decent
condition, there yet remain the final touches to its
toilet. The legs should be washed, rubbed dry, and
polished either with or without a little oil, all traces
of which should be removed before sending it away.
The comb, face, wattles and lobes also should be washed.
A little oil and vinegar mixed may be applied to all red
parts after the washing and drying, and wiped away so
as to leave no traces of its anointing. This freshens a
bird up wonderfully. But it is better not done at all
than to leave it sticky or moist, as it attracts dirt and
makes it look worse than before washing. If the lobes
are white they should be washed and dried, and gently

122 THE POULTRY MANUAL

dusted with oxide of zinc and the powder afterwards
lightly removed.

The brilliant gloss on the plumage of dark-
coloured birds can be heightened by a final polish
iust before sending away, if a sponge moistened in
water and squeezed out be lightly passed over the back
and wings of the bird, and the dampness afterwards
taken off by rubbing lightly with a silk handkerchief.
When exhibitors are allowed to pen their own birds,
these final touches shortly before judging make a material
difference in the sprightliness of the exhibit, but as this
gives an unfair advantage to the man who accompanies
his birds to the show over the absent exhibitor who is
unable to give this attention, the Poultry Club forbids
exhibitors to pen their own birds at shows held under
its auspices, in order that all may have an equal chance.
A slight feed of hard corn should be given it before
sending away, and if the journey is long a condition
pill may be administered.

See that the hamper is clean, with a light bedding of
hay in the bottom, that the hamper is correctly addressed,
and the route by which it is to travel marked on the
label. See that these are well and firmly attached, and
correctly placed where two or more birds are sent in a
divided hamper, or you may find the birds wrongly
penned. Take especial care that the divisions of the
hamper are sound and complete so that birds cannot
get at each other and fight or get pecked en route.
Note that the label, on the reverse side, is correctly
addressed for return journey, and that the exhibits
are sent away in good time. Then having done all
you can to deserve success you can await the results.

If successful, take your victory with modesty ; it
unsuccessful, learn to bear defeat calmly. Nobody is a
greater nuisance in the exhibition world than the bad
loser. Learn by all means the causes of your chagrin,
but avoid colour-blindness when you see the splendours
of the winner. The man who cannot see the merits of
the birds that have beaten him, and who is unable to
judge a bird fairly on its merits is no true fancier. Of
course errors may have been made, for even the best
judge is fallible. The condition of the bird at the
moment of judging, the light in which it is staged, even

PREPARING POULTRY FOR EXHIBITION 123

the juxtaposition of others, may be deciding causes.
Then, too, he may have a different estimate of the value
of points, or may be quick in detecting faults of which
you yourself are oblivious. Get by all means, if you
can, his point of view, without worrying and above all
without bullying, and do not make yourself a general
nuisance whether you win or lose. The best-planned
and best-fought battle is not without its element of
chance, nor would it be good for the Fancy if it were
otherwise. Deserve success, and you will be sure to
get your fair share of it.

CHAPTER VIII

THE COMMERCIAL SIDE OF POULTRY
KEEPING

As I have pointed out in the brief introduction to
this book, the heart of the matter hes in having a love
for feathered life. Without it the business is a drudgery,
which is ill-repaid by the often meagre income derived
from it. Poultry keeping as a hobby is a delightful
occupation, and to the vast multitudes who undertake
it for this end is due the fact that it may sometimes be
made a commercial success.

There is no reason why any one of average intelli-
gence should not make his poultry repay him for the
trouble bestowed, and it is probable that none of God's
living creatures so amply and readily reward the owner
for his care. But to make it the sole business of life,
from which the maintenance of a man and his family
may be derived, is quite another matter.

To look upon the calling as a sort of oasis in the
desert — an Arcadia of life, where fruits grow without
the planting and watering, is little short of a delusion.
Many have made a shipwreck of their hopes in attempt-
ing it, and some have burnt the boat which might have
carried them into more suitable harbours. It is an
old wives' fable, which survives like many another super-
stition, that " poultry farming pure and simple " is a
ready road to an affluent and easy life. By " pure and
simple " is meant keeping a large number of poultry
simply for the purpose of supplying the market with
eggs and dead poultry. The answer to such a false
notion is the simple statement that many have tried it,
and none have found it to answer, or, if any have done so,
they have kept the fact a profound secret. That the

124

THE COMMERCIAL SIDE 125

cottager who keeps twenty or thirty head of poultry
has made enough profit out of them to pay his rent is
no answer to the question. He has no extra rent to
pay for the tiny plot of ground they occupy, or, it may
be for the lane in which they wander, and nothing to
pay for labour, while the food bill is low because of his
garden and the scraps from the house. The case is
different with the poultry farmer. He has to rent land
for so many poultry to be kept in health. The fitting
up of his houses and runs, and the wear and tear of
them, is a costly item. Unless he is favourably situated,
the cost of taking his goods to the market is no trifle,
and either means hiring a conveyance or the keeping of
a horse, while his food bill is a very heavy one, since it
has all to be purchased. I have known men, and there
are many such to-day, who earn a labourer's wage by so
doing. They can keep body and soul together by their
efforts, and if they are adapted for the work, and are
fortunate, a little more, but not much. Such poultry
farming, when not on too large a scale, is an admirable
adjunct either to a small independent income, or as a
help to other forms of earning a livelihood, such as
keeping a cow ortwo, market -gardening, or a sedentary
occupation within doors.

The work is very delightful as an outdoor recreation,
and is ample to keep an intelligent pensioner from ennui
or idleness, and is a welcome supplement to other means,
but when it is the sole means of existence it must be a
great worry, and a sorry source of earning one's bread
and cheese. I know that there are delusive books, fairy
tales constructed on magnetic arithmetical lines, which
narrate such easy problems as, " If 4 hens cost £\ a year
to keep, and lay eggs, which at \d. each bring in £% or
£\ profit, then 400 hens will bring in d^lOO,' and 4,000
hens ^£'1,000, etc., etc. Other misleading descriptions
are based on such simple statements as that a single
hen will bring in 30^. a year! Multiply this by 200
and you have dS'SOO a year — a cottage and a couple of
acres being all you need to accomplish it, since every
hen will lay in the winter 100 eggs, which sell at 2<y. a
dozen ; and those she lays and hatches in the summer
will find a ready sale as day-old chicks at a guinea a
dozen, etc., etc. When a new breed is discovered with a

126 THE POULTRY MANUAL

clockwork interior which needs only a yearly winding-
up, and is guaranteed to keep time, then " success will
be certain." Meanwhile we wait !

The road to fortune is simply told, but no allow-
ance is made for the cost of labour, capital invested,
methods of the disposal of stock (particularly of the old
stock), the liability to disease, and the fluctuations of
the market. If these schemes were practical on a
colossal scale, millionaires would be as plentiful as black-
berries in the autumn, to be found on every roadside ;
and the Chancellor of the Exchequer's burden be
wonderfully lightened as he looked around for " hen
roosts to rob" when constructing his Budget.

Briefly, it may be put down as a very good average
result that if a poultry farmer on this system gets a
return in profit of 5s. per head he is doing well. And
if he has 400 birds to look after, and has to raise his
yearly flock of chickens to replace the old ones, he will
be fully occupied. Where one man does this twenty
fail to do so ; most who have tried it have to be content
with less, and very many have failed to make both ends
meet. But, it will be said, " There are poultry farmers
who earn a good livelihood as the result of their efforts."
And the answer is, " Yes, there are many who do so,
but it is not by such methods." Their ways are equally
" pure," but not equally " simple." These are men who
have made a study of the business, and have not taken
to it because they have failed at everything else. They
have either served an apprenticeship to the business
with those who have already been successful, or have
served the longer apprenticeship of experience. One
man in a hundred of such leaps into fame and promi-
nence in a year or two, but he has usually been born
with the proverbial " silver spoon in his mouth," and
has means in reserve, and, in addition to this, has
shown real aptitude for his calling. But the ninety and
nine others who have succeeded have begun, after tuition,
in a small way, and finding their love of the work
not wane with their experience, have laboured steadily
on, and so achieved success which increases year after
year, and most of these have " other strings to their bow."

There is no other calling I know of which makes
more strenuous demands upon the whole man, physical

THE COMMERCIAL SIDE 127

and mental. He must not be afraid of work from early
morn till late at night. In all weathers — hail, rain, or
sunshine — his poultry must be attended to. If he has a
keen eye for colour and for minute details his chances
of success are enlarged. He must know how to plod on
and persevere in spite of difficulties, for he is certain to
meet with them, and often has to wait in patience for
the turn of the tide. Success comes to him who not
only strives, but who has also the patience to wait.
The " haste to be rich " person falls into the snare.
To achieve success a man needs to know how to buy
and to sell, how to estimate values, and how to distin-
guish between things which differ. He should be a
good correspondent, prompt, clear and obliging. If
he has the best of knowledge, that of the nature of
his fellows — the knowledge of mankind — he will find
it a valuable asset, just as he Avould in any other calling
in life.

In these days, too, he must know something of the
art of advertising. It is no use having good things
to sell unless he can induce people to buy. He must
go with the times. It is pure folly to dress the shop
window with last season's goods. For some breeds
there is a demand. He must be ready to supply
them. For others there is little or no demand, and
he is the prosperous man who knows how to create
one. This is not the work of a day. All may acquire
the qualifications in some degree, but it is more of a
gift than an acquirement.

The man who makes a real success at poultry
farming is usually one who would succeed in any
other business to which he gave the same thought
and attention. But he has listened to the call of the
country side and been attracted by its wooing. Some-
times it has been the call of necessity. An open-air
life has been pronounced as indispensable for the pre-
servation of health, and many a one has sought and
found it in this way, and an enfeebled frame has been
made robust, through walking in the ways of the
simple life.

Some may say that the qualifications I have briefly
sketched point to an ideal incapable of attainment,
like the " ideal standard of perfection " sought for but

128 THE POULTRY MANUAL

seldom found in the birds bred and exhibited. The
answer is, that just as scores of birds which are far
removed from the standard win the honours and prizes
of the show-pen, so many persons achieve success with
only a modicum of the qualifications named. But they
must have something of all of them or the}^ are doomed to
failure, and the greater the measure of their capacity
the greater are the chances of their success. It is no
sphere for the incompetent and idle, and the bulk of
the failures which occur in this, as in other calls of life,
is due to the rash and inconsiderate rush into a busi-
ness for which nature never intended them. It is not
that they have followed a will-o'-the-wisp which has
a morbid ending, an ignis fatuus leading to death, but
that they have been allured by vain hopes of their o^vn
imagining — the hope of a life of rural ease and content,
of reward without labour. The rapid road to fortune
has not always been found of their own seeking, but
pointed out to them by those who have sinister designs,
whose aim is not to provide a fortune for another, but
to rob him of the little he already possesses. There
are traps for the unwary in this as in every other
calling.

If it had not abundant charms and reasonable pro-
spects of remuneration I should not have written this
book, but I would point out to those who would enter
its portals the inscription written thereon, "Let none
enter here who would lead a lazy life, or who expects
reward without labour."

If I have wandered from the path of prose I will
return to it and say that the people who make a decent
livelihood out of poultry farming are not those who
keep hens simply to supply the table with fresh eggs
and dead poultry, but those who breed pure-bred
poultry of the more popular breeds and varieties, and
sell the eggs for hatching purposes, and raise stock
and sell them to others for breeding or for exhibition, or
exhibit the birds in their own names.

These may roughly be divided into two classes —

(1) Those who breed chiefly for exhibition purposes,
and by means of exhibiting and advertising their stock
get enhanced prices for them, as well as high prices for
the eggs they sell for hatching.

THE COMMERCIAL SIDE 129

(2) Tho.se to whom exhibiting is onlv a minor part,
but who breed high-class stock, and sell a great number
ooth for breeding and for lavina; to the very large
number of patrons who like to see pure-bred stock
about them. The love of the beautiful is happily on
the increase, and when beauty and utility are combined
there is much to be said in its fayoui'.

Both of these classes sometimes add another feature
to their business by selling newly hatched chickens.
The demand is steadily increasing, and tens of thou-
sands are sold every springtime to those who have not
the means, or do not care to take the trouble, to hatch
for themselves, as well as to those who like to obtain
fresh blood for their yards in this way, aud to rear their
own stock birds.

There is a third class which makes a special branch
of supplvingyjf(iiovre layers, bred from stock, carefully
selected aud tested by means of trap-nests, and in
other ways. These are also usually pure-bred stock,
and the prices realized for eggs for hatching run
from 5^. to \0s. 6d. a dozen and find a readv sale.

Sometimes all three departments are combined, for
it should be remembered that, mitil a breed has been
destroyed in its utility properties, by an undue straining
after some pui'ely arbitrary and " fancy " point, pure-
bred stock are as good or better than any mongrels
for supplying either eggs or table fowl. Indeed, one
may go further and say, that it is entirely due to the
fancier that we have breeds and varieties of fowls that
will lay from 1-50 to 180 eggi or more in a year. The
absolute mongreldom which still predominates in the
average farmstead, and in the tiny yards of so many
poultry keepers, would have been universal had it not
been for the fancier and his carefully selected stock.
A\Tien such keepers of cross-bred stock count the eggs
at all, they often rejoice at an average output of 100
eggs a year, and many are content with 80 or 90, a
record that is equalled by the fanciest of faney fowls
whose utility qualities are on the wane, and doubled
by those which have been bred with an eve to utility as
well as to fancy points.

The "fancier," therefore, has eggs to sell for the
table as well as for breeding purposes. He only wants

K

130 THE POULTRY MANUAL

eggs for hatching from January to May, and for the
rest of the year has to part with his surplus of eggs
for consumption, and he often has them in greater
numbers than his purely utilitarian neighbour. He
also has birds for the table, and that at a time Avhen
they fetch the highest prices. The mis-marked
stock among his early chickens was hatched in the
early part of the year while the farmer has been wait-
ing for more genial weather, Avhen his stock will begin
to lay. When there is no demand for eggs and stock
birds at more remunerative prices he is on the same
level as the utility man, and seeks to dispose of his
surplus in the same way.

A few notes on the way to dispose of these will
apply to all classes alike.

E^gs for the Market. — This subject is dealt with
at length in my smaller book on Poultry Culture for
Profit, of which a notice will be found at the end of
this volume.

Briefly, it behoves the man with many eggs to sell, to
look out for the market where the highest prices are
offered. There is an unlimited demand for eggs of the
best quality, and the prices they fetch per dozen or per
hundred vary very greatly in different parts of England.
The best market is London, though it is nearly equalled
by many provincial towns where the population is
great ; and also at popular seaside resorts. A weekly
report on market prices is given in that most interesting
weekly poultry journal. Feathered Life, to be obtained at
all railway bookstalls and at most newspaper vendors.
Further information and advice may be obtained as to
the best markets from the Secretary of the National
Poultry Organization Society, 12 Hanover Square,
London.

Nearly every railway company carries eggs and
poultry at half rates, and 120 eggs may be conveyed
for \0d. from the most distant parts of England to
London. The cost of transit varies from \d. to \d. per
dozen, and is much more than repaid by the enhanced
prices received.

Those in the neighbourhood of large towns may
easily arrange for all their eggs to be taken by grocers
or other tradesmen who sell them ; and in other cases

THE COMMERCIAL SIDE 131

private customers are only too glad to purchase. The
regularity of the supply has a great deal to do with the
success of the egg vendor.

Preserving Eggs

Many fanciers prefer to preserve the whole or the
greater portion of their surplus eggs for use in the
winter in their own homes. If these are put down in
the springtime, when eggs are cheap and plentiful, they
can better spare the whole of their late autumn and
winter eggs, when they sell for ^s. a dozen and sometimes
at a higher rate.

The best method of preserving is to use silicate of
soda, better known as xcater-glass. A 3-lb. tin of this
at a cost of 1*. will preserve 300 eggs or more. If the
water-glass is of full strength, a 5 per cent, solution is
strong enough. One ineasure of this and 19 of water is
about the right strength. Water-glass is about half as
heavy again as water, and equals 15 lb. to the gallon, so
that 3 lb. of water-glass will make 3 gallons of the solu-
tion, which is enough to cover 300 eggs, or more. The
water-glass should be put into an earthenware vessel,
or a zinc bucket will do if the former is not available,
and then several measures of very hot or boiling water
be emptied over it so as to make a thin solution. The
remaining part of the water should be boiled, and may
either be added and stirred together while hot or after
it has cooled.

When the liquid is quite cooled, half fill the vessel in
which the eggs are to be kept, and place them in ; or if
there are enough fresh eggs to fill a vessel, place them in
first and pour tlie cool mixture over them tilKthey are
covered. They should be quite clean when put in, and
are better if not more than a day or two old, though
they may be added when a week old.

The test of the strength of the water-glass is that if
it is too strong the egg will float even when quite new
laid. This would happen in a 10 per cent, solution,
which would be too strong, as the eggs must sink and
be covered. Even a solution of 15 parts of water to
1 of water-glass may be too strong, and the proportion

K 2

132 THE POULTRY MANUAL

given is about correct (1 to 19) if the water-glass is of
full strength.

Eggs may be added from time to time as they are
collected, until the vessel is full. About an inch of
water should cover the top layer, and the vessel is best
covered over and kept in a cellar, or fairly cool place.
Care should be taken that no tainted egg is placed in,
as it will turn the solution musty and somewhat affect
the others. I have put thousands of eggs down in this
way, beginning in April or May, and they have been
as fresh as new-laid ones after the following Christmas,
and, indeed, over a full year. They should be washed
when taken out for use, and if it is intended to boil
one, it should be pricked at the thicker end, or it will
crack with the expansion, since the water-glass stops up
the pores of the shell, by Avhich means the freshness
is preserved. As the solution prevents any air from
getting i7ito the egg, so it prevents any from escaping
when the egg is boiled. For general cooking purposes
they are as good as the best. It would be fraudulent
to sell them as new-laid eggs, but a great saving is
effected in the home when this method is adopted. It
is scifer to put down unfertile eggs, i. e. eggs from a pen
in which no male bird has been kept. But they are
equally good when gathered from a breeding pen, if put
down fresh, and before germination begins. Vessels which
have a wire cage inside, to which a handle is attached,
can be bought for preserving the eggs, and the eggs may
more conveniently be lifted out when required for use.

A Lime-water Solution is sometimes employed. If
4 parts, by measure, of fresh and finely slaked lime is
mixed with 20 parts of water and one part of salt,
and the whole well stirred together a few days before
using, and the clear liquid be then poured off, and the
eggs placed in it, they will keep fresh if well covered
with the solution. This is an old-fashioned method,
and easy, but I have not found it so successful, except
for shorter periods.

Many people stir the whole mixture together and
put the eggs down in the lime. But it has a trick of
going solid, and this makes it difficult to get out the eggs
without breaking, and it is, furthermore, apt to impart
a flavour of lime to them.

THE COMMERCIAL SIDE 133

Many attempts have been made to preserve eggs for
hatching purposes, but so far as my experience goes none
have proved successful.

Sale of Eggs for Hatching

A glance at the columns of Feathered World in the
early months of the year will show that thousands of
breeders offer eggs for sale for hatching purposes. The
prices of these run from 42-s. and 21 *. a dozen for eggs
from pedigree stock of the highest merit, down to
10-9. Qd. And lower than this from pure-bred stock —
Is. 6d., 5s. and even 3,9. 6d. being samples of the prices
asked. They are, naturally, dearer in the early months
when eggs are less plentiful, and the breeder wants
them for his own hatching purposes ; and much reduced
in April and May and afterwards, when he has got all
he needs for his own use.

While it is true that the price demanded is not
always the strict measure of their value, it must be
self-evident that when the' mated pens from which the
eggs are produced are of great value — a pen of 5 birds
often being worth from^fi'lO to .sS'lOO or more — the eggs
cannot be bought for a few shillings. The honest
vendor places the purchaser on the same level as
himself There are many cases every year in which
single specimens have been produced from eggs sold at
21,9. a dozen, or thereabouts, which have taken first
rank in the show pen, and have been sold for ,£10 or
more. I have seen them sold for as high a price
as ^£'50.

The reader of the chapter on " Weeding Out the
Stock " will have gathered that there is an element of
specidation in this, both to the buyer and the seller.
Sometimes the vendor parts with the best progeny of
the year. I have myself been fortunate enough to get
from a sitting of eggs as many as five winners, which
have won the chief awards in their class, both at the
Dairy, Palace and Club shows, while another year I have
not got a single winner from 100 eggs. And as with
buying so with selling, a dozen eggs sold have produced
better stock than 100 hatched and reared at home.
This is often forgotten by purchasers, and especially

134 THE POULTRY MANUAL

by beginners, who are loud in their charges of fraud
against the vendor for results which are entirely beyond
his control. Many breeders have found selling eggs
by no means satisfactory, and decide not to sell any
sittings at all, but to hatch all they can get. Even
when a breeder mates and keeps for his own use what
he considers his best, he has been beaten by eggs from
his second best pens. Many things tend to bring about
these variable results. There is, besides the uncertainty
of knowing which will breed the best, the differences
brought about by feeding and rearing the stock, the
suitability or otherwise of the ground upon which they
are reared, and the attention devoted to their prepara-
tion for the show-pen.

All that the honest vendor can do is to give the
purchaser a fair chance for the money he pays, and to
sell him the thing he advertises. That some do not do
this is likely, and it will remain so as long as human
nature remains what it is. There is no calling in life in
which it can be stated of all its members that they are
strictly honourable. That honesty " is the best policy "
has passed into a proverb, and it applies to the sale of
eggs as of every other commodity.

The safest general rule to guide the purchaser is
this : " If you want a good thing be prepared to
pay a fair price for it."" It is cheaper in the end.

Packing the Eggs is as important a part of the
matter as the selecting of them. Keep for domestic
use, or for your own experimenting, all mis-shapen eggs,
or those which are much larger or smaller than the
average, as well as all with rough or thin shells. Send
eggs out quite fresh. None over a week old should be
sent out for artificial incubation, though a few days
longer will not matter if you know they are going to
be placed under a hen. Enclose a direction in the
package requesting the purchaser to allow the eggs to
rest on their sides for twenty-four hours at least after
their arrival. The delicate mechanism of the eggs gets
disturbed by a long railway journey. If you agree to
re2)lace any clear, i. e. unfertile eggs, ask him to return
them to you for inspection and to put his own initials
on them before sending. The greater part of those
returned will be found to be not clear, but to contain

THE COMMERCIAL SIDE 135

dead chickens, or to be addled. His own initials may
help you to convince him of the fact should you think
it well to return him one or more of such with those
you replace. People either will not go to the trouble of
testing, or they cannot do it, or they do know how and
pretend not to be able to distinguish. In cases of bad
luck on the purchaser's part, treat him as generously as
circumstances permit. It is the way to secure his further
patronage.

Pach the Eggs carefully. — Many good boxes are pro-
vided for the purpose. If your eggs are valuable, do
not get cheap boxes. Put Qd. extra on the price of the
eggs to recoup yourself. It pays both of you better to
do this. But any ordinary box will do if it is roomy
enough and strong. First wrap every &gg, after select-
ing and stamping it with your name, in a piece of paper.
Then, if there is room, wrap it round in a wisp of soft
hay, or in additional wrappings of paper not too tightly
folded. A lining of hay on all sides completes the
packing. Do not nail down the lid. If you prefer to
fasten it, press down a tack with a lever. Place a label
on the box, unless you buy boxes already prepared, with
the words "Eggs — with care," in bold letters. Tie it
up firmly, having seen that the name and address of the
purchaser, the station to which it is to go, and the route
by which it is to travel are clearly given.

A box of 12 eggs will go for 6d, or less, to any part
of England by rail. If you pay 50 per cent, more and
mark the box fragile the railway company will pay for
all breakages, for which the purchaser usually makes the
claim. The buyer should open the box at the station to
be sure of their safe arrival, and for verification. The
railway company Avill make inquiries of the vendor as
well as you, so that you should be accurate in stating
the real value of them. I do not advise sending eggs
by parcel post in England. A much lighter box
suffices to send them by rail, which is both cheaper and
more expeditious.

Eggs for Abroad may now be sent with safety by
parcel post. And it is much cheaper to send in this
way than by steamship packet companies. For the cost
of this, vendors should consult the pages of the Post
Office Guide, issued quarterly at 6d. The information

136 THE POULTRY MANUAL

is given under the heading of "Foreign and Colonial
Parcel Post." Colonies as far removed as Australia, New
Zealand or South Africa can receive a parcel of 7 lb.
for 2,9. or Ss. (according to the route by which they
travel), and one of 11 lb. for 4*. ; Canada costs
6d. per lb., and Cape Colony 9^. per lb. The United
States of America will not accept a parcel heavier than
4 lb. 6 oz., and this is not heavy enough to allow
sufficient packing. There are certain papers to sign,
etc., but particulars are given. It is better to pack the
eggs in a light box with plenty of yielding packing,
such as soft hay, and then to enclose this box within
another. To the West Indies I have sent eggs of which
75 per cent, have hatched strong chickens, and to other
distant places with almost equal results. It is necessary
that eggs should be fresh, strongly fertilized, strong
shelled, and well packed with plenty of room, to ensure
success.

These hints many a fancier will find worth knowing.
Find out particulars of the dates of transit, and send
only on the appointed day, or the package may lie a
week on hand waiting for the next boat. If you send
eggs in greater bulk, pack with the same care, and
consult, as to rates, etc., the steamship company by which
you elect to send them.

After such a long journey, eggs should rest at least
48 hours, and be hatched only under hens. They may,
of course, meet with a rough voyage, or rough handling
on the way, and this may influence the result of the
hatching, but careful packing goes a long way to with-
stand any buffeting. As eggs cannot well be returned
for replacing clear ones it is well to be generous in the
allowance if a proper price is paid.

Sale of Chickens

The columns of The Feathered World or Poidtry will
show the magnitude to which this particular branch has
grown. It has doubtless affected the sale of eggs for
hatching, since chickens travel much more safely than
eggs, and there is much less luck in " counting your
chickens ^ on arrival, than in doing so for the prospective
chicks from the eggs. In the chapter on " Incubation "

THE COMMERCIAL SIDE 137

the reader will have learnt that nature has provided the
young chick with food enough at the moment of hatch-
ing to sustain its life for a week, and to mai7itain it in
full vigour and safety for two or three days. As
the longest railway j ourney in England can be accom-
plished within 24 hours, and, except from the extremest
corners, in much less time, chickens can be safely sent
from any one part to another. I have sent them to the
end of Cornwall on the one hand, and to the extreme
north of Scotland and Ireland on the other, with perfect
safety, and with only a very small proportion of loss to
France, Belgium and Germany.

Warmth and ventilation are all that is necessary to
preserve life and health, and the natural heat of the
chick's body is enough to sustain this, if they have a
non-conductive material around them, and the space
they occupy is limited. A box about 8 inches square
and 4| inches deep is sufficient for a dozen day-old
chickens. A piece of stiff cardboard 4 inches in depth
and sufficiently long to form into a circle should be
covered with wadding, which should be opened out, and
the smooth or shiny side placed near the chicks. This
makes a warm cosy circle and prevents crushing. A
little soft hay at the bottom for bedding completes the
nest. A tiny hole either | inch round, or an angular
cut of the same depth, at either side of the top of the
box affiards all the ventilation needed.

A reasonable price for chicks is double that of the
price asked for eggs, since it is out of the question to
send either weakly or crippled chicks, and the breeder is
fortunate who gets eight strong chicks out of a dozen
eggs, and the average is less in the early part of the year.
The expense of hatching and the trouble involved has
also to be taken into consideration.

Notice of Dispatch should be given to the purchaser,
and they should be sent by the quickest route, with
definite directions on the label, as in the case of eggs.

Night is the best time to send for long journeys, as
they sleep as cosily in the boxes as they would under a
mother*'s wing, and arrive as fresh after a 12 or 18
hours' journey as they would if they had just been taken
from the hen.

Delmjs are most frequent when the packages have to

138

THE POULTRY MANUAL

be carted across a town from one junction to another,
and officials are sometimes careless. A note to the
parcels clerk or to the station-master often prevents
delay, and serves as a reminder to the porters. They
are often most considerate in placing the chicken boxes
under cover where a change or a long wait are necessary.
Paste the label on the box. A specimen chicken
label is given —

VALUABLE Ljye Chjckens.

URGENT DELIVERY.

FROM

JOHN JONES,

High St.,
DENBIGH.

Breeder and Exhibitor of
High-class

BLACK LEGHORNS,
WHITE LEGHORNS,
BROWN LEGHORNS,

BUFF LEGHORNS,

BLACK ORPINGTONS,

WHITE ORPINGTONS,

BUFF ORPINGTONS,

BARRED ROCKS,

BLACK MINORCAS,

PARTRIDGE WYANDOTTES

To JOHN SMITH,

lo Market Place,

PRESTON.

To PRESTON Station.

Per L. & N.=W. Railway.

Bate of Dispatch, March 1, 1909.
Per 7.30 P.M. Train.

Look out the trains and tell the buyer the time the
chickens are due to arrive, otherwise they may be
waiting at the station for many hours, especially when
he resides outside the free-delivery radius. It is, perhaps,
needless to say that live chickens cannot be sent by
parcel post, as the postal authorities Avill not accept
them.

The prices obtainable for chickens are regulated, like
other commodities, by the demand for them, the popu-
larity of the breed, and the season of the year. The
breeder's standing in the poultry world also has a decided
influence.

The two main factors which make for success are to be

THE COMMERCIAL SIDE 139

known and to be trusted, and there the matter Hes in a
nutshell. It is the same in all branches of business — the
man who is not daunted by the difficulties of his work,
but perseveres and steadily gains the confidence of his
customers is the one who succeeds.

The live chicken purveyor must have not incubators
only, but rearers also, into which he can place those
chickens he does not sell, to rear them for disposal at a
later stage.

The Sale of Adult Stock Birds

Utility Stock. — The fancier who has mis-marked stock
must in some way dispose of them, and where room is
limited the sooner he does so the better for the correctly
marked stock.

Cockerels of all kinds are saleable for food, but the
readier sale is found for lohite-legged stock, and for those
with white flesh even if the legs are coloured. The
best are Dorkings, Game^, Faverolles, Orpingtons, especi-
ally White or Buff, and to these must be added the new
Cuckoo Colour and the Jubilee Orpington.

Black Orpingtons and Minorcas having white flesh
follow on, and the Houdan and Langshan are equally
good. Then come the larger yellow-legged and yellow-
fleshed breeds, Plymouth Rocks, Wyandottes, Indian
Game. Leghorns, Campines and other lighter breeds
are of secondary value, but if they are sold at an early
age, while they are still plump and tender, they find
an appreciative market, though not equal to the other
breeds mentioned.

There are sometimes good local markets to take what
are not utilized for home consumption, but the average
market town is not a good market on account of the
competition of the local farmers. The average price of
26'. to 2^. Qd. does not pay for food and trouble.

For Good Early Chickens there is a brisk London
demand. Prices in the Leadenhall and Central Markets
are given weekly in Feathered Life, to which I have
referred, and Smithfield Market is a first-rate place for
the sale of live stock. In May and June I have got ^d.
per pound live weight, averaging 8^. a couple for birds
sent up in lots of a dozen or more.

140 THE POULTRY MANUAL

Railway rates are reduced by half for lots of ^ cwt.
or over at owner's risk, and it is at once obvious how
much less trouble and how much more remunerative
this is than sending them dressed to the local markets
and getting 2*. or 2*. Qd.

Chickens fetch a higher price from April to the end
of June than at other times. When the London season
begins to wane and grouse-shooting has begun, prices
fall heavily.

All through the year^ at the slack times, a fair price
is from Qd. to Id. a pound live weight for birds in
ordinary fair condition. Birds from 4 to 6 or 7 lb.
weight sell best. The larger birds are slower sellers at
such rates, unless offered at certain seasons and speci-
ally fattened. Many fanciers would be glad to dispose
of their mis-marked stock wholesale in this manner.

Again, I commend the advice of the National Poultry
Organization Society. There are knaves in the live
poultry trade as well as in other trades, but there are
lots of honest dealers who only charge 5 per cent, commis-
sion for sales, and send a remittance by return of post.
The prices I name are not for dead poultry. The
business of supplying fatted poultry, either to the
market or to clubs and hotels, is not a branch of which
Lhave much practical experience, and most fanciers do
not trouble about it. Fattening fowls is an industry in
itself, and the fatters buy their birds by the hundred,
scouring the countryside to obtain them.

Sale of Stock Birds for Breeding Purposes is a
more difficult matter. There is always a sale for table
poultry, though there are times of depression and of
glutted markets. But the sale of stock birds is some-
times a glut all the year round, except for those of
first-class merit. Breeds rise and fall in popularity,
and tastes alter just as fashions in dress. Hence the
need for the beginner to have training and advice ere
he invests. There are hardy perennials in the poultry
world. Orpingtons, Wyandottes, Minorcas, Leghorns
and Rocks are in fairly constant demand, though in all
these some colours and varieties are far less popular
than others. Hints on these have been given when
dealing with the various breeds.

If a breeder has good birds of well-known strains.

THE COMMERCIAL SIDE 141

advertises wisely, and exhibits his stock on suitable
occasions, he can dispose of his stock birds. Pullets of
the more popular breeds are always in demand, but the
majority of the cockerels have to find their way to the
oven or the pot, since not a quarter of the numbers
hatched are ever needed for stock purposes. Pure-bred
healthy stock is always in demand at a price which is
much higher than killing price, but whether it sinks to
5^. or rises to £5 depends on the quality or on the
particular demand at the time.

Farmers and small poultry keepers are beginning to
realize that pure-bred cockerels are better than mongrels
to run with their hens, and there is an ever-increasing
number of persons ready to buy a small pen of birds,
a cockerel and a few pullets, of a pure-bred variety, to
supply the household with eggs.

Sale of Exhibition Poultry. — It would be a sur-
prise to many outsiders, to whom the poultry fancy is
only a name, to visit such a show as the Dairy or
Birmingham, and to see the hundreds of birds claimed in
the selling classes, where the catalogue price is limited
to £2 each. And it would be a further cause of
astonishment to find that many of these when put up
to auction had realized from £S to .^£^10 ; and to learn
also that of the birds entered in the " Open "" classes
sales were not infrequent at from £5 to ^50 each or
more.

It is sometimes alleged that only those who are well-
known " men in the swim," as they are sometimes called,
can realize high prices. This is not correct. It is the
bird that sells and not the man, and many a novice has
found himself famous by having a bird he has entered
at a few pounds, realize by auction five or even ten times
the amount at which he entered it.

There may be " rings "" and " corners "" in the Fancy,
but in no other calling is the field more open for real
merit. The " big men "" do realize big prices for their
best stock, because they know their value, but they are
sometimes beaten, and, when they own it, these men are
the purchasers of the victor, and the strife between them
for the possession of it is the humble fancier's oppor-
tunity.

A bird sometimes has a fictitious value given to it

142 THE POULTRY MANUAL

through the accident of its having been awarded a first
prize, but the buyers who give the best prices are not
often taken in. Many a time another bird in the
same class, which has either gained a commended
card only, or has even been passed unnoticed, fetches a
much higher price. The trained expert knows how to
estimate values, and he buys to maintain the reputation
he has already gained.

There are two main classes of exhibitors. (1) Those
who show for the honour and glory of it. The sporting
instinct has a strong hold upon them. They love to
compete, as most Britishers do, and they have a
strong desire to win by all fair means. (2) Those who do
it for gain alone. They may be equally honourable, but
the temptation to step aside for gain from the path of
rectitude is greater, and sometimes the trespass is made,
though, so far as my experience of twenty years goes, the
majority of fanciers are honourable men. There are
black sheep in every flock, and the Fancy is not without
them.

The gain which comes to the exhibitor is not from
the prizes he wins, but from the enhanced value it gives
not only to the winning bird, but to the rest of his
stock. Hence the competition is keen, and even a
commended card at a classical show is not without its
value. It is the best form of advertisement^ since the
awards are published and read by tens of thousands who
seldom scan the columns of advertisements

The novice, therefore^ must exhibit in order that the
quality of his stock may be known, even though he may
not take prizes enough to repay the expenses of showing.
Thousands of fanciers and of the general public see his
birds, and, if they are worth exhibiting, the advertise-
ment repays him. It is also one of the best ways of
comparing the merit of his stock with that of others,
and it trains his eye as nothing else can. If there were
no exhibitions there would be few high-priced stock,
and the poultry fancy and the poultry industry alike
would languish.

How to prepare for exhibition has already been
described in the chapter devoted to it. Having decided to
show, he should obtain a schedule from one of the shows
advertised, and, if there are distinct classes for the breeds

THE COMMERCIAL SIDE

143

he keeps, send the entrance fee to the secretary. The
average entry fee is ^s. where the prizes are 10*., 5s., and
2*. 6d. ; ^s. 6d. or 3*. where the prizes are 15*., 7*. 6d.
and 3*. ,• and 3*. or 3*. 6d. where the prizes are 20*., 10*.
and 5*. A few of the principal shows, where the prizes
range from 30*. to £% have larger entry fees. He will
receive from the secretary a few days before the show an
addressed label giving the class number and the number
of the exhibition pen in which his exhibit will be
staged. He should write on the back of the label his
own name and address, and the station to which it is to
be returned. The date of the show and the time when
the exhibits should arrive are given in the schedule, aijd,
unless he personally conveys them to the show, he should
take care that they are sent off in time.

The expenses of transit to and from the show are
considerable. The scale for journeys by passenger train
is given below.

PARCELS FOR STATIONS IN ENGLAND, WALES, AND IRELAND

BY PASSENGER TRAIN

PARCELS
WEIGHING

NOT EXCEEDING
30 MILES

ABOVE 30 AND

ABOVE 50 AND

NOT EXCEEDING
5U MILES

NOT EXCEEDING
100 MILES

ABOVE 100 MILES

11).

s. d.

S. d.

g. d.

S. d.

1

0 4

0 4

0 4

0 4

2

0 4

0 4

0 4

0 4

3

0 5

0 5

0 5

0 5

4

0 6

0 6

0 6

0 6

5

0 6

0 6

0 7

0 7

6

0 6

0 6

0 8

0 8

7

0 0

0 S

0 9

0 9

8

0 6

0 S

0 10

0 10

9

0 C

0 8

0 11

0 11

10

0 6

0 8

1 0

1 0

11

0 6

0 8

1 0

1 0

12

0 6

0 s

1 0

1 1

13

0 6

n 9

1 1

1 2

14

0 6

0 9

1 1

1 3

15

0 6

0 9

1 2

1 4

16

0 6

0 IX)

1 2

1 5

17

0 6

0 10

1 3

1 6

IS

0 6

0 10

1 3

1 7

19

0 6

0 11

1 4

1 8

20

0 6

0 11

1 4

1 9

21

0 6

0 11

1 5

1 10

22

0 6

1 0

1 5

1 11

23

0 6

1 0

1 6

2 0

24

0 G

1 0

1 6

2 0

Above 24 lb.

per lb.

0 OJ

0 OJ

0 Of

0 1

A hamper for a single bird weighs about 6 to 8 lb.

144 THE POULTRY MANUAL

and a double hamper about half as much again.
The weight of a show bird varies from about 4 to
12 lb., with an average of 6 lb. It will be noticed
at once, by adding together the various weights,
that a considerable saving is effected by using double
hampers, or, for lighter birds, hampers to hold 3 birds,
where the total weight does not exceed 24 lb., e.g. a
hamper and one bird weighing 12 lb. costs 6d., and one
with three birds weighing 24 lb. the same amount. Over
24 lb. the rates are constant. For birds for table use,
or for eggs when sent to the market, the rates are only
half the above, if sent at owner's risk.

Since there are only three prizes as a rule in a class, and
an average entry contains about 10 birds to a class, and
at the larger shows very many more, the reader will see
that the average exhibitor does not get his expenses
returned. If he won a third prize with every entry his
expenses would be more than the prize money, and only
those who get into the first rank get repaid. The
return is mainly by way of advertisement.

Sending Live Stock abroad. — The love of first-
class stock is not confined to the British Isles. It is as
keen in the United States as with us, and the Fancy
is taking a strong hold in our various Colonies in all
parts of the world. Exports of stock, both for utility,
prize-stock breeding, and exhibition is largely on the
increase, and thousands of birds change hands yearly.

The cost of exporting, including freight, food, dock-
dues, railway expenses and the fitting up of suitable
coops, is considerable. For America, Canada, and South
Africa the actual out-of-pocket expenses for a pen of
four birds varies from 50*. to 60*., and for single birds
the rates are proportionately higher. For Australia
and New Zealand they are a little more. It does not
pay the importer, therefore, to buy second-rate stock,
since the cost of sending out a low-priced bird is as
great as for sending one worth iPlO or more.

Where the vendor is not directed to send by a certain
steamship company, and he is in doubt as to the best
route, he should consult Messrs. Pitt and Scott, carriers,
whose address will be found in the advertisement pages
at the beginning of this book. They will supply suitable
coops, where necessary. It may be stated that in most

THE COMMERCIAL SIDE 145

cases the expenses from port to port have to be prepaid.
It is the custom, either for the vendor to pay all charges
and sell the birds delivered at the foreign port, or to
sell the birds at a given figure and add the expenses to
the cost. In all cases the amateur vendor should be
careful to get prepayment, or he may find considerable
difficulty in collecting his debt. The " confidence
trick" is often tried on, and is sometimes successful.
A few small prepaid orders are executed, and then a
much larger order is given, with a promise of payment
on receipt of goods which is not fulfilled and was never
intended to be fulfilled.

He should also see that fair, honest value is given, if
he wishes to increase this class of custom, which is worth
cultivating. The vendor can afford to sell his best if he
is paid a fair price, since the specimens he sends are not
likely to compete with him- again. If birds are robust
and healthy at the time of export there is but little
risk of death. They may be insured against accident
for a small percentage, as very few die en route. They
are specially catered for, and well fed on the voyage.
There are tricksters at both ends, but the bulk oif the
transactions are of a fair and honourable character, and
though complaints are sometimes made, they are but
few when compared with the volume of business done.

The Profits of Poultry Farming. — Fanciers do not
as a rule publish their earnings. But it is an " open
secret" that there are just a few men whose yearly
profits are not far short of ^£'1,000. There are, perhaps,
a score who make ^£"500 or more ; a greater number
whose average incomes from it range from dS'SOO upwards ;
and hundreds who earn from <i?150 to £^00. There is
nothing princely for the multitude, but there is a com-
petence for many who combine " fancy " with utility.
I have never heard of one person making .^£^100 a year
from poultry farming " pure and simple." If a man is
not afraid of work and knows how to manage those who
assist him, if he is of fair average intelligence and has
learnt at least the elements of his business before he
invests his capital, there is no reason why he should not
get a fair return for his capital and labour. Those succeed
best who begin in a modest way and build up their
business by degrees. They should have a little reserve

L

146 THE POULTRY MANUAL

fund upon which to hve till the business brings in n
sufficient income. To risk one's all upon an untried
venture is only to court the failure such folly deserves.

Notes on Advertising

We live in an age of advertising, and, as I consider,
in an age of over-advertisement, brought about by the
keenness of competition. Moreover, advertising lends
itself, nearly always, to exaggeration, and often to
downright and unblushing falsehood. The American
game of " bluff" has seized the English advertising
world. It is impossible that everybody can have better
goods and of better value than everybody else. The
game is often overdone, and does not pay in the end.
The alloy is too plainly seen beneath the gilded surface,
and one is led to ask, " How can such an article be sold
at such a price when the cost of advertising is taken
into account .? "

Still, one must advertise in order to be known, and,
even when known, to keep up the acquaintance. As
the gentle but constant dripping of water wears away
the hardest rock, so does constant and consistent
advertising find its way. Some of the most prosperous
and best-known business firms in the world have found
their business decline rapidly when they have cut short
their outlay in advertising.

Much depends upon the amount of business done.
A steady round of regular custom sometimes takes all
that the fancier or general breeder can produce. The
retention of regular custom is the heart of success, and
if advertising makes one known it is being trusted that
consolidates success. Every satisfied purchaser becomes
a free advertising agent.

If one has good things to sell, the fact should be
stated in honest terms. Personally I have advertised
in the pages of Feathered World without a break for
more than ten years, and as a consequence my name is
known throughout the world of featherdom. I am not
going to narrate personal experiences more than to give
one single instance. When the Buff Orpington was
beginning its triumphal march to fame, there were
crowds of advertisers who offered for sale " birds, buff

THE COMMERCIAL SIDE 147

throughout, from head to tail," and that at a time
when such perfect specimens had not been produced.
I had a hundred or more of the breed for sale, and got
numerous inquiries for birds " without any black or
white in their plumage," and the prices offered were
ridiculously low, not a tenth of what such a specimen
would be worth. To save needless correspondence I
inserted a small advertisement stating that I had no
birds pure buff throughout, and that such were non-
existent. In a fortnight the whole were disposed of
at satisfactory prices ! The reason why is evident.

A List of Winnings is often a satisfactory advertise-
ment, and takes well with the general public, though
every experienced fancier knows that the best birds are
most frequently bred from stock that has never seen an
exhibition pen. In some breeds birds continue to win
prizes long after their usefulness as breeders has van-
ished. Strain counts for much, and correct mating
counts for more.

Advertise ividely and with regularity. — The papers
devoted to poultry matters are the recognized and best
mediums. It may be wise to test them all, and when you
have found the one that suits you best, stick to it year
in and year out, even if you try the others occasionally.

Advertise Goods in Season. — It is little use advertising
eggs when nobody wants to hatch them, or chickens
when people's wants have been supplied, although if
you have cheap chicks there are many people who do
not make up their minds till midsummer.

To clear out Breeding-Pens for which you have no
further use, the best time is as soon as your own wants
are supplied, and while there is yet time for late comers
to hatch.

For Old Birds, of no further use for breeding, the
sooner they are gone the better, and in any case and at
any price they are better disposed of before the annual
moult begins. The Jewish festivals are good times for
their disposal.

For Shozo Birds, the early season is the best, since
good early chicks are scarce, but they are saleable all
the year round, and a foreign order often takes them
when shows are over at home. Their seasons happily
do not coincide with our own,

L 2

148 THE POULTRY MANUAL

The best mediums are the fanciers'' papers, and for
the disposal of high-class stock no papers are equal to
Feathered World and Poidtry. They circulate through-
out the world. Feathered Life is the utility paper. It
is most attractively got up, and is one of the beginner's
best aids. There are other papers which find their way
more exclusively among the farmer class. The manuals
and treatises on poultry in general, or on particular breeds,
find their way to a more limited circle of likely buyers,
and local papers are not to be despised, since many
people prefer " to marry over the mixen than over the
moor." Local sales are most frequent late in the season.
The rural mind works and acts slowly and at leisure.

What percentage should be spent in advertising. It is
obvious that it does not pay to spend £1 in advertising
and only get 19.9. profit returned, while it is equally
obvious that it does pay, if you only reap a guinea for
every pound sown. Much depends both upon the
quantity and the quality of your stock. It costs no
more to advertise a hundred birds than one, and here
the large breeder has the advantage. If you have really
good stock to sell, which you don't need, you must
advertise at any cost. Ask your buyers to state the
price they are willing to give. This saves needless
correspondence. Be prompt in reply and definite in
your statements. Don't be afraid to ask a fair price,
when you have learnt to estimate values. Customers
fight shy of shoddy goods even if offered at shoddy
prices.

A constant advertisement, that you have always birds
for sale, and eggs in season, pays in the form of a
breeder's card.

Remember that values change in accordance with the
rigorous laws of supply and demand, and do not hold
all your goods on a falling market. It may pay better
to " kill and eat," but it certainly does not pay to keep
stock to " eat their heads off" in the hope of a sale at
prices which will never be realized.

Aids to Business Transactions

First, the Fancy papers, and the whole of them. A
single hint often repays the year's outlay. The trend

THE COMMERCIAL SIDE 149

of fashion, the way things are going, the discussions on
matters of living interest, the answers in the query-
columns, offer valuable sources of help, and sometimes
of a chance to help others. For example, points of some
breed are being discussed and settled — you may assist
in the matter, or be assisted in your own breeding.

The FouUry Manuals. — You can never know too
much of the breeds you are interested in. One of the
singular phenomena of the human mind is shown in the
case of the fancier who will give £^Q for a bird which
he little understands, and yet will not give a shilling
for a book which gives full information about it. And
many buy who will not read. Books are not every-
thing, but no intelligent business man can afford to
despise them.

Three necessary books of reference —

(1) Bradshazv's 6d. Raihvay G?/i^^, and local guides. —
Bradshaw gives the names of all the railway stations
and the connections between the various lines ; and
though it is a puzzle to most people, it is indispensable
to the fancier who has to send to all parts of the
kingdom. Local guides, and more especially alpha-
betical guides, are often useful, and particularly those of
your nearest centres through which birds may have to
pass and at which changes often take place. A list of
the various steamship lines and the dates of sailing,
with the head offices of the companies, is of great
service when sending abroad.

(2) A good Gazetteer. — I have found invaluable aid
from Newnes' Gazetteer of the British Isles. People
often write for eggs, chicks or birds, and only give
their address, Avithout any mention of a railway station.
" Newnes' " helps you to find it, as the name of every
town and village is given, and the distance from a
station, together with the different lines which run into
it. It also helps you to decipher badly written or
badly spelt addresses.

(3) The Post Office Gtdde, 6d. quaHerly, answers
much the same purpose, and in addition you can find
out the number of deliveries of letters, and whether
there is a Sunday delivery, and the time occupied, as
well as the cost of sending letters or parcels to any
part of the world, and the length of time the journey

150 THE POULTRY MANUAL

occupies. The times and dates of sailings to foreign
ports are also given.

These guides help to supply the omniscience for
which many people seem to give you credit.

The Poultry Club Standards, published at 1*., gives
the " standards of perfection " for all recognized breeds.
It is revised from time to time. A minute study of the
particular standards in which one is interested, and
comparison at exhibitions of poultry of the actual
specimens with the ideal standards, is a great help.

The Specialist Clubs which are formed for the various
breeds, or varieties of a breed, issue their own standards.
In the case of the older breeds they are identical with
the Poultry Club Standards ; but the newer breeds
often alter their standards as the breed progresses, and
it is well to have these at hand, and a better thing still
is for a young fancier to join the club. The secretary's
address can be got from any poultry paper by making
a query, and Poultry frequently publishes a full list.
The usual fee is 5,9. a year — some are less — and the
proceeds are devoted to offering prizes for competition
among its members, or by guaranteeing classes at shows.

The Poidtry Club. — This is the premier poultry club
in England. It exists for the purpose of encouraging
the breeding and exhibiting of all recognized breeds of
poultry, and herein it differs from the specialist clubs,
which cater for their own particular breed, though the
best of these clubs are affiliated to the Poultry Club,
and work in harmony with it.

Other objects are "to advance and protect the
interests of poultry breeders and exhibitors," and to
suppress fraudulent and dishonourable practices. It
has over 1,200 members, and is rapidly increasing, e.g.
492 members were elected in the year ending September
30, 1908. Among its members are the most worthy
and best -known breeders and exhibitors in the poultry
world. Any member reported and found guilty of
fraudulent practices is expelled from its ranks, or is
prohibited from showing at shows held under Poultry
Club rules for a longer or shorter period, according to
the gravity of the offence. It is therefore a sort of
protection society, which it behoves every honourable
fancier to join, and especially every beginner. There is

THE COMMERCIAL SIDE 151

an Hon. Solicitor to the club, who gives advice in cases
of difficulty, and an Hon. Secretary, Mr. G. T. Drake,
Cobtree, Sandling, Maidstone, who will gladly give
information about the club. Many counties have now
a local committee to look after local interests, and to
induce the promoters of shows held in the county to
affiliate themselves to the Poultry Club. There are
numerous and valuable trophies offered for competition
by the club, as well as medals or other smaller prizes,
Avhich are highly esteemed by fanciers, and arouse con-
siderable interest.

The Poultry Club Council meets monthly in London,
and its officers have been elected by popular ballot.
Each county having a local branch is represented by
an elected delegate.

As the club gains in strength of numbers, so will its
influence be more widely extended, and the purity of
the Fancy be promoted. An interesting year book
is published and sent out to every member. It contains
a complete list of the names and addresses of all its
members, and a report of the year's work. The annual
subscription is 5s. Every well-disposed breeder of
poultry should join it. He may need its help, and in
any case he is aiding an honourable cause. Not until
we live in an ideal world where judges, magistrates and
police are unnecessary for the maintenance of peace and
order, shall we be able to do without the Poultry Club.

CHAPTER IX

DISEASES OF POULTRY

Poultry have their ailments, and are liable to contract
various diseases, like all other living animals. These
may often he prevented by the use of ordinary sanitary
precautions, among which the chief are : (1) a supply of
pure unvitiated air, without direct draughts. (2) A con-
stant supply of pure water, kept cool and sweet by
always being placed in the shade, out of the direct rays
of the sun ; nothing being worse for poultry, and more
especially young stock, than stagnant sun-warmed water.
(3) A correct course of feeding, in regular and sufficient
quantities, but not to excess. There is no more fertile
cause of disease than food which has been allowed to
turn sour, or to become contaminated with foul ground
or the excreta of the birds. (4) A supply of sharp flint
grit always present for the birds to take as they require
it, but not mixed with the food, (See chapter on
« Feeding.")

Disease x-nay, as a rule, be easily checked if taken in
its early stages, and the attendant should keep a watch-
ful eye over the whole of the stock, and more especially
at feeding-time. Any sign of listlessness, ruffled plum-
age, want of appetite, or general lack of " condition "
should be noted, and if the symptoms are at all of
a contagious character the bird should be removed
to a show-pen or to some warm corner of a shed
or outbuilding kept for the purpose of an isolation
hospital. These pens should themselves be disinfected
after use. A good scrubbing with a solution of perman-
ganate of potash, or Izal, or Jeyes' fluid, is necessary.
The floor, the wire front and sides, and all drinking-
vessels must be thoroughly cleansed. The lack of these

' 152

DISEASES OF POULTRY 153

precautions at shows, where many a diseased bird finds
admission, is often the cause of an epidemic.

Remedies are provided by many poultry specialists,
are always advertised in the leading poultry papers, and
are usually obtainable by return of post. The query
columns of the papers are also available to enable the
novice who describes the ailments of his stock to get
directions, when he is puzzled, as to the best treatment.
And, above all, there is a veterinary surgeon who is
prepared to examine stock, or to make a post-mortem
for a small fee. In the case of a contagious disease, or
of any fatal complaint which baffles the owner, no better
course can be taken than promptly to despatch a victim,
and to accompany it with the necessary fee, and any
information as to feeding, symptoms observed, etc.
Much loss and inconvenience may be saved by the
prompt adoption of this suggestion.

Remedies at hand. — It is better, however, for the
poultry-keeper to have remedies at hand, especially for
the more common ailments. The owner of a large
stock of poultry will find it not only a great saving of
time, but of monetary loss as well. Many of the drugs
used, cost, from the chemist, no more for a pound than
for an ounce, or other small quantity needed for imme-
diate use, and the owner should always have at hand a
pair of weights and scales^ the weights being from a
quarter-ounce to one pound, and also a Jfuid ounce
measure glass such as the chemist uses for measuring
out his medicine, or the patient for taking it. When
these are not available, it may be useful to remember
that a half-crown piece weighs half-an-ounce, or three
halfpennies the same, and if he has no means of weigh-
ing less, the half-ounce may be divided by weighing an
equal quantity of it on either side of the scale. For
measures, if the glass is not at hand, two tablespoonfuls
weigh an ounce, and one of the most convenient and
handy measures is an ordinary eight-ounce moulded
medicine-bottle, which is usually divided by marks on
the side of the bottle into half-ounce or one-ounce
divisions, or into tablespoonfuls, which is the same
thing. As most poultry medicines are best adminis-
tered in a liquid state, it is safer that drugs which are
bought in a powdered or crystal state should be weighed

154 THE POULTRY MANUAL

and dissolved, e. g. it is better to weigh and dissolve an
ounce of sulphate of copper, when you want to give a
drachm of it to a gallon of water, than to weigh out
each drachm separately. An ounce of the powder, or
crystal, soon dissolves in an eight-ounce medicine-bottle,
and an ounce of the medicine, i. e. two tablespoonfuls,
contains a drachm of the copper.

Water is also a convenient measure of weight, as a
gallon weighs ten pounds, and one-sixteenth of it, or
half-a-pint, weighs ten ounces.

Common Remedies for Common Ailments. —
Epsom salts, Glauber salts, sulphate of iron, sulphate
of copper, permanganate of potash, Jeyes' fluid, Parrish's
chemical food, flowers of sulphur, powdered chalk, pow-
dered alum, perchloride of iron, pure creosote, tincture
of aconite, tincture of iodine, glycerine, tincture of
friar's balsam, vaseline, oil and hartshorn, or Elliman\s
embrocation. A box of Blaud's pills, which cost about
fourpence a gross, are a capital tonic or pick-me-up if
two are given night and morning ; so also are Revivers,
tonic pills, one or more of which are to be given, as
directed, before and after an exhibition. Cod-liver
oil, and a box of gelatine capsules, into which the
oil or other medicine can be put as desired, and
administered cleanly is of constant service.

Readers need not be alarmed at the list. The whole
of the remedies can be bought for a few shillings, and
most of them for a few pence. Porcelain pots to keep
the drugs clean, and a label to denote the contents, are
better than allowing them to lie in the packets in which
they are bought. Liquids should be kept tightly
corked or in stoppered bottles.

Colds. — As in the human race, so in poultry, the most
common ailment is a bad cold, and if this is neglected
it may turn to bronchitis in some weaker member of
the flock, or into roup, which affects the whole pen.

Symptoms qf cold are sneezing, a thin watery discharge
from the nostrils.

The causes are various. A long continuance of cold
wet weather ; a bird being locked out at night ; too
many crowded into an ill-ventilated house, which gets
too hot, and the fowls, after breathing the hot foetid
air all night coming out into a cold wet run.

DISEASES OF POULTRY 155

Remedy. — If the cases are slight, a little sulphate of
iron in the drinking-water. One ounce dissolved in a
pint of water, and a couple of tablespoonfuls {i. e. one
ounce of the fluid) added to each gallon of drinking-
water will act as a tonic and remove it. For a bad case
isolate the bird and add about ten drops of Fleming's
tincture of aconite to a half-pint of its drinking-water,
keeping it in a dry pen or show-basket. A couple of
days should effect a cure.

Another remedy zahich I have found very effec-
tive, both as a cure for colds and as a preventive, is
the tise of pure sulphate of copper. One ounce of this
should be dissolved in an eight-ounce medicine-bottle
of water, and one ounce of this solution added to each
gallon of drinking-water. When this remedy is tried,
soft water should be used for the drinking-water wher-
ever possible, as the lime in hard water causes a pre-
cipitate. The water also should be placed in stoneware
or enamelled vessels. If placed in zinc or iron vessels a
chemical action takes place which, though not dan-
gerous, is not wholesome. The effect of this remedy
is wonderful, and it is simplicity itself in its applica-
tion. Although roupy cases are to be found all the
year round, it is chiefly an autumnal scourge, and
particularly affects the half-grown stock.

Roup. — Colds rapidly develop into roup if neglected.
The discharge from the nostrils becomes thicker, and it
is offensive in odour. Sometimes the face is badly
swollen, or the eyes appear frothy, and at other times
one eye is completely closed. The birds lose their
appetites and mope about.

The cause is the same as in colds ; but as influenza
colds difl^er from a common cold in being contagious, so
does roup differ. It is often very contagious, and
sweeps through a whole yard.

Remedy. — If the cases are few they may be isolated,
and the sulphate of copper remedy tried, as recom-
mended for colds, using a tea-spoonful of the mixture
to a half-pint of drinking-water. I have known cases
in which the bird could not see to drink, in which
case the water has had to be poured down the throat.
In this event the face and eyes and mouth should be
washed in the solution also. A few days' treatment

156 THE POULTRY MANUAL

will often cure a severe case. If the bird cannot see
to eat, it should be sparingly fed with boluses of soft
food by hand. If a little lard or other grease is added
to the bolus the cure is hastened. In the case of many
birds being affected, isolation is useless, and the sulphate
of copper remedy should be doubled in strength and
given to the whole pen.

In mild cases a little Condy''s fluid put in the water,
or as much as would lie on a sixpence of permanganate
of potash, added to two gallons of water, stops the
contagion from spreading and remedies the discharge.

Another well-known remedy is to place in a jug or
quart bottle —

4 ounces Glauber salts,

2 ounces Epsom salts,

^ ounce sulphate of iron,

10 drops of creosote (a pharmaceutical preparation).

Pour over this a quart of boiling water, add two
tablespoonfuls to each gallon of drinking-water.

I prefer the sulphate of copper treatment until the
roup has gone, and the other to follow as a general
corrective to the system, and continued on alternate
days for a week.

General Debility — Moulting. — The prescription
above named of Glauber salts, etc., is a most useful
remedy for occasional use when the birds appear a little
out of sorts. It is a corrective for indigestion and cor-
responds to the use of ApoUinaris, or Hunyadi waters,
etc., which are such well-known correctives to overfed
and ill-fed mankind.

It is also a valuable aid to an effective moult, which,
though not a disease, but a natural process to provide a
new winter"'s dress, is yet a very trying condition.

Douglas mixture is a long-tried and successful
remedy similar in action to the above, but without its
slight purgative effect. It is easily prepared, and is
inexpensive. Take a quarter-pound of sulphate of iron
crystals and a half-ounce of sulphuric acid. Place them
in a large glazed earthenware vessel or jar, and pour
over the contents one gallon of water. Stir up the
contents with a stick several times during the day till

DISEASES OF POULTRY 157

all is dissolved. Skim off' any scum that rises and
bottle the contents in a bottle or jar, and keep well
corked. A small tablespoonful of this to each quart of
drinking-water, or two ounces to each gallon can when
watering a flock is about the correct dose. It acts as a
general tonic, and is valuable when birds are seedy in
hot weather or during moult. Though the moult
cannot be called a disease, it is a great strain on a fowl's
system, and the iron helps them. The acid keeps the
iron in solution better. It should, however, be placed
in an earthenware vessel for the fowls to drink, and not
in iron or zinc vessels.

For the moult a great assistance is also given by
adding, on fine mornings, a tablespoonful of flowers
of sulphur to the soft food of about a dozen fowls. It
is best sprinkled on and mixed with the dry meal before
scalding with water. Fowls should have a good dry
shelter during moult, and the sexes should be kept
separate, as otherwise the new feathers may be badly
broken or damaged.

Diphtheritic Roup. — This often follows an ordi-
nary attack of roup. Cheesy matter forms in the
mouth, and collects about the windpipe, and unless
attended to causes suffocation.

Cure. — The cheesy matter should be taken off' with a
knife, and, if in the windpipe, the quill of a feather can
be used to get it out. The surface will bleed slightly.
A little powdered alum placed on the parts is as good
a remedy as any, and the bird should be treated as
for ordinary roup. Another good remedy is to paint
the mouth and aff'ected parts with a solution made by
adding one drachm of perchloride of iron to two ounces
of glycerine.

I have known very bad cases cured by either the use
of a camel-hair brush moistened and touched lightly
with the powdered sulphate of copper, or by the use
of a strong solution of the same, say half-drachm, or as
much of the powder as will lie piled up on a shilling,
to half-a-pint of water.

In a bad case it is better to kill the fowl, unless a
valuable bird meant for exhibition, and to bury the
carcase, sprinkling it with quicklime, or to burn it.
The disease is very contagious, and the hands should

158 THE POULTRY MANUAL

be cleansed before handling another bird, and all the
cheesy growth should be burnt in the fire.

Gapes. — Gapes is a disease of chickenhood, and
mostly affects them between the ages of one and three
months.

Symptoms. — As the name implies, its chief symptom
is that of the chick opening its mouth wide as a
person does when gaping, only repeating it at frequent
intervals.

Cause. — Its prevalence is due to a thread-like parasitic
worm, which affects the windpipe and causes the chick
to gasp for breath and run backwards. The worms are
frequently half-an-inch or more in length. The male and
female are found in the windpipe in copula, and when
full grown the bird expectorates them. The female
worm is full of eggs. If a chick eats a worm, or picks
it up with its food, or eats an earthworm that has swal-
lowed one, it becomes infected. It is evident, therefore,
that the disease is very contagious, and often breaks out
on the same ground year after year. I have not had a
case in my yards for seventeen years. It is most commonly
found in damp, dirty, and neglected places

Cure. — When discovered, the chickens must be re-
moved to fresh quarters. When possible, the ground
should be well limed and dug deeply and re-sown with
grass.

A small feather stripped all but the tip, dipped in
turpentine and water, or in eucalyptus oil, and thrust
down the windpipe and twisted round, will often effect
a cure.

The administration of a camphor pill has also been
found effective.

Care should be taken that all the worms withdrawn
or expectorated should be burnt, and also the bodies of
any chicks that die.

Cramp. — Cramp is a common ailment of growing
stock, and is chiefly due to dampness of the soil and
continuous wet weather. The birds affected walk stiffly,
and the toes are often contracted.

The remedy is removal to a dry pen, and nothing is
better than a bed of peat-moss or of long straw. Bath-
ing in very warm water and rubbing with Elliman's
embrocation or turpentine assists the cure. When

DISEASES OF POULTRY 159

there is a roomy and dry scratching shed attached to
the poultry house, and a perch or two placed in a
sunny quarter, upon which the birds may sit, there
is little trouble with cramp. It is chiefly brought
about by the birds having nothing but damp places
to rest upon.

Leg-weakness, Rheumatism, Gout, Liver-
limp. — This occurs even in dry quarters, and is due
to the birds overgrowing their strength. It is most
frequent in large breeds when about four to six months
old, and undergoing their final chicken moult. The
drain upon the system in providing new feathers is
great, and the birds recline on their hocks. They squat
about, and, if disturbed, walk a few yards and then go
down again. If not attended to they frequently grow
up in-kneed.

Remedy. — These want nourishing food. Green bone
is of great assistance, about half-an-ounce should be
given twice daily, and a little Parrish's chemical food, a
teaspoonful to half-a-pint of water. If the birds are
well fed and supplied with bone-forming material from
the first, they are rarely affected. A little flowers of
sulphur added to the soft food is of great assistance
when they are feathering.

Leg-weakness and lameness may be due to other
causes than the strain of the chicken moult. Birds are
often affected with rheumatism and gout. When there
is heat in the joints with signs of pain, it is likely to be
rheumatism. EUiman's embrocation is a good thing.
Dampness is the main cause of it. If in addition to
the heat there is swelling of the joints, and it cannot
be accounted for by damp quarters, it is probably gout.
A calomel pill is a good remedy, followed by half-a-
teaspoonful of Epsom salts in the drinking-water.

Older fowls sometimes go lame from other causes, and
go limping about. If it affects the right leg only, and
is accompanied by a drawn, shrunken face with a yellow
cast about it, it probably is due to inflammation of the
liver. Such fowls usually go into an emaciated con-
dition, and, if it happens when the strain of moulting
is upon them, rarely survive. In any case they are of no
use for breeding purposes, and are better killed.

Crop-bound. — When a bird is noticed to have a full

160 THE POULTRY MANUAL

crop in the morning before breakfast, and then to have
httle appetite for food, it will be found on examination
to be crop-bound.

The cause is commonly found to be that it has been
eating long and tough grass, which has twisted itself
into a ball and cannot pass through the outlet of the
stomach into the gizzard. Sometimes it is due to feed-
ing younger chicks on coarse barley-meal or ground oats,
or it may be due to some large piece of grit or cinder
which the bird has swallowed.

The cure is to give the patient a good drink of warm
water, and so distend the crop, which should then be
worked about with the hand and the mass softened. If
the bird is held with its head downwards, and the crop
squeezed, the liquid will often run out, and the 'process
can be repeated. Finish by giving more water which
contains a teaspoonful of Epsom salts. Place the bird
in a dry pen, and in a day or two it will probably be all
right.

If this does not cure it, and the fowl is a valuable
one, I the crop may be opened with a sharp knife or
lancet. The outer skin should first be cut and then
drawn downwards, and an incision made into the crop
itself, so that the two cuts are not superimposed when
the crop is at rest. A small orifice will suffice to insert
a finger and draw the offending substance away. It
should then be washed out with milk-warm water.

The crop should then be stitched with white silk, or,
better still, with prepared catgut, which has previously
been prepared by soaking to make it soft. The best
plan is to stitch the crop first, by " interrupted sutures,"
i. e. by several separate stitches, tying each one, and
cutting off the ends close, before taking another stitch,
of which two or three should suffice. Then stitch the
outer skin in the same way. It is well to wash the
wound with a dilute solution of carbolic acid, a few
drops in half-a-pint of water, and to wash the lancet in
the same both before and after using. The bird should
have no water to drink for twenty-four hours, and be
fed moderately on soft food for a few days, when the
cure should be effected. If a common bird, only fit for
table, should be the sufferer, it is worth trying the
experiment in order to gain practice. But when one

DISEASES OF POULTRY 161

is proficient it is better to kill and eat the patient,
and reserve one's efforts for valuable stock.

Liver Disease. — This is one of the most dreaded
ailments, and sweeps away thousands of poultry every
year, and especially in the autumn on the approach of
moulting. It is a regular occurrence in many farmyards
for 50 per cent, of the adult stock to die in this way.
It is a tuberculous disease, and is contagious.

Symptoms. — The birds mope about and become
thin and emaciated in appearance ; the comb becomes
shrivelled and is often purplish in colour ; the excreta
is a light yellow ; the birds often limp in their walk.

The cause is primarily due to improper feeding, and
the want of green food and grit. The Asiatic varieties
and their descendants are more liable to it than the more
active breeds.

Its direct cause is a tuberculous bacillus, which attacks
the liver and the intestines, and is passed out with the
excreta.

If birds had a periodical dose of the Glauber salts,
etc., mixture (indicated on p. 156), it would not be
so frequent. On its approach this remedy should be
given, only adding yoz^r ounces of Epsom salts instead
of two to the mixture. The birds should be removed
to fresh quarters, and the worst cases Mlled and burnt,
not buried or thrown on the manure-heap, as this is the
surest way to spread the disease. Where it has been
very prevalent, the whole place should be disinfected
with Jeyes' fluid, and if it is arable land it should be
dug or ploughed, and a crop grown before the birds
are replaced. Earth or cindered yards should have
surface soil removed, and new material put in its
place.

My own losses through this disease do not exceed
1 per cent. Prevention is so much better than cure.

Avian Tuberculosis. — This is a dreadful and
deadly scourge, but not, so far as I am aware, very
prevalent. It first came to my notice in March of last
year (1908). A Buff' Orpington cockerel, having been
exchanged on the railway for another, was sent to a
yard Avhere all the birds were healthy. It was kept
for a time in the hope that the right bird might be
sent in its place, and, although at the time of its

M

162 THE POULTRY MANUAL

arrival it did not seem to be well, nothing serious was
anticipated.

When my attention was called to the bird it had lost
its appetite, its plumage was ruffled, and its excreta had
a greenish appearance. One morning it was found
dead. I was called to look at it, and found its feathers
behind all covered with a greenish slime, and on opening
it for examination found the intestines swollen and the
smaller ones knotted together and filled with tubercu-
lous nodules, having much the appearance of boiled peas.
Its body was burnt. In a few days other birds were
found to be affected in the same way, and in the course
of a week several died. The disease had evidently
spread through the poultryman carrying the excreta,
from the small cockerel pen in which it had been
detained, to other parts of the yard ; or it may have
been conveyed from one pen to another by rats in their
search after food. The matter grew serious, and a strict
look-out for symptoms was observed.

Symptoms. — In every case the symptoms were the
same. The birds affected lost their appetite even for
dainty morsels. The plumage was ruffled, and the bird
contracted the habit of standing on one leg with its
head under its wing. Sometimes the bird appeared
dazed and to have a glaze o\ex the eyes. There was a
more or less rapid loss of flesh, and the evacuations at
first Avatery and of greenish-Avhite changed into a deep
slimy green, especially noticeable under the perch on
which the bird had been roosting. A dead body was sent
to Professor Woodroffe Hill for examination and a report
by post. It was pronounced to be " avian tuberculosis,^"'
and to be contagious and incurable. All suspicious cases
were to be isolated at once, and when confirmed to be
killed and burnt.

Cause. — The disease is undoubtedly caused by the
presence of a bacillus, or tuberculous germ, which takes
up its abode in the intestines, and often proceeds to
attack the liver and spleen, all of which were found to
be infected and showed the tuberculous nodules, some-
times very small and at other times as large as a pea,
or groAvn into a larger knotted mass. The excreta of
an affected bird undoubtedly contains the germs of
disease, which may be carried about in various ways. It

DISEASES OF POULTRY 163

should, therefore, be burnt as well as the body. Some
authorities simply call the disease " Acute Septicaemia,"
as they do not consider it due to a consumpti\'e bacillus.

The cuor can be effected only by the removal of all
affected birds, the careful removal of all excreta, and a
thorough disinfection. Directions were given for all
healthy birds to be removed to fresh quarters, and a
sharp look-out for any symptoms of coloured excreta,
and for any sign of mopishness. The houses and
perches and drinking vessels were disinfected with
creosote, and chloride of lime was spread over the floors
of the house and runs, which were afterwards dug ovei'.
In this way the disease was stamped out. I have given
these full details in the hope that the owner of any yard
visited may take due precaution in time. The symptoms
are clear, and the cause evident on opening and dissecting
a body. No time should be lost in consulting a specialist
and acting on his advice, or the loss may be great and
severe. A careful inspection of the droppings under
the perch may often lead to an early detection of this
and other ailments. In some of its symptoms it is
like liver disease, but I take it to be quite distinct,
as in many cases the appearance of the li^ er was quite
normal both in colour and size, whereas the iiitestines
in all cases were diseased. It would appear to be akin
to the disease known as " consumption of the bowels."" In
liver disease the birds are often very fat, and no loss of
flesh appears on the breast. In avian tuberculosis
there is a rapid loss of fat and flesh, and if the bird
lives many weeks after the attack it becomes a living
skeleton. When once the disease is diagnosed, the
bird affected should be killed at once and the body
burnt, as even if it should recover it would be useless
for stock.

Comb Disease — White Comb. — The most connnon
form of this disease, which is another dreaded scourge
and very difficult to eradicate when introduced, is white
comb or favus.

Symptoms. — -White spots appear on the comb or
wattles, almost as though a speck of whitewash had
fallen upon it. It is a fungus growth and spreads rapidly.
It frequently extends down the neck and sometimes over
the body if not checked.

M 2

164 THE POULTRY MANUAL

Its cause is due to a parasitic fungus, a fine dust
like a very diminutive thistledown. The comb of a
fowl is its host. A yard may be entirely free fronrit
one week, and then, after a pugilistic encounter, the
combatants'' combs will be found infected. The fungus
would seem to attach itself to the perches, to the exits
from the house, and to mingle even in the dust bath
and to float in the air.

Cure. —Aw affected bird should be isolated, and the
comb washed with a hard brush and warm water and
soap, then dried and rubbed with ointment.

A pharmaceutical preparation, "unguentum sulphuris
iodidi '' (iodide of sulphur ointment), is a good remedy.
It should be well rubbed in. Two days afterwards it
should be examined, the comb, etc., again well washed,
and the treatment repeated. If the merest trace of
the fungus is left on the comb, etc., it will develop
again. It is better to kill a bird than run the risk of
infection.

Other Comb Affections. — Comb-pecKing. — Every
fancier knows the trouble and nuisance caused by the hens
pecking the cock''s comb, and making it bleed. It occurs
more frequently with the large combs of the Mediter-
ranean breeds. The cock seems rather to like it than
otherwise, and stands still for the hens to do it. It not
only spoils the appearance of the bird, but renders him
useless for breeding purposes. If allowed to go on the
cock sickens, the comb shrivels, and a sort of blood-
poisoning seems to follow. In this case the only cure is to
dub the bird. If taken in time there are various remedies.
(1) Anoint the comb with a mixture of vaseline and
bitter aloes, the bitter taste of which often acts as a
deterrent. (2) Remove the hen or cut the beak to the
i[uick. (3) Remove the cock and replace by a dubbed
bird, and attend to his comb. Paint with friar's
balsam, or use carbolized vaseline. If he is the only
cock bird available it may be worth while to make a cap
or the comb and tie it on until the wound is healed.
It is most conmionly done in frosty weather, or in the
early and cold part of the breeding season, when the
birds stand listlessly about. Scratching-shed exercise is
a preventive, and a little flesh food, and underfeeding,
making the birds take more exercise. A sprinkling of

DISEASES OF POULTRY 165

salt on the soft food has been found useful, or one ounce
added to the hot water with which the food for 50 fowls
is mixed. Many a breeding season has been ruined by
this nuisance, and no care and watchfulness are too
great to prevent it. Dubbing is the safest remedy, and
most successful breeders adopt this course.

Wounds in the comb or wattles. The result of
a battle often leaves torn comb and wattles, or it
is sometimes caused bv wire netting, etc. The wounds
should be washed at once, and touched with friar's
balsam, and stitched up. A surgeon's needle and
some carbolized catgut are the best instruments.
The wounds in the combs should be stitched on
eithe?^ side, and not through the comb, and where
stitches are necessarv, single stitches tied separately,
i. e. " interrupted sutures,"" are the best. First apply
friar's balsam, and then treat with carbolized vaseline.

Comb over. — When the comb is weak, or when it
goes over during the moult, it is well to support the
comb erect by means of a comb-guard. These are
advertised in all poultrv journals. The best are made
of wire covered by a thin tube of india-rubber. When
ordering state the size of the comb and the breed of the
bird. Measure the comb from the beak to the back of
the head on the under-side of the comb, and state the
depth of the comb in the centre from the top of the
spike to the bottom of the blade. The cost is about
one shilling. After seeing a good pattern you may
make your own of stout zinc wire and wrap it with
worsted. The guard should be tied on in front of the
beak under the loose part of the comb on the top of the
beak, or it may be tied by a piece of fine wire,
or tough string passed under the upper mandible.
It may be necessary for the first day to tie the legs of
the bird to prevent him from scratching it off. A
stout soft cord tied on the leg, below the spur on
both legs, allowing about six inches of cord between
the legs, will allow the bird to \valk but not to raise
the foot to scratch. After the first day he will
probably grow accustomed to it and the string may be
removed.

Canker is another form of comb disease. It usually
beg-ins at the front of the comb near the nostrils,

166 THE POULTRY MANUAL

This is a soft, raised, ugly sore, covered with a scab and
filled with pns.

Powdered alum well rubbed in often effects a cure in
a few days. The patient should have a dose of Epsom
salts — a teaspoonful in its drinking-water.

Fowl Cholera (Enteritis) is a very fatal disease,
and is quick in its action. The fowls appear well one
day and are dead the next. I have known farms
nearly depleted from this cause, but have myself never
had a case except in little chickens.

Symptoms. — The fowls are exceedingly thirsty, the
excreta is at first greenish, and then thin and white,
and adheres to the feathers.

The cause is undoubtedly due to a cholera bacillus,
which is evacuated, and is most contagious.

The remedy lies in isolation and removal of un-
affected birds to fresh pens. " Liquor ferri perchloridi
fort" or " steel drops" is a good aniiseptic remedy, and
in the case of young chicks often stops the infection. A
teaspoonful to a quart of water is strong enough for
adults, and half the quantity for chickens. There is no
hope for a pen of birds unless they are transferred to
fresh ground, and the affected birds killed, removed, and
burnt. The excreta should be gathered and burnt also,
and the earth covered with lime. Happily this disease
is not common, though when it appears it often sweeps
over a wide area.

Muco-enteritis. — Another kindred ailment affect-
ing young chickens.

Symptoms. — Loss of appetite, listlessness, ruffled
plumage, great thirst, staggering gait.

Cause. — The chief cause is impure drinking-water;
and as it occurs most frequently in hot weather, I con-
sider the chief cause is sun-Avarmed Avater. If the
vessel is allowed to get covered with green slime there
is something which sets up irritation in the intestines
and rapidly produces death. It is oiot contagious ; and
I have known cases in which simply placing the water
in the shade, seeing to its frequent change, together with
the strictest cleanliness, has saved the renniant of the
flock, although reared in the same place and under the
same conditions.

Ctire. — A little permanganate of potash in the

DISEASES OF POULTRY 167

drinking-water (as much as would lie on a threepenny-
bit to a gallon of water) is a great preventive. And
in cases where it has been in regular use I have not
known of any attack.

Bumble-foot is a swelling of the ball of the foot,
which often produces lameness.

The cause. — It is most frequently caused by the fowl
having perches too high and jumping or falling off upon
a hard floor. This is aggravated if the floor is spread
with ashes and cinders from the hearth, portions of
which are often embedded in the skin.

Treatment. — Remove high perches. Bathe the foot
in warm water. If there be much swelling, paint with
tincture of iodine by means of a brush or feather, and
repeat alternate days. If the swelling does not go down
it may be necessary to lance it and take out the ofi^ending
matter, which will often be found hard. It is necessary
sometimes to poultice it when it is soft and sore, and
then lance and bathe. Carbolized ointment should be
applied afterwards, and the foot bound up with narrow
bandages to keep out the dirt. It is oftener due to
carelessness than anything else. If treated early it
is easily cured.

Scaly Leg. — This is another disease chiefly due to
wet and dirt, and is most common among feather-
legged and slow-moving fowls. It is due to a minute
parasite which breeds under the scales of a fowl's leg,
and, if neglected, the scales are raised and present
altogether a leprous appearance. At first it appears
like a fine yellow dust upon the back of the shanks and
at the edge of the scales. It is contagious. One of the
commonest ways of spreading the disease is to allow a
hen with scaly legs to brood and bring up chickens, as
the chicks are sure to contract it. It is also probably
spread largely from the perch on which an affected
bird roosts.

The cure is effected easily if taken in time. The
best remedy is to wash the bird's legs with warm water
and soap, scrubbing off' the offending substance, and
then anointing Avith sulphur ointment. This should be
washed off in a day or two, and the treatment repeated.
Except in severe cases, two or three dressings will cure.

An easier but less successful cure is to apply petroleum

168 THE POULTRY MANUAL

and rub it well in. Perhaps the most rapid cure is
made by washing the legs with petroleum first and then
while the leg is still moist to rub in the sulphur
ointment.

Iodide of sulphur ointment is another excellent
remedy, but is only safe to. apply to black or dark-legged
birds, as it may stain them between the scales.

If it is intended to exhibit a bird thus treated, care
should be taken to wash the legs quite clean before
sending to the show.

Feather-eating is more of a nasty habit than a
disease, but it is ruinous to a fancier's yards, and nothing
is more unsightly than to see half-a-dozen hens in a pen
with the feathers stripped off the neck and breast.

Causes are many. It is most commonly found in
confined runs where the birds have little to do, especially
if there is no dust bath and scratching shed. It is some-
times caused by the irritation of insect pests. (See
Chap. V, note on Depluming Scabies.)

It is sometimes found that one hen is the cause of all
the»mischief. The offender should be caught and the
upper beak cut with a sharp knife till it is tender and
signs of bleeding appear. This makes it tender, and
while not preventing the bird from picking up its food,
will not allow the beak to close upon a feather. If not
cut too far, oidy the horny substance being removed, the
beak will grow again.

It is most commonly done in the autumn, when the
new feathers are coming. The hen relishes the soft
portion of the quill. It is a craving for flesh food. If
a little meat is given the habit often ceases, and the
same result is noticeable if a supply of fresh green food
is given, and a little salt added to the food. Over-fed
fowls are most prone to it, especially where the food is
too starchy. A little sulphur in the food is also a
remedial measure, especially in the autumn.

Egg-eating. — Fowls often get into the habit of
breaking the eggs in the nest. Every trace is eaten up,
and often when birds are supposed not to be laying they
are eating them. It is often begun through a hen
laying a shell-less egg, or by one being broken in the
nest. Jnij fowl will eat an egg if it is broken and
thrown down for it to eat.

DISEASES OF POULTRY 169

It is sometimes difficailt to cure. The best remedy I
know is to empty an egg by blowing out the contents,
and then through the larger hole at one end of it, fill
with egg and bread-crumbs and pour over or saturate it
with spirits of ammonia. If the egg is placed in the
nest the birds will rush for it, but a single peck is often
enough. I have known inveterate egg-eaters thus cured.

If the hen addicted to the habit is not a valuable one
it is better to remove her from the pen, or kill and eat her.
If valuable, and the eggs are wanted for hatching, and
the treatment already described does not cure her, cut
the beak to the quick as directed for feather-eaters.

Egg-bound. — It is no uncommon occurrence for a hen
or pullet to become egg-bound and unable to lay. A
common cause is the hen having become too fat during
a prolonged moult and the rest following it.

Symptoms. — Frequent visits to the nest and coming
off again without laying. Swelling and inflammation
round the vent, or more serious still the protrusion of
the egg-passage. If the hen is not valuable it is better
to kill and eat, as he ailment is very liable to recur
after a cure.

Cure. — If desired to cure, take the bird and push the
protrusion into its place with the finger, taking care
that the hand is clean and the nail well pared, then with
the finger try and find the egg. If the egg is soft
break it and take away the skin. If hard it may some-
times be gently forced down. If not it should be broken
and all traces of shell removed. The inflamed parts
need an astringent to reduce the swelling. For this
purpose a little alum and water poured into the vent or
injected with a syringe is as good and simple as any.

The bird should be sparingly fed on simple food, and
half-a-teaspoonful of bromide of potassium added to a
pint of its drinking-water. This would help to retard
the laying and so hasten the cure.

CHAPTER X

MENDELISM AND THE LAWS OF HEREDITY

" Close observers of the relation between successive
generations of mankind, or of plants and animals, are
at one in recording tAvo distinct impressions — on the
one hand, of persistent hereditary resemblance ; on the
other, of variability " (Professor J. A. Thompson).

I desire, in the following pages, to bring before
my readers some of the mysterious laws of " Heredity "
upon which light has been thrown by modern scientists,
but more especially to direct their attention to the
sources from which this knowledge may be gathered, so
that they may wander themselves into these delightful
and mysterious fields of suggestion and of information.

Professor J. A. Thompson, to whose recent work on
" Heredity " I am much indebted, says : " What has
been achieved in the past in regard to horses and cattle,
pigeons and poultry ... by experimental cleverness
and infinite patience, may be surpassed in the future
if breeders and cultivators can attain to a better under-
standing of the more or less obscure laws of inheritance
on which all their results depend "" (p. 3).

That much has been done within the memory of
many living fanciers to add to the beauty of some
of our ancient breeds of poultry, as well as in the intro-
duction of many of the most popular varieties within
the last twenty or thirty years, none will deny. And
this improvement has not been confined to the external
characteristics such as type, size, and plumage, but has
affected the internal characteristics also, since it is prob-
able that never before in the history of poultrydom have
our egg-baskets been so well filled.

But as Mr. R. C. Punnett says, in his most concise and
170

MENDELISM AND LAWS OF HEREDITY 171

useful little book on Meudelism : " Since the principles of
heredity form the very basis of the breeder's operations,
anything which throws new light on these hitherto
obscure matters nuist largel}' influence an important
industry. From the little that has been- already found
out, the breeder is enabled to proceed with some degree
of certainty. Till now his methods have been almost
entirely empirical and in a great measure wasteful.
He has bred together those that seemed most likely
to produce what he required. From their numerous
offspring he has selected those few that seemed to come
nearest to those he wanted. The rest, and these the
great majority, must be rejected. Many be called,
but few chosen. True, the end aimed at, fixation, is
eventually attained. But its accomplishment entails
much unnecessary waste by the way. MendePs dis-
covery must react strongly upon these methods. As
soon as he recognizes the definiteness of his problems,
as soon as he realizes the conception of unit characters,
the breeder will reach his end more swiftly, with greater
economy of time and material. Few individuals, com-
paratively, will suffice for his preliminary process of
analysis, and when this has been done he may pass
to greater numbers with a feeling of certainty as to
the result. He will know with what he is dealing.
The possession of a transmissible character, desirable or
otherwise, is no longer a question merely of degree.
Either the individual has or has it not. Either it is
represented in the ' gametes "* or it is not. Once its
presence or absence has been determined by analysis the
line can be definitely drawn. The breeder may proceed to
build up synthetically, character by character, the plant
or animal he requires. His chief limitations will be
those imposed by Nature upon the variation of living
forms. These he will learn by simple observation ancl
experience, thereby saving time and labour in futile
attempts to achieve the impossible. For he will have
read the riddle of the Blue Andalusian fowl "
(pp. 77-8).

I have given this long extract in the words of one
of the foremost workers in the field, in order to show
what may be expected by the patient and intelligent
worker and observer, Patient endeavour, careful obser-

172 THE POULTRY MANUAL

vation and correct records of results will still be necessary
for success. But greater things can be aimed at, and in
many cases more speedily gained and more certainly
fixed. The new theories will be found not to displace
but to direct • the old, and the interest in achieving
results, which has been one of the main compensations
of the true fancier in the past, will be heightened and
intensified in the future. Many a riddle of the poultry
race will be solved, though new vistas will be opened,
leading to still undiscovered lands, where many problems
will arise for solution. The fancier will proceed step
by step towards his goal, fixing one point at a time,
and he will work not by the clumsy and haphazard
method of mating a " pen " of a given number of fow'ls,
and then selecting the best-looking of the progeny
regardless of their parentage, but by noting the results
of mdividual matings, through the use of " trap " nests,
or by careful observation of each bird in the pen. He
will be guided not so much by external characteristics
as by the knowledge of the hereditary prepotency of
each bird in his flock. And though this method will
be toilsome and troublesome to begin with, he will be
assured that each step taken is something gained. The
poultry fancier will learn to value " pedigree " as he has
never done before, and while he envies the accurate
records of the stud-books available for dogs and cattle,
he will speedily establish one for his own use among his
birds. Nature will often appear capricious in her moods,
but he will learn that she acts only in accordance with
definite laws, and, moreover, that she holds out the key
for him to unlock her secret chambers if he has but the
patience to search and the intelligence to grasp it.

In the quotation given above from Mr Punnett's
book on " Mendelism," he states : " Till now the
(breeder's) method has been almost entirely empirical.""
And " MendePs discovery must react strongly upon
these methods." It is to Mendel's law that I now
direct my readers' attention. Its discovery is of such
importance that Mr. Bateson says : " The experiments
which led to this advance of knowledge are worthy to
rank with those that laid the foundation of the atomic
theory of chemistry."

MENDELISM AND LAWS OF HEREDITY 173

The prevailing idea of the law of heredity before this
discovery was that Nature produced her various changes
by the slow accumulation of minute differences. The
present has been evolved from the past, by gradual
and almost imperceptible changes. Readers of Darwin
will be familiar with such sentences as these : " As
natural selection acts solely by accumulating slight,
successive, favourable variations it cannot produce great
or sudden modifications, it can only act by short and
slow steps." Hence the canon of " Natura non facit
saltum " [Nature never takes a leap], Avhich every fresh
addition to our knowledge only confirms. Darwin
collected a great mass of evidence in support of his state-
ments, and since the publication of this theory in 1859,
and the facts brought out in his Variation of Animals
and Plants under Domestication in 1868, compara-
tively little has been done. The glamour of his name
seems to have cast a spell over other investigators, who
have been content to arrange and rearrange the same
facts.

Variations which accumulate slowly are called by Mr.
Bateson, in Materials for the Study of Variation, 1894,
pp. 13-5, " Continuous variation," and those which
appear suddenly, as by leaps and bounds, " Discon-
tinuous." In his own words : " In proportion as the
transition from term to term is minimal and imper-
ceptible, we may speak of the series as being Co)t-
tinuous, while in proportion, as there appear in it
lacunae, filled by no transitional form, we may describe
it as Discontinuous. The several possibilities may be
stated somewhat as follows. The series may be wholly
continuous ; on the other hand, it may be sometimes
continuous and sometimes discontinuous ; we know,
however, by connnon knowledge that it is never wholly
discontinuous." And later (p, 16) : " Variation has been
supposed to be always continuous, and to proceed by
minute steps, because changes of this kind are so
common in variation. Hence it has been inferred that
the mode of variation thus commonly observed is
universal. That this inference is a wrong one the facts
will show."

It is noteworthy that Mr. Bateson, who has done so

174 THE POULTRY MANUAL

much to familiarize English readers with Menders dis-
covery, as to the great part played by discontinuous
variation in the evolutionary process of nature, should
have been already at work for some years in the same
direction. His work referred to above on " Variation "
was published in 1894, while Mendel's discovery did not
attract general attention till 1901, though it had been
originally published in 1865, but had lain unnoticed
for thirty-five years, possibly because of the greater
attraction of Darwin's works, published in 1859 and
1868.

George Mendel was an Austrian monk, born in
1822. He entered a religious house at Brlinn, 1843,
and was ordained priest in 1847. Subsequently he
studied the Natural Sciences in Vienna (1851-3), be-
came interested in the problems of hybridization, and
on his return to the cloister of Brlinn commenced his
classic experiment on the eating pea {Pisum sativum).
The results appeared in the Proceedings of the
Natural History Society of Brimn, under the title
" Experiments in Plant Hybridization " (1865). He
died of Bright's disease in 1884, at the age of 61. For
a detailed biographical notice, readers are referred to a
chapter in the end of Mr. Bateson's ^leQidePs Principles
of Heredity.

MendePs Law. — What, then, is Mendel's Law ? It
is chiefly concerned with the fertilization of cross-bred
organisms.

" Mendel states that, like other investigators, he had
been struck by the regularity with which offspring of
certain hybrids reproduce the pure ancestral forms.
But owing, as he supposes, to the complex nature of
the cases studied, and to want of accurate statistics, the
precise facts had never been ascertained. Accordingly
he set himself to work out some cases from which
every confusing element should as far as possible be
excluded " (Page 7, Report I to Evohdion Committee^
1902).

For this purpose he chose several varieties of a pea
{Pisum sativum) as best suited to his purpose. In this
plant the separate flowers are habitually self -fertilizing',
and are protected from insect interference. There are

MENDELISM AND LAWS OF HEREDITY 175

numerous varieties of the eating pea having distinct
characters which breed true. In some varieties the
seed is yellow, in others it is green. In some varieties
the peas are smooth and round \\hen ripe, in others
wrinkled. Some peas, again, when grown under ordi-
nary conditions attain to a height of 6 or 7 feet, whilst
others are dwarfs which do not grow to more than 18
inches or 2 feet. Other varieties differed in the shape
of the pod, or in the colour of the unripe pod, or in the
position of the flower.

He thus chose pairs of varieties for crossing in such
a way that the members of each pair differed from each
other in respect of one definite character. Between
these various pairs of varieties crosses were then made,
the female parent being emasculated. Thus pollen
from a pea of the round-seeded variety was transferred
to the stigma of a pea of the angular-seeded variety,
the stamens of the artificially pollenated flower being
removed before they were ripe. The same was done in
all the varieties named. In the experiment referred to
above the result was seen as soon as the cross-fertilized
seed was ripe. It was found that all the seed was
round, none angular or wrinkled. With the other
experiments it was necessary to plant the ripe seeds
and grow the plants to maturity. On such examination
it was found that in the case of each pair of characters
only one zcas manifested in the cross-bred individual, to
the total, or almost total, exclusion of the opposite
character.

The character Avhich thus prevails Mendel calls
Dominant (D) ; the character which is suppressed being
Recessive (R).

Reciprocal crosses gave identical results, i. e. the
result was the same whether the pollen was taken from
an angular pea or from a rounded one, or whether taken
from the flower of a tall plant or a dwarf. Briefly,
then, D X R or R x D gave offspring which, in
appearance, were all practically D.

The next generation is obtained by allowing the
cross-bred plants to fertilize themselves. The result of
such self-fertilization is, according to Mendel, that the
next generation instead of being uniform like their

176 THE POULTRY MANUAL

cross-bred parents break up into the two original forms.
This takes place in such a way that there are, on the
average^ three dominants to one recessive.

Take as an example the cross between the tall and
the dwarf pea. It is of no consequence which is used
as the male or pollen-producing plant, and which the
female, the result is the same. When the cross-bred
seeds were sown all the plants grew tall ; there were no
dwarfs and no intermediates. When the seeds from
these tall plants were sown in the following year, it was
found that both tall and dwarf plants were produced in
the ratio of 3 : 1. There were no intermediates. In
one series of experiments Mendel obtained 1064 plants,
of which 787 were tall and 277 dwarfs, i. e. the tall
plants were about three times as numerous as the
dwarf in the second generation. The tall plants were
dominant (D), and the dwarfs recessive (R). [For
convenience of reference the parent plants are called
P, the hybrids or first-cross F^ (= 1st filial gener-
ation), and the succeeding generations F^, F^, and
so on.]

In the following year the seed of this F^ gener-
ation were sown. From the seed of the dwarf only
dwarf plants came. The recessives bred true to type,
and, what is more, continued to breed true through any
number of generations. The recessives are, therefore,
not only apparently but actually pure, showing no taint
of the cross so far as the contrasted pair of characters
is concerned, i. e. the recessive vvas all R, and no sign
of D.

The tall plants, however, though all apparently pure
D, were not all pure. Briefly, one-third of them pro-
duced seed which again gave rise to tall plants only, but
two-thirds of them formed seed from which sprang both
tails and dwarfs in the proportion of 3 : 1.

The tall plants of the Y^ generation were, therefore,
of two kinds, those which carried only the tall character,
and those which carried both the tall and the dwarf.
By breeding subsequent generations Mendel found that
the pure dominants and the pure recessives always
bred true like their original parents (P), while the
impure dominants bred dominants and recessives in
the constant of 3 : 1.

MENDELISM AND LAWS OF HEREDITY 177

Tall (pure) x Dwarf (pure) Parents = P

Tall (impure) F^

Tall (750)
ratio [3]

Dwarf (250)
[11

F2

Tall (pure) Tall (impure) Dwarf (pure)

ratio [l] [2] [1]

F3

All tall (pure) 3 tall + 1 dwarf All dwarf (pure) F*

If Ave denote the pure dominant by D, and the
impure dominant (which cannot usually be distinguished
in appearance from the pure) by [D], and the recessive
by R, we may construct the following scheme of
inheritance —

D X R

I
[D]

Parent forms.
Hybrid offspring .

Fi

8D

IR Generation of inbred hybrids F^

ID

D

+

2[D]
I

3D

IR R

ID + 2[D]

D D 3D IR R R

I I

1D + 2[D] i

D D D

R R

F3

F*

F5

It will be noted that the 3D in the F^ generation =
ID pure and 2[D] impure. The SD's resembling the
dominant parent are all apparently alike, but their

178 THE POULTRY MANUAL

subsequent history shows that they may be divided
into a set which breed true dominant type, and another
set which behave hke the first generation of hybrids, F^ ;
that is, they go on sphtting up into dominant-like forms
and pure recessives.

Mendel himself verified this principle of dominance
for several characters of pisum, finding not only
Tallness dominant over Dwarfness, but
Round seeds dominant over Wrinkled seeds,
Coloured seed coats dominant over White seed coats.
Yellow seed colour dominant over Green seed colour,
Purple flowers dominant over White flowers.
Within the last few years the validity of the principle
has been extended to numerous differentiating char-
acters, both structural and physiological, in animals as
well as plants. To take but a few instances —

In mice the coloured coat is dominant over the white ;
In poultrij the rose-comb, as in Hamburgh, Wyan-
dotte, etc., is dominant over the single-comb, as in
Minorca, Leghorn ;

In cattle^ polled cattle are dominant over horned
cattle.

So far we have considered only the phenomenon
enunciated by Mendel, and borne out by further
experiments, of the dominance of one of a pair of
characteristics over the other. Mendel interprets his
facts as follows : They point to the conclusion that in
the cross-bred each of its pollen grains (or sperm-cells),
and each of the egg-cells, is either pure dominant or
pure recessive, and that on the average there are equal
numbers of each hind for each sex.

The Inheritance is usually carried by the
Germ-cells. — " What was for so long quite hidden
from inquiring minds, or but dimly discerned by the
few, is now one of the most marvellous of biological
commonplaces — that the individual life of the great
majority of plants and animals begins in the union of
two minute elements — the sperm-cell (the male) and
the egg-cell (the female).

" These microscopic individualities unite to form a
new individuality, a potential offspring, which will
by and by develop into a creature, like to and yet
different from its parent. If we mean h\ inheritance

MENDELISM AND LAWS OF HEREDITY 179

to include all the living creature is or has to start with
in virtue of its genetic relation to its parents and
ancestors then it is plain that the physical basis of
inheritance is in the fertilized ovum" (Prof. Thompson,
p. 26).

Such cells, both male and female, are called gametes,^
and the cell formed by the fusion of a male with a
female gamete is called a zygotes When two gametes
both bearing the same character meet together in the
zygote {e. g. both bearing the tall character in the pea),
such a zygote is known as a homozygote. When the
gametes are dissimilar {e. g. one bearing the character of
tallness and the other of dwarfness) such a zygote is called
a heterozygotc. The heterozygote often bears the form
of the pure dominant, from which it can only be
distinguished by the test of breeding.

That the heterozygote also carries the recessive
character is proved, as we have seen, by the fact that
when such heterozygotes are inbred together one-fourth
of the offspring are recessive. It is only in this way
that we can distinguish between the pure tall pea and
the tall which bears the dwarf characters ; or, in poultry,
between the pure rose-comb and the rose-comb which
carries also the single-comb.

When, e.g., a pair of rose-combed Wyandottes or
Hamburghs throw a proportion of single-combed off-
spring, one or both of the pair are heterozygote.
Similarly, if one of the pairs is a rose-combed fowl and
the other a single-comb, if all the offspring are rose-
combed the rose-comb is pure or homozygote ; if any
are single, it is heterozygote, since, if pure, the rose-
comb would dominate, and all the progeny be rose-
combed.

Homozygote bred with Heterozygote. — It has
already been shown that when hybrids of the F^
generation are bred together the proportionate result
is ID + 2DR -I- IR, where D = dominance, R =
recessive, and DR heterozygotes bearing both unit
characters.

The breeder, however, frequently wishes, not to

1 Gamete, for Greek -ya/xeai, to marry, (,'f. the word '^^ Polygamy. "
^ Zygote, for Greek C^y6v, a yoke ; anything which joins two
bodies together.

N 2

180 THE POULTRY MANUAL

continue breeding together the heterozygotes DR, but
to mate these back to one of the pure-bred parents, which
are homozygotes. Where the characters are truly Men-
dehan he can easily calculate beforehand the result of
such mating. Thus, if he mate the cross-bred DR with
the dominant D the result will be equal numbers of DD
and DR, or if he mate DR with R the result will be
equal numbers of RR and DR. In one case the result
is that, on an average, half the progeny are pure-bred,
i. e. homozygotes, for the recessive or the dominant
character ; and when either the recessives or the domi-
nants are inbred they will breed true. Experiments
like these prove that what is known as the theory of
gametic segregation is true.

Monohybridism and Dihybridism. — So far we
have only considered crosses in which the mated pairs
differed only in a single pair of characters. Such
crosses are known as cases of Monohybridism. Where
the original parents differ in two pairs of characters the
case is termed one of Dihybridism.

Take the case of a cross between the rose-combed
Black Hamburgh and the single-combed White Leg-
horn. In this case the rose-comb is dominant over the
single-comb and the white plumage is dominant over
the black.

Let the rose-comb be represented by R, dominant.

Let the single-comb be represented by s, recessive.

Let the white plumage be represented by W, dominant.

Let the black plumage be represented by b, recessive.

Then R^ X R* = RR 4- 2R* -f ss,

and Wb xWb = WW + 2W6 + bb,

i. e. Avhen two hybrids are mated together the resulting
progeny (on the average) is one like the dominant
parent, one like the recessive and tzco with the qualities
of both the dominant and the recessive, i. e. in mating a
white fowl with a black fowl (in cases where the white
is dominant), the result will be one pure white (W),
which will continue to breed white ; one pure black (b),
which will continue to breed black ; and two white fowls,
which carry black as a dominant or recessive quality.
These two are hybrids, which will breed the same as
their parents.

MENDELISM AND LAWS OF HEREDITY 181

What is true of white plumage apphes to the rose-comb.

Dihyhridlsm. — In the cross between the Black rose-
combed Hamburgh and the White single-combed Leg-
horn we have a case of dihybridism. The average result
of such mating will be shown by the algebraic formula

(RR + 2R5 + ss) X (WW -f 2W6 -f- hb)
In working out this simple formula we may place the
symbols multiplied, in any order, thus WR, which
expresses the dominance of white plumage and rose-
comb, is equally correct if put down as RW. If I wish
to express the white plumage I put the W first, and the
result is —

WWRR

W6RR

WbRs

bbRR

WWR.9

W6RR

WbRs

bbRs

WWR,s

Whss

WbRs

bbRs

WWas

Wbss

WbRs

bbss

This shows that out of every 16 of the progeny there
will be on the average 12 chickens with white plumage
and 4 with black, i. e. 3 white to 1 black. It also shows
that of the 12 whites 4 will be pure, since each gamete
is pure (WW), and 8, though white because white is
dominant, will carry black as a recessive (W6). By the
same table of symbols I find there are 12 rose-combs,
as R is present in 12 cases, but only 4 pure, where
(RR) occurs, and 8 impure (R-v), and that there are 4
pure single-combs {ss).

If I tabulate for rose-combs it appears more simple
as —

RRWW

R.9WW

RsWb

*,sWW

RRW6

R*WW

RsWb

ssWb

RRW6

Rsbb

RsWb

ssWb

RRbb

Rsbb

RsWb

ssbb

The tables show me that I get 3 rose-combs to 1
single-comb, 3 whites to 1 black, and that taking both
pairs of characters together there will be out of every
16 chickens 9 rose-combed whites, 3 rose-combed blacks ;
3 single-combed whites, and 1 single-combed black.

A glance at the table will show me the proportion of
chickens which will breed true, viz. those Avhich are
homozygous for both pairs of characters, e. g. RRWW
will breed pure rose-combed whites, and RR66 will
breed pure rose-combed blacks, 56'WW will breed pure

182

THE POULTRY MANUAL

single-combed whites, and ssbb will breed pure single-
combed blacks.

If the 9 rose-combed whites are taken to breed
together, on the average only 1 will breed true,
designated above RRWW, 2 will throw a proportion
of single-combed whites (R.?WW), 2 will throw also
rose-combed blacks (RRW6), while the other 4 will
throw both single-combed whites and single-combed
blacks (R.?W6), as well as rose-combs of both colours.

The awkward part for the breeder is that he is not
able, with present knowledge, to tell which will breed
true, from outward appearance, but has to test his
breeders in these cases by actual experiments, except in
the cases above mentioned, for he knows, e. g\, that the
single-combed black will breed true.

These results may be tabulated as below, showing both
the outward appearance and the breeding qualities of
each chicken, taking; the first of the above lists in order —

WWER

WiRR
3 W6RR

WWss

WbR.9
WbRs
W6Rs
W6Rs

WWRs
WWRs

Wfe.s
Wbss

bbHx
bbRs

*66RR

''bhss

OUTWARD APPEARA^•CE

[white
White

White
\ White

I Wliite

I Black

Black
Black

Rose

Rose
Single

Rose
Rose

Sincle

Rose
Sino-le

BREEniNG QUALITIl-.S

Will breed white rose-combs with no

taint of cross. A new variety
rWill breed \ pure white rose-comb
J ,, „ i pure black rose-comb
I ,, ,, ^ impure white, hetero-
V zygotes like parents
Will breed white single-combs only,

with no taint of cross
( These organisms having both pairs of
J characteristics are dihybrids like
j the parent stock, and will breed as
I rejiresented in this table
^These will breed wliite rose-combs
and white single-combs :"n the pro-
) i)ortion of 1 lose-comb white pure,

\1 single-comb white pure, and 2
rose-comb white heterozygotes
like their parents (WRs)
rThese will breed white single-combs
and black single-combs, viz. 1
single-comb white pure + 1 single-
1 comb black pure + 2 single-comb
impure whites, represented by
^ formula sW -f 2sW6 + sb
I These black rose-combs will breed in
I the proportion of 1 black rose-
coinb pure + 1 black single-comb
pure and 2 impure single rose-comb
L blacks = 6R + 2bRs + b.i
Pure black rose-comb with no taint

of cross
Pure black single-comb with no taint
of cross. A new vai-iety

Those marked * are-pure for both characters.

MENDELISM AND LAWS OF HEREDITY 183

The example of the Black rose-combed Hamburgh
with the single-combed White Leghorn has been worked
out in such detail to show the nature of Mendefs
discovery of the law of Gametic Segregation.

It appears to me one of the most marvellous of
the discoveries of science that by means of this law the
breeder should be able to predict beforehand the
result of mating his stock. He may take a pair of these
cross-bred fowls, both white plumage and rose-combs,
and knowing their pedigree, i. e. their gametic heritage,
can tell the number of rose-combs and single-combs of
white plumage or black plumage which he will get.
The gain to the breeder is enormous. Although the
parents were heterozygous (i. e. in common parlance
mongrels), he gets four birds out of the sixteen, one-
fourth of the group, which will breed true, viz. the rose-
combed white (WWRR), the single-combed white
(WW*^), the rose-combed black (66RR), and the
single-combed black (bbss), and that of these four
two of them, the (WWRR) and the (bbss), are nezv
Jbt'ms, new varieties, proof of the theory of Discon-
tinuous Variation. These are marked with an * in the
tabulated list.

MendePs Theory summarized. — " Mendel dis-
covered an important set of facts, and he also suggested
a theoretical interpretation — the theory of gametic
segregation. As Mr. Bateson says : ' The essential part
of the discovery is the evidence that the germ-cells
or gametes produced by cross-bred organisms may in
respect of given characters be of the pure paternal
type, and consequently incapable of transmitting the
opposite character ; that when such pure similar gametes
of opposite sexes are united in fertilization, the in-
dividuals so formed and their posterity are free from all
taint of the cross ; that there may be, in short, perfect
or almost perfect discontinuity between these germs in
respect of one of each pair of opposite characters ' ""
(Professor Thompson, Heredity, p. 347).

" The essential feature of MendePs discovery is the
segregation in the gametes of the factors corresponding
to the dominant and the recessive characters" (R. C.
Punnett, Mendelism, p. 30).

" The breeding pen is to us what the test tube is to

.184 THE POULTRY MANUAL

the chemist, an instrument whereby we examine the
nature of our organisms and determine their genetic
properties" (Bateson).

This principle of gametic segregation and the modes
of its action in the breeding pen I have endeavoured to
point out in the tabulated list.

Each group of symbols represents a number of
characteristics, sometimes containing both units of pairs
of characteristics, e. g. W6R* represents that the fowl
in question has the gametes for white plumage and
black plumage, for rose-comb and single-comb, and
possesses them in equal numbers.

In the sperm-cell or egg-cell which it imparts it may
give off a gamete representing white plumage (W) or
a gamete representing black plumage (6), but not both at
the same time, i. e. not a gamete representing half white
and half black. The gametes are distinct units. The}^
are segregated, i. e. divided, separated, one from the other.
What is true of colour applies in the same way to the
comb, and also to other Mendelian characteristics, if
present. As an illustration, it may be said that they lie
side by side like the numerous sections or " quarters "
in an orange, each contained in its own envelope, while
the cell-like fruit within the segment may represent as
many distinct units of pairs of characters, one unit of
many pairs, but not the two distinct characteristics of
any pair.

How this segregation of the gametes, which represent
the dominant and recessive characters, takes place in the
organism is at present unknown, though it is not im-
probable that the further studies and researches of
embryologists may discover it.

What is important is the fact, proved by abundant
experiment, that these two " potential unit characters "
do segregate, and that the adult organism cannot have
both. " Intermediate forms or blends do not occur in
Mendelian phenomena."

In describing the ratio of their transmission by
hybrid organisms, the expression " on, the average " has
to be used. There is no proof that they are given oft'
alternately, though it is assumed that they are present
in equal numbers. It is not to be taken as proved that
the group of sixteen inheritances I have given will be

MENDELISM AND LAWS OF HEREDITY 185

present in the exact order in each sixteen of the off-
spring, though if the number be multiphed by ten it
would be found that they would be very near the
numbers given.

Chance Fertilization. — It is much the same as in a
game of chance. If there were ten sets of the table of
sixteen placed in a lucky bag we should not expect the
one (WWRR) and the one (bbss) to be drawn with each
sixteen, although we know that there would be ten of
each drawn by the time the one hundred and sixty
tickets had been drawn.

This is the common experience of breeders. It some-
times happens that the best birds of the year's breeding
come all at once, at some period of the season, while at
other times they are fairly evenly distributed all through.

It is like the game of " whist." Each player knows
that there are four aces in the pack, and that four out
of fifty- two cards are of this nature and are dealt every
time. The average is absolute, but the individual
chance of getting one ace each hand is uncertain. It is
the " glorious uncertainty " which constitutes the game,
as a fisherman once remarked to me. If every breeder
could exactly tabulate his results, then breeding would
become purely mechanical and the zest would be gone.

Nowhere is this uncertainty more apparent than in
buying or selling a sitting of eggs. A breeder may
hatch five hundred chickens himself, and yet be beaten
(if honest) by the chicks hatched out of a solitary
sitting sold to a purchaser. The man who breeds most
has the greatest chance, other things being equal. It
would be well if purchasers realized this.

The leading experimenters on Mendelian lines (Messrs.
Bateson and Punnett) have expressed this in their state-
ment : " Up to the present time the attempt to dis-
cover an order in the occurrence of the gametes, bearing
either of a pair of allelomorphs, has led to negative
results." And again, " As to the factors which deter-
mine the retention or exclusion of any character in the
case of any germ-cell, no suggestion has yet been made.
It is not impossible that this may be influenced by
some factor easily disturbed by environmental circum-
stances, so far at least as the egg-cell is concerned "
{Report II to the Evolution Committee, p. 129).

186 THE POULTRY MANUAL

One such " environmental circumstance " I have
referred to in the chapter on breeding Buff Orpingtons,
viz. the vigour of the parent at the moment.

Dominants and Recessives. — I have written
somewhat at length in order that the poultry breeder
may see the importance of the law of ^'gametic segrega-
tion.'''' The numerous experiments which have been made
amply prove the existence of such a law, and that it is
at work both in the vegetable and animal kingdoms,
including man. Many of these experiments are
recorded at length in Reports I, II and III to the
Evolution Committee, to which I refer those who are
interested.

This law is independent of the expression of domin-
ance or recessiveness. The authors referred to above
express it thus : " We are led to the conclusion that if
an individual be heterozygous, there is no direct relation
between the somatic character it presents and the
gametic output " {Report II to the Evolution Committee,
p. 115). In other words, it is not the outward bodily
appearance of the fowl which determines its breeding
value, but the knowledge of how it has been bred.

There is need, therefore, of the greatest caution,
especially when we are dealing with extracted types,
i. e. with heterozygous or cross-bred fowls.

The laws which govern dominance are by no
means perfectly understood.

^'' Dominance appears to be of two kinds, complete
and incomplete. Complete dominants are practically
indistinguishable from the pure dominants ; incomplete
dominants are variable, showing the influence of the
recessive character in different degrees, the intensity of the
downward character being correspondingly diminished.
In some character matings the dominance is appar-
ently always complete, in some it is always incomplete,
and in others it is sometimes complete, but more often
incomplete. On the whole, the incomplete dominants
appear to be about twice as numerous as the complete
dominants. The pure recessive is always quite distinct
from both kinds of dominants."

The above remarks are part of the summing up of
the result of a series of first-crosses (F^) between pure
breeds of unlike characters in which a large number of

MENDELISM AND LAWS OF HEREDITY 187

chickens were hatched, the total number of chicks
being 1283.

The following list gives a comprehensive notion of the
various kinds of complete and incomplete dominance.

TOTAL RESULTS OP FIRST-CROSSES (f^). MATINGS OF UiS'LIKE
CHARACTERS (d X r) (d = DOMINANT, R — RECESSIVE)

COM-

INCOM-

ERFER-

CHARACTER

D

- B

NUMBER HATCHED

PLKTE

PLETE

ESCE

D

D

D

E

1

Comb

Leaf

Single

110

0

9

101

2

Rose

1()4

0

164

0

3

^

Leaf

6

0

0

6

4

"Down," or
chick plum-
age

wiiite

Black

143

19

23

120

5

Buff

53

7

2

51

6

Black

113

0

0

113

7

Feet

5 toes

4 toes

lis

3

25

SS

8

Shanks

Feathered

Clear

173

0

0

173

9

White [ Yellow

105

0

105

0

10

Blue 1

107

0

107

0

11

Crest

Crested j Clear

105

0

0

105

12

Eggs

Brown j White

31

0

0

31

13

Broodiness

Sitting ! Non-sit-
ting

31

0

31

0

Total . .

1254 -

f 29

4tJ6

788

Pel

- cent. .

97-7

f 2-3

36-3

61-4

It is apparent at a glance that complete dominance
is here confined to a few of the above characters ; c. g.
No. 2, rose-comb is completely dominant over single-
comb ; No. 9, white shanks dominant over yellow ;
No. 10, blue over yellow shanks ; and No. 13, broodi-
ness completely dominant over non-sitting.

But even these " complete " dominants need qualify-
ing ; e. g. it is by no means clear that the rose-combs in
No. 2 are of the same quality as the parent rose. All
that is meant is, that there are no single-combs. So far
as my experience goes most of the rose-combs are
smaller than the parent rose-comb, and I hope that
closer investigation may enable the breeder to dis-
tinguish between the pure D and the DR.

Then, again, take No. 13. All that is meant is,
that when a sitting and a non-sitting race is crossed,
the pullets which are reared all show some tendency to
broodiness. It does not mean that they are as persistent
in this habit as the pure-bred sitting varieties,

188 THE POULTRY MANUAL

Incomplete Dominants. — By this expression is
meant, as a rule, that no pure recessives appear, as e.g.
No. 1. In the cross between the leaf-combed Houdan
and the single-combed White Leghorn the leaf-comb
is dominant because no pure single-comb appears on
the progeny, but it is incomplete dominance because,
out of 110 chickens hatched only 9 have perfect
leaf-combs, and the rest were " split leafs " having a
single lobe in front split into two or more concave
lobes behind. In No. 8, which represents crosses be-
tween a feather-legged Cochin and various clean-legged
breeds, the Cochin is dominant so far as shank-feather-
ing is concerned, because all the progeny is feather-
legged, but it is incomplete because the feathering is
only ai)out half as heavy or abundant as in the Cochin ;
and the results in No. 11 are similar, the crested
Houdan left its crest in diminished size on the heads
of all the chicks which resulted from its mating with a
non-crested White Leghorn, In other cases, where
colour of plumage is concerned, e.g. No. 6, the black
plumage prevailed over the buff, but the black is in-
completely dominant and shows traces of the buff
plumage. On this question of dominance of colour
more will be said in the chapter on " Colour." In No. 4,
which represents a cross between a White Leghorn and
a Black Hamburgh, and a cross between the White
Leghorn and the Houdan, whose plumage is almost
black but speckled with white, it will be seen that the
white colour is dominant, since 143 chicks were white
in the colour of the " down " ; but the dominance was
incomplete, since of the 143 only 23 were pure white,
and in 120 the white prevailed, but was ticked with
black. This particular cross is interesting on account
of the extended classification of results given in the
previous lengthy table (see p. 182).

The experiments were extended by breeding the
heterozygotes together. When the DR was mated
with DR, i. e. the whites which were ticked with black
were bred together, it was found that they segregated
according to Mendelian laws, in the ratio of 3D : IR.
One experiment yielded 171 whites and 55 blacks.
Those who are interested in these most illuminating
details should refer to Report II to the Evolution

MENDELISM AND EAWS OF HEREDITY 189

Committee, in which all the various crosses referred to
in the last table are given in detail. The evidence is
ample to show that the law of segregation is at work,
though the dominance and recessiveness are not always
complete.

Incomplete Recessives. — Before giving a detailed
list of the dominant characteristics in poultry it may
be observed that the recessives, which form, roughly,
one-fourth of the whole generation (F-), i. e. the progeny
of the mating together of the first-crosses, seem of a
more fixed character than the dominants. As Mendel
found, in his experiments with peas, that the recessive
dwarfs always bred true in whatever generation they
appeared, so it is also true, though in a less marked
degree, with poultry. When a rose-combed fowl is
crossed with a single-combed one, we know that if
both breeds are pure all the progeny come with rose-
combs, and that when these are bred together we get
3 rose- and 1 single-comb. The rose-combs are domin-
ant, but it is difficult to distinguish the pure D from
the DR. But there is no such difficulty with the reces-
sive single-combs. These, as a rule, will breed true for
the single-comb characteristic. But for some at present
unexplained reason it is not universally true.

An experiment which came under my own observa-
tion will show what I mean. In 1898 I bred a
number of the then fairly popular rose-combed Buff
Orpington. Both parents had rose-combs, but I got,
as most breeders did, a fair proportion of single-combed
chickens. These were the recessives, bred because one
of the parents was a DR and not a pure dominant. I
did not breed these single-combed recessives together,
but mated two single-combed pullets bred in this way
to a pure single-combed Buff' Orpington cock. Here I
had a pure single-comb and a recessive single-comb,
which should have bred pure single-combs, but to my
astonishment I got at leasi: a third of apparently pure
rose-combs, and some of the single-combed chicks had
side-spikes, as if a trace of the rose-combed blood
showed itself in the hinder part of the single-comb.

These rose-combed chicks continued to be bred from
the single-combed progeny for two generations. This
shows the dominance of the rose-comb, but it also

190 THE POULTRY MANUAL

shows that the dominance may he dormant in a reces-
sive character, and when fresh blood is introduced may
take the opportunity of a new combination to reassert
itself.

The recessive character may therefore be incomplete
as well as the dominant ; but, so far as I have observed,
the occurrence is so rare that the exceptions may be
taken as proving the rule.

Experiments to prove the validity, or otherwise, of
Mendel's laws are being carefully and extensively made,
both in this country and in America. One of the most
interesting of these series of experiments is published
by the Carnegie Institution of Washington, U.S.A.,
and written by Mr. C. B. Davenport, director of the
Station for Experimental Evolution at Cold Spring
Harbour, New York, and is entitled Inheritance in
Poultry. In it is told the result of breeding from 29
pens of fowls of various and distinct breeds mated
together. The large number of 1500 chickens were
hatched, of which 500 were reared to adult age, and
their characteristics noted and tabulated. The work is
rendered additionally interesting by being illustrated
with 54 photographs of poultry, which include both
the pure races used for crossing and the heterozygous
offspring also.

The writer, while expressing a very high opinion of
Mendel's discoveries, sounds a less confident note than
some writers at home, e. g. " While admitting thus the
reality of unit characters,'' [i. e. the law of gametic
segregation] " the further study of the evidence of
hybridization in poultry has led me away from the con-
ception that they are rigid and immutable as atoms are,
which may be combined and recombined in various
ways and always come out of the process in their pris-
tine purity. This is by no means the case. Very
frequently, if not always, the character which has once
been crossed has been affected by its opposite with
which it was mated, and whose place it has taken in
the hybrid. It may be extracted therefrom to use in
a new combination, but it will be found to be altered.
This we have seen to be true for every characteristic
sufficiently studied, for the comb . . . crest . . . vul-
ture hock, foot-feathering and foot-colour, ear-lobe, and

MENDELISM AND LAWS OF HEREDITY 191

both general and special plumage colour. Everywhere
unit characters are changed by hybridizing.'"

This last sentence is too confident and general to be
true. There are many instances both of pure dominant
and of pure recessive unit characteristics bred for several
generations where the unit characters have segregated,
and have continued to breed true to the parental types.
It is true that many unit characters are changed in the
first generation, as is demonstrated in the last tabulated
list, where the incomplete dominant and recessive char-
acters are referred to, but even in these cases there is sharp
segregation in the second generations, e.g. the split-
leaf comb of the Houdan breeds pure single and pure
leaf-combs when the split-leafs are mated together.
Where the distinct characters are true units such as
comb formation or lobe colour, or eye cere, or shank-
colour, they segregate, though it is also true that in
some instances one of the pair of contrasted unit
characters may be dormant or latent, and reappear
on further crossing, or on the introduction of new
blood, or the introduction of another strain. Why
this should be so remains yet to be demonstrated, but
all careful breeders of pure-bred fowls are aware of it
to their cost, e.g. the red eye is a common failing,
from a fancier's point of view, in the Black Minorca.
By careful selection, a strain of Minorcas Avith dark or
black eyes may be bred which- breed true and throw a
very large percentage of dark-eyed chicks. But when,
for any rfeason, the breeder has to purchase a fresh
stock-bird, though he may exercise care in selecting a
dark eye in the new purchase, the probability is that
in the resulting progeny he will obtain a very much
larger percentage of chicks with the red iris. The red,
though dominated by the black, has remained latent, but
it becomes patent or manifest in the effects of the cross.

The same result is seen in the mating of yellow-legged
stock, e. g. Black Leghorns. By careful selection a strain
may be bred with yellow legs and sound black plumage,
but on the introduction of fresh blood from another
strain, even if the purchase has yellow legs, the number
of black-legged chicks will be largely increased, or if
this character be maintained the number of chicks with
white in the plumage will be multiplied.

192 THE POULTRY MANUAL

Some of these mysteries may be explained, but others
remain to be solved.

Mr. Davenport himself admits " the reality of unit
characters,"""' and on page 80 says : " That there are
unit characters in poultry cannot be doubted."" In
speaking of a cross between the Houdan and the Leghorn
he says : " How convincingly do the second hybrids
reproduce the single-comb in some individuals, and
the V-comb in others,"'"' or, " How instructive is it to
see perfectly plain-feathered offspring arise froiH a
Frizzled pair '"" — the " Frizzled pair "■"* referred to being
hybrids, one of whose parents had been a Frizzled fowl.
(In Frizzles the feathers have the shaft curved so that
the outer surface becomes concave.) And, in antici-
pating what future research may reveal, he says, " Truly
we may hope, as in chemistry, to make various kinds
of molecules by proper admixture of our atoms— the
characteristics."

One more singular and instructive instance which
shows the truth of the " segregation of the gametes "
and of a latent characteristic becoming " patent "" came
under my observation.

A farmer who had some Black Plymouth Rock pullets
wished to cross them to produce good layers. I sold
him a Black Leghorn cockerel to mate with them
The pullets were large fowls weighing 7 to 8 lb.
each, and their parents had been pure-bred Barred
Plymouth Rocks, whose plumage is cuckoo colour,
being alternate bars of black and white. The ear-
lobes of the pullets were red in colour and the legs a
dusky yellow. The Leghorn cockerel had yellow legs
and black plumage with white ear-lobes. A looker-on
would have expected the colour of the progeny to be
pure black, and, as a matter of fact, most of them were
black chickens with yellow legs. But one-fourth of them
were cuckoo-coloured like the sire of the pullets, and the
singular thing about it was that these cuckoos Avere all
cockerels. Part of the cockerels M^ere black, and all the
pullets. How had this come about ? Simply because
the gametes given off by the pullets were, for colour
characteristics, partly white ancl partly black. Where
the black gametes of the pullets met the black of the
cockerel, all the progeny were black, and where the

MENDELISM AND LAWS OF HEREDITY 193

white gametes of the pullets met the black gametes of
the cock, the progeny were alternately black or cuckoo-
coloured. It is well known that the ancient male
ancestor of the Barred Rock was the Dominique — a
cuckoo-coloured cockerel, and his colour had been
transmitted, carried in a distinct form, segregated in
the gametes of his descendants, the black pullets,
although they had inherited the colour of their female
ancestor, the Black Java, and not that of their sire.

The progeny, in other respects, showed various forms
of inheritance. The combs, both of the black pullets
and of the Leghorn cockerel are single, but the Leghorn
has a larger comb. The size in the progeny was inter-
mediate, a blended inheritance. The eai'-lohes were
either red or red streaked with more or less of white.
In ear-lobes, red is dominant over white, though the
dominance is incomplete. (When these hybrids Avere
bred together in the next generations some of the ear-
lobes were pure white like the Leghorn, some were red
like the Black Rock pullets, and some were a mixture
of red and white.)

In the general form of the body, which would appear
to be not a unit character but a complex one, there
seemed to be a blending of the two. The size was
midway between Rock and Leghorn. The character of
the plumage was not as long and flowing as the Leghorn,
nor as short and loose as that of the Rock, but in the
next generation the plumage Avas more abundant, and
the sickle feathers like those of the Leghorn. Long
tall plumage would appear to be dominant. (Quite as
a minor note may I add that the result for egg-produc-
tion was quite satisfactory, and I know nothing better
for hardiness and fecundity combined.)

The egg colour was tinted, not pure white, but a
blend. The brown shell of the Rock was predominant
over the Leghorn.

Most of the pullets showed a tendency to broodiness
like the Rock, but it was not so intense in its character,
and they were not so reliable as brooders.

It is possible from close observation of a single experi-
mental cross to learn which characters are dominant and
which are recessive, and whether the dominance is com-
plete or incomplete, and also some of the methods of
o

194

THE POULTRY MANUAL

inheritance, whether exclusive, alternative, particulate
or blended. If* fanciers would carefully note the results
they obtain, and record them and publish them for the
guidance of others, many points which are at present
confusing would become clear.

The following list of dominant and recessive characters
are gathered from various sources, chiefly the Reports
to the Evolution Committee and from Mr. Davenport.
They are given, not as decisive and clearly ascertained
laws, but as the result of experiments likely to be useful
for future guidance.

List of Dominant and Recessive Characters
in Poultry

The characters printed in italics are the old or normal forms^
and those not so marked the younger or later originated forms
as indicated by Davenport.

17

CHARACTER

Comb

Nostril

DOMINANT

Cerebral

hernia
Crest

Muff
Beard

Ear-lobe

Eye

Beak

Skin colour

18 Shanks
19

RECESSIVE

Rose

Leaf
Rose
Narrow,

loio nostril
No hernia

Crested

MufBing
Bearded.

Black iris
Red iris
Dark brown

White

Black
Yellow

Black

White

Feathered
White

Single

Single

Leaf

High

nostril
Hernia

Smooth

No muff
No beard

White

Red iris
Pearl iris
Red iris

Yellow
Horn

Wiite

Yellow

Clean
Yellow

As Wyandotte or Hamburgh, over any

single-combed breed
Of. Houdan-Leghorn

rShown in crosses with Polish, or
-; Houdan, and fowl like Minorca or
\_ Game with normally-shaijed heads

All first-crosses with Houdan or Polish
show traces of crest

(Crosses with Houdan or FaveroUes
show diminished muffs and beards
in the progeny, which segregate
inF2
White is a new character, and red is
difficult to breed out

(The red eye is the ancient character
of the Gallus £anHva, and though
recessive to black yet is a stubborn
recessive, and though latent con-
stantly reasserts itself. Pearl is
frequently dominant over red

{Both ancient colours. Sometimes one
is dominant and sometimes the
other. Black the most dominant
character, then yellow
Wliite and yellow skin are both ancient.
Cf. Silkie with black skin is dominant,
Davenport, p. 57
JS. g. Dorking over Indian Game, or
Cochin

(Cf. Cochin-Leghorn. Cochin feather-
ing has been bred out in the
Orpington, but still reappears, and
the Dorking white has conquered
the Cochin yellow

MENDELISM AND LAWS OF HEREDITY 195

23a
24

CHARAOTEB

Shanks

Hook

Plumage

Wing-
coverts

Shaftiness
Hackle

Pencilling
Tiiil

Colour of
egg-shell

DOMINANT

Black

Yellow
Blue

White
White

Shaftiness
Solid black

Pencilled
feathers

Tall

unlimited
Brown

Sitting

RECESSIVE

Yellow

Willoio
Yellow

Vulture

Black
Pigmented

Otner

colours

No shaft
Laced

Other

colours

Eumpless

Normal tail
White

Non-sitting

Black usually dominant, as hreeders
of Wyandottes and Leyhorns know.
But yellow sonietinies dominates
and "has covered tlie Minorca cross
in Black Leghorns

Both ancient. Willow too ofter. re-
asserts itself

Rose-comb Leghorn breeders with
Hamburgh cross will find this a
crux, also Blue Leghorn if con-
laminated with Aiidfilusian Wood

In crosses with Asiatic (vulture-
hocked) and Mediterranean breeds
(Plain), the plain dominates and
disappears much more rapidly than
shank feathering

(All coloured plumage is more or less
recessive to white, which is a new
character, but black sometimes
dominates and sometimes mingles
to form "blue" (see Chapter on
Colour)

But frequently albinism results (see
Chapter on Colour). Black is im-
perfectly dominant over red

Red wing-coverts are an ancient
heritage from the Jungle fowl, and
Red constantly reasserts itself, e.g.
Brown Leghorn, Buff Orpington

A fault in Brown Leghorns, Buff
Orpingtons, etc., hard to eradicate ■'

E. g. Silver Laced Wyandottes crossed
with Black Rocks lose the laced
hackle, and many laced birds throw
black hackles. Black is imperfectly
dominant

Said to be "a fundamental form of
coloration in the genus Gallus."
"A concentric repetition on the
feather of alternating bands of the
lacing and ground-colour," e.g. Par-
tridge Wyandottes. Said by Daven-
port to be dominant, but is certainly
incomplete, and can be easily domin-
ated by black

Black pigment persists in the tail
(p. g. Cochin and Orpington), much
more than in any other part of the
plumage. It is an ancient lieritage
of the race

The Rumples are modem and
eccentric

E. g. The Yokohamas are dominant
over normal tails

When the Mediterranean breeds (white-
shelled eggs) are crossed with Asiatic
(brown), the brown dominates, and
the eggs are tinted. And the tinted
egg is one sign among others of a
cross, cf. Leghorn and Minorca eggs
often tinted

Incomplete dominance until the "sit-
ting " blood preponderates, e. g. a
" sitting " Minorca or Leghorn is not
reliable in its broodiness

In the foregoing list one of each pair of characters
is stated to be ancient, and the other of more recent

o 2

196 THE POULTRY MANUAL

origin, e.g. the single-comb is the characteristic of
the Gallus BanJciva, the ancestor of domestic poultry,
and is, therefore, ancient. The rose-, pea-, leaf- or
walnut-combs are stated to be of later origin. But any
of the modern forms of comb are dominant over the
single-comb.

The crested fowl (No. 6) is dominant over the older
form, which is the normal plain head.

One would naturally have thought that the old
characters, being of more ancient descent, would have
always been prepotent and dominant. But the list
shows that the dominance is about equally divided
between the older and the newer forms.

In MendePs law it is less important for the breeder
to remember the expression of dominance and re-
cessiveness than the law of the segregation of the
gametes, which is so manifest in the F^ generation when
the first-crosses are mated together, so that DR x DR
becomes ID -j- 2DR -f- IR, which can only be explained by
the law of segregation. This shows, as has been already
pointed out, that the dominance in the first generation
of hybrids is affected by the recessive character, and
that even afterwards, in further generations, the re-
cessive character may remain latent, and only waits for
a favourable opportunity to express itself.

Davenport gives an interesting instance of the
crossing between the Polish fowls, which have a large
hernia or protuberance of the brain on the top of the
head, when mated with Minorcas having a normally
plain head. The hybrids showed no hernia, but most
of them showed a frontal prominence. When the
hybrids were inbred the hernia occurred in 23 "5 per
cent, of the cases, a close approximation to Mendel's
estimate of 25 per cent.

Those who wish to see how the law applies to the
breeding of mice, rats, rabbits and dogs, upon which
numerous experiments have been made, should refer to
Professor Thompson's book on Heredity.

Do Mendelian Law^s apply to Man ? — A law which
is so general in its application to the vegetable and
animal kingdoms cannot well have left mankind out of
its reckoning. But the evidence is not yet very ex-
tensive, and there has been comparatively little time

MENDELISM AND LAWS OF HEREDITY 197

for investigation. Bateson gives some curious instances
in his Materials for the Study of Variation, of cases of
polydactylism, and references are often made by writers
to the crossing of different races, and to the marriages of
Eurasians, but so far statistics do not seem sufficient to
draw conclusions. Many readers will remember, how-
ever, the publicity given through the Daily Mail last
year to the suggestion of the human eye being subject
to this law. A collector of data announced that the
brown eye was dominant over the blue, and in the
frequent cases where one of a married couple had
brown eyes and the other blue, the brown eyes would be
found to be three times as numerous as the blue in the
offspring. I have come across several cases of large
families in which this has proved to be exactly correct.
But if this law was of universal application it is evi-
dent that by this time brown eyes would largely pre-
dominate in the population, unless it were proved also
that either the blue-eyed had a more numerous progeny,
or that a larger portion of the brown-eyed died without
leaving offspring. The fact is of sufficient interest to
excite observation, and however it may be accounted
for, I think it will be found to hold good that brown
eyes are dominant over blue where brown and blue
intermarry, and also that it will be rarely, if ever, found
that where both father and mother have blue eyes a
child with brown eyes is born to them, and that the
same holds good with brown eyes. I have never yet
found a child with blue eyes one of whose parents had
not blue eyes. If this should be proved to be a law
it would often be interesting evidence in a court of
law!

Whether the iris colour in human eyes is subject to
Mendelian laws is uncertain and difficult to ascertain,
since close intermarriages are non-existent, and even
the marriage of close relations are fortunately rare.
Moreover, eyes cannot be classed as brown or blue only,
since there are all sorts of intermediate shades between
the two, as black-brown, dark-red, hazel, grey, green,
etc. It is also a curious fact that many eyes change
colour. A very large proportion of brown-eyed persons
had blue eyes as infants. The dominance of the brown
js of gradual growth, and of various degrees of intensity.

J 98 THE POULTRY MANUAL

but its presence may be observed from the earliest age.
It is an intensely interesting study, and, though much
yet remains to be explained there seems to be little
doubt that laws as discovered by Mendel are at work
in man, that the laws of gametic segregation are in
operation, that the various forces of inheritance, alter-
nate, particulate, blended or exclusive, are to be seen
in familiar faces every day, and that the laws of
dominance and its accompanying recessiveness hold
their sway.

Common Modes of Inheritance. — It is a common
belief among poultry fanciers that external form, colour,
etc., depend upon the male bird, and that temperament,
visceral organs, and size depend upon the hen. This is
only partially true. It is true that the hen has a
greater influence than the cock over size, but if an
under-sized male bird is used the greater number of the
cockerels will be under-sized also ; while as regards
colour, it depends upon the varieties crossed, and for
head-points such as comb and lobe we have already
seen that it depends upon the dominant character, and
is independent of sex, e.g. if a single-comb and rose-
comb are mated, if both parents are pure, all the
progeny will be rose-combed no matter which is the
single-combed specimen. It is probably true that
either sex affects the chickens of the corresponding sex
more than that of the opposite, and that a good cock will
breed good cockerels and a good hen good pullets.
But the exceptions are numerous in poultry as in
the human race, where it is common for a father of
short or medium stature to have tall sons or vice
versa.

There are diff'erent forms of inheritance. The
prevalent view^ is that " crossed characters usually
blend," which was the view of Darwin. This view is
not borne out by recent experiments. Davenport says :
"• In general, typical blending of characters is rare."
Excepting characters, like general form of body, which
are doubtless not units but complex, I have, indeed,
seen no single case of a typical blend." " Human skin
colour is the striking case."

There are, however, other cases. As in the human
race, the colour of the hair may be an almost precise

MENDELISM AND LAWS OF HEREDITY 199

average between that of the blonde mother and that
of the black-haired father, so in some cases with
poultry, especially in the bufF-plumaged varieties, the
resulting average may be a blend of the two (see section
on Mating Buff Orpingtons). Egg-shell colour is another
good example of blended inheritance. Professor Thomp-
son instances as a case of blending the face of a child
" In repose the boy's face may be seen marked paternal
it is moved with emotion and he is his mother's image,''
but this may also be classed as a case of particulate in-
heritance, in which the form of features is the father's
and the smile that of the mother's. Instances are very
common and known to all observers where the charac-
teristics which are peculiar to both parents are inherited
in the same offspring, e. g. a child may have eyes like his
father and a mouth like his mother, or hair colour of
one parent, and face or form like the other. The same
thing is common in poultry, and is indeed the common
cause of new varieties, where the type or bodily con-
formation is taken from one side, and the colour or
head-points from another.

"Exclusive" or "Alternative" Inheritance. —
" When in the expression of the bi-parental inheritance
there is as regards a given character an absolute pre-
potency on one side or the other, or, conversely, an
apparent reduction of the maternal peculiarities to zero,
the inheritance is called exclusive " (Professor Thompson,
p. 112). Other terms used to express the same results
are " unilateral,^'' prepotent or preponderant. " This
mode of inheritance is oftenest seen in regard to particular
characters, but it is sometimes consistently illustrated
in so many parts of the organism that observers say of
the whole offspring that it favours its sire, or that it
takes after its mother." This latter is most common in
well-established strains of pure-bred stock when mated
together. When different varieties are crossed the
term "alternative inheritance" is used to imply the
same thing. Exclusive inheritance implies the inherit-
ance of one parent to the apparent exclusion of the
other. Alternate inheritance, that sometimes one
parent and sometimes the other predominates. They
are our old friends the dominants and the recessives in
another guise, of which a list comprising comb form,

200 THE POULTRY MANUAL

nostril form, crest, muff, ear-lobe, tail, etc., have been
tabulated for the breeder's reference (see p. 194).

Particulate Inheritance. — The term is used to
describe instances where both of the contrasted unit
characters neither blend nor alternate, but are both
inherited in the same offspring, as it were side by side,
or are separately expressed in different parts of the
same organ or system. Examples are, e.g.^ in the
colour of the iris. Examples may be rare, but I have
met and known persons with one eye like the father and
another like the mother — " odd eyes "" they may be, but
they are not without their fascination. Such examples
are not of infrequent occurrence in poultry. I re-
member a striking case at the Dairy Show when a
breeder was remarking on the rarity of a red eye among
the White Orpingtons (a much-coveted feature). The
owner of the winning specimen said, " Come with me and
look at the winner — he has red eyes." On an inspec-
tion being made, it was found that one eye was red and
the other pearl colour.

Another familiar instance is a piebald foal — the
progeny of a dark-coloured sire and a light-coloured
mare, or vice versa. Or a man may inherit the black
hair of his mother and the red beard of his auburn
father. But the particulate inheritance of most interest
to breeders is that which affects the plumage colour of
certain breeds, the most remarkable of which are the
barred or cuckoo-coloured fowl, in which the black
coloration of one parent and the white of another are
laid upon the plumage in alternate bars of black and
white, while the bluish sheen comes from a commingling
of the two. It is conceivable that all blended inherit-
ance is only a form of particulate inheritance in which
the patches are invisibly small.

Another instance of more absorbing interest at
the present time is that in which the black and
white parentage results in the blue, which Daven-
port calls "a fine mosaic of white and black."
Both of these peculiarities are mentioned more fully
in the chapter on " Colour." Davenport thinks " it is
yet too early to interpret the cases of particulate in-
heritance," but enough is known to be of interest to
the breeder, if not to interpret the whole mystery.

MENDELISM AND LAWS OF HEREDITY 201

Summary of Modes of Inheritance. — When
parents of different varieties are crossed the progeny
may be : (1) a combination of both parental and
maternal characteristics, either (a) an intimate blend,
(^) a blend with a preponderance of either parent (y) a
particulate inheritance. (2) It may be exclusively
paternal or maternal. (3) In Mendelian inheritance
the progeny may follow either parental type, so far as
the unit characters which are contrasted is concerned,
of which illustrations are given in the list. (4) It may
be a reversion to an ancestral type unlike either parent ;
e. g. in pigeons the throwing back to the Rock Dove, or
in poultry to the Gallus Bankiva. (5) It may be some-
thing apparently new.

The Causes of Dominance are at present but little
understood. Professor Thompson gives a useful hint
which may explain many a doubtful case when he
writes : " When there is a marked difference in the
pedigree, the vigour, the age — in short in the constitu-
tion—of the two parents, the same mode of inheritance
may be illustrated in a succession of offspring. Thus
an inbred sire, paired with a commonplace mate, may
be prepotent birth after birth, or a young mother mated
with a worn-out male may have it all her own way in
regard to inheritance, as well as in much else." And
again, " With a virile middle-aged father and a much
younger mother the older children may be markedly
paternal in the expression of their inheritance, the
younger children as markedly of the maternal type. The
Benjamin is the mother''s very image and after the
father's own heart "" (Thompson, p. 116).

Such facts point to the conclusion that the expression
of inheritance follows the parent whose gametes are the
riper at the time of fertilisation. This may be proved
to be the solution of the fact that Dominants and
Recessives do not always closely adhere to Mendel's law
of averages. In making experiments care should be
taken that both parents are fully mature, and where
there is any marked difference in the vitality of either
sex it should be taken into account in recording the
results.

But ripeness or otherwise of the gametes does
not interfere with some dominant characters, e. g. all

202 THE POULTRY MANUAL

the combs would be rose even if the sire were a young
rose-combed bird. But it may affect the vitahty of the
stock, and the males may die while the females survive.

Will Fanciers observe and record Results ? —
We are at present only learning the alphabet of the
language of interpretation, or enabled to speak in
monosyllables, even though in the description of it
long words are used. It lies with practical and intelli-
gent breeders to unravel the riddle. To do so needs
the sacrifice of time and consequently money. Many
of those who have given us our first insight are not
themselves practical breeders or fanciers in the true
sense. And many of their results, though obtained
with infinite patience and hard work, are not of much
practical guidance, e. g. in deciding upon colour of
plumage the results have largely been taken from
the colour of the " down " of newly-hatched chicks,
which, as every breeder knows, changes as the chick
grows. Other tabulated lists of comb formation have
been taken before the chick has even been hatched from
the partly-developed embryo. At this stage nothing
can be known of such defects as side-spikes, or of the
kind of serration, or of the ultimate size of the comb,
which can only be estimated when the bird has arrived
at adult age. A rose-comb may be distinguished from
a single-comb after fourteen days of incubation. But
even at a month old it cannot be said what sort of a
rose-comb it will be. Some in each case have been
reared to adult age, and have been bred from, but even
then they have not been described from a fancier''s point
of view, e. g. a " barred " bird may answer this descrip-
tion, while to the fancier it may be the veriest mongrel,
and be nothing more than a blotch of black and white.
If more money and more time and more convenience
were at the disposal of investigators, more helpful
results could be achieved.

I have said that most fanciers cannot or will not
afford the time and expense for such experiments, but
many who have ample space could give valuable help if
they would extend their breeding season and try experi-
mental matings after their own breeding season is over.
And much valuable help could be given by those who
are trying to bring out new varieties, whose numbers

MENDELISM AND LAWS OF HEREDITY 203

now threaten to be legion, if they would disclose their
methods, with accurate statistics. Some cannot do this
with sufficient explicitness, and others will not from fear
of rivalry, and those who have done so, as, e. g., the late
Mr. W. Cook, have done so in too haphazard a manner
to be of much service.

On the other hand, many of the ablest men in the
Fancy have recorded their methods, e. g. Mr. Lewis
Wright's book is half filled with them, but this has
been, for the most part, in old-established breeds.

A valuable example is also set by Mr. Lister Kay, as
recorded by Mr. Harrison W^eir in Vol. II of Our
Poultry^ in which he describes the making of the Buff*
Leghorn, and many generous contributions by true
fanciers are frequently sent to the poultry press. May
this liberality be extended as a benefit to fanciers and a
help to science !

On reading the various phases of dominance and
recessiveness as applied to poultry, many keen fanciers
will be disappointed, as they will find no great help
given them towards achieving the minute and exact
details at which they aim.

They will assert, and that with some truth, that
MendeFs laws only work at large and crude results, such
as dominance of rose- over single-combs, or of white
plumage over black, whereas they wish to know how to
increase the size of the rose-comb, or to increase its
" workings," or to alter its symmetry, e. g. to breed the
long, tapering, horizontal leader in the Hamburgh, or
the compact, symmetrical, closely-fitting comb of the
Wyandotte. In the single-comb, again, they are inter-
ested to find the laws which would assist to produce
the firm base, the freedom from hoUowness, or thumb-
markings ; the depth of the spike in proportion to the
base, the shape of the spikes and their number.

Again, in the cross between the rose and the single,
they would like to know how many of the so-called
single-combs in the F^ generation have side-sprigs at the
back, and to know the relation of these abnormal
excrescences to the rose-comb, and so on in endless
continuity.

The answer is that so far MendePs laws are, experi-
mentally, only in their infancy, and that as the

204 THE POULTRY MANUAL

exponents of those laws become themselves more
interested in the Fancy and more conversant with
fanciers' aims, they will learn to observe many points
which are at present of little interest to them, or are
obscure ; and, further, that fanciers themselves as they
know Mendel's laws better, and indeed as they become
aware that they are working in " realms of law,"" and
are not merely having a hand at a game of chance,
will begin to find that their " results " follow on definite
lines or are the result of law.

The number of points the fancier would like to
" know all about " are simply endless. Many of these
are indicated in the chapters on the various breeds.
At present he is a great believer in ' ' strain " or
" blood." He knows that certain " points " which he
desires to reproduce are " fixed " in the birds from some
fanciers' yards, while they are changeful or evanescent
in other breeders' yards. Birds with these points fixed
he calls " prepotent " for those points. He would like
to know the relationship between Dominance, which is
a Mendelian character, and Prepotency, which, more
frequently than not, does not act according to Mendel's
law. He knows that the prepotency of a strain which
has been the laborious product of years of careful
selection, vanishes as completely as the recessive charac-
ter dominated over by another character. Mendelism
should teach him that a " swamped " character is not
dead, but only slumbers to revive in the next generation.

I may be an optimist, but I am convinced that many
"points" which are at present confused will become
clear, and that the truth already attained Mall act as a
" lamp to our feet " in future progress. In the succeed-
ing chapter on " Colour," many, even of the minuter
points, may be illumined. In any case the instructed
fancier is not asked to discard any of the knottm results
which he has achieved by endless experiment and by
minute observation. He will hold to them and work
by them, but whereas before his rules have been arbi-
trary, and he does them because others have done them,
or because he believes in them, he will at least get an
occasional flash of light which will show him zehi/ some
results are obtained, and to discard others, as labour in
vain.

MENDELISM AND LAWS OF HEREDITY 205

Acquired Characteristics. — I have said nothing
so far upon the vexed question as to whether acquired
characteristics or traits are heritable. For the most
part it seems to me that they are not. But first, let the
terms be defined : " All traits or characters of every
living being are separable in theory, if not always
in practice, into two distinct categories. Either they
are inhorn or they are acquired. Inborn traits are
those which take origin in the germ-plasm. . . . Ac-
quired characters, on the other hand, do not take origin
in the germ-plasm ; they are modifications of inborn
characters caused by the play of forces from the environ-
ment on those characters after (as a rule) they have
developed from the germ-cell. Thus a man's hand is
inborn. But if it be modified by use, disuse, accident,
or the play of other forces from the environment, the
modification is an acquired character" (G. Archdale
Reid, Principles of Heredity, p. 5).

Inborn characters take origin in the germ. They
are the results of the play of the gametes. They are
ancestral in their origin.

" Acquired characters take origin (as a rule) in the
cell-descendants of the germ-cell ; that is, they are
somatogenetic in origin. They express the modifica-
tion of the hereditary characters of the race which are
caused in the individual by the play of forces froij;i the
environment." It is admitted on all hands that new
inborn characters are transmissible — new characters
which take origin in the germ-plasm.

All new inborn characters are called variations, and
we have already seen that they are transmissible.

If the acquired characters of a body contribute
germinal elements to the plasm they may be inherited,
and it seems to me that this is the case in respect of
acquired size of body. It is well known that when a
breed or a variety has been increased in size through
extra attention and good feeding, the average tendency
of the offspring is to revert to the normal size, and this
is certainly the case where the attention, etc., is not
continued ; but, on the other hand, some of the progeny
are of increased size, and when selected for this purpose
the body character has been changed and may con-
tribute its changed condition to the germ-plasm. In

206 THE POULTRY MANUAL

other cases it seems not to be so transmitted, e. g. a
Minorca's lobe or comb may be increased in size by heat
or friction, and often is increased for exhibition purposes,
but it does not appear to transmit this acquired character
to its offspring, the germ-plasm being unchanged.
If, on the other hand, a Minorca is horn with a lobe
or comb which develops naturally into an increased size
it is transmissible. The most extreme cases I have
heard of are (1) recorded in a recent number of Feathered
Life of a breeder who cut off a faulty side-spike
from a cockerel in order to breed a perfect comb, and
succeeded after repeated efforts. It seems incredible,
and I would as soon believe that if he had cut the
comb off altogether he would have bred cocks without
a comb ! (2) The other case is that of a breeder who
asserts that by cutting off shank-feathering he produced
clean-legged stock. Such statements need verification.
May such results be put down to the influence of the
imagination ? Compare the experiments of Jacob,
Genesis xxx. 37-42. Such instances have been noted
by fanciers, cf. Lewis Wright, p. 200.

Do MendePs Laws apply to Pure-bred Races ?
— So far Mendel's laws have only been applied to the
crossing of different varieties. They have dealt with
hybrids, and not with pure breeds of the same variety
when mated together. It is well known, and has been
fully pointed out in the account given in this volume,
as in many of its predecessors, that most of our present
new varieties, as well as some, if not all, of the older
breeds have been crossed, and Mendel's laws enable us
to understand them better, and to explain how the so-
called " improvements " have been made. Whether the
laws of dominance and recessiveness apply largely or
not to pure inbred fowls is not yet determined or
recorded by actual experimental records. But it is
undoubtedly true that the law of gametic segregation is
true for pure races as well as for cross-breeds, and has
indeed been the cause of their appearance and existence.
Will a knowledge of Mendelism enable breeders to
maintain and to extend the excellence already attained 't
If so it would be of greater importance than the
knowledge of the way to create new varieties.

The answer is that it does so now in a moderate

MENDELISM AND LAWS OF HEREDITY 207

degree, and may help much more as knowledge advances.
The more we know of the whole of the life-history of
the breeds we are interested in, the more easily shall we
recognize the constantly-recurring atavistic signs of
their previous history, and be able to determine whether
such signs should make us decide to cast them on one
side as wasters, or to combat such tendencies by correc-
tive matings. Thus, if in breeding Buff Orpingtons I
found a chicken with five toes, I should cast it on one
side. It may be bred out as it has been bred out from
its ancestor the Dorking, but it would be waste of
time to go over the ground already trod, like fighting a
battle already won, and the same would apply to an-
cestral Cochin feathering. Similarly, if a Minorca
chick came with feathered shanks I should know that
Langshan blood was manifesting itself. If the feather-
ing was very slight and the bird had inherited the stout
black legs and the dense black eyes of its remote
ancestor 1 should trust to retain the valuable features
and to breed out the feathers. If, on the other hand,
as the result of mating a black cockerel with White
Wyandotte pullets I found, as is frequently the case,
that some of the progeny were a dense black and others
black and white, laced like a Silver Wyandotte, I should
retain the black pullets to breed Black Wyandottes, but
should discard the laced specimens. I should know that
the laced birds were atavistic, a return to the Silver
Laced Wyandotte ancestor of the White Wyandotte,
but the lacing would be imperfect in its character and
not at all equal to the carefully-bred specimens. I
should also understand the reason that, in this case,
black was dominant over white instead of the reverse
way, because the white was not really a pure white, but
had an underlying, though dormant, black character
derived from the black of the Silver Laced progenitor,
although, be it noted, the very presence of this black
would keep the white plumage pure, a bluish-Avhite
with no trace of cream.

If I mated these two divergent and distinctly-
marked chicks, the black and the silver laced, I know
by Mendel's law that I should get white chicks and
black ones, though some would be laced (DR) because
of the segregation in the second generation.

208 THE POULTRY MANUAL

Does this Law of Segregation apply in Cases of
distinctly Pure-bred Races being interbred? —

There are certain characters in all pure breeds which a
fancier desires to eliminate, and others which he desires
to perpetuate and extend.

Take two typical examples : the desire of all Minorca
fanciers is to grow a large almond-shaped lobe of good
texture as one of the chief ornaments of the breed. It
most frequently happens, however, that when two good
lobed specimens are mated together the resulting pro-
geny are not large, but distinctly medium in size, and
this is much more markedly the case where two strains
are crossed. In such cases is there not a return to their
medium-lobed progenitors ? And would not the mating
together of medium-lobed progeny, which are related,
throw the larger lobe in a proportion of the next
generation ? It is manifest that the small lobe is
dominant over the large ; but would not the breeder
get at least the IR if he got again the 3D ? Experi-
ence proves this to be the case, and explains how it is
that the breeder, who is always changing his stock
birds, or getting in, as he calls it, " fresh blood," rarely
breeds typical large-lobed specimens, while the one who
inbreeds gets them more readily. Of course it is
known that many of the large lobes are simply " ac-
quired characters," made by the outward application of
heat and friction, and such do not transmit themselves
to their offspring ; but the application of Mendel's
law may render such processes less necessary, as well as
explain the cause of constant failure. It would seem as
if distinct strains of the same variety act like the
mating of distinct varieties.

The other case for brief mention is that of the
Brown Leghorn. A soft even colour on the wings of
the pullets with freedom from rust, i. e. reddish, foxy-
coloured patches, is greatly desired. Red is inherent in
the race and dominant over brown or the softer shades
of grey. When fresh blood, even of the purest tint, is
introduced, the " rust "" at once becomes more markedly
present. Instead of " fresh blood " being introduced to
remove the defect, would not patient and careful in-
breeding, as in Mendel's mating of hybrids, reassert
soft colour ?

MKNDELISM AND LAWS OF HEREDITY 209

Many of these cases want testing in the hght of
Mendel's law, the full effect of which is not perceived
till the mating together of the progeny of mixed strains
has been tested, as in the case of the hybrids. Further
instances might be given, if space permitted, but enough
has been said to arouse the interest and observation of
the intelligent fancier, to whom further hints will be
given in the chapter on " Colour " which follows.

In an interesting chapter on "Bi-parental Repro-
duction,"'"' Mr. G. Archdale Reid, who looks with a
sceptical eye on Mendel's theories, sums up the matter
thus : —

" To sum up, the unions of very dissimilar individuals
{e.g. those belonging to separate genera) are usually
sterile ; the unions of less dissimilar individuals {e.g.
those belonging to separate varieties) usually result in
exclusive inheritance, or reversion to the ancestral type ;
the unions of still less dissimilar individuals {e. g. those
within the same variety) usually result in blended in-
heritance, when there is generally regression toward
the common parental type — that is, regression towards
mediocrity " (Reid, chap, vi, p. 75 note).

This latter sentence bears out the experience of all
breeders, and accounts for the fact that really typical
specimens are so rare. But may not the light of the
new laws remove this condition .? In speaking of Mendel's
law, and the occurrence of what Mr. Reid calls " sports,"
he says, " It is possible, then, that this tendency to ' ex-
clusive inheritance ' [i. e. the alternate inheritance which
occurs in the F"^ generation] is a product of natural
selection, a real phase of evolution. Herein, perhaps,
we have the explanation of the fact that varietal
characters tend to segregate in the descendants of cross-
breeds. In view, however, of the rarity of great and
useful variations, even this explanation appears far-
fetched. That very dissimilar parents tend to have
offspring in whom the inheritance is exclusive is, there-
fore, probably no more than an accidental result of
conditions in the germ-plasm which are unknown
to us."

A few years hence it may be that the theories which
have been indicated in the foregoing pages will make
the breeders' achievements look far from " far-fetched,"

210 THE POULTRY MANUAL

and place the so-called " accidental results " firmly and
indisputably within the realm of law.

Summary of Conclusions. — (1) In the study of the
Laws of Heredity poultry play a useful part, as
they lend themselves easily to experiment.

(2) They exhibit numerous unit characteristics which

do not blend on hybridization, but are inherited
in exclusive or alternate methods.

(3) That though exclusive inheritance is the rule, some

cases show particulate inheritance.

(4) Some characters are patent, ?'. e. new characters,

additions to previous heritage ; others are latent,
hidden, and are a reversion to a previous tjnpe
— a loss of characteristics.

(5) Patent characteristics are usually dominant over

latent ones.

(6) Old and new features are almost equally dominant.

(7) Dominance and recessiveness are very rarely

complete — the dominant character carries the
recessive character latent, and vice versd.

(8) Dominance is usually independent of the races

crossed.

(9) The law of gametic segregation is of more im-

portance than the expression of dominance.

(10) Mendel's laws are of value in explaining the con-

stant reversions to ancient tjrpes, a common
occurrence in poultry breeding.

(11) They may be of great value in bringing established

breeds to perfection.

(12) These laws apply to human heritage.

List of Authors for Reference. — (1) Mendelism.
R. C. Punnett. 1907. 2*. A concise and useful first
book.

(2) Heredity. Prof J. Arthur Thompson. 1908.
9*. The most useful book on the whole subject of
Heredity. Well illustrated. Contains an exhaustive
list of writers on Heredity.

(3) Inheritance in Poidtry. C. B. Davenport. 1906.
A fine list of experiments especially valuable from its
photographs of hybrids.

(4) Recent Progress in the Study of Variation, Here-

MENDELISM AND LAWS OF HEREDITY 211

dity, and Evolution. Illustrated. R. H. Lock. 1906.
J .Murray. 7*. 6d.

(5) The Principles of Heredity. G. Archdale Reid.
1905. 12*.

(6) RepoHs to the Evolidion Committee oj the Royal
Society. Report 1, 1902, \Qs. ; Report II, 1905, 7*. Qd. ;
Report III, 1906, 2*. Qd. ; Report IV, 1908, 2*. Qd.
An exhaustive series of experiments by Mrs. Saunders,
and Messrs. Bateson, Punnett and Hurst with plants
and animals.

(7) Materials for the Study of Variation. W. Bateson.
1894. 12*.

(8) Darwin. Origin of Species. 1859. New paper
edition, 1*.

(9) Darwin. Variation of Animals and Plants under
Domestication. 2 vols. 1868.

(10) Scientific Breeding and Feeding. Alexander
Comyns. 9d. Second edition, 1907.

11. MendeVs Principles of Heredity. Professor
Bateson. 12*. Cambridge University Press.

Note. — The published works on Heredity are legion.
The above-named are the most useful for poultry-
breeders interested.

PS. — Since this chapter was written and the type set,
Professor Bateson's long-looked-for book on Mendelism
has been published. I have not had time to read it
carefully, or perhaps some of the statements made might
have been modified. There are no less than five
chapters on " Heredity of Colour,"" in which various
references are made to poultry.

The following extracts will show the fancier that the
book is of absorbing interest to him. " We foresee not
merely advances in the art of breeding animals and
plants, but a control over the destiny of our own species.
. . . To prevent disappointment, however, it must at
once be admitted that for fanciers Mendelism can do
but little. 'Fancying' provides the chief interest in
life for thousands of persons in this country. It is an
occupation with which the scientific naturalist should
have more sympathy than he has commonly evinced.
If the scientific world had kept in touch with the oper-
ations of the 'fancy' much nonsense which has passed
into scientific orthodoxy would never have been written.

P 2

212 THE POULTRY MANUAL

The study of Mendelian phenomena will do something
to bring about a fruitful exchange of experience.*"

These words re-echo the sentiments I have expressed
in some of the latter paragraphs of the chapter on
Mendelism. In a more hopeful strain Professor Bateson
proceeds —

" But for the Fancy our work can as yet do two
things only. First, in the study of the workings of
the Mendelian system it will provide a most fascinating
pursuit, which, if followed with assiduous care, may at
any moment lead to some considerable advance in
scientific knowledge. Secondly, the principles already
ascertained will he found of practical assistance in the
Jbf'mation of new breeds^ and may save many mistakes
and waste of time. But applied to the business of
breeding winners in established breeds they cannot
materiall)'^ help, for almost always the points which tell
are too fine to be dealt with in our analysis." — Preface,
page vii.

The italics are my own. I had already ventured, in
the latter paragraphs to indicate my hopefulness that
the Mendelian principles may be of help to the breeder
of the " established breeds " (pp. 206-8). In the chapter
on " Colour" further hints in this direction will be found.
In Chapter I, page 7, he gives a new definition of
" purity." " Purity depends on the meeting of two
gametes bearing similar factors, and when two similarly
constituted gametes do thus meet in fertilization the
product of their union is pure. The belief, so long
prevalent, that purity of type depends essentially on
continued selection is thus shown to have no physio-
logical foundation." " Similarly it is evident that an
individual may be pure in respect of one character, and
cross-bred or impure in respect of others."

In Chapter XVI, p. 291, dealing with "the practical
application of Mendelian principles," Professor Bateson
writes, "No one acquainted with Mendelian method
will doubt that by its use practical breeders of animals
and plants may benefit. In so far as they are concerned
with the fixation of desirable varieties, or with the
creation of new types by recombination of pre-existing
characters, their operations may now be greatly
accelerated."

MENDELISM AND LAWS OF HEREDITY 213

In the past the scientific breeders have practised
what is known as "hne breeding." When two birds
unrelated to each other have been mated together the
progeny are said to have half the blood of the cock and
half of the hen. If a pullet so bred is mated to her
sire the progeny is said to have three quarters of his
blood, etc., etc. Professor Bateson points out the
inexactitude of these statements ; " we at length under-
stand the physiological meaning of" pure-bred and
cross-bred. We know that these ideas must be applied
to the several characters of the animal or the plant
rather than to the individual as a whole. For the
individual to be altogether pure-bred it must be
homozygous in all respects. In current parlance, dogs,
for example, derived from a cross a few generations
back have been spoken of as ^ Bulldog or J^ Pointer,
and so forth. Such expressions are quite uncritical, for
they neglect the fact that the characters may be trans-
mitted separately, and that an animal may have only
^V of the " blood " of some of his progenitors, and yet
be pure in one or more of his traits.

As to the means of establishing a pure strain of
poultry he refers to the methods to be adopted —

" The breeder must take his birds . . . and test them
for purity individually, usually by breeding each first
Avith a recessive, and then having found a pure individual
of each sex, he can by breeding these two together
create material for building up a pure strain.

" Mendelian discovery abolishes the old delusion that
time and continued selection are needed in order to
make a variety breed true . . ." — Chapter XVI, pages
297, 298.

It will be seen that Mendelian methods need watch-
fulness and care. They minimize labour for the
thoughtful, but they do not abolish it. They both
stimulate and reward intelligent observation, but they
do not give us " a rule of thumb " method, a cheap and
easy road to success. The bulk of the book has more
reference to botanical experiments than to poultry, but
there is sufficient information to make it worth the
study of every breeder of " fancy " poultry.

CHAPTER XI

COLOUR

The subject of plumage colour cannot fail to be of
interest to the amateur fancier, nor, indeed, to all who
are interested in our feathered friends, since beauty in
the colour of plumage appeals to every artistic mind.
To the fancier whose ambition it is to exhibit and win
prizes with the birds he has reared it has an additional
value, since " colour " goes a long way in most breeds
towards winning the desired trophy. Out of the 100
points given to the ideally perfect bird, colour often
counts for a third or more, while in most cases
it counts for 20 points, and in the " coloured "
varieties it is more frequently than not the deciding
point. It is also of value in deciding purity of race,
while its brilliance is an indication of health or
condition.

In many of the older schedules, giving the classifica-
tion of prizes, etc., there is an instruction to the judges
to award the prizes for "beauty of plumage, purity of
race and condition," rather than for mere size, etc.
And the grouping of these three points together is an
indication of the value of colour.

The question naturally arises, " Are the many and
varied hues which are to be found in our breeds of
exhibition poultry the result of mere chance or of
law .P "" There is only one answer to an intelligent
mind. They are the result of laws of colour, some of
which we are beginning to understand, though others
are either veiled in the mists of a distant age, long
sped by, or are so intricate as to make us uncertain of
their working.

It is probable that some colours have arisen by
214

COLOUR 215

" chance " fertilization, by the intermingling of various
strains, or through different varieties being crossed or
hybridized by accident, which the fancier has seized upon
and afterwards used to perpetuate a new variety. And
I am certain that in some cases it has been brought about
through the intelligent observation of poultry breeders
who have discovered in some farmyard, where " cross-
ing" is the rule and not the exception, some specimen
of a new colour, or assortment of colours, which has
struck their fancy. On inquiry they have found that the
new " beauty " has been the result of certain matings or
crosses, and this has given them a new line to work upon.
Many of these varieties have been evolved by breeders
with no knowledge of any laws, but simply as the result
of observation and experiment. Many have tried, and a
few have succeeded, but it is certain that progress would
have been more rapid, and the results achieved more
fixed and true, had the knowledge of the laws by
which colours are governed been more widely known
and more .generally understood.

The breeder who understands these laws will not only
be able to preserve the colours he already possesses in
the different varieties he fancies, but will be able to
produce other combinations, or combinations already
known in other breeds, but not in the one he possesses.

I am not an advocate of the endless multiplication of
varieties, whether of colour or head-gear, nor for the
manufacture of new breeds ad nauseam, but there is
undoubted room for the perfecting in colour of breeds
we already possess, which perfecting would be an
immense acquisition, and it may be that new varieties
are yet to see the light, which will add zest to the
Fancy and delight to the owners of them.

It is not every new variety or breed which is destined
to survive the test of popularity. To succeed it must
have a sound economic basis as well as present a pleasant
picture. For the Fancy is —

" Vain as the leaf upon the stream,
And fickle as a changeful dream^
Fantastic as a woman's mood."

The number of the slain is manifold, and how many of
the current " rages " will stand the test of time ? Some

216 THE POULTRY MANUAL

of the old breeds are dead, others are dying, slain by
the Fancy ! How many of the infant prodigies will
survive ?

The Source of Colour. — The question naturally
arises, " How did the various colours originate ? Are
they descended from a common ancestor, or from a
variety of sources ? " Such questions carry us far
back into the distant past. It will be found stated
in the chapter on the Buff Orpington that all our
buff varieties had their direct origin from the Buff
Cochin, or, at any rate, that this breed has played
the chief part. But is the Cochin a distinct race, or
has it the same ancestor as the other breeds of poultry t
Nothing could well be more distinct from the heavily-
feathered, rotund Cochin than the tight-feathered,
upright, modern Game. Are both from the same
distant ancestor ? Such a question cannot be answered
in the single syllable " Yes " or " No." But the weight
of scientific research points to an affirmative answer.
Those who wish to see the discussion on this point
are referred to Darwin''s The Variation of Animals . . .
Under Domestication, or for a brief but sufficient sum-
mary to the second edition of Tegetmeier\s The Poultry
Book.

It is now generally admitted that the common
ancestor of all our various breeds is the Red Jungle
Fowl, or Gallus Bankiva. The colour of the male bird
is thus described : Comb, face, wattle and neck, carmine ;
the comb, single and serrated ; eye, orange iris ; lobes,
rusty red, or in some cases " a light greenish blue "" ;
beak, horn colour ; legs, blackish-lead colour, some-
times " willow " ; neck and hackle feathers, bright
orange, or yellowish orange, paler where it flows over
the back ; back, rich deep red ; saddle, orange red,
tipped with gold ; tail, black with a green gloss ;
breast and all the lower parts, black ; wing-bow, red ;
wing-bar, greenish black ; wing-bay, red ; primary wing
feathers, black ; secondaries, black, with an edging of
chestnut colour.

The adult hen is thus briefly described by W. R.
Ogilvie-Grant in Vol. II of Lloyd's Natural History:
"Adult Female. Top of the head, rust-red shading
into orange on the neck, and pale yellow on the

COLOUR 217

mantle (i. e. the shoulders), each feather with a black
stripe down the middle ; rest of upper parts, reddish-
brown, finely mottled (? pencilled) with black ; secondary
quills, mottled with pale reddish-brown towards the
edges of the outer webs ; fore-neck, chestnut ; rest of
under-parts, pale light red, browner on the belly and
flanks."

Mr. Tegetmeier says of the hen : " All the upper parts
are full burnt-umber brown, the feathers vermiculated
and centred sepia, with pale tawny shafts ; the side tail
feathers are plain sepia, as are the inner webs of all the
remiges {i. e. quill feathers) ; all the under-parts vinous
reddish-brown, the shafts pale."

Every fancier who is at all familiar with the Black-
red Game fowl will note how closely the coloration
follows that above described. It is followed even more
closely by the colour of the present-day Brown Leghorn.
Every one will see how closely the description of the
Jungle hen's body colour, "reddish-brown, finely pen-
cilled with black," tallies with the plumage of the
ordinary Brown Leghorn hen ; while Mr. Tegetmeier's
description, " burnt-umber brown . , . with pale tawny
shafts," will show how ancient is the common failing
thus described, to be seen on hens in every fancier's
yards, and known as " shaftiness."

In shape the Jungle fowl is more like the smaller
type of the Old English black-red Game. The length
from beak to end of sickles of the Jungle cock is given
as from 23 to 25 inches, and his weight as between 2
and 3 lbs. A small, undubbed Old English Game
cock, with a low tail carriage, would be hardly dis-
tinguishable from his ancient Indian ancestor. The
Jungle fowl is midway between the Old English Game
Bantam and the ordinary size.

Besides the Gallus Bankiva, which Darwin and others
think to be the ancestor of all our domestic varieties,
there are three other species known as Gallus Stanleyii,
Gallus Sonneratii, and Gallus Furcatus. The first of
these is the nearest to the Gallus Bankiva^ and those
who wish to see an interesting account of a series of
experiments made with it, and the attempts to hybridize
with domestic fowls, should read the essay by Mr. J. L.
Thomas, of Ceylon, given in the report of the Second

218 THE POULTRY MANUAL

National Poultry Conference, held at Reading in 1907.
First crosses were made, but no chicks of the F^
generation were reared.

The G. Stanleyii is larger than the Gallus Banhiva,
and the cock has a spangled hackle and a black breast
mottled with chestnut ; while the secondary feathers of
the hen"'s wing are barred with buff, and the breast is
white fringed with black. Its chief characteristic is the
peculiarity of the cock''s crow, which is said to resemble
the words " George Joyce." And this peculiar feature
is held to be one of the marks for believing it not to be
the progenitor of our poultry.

The G. Sonneratii is illustrated in Lloyd's Natural
History, Vol. II. The cock has a black hackle fringed
with grey, with a yellow spot at the end ; while the
breast feathers are black edged with grey, and the shafts
of the feathers white. His legs are yellow. The breast
of the hen is white, fringed and marked with black.

The G. Furcatus has only a single wattle. Its neck-
hackle is purplish-blue and the saddle-hackle laced with
gold, the under parts and tail black. The hen is nearly
black, but the hackle sandy-brown, the back irregularly
barred with buff, while the breast is buff, laced with
black.

There appears to be little evidence whether these
ancient varieties are inter-related or not. But it re-
quires a far less stretch of the imagination to believe
that these are but varieties from a common source, than
it does to believe that all our diverse varieties, which
include such distinct forms as the Silkie and the Yoko-
hama, the Game fowl and the Cochin, have descended
from one of them to the exclusion of the others. I
must leave this for the ornithologists to decide.

The Jungle Fowl Colours. — However that may
be, we have in the Jungle fowl all the colours found
in our modern breeds, viz. Red, Black, Buff, Blue,
and White, and therein the various forms of lacing,
barring and spangling. The new varieties we pro-
duce are but a reproduction of the old, though more
perfect it may be in tone or hue, and more sym-
metrically arranged as to pattern. Even the most
modern of our colours, such as is seen in the Duckwing
Leghorn, have been known for many generations in the

COLOUR 219

Yokohama fowl of Japan. All colours are seen to-day
in the Game fowl, the oldest of our domesticated races,
and we are only doing to-day, by artificial selection,
what nature has done by the processes of evolution, or
natural selection, in the silent and unrecorded work of
the past.

The Gallus Bankiva, or Red Jungle fowl of India, is
the generally-accepted ancestor of all our domesticated
varieties of poultry. In this breed we find Red in all
its various shades from chestnut, carmine, rusty-brown,
to orange-red, and if we extend it to golden shade we
include the Buff, which may be of any shade from
orange to lemon. Then there is Black, which, with
its varied lustres, may be glossy green, the most fashion-
able shade of to-day, or blue-black, or purple-black, or
the deep lustreless coal-black, or, as is so common, the
commingling of all these shades, as seen in various
specimens of, e. g., the Black Orpington. In the Gallus
Bankiva there would appear to be no trace of white
plumage, which is an absence of colour rather than a
colour itself. But if aged specimens of this breed
could be found, some survivors in the struggle for
existence which is eternally being waged, I think
white would be found in parts of the plumage, for
the " natural " species can be no more exempt from the
universal law that colour loses its intensity with age
than our own domesticated specimens. Moreover, it
is well known that all black breeds, and birds in which
the prevailing plumage is black, throw occasional white
sports, or albinos. This may be due to a temporary loss
of pigment, or to the clashing of colours, as we shall see
later on. Adding thus White to our list, the Blue is
easily made, since it is only a mixture of Black and
White, formed by what is termed " particulate " in-
heritance, which in this case closely resembles a
" blend," though it is said to be of a " minute mosaic
character."

It is, therefore, possible to breed all the colours we
have, with all their combinations of patterns, from the
colours which are found on the Gallus Bankiva, which
are so faithfully reproduced in our own Black-red Game
or in the more modern Brown Leghorn.

The Colours found in Poultry are therefore Red,

220 THE POULTRY MANUAL

Buff, Black, White, and Blue, and specimens of all
these colours, with the exception of Red, may be found
alooie on single birds. The breeds and varieties of
buff, black, white, or blue are numerous.

The Red colour is never Jvund alone, but always in
combination with black, white or other shades. There
are black-reds, brown-reds, piles, but no red. In those
breeds which are called Red, such as the Red Dorking,
there are Black feathers in the wings and tail, and the
same is true of a recent American variety, the " Rhode
Island Red." The nearest approach I have seen to
an entirely Red fowl is in a very deep-coloured Buff
Orpington cock. Such are to be found without any
true black feathers either in wing or tail, but the black
is then intermingled with the red and forms bronzed
feathers. Moreover, the breasts of such birds are
usually a lighter shade of buff.

Black feathers, then, nearly always accompany red,
and when the colour is red (and not buff only) the
black feathers are found, as in the Gallus BajiJciva, in
the tail, breast and under-parts.

The reader may perhaps remark that we have the
true red in the Pile Game and the Pile Leghorn, and no
black but white plumage only. On careful observa-
tion it will be found that in these two breeds white
has taken the place of black, and the tail, breast,
under-parts, and those parts of the wings near the
shoulder and in the wing-bar which are black in the
Gallus BanMva, and in its descendant the Black -red
Game, are here not black, but white.

It is now generally known that the Pile can be bred
from matings of a black-red fowl with a white one.
Here, then, we get a second rule. That when white is
opposed to black the white prevails or is dominant
while the red remains affected in a less degree.
That this rule is not without many and singular ex-
ceptions we shall see later. The rule may be qualified
by saying that when the white is pure, and is inherited
from a succession of white ancestors, it dominates or
annihilates the black, when the black also is pure in the
same sense. The white effect is followed right through
the bird's plumage and not only in the exterior feathers.
The flights of the " Pile " are white, and in the second-

COLOUR S21

aries only the outer edge is bay-colour and the inner
webbing white. But it is to be noticed also that the
neck hackle, which should be " bright orange," is often
very pale, and that frequently a pale white centre has
taken the place of the black striping in the black-red,
which gives the hackle a washed-out appearance instead
of a solid colour. The white had abolished the black
and modified the red. I may here mention another
effect which concerns black versus white more than
black and red, but it is better to do so here because
found on the same bird, viz. that the white is often an
incomplete dominant, and traces of black are commonly
to be found in the true tail feathers, where black is
most persistent, and also in the flight feathers, and
other parts of the plumage. A perfectly coloured Pile
is very beautiful, but rarely seen, because the black
persists in showing traces of its birthright, and the
red is softened and sometimes ticked with white, which,
though it cannot kill the colour, often injures its purity.
To maintain the brilliance of the red pigment it is often
necessary to give a fresh infusion of colour from the
black-red stock, as breeders know to their cost.

Red versus Black. — We have seen that when red
and black appear on the same bird each has its separate
domain to occupy, as in the Gallus Bankiva. The red
seizes the hackles, shoulders and back wing-bay ; the
black seizes the rest. But there are varieties in which
the red has disappeared and its place has been taken by
white, while the black retains its old position. Such
cases are, e.g., the Silver Duckwing^ and the Silver
Laced and Silver Pencilled Wyandottes. Here the neck-
hackle and saddle-hackles are white, but the black
striping is retained ; the wing-bay is also white and the
shoulders and back. How has this been brought about ?
What has destroyed the red in its various hues but
retained the black ? The answer is " Black itself."

Where hereditaria red and hereditaria black are brought
into conflict the blacJc pigment destroys the red, and zohite
or albinism remains. It would seem to be compara-
tively easy in breeding fowls, as in spending cash, to
convert the gold into silver, though it would prove to
be intensely more difficult to convert the silver into
^ See Frontispiece, and cf. Brown^ Pile and Duckwing.

THE POULTRY MANUAL

gold. In almost all cases where there are "gold"
varieties the silver is found also, and, as a rule, the
silver is more perfectly marked.

This antagonism between black and red is easily
proved. In any farmyard where black and buff, or
black and reddish plumaged fowl run together, white
or creamy-white specimens are to be found. Where the
red is most intense there it will be most completely
demolished. Where its shade is paler, and black and
fawn or light buff are brought into conflict, the white
sometimes assumes the shade of French-grey, called
blue by lovers of that fashionable hue. This conflict
of the reds and the blacks is a singular and interesting
study, and is true in its application to beasts and cattle
and even mankind. A curious but instructive study of
stock-breeding is given in Prof. Thompson's book on
Heredity (p. 379), in which a white heifer is shown to
be the direct descendant of a red bull and a black cow —

Horned
creamy
White
Heifer

Sire : Red cross
horned bull with
white markings

Dam : Pure Black
polled Aberdeen-
Angus cow

Sire : Pure Hereford
bull, red with white
face and hind legs

Dam: Shorthorn cross
cow, (roan or) red
with some white
markings, horned

Sire: Pure shorthorn

bull.
Dam : Shorthorn

cross cow.

It would be an interesting inquiry to note how con-
stantly this colour law applies to the breeding of horses
and cattle.

Prof. Thompson also notes that in shorthorned cattle,
while reds and roans are popular colours, red and white
and white are not popular. Yet when roan and roan
are mated season after season the white crops up in
part and produces roan and white or entirely white
time after time. Is this due to a loss of red colour
pigment, or brought about by latent black pigment ?

An interesting paragraph on a lecture by Prof. Karl
Pearson appeared in the Daily Mail dated January
27, 1909, under the heading " Red-haired Parents.
Scientists and the Freaks of Albinism."" Details are
not fully given, but the following extracts are sugges-
tive : " The presence of black hair and blue eyes, or red
hair . . . for parents , . . may result in the birth of

COLOUR

albinotic offspring with white hair and pink eyes. In
the case of albinos of the white races 10 per cent, of
the parents had dark hair and blue eyes. . . . Equally
striking was the proportion of red-haired parents of
albinotic stock."" He also goes on to say that "The
danger resulting from the marriage of cousins was very
great." " I don't say that albinism will appear in
sound stock owing to the marriage of cousins, but we
can never be sure that albinism is not latent where
there is black hair and blue eyes, red hair or extreme
blondism, and in such cases the danger is enhanced by
consanguinity.""

I mention this latter clause because I have reason to
believe that the mating of consanguineous stock, e.g. in
Black Minorcas, has been the cause of the origin of the
Albinous or White Minorca.

I need hardly say that albinos are not a desideratum
in the human race. The unfortunate possessors of the
quality never seem happy, nor the parents either.
White poultry are, however, on another footing, and
nothing can appear more dainty or beautiful. In the
chapter on Orpingtons I have indicated my impression
of the origin of the white variety, and I have little
doubt that, consciously or unconsciously, the white and
white-laced breeds have been due to the operation of
this law.

The Persistency of Red Pigment. — Before leaving
the question of black and red, it may be well to point
out the curious persistence of red on those parts of the
plumage where red is found in the Gallus Bankiva.

We have seen that white may abolish black, though
at times it acts as a somewhat incomplete dominant.
But white has much less effect on red. It may soften
and tone it down, and may perchance introduce gold
for orange, or buff" for red.

The red pej^sists, however, not only over white, but
even on the entirely/ black plumaged fords. Breeders are
well aware of the constant recurrence of red feathers in
the hackles of black fowls, especially the neck-hackles,
and of their occasional appearance on the wing-bow.
Cockerels bred from such sires will inherit the red
feathers for generations, e.g.., in Minorcas, Ham burghs
and Orpingtons. It is a singular fact, however, that

224 THE POULTRY MANUAL

such cockerels breed pullets with the most brilliant and
glossy greenish-black plumage. Where the black pig-
ment is sufficiently dense and abundant it does not
destroy it, but gives the black an additional lustre.

The Application of the Law to the Pure Black-
red Type. — In the pullets of the black-red type the
red is not a desirable colour in its ruddiest hues. Yet
the red persists with an astonishing vigour, and it is a
rare thing to find, e.g.^ai Brown Leghorn hen without
red feathers distributed over the wings, especially the
wing-bow and wing-bay. The " body colour " which is
desired by fanciers of the variety is " a rich brown, very
closely and evenly pencilled with black ; the feathers
free from light shafts." By " body colour " is meant the
colour of the whole of the body except the neck-hackle
and breast. It is comparatively easy to get this colour
on the back, but very difficult to keep the wings free
from a rusty red or foxy colour. In these red feathers
the fine black pencilling is almost entirely absent.
When the black pencilling is very fine and close it
indicates an abundance of black pigment, and this
mitigates the red and softens its hue to the more sober-
coloured and softer brown. It is desirable, therefore, in
order to eradicate this " rust," to select densely pencilled
hens, and also to see that the flight and secondary
feathers are sound in the black, and that the under-
colour is of a dark slaty hue.

Also in choosing a male for pullet-breeding he should
be selected for soundness of colour, especially in black,
and altogether of a darker and less brilliant shade than
one selected to breed show cockerels.

No sooner, however, is the rust bred out of the wings,
than the breeder is faced with another difficulty. The
black has destroyed the rustiness, but it has also
destroyed the colour of the shaft of the feather, making
it a pale yellow, or sometimes nearly white, so that it is
rare to meet a sound-coloured hen whose " feathers are
free from light shafts." In Mr. Tegetmeier's description
of the Galluft Bmikiva hen, he describes her as having
" light shafts." A trait which has manifested itself for
countless generations is not easily bred out, and is
certain to manifest itself occasionally for many genera-
tions yet to come, if not for ever.

COLOUR 225

If the standard were adopted for the darker male,
both sexes might be bred from one breeding pen. As
it stands at present, while " brightness " of colour is the
vogue, with rich hackles almost devoid of black striping,
two pens must be used, and for breeding brilliant-
coloured cocks the rusty-winged hens are the right
kind, having the pencilling not fine, but as coarse as
possible, with a diminution of black pigment.

These facts are interesting comments on the eternal
conflict between the red and the black pigments.

The same principle applies to all breeds of the black-
red type, i. e. to all breeds in which the breast, tail and
under-parts are black, and the hackles, back and wings
are red. It is further noticeable in some of these
breeds, e.g. the Partridge Wyandotte, that the harsh-
ness of colour diminishes with age, and this explains
why it so often happens that a Partridge Wyandotte
hen is of a more perfect colour in her second and
succeeding years than as a pullet.

How did the Black Fowl originate ? — This would
be interesting to know. There is no entire black fowl
among the Jungle fowl group, though, as we have seen,
black is one of its strongest constituents. There are
instances of what are known as " melanic sports "
among birds, and cases are by no means rare to-day of
fowls coming with entire black hackles, whose ancestors
had gold or orange-coloured hackles with a black stripe,
e.g. the laced and the pencilled Wyandottes. Mr.
Davenport suggests that " It is probable that wholly
black varieties have arisen as a result of excessive pro-
duction of the black pigment, melanin." The black
fowls which have played such an important part with
us are the Black Langshan, Black Minorca and the
Java fowls, all of comparatively recent introduction to
us, though for how many generations they have been
known in their native habitats is unknown. One of the
most recent introductions, the Black Sumatra Game,
seems to be the nearest ally of the ancient Gallus Ban-
kiva, and may have a coeval history. However the
black fowl arose, it is with us, and plays a most im-
portant part in the determination of all colour factors.

The Buff Colour. — The varieties of fowls entirely
buff are also comparatively modern, and, as already
Q

226 THE POULTRY MANUAL

stated, we owe most of its prevalence to the once
famous Buff Cochin. But Avhere did the Cochin get its
buff plumage and its yellow legs and feet ? Is it the
offspring of the Sonnerat Jungle fowl, which had yellow
legs, and yellow spots on its hackle ? or in its long
descent has the red colour been softened by conflict
with black or white ? Traces of the varied hues of
buff', from cinnamon to lemon or pale gold, are found
on the Jungle fowl. Mr. H. Hesford, in his interesting
chapter on colour in his popular book on Leghorns of
all varieties, calls buff " a curious modification of red,"
and points out that, while white colour quickly destroys
black, it only modifies or weakens the red when brought
into conflict with it, and produces buff' in time. One
thing is certain, that buff' is not so persistent as red,
and white destroys it in much quicker time than it
destroys red. One of the great difficulties of breeding a
pure and even-coloured buff fowl lies in the fact that it
is a colour difficult to maintain free from the admixture
of either white or black feathers. When the hue at all
approaches cinnamon or red, black feathers or black
tickings appear in the wings or the tail, and red patches
of darker colour appear on the wing-bow. When the
shade is medium or pale, white feathers are frequent.

Value of Sound Under-colour. — The secret of
the preservation of the buff lies in noting the value of
the undercolour. The term is applied to that part
of the feather which is underneath the surface. The
fluff'y portion should be buff' also down to the skin,
including the shaft of the feather. When this is so the
buff pigment is shown to be more plentiful. Many buff'
fowls are only buff on the surface, and white underneath,
or nearly so. Buff' colour may be intensified by infusing
buff of a darker shade, but this must be done gradually,
or patchiness will be the result, and the red pigment
will take possession of the wings, and when it becomes
at all red, black will be found to accompany it on its
ancient quarters, viz. the flights and the tail. Sound-
ness of under-colour is therefore the safeguard of the
buff", and for breeding purposes defective under-colour
should be guarded against.

In the chapter on Buff' Orpingtons more details are
given, which show that buff' is far from being a per-

COLOUR 227

sistent colour. It not only fades quickly from exposure
to sun and rain, but the pigment also diminishes in
quantity with the age of its possessor.

Buff versus Black. — In conflict with black, buff
acts much the same as red, and the result of a union
between a buff' fowl and a black one is a crfam/^ white,
in some cases. It would appear that the antagonism is
not so keen as between red and black, which produces
pure white.

Another singular proof of this lesser antagonism lies in
the curious fact that hiiff and black sometimes prodiice
hlue. I once crossed two Buff Rock hens with a Black
Leghorn cock. Some of the progeny were creamy white,
some were black, and some had nearly blue bodies with
buff hackles. The nearest approach to a soft, even-
coloured blue duck I ever saw was from a fawn-coloured
Indian Runner duck and a Cayuga drake, the colour of
which was a rich black with a green sheen. The only
part of the blue duck not perfect was the throat and
neck, which was white, like that of the Indian Runner
duck. Both in colour and type the bird was a
facsimile of the Blue Orpington duck. In these cases
buff' and black act like black and white in the
instances where neither dominate, but the inheritance
is particulate.

Black versus Buff in the Black Leghorn. — One
of the most interesting and intricate examples of the
action of black and buff' is found in the breeding of
Black Leghorns. Here the aim of the breeder is to
breed a bird with a dense black plumage, but with a
yellow leg and beak in either sex.

As a general rule, the distinct parts of a bird are
inherited separately and independent of each other, and
leg colour is independent of plumage colour or skin
colour, e.g. a Black -red Game may have legs black,
willow, yellow, or white. The natural colour of the
legs of a black fowl is either black or dark slate, or
willow or bronze. But when an attempt to introduce
yellow legs is made, the parts become correlated, and
the yellow leg attacks the black plumage and destroys
its intensity and produces white, more especially in those
parts which are the black pigment's special domain, the
flights and the tail.

Q 2

228 THE POULTRY MANUAL

For some reason so far unexplained, the yellow leg is
easy to breed in the cockerel, and when the yellow is
intense the plumage is light in under-colour, and white
appears in the flights and tail. The black pigment
appears to be lacking in the male, and the yellow
pigment strong, and that in the longest feathers, more
especially the two long sickle feathers. The black pig-
ment appears to be exhausted before the feathers have
reached their full growth, and the result is white at the
base of the feather in nearly all cases, and frequently
along its entire length, except at the tip.

On the other hand, the black pigment is strongest in
the hen, and the yellow pigment deficient, so that the
female has naturally dense black plumage, with dense
black under-colour, but with legs either black or bronze
colour, with faint trace of yellow showing in the shank,
and yellow between the toes and on the bottoms of the
feet.

The breeder's aim is to transfer the yellow pigment
of the male bird to the hen, so that she may have
yellow legs and beak, and to impart through the hen
the black pigment to the cock, so that he may be sound
in his black plumage.

This feat has been many times accomplished in the
case of the female. Every year, now, pullets are shown
with dense and brilliant black plumage, and with good
yellow legs. In the case of the cock it has rarely, if
ever, been done to perfection. Sound black plumage
has been seen on all parts except at the roots of the
sickle feathers, and very many specimens are exhibited
with absolutely sound black plumage including the
sickle feathers, when the latter have not been fully
developed. But in the majority of cases, if not in all,
where the cockerel has good yellow legs, the fatal white
appears when the sickle feathers arrive at maturity.

There have been cases where the entire black plumage,
fully developed, has been seen, but, in such cases, the
leg colour has been deficient in yellow pigment, which
is manifested either in the legs being of a willow cast
or a bronzed shade, or with good yellow legs spotted
with black.

In the cases nearest approaching the perfect ideal it
is to be feared that an alien cross has been resorted to.

SPECIMENS OF IMPERFECTLY MARKED FEATHERS.

229

COLOUR 231

The Black Minorca has plumage of the desired hue,
and is remarkable for the soundness of the black feathers
in the tail. When this cross is introduced the black
plumage is easily obtained, but with a general loss of
leg colour. In some cases, however, the yellow pigment
in the Leghorn's legs has been dominant over the black
pigment in the Minorca''s legs, and the result has been
the nearest approach to the ideal. When such specimens
are either bred together or introduced into the pure
Leghorn, the recessive black manifests itself, and many
of the progeny have black or dusky legs. Moreover,
the type of the Leghorn is altered. It becomes more
angular, like the Minorca, has broader and squarer
shoulders, and the back is elongated and the thighs
more prominent, and there is a general lack of
sprightliness and alertness in carriage.

To breed Exhibition Cocks the male is selected with
the best coloured legs and beak obtainable, and, of
course, with good head points, such as correct form of
lobe and comb, and with colour as sound as can be
obtained after the leg colour, etc., has been found. The
hens to mate with him are selected for soundness of
under-colour as their chief point ; leg colour, while as
good as can be found, being a secondary consideration.
The size of the hen should be large also, and the comb
suitable, i. e. well serrated, and with a good thick base.

To breed Exhibition Hens. — The cockerel should be
chosen with good yellow legs, orange colour, if possible,
and with as good plumage colour as is found compatible
with this. There is sure to be some white in the tail,
and white in under-colour of plumage— the yellow pig-
ment has destroyed the black — but this is of little
consequence. And if the hens he is mated to have good
black plumage it matters very little. Indeed, I have
known good pullets bred from a cock white as snow in
under-colour, and with a tail showing much white both
in the sickles and tail coverts.

The point to be chiefly considered is the proportion
of the various pigments. If the cock is fairly sound in
colour and has good yellow legs, the density of the
hen's plumage is of less consequence if the legs are
yellow.

The comb of the cock for pullet-breeding should be

232 THE POULTRY MANUAL

as large as possible and rather thin at the base. He is
better dubbed before the breeding season commences.
The pullets also should have large, well-serrated combs,
and the lobes of both sexes should be as well shaped
and plentiful in substance as can be obtained. If these
points in colour are borne in mind, and the pullets
chosen with due care, it is possible to breed exhibition
specimens of both sexes from the same pen. But there
will always be a conflict between the yellow (or buff)
of the legs and the black of the plumage. Another
simple way of breeding both sexes from the same pen is
to have a cock-breeding cock and a pullet-breeding cock
to the same pen, and allow the birds to run in the breed-
ing pen on alternate days — the cock-breeder to be
chosen for soundness of plumage, and the pullet-breeder
for abundance of yellow pigment, as indicated by good
legs and beak, with light under-colour. This is much
cheaper than buying two breeding pens.

This seems to be an exception to the general rule,
in poultry, of unit characteristics. There does not
seem to be a sharp separation between the cells which
provide colour for the plumage and the cells which
supply the leg-colour, but as we have seen a fusion
between the two, and the two functions are correlated.
Davenport (p. 80) remarks, " The forms of feathers and
their colour patterns are numerous. These forms are
sharply marked off' from one another for the most part ;
moreover, Avhen two characteristics are crossed the result
is rarely a blend. This was a great surprise to me, as
I had anticipated that blends would be the rule ; and,
overwhelmed by the facts, I embraced at once the
theory of immutable characteristics.'"'

Here, however, there are not " immutable character-
istics." The black leg and the yellow leg do not act
as " dominants and recessives " and fight their conflict
alone. But plumage and leg colour are correlated.

Other Instances of Correlation. — While the
yellow of the White Leghorn's leg is said by Davenport
to be dominant over the Black Minorca (p. 87), it is
noted that the yellow leg of the Dark Brahma is re-
cessive to the Minorca and that the progeny of this
cross has black legs. Here, again, is a case of a breed
with yellow legs and dark plumage, for the Dark Brahma

COLOUR 233

has a plentiful supply of black, hence the legs are often
dusky bronze, and when a further addition of black
pigment is infused from the Minorca, the legs become
altogether black. Another instance is that of the
Ancona. This breed ten years ago was a mottled bird,
with more white than black in its plumage. It then
had yellow legs. But when the new type was decided
upon, and a black plumage, faintly mottled with a
white tip, was adopted as an ideal, the legs also became
altered in character, and the yellow leg was mottled all
over with black spots. This was also adopted as the
ideal. When the black pigment was increased in the
plumage it found its way to the legs also.

Still another example of the conflict yellow versus
black is going on in breeding the Black Wyandotte.
As the breed is of very varied origin, all colours ot
Wyandottes having been used in its manufacture
(not to speak of Black Orpingtons, Black Rocks,
Minorcas, Hamburghs, Leghorns, Indian Game, and
cross-bred fowls innumerable), breeders are turning
their attention first to colour of plumage, to get it a
dense black, and then to type. After these are fixed,
the yellow legs will be striven for, and then the conflict
will begin. As the Wyandotte has less wealth of
feather than the Leghorn it may be easier to get a
sound tail, but excess of colour on either side will give
either dusky legs or white plumage, and birds at all
approaching the ideal combination of colour will always
be scarce, and when found the combined qualities will
be volatile and not fixed or assured.

Another instance of the correlation of leg and
plumage colour is seen in the White Leghorn. When
the yellow pigment is strong, as observable in rich
yellow or orange-coloured legs, this pigment diffuses
itself over the body, and the feathers show a yellow
tinge, especially in the hackle feathers and the saddle.
And when specimens are found in which the plumage
has become fure white, with no trace of sappiness, a
bluish white, then the leg-colour is no longer orange
coloured but pale lemon. Some have attributed this
paleness to a cross with the white-legged White Minorca,
but I think the correlation I have indicated is sufficient
to account for it. The cases of rich leg-colour and pure

234 THE POULTRY MANUAL

white are rare. What is gained in one point is lost in
another.

Colour of Beak and Plumage. — It should be
noted that while leg-colour and plumage-colour are
thus in many instances correlated, the colour of beak
and plumage do not follow so closely the same law.
There are a hundred yellow-legged Black I^eghorns to
one with yellow legs and a yellow beak. This is more
particularly true of the pullet. In pullet-breeding
Black Leghorn cocks they are more common, but not
in sound-coloured birds of either sex. The Standard
allows, and that wisely, ^^ BeaJc : yellow or horn,"'' the
latter being the natural colour, though in most sound-
coloured specimens the " horn " colour contains more
black than yellow, and in many specimens it is nearly,
if not quite, black.

White versus Black. — We have already noticed,
both in this chapter and in the previous notes on
MendeFs laws, that, when these two colours are
brought into direct conflict, white is usually domi-
nant and the heterozygous progeny are either white or
white speckled with black. And further, that when the
progeny of the F- generation are mated together, they
follow out MendePs law of segregation, and the result-
ing average is 25 per cent, black, 50 per cent, impure
white, and 25 per cent, white.

But this dominance of white over black is by no
means universal. Sometimes black is dominant. It
depends on the breeds which are crossed, or upon the
purity of the specimens which are crossed.

Where the white is a pure albino it prevails. The
White Leghorn, which is the purest type, is dominant
over the black plumage of the Minorca or the Ham-
burgh. Darwin found the white plumage of the Silkie
recessive to the Black Minorca. Davenport says, " It
is hardly conceivable that the white of the Silkie is
different from that of the Leghorn ; so it must be con-
cluded that white inherited as a solid colour is sometimes
dominant and sometimes recessive, depending on the
race in which it inheres " (p. 87).

But he had forgotten to take into account the " black
skin'''' of the Silkie, although he shows from experiment
that this black skin dominates over the colourless skin

COLOUR 235

of the Frizzle and the Jungle fowl. This black skin
is an indication of the presence of an abundance of
black pigment in the Silkie. This is also shown by the
leg-colour, which is of a leaden blue shade, a mixture
of black and white. The white of the Silkie is not
sufficiently pure to dominate the black or other colours
with which it is crossed, the correlation of the colours
of skin, legs and plumage rendering the whole recessive.
This also goes to account for the existence of a Black
variety of the Silkie, black being more natural to its
skin and leg-colour than the white. Two such whites
may easily breed a black.

Another white breed which is not dominant over
black is the White Wyandotte. Although the plumage
is apparently of the purest, and nearly, if not quite,
that of a pure albino, still it carries black strongly in a
dormant state. When the White Wyandotte is crossed
with a black breed, e. g. the Black Java or the Black
Minorca, the result is a rose-combed fowl with black
plumage, and from the former cross some of the purest
and best of the present-day Black Wyandottes have
been bred.

How is this accounted for, since the white plumage
seems so pure ? A cross, e. g. White Wyandotte and
Black Leghorn, will show the cause. The great majority
of the chicks will be black (especially if the Leghorns
have sound black plumage), but some will be laced in
plumage, white feathers with a black band following
the contour of the feather, like the Silver Laced
Wyandotte.

The White Wyandotte is a sport from the Silver
Laced, and still carries the black pigment strongly in
reserve. It breeds true when mated to its own variety,
but when the chance is offered the dormant black
reappears. I have no doubt that other crosses would
show similar results. Where either white or black is
dominant they follow out the usual law of segre-
gation, according to Mendel's law, and this accounts
for the significant but tale-telling fact that the chicks
from many Black Wyandotte eggs, although the parents
were black, hatch white, and often the purest white. It
is an indication of White Wyandotte in the ancestry.

There are other instances in which the inheritance is

236 THE POULTRY MANUAL

not alternate (or exclusive), as in the above cases, but
" particulate " ; which is a fine " mosaic " inheritance
approaching a blend. When the inheritance of black
and white takes this form we have what the Fancy
terms a " blue,'* which may vary in shade from a pale
French-grey to a dark slate, and it often takes a strong
imagination to find any blue in it. It is totally dis-
tinct from the blue on the wings of the wild mallard,
or on those of a Rouen drake, or from the iridescence
of the Duckwing Leghorn's wing-bar. The most
typical blue, and the oldest variety of the name, is the
" Blue Andalusian," which has a particulate inheritance
of black and white, as will be shown presently.

Buff, Black and White in Conflict. — Perhaps the
most interesting of all cases in showing the effect of
crossing Black and White or Buff and White is shown
in the history of the manufacture of the Buff' Laced and
the Blue Laced Wyandottes.

These two beautiful and interesting varieties are bred
from mating together the Gold Laced and the White
Wyandotte.

The Gold Laced Wyandotte has a body-colour of a
rich golden bay, each feather of the breast being laced
with well defined jet black lacing, while the neck- and
saddle-hackle are of the same colour, with a distinct
black stripe down the centre ; the tail is black.

The White Wyandotte, being a sport from the Silver
Laced variety, though a pure white colour, carries black
as a recessive character.

When these breeds are mated together, the white
colour tones down the rich bay and produces a buff
colour. It destroys the black stripe in the hackles, and
leaves a rich golden fringe with a pale centre, while in
some cases the black lacing is destroyed and becomes
white ; and the tail white also. This makes the Buff
Laced Wyandotte, and no prettier fowl has ever been
seen when the buff colour is solid. The hackles look
like burnished gold. The birds are of true Wyandotte
type, with rose-combs, and the legs yellow, and feet free
from feathers. This latter point is not always true
where attempts have been made to improve the buff
colour by adding a Buff Cochin cross.

The most instructive feature of this cross is, however,

COLOUR 237

that, from the same mating, specimens of the Violette or
Bkie Laced Wyandotte are produced.

In these cases, while the white has sobered down the
rich bay ground-colour, it has not destroyed the black
lacing by turning it into white, but leaves a blue, lacing
of the Andalusian colour. Really good specimens of
this variety are rarely seen, and the colour is not
distinct enough to catch the eye. The black tail
should also be turned into blue. The general effect of
these two varieties shows the truth of the rules of
colour already indicated, that white tones down the red
and makes it buff", and also when in conflict with black
is often dominant over it. On the other hand, the
inheritance is sometimes " particulate," and produces the
fine mosaic of blue. It is also at times " recessive " to
black, when it is itself impure, and unfortunately , for
the breeders of the " Buff" Laced " variety the tail often
shows black feathers instead of white ; and sometimes
throws odd black-laced feathers instead of the buff
feather laced with white. Only by continued selection
can these two varieties be bred true to colour, and
although good specimens of both colours are shown
together at our great International Show, they do not
seem to have caught the public fancy.

Before giving a description of the " Blues," it may be
well to notice other forms of black and white, such as
we see in the alternative bars of black and white on the
plumage of the Barred Rock. This is another instance
of particulate inheritance where the black and the white
are disposed in alternative layers instead of the mosaic
pattern. But even in the Barred Rock the colours are
not black and white, though some specimens nearly
approach this, but the dark bars are a " dark blue,"
and the lighter ground-colour, a bluish-grey.

How this peculiar conformation of colour arose is
not definitely known. The Cuckoo Dorking and the
Cuckoo Old English Game are ancient, and the Barred
Rock has been known since about 1870. It is generally
understood that this breed arose from a cross between
the Dominique cock and the Black Java hen.

The Dominique is one of the oldest of the American
breeds, a bird of a light cuckoo-coloured plumage,
having broad alternate bands of light grey and those of

238 THE POULTRY MANUAL

a darker slate, and with brilliant yellow legs and a neat
rose-comb. When birds of a darker bluish shade were
mated together for breeding, the progeny often came
with black sickles and tail coverts.

The Black Java is a large black-plumaged fowl with
black legs, having a yellow tinge and a yellow foot
underneath, and with a single-comb and a brown eye.
The average weight of the hen is from 7 to 8 lb.

In whatever way these two dissimilar breeds were
made they are most persistent in preserving their
various traits now that they are commingled in the
Barred Rock.

Every breeder of Barred Rocks is familiar with the
fact that the tendency is to breed a large percentage of
light Dominique-coloured cockerels, and dark Java-
coloured pullets, and if a careful estimate was taken in
the yards of large breeders I believe the average results
would closely adhere to MendePs law, when hybrids are
crossed, viz. ID + 2DR -f IR, where D represents the
Dominique, R the Black Java, and DR the evenly-
barred progeny. It may be that where careful inhreed-
ing has been carried on for a number of years the
evenly-plumaged birds may show a greater percentage
than 50, but 1 am sure that where they are mated from
different strains, although care may be taken to select
all the stock of the desired medium shade, the progeny
will follow Mendel's law of averages. This is a
singular fact when we remember that the Barred Rock
has been bred for over thirty years in England, and yet
the " Black " blood has not been expelled. Just as we
shall see in the case of the Andalusian, where the black
gamete meets the black, the progeny is black, and
where the white meets the white, speckled white is the
colour of the progeny, and where white meets black,
blue is the result ; so in the Barred Rock black x black
= black pullets, white x white = light cuckoo-coloured
cockerels, and black X white = medium-coloured birds
of either sex ; and as with Andalusians so here, where
the light-coloured cock is mated with the black hen there
is an increase in the number of black females, while the
cockerels take a darker hue, and there are often first-
class specimens of both sexes. The chief difference is
that whereas it does not matter so much in Andalusiajis

COLOUR 239

which sex is the dark or the hght — the colour being equal
in both sexes, or nearly so — in Barred Rocks, the barring
appears to be a male characteristic and the black that
of the hens. In the various experiments which are
recorded in testing the Mendelian laws this peculiarity
has been observed on many occasions.

And the correlation between leg and plumage colour
is again observable in this breed. Where the legs are
a brilliant yellow the plumage assumes what is known
as a " brassy " hue upon exposure, and when the plumage
has more resisting power to the sun''s rays it will be
found that (1) the legs are dusky in shade, or spotted
with black, and (2) the black bars persist right down to
the skin. An excess of black pigment, as shown in
these forms, keeps the yellow pigment more confined to
the legs. In such cases there will also be found pure
black feathers interspersed with the barred ones, show-
ing again an excess of black in the plumage of the best
and soundest specimens. The opposite effect, viz.
w^hite feathers in the tail, is seen in the more distinctly
barred ones, where the legs are a good colour, and this
defect has led to the too common practice of the tail
feathers being plucked out to hide a manifest defect.
This conflict will always go on between the yellow and
the black, unless the pigments are evenly balanced, and
the only remedy is to see that the black pigment is
continued in the darker bars down to the root of the
feather, even though it be at the loss of a little leg-
colour. The bird'^ which keep their colour the best,
and are free from brassiness, even when exposed to the
weather, will be found to possess this valuable breeding
property, and hence it is noticeable that even the
lighter-coloured specimens which remain pure in top-
colour are densely barred underneath. The best breed-
ing birds are not the gay-plumaged black and zvJiite,
but those in which the black has stolen its way into the
ground-colour and made it " bluish-grey.'"

Davenport's Experiments. — We have seen in the
case of the Barred Rock that the ancestors were not
pure black and pure white but black x black and white,
viz. cuckoo. This also corresponds to the case of the
Blue Andalusian, where the parents are black X mottled
white.

240 THE POULTRY MANUAL

In Davenport's experiments the same fact is observ-
able in the cases where he notes the appearance of
barred chickens. Li Experiment VII, p. 39 (White
Leghorn bantam cock x Black Pekin hens) he notes
that of twenty-six hybrid chicks, eleven were white, or
Avhite ticked with black, seven were black, or with white
ticks, and eight zcere barred, black and white. He notes
that this confirms a suspicion that the White Leghorn
was not pure, but had also black germ-cells. The
barred condition was unexpected, and he thinks " is
probably recessive in the White Leghorn."" If, how-
ever, in breeding the White Leghorn cockerel a black
parent had been introduced it would be sufficient to
account for it without supposing that a "barred"
ancestor had been used, which would not be probable.

In Experiment IX, the Tosa fowl (or Black-red
Yokohama) x White Cochin bantam were the breeds
used. The experiment was tried to test the different
characters of the tail plumage. It is interesting to
note a side result bearing on the colour question. Of
seven offspring in the first hybrid generation " three
cocks and three hens developed their adult plumage.
The males were all of the male Tosa fowl coloration,
except that everij feather was repeatedly barred with
white. The females were all of the Tosa fowl colora-
tion . . . but the saddle feathers and secondaries
were obscurely barred black-and-buff." The most
interesting part of this experiment is that capital
photographs are shown, of the breeds mated together,
and of the hybrid chickens, and also of the separate
feathers in the plumage. In the second hybrid genera-
tion, F^, the truth of MendePs law of segregation is
demonstrated, and a photo of a pure White Cochin
bantam is shown, though all the parents in the F^ or
first hybrid generation were Tosa coloured. There were
also barred specimens, which shows the persistency of
the barred plumage when once introduced.

This persistence may be demonstrated by mating,
e.g. a Black Leghorn cockerel and a Black Rock,
which has been bred from barred birds. Some of the
progeny will be well-barred specimens, much like a
good Cuckoo Leghorn, but the barred specimens will be
males.

COLOUR 241

As the Tosa fowl resembles the Gcdlus BanMva in
coloration, it may well be supposed that the first
barred birds were bred from a Jungle cock, mated with
an early melanic sport, and that from these were bred
the original " Cuckoo Game." It is curious to note
also the appearance of " barred black-and-buff " in the
females of the experiment. The coloration of the Gold
Pencilled Hamburgh or Campine would be a novelty if
ever introduced into our larger breeds.

Another experiment, XII, pp. 61-3, is interesting —
the cross being a Black-breasted-red Game Rumpless
bantam cockerel X White Leghorn bantam hen, made
to test the inheritance of rumplessness, and not to
account for plumage-coloui". Of twenty-four hybrids
of the first generation, F^, twelve were white or prevail-
ingly so, the other twelve were either black and white
barred (and these were all males) or black with more or less
reddish feathers. The White Leghorn pullet was from the
cock mentioned in Experiment VII, and so had inherited
black as a recessive quality. The white had not proved
completely dominant over the red, but left traces of
red, sobered down to buff in the twelve white birds, and
some black and red in the cockerels. In foot-colour
half were yellow and half willow, and, as the White
Leghorn was not pure, this shows that yellow is dominant
over willow. These experiments go to show that
barring is the result of a cross between black and a
white which carries black also as a recessive character,
and I should not be surprised to find that a cross
between a black and white, and the selection of the
impiu'e whites from this cross mated again to a black,
would produce a proportion of barred chickens, as also
of blue, which are closely related to the barred in their
colour inheritance. This may have been the source of
origin of the Barred Minorcas at the International
Show of 1908, when some excellent specimens were
exhibited by Mr. P. Schmitz, of Germany. They were
so full of Minorca character that they appeared to be
pure bred, and I should not be surprised to find that
they were of pure Minorca origin, without any admix-
ture of Barred Rock blood. If so, they will prove to
be a new variety of great interest, though whether they
will become popular remains to be seen. They would

R

242 THE POULTRY MANUAL

be certain to throw a large percentage of black chickens,
and some Avhite or nearly white, while the character of
the barring would be uncertain, until careful selection
had fixed its quality. One point in their favour is that
the legs were mottled black and white also, as this
colour would agree with the plumage colour and
preserve its purity, not being so likely to produce
brassiness, or the yellow tinge on the plumage so
difficult to exclude from the Rock. It is just possible
that the Barred Orpington may have been produced in
the same way by crosses between the White and the
Black, though, in this case, the white leg would be
difficult to preserve. In the chapter on Orpingtons
I have shown that the Barred Rock and the Buff
Orpington, when mated, produce barred pullets hardly
distinguishable from the Barred Orpington. In this
instance " buff" colour seems to act in the same way as
impure white. It certainly acts in this way in producing
blue colour which is allied to the cuckoo.

Farmyard Notes. — It is a noteworthy fact that
while " blue " chickens (of a sort) can be found in
almost every farmyard where black, buff and white
fowls run together in an indiscriminate manner, and are
certain to be found where pure-bred cockerels of a
white colour one year and of black the next are allowed
to run among the black, yet barred fowls are much less
seldom found, and distinctly barred ones rarely indeed.
Birds of a smoky, blurred, cuckoo colour are to be
found, but lacing is more common than barring.
Barring is to be found where the Barred Rock has been
introduced for crossing purposes, and where this cross
has been used blue birds are also found of varied hues,
although rarely approaching a level colour.

The " Blues." — These notes naturally introduce
us to the prevailing craze for blue-coloured fowl.
Considering that blue-coloured plumage has been so
common for many years in farmyard stock, and that
this colour is to be noted on at least a part of the
plumage of birds to be seen every day along the road-
sides, it is surprising that the Blue Andalusian has
been for so long the only breed of any marked
popularity to lay claim to the title of " blue." It is
true that we have had the Blue Langshan, and some

COLOUR 243

very prettily coloured and typical specimens have been
exhibited, but the variety has never largely caught the
public fancy, and that for two reasons: (1) purchasers
of eggs have found that there Mere so many bad-
coloured blacks and dirty-looking whites among the
progeny, and that (2) those which came " blue " were of
all shades, very few with a clear and pleasing ground-
colour, and that the lacing was blurred and indistinct.
Even the Blue Andalusian has failed to gain public
esteem in any very marked degree for the same reason
though, on account of the great beauty of good
specimens, and the undoubted excellence of the breed
as layers of large white eggs, they have been more
commonly kept than the Langshan.

A new wave of popularity has now set in for blue-
coloured plumage, in spite of the somewhat disappointing
career of the breeds before named, and the neglected
farmyards are being scoured to find the single-combed
blues for the manufacture of Blue Leghorns, or Blue
Orpingtons, just as the rose-combed blue fowls are
being seized upon to make Blue Wyandottes. A recent
cross-bred laying hen called the Rose-combed Blue is
also being largely utilized, and, naturally enough, the
"old blue,"" the Andalusian, is being used to form a
chief ingredient in making any of the new and coming
" blues;^

Black X White = Blue. — If the theory of the
effect of black and white had been more generally
known it is probable that the ransacking of the farmyard
would have been spared, and that breeders Avould have
taken the surer way of mating together the black and
the white, or the black and the buflP, of the varieties
already in existence to produce the blue. In this way
they would have kept the new variety pure in type
and race, without the introduction of alien blood, of a
type often altogether at variance with the breed to
which they desire to add a new colour. In the mating
of different types segregation of character is rare. The
result often approaches a blend, and it always seems to
leave the alien mark behind, so that the cross is at once
patent, e.g. the mark of the Indian Game has been
indelibly stamped upon many strains of Black Wyan-
dottes ; and in other strains the narrowness and long

244 THE POULTRY MANUAL

back of the Java (or Black Rock) hen, or the sprightly
gait and tail of the Black lieghorn are manifest.
Play zcith colour as you Uke and imitate the rainboxc in
its varied hues, but " sticJv to type.'''' This should be the
fancier's aim. It is the dominating feature of the
breed, and should be maintained as far as possible in
its integrity, otherwise our numerous varieties become a
variegated farmyard jumble, and the characteristic
form of the breed is lost.

The Case of the Andalusian Fowl is the most
familiar to breeders of the known results of crossing a
black and a white fowl. For more than half-a-century
this " blue " fowl has been bred. From the first until to-
day the " blues," when mated, have thrown a large per-
centage of both black chickens and white ones. Persist-
ently, for the most part, these so-called mismarked chicks
have been either killed at an early age, or sold as wasters,
and the blues only kept for the breeding pen. After fifty
years of selection the blues continue to throw the black
and white progeny, and probably in the same proportion.
The laws of Mendel have now shown us how to ac-
count for this. It has long been known that the blue
is the product of a black and a white. Mendelism has
shown that the germ-cells or " gametes " of the black
and the white are segregated, and that either the one
or the other may be given off' from either parent. When
a black gamete meets another black gamete in the
opposite sex the result is a black zygote which develops
into a black chicken. When white meets white the pro-
geny is white, and when black meets white the progeny
is blue. These black chickens, if mated together, pro-
duce all blacks ; the whites, white chicks ; and the blues
go on in the same way as their parents.

As shown in the chapter on Mendel's laws B -f W
X B -f- W = IB + 2BW + IW. So long as blues
are bred together this will always be the "average"
result, viz. 25 per cent, of blacks, 25 per cent, of whites,
and 50 per cent, of blues. In certain yards, and in
some seasons, these results may not be quite equally
apportioned, since the gametes are not given off' in strict
numerical order.

The correctness of the theory is borne out by mating
together the thvee coloui's in other ways, e.g. a black

COLOUR

245

mated with a blue, B X BW = IB + IBW = 1 Black
and 1 Blue ; and a white mated with a blue = 1 White
+ 1 Blue. The only vvay to breed all blues is by
mating together the blacks and the whites.

It should be noted that the " white " fowl mentioned
above is not a pure white, but a white plumage splashed
with black, i.e. a white which carries black as a recessive
character. It is only " whites " of this character which
produce blue or black when mated with black. Such
whites are the White Wyandotte and the Silkie. When
a pure white is mated with black it dominates, but
when the \\'hite has been made an impure dominant it
will produce " blues."

The diagram below is given to illustrate the Men-

&LACK

wH/re

H

BLACK BLUE. BLUE WHITE

2r

Fig. 14.— summary OF MATING.

(1) Black X white — blue only.
(U) Blue X blue = 1 black + 2 blue + 1 white.
(Ill) Black X black = black only,
^V^llite X white = white only.

Black X blue = 1 black (B x B), 1 blue (B x W).
Wliite X blue = 1 white (W x W), 1 blue (B x W).

246 THE POULTRY MANUAL

delian properties of the Andalusian fowl. The squares
represent the individual birds, and the small circles their
gametes or germ -cells, where B = black and W = the
splashed white.

As I have not bred the Blue Andalusian fowl to any
large extent I have not observed the way in which
the character of the blue coloration is affected by
mating the blue with the black or the white. Judging,
however, by the analogy of other cases, I should expect
that the black from the black mating would intensify
the blue colour and add to the lacing, and that the
mating with the white would diminish the blue colour
and take from the lacing. The beauty of the Andalu-
sian is the silver-blue ground-colour, with its distinct
black lacing. This lacing has been intensified in recent
years, and though this may have been done by selecting
the fittest specimens it is more probable that it has
been brought about by the infusion of " black " blood,
and that from the Black Minorca, to which it has
become more assimilated in head-points and carriage.

Whenever there is an infusion of more black than is
necessary to form the blue, the black has a tendency to
deposit itself on the fringe of the feather, where it pro-
duces lacing, though it sometimes disperses itself over
the ground-colour and makes it smoky or indistinct.

The same effect is noticeable in buff-plumaged fowl,
where an excess of colour produces a laced buff' Avith a
dark fringe ; or where the buff' is deficient it shows
itself in a white fringe.

The Andalusian fowl was, in its early days, a much
paler-coloured fowl and almost devoid of lacing, being
more of a pale-coloured drab fowl, which is the tint now
being sought after in the modern Blue Leghorn and
Blue Wyandotte.

Self-coloured Blues. — Whether the pure blue, of
whatever tone, from light French-grey to dark slate, will
ever become fixed over the entire pluinage without
showing any indication of lacing is a problem for the
future to solve. It may be desirable to achieve this
colour in the new varieties in order to distinguish them
from the Andalusian, and so indicate purity of race,
but it is well known that when the blue colour is present
in a marked degree there is always a tendency to lacing.

COLOUR ^4t

If this freedom from lacing is desired it is possible that
pullets may be produced of an even soft colour, but
unless a darker colour is allowed in the cocks, especially
in the hackles and the back, the tendency will be to
increase the washiness in the progeny with light under-
colour and white tails. A medium shade of blue is
half-way to white, and a pale blue more than half-way.

When the Blue Langshan was introduced into Eng-
land they were lighter in colour than they are to-day.
Mr. Jukes, the Hon. Secretary of the Blue Langshan
Club and one of its chief promoters, kindly writes to
say: " The Blue Langshan, as I first had it from America,
was clear blue, exactly the colour that the Blue Leghorn
Club wishes to fix for that breed, but I noticed that
the best coloured specimens always showed indication
of lacing, which was accompanied in the cocks with dark
tops, and I determined to breed for this, because they
stand the weather so much better, the clear ' blues '
within a very few weeks of their moult looking such
disreputable objects."

The Blue Langshan, like the Andalusian, throws the
percentage given of blacks and splashed whites, and it
is probable that this will always be the case, since the
blue is an heterozygous fowl, bred from the black and
the impm'e white.

An Attempt to breed "All Blues" is being made
by the introduction of " blue blood " from a fowl in
which the blue is said to have become a fixed quantity,
viz. the Blue Madras Game.

This breed is mentioned by Mr. Lewis Wright in his
chapter on Indian Game, of which he considers it to be
a variety. The birds are large and partake of the
Indian Game character, but with the Blue Andalusian
colour, and with slate-coloured legs. They have the
peculiar feature among blues of throwing no white
chickens, though about 20 per cent, are said to come
black. The slate-coloured leg will make them unsuit-
able for breeding either Leghorns or Wyandottes, while
the lacing will also be an objection. In this breed,
which is little known in England, and seldom or never
shown, it is stated that all the pullets come blue, and
that the black chicks are always cockerels. And here
it may be noted that in the Andalusian the blacks are

248 THE POULTRY MANUAL

much more commonly found among the cockerels, and
among the pullets the splashed white.

The rising fashion for blue-coloured fowls may be
the means of the reintroduction of this ancient blue,
which would seem to have more claim to the title than
any of its modern imitators.

How long it will take to fix the colour of the new-
comers remains to be seen. If lacing is debarred there
may be fewer blacks in the progeny, but how many
washed-out, dirty-looking whites there will be future
records must tell, but they are certain to be numerous,
and many an otherwise gallant-looking cock will show
the white feather !

The Blue "Bredas" are a breed of fowl little known
in England, though still bred in Belgium and France.
Its chief peculiarity is that in both sexes the comb is
absent, there being only a slight depression over the
nostrils. The bird has a small crest. The colours bred
are black, blue, and cuckoo. In Report IV to the
Evolution Committee, p. 34, Messrs. Bateson and
Punnett give an account of recent experiments. From
a pair of blacks they bred all blacks. From a pair of
blues they got 27 chickens, of which 8 were black, 14
blue, and 5 splashed whites. It will be seen, therefore,
that these blues behave in the same fashion as the
Andalusians. And in a further cross of a black Breda
cock and a white splashed Andalusian hen, blue chicks
were hatched.

It is worthy of note that there is a "cuckoo" variety of
this breed, as we have seen that cuckoo and blue are
related. And although the "cuckoo" coloration is of
less frequent occurrence than the blue, it is more fixed
and persistent when obtained, and whenever " blues " are
bred there is always a chance of a cuckoo putting in an
appearance. The l)lue throws out black and splashed
white chicks ; and the barred, black and pale cuckoo
chicks ; but so far as I know no white chicks or any
devoid of barring.

The Silver Campine is an instance of the persist-
ence of barring. It is purely a black and Avhite breed,
though the black bears a brilliant beetle-green sheen in
the best specimens. So far as I know, there are no black
chicks thrown from this breed, nor any white. The

COLOUR 249

black and the white would appear to be a fixed hetero-
zygous quality, and not to segregate into black and
white as other barred breeds do. By means of per-
sistent selection the character of the barring may be
altered, and the dark barrings may be broadened, as it
has been in recent years, so that it is now four times as
broad as the white ground-colour. And in these darker
birds the barring is stealing its way into the saddle-
hackles also, which fashion, and probably ancient history
also, formerly decreed should be pure silver. Whether
the silver neck-hackle will remain, now that darker
plumage is being bred, remains to be seen.

I quote the Campine as showing what time has done
in past ages in fixing pure barring, and yet how it lends
itself to the process of alteration by artificial selection.
When the Barred Rock boasts of as ancient a pedigree,
perhaps it may breed as true to colour, and the same
good fortune niay overtake the modern blue, as it
already appears to have become fixed in the pullets of
the Blue Madras Game.

Modern Blues.^Wherever there exists already in
any breed the varieties of Black, White, and Buff', the
Blues may be created by judicious crossing, without the
introduction of alien blood, since either black and
white, or more quickly black and buff', will produce a
blue. There should, therefore, be no great difficulty,
after a few seasons^ experiments, in breeding Blue
Wyandottes, Blue Leghorns, or Blue Orpingtons, or
even Blue Hamburghs or Blue Cochins. Much will
depend upon the fate of the early entrants into the
arena. That they will be hardy and prolific there is
little doubt. But their staying power will depend
upon —

(1) Their breeding true to type,

(2) Their throwing a large percentage of chickens

true to colour,

(3) The capacity of the colour to stand exposure to

the weather,

(4) And, above all, on that most fickle of all elements

— popular favour.

As in the case of the "buff'" craze popular opinion
plumped in favour of the Buff' Orpington, and left the

250 THE POULTRY MANUAL

Buff Rock and the Buff Leghorn and the Buff' Wyan-
dotte either out of the race or only the fancy of the
few, so will it be with the Blue. Which will be the
favourite ? Though fanciers' " spirits " may be ardent,
we may get too much of the " blues," and some of the
" barred " varieties will find the " barriers " too high to
leap to favour.

Meanwhile, an intensely fresh interest will have been
added to many a humble fancier's yard, as he attempts
to paint his birds, in Nature's way, with the colour or
colours he desires. The most I can do for him is to
give him some simple directions as to the way in which
to prepare his " palette " and to mix his pigments. I
cannot bestow the painter's eye or the artist's skill.
Many a worthless " daub " is sure to be produced, and
many a picture rejected by the judges at the academy.
But it may be that something worth looking at will be
forthcoming, to the delight of the critics and for the
due reward of its owner. One thing he must not forget.
The drawings must be true to life. Let him study
" form " and " type," and then the picture will live and
the colour will come in due time.

Above all he must learn to "hasten slowly." A
premature rush for fame is sure to fail, as it deserves to
do. Before a new breed or new variety can be admitted
to the Poultry Club Standards it must have its new
characteristics established. The impetuous fancier may
call it what he likes, and show it where he can, just as
any would-be artist can have his private " view," but it
cannot be admitted to the "art gallery" till it has passed
the ordeal of the academicians' inspection, viz. the
Poultry Club Council, assisted, when need requires, by
the committees of the specialist clubs concerned. The
following report was adopted by the Poultry Club in
P'ebruary 1909, and with its inclusion I may well close
the chapter —

Suggested Rules ^for Regulating the Inclusion of Neio
Breeds and Varieties in the Poultry Club Standard
of Perfection.

To THE Council of the Poultry Club,

Gentlemen, — As the sub-committee appointed
to consider the question of rules to govern the inclusion

COLOUR 251

of new breeds and varieties in the Poultry ('lub
Standard of Perfection, we beg to submit the following
suggestions —

1. Before any breed or variety is eligible for inclusion
in the Poultry Club Standard of Perfection it must
comply with the following requirements : At least 50
per cent, of its progeny must be true to type and
colour, i. e. they must possess the general characteristics
of the breed. Specimens of the breed or variety must
have been exhibited at such shows as the Crystal Palace
or Dairy, and both the male and female specimens of at
least two generations must be forwarded to the Council
at the time the breed or variety shall come up for ad-
mission to the Standard, in order that the members of
the Council may inspect the specimens to determine
whether or not they present thoroughbred character-
istics. In the case of a new breed the fowls must
possess distinct characteristics, and in the case of a new
variety they must conform to the character of the breed
of which they are a variety.

2. The request for admission must be accompanied
by a brief description of the breed or variety, together
with particulars of it^ origin and breeding, set out in
a sworn statement of the breeder ; and this statement
must contain a declaration of the percentage of speci-
mens breeding true to type and colour. A suggested
standard for the breed or variety must also be presented,
and this shall be read at the meeting at which it is
proposed to admit the breed or variety.

3. If upon an examination of the sworn statement
and an inspection of the fowls, the Council is satisfied
that the breed or variety has reached a pure-bred con-
dition, a majority vote, of at least two-thirds of the
members present, shall admit the breed or variety to
the Standard.

Harry Wallis,
William H. Cook,
William W. Broomhead,
Frederick J. Broomhead (Hon. Sec),
New Breeds Sub-Committee.

CHAPTER XII

ASIATIC BREEDS OF POULTRY

BRAHMAS COCHINS LANGSHANS MALAYS ASEELS

YOKOHAiNIAS

Asia is the original home of poultry, and I have
given the Asiatic breeds the pride of place. All our
domestic breeds of poultry are said to have been
originally derived from the Red Jungle fowl, the range
of which is the jungles of North-Eastern and parts
of Central India, extending south through the Malay
Peninsula to Sumatra, and east through Siam to Cochin
China.

It is stated by Mr. W. R. Ogilvie-Grant, in vol. ii
of Lloyd''s Natural History, to which readers may be
referred for a full description of the various breeds of
Jungle fowl, that " Domestic fowls allowed to escape
and run wild in surroundings similar to their original
habitat soon revert to the wild type and become
indistinguishable from typical examples of the Indian
Red Jungle fowl."

Attempts have been made to breed the Jungle fowl
with our domestic breeds, and an interesting account is
given of this in the official report of the second National
Poultry Conference at Reading in 1907, but so far little
success has crowned the effort, as either the different
breeds would not mate or the progeny were weakly and
died as chicks.

All fanciers who are interested in the origin and
development of our numerous breeds and varieties
should have a copy framed of a wonderful plate of the
"Jungle Fowl and its Descendants," drawn and painted
by Mr. Ludlow. This was presented as a supplement to
a recent number of the Feathered World, and may be
obtained from Mrs. Corayns-Lewer, the editress. It is

252

A J- '-/''v;

DARK BRAHMAS.

ASIATIC BREEDS OF POULTRY 253

a marvel of artistic skill, and a standing lesson of what
wonderful results have been obtained by the fancier's
art. It should, however, be stated that the question is
still an open one. No wild breed of poultry has been
found which resembles the Brahma or the Cochin, and
they may have had distinct ancestors.

THE BRAHMA

Sub-vaineties : Light Bralima^ Dark Brahma.

The Brahma race of poultry may fitly be termed the
monarchs of the poultry world. A glance at the
coloured plate of a pair of typical Dark Brahmas will
illustrate the immense size, lordly bearing, and magnifi-
cent plumage of the male bird, and the exquisite
pencilling and lovely contour of the hen. A fully-
developed adult cock will weigh 12 lb., and some-
times a pound or two more, and a hen 10 lb. or
more. They are meant to be a large breed, and size
should carry great weight in more senses than one,
though it sometimes happens that perfection in mark-
ings has a predominance in determining their position in
the prize list. There are other breeds which weigh as
many pounds, e.g. I have had Orpington cocks weigh
14 lb., and hens 10 to 12 lb., but there is no breed
which has the same majestic and lordly appearance, or
which carries its size with such grace and dignity.

They were originally called Brahma-Pootra, and
until quite recently were scheduled by this name in the
principal show lists. The name would seem to indicate
the Asiatic origin of the breed, being taken from the
Indian river of that name. They were introduced
into this country from America, a notable consignment
being sent, in December 1852, by a Mr. G. P. Burnham
as a gift to her late Gracious Majesty Queen Victoria.
The sender stated that they had been brought over
from Shanghai in China to America. A long and acri-
monious controversy ensued as to their origin, of which
a full account may be read, by those who are interested,
in the various editions of Mr. Lewis Wright's Book of
Poultry, and in The PouUrij Book of Mr. Tegetmeier,
published in 1875. The striking feature, however, in
the history of this famous breed is the very great

254 THE POULTRY MANUAL

alteration made by the breeder's art in the colour and
contour of the birds. Looking at illustrations of the show
specnnens of this breed in the volumes above mentioned
as late as 1875-1880, and comparing them with those
in Mr. Lewis Wright's book twenty-five years later,
will show one of the most marvellous transformations
known in the history of poultry culture.

When first imported, and indeed for twenty-five
years later, they were in appearance more like the
original Black Langshan in type, with long shanks and
thighs, and very sparsely feathered, more like the Croad
Langshan of to-day than any other breed. Those who
contend that both Cochins and Brahmas originated
from the same common origin* have this in their favour,
that both breeds looked very much alike in type. And
it is a singular coincidence that the Brahma was intro-
duced into America at the same time that the Cochin
arrived in England, about the year 1847. And even
the Brahma jpea-comh, which is so distinct from the
small but erect and single comb of the Cochin, was by
no means in the early days a fixed character, as both
" pea " and " single " combs were bred from the same
mated pens of birds.

With reference to the colours of the Light and Dark
Brahmas, so recent a writer and noted a breeder of
Brahmas as Mr. Norris-Elye says : " That originally
the Darks and the Lights sprang from a common source
is certain ; in the earlier days the peculiarities of colour
were not so distinct, and it was quite possible to breed
gradually lighter or darker birds so as to get either
Lights or Darks from a common stock in a season or two.
Careful breeding for one or the other has greatly altered
this state of things, and no one would now try to breed
Darks from Lights, or Lights from Darks."

These are now as far apart as the poles. And it
should encourage the breeder who now strives to attain
a given ideal in some new variety to see what has been
done by patience and the fancier's skill with two
varieties now so distinct in coloration as the Light and
the Dark Brahma.

The important question remains, however, whether
the breeder in his striving after perfection in marking
has not seriously interfered with the utility properties

ASIATIC BREEDS OF POULTRY 255

of the breed. Few people now who want either first-
class table-fowls or first-rate layers would choose the
Brahma fowl,

Mr. Lewis Wright, one of the most ardent advocates
of the breed, writes : " While it is perfectly true that the
'standard ' of judging at any show must always be, and
can only be, a ' fancy *" standard, and that fanciers alone
preserve breeds in their entirety, the fact remains good,
on the other hand, thsitfnnci/ alone never keeps a breed
popular. There must be a utility basis also for this ;
and if ever the utility basis is seriously deteriorated or
bred actually away from, winners may still sell at high
prices, but general demand is gone. ... It will also be
observed that all the new ' breeds "■ which have been
lately introduced, and achieved such popularity, have
based their claims upon being ' utility ' breeds, either as
layers or table-fowls. From this point of view the
relative popularity of Brahmas at a time when the
breed was and could be described without hesitation as
one of the most generally useful in existence, and since
it has been bred away from a type that could be broadly
and generally so described, is very instructive" {The
Book of Poultry, p. 278, ed. 1902).

The Brahma is still a more popular and more useful
breed than the Cochin, and the deterioration above
mentioned is mainly to be attributed to the alteration
in the type of the Brahma, probably by the introduction
of Cochin blood, and by preference being given to birds
more Cochiny in type than the true Brahma. The
latter should be a tighter-feathered bird than the
modern Cochin bird, and with less of it, with a fine
neat head, with comb and wattles very small, and the
carriage more erect. The good and useful elements are
still in the breed, and when crossed with other breeds
of greater agility and more fecundity produce first-class
layers with hardy constitutions. The finest layers I
have ever seen were pullets from a cross between a
Hamburgh cock and Brahma hens. No two breeds
could be more diverse in character, which may account
for the vigour and hardiness of the progeny. The
pullets laid as many as forty eggs in as many days, while
many Brahma hens would not lay more than this
number in a year. The cx'oss with a Black Minorca

256 THE POULTRY MANUAL

also produces excellent results, both as layers and table-
fowls ; while the cross with a Dorking cock produces
table-fowls of the highest quality obtainable, both for
size and quality — this particular cross often carrying
away the premier honours for cross-bred table-fowls at
the great Dairy Show at Islington.

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF BRAHMA COCK

Head and Neck. — Head small, neat, rather short
and fine in its lines, with prominent eyebrows and large
prominent eyes. Comb : Triple or pea, erect, neat, and
firmly set. Face : As smooth and free from feathers or
hairs as possible. Ear-lobe: Long and pendulent, as
compared with wattles, which should be small and well
rounded, and not fall lower than the ear-lobe. Neck :
Long and well arched, covered with ample flowing
hackles reaching well down over the shoulders, free
from twisted feathers. The difference in the long neck
of the Brahma and the short neck of the Cochin should
be one of its most marked characteristics.

Body. — Very full, broad, and square, with great
depth, carried well forward. Bad- : Broad, short, well
curved, with abundant saddle-hackle well covering the
wing-ends. Tail: The tail at its best is what is called
by Mr. Norris-Elye " a black-cock tail." The effect is
that the two or four upper sickle feathers turn apart
from one another. It is very beautiful when seen
in perfection, and rarely met with in a bird which is
not full of Brahma character. The true tail feathers
are of medium length only, and the true coverts broad,
abundant, and well curved. It is admirably depicted in
the coloured illustration.

Legs and Feet. — The legs should be large and
powerful and moderately long, not short and squat like
the Cochin, but giving the bird an alert appearance.
The fluff should be soft and abundant, giving a rounded
appearance to the thighs ; and the hocks should be
amply covered with soft rounded feathers, though in
the most heavily-feathered birds these are often quill-
feathered, and make what is termed a " vulture hock."
Good foot and leg feather, without vulture hock,
should have the preference, and the shanks should

ASIATIC BREEDS OF POULTRY 25t

be well feathered just below the hock, where it com-
monly fails, and gives the bird a ragged, badly-dressed
appearance.

General Shape and Carriage. — When viewed in
profile, as in illustration, very deeply and squarely built ;
when viewed from front or rear, broad and compact.
Carriage lofty, bold, and active.

Plumage. — Profuse, but harder and closer than that
of the Cochin.

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF BRAHxMA HEX

Head and Neck. — In all its parts, as in the cock,
the comb and wattles being very small. Necl\; : Rather
short, otherwise as described in the cock.

Body. — Breast and back as in the cock. The
cushion to rise about half-way between hackle and tail,
and to continue to rise till it reaches the tail coverts.
Wings : Well tucked up under the cushion feathers.

Tail. — Of medium length and nearly erect, the true
tail feathers expanding fan-like and not bunched
together. Tail coverts : Abundant and nearly covering
the tail.

Legs and Feet. — Legs short in proportion to the
size of the bird, strong and set wide apart. Otherwise
as in the cock.

General Shape and Carriage. — When viewed in
profile, very deeply and s([uarely built, the body carried
very near to the ground. Broad and compact when
viewed in front. Carriage sedate but fairly active, not
coarse. The plumage, asjMn the cock, should be
abundant but not Cochiny.

Colour of Dark Brahmas

In both Sexes. — Beak : Black or horn colour. Ei/e :
Orange-red. Pearl or grey eyes are said to show weak-
ness of constitution. Comb, face, ear-lobes and wattles :
Bright red.

In the Cock.— Head : Silvery white. 71ie neck- and
saddle-hackles silvery white, not yellow or sappy. Each
feather densely striped with brilliant black in the
centre of each feather, the stripe not running to the end
of the feather, but having a silver edging. 17ie breast,
s

258 THE POULTRY MANUAL

unde7--part of the body, thighs andjiuff' an intense glossy
black. In some good specimens the breast is slightly
but regularly splashed with white, for which seven
points are deducted. Bacl: and Shoulder Coverts .
Silvery white, as also the zving-bozc, while the xcmg-har
is glossy black. Secondm-ies : Black and white, the outer
web of the feather forming the wing-bay being white,
and the rest black. Tail and Tail Coverts : Black, or
black laced with white. Legs: Orange-yellow, Leg
feather : Black preferred, though an admixture of white
is permissible.

In the Hen. — The marvellous colour of the hen
may be described in few words without detailing the
separate parts. The whole of the body colour, with
the exception of the head and neck-hackles, is a pure
silver-grey colour, with black or nearly black markings
or penciliings, as nearly uniform as possible over the
body, breast, back, wings, fluff, and leg feather, as shown
in the illustration, with black tail or black edged with
grey. White feathers on the legs are a decided fault
in a hen. The neck -hackles striped with black, as in
the illustration, are now not so commonly seen, the
striping having given way to pencilling. The latter
and more irregular marking is not so bold or striking,
but is preferred by most breeders, as such marking is
more likely to produce the beautifully pencilled feathers
in the body of the fowl. It is, unfortunately, against
the popularity of the Dark Brahma that in order to
produce show specimens of the modern type in both
sexes two breeding pens must be formed, one for
breeding exhibition cockerels and the other pullets.
The pullets to be mated to an exhibition cock must be
cock-bred, and they have not the appearance of show
pullets. The pencilling on the feathers is not so
cleanly outlined, and the whole appearance more
blurred or mossy. On the other hand, the hackle will
be more distinctly strip)ed, as in the show cock, and not
pencilled.

The pullet -breeding cock is not a show bird. The
breast is laced and not black, and so are the fluff and
the leg and foot feathers, and the pencilling, which is
the beauty of the hen, Avill also be faintly marked in
the pencilling over the shoulder and wing. A narrow

ASIATIC BREEDS OF POULTRY 259

black fringe on the neck-hackle is also said to be an
advantage instead of a pure silver one. Such a cockerel
should be mated with pullets as clear and distinct in
the lacing of each feather as possible. The show
standard says that the ground-colour of the pullets
may be any shade of clear grey, and many pullets are
now shown with the ground-colour nearly white instead
of the dark-grey at one time so fashionable. Mr.
Lewis Wright attributes the necessity for two breeding
pens to this fancy for the lighter ground-colour ; and
says that " The real incompatibles are the extremely
light ground-colour in pullets combined with the solid
black under-parts, and especially black fluff in the
cockerels," and intimates that if the darker grey ground-
colour had been adopted in the hens, exhibition speci-
mens of both sexes may have been bred from the same
pen. There is no doubt that the light ground-colour
is the more striking, and fanciers seem determined at
present to maintain it, though it means extra care and
trouble in breeding, and most certainly a loss of popu-
larity, and probably also a loss of usefulness in the
breed.

Value of points in Dark Brahmas. — The points of
excellence are so evenly distributed over the whole bird
that little value can be attributed to any special feature.
There are twenty distinct " points " named in the 100
marks assigned. The greatest defect is impure colour in
the white of the cock, for which 10 points are deducted,
and 8 for want of size and 8 for bad style or carriage.
In the hen the chief feature is naturally the evenness of
the ground-colour and want of uniformity in the pencil-
ling. For faults of colour 33 points in all are deducted,
and 8 each for want of size or bad style.

Serious defects for which birds should be passed :
Comb other than pea ; badly-twisted hackle ; total
absence of leg feather ; deformity of any kind ; twisted
wing feathers ; white legs ; great want of size in adults ;
total want of condition.

In Cock : Much red or yellow in plumage.

In Hen : Utter want of pencilling ; patches of brown
or red in plumage.

S 2

260 THE POULTRY MANUAL

Mating Dark Brahmas

As already indicated, it is necessary to have two
distinct pens for breeding cockerels and pullets.

The chief thing to observe is that for cockerels both
of the sexes must be cock-bred. The male should be as
typical a bird as can be found. The hens should be
large in size, as size is chiefly obtained frOm them. A
cock-bred hen has next to no pencilling, but she should
possess a well-striped neck-hackle.

For breeding pullets the male must be pullet-bred,
and if the breast, thighs and fluff are laced or edged
with white so much the better. If the hackles are
deficient in striping, being pencilled instead (like the
feather 5b on the plate of Partridge Wyandotte
Feathers, p. 403), he will be more likely to breed
show pullets. The pullets to mate with him should be
as near the Standard as can be got.

Colour of Light Brahmas

In both Sexes. — BeaJi : Black, or yellow and black.
Ei/e : Orange-red, pearl or grey, the former preferred.
Comb, face, ear-lobes and zvattles : Bright red.

In the Cock. — Head: Silvery white. Neck-haclde :
Silvery white sharply striped with intense black, the
black striping to run as far up the shaft toward the skin
as possible, and to be more dense at the lower part of
the hackle, the edge of the feather to be clear white.
Although in the scale of points the scanty hackle only
deducts 4 points and the want of striping 5, the actual
values are much more, as a poor hackled bird would
have very little chance of a prize in good company.

Body-colour. — The whole of the body-colour should
be of the purest blue Avhite, not a creamy white. An
impure colour of white is penalized more than any other
point, viz. 10 points. The saddle-hackles should also
be pure white, though if slightly striped with black it is
only slightly penalized if the neck -hackle and striping
is very dense. The tail is black, or black edged with
white, which is the more ornamental, and the tail coverts
are the same. The leg feather is white, or black and
white mixed. Black in the hock feathers is a defect.

ASIATIC BREEDS OF POULTRY Wi

Colour in the Hen is similar in all respects to the
cock, and should be of the purest white, except the
neck -hackles, which are white with a dense black stripe.
The black should have a green sheen, not a blue one,
and the broader the stripe the better, so long as the
edging is pure white. Cloudy, pale, or streaky hackles in
the hen are very grave faults, and so are black splashes
about the body. The tail is black or black laced with
white, and a little black is permissible in the foot
feathering.

Value of points in Light Brahmas is distributed
very much as in the Darks. The chief thing is to
secure purity in the colour, and to secure a well-striped
hackle. The white should be free from black blotches
either on the back or in the fluff or the hocks. The
under-colour may be white or a slaty grey. The next
thing is size, correct shape (avoiding Cochiny saddles)
or caiTiage.

The serious defects for which birds should be passed
are the same as those assigned to the Darks, except that
a buff colour in any part of the plumage is a defect in
Lights, just as patches of red or brown are defects in
the Darks.

The Light Brahmas are better layers than the Dark,
and are more popular. No fowl has a more beautiful
and striking appearance. Both sexes for exhibition
purposes can be bred from the same pen, which is
strongly in their favour. The eggs are large, and I have
found them of a good rich brown colour and rather
elongated in shape than round. They are very tame,
and can easily be kept within bounds with a three-foot
fence. The hens make good gentle mothers, and
although they are a broody race they are not excessively
so, as I have known many pullets go through a whole
season without showing a desire to sit. They lay fairly
well in the winter when not allowed to get too fat.
One of the great drawbacks I found in the breed was
the great difficulty in getting fertile eggs early in the
season. Year after year I could get no chicks till the
end of March, and as they are rather slow in maturing
there is a difficulty in getting them ready for early
shows. I have written more fully about Brahmas
because I have a fondness for them, and because I

262 THE POULTRY MANUAL

consider they stand at the head of the poultry world
for beauty. They are, moreover, the ancestors of some
of the more modern breeds, such as the Silver Pencilled
Wyandotte from the "Dark," and the beautiful Columbian
Wyandotte from the " Light." In these more modern
offspring the old utility qualities have been revived in
full force. Though not largely bred it is not likely
they will die out if only on account of their intrinsic
beau ty.

Mating Light Brahmas

Many breeders are careful to keep to one strain for
cocks, and another for pullets, although both can be
bred from the same pen. The chief point to aim at,
apart from size and shape, is the densely-striped hackle.
If the cock is deficient in this respect his mates should
be strong in the black striping, and if dark in under-
colour so much the better. There is a general tendency
to loss of colour, and if either side is lacking the other
should counterbalance it.

COCHINS

Sub-varieties : Buff or Cinnamon^ Partridge^ White^ Black,
Cuckoo.

There are some writers on poultry who award to the
Cochin family the pride of place which I have given
to their sisters, the Brahmas, because the latter are not
only as ornamental but more useful.

There is, however, something to be said for the
Cochin as a fancier''s fowl. Whereas the Brahma is
chiefly a study in black and white, the Cochin is of
very varied hues, and has more numerous varieties. It
also has the premier claim in point of time of its
introduction, as it was introduced into England in
1847, while the Brahma followed five years later.
There are but few living now who can remember the
furore caused by the introduction of this giant breed
sixty years ago, when they realized fabulous prices.
They at once sprang into popularity, and were seized
upon by fanciers, who had been created fanciers by
their advent, and the conglomerate colours of brown.

ASIATIC BREEDS OF POULTRY 263

white, buff, and grey soon began in their hands to
assume more definite hues, the lighter-coloured speci-
mens forming the White and the Buff, and the darker
the Partridge, while, singularly enough, it is said that
the early Blacks were formed by a cross between the
Buff and the White ! But as black varieties of other
breeds are now constantly bred from the union of a
black fowl and a white one, and the Buffs of that day
had a lot of black feathers and black pigment in
them, this result is not improbable. The Buffs claimed
from the first the chief place, and to-day they still
maintain it, though closely run by the Partridge
colour in the race for popularity.

There is, moreover, one debt which the multitude of
fanciers of to-day owe to the Cochin fowl. It was this
breed which originated the " fancy," which until they
arrived was a very small thing. They started the
" fancy," and it has never since looked back. And
the breed not only started it but has done more
than any other breed to maintain it. For in addi-
tion to rendering assistance to the Brahma, it has
been the source of many varieties of Wyandottes,
Orpingtons, and even the tiny Buff Leghorn, and in
fact all other Buff breeds, besides various breeds known
and fostered in America, though little known in Eng-
land, such as the Rhode Island Red, etc. The Cochin
is pre-eminently a " fancy " fowl, and as such stands
nearly at the bottom of the list so far as its own utility
qualities are concerned. Superabundance of feather
and fluff always mitigate against first-rate table
qualities or egg-producing propensities. And yet its
ancient utility features, which were undoubted, and
which were in early Victorian days so exaggerated
that they were said to lay several eggs a day,
are still inherent in the race, since it is beyond
question that such breeds as the Buff Orpington, Buff
Rock, and Buff Leghorn are at the very top of the
list as egg-producers. They inherited these qualities,
together with the buff plumage, from the Cochin,
though they wisely left behind the rounded masses of
fluff. There is no doubt that the Cochin could again
be bred to be an excellent layer by a process of
selection, but it would not be the magnificently feathered

264 THE POULTRY MANUAL

creature we know to-day, and it would not be worth
the while, since so many of its descendants have it
already, and it would only be by degenerating into the
mongrel appearance of the Lincolnshire Buff. Those
who wish to see the Cochin in its glory should visit the
home of its introduction more than half-a-century ago
— the gi'eat show at Bingley Hall, Birmingham. All
the varieties, both of okl and young birds, are there
catered for, and there are usually on view one hundred
and fifty or more of the best in the world, and they
form a magnificent spectacle.

The Buff Cochin

We come now to a necessarily brief description of the
several varieties of which the Buff holds the pride of place.
The chief point of excellence looked for is uniformity of
colour all over the body, from head to tail, though the
hackle feathers, owing to their different texture and
shape, show a brighter and more solid colour. What
are known as tri-coloured birds, with the breast a
paler shade than the body, and the wing-bow darker
than either, are not now so conmionly seen in the show-
pen, as they are considered objectionable, both for
exhibition and breeding purposes.

The colour of the cod- throughout should be a rich
golden buff, free from any bricky or red-coloured tinge,
as well as from any suspicion of mealiness. This latter
fault, which is most commonly found on the wing, is an
interruption of the solid evenness of colour, as though
the buff colour had been sprinkled or pencilled Avith
lighter patches, or as if lightly dusted with flour. It is
the most objectionable feature in all Buff breeds, and
very difficult to breed out. It is most commonly met
with on the wing-bow of a hen, and though such birds
mai/ breed a good cockerel, they rarely, if ever, breed a
sound-coloured pullet. As to its cause there is an
amount of uncertainty, but I have found it most com-
mon in other Buff breeds when there has been a marked
difference in the shade of the wing of the cock and
that of the hen to which he is mated, e. g. if the cock's
wing-bow has an approach to redness in tone and the
hen's is pale there will be many mealy offspring.

BUFF COCHIN HEN.
Property of Councillor G. Proctor.
Winner of 1st and Cup, Royal Show.

265

ASIATIC BREEDS OF POULTRY 267

The colour should not only be sound, and even in
shade on the top, but should be sound underneath or
buff to the skin, 7iot a golden top and Avhite under.
The shaft of the feather should be of the same colour as
the fluff, and not, as often happens, buff at the tip and
white at the root. When the shaft of the feather is
lighter than the web the streaky appearance is called
shqftiness, and is often seen on the breast feathers of an
otherwise good specimen. The flight and tail feathers
should also be free from white or black markings. In
all Buff' breeds there is often a loss of colour after
the flrst year, and a little white is not so objectionable
in an old bird as in a young one.

The colour' of the hen should be of an even soft shade
throughout. The wings, flights, and foot feather should
be free from black. In mating, the general rule is
to select as far as possible the hens or pullets with the
breast of the same shade of colour as the cock's.
Exhibition birds of both sexes can be bred from the
same mated pen.

Ge?ieral Characteristics of the Buff CocJiin Cock

The cock of whatever variety should be a large bird
with a wide, massive body, with short, stout legs,
standing wide apart, and with an abundance of fluff'
and leg feather down to the middle toe, and with
a very small tail rising slightly from the saddle
and free from sickle feathers. The tail coverts
should be soft and abundant, curving over and
nearly covering the tail. The comb should be single,
small, and erect, evenly serrated and following
the line of the neck. The neck short and full in hackle.
The breast full and rounded in appearance, and the
back short and broad. The general shape and carriage
is that of a deep, broad, massive bird rounded in
appearance, with the head carried rather more forward
than erect. The wattles long and fine in texture.

General Characteristics of the Buff Cochin Hen
As in the cock, the hen's head should be neat, with an
orange eye. The wattles small and neatly rounded,
with well-developed ear-lobes. The body broad, deep.

268 THE POULTRY MANUAL

and full of rounded masses of feather, with the short
back, first rising into an abundant cushion and then
falling toward the tail and a mass of fluff in the
forepart of it, resembling a ball. The hocks should be
well covered with soft curling feathers and an abund-
ance of soft fluff standing out like a ball on either side.
The legs and feet, as in the cock, heavily feathered down
to the middle toe. The carriage of the body is
forward and drooping. The general appearance of both
sexes is gentle, docile, intelligent, but indolent. Both
on account of their great size and abundance of foot
feathering, together with their stooping attitude, they
are ungainly and slow in their movements. The lowest
possible fence keeps them within bounds. As perches
are not usually provided for them to roost upon,
their bedding of chaff or peat-moss should be kept
scrupulously clean and dry, and specimens that are
intended for show should be kept in a shady run and
not allowed out in the bright sunshine after they begin
to get their adult feathers. Even a few days of
exposure will spoil the solid appearance of the colour of
the feathers if the birds are allowed out in the rain
and the wet feathers dry again in the sun. The tips of
the feathers on the back and the cushion get bleached
and give a mottled appearance. The pullet suffers
more in this respect than the cockerel. Either sun or
rain has a bad effect on buff birds, but the combination
of the two is fatal. Early morning and from sunset
in the evenincr are the best times for outdoor exercise.

The Partridge Cochin

The Partridge Cochin stands next in order of popu-
larity, and is the most gorgeous in colour of all the
varieties, and its beautiful an'd varied tints are less
liable to be damaged by the sun and rain. In size,
shape, and general character the description given of
the Buff Cochin applies to all the varieties.

The hen resembles in marking, though not in colour,
the Dark Brahma hen. In the latter the ground-colour
is grey, while the Partridge is a light-brown. It is
generally believed that the beautiful pencilling on each
feather, which is the beauty of the Brahma, has been

ASIATIC BREEDS OF POULTRY 269

borrowed from it. The colour of both sexes is ad-
mirably reproduced in the Partridge Wyandottes,
Avhich are descended from them, and readers are re-
ferred to the very beautiful reproductions in colour of
Mr. Hubert Wrighfs birds (see Wyandottes). There
is no more beautifully-feathered creature in the poultry
world than an exc^uisitely pencilled Partridge Cochin
hen, nor one with a more gorgeous mass of plumage
than the male.

Colour of Exhibition Partridge Cochin Cock

The head of the cock should be a darkish orange-
red. The hackles near the head of the same shade, but
getting lighter in colour as they get lower toward the
back. These should have a dense, broad stripe of
black (so well depicted in the coloured plates of the
Brahma cock or the Partridge Wyandotte). The back
and shoulders, a dark rich red. The shoulder coverts
and wing-bow also a dark rich red. The wing-bow a rich
metallic black, showing green or purple reflections. The
secondary feathers forming the wing-bay, a rich " bay "
colour on the outer web, and black on inner ^eb and
end of feather. The saddle-hackles should be of the
same colour and shade as the neck-hackles, and have a
metallic stripe. The rest of the body-colour, including
breast, thigh, fluff, and leg feather, a glossy black. Any
white in the tail or rusty feathers on the breast and
thigh is objectionable. Legs a dusky yellow.

Colour oj Exhibition Partridge Cochin Hen

The hen is of a more sombre colour. The ground-
colour is of a light brown, and should be of the same
shade all over the bird. Every feather should be pen-
cilled all over with a darker shade, and uniform
over the whole body, the pencilling to follow the
outline of the feather. A light shaft to the feather
is a fault. The beauty of these markings is well shown
in the plate of Partridge Wyandotte Feathers, p. 403.
The colour of the body should be brown, not yellow,
or of a red or foxy tinge, and the pencilling should
run right up to the top of the throat in a perfect
specimen. Nearly all laced and pencilled pullets fail
in this respect, and many otherwise good specimens lose

270 thp: poultry manual

also in distinctness of pencilling on the back and
saddle. The hackle feathers are of a lighter golden
shade than the body, and a well-pencilled pullet has
not a distinct stripe in the hackle, but a broken or
pencilled one.

Mating Partridge Cochins

It is unfortunate for the popularity of the breed that
two breeding pens are required, one for exhibition
cockerels and the other for the pullets.

Tu mate zoith an exhibition cock the pullets must be
cockerel-bred. These will be found to have little pen-
cilling on the feathers, and if of a darker shade than
the show bird so much the better. They are usually
larger than the exhibition pullets. The red colour of
the cockerels needs more red pigment in the hen to
maintain brilliance in the offspring.

To mate zvith an exhibition hen the cockerel must
be pullet-bred. The hackle will have less stripe in it,
and the feathers, which are dense black in the exhibition
cock, will be pencilled or edged with brown. In fact,
the more pencilling all over the better, as this character
is to be transmitted to the hen. It is, therefore, of
great importance to mark the chickens from each pen.
For although the appearance of the adult birds gener-
ally shows how they have been bred, it sometimes
happens that a cockerel from a pullet pen looks like an
exhibition specimen, and vice versa, a cock-bred pullet
shows distinct pencilling. When cock-bred and pullet-
bred birds are mated together the result is confusion of
colour in the offspring of both sexes.

The White Cochin

The White Cochin does not call for a lengthy de-
scription. It is a very beautiful bird when kept in the
country in suitable surroundings, Avith a well-kept lawn
or an old pasture field in which to run. The coral
redness of comb and wattles adds a touch of colour
which is a pleasant contrast to the white plumage. As
in the other varieties, colour is the great thing. I have
seen many well-Avashed Cochins a mass of unimpeach-
able purity of snowy whiteness. The great thing to be

ASIATIC BREEDS OF POULTRY 271

avoided is a yellow tinge or sappiness in colour. They
are not largely bred, probably on account of the great
difficulty in keeping them clean, and also because of the
great care required in shading them to keep them from
tanning. A red eye sets off the beauty of the bird,
though they are frequently orange or pearl in colour.
They are not as large as the Buff, and Mr. Lewis Wright
suggests a cross with a Light Brahma to increase their
size, choosing one with as little black as possible in its
plumage and under-coloui'. It is now well known by
MendeFs law that some single-combs would be bred in
the second generation, and pi;obably a few in the first
cross, on account of previous intercourse between these
two breeds. It is probably due to this interchange of
blood that so many Brahmas of to-day have the Cochin
style and gait.

Both sexes can be bred from the same breeding-pen
for exhibition. Great care should be taken to see
that the male bird especially is pure in colour — a cock
that has moulted pure in colour being a valuable stock
bird. The legs of the White Cochin are a bright
yellow, not dusky yellow as in the Partridge and the
Black. In old birds these often go pale in shade. In
America there are White Brahmas, though they are
seldom seen here. These are doubtless bred through an
admixture of White Cochin blood.

A prevailing fault in the White Cochin is the loss of
tail character, the sickle feathers and tail coverts grow-
ing too long ; and they are also apt to show traces of
white in ear-lobes, a failing in most red-lobed birds
with white plumage.

The Black Cocnm

This variety is now being bred more widely than in
former years, and has now attained the size, shape,
and abundance of feather so noted in other varieties.
It is needless to note that there is less difficulty in
maintaining purity of colour than in the lighter
feathered varieties. The eye of a Black Cochin may be
either red or black. The plumage should be a rich
raven black throughout, free from feathers of any other
colour, and as far as possible black to the skin. To

272 THE POULTRY MANUAL

increase their size they have been crossed with the
Partridge, and, to increase their vigour, with their
cousins, the Black Langshan. The drawback from the
latter cross has been lack of feather, especially about the
hocks. Like all other black breeds they throw
occasionally red feathers in the hackles of the cock.
Such birds, though not admissible in the show-pen,
often make useful pullet breeders. They are said to be
better layers than the other varieties. The legs are of
a more dusky yellow than in the others. It is always a
difficulty to secure good yellow legs on a bird with
intense black plumage, and the allowing of dusky legs in
the Black Cochin has doubtless helped to increase its
popularity.

There is little doubt that the more modern type of
the Black Orpington has been due to a cross with
Cochin blood. And as the prepotency of the Cochin
blood is greater than that of the mixed nature of the
Orpington, this is doubtless the reason why the exhibi-
tion Black Orpington is not so good a layer as it once
was. As before noted, abundance of fluff always spells
bad laying properties. Both sexes for exhibition can be
bred from the same mated pens*

The Cuckoo Cochin

This variety is little known, and rarely seen in the
show-pen. This is probably due to the great difficulty
of breeding a Avell-marked specimen. They are due to
a cross between the Black and the White Cochin, from
which cross some birds would always be bred with ticked
or barred hackles. They should be marked like the
Barred Rock, but they start with a great disadvantage,
— one of the progenitors of the latter breed being the
cuckoo-marked Dominique. There is a good opening
for those who would like to revive a very handsome
breed to introduce Dominique blood into a pen of
Black Cochin hens. A few generations carefully bred
might produce good marked birds with vigorous consti-
tutions and good laying qualities.

Those who would like to go still further afield in the
search for novelty might try to breed a Blue Cochin, by
mating together the Black and the White Cochin, which

ASIATIC BREEDS OF POULTRY 273

with a dash of Light Brahma blood to infuse the slaty
under-colour or black tickings, so noted a feature in the
white offspring of the Blue Andalusian, might secure the
lavender blue which has of late years made so strong an
appeal to the popular taste. It would certainly be a
striking novelty to see a good Blue Cochin.

The Value of Points in Cochins

These are fewer in number than in most breeds, the
chief stress being laid on colour, size, and shape, which
A\'ith abundance of fluff' and cushion take nearly all
the points.

The chief faults otherwise penalized are long legs,
slipped wings, and coarse head-points. Any bodily
deformity is a serious defect, as in all other breeds.

THE LANGSHAN

This is another of our Asiatic breeds, having had its
home in China. All who have been interested in the
fancy poultry world for the last twenty years wall have
had enough and to spare of the long and acrimonious
controversy as to what is the true type of the Langshan,
and as to its purity of race. The first importation into
England was made by the late Major Croad in the year
1872, who maintains that they are quite a distinct breed
from the Cochin. It is true that at the time of their
introduction the Cochin had made great strides toward
their present shape and general conformation. But
there is little doubt that a comparison of these newly-
introduced birds with the drawings of the early Cochins
shows a remarkable similarity in outline and in feather-
ing. Those who wish for a summary of this controversy
should consult Mr. Lewis Wright's Book of Poultry, the
fanciers' vade mecum.

In the hands of the fancier, however, the breed soon
began to draw away from the original type. Birds were
bred much taller in shank and thigh, with neater and
tighter-feathered bodies, and with less fluff and feather
on the shank. To look now at a Modern Langshan and
a modern Black Cochin there appears very little trace of
a common origin except in colour. This alteration of
type drew strong protests from the original importer

T

274 THE POULTRY MANUAL

and his supporters, and the final upshot has been the
formation of two strong Clubs, one for the Modern
Langshan and the other for the pure Croad, or as it is
now called, the Croad Langshan — which latter Club
has a membership of seventy or eighty.

Whether connected in any way or totally distinct in
its origin from the Cochin, there is no doubt of its.
purity in breeding true to type, or of its essential useful-
ness as at once a good table-fowl, and the producer of
perhaps the richest-coloured egg we know, which it lays
in great abundance. It forms also one of the most
useful birds for crossing with other varieties, as it adds
increased stamina to the progeny. It is well known as
the chief ingredient, in its original form, of the popular
Black Orpington, and when crossed either way with the
Black Minorca it forms one of the hardiest and most
prolific of first-crosses.

The Modern Langshan

This is a very large and deep-bodied bird, wide at the
shoulders, with a full and deep breast, having a long
breast-bone almost like a turkey's, curving well up in
front, giving a rounded outline to the breast when
viewed in profile, and well covered with meat. The
back is broad, rather long, and horizontal, the saddle
furnished with a flowing hackle, though not too long.
The wings are carried close to the body and the wing
coverts are brilliant in hue. The whole body-colour
should be a brilliant beetle-green, free from purple
patches and markings, and the skin fine in texture,
white and transparent. The plumage close and smooth,
with little fluff. The head should be neat and free
from coarseness, with a rather small, evenly-serrated,
erect comb, free from side-sprigs. The eye should be
dark -hazel or black, the darker the better. The tail
should be full and flowing, spread out at the base and
carried fairly high.

The thighs of medium length, wide apart and tight-
feathered ; the shanks rather long, and fine in bone,
with a neat, even fringe of feathers extending down to
the outer toe, not, as in the Cochin, to the middle toe.
The toes, four in number, long and well spread out.

BLUE LANGSHAN COCKEREL.

Property of Mr. W. A. Jukes.

Winner, 1st, Special International, etc.

T 2

275

ASIATIC BREEDS OF POULTRY 277

The general shape should be that of a tall, graceful,
alert bird, strong on the leg. ^ A cockerel should weigh
from 8 to 10 lb.

Allowing for the difference in sex, the hen is almost a
facsimile of the cock, though she does not appear so
long on the leg. The weight of a pullet should be not
less than 6 lb., and a hen 8 lb.

The legs of both sexes are a dark grey, with black
scales in front, and showing a pink tinge between the
toes and on the side of the shanks.

Serious defects for which a bird should be passed
in the show-pen : Yellow skin or yellow at base of the
beak, thus avoiding a Cochin appearance, or a yelloAv or
Cochiny eye. Permanent white in ear-lobe is also a
serious defect, or clean shanks, or white or coloured
feathers in plumage.

Other faults to be avoided are too profuse or too
scanty leg feather, crooked breasts, twisted toes, and
any general coarseness. All these faults mitigate either
against the neat and smart appearance of the bird,
or detract from its stamina and render it less useful as
a table-bird.

Mating Black Langshans

Both sexes can be bred for exhibition from the same
pen. Colour of plumage, eye and head points are most
important in the cock, and size and shape in the hen.

White and Blue Langshans

Judging from their infrequent appearance at shows,
these do not appear to be largely bred or very popular.
The White is very like the Black in all respects except
the colour of plumage, which should be pure white. A
good specimen is an exceedingly handsome and striking
bird.

The Blue Langshan seems less popular than the
White. The body-colour should be a clear slaty blue,
each feather distinctly laced with dark slate, the same
colour as the back of the bird, which together with neck-
and saddle-hackles and the tail should be a deeper shade
of slate with a purple sheen. As in all blue varieties,
there must be bred a large proportion of birds nearly
black, or white, and of those which come a slate colour

278 THE POULTRY MANUAL

so many mealy coloured or indistinctly marked birds,
that they are not likely to be a popular variety, though
they may be as vigorous, hardy and useful as their
Black progenitors.

The Blue hen is more beautiful than the cock on
account of the uniformity of her colour and the rich
dark lacing, i. e. when a good specimen can be raised.

Mating Blue Langshans

Both sexes, again, can be bred from one pen. If the
cock is on the dark side, the hens should be paler, or
vice versa, clearness of ground-colour being the great
desideratum.

A good, strong, erect specimen of a Langshan is a
very handsome bird, but nothing looks more ungainly
than a raw in-kneed cockerel confined in an exhibition
pen, which is usually much too small for his comfort.
A cockerel, having less bulk of body, looks taller than
a cock, and when growing is often troubled with leg-
weakness. On the whole it seems to me that, while they
should be bred comparatively tall and fine in bone,
these features are often in excess, and then add
nothing either to the dignity or usefulness of the
race.

The Choad Langshan

This variety claims to be pure, and to be bred true to
the original type imported by Major Croad. The club
for its maintenance was only started as late as 1904,
but is already strong in members. The variety is very
much like the Modern Black Langshan. The weight of
typical specimens is about the same, but the Croad
looks larger, as it is more loosely feathered, though not
like the Cochin. It is shorter on thigh and shank, and
these look shorter than they are on account of the
thighs being more heavily feathered and the shanks not
so neat. The only striking difference is in the shape of
the back, which is much shorter and more curved in
appearance, and the tail is carried at a higher angle
and more fully furnished.

The four sections of the Standard of Excellence of the
Croad Club which materially differ from that of the
Modern are the following —

ASIATIC BREEDS OF POULTRY 279

(1) ^'^ jShe. — In fowls of such remarkable merit for
table purposes size, consistent with type, must be a
great consideration, and an adult bird should weigh not
less than 9 lb.

(2) " Carriage aiid shape.— -Sufficiently long on the
leg to give a graceful carriage to the body ; head carried
well back with full-flowing hackle, good wide shoulders,
and very long meat breast ; general bearing that of an
extremely active and intelligent bird.

(3) " Back. — Medium length, broad, flat at the
shoulders, and the saddle rising rather abruptly to tail,
the saddle being rather ahundantly furnished with rich
hackles.

(4) " Legs and toes. — Thighs rather short and "well
covered with rather softjeathers ; shanks medium length,
small-boned, standing well apart, bluish-black showing
pink between the scales, which are nearly black and
feathered down the outer sides, not too heavily nor
scantily." [Any approach to vulture hock is considered
a disqualification.] " Toes long, straight, slender . . .
the outer toe Avell feathered ; the web and bottom of
feet pinkish white — the deeper the pink the better ; toe-
nails white."

Disqualifications. — Yellow legs, yellow at base of
beak or around eye, permanent white in ear-lobes, slate
or blue legs in young birds, white feathers in adult
fowls, coloured feathers, decided blue or purple sheen
or barring, and wry -tail.

Serious defect.— ^hiie tips to feathers.

Defects. — Temporary white in ear-lobes, blue or
purple tinge, lop-comb, side-sprigs, and white in shank
and toe feathers.

Every effort should be made to keep the two strains
distinct, so that it should not be possible for a longish-
legged Croad to win in a Modern class, or for a shorter-
legged Modern to win in a Croad class. As both are
alike in colour and sheen, and both are large birds
with fine bone, the distinguishing features in the Croad
are softer and more plentiful feather, and shorter legs,
with a greater curve in the back.

There is no doubt that it is a very useful bird, being
an excellent layer and a good table-fowl.

280 THE POULTRY MANUAL

THE MALAY

This is another Eastern fowl, being a native of the
Malay Peninsula. AVhen there were fewer modern
breeds, half-a-century ago, the Malay was a more
popular fowl than it is to-day, or is ever likely to be
again. They have been known in this country for more
than a century, though when they were first imported
is doubtful. Like the Indian Game, Cornwall seems to
be their chief home. Though they are good table-fowl
on account of their large size and abundant juicy breast-
meat (a cock under 10 lb. is considered small), they are
said to be very poor layers. There are several colours
or varieties, as the Black-red, Red, Pile and White.
The Black-reds are most frequently met with.

Colour in the Black-red Cock. — Head, back, wing-
bow and wing-bay : rich dark red. Wing-bar, breast,
under-parts and tail : glossy black. Shanks : yellow.
Eyes : pearl, yellow or daw.

Colour in the Hen. — Any shade of cinnamon, free
from tickings, with dark purplish hackle, or partridge-
marked.

They are the tallest of our many breeds, and stand
very erect, a good cockerel measuring 36 to 38 inches.
Their beauty, like that of the bull-dog, may be said to
consist in their ugliness. They have broad skulls with
deep-set eyes, and beetle or overhanging eyebrows giving
them a fierce, cruel expression, and their looks do not
belie them. The comb is peculiar to the breed, and
resembles a half walnut-shell. The distinguishing
feature about them is what is known as " the three
curves." The neck is long, strong, and curved, forming
an angle with the back, which droops, and is also convex
in its outline, and the tail droops further still, forming
another angle with the back. The plumage throughout
is short, firm, and strong, and the flesh extremely hard
to the touch. They are a race of fighting giants, and
are said to be difficult to rear in numbers on account of
their pugnacity.

A few fanciers stick to them with great tenacity, but
they are never likely to be a popular breed, in spite of
their antiquity and undoubted purity of race.

The White Malay is a very handsome fowl.

ASIATIC BREEDS OF POULTRY 281

THE ASEEL

The Aseels are the true Game birds of the East.
They are a somewhat diminutive race, but very wiry
and strong. The head is short and small, though broad
between the eyes and jaw, and very thick at the base,
and the beak strong and slightly curved. Ear-lobes
small, and there is a singular absence of wattles. The
body is short and compact, with great hardness of feather.
The back is broad and quite straight, not like the
Malay, which in many other points it resembles. The
tail is slightly drooping, with narrow, hard feathers.
The legs are thick, rather short, strong, and muscular.
The general shape and carriage is straight and upright,
angular throughout. An average weight for a cock is
4 lb., and there is no other bird of its size to compare
Avith it for fighting qualities. They are of all colours
— red, black, grey, white, and spangled. Colour is of
little importance. They are essentially a fancier's fowl
and of little commercial importance.

YOKOHAMAS

This singular breed demands only a few words. They
are a recent importation from Japan, and are often
called Japanese Longtails, or Phoenix fowl. The
singular feature about them is the ' excessive length of
their sickle feathers, specimens of which have been
preserved in Japan as long as 17 feet. The first year the
sickle feathers grow about 2 feet long, and in older fowls
commonly grow to 6 feet. They carry this long tail
in a very graceful way, and I have seen a very gay
display of them running about in the garden of a farmer,
who had bought them because of their odd beauty. They
are occasionally exhibited now in England, and always
attract attention. They are good layers of a small
^gg, but are never likely to be largely kept, except by
the lover of curiosities. They are of various colours,
which breed as distinct as the many varieties of Game
or Leghorn. The Duckwing variety is the one most
commonly seen.

CHAPTEK XIII
BRITISH BREEDS OF POULTRY

DORKINGS GAME FOWL HAMBURGHS ORPINGTONS

DORKINGS

Sub-varieties : Dark, or Coloured, Silver-grey, White, Cuckoo,

Red

Among British breeds of poultry the Dorking takes
first place. It is of aristocratic pedigree, and one of
the oldest of our domestic races of poultry, and was
probably introduced into this country at the time of
the Roman conquest of Britain.

The breed is undoubtedly mentioned by Columella
(an early Roman writer on agriculture who died about
A.D. 47), who, in describing his favourite fowl, says of the
hen, " Let them be of a reddish or dark plumage, and
with black wings. . . . Let the breeding hens therefore
be of a choice colour, a robust body, square built, full
breasted, with large heads, with upright and bright-red
combs . . . those are believed to be the best with Jive
toes,'''' etc. He goes on to say, " Let the white ones be
avoided, for they are both tender and less vivacious, and
also are not found to be prolific."

It would appear, then, that Columella knew of two
at least of our present varieties of the Dorking, the
Coloured Dorking, or it may be the scarce variety
known as the " Red," and also the White, while his
description tallies very closely with the present-day
Dorking in being " square built," and " deep breasted,"
with large head and five toes.

The description of Pliny, a Roman writer also of the
first century, agrees with this. He states in Book X,
Chapter 77, " Superiority of breed in hens is denoted by

282

BRITISH BREEDS OF POULTRY 285

ail upright comb, sometimes double, black Avings, ruddy
visage, and an odd number of toes." A third variety
is probably alluded to here, viz. the Rose-combed Dark
Dorking, another ancient variety almost obsolete, at
least as far as the show-pen is concerned.

It is evident that the Romans knew a good thing,
and it redounds to our credit that, having found it we
have kept it, through all the vicissitudes of our national
history. It was then, and is now, the prince of table
fowls, and as long as John Bull is fond of good fare it
is not likely to die.

When the Romans came our forefathers kept fowl,
not for eating, but for "sport,"''' and it is probable
that cock-fighting was one of oui* earliest pastimes,
and it is not dead yet. It would seem, therefore,
that love of fighting and good fare M^ere among
our earliest characteristics, and they are likely to
remain so.

A comparison of the coloured illustrations of the
present-day Dorking with those of even half a century
ago, as seen in the works of Doyle and Tegetmeier, will
show the marvellous improvement in size and shape,
as well as colour, which has taken place, though it is
probable that the Dorking has always been the chief
of table birds, and in its earlier days was not to be
despised as a layer. They were my earliest pets as a
child, half a century ago, when I loved their gentle
ways and counted the eggs they laid. They were
then much longer in shank, and less bulky in build.
They are a fairly hardy fowl, and thrive anywhere if
they have a dry run. That they stand a cold climate
is proved by the fact that some of the best of them are
still bred in our northern counties. But they succumb
to neglect sooner than most breeds, and dirty, wet runs
ruin them in a short time, and from being the heaviest
and most meaty of their race they speedily go " light "
in weight from " consumption "" or liver disease, and
there is little doubt that they still thrive best in the
south, or on a sandy or light soil.

The general characteristic of the Dorkings should
be their great size and weight, the deep, square body,
with a long and prominent breast-bone, white skin, short
white legs, and white feet, which should be long and

286 THE POULTRY MANUAL

well spread out, and with their chief characteristic, the
fi^'e toes, the fifth being distinctly apart from the
fourth, and, after leaving the shank at a right angle, is
turned upwards. Great stress is laid upon the feet,
both in colour and shape. The bone should be finely
rounded and hard in quality, not soft and spongy, as
otherwise the bird soon develops lameness. The head
is large, and wattles are large and pendulous, the comb
large, circular in arch, evenly serrated in the single
comb variety, viz. Dark, Silver, or Red. The rose-comb
is found on the White, Cuckoo, and also in the Dark
Dorking. It should be square in front, moderate in
size, the top covered with fine nodules, and the peak at
the back inclined slightly upwards. The eye should be
full and large, with a bright-red or yellow iris in all
the varieties.

The general char act eristies of the hen are some^ hat
similar to those of the cock, allowing for difference of sex.
The single comb in the hen is fairly large, and should
fall gracefully over to one side of the face. The body
is long, deep, and massive, the back level, broad across
the cushion, and tightly feathered. The tail is well
developed with broad feathers, and carried closely, not
fan shape. The carriage is staid and matronly.

Size. — A cockerel should be 10 lb. and a cock
12 to 14 lb., and the hens 2 or 3 lb. lighter.

The Fifth Toe, though, as will have been noted, a
characteristic for nearly 2000 years, is an abnormal
feature, and though perpetuated by man^s art through
all the centuries. Nature still makes an effort at " rever-
sion to type," and four-toed specimens are still pro-
duced, even in the best and purest strains, where no
four-toed specimen is ever allowed in the breeding pen.
Hence it is that the five toes are not entirely dominant
over any four-toed variety with which it is crossed,
almost equal numbers of either kind being produced.
One would naturally have expected the prepotency to
have been greater after so long an inheritance. It
would, I think, be quite possible to establish a four-toed
Dorking variety which Avould be equal in all other
respects to their five-toed progenitors, without inter-
fering otherwise with the characteristics of the breed.
It would appear from Columella's description that some

BRITISH BREEDS OF POULTRY 287

had four toes in his time, and the persistence of speci-
mens with four toes is very remarkable. It is at least
probable, however, that the tendency has been increased
by crossing the breed with other breeds in order to
increase its size and stamina. It is not at, all wonderful,
however, that the fifth toe should be difficult to
eliminate when the Dorking is crossed with any four-
toed variety. Breeders of the Buff Orpington in its
early days will remember how persistently this trace of
the Dorking blood reappeared from time to time. It
has now disappeared, however, while the white leg
remains (see Buff Orpington, p. 338).

The Colour of Dorkings

Colour is not so important a feature as size and
shape, though it carries weight in judging.

Coloured or Dark Dorkixgs

In both Sexes. — Comb, face, and xvattlcs : Red.
White ear-lobes are objectionable. Eye: Orange or
bright red in both sexes, the latter preferred. Beal^ :
Dark horn. Shanks and feet : Pure white.

In the Cock. — Hackle: White or straw colour,
striped with black. Saddle hackle : Similar. Back :
Various shades of black and white, sometimes mixed
with maroon. Wing-bozo: White, sometimes mixed
with black or grey. Wing bar: Greenish-black.
Breast cmd under-parts : Jet black. Tail: Black.

In the Hen. — Hackle: Pale straw, striped with
black, usually of a much darker shade than the cock.
Breast: A salmon-red colour, each feather tipped a
very dark grey. Rest of body a rich dark brown, the
shaft of each feather being a dull white, except on the
wings, where the centre of the feather is a brownish-
grey with a black lacing. The Wing should be free
from a red tinge. The Tail and tail coverts black
or greyish-brown. Altogether the hen is a sober-
coloured dame.

Silver-Grey Dorkings

In both Sexes. — Beak: White or horn. Eye:
Orange or red. Comb: Red. Legs and feet : White.

288 THE POULTRY MANUAL

In the Cock. — Hackle^ back; saddle, and shoulder
coverts: Pure silvery white. Breast and under-parts
and wing-har : Lustrous black. Tail : Coal black, free
from white. In old cocks the breast is sometimes
grizzled with white as well as the thighs, an illustration
of the common loss of colour as age advances. The
secondaries are white on the outer web and black on
the inner.

In the Hen. — Hackle : Silvery white, the lower
part striped with black. Breast : Robin or salmon-red.
Body and whigs : Clear silvery grey, finely pencilled
over with darker grey. A red or brown tinge very
objectionable. Tail: Darker grey, inside feathers
black. The Silvers are not usually as large as the
Darks, but to my mind are the most beautiful of all
the varieties.

The White Dorking,

as the name implies, should be pure white from head
to tail, and are very beautiful to look upon when kept
in a pure atmosphere. Their rose-comb gives them a
neater appearance. This variety is still smaller than
the Silver and is more elegant in shape. It is accounted
the best layer of the breed and is less liable to
broodiness.

The Cuckoo Dorking

The colour in both sexes is much like that of the
Barred-Rock. The whole body from head to tail
should be a light bluish-grey ground-colour, barred
with bands of a darker grey-blue colour, one colour
gradually fading into the other. They are seldom seen
in the show-pen, and are not largely bred. They are
said to be very hardy. It is probable they arose from
a cross between the Dark Dorking and the White. It
is too difficult to breed true to be a popular fowl.

The Red Dorking

is another little-known variety, though it is probably
one of the oldest. It is a dark or chestnut brown
colour, with a black breast and tail, and the hen
spangled and more like the colour of a Redcap fowl.

BRITISH BREEDS OF POULTRY 289

It is very highly spoken of by the late Mr. Harrison
Weir, who esteemed its beauty and utility so greatly
that he chooses this breed for his beautiful coloured
frontispiece in his great work, Our Poultry. When it
, finds its way into the exhibition world it will assuredly
become popular.

Mating Dorkings

There is no necessity for double mating in any of the
colours. A chief point in the Dorking fowl is the
colour and quality of the leg, and the shape and form-
ation of the fifth toe.

Darh Dorkhigs

If the cock is too dark in colour his progeny may
have a tendency to smuttiness in the legs and feet, a first
trace of which is sometimes seen in coloured toe-nails.

The cock selected should have a sound black breast,
and the hens be selected for size and shape.

S'llver-Gi'ey Dorl:ings
The cock should have a sound black breast, and the
hens show no sign of ruddiness. If the hen is too light
in shade, or not sound in colour, the breasts of the
cockerels in the progeny will be grizzled-breasted or
splashed with white, and their beauty be destroyed.

White DorJiings
The chief point is purity of colour, and the cock
should be beyond reproach in this respect. Sappiness
is considered to be a sign of an unsound constitution.

Value of Points in Dorkings

Defects : Coarse head or comb
Fifth toe not perfect
Colour

Soft or spongy feet
Want of condition .
„ „ size .
„ „ symmetry

Deduct

up to

8

15

18

8

10

21

20

A perfect bird to count . . . 100
u

290 THE POULTRY MANUAL

GAME FOWL

The word "game" (A. -S. " gam en," play) has two
meanings in common use ; viz. sport of any kind, and
pluck or courage, ^Vhen in this year of grace we think
of sport, our minds turn to the recent Olympic Games
and to the Marathon race. And, singularly enough, it
is at Marathon we have our first glimpse of cock-fight-
ing. It is recorded that, on September 28, 490 b.c, when
Themistocles was leading his small army of Grecians
numbering 11,000 against the Persians, who numbered
110,000, he espied on the way two cocks fighting, and
caused his army to stop and behold them ; and thus
addressed his men : "• Behold, these do not fight for their
household gods, for the monuments of their ancestors, nor
for glory . . . but only because the one will not give
way to the other." This so encouraged the Grecians that
they fought and won ; upon which cock-fighting was,
by a particular law, ordained to be annually practised
by the Athenians. For how many centuries before this
date the Persians had known it, history does not tell us,
but it would seem to be one of the oldest and most
, widely practised of all sports. The game was known
to and practised by the Romans when they invaded
Great Britain, but whether they taught it to the
Ancient Britons, or found it already in vogue here is
not known. Certain it is that many a battle royal was
fought on English soil during the Roman invasion.
Those who wish to follow up the history of this ancient
sport cannot do better than consult the gossipy pages
of the late Mr. Harrison Weir, who wrote in charming
style in vol. i. of Our Poultry^ p. 141. "The Old English
Game cock has held its own against all comers. Bright
and beautiful he stands to-day, as he stood with eager,
bold dilated eye, full of defiant gaze — a monarch bird,
clad in lustrous feathery garments of the brightest sheen
— when, unflinching and undaunted, he faced his foe,
while old Roman warriors made the ring in which he
fought on English soil. Though they beheld with
wonderment his high prowess and daring deeds, not
even then was he more cherished, more cared for, than
now, when on the grassy mead he leads forth his hens

BRITISH BREEDS OF POULTRY 29J

to meet the rising sun, and with voice clear, loud and
shrill, proclaims ' 'Tis day/ "

The cock-fighting which seems to have been practised
by our forefathers at the dawn of our national history
has, beyond doubt;, continued to our own day, though
it has in recent times been forbidden by law in this
country. Many a quiet " main " is still fought in many
an English county, and not a few over the borders in
Wales ; while hundreds of fighting Game are bred for
export to America, South Africa, etc, and still fetch very
high prices when it is known that the strain is pure,
and the true characteristics of the breed preserved.

I suppose the witnessing of cock-fighting by its
votaries had a vicious and demoralizing effect on them,
and like bull-fighting and bear-baiting is better done
away with, but there was doubtless a lot of sentimental
humbug written about its abolition. This has been
well satirized by the Rev. E. S. Dixon, a Norfolk
rector, who wrote in his book of Domestic Poultry^ in
1848—

" As to cock-fighting, I believe it to have been made
the theme of much ignorant cant. Hawking is a noble
and honourable pastime, cock-fighting is low and dis-
graceful . . . People who are proud of Waterloo, who
dine off hunted hare, and breakfast on shrimps that
have been boiled alive, allude to it with horror. Cocks,
however, must die. Would a cock that had been
fought, be worse eating than a hare that had been
hunted ? And as to the mode of death, — ask a cock
which he would choose, to be hung up by the heels, and
have the cook run a knife up his throat, taking care
that he bleed long and die slowly in order that his
flesh may be so much the nicer and whiter, — or, to be
set face to face with his adversary, and fight for his
life ! if he win to be petted and praised ; if he fall to
have his existence cut short by one sharp merciful
thrust instead of the lingering faintness of a culinary
departure ? "

Caesar, in his Commentaries, states that the Britons
" kept fowls for pleasure and diversion " but not for
table purposes, and it is probable that cock-fighting
is the diversion named. W, Hone, in his Everyday
Booh, published in 1826, says, " The earliest notice of
u 2

292 THE POULTRY MANUAL

cock-fighting in England is by Fitz-Stephens, who died
in 1191. He mentions this as one of the amusements
of the Londoners, together with the game of football.
' Yearly at Shrovetide the boys of every school bring
fighting cocks to their masters, and all the forenoon is
spent at school to see these cocks fight together.'' "

Cock-fighting was prohibited in England under
Edward HI and Henry VIII and even later : yet
Henry himself indulged his cruel nature by instituting
cock-fights, and even James I took great delight in
them, and, writes Hone, " within our own time, games
have been fought, and attendance solicited by public
advertisement at the Royal cockpit, Whitehall, which
Henry VIII built."

Though the sport was a public one when Hone wrote
in 1826, it was soon to be put down by law. An Act
was passed in 1833 (3 & 4 William IV, cap. 19) to
make it an illegal act " to bait any bull, bear, or
badger . . . or ^o fight cocks within five miles of
Temple bar." And in 1835, in spite of the strenuous
opposition of the nobility, who pleaded for it as a poor
man's sport and feared lest their OAvn sports of hunting
and shooting should be interfered with, the bill was
extended to the whole country. Bull-baiting, etc., was
soon put down, as it could only be practised as a public
spectacle, but cock-fighting, taking place under cover
and in private premises, was stopped with difficulty.
"A main of cocks was fought almost publicly in
London twenty years after cock-fighting had been
declared illegal " (Spencer Walpole's History of Eoigland,
vol. iii). In 1846 its withdrawal was satirized by Mr.
Dixon. It is no longer in England a public form of
amusement, and from being the sport of kings and
nobles, has become that of lawbreakers, who still
indulge in the ancient game when and where they can
evade the law.

One of the most remarkable things about these old
fighting Game fowls, from a fancier's point of view, is
the wonderful stamina of the birds after so many gene-
rations of close inbreeding, since it is well known that
the old " cockers " were very jealous about maintaining
the purity of their respective strains, and seldom intro-
duced new blood even from affiliated stock. Birds

BRITISH BREEDS OF POULTRY 293

were seldom fought till they were two years old, and a
cock that was not as strong as steel, and in the fittest
condition, full of pluck and courageous to the last, was
worthless. And yet this wonderful vitality was main-
tained generation after generation, and the secrets of
the methods of mating, rearing and feeding jealously
guarded and handed down from father to son. This is a
wonderful contrast to the incessant and almost insane
cry for fresh blood every year in order to keep up the
vigour of the modern breeds. There is, of course, this
difference that, whereas those who cry out for fresh
blood to-day do so in order to get more eggs or more
meat, the Game men had one idea only in view, viz. the
preservation of pluck and fighting skill, and in order to
do this they had to select the birds with the soundest
constitution, and of mature age ; yet instances are known
of strains that admitted no cross of alien blood for
forty years.

If the fighting men had taught us nothing else than
this they have not lived in vain, viz. that fresh blood
is not a necessity in maintaining vigour, so long as the
healthiness of the stock is duly considered.

In these old fighting Game not only were the various
strains of the same colour kept distinct, e. g. the
Cheshire Piles, and' the Staffordshire Piles, and the
Streaky-breasted Red Piles, etc., but strains of celebrated
breeders took their names from some of the most noble
families in the land.

And, if there were many strains of the same colour,
the number of colours also was multitudinous, of which
only a few have survived among their more modern
descendants in the Old English, and Modern Game.
The colour was not so much thought of as the other
points, and the Old Game lack that precision of marking
and brilliance of colour so much esteemed by Modern
Game men. Like a good horse, a good fighting-cock could
not be a bad colour. In addition to the self colours of
black and white, there were, as to-day, the Black-reds,
Brown-reds, Piles, Birchen, Duckwings and Spangles ;
but these branched off into all colours, e. g. instead of
the Gold and Silver Duckwing, which now alone are seen
in the modern breeds, there were added brown, streaky,
and marble-breasted Duckwings, blue, red, and yellow

294 THE POULTRY MANUAL

Duns and Piles, and so on ; while, in addition, the Furness
Game, the Pole-cats, and Hennies («. e. a variety in
which the cock was without the neck-hackles and saddle-
hackles and sickles which usually distinguish the male
sex — in fact, was hen-feathered), besides varieties with
" muffs "" and tassels in all varieties. The Muffs are dis-
tinguished by a bunch of feathers growing under the
throat, and the Tassels by a tuft of feathers at the
back of the head, underneath the comb.

Many of these varieties are almost extinct, or only
known to a few of the descendants of the old cockers ;
e. g. I have heard of Cheshire men searching in vain for
a genuine specimen of the Old Cheshire Pile. The
Furness Game is described as " a bird of singular and
handsome appearance. The neck, body and tail are of
a beautiful shining black, very rich and lustrous, with a
saddle of light buff. The hen is perfectly black with
a slight touch of gold in the hackle." Besides this there
is the black-breasted, copper-winged Furness. The Pole-
cat was similar, except the wings were straw-coloured,
and the breast sometimes streaked.

The multiplicity of colours helped to distinguish the
various strains, though to any but the initiated the
numberless shades must have been a source of con-
fusion.

It was not colour, however, but shape and style and
condition that were most regarded. The fighting Game
were comparatively small birds, weighing 4 to 5 lb.,
and being very tight-feathered, looked smaller than
they were. They were smart, tight, quick in movement,
with a proud erect gait, the neck long and the hackle
short and hard — the jaws and throat lean and red, with
a powerful and curved bill. The legs were of moderate
length, clean and round in bone, and the feet well
spread out, the hinder toe touching the ground so as
to allow a firm backward tread. The thighs were very
tight-feathered, and indeed the whole body appeared
as though encased in a tight-fitting coat of mail, with
strong muscular wings. The body was wedge or pear
shaped like that of the Moderns, with the weight
well in front, and the body cut fairly short behind.
As the cocks were bred to fight, their offensive weapon,
the heel or spur, was a great consideration, since even

BRITISH BREEDS OF POUETRY 297

with health and vigour they were useless unless they
could strike well and clean. When a cock, at two years
old, then in his prime, firm and muscular, in well-trained
condition, stepped forth into the arena to do battle for
the honour of a long line of champion ancestors, he was
a majestic sight, a fit emblem of a nation whose motto
is " either to conquer or to die.""

The Old English Game

Varieties : Black-breasted Red ; Brown-red ; Duckwing ; Blue-
red ; Pile ; Spangles ; White ; Black ; Henny.

The Old English Game are the direct descendants of
the old fighting Game, and, though not largely bred for
the cock-pit, retain many of the characteristics of their
progenitors. They are a little larger, and weigh about
a pound heavier, the cocks average 5 lb. to 6 lb., and
the hens 4 lb. to 5 lb. Opinions differ as to whether
they are an improvement on the old race. They are
more uniform in colour and marking, though this is
still a minor feature even in the show-pen, and only
8 points out of 100 are assigned for it. They
are a much more feathery bird, and it must be con-
fessed not so tight and hard in feather as the old style.
This defect is very noticeable in some varieties, and
particularly in the Spangles and Black-reds. The
Brown-reds and the Black seem to retain better the
hardness of feathering.

They are very beautiful in appearance, and for
magnificence of colour and style a Black-breasted Red
cock takes a lot of beating. He is the most typical
specimen of the English fighting race. Strong, alert,
bright, compact, with strong firm-set limbs, and the
weight in the right place, with firm light head and
quick bright eye, he looks what he is, game to the core,
a picture of gay, fearless audacity.

It is probable that many of the ancient race, less in
size and more sober in clothing, could run him round
the ring and out of it, but he has not been bred for
fighting, but for show, and pluck and endurance is no
longer the one quality sought after.

298 THE POULTRY MANUAL

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE COCK

Head and Neck. — Head: Medium length and taper-
ing. Beak : Strong and curved. Neck : Long and very
strong. Comb : Small, single and evenly serrated. In
the cock the comb and wattles are usually dubbed
before exhibiting ; though the hen retains hers, which
should be small and neat. Neck-hackle : Wiry long
feathers covering the shoulders. The eye : Bright and
prominent, and of the same colour ; odd eyes are not
infrequently met with.

Body. — Broad chest, tapering towards the tail ;
straight breast-bone essential, as indicative of robust-
ness. Back : Short, broad across the shoulders and
flat-shaped like a smoothing-iron, though this feature
is more marked in Modern Game. Belly : Small and
compact. Wi?igs : Long and powerful, protecting the
thighs. Tail : Sickle feathers long, broad, hard and
abundant.

Legs and Feet. — Thighs : short, muscular and thick,
wide apart. Shanks : P'ine, round ; flat shins objection-
able. Toes: Clear, even, hard and long, well spread
out, and the hind toe standing well out and flat on
the ground. Spurs: Strong, and low-set on the leg.

The General Shape. — Bold and smart, and the
movements alert, graceful and springy.

The Plumage. — Glossy, fine, and hard. The flesh
firm, but corky and light. The wings strongly con-
tracting. When handled there is a springiness, with
the weight well forward. Game men use the word
" clever " to describe its general alertness, as though
ready for any emergency.

THE HEN

The general characteristics are much the same as for
the cock. The tail is inclined to be fan-shaped and is
carried well up, though not erect or squirrel.

Colour of Leg and Eye in both Sexes. — The general
colour of the eye is red, though it is dark red in the
Brown-red Game, and a daw eye is allowable in white-
legged birds. The legs may be any sound self colour,
though yellow is by some counted objectionable.

The Colour of Old English Game need not be

BRITISH BREEDS OF POULTRY 299

detailed, as this is given more particularly in the
Modern Game, and, as before stated, it is not of great
importance. The colours mostly in vogue may be
gathered from any show schedule, where Game are
largely catered for ; c. g. from the Birmingham Show
schedule for December 1908, where Game fowl figure
very prominently, there are distinct classes for : —

Black-red cockerels, and for Partridge hens, and
Wheaten hens ; Brown-red or Birchen cocks, and the
same for hens ; Blue-red or Yellow-dun cocks, and
ditto hens ; Spangle cocks and hens ; Duckwing cocks
and hens, and the rest are classed together as cocks or
hens of any other colour.

Sub-varieties of O. E. Game

'File BlacJi-bj'easted Red, as the name implies, is of
two colours, black and red. The breast, under-parts,
thighs and tail are black, as also the wing bar and
butt, the former being of a lustrous blue sheen. The
neck-hackles are pure bright orange red, the shoulders
and back being of a deeper red.

The PaHridge Hen is a partridge-brown colour, with
a golden neck-hackle streaked with black, the tail, black,
shaded with brown, and the breast, salmon-coloured.

The Wheaten Hen has a golden red hackle, the
rest of the body being of a wheaten shade, lighter on
the breast, and a black tail with a shading of brown.

The Broien-red Coch has an orange-red hackle streaked
with black, the back and shoulders dark red. The
breast may be either robin-coloured, or brown, shaded
with black. The eyes and legs are dark.

The hen to match them is of a rich mossy brown all
over. The eye in the pullets should be dark, though
usually a lighter shade in hens. The O.E. Game
Brown-reds are not of the beautifully defined colours of
their modern representatives.

The Silver DucTiwings are in colour the same as the
Moderns, very like the colour of the Silver Dorking.
The Yellow or Gold Dtcckwing is similar except that
the hackles, wing coverts and back are yellow instead
of silvery white.

Tlie Blue-reds and Yellow-duns are like the Black-reds,

300 THE POULTRY MANUAL

except that the breast is a slaty-blue or dun colour,
instead of black.

The Piles are like the Modern except that the
colour is of a brighter shade, and the breast may be
streaked with colour instead of being pure white.

The Spangles are perhaps the most popular variety
at the present time. The colour may be either black,
red, blue, or buff, spangled with white, the red spangle
being most commonly met with. The spangling should
be as evenly distributed as possible over the whole
body. The tail has black and white feathers in
abundance.

The White Game should be white throughout in
plumage. Eyes : Red or pearl. Legs : White or
Yellow.

The Black is glossy black in plumage. Beak : dark.
Eyes : Red or dark. Face : Red or dark. Legs : sound
Self-colour.

T7ie Henny Game, though not so commonly met
with, deserves mention on account of the unique
feathering of the cock. The more like a hen in
feathering the better, with absence of sheen on the
hackle and tail feathers. This is probably one of the
oldest and purest of Game varieties, and less crossed
than any, since it is manifest that a cross with another
variety of Game would destroy its henny appearance.
It is somewhat smaller than other varieties, and, on
this account, is said to have a disadvantage in the
fighting contests, though it is as game as any of them,
in spite of its feminine aspect, and has often proved
victorious in a long-fought main. In a recent copy of
Giit and Steel, published at Gaffhey, S.C, U.S.A.,
which gives detailed accounts of mains fought in the
cock-pit the Hennies won the majority of the battles
and the favourite colours were black and pile. The
Henny Game is bred in all colours, and there are sub-
varieties enough of it alone to form a decent show, but
the blacks are most commonly met with. It is said to
be the best layer of the lot, which is not saying much
after all, for the utility qualities of the Game fowl lie
in the direction of the table rather than in that of egg
production.

In this respect, however, Game Fowl stand supreme

BRITISH BREEDS OF POULTRY 301

for the quality of the meat and the absence of offal flesh.
And no breed can surpass them for crossing purposes,
when it is desired to add to the quality of the flesh. It
even surpasses the much-vaunted Indian Game for this
purpose, as the flesh and skin are white, and of better
quality, though not so great in bulk.

There is but little trouble, beyond the taming of
them, in preparing these birds for exhibition, and they
never look so well as when taken direct from their grass
runs, and a sponge of cold water applied to head and
legs to cleanse them. They are hardy birds, and many
of the best of them, in the north of England, roost in
the orchards without covering or shelter. They are
doughty warriors, and it is to be hoped that although
their ancient service in the cock-pit has been abandoned,
their hardiness and pluck may be preserved. If ever
they cease to be a fancier^'s fowl in the truest sense, and
only come to be valued for the meat they carry on their
breasts, softer feeding and care to increase their size
will diminish their vigour, and an ancient race will be
in danger of extinction.

Value of Points in Old English Game

Deduct

>efects : Head and neck and eye .

up to
20

Back, breast and body

20

Wings . . .
Legs and feet . .

6
21

Carriage ....

10

Plumage and colour

15

Handling

8

100

Serious dejects, for which a bird should be passed :
Duck feet, flat shins, bad carriage, rotten plumage,
wry-tail, or any bodily deformity.

Modern Game

It will have been gathered from the previous pages
that the true representatives of the old fighting Game
are now known as Old English Game, and their com-

302 THE POULTRY MANUAL

paratively recent revival in popularity is a welcome
sign of the times.

The Modern Game has departed so very far from the
original type, that this recent revival is a protest against
it. From being a small, alert, smart bird of 4 or 5
lb., the Modern has been evolved into a very tall,
lanky bird of nearly twice the weight, and, from a bird
of full and flowing feather, with magnificent sickle
feather and tail, has descended to an elongated bird
on stilts, with the neck of a crane, and only an apology
for a tail. It is alleged also, on good authority, that
this straining after " reachiness " has not been the
result of the selection of the tallest and highest feathered
birds, or due to the inheritance of acquired character-
istics, but to a direct cross with the Malay, the Asiatic
giant.

However this may be, the Modern Game has been
improved almost to the point of extinction, and is now
in comparatively few hands, and even in the show-pen
is exhibited in ever-diminishing numbers.

Its redeeming feature is its exquisite beauty of colour,
and this has been bred for to a very large extent. The
general public, as well as their owners, have a great
admiration for this point, and they are also attracted
by their unique style and shape. A really good speci-
men commands still a very high figure. The almost
numberless varieties of the Old English Game have
not been reproduced in the Modern Game.

The recognized colours are the Black-red, Brown-
red, Birchen, Gold and Silver Duckwing, and Pile, and
these various colours are seen in greater perfection in
the Modern Game, than in any other breed of fowls.

General Characteristics of Cock. — The head, long
and rather narrow across the eyes ; the heak, long, strong
and slightly curved ; the eye, bright, bold and fearless ; the
whole appearance being called " snaky." The shoulders
are broad and prominent and carried well up ; the body
short, and the hack quite flat and tapering toward the
tail, the latter being short and fine, \he feathers closely
whipped together, and carried only slightly above the
level of the body. The sickles arejine and well pointed
(not broad and abundant as in the Old English Game).
The thighs are strong and muscular, and but sparsely

BRITISH BREEDS OF POULTRY 303

feathered, and the shanks long and nicely rounded, and
fine at the hock joint. The toes long and straight, the
hind toe pointing straight backwards, and flat on the
ground.

The general shape is upstanding and active, the bird
when erect being almost perpendicular from beak to
shank. Size and Weight — 7 lb. to 9 lb.

General Characteristics of Hen. — These are
similar to those of the cock, allowing for difference of
sex. The comh,Jace, and wattles are small and fine
(in the cock these are cut off before exhibition). The
tail is short and fine, and carried only slightly above
the level of the body. The plumage is short, hard, and
bright. Size and Weight — 5 lb. to 7 lb.

Value of Points in Modern Game

Deduct

up to

Defects : Head 5, Neck 5

10

Eye ....

10

Tail ....

10

Legs and feet .

10

Colour ....

20

Want of style . . . .

30

„ „ condition and feather

10

100

Serious defects for which a bird should be passed :
Eyes other than standard, crooked breast, twisted toes
or duck feet, flat shins, wry-tail, or any deformity.

The Colour of Black-red Gairie
In both Sexes. — Beak : Dark green horn. Kye :

-Head and HacMe : Bright orange-

Bright red. Legs : Willow-green.

In the Cock;-
red, not striped. Back and Saddle: "Rich. cv\vi\?>o\\. Wing-
how : Orange. The rest of the plumage brilliant
greenish-black, except outer edge of secondaries, which
is a rich bay.

In the Hen: — Head: Gold. HacMe: Gold with
narrow black stripes. Breast : Reddish with a salmon
tinge, and running to ashy colour on the thighs. The rest
of the body, a light brownish colour with very fine small

304 THE POULTRY MANUAL

markings resembling those of a partridge, and a slight
golden tinge pervading the whole (sometimes called
" gold dust "), free from any sign of ruddiness. Tail :
Black except the outer feathers, which match the body-
colour.

The Wheaten Hen is also used for breeding Black-
red cocks, also for Piles and Duckwings. These differ
from the Black-reds in having a body-colour of pale
cinnamon or wheaten, while the breast is a pale fawn
and the thighs a cream colour.

The Bo'own-red Game is almost entirely a black
plumaged bird, with a face nearly black and a jet black
eye. His distinguishing features are that the head is a
rich lemon colour, and the hackle the same but striped
with black, while the black feathers of the breast have
a fine edging of lemon-coloured lacing. The wing-bow,
back, and saddle are also lemon-coloured. He is a
study in brilliant black and pale gold.

The hen is similar in head, neck -hackle and breast ;
the rest of the body, a rich beetle-green black.

The Birchen Game is similar to the Brown -red in
all respects, only substituting silver for gold or lemon
colour in the hackles and other coloured parts.

The Pile Game is a study in various shades of red
and white. The eye is a bright red, the head and neck-
hackle a bright solid orange-red, the saddle-hackles
bright orange, the back and saddle and the wing-bow
rich maroon. A chief difficulty is to get the neck
hackles and the wing-bow solid in colour, and the wing-
bow of pure white, clear and distinctly cut. The rest
of the body should be pure white, and free from splashes
of colour.

In the Hen. — The neck-hackles should be white,
tinged with gold. The breast should be a salmon or
light chestnut shade, and the whole of the rest of the
body pure white, free from any tickings or shadings of
red.

The Duckwi/ng Game is divided into Gold or
Yellow, and Silver, the difference being that in the
" Gold " those parts which are described as white or
silver in the Silver Duckwing are pale yellow or cream
colour in the gold.

In the Silver Duckwing the eye should be ruby red.

BRITISH BREEDS OF POULTRY 305

The head silvery white, also the hackle and back and
saddle. The wing-bar should be a steel hlue, like that
of a Rouen Duck (hence its title). The rest of the
body is a bluish black, except the wing-bay, which
shows pure white when the wing is closed, caused by
the outer edge of the secondary feathers being edged
with white.

In the Hen. — The head is silvery white, and also the
hackles, but these are narrowly striped with black. The
breast and thighs a pale salmon, fading to an ashen
grey on the thighs. The rest of the body is a delicate
light French grey, with very faint black pencillings
(one of the most delicate and attractive colours to be
found on any fowl). The tail is black, except that the
outer feathers should match the body-colour.

The Gold Duck wing Hen is almost exactly similar,
except that the grey is of a deeper shade, and the
breast a shade deeper at times in colour.

HAMBURGHS

Sub-varieties : Gold Spangled^ Silver Spangled^ Gold Pencilled,
Silver Pencilled, Black, Buff, etc.

There is no more beautiful domestic fowl than the
Hamburgh. Its general appearance is one of great
sprightliness and activity. It is rather small in size,
the Black and Spangled varieties weighing about five
pounds in adult cocks, and the Pencilled a pound less.
The birds have rose-combs, terminating in a long,
tapering horizontal spike behind, white ear-lobes, dark,
slate-coloured legs, and very full sweeping tails. Iheir
brilliance and beauty in plumage is not excelled by any
other breed. They are, moreover, the most prolific
layers known, though the average general size of the
egg is small, especially in the Pencilled varieties.

Under the name Hamburgh are two quite distinct
races of fowls — the Spangled and Black being of ancient
English origin, bred for many generations, chiefly in
Lancashire and Yorkshire, under various names, while
the Pencilled are of foreign origin, having been imported
from Holland under the name of Dutch Everlasting
Layers. It is suggested that the name Hamburgh has
been given to these (and later on to the whole of the

306

THE POULTRY MANUAL

sub-varieties) because they reached this country via
Hamburg.

Aldrovandus, a professor of philosophy at Bologna,
and a writer on natural history who published a history
of birds in three folio volumes in 1599, is thought to
refer to the fowl we know as the Pencilled Hamburgh
under the name of the Turkish Fowl. He writes, as
translated by the Rev. S. Dixon, "The Cock whose
likeness we now give is called the Turkish Cock. His
whole body was in a manner inclined to white . . .
the tail consisted of feathers that were partly green,
partly black. His whole body was exquisitely adorned
with lines that were sometimes golden and sometimes
silver, and it is wonderful what a beautiful effect this
produced. His legs and feet were tinged with blue.
The Hen, which in like manner is called Turkish, was
all white, sprinkled over with black spots."

Mr. Dixon says that the woodcuts which accompany
the description make it clear that the birds are
Hamburghs.

This quotation may serve to remind us of the long
pedigree of the Pencilled Hamburghs, while their sisters,
the Campines, have a more ancient pedigree still. For
how many generations the Spangled Hamburgh has
been bred in Lancpjhire, Yorkshire, and other northern
counties, there is no record.

The Hamburgh family has had a great number of
names, as the following tabulated list will show —

HAMBURGHS

Spangled

Pencilled

Gold

Silver

Gold

Silver

Gold Spangled
,, Pheasant
,, Mooneys

Copper Moss

Redcaps

Silver Spangled
„ Pheasant
,, Mooneys
,, Moss

Golden Hamburgh
Bolton Bays

Chittaprats
Bolton Greys
Pencilled Dutch
Silver Hamburgh
Creole

The name " Pheasant " was given to the Yorkshire
strain, and the " Mooneys *" were the Lancashire strain.
These strains were markedly distinct both in size and
feathering, and each had achieved great beauty long
before the days of poultry shows, as we know them, were
initiated. The fancier spirit of these two counties led

BRITISH BREEDS OF POULTRY 307

the way generations ago, and they still head the list for
keenness and excellence in breeding.

To meet the necessities of the modern show-pen, and
the fancy of the judges, these distinct strains have now
been commingled, and one of the consequences has been
that it is now necessary to have distinct breeding pens
for cockerels and pullets, much to the detriment of the
breed from a popular standpoint. Those who wish
to follow the various stages by which this result was
brought about should consult Mr. Lewis Wright's book,
and also read Haviburghs up to Date, by Mr. C. Holt.
To make the matter at all clear would take up more
space than the limits of this summary will allow.

Before describing the various points of the separate
varieties of this most elegant and beautiful plumaged
fowl, it may be well to describe, briefly, their good and
bad features. In addition to their loveliness as an ideal
fancier's fowl, they have undoubted utility points in
being small eaters and most prolific layers, while if
killed at a tender age they are not to be despised as
plump little table-fowls.

But they are birds which love a free range, as they
are great foragers. They readily fly over the highest
fences. When kept in confinement I have known them
leap a ten-foot fence, and have seen other fences as high
as this wired or netted over the top to keep them in
bounds. They would never do to keep with other
varieties in the same yards. Where kept alone, and
where they have a free range, they are an ideal fowl for
those who like beauty and utility combined, for though
the eggs are somewhat small, especially from some
strains, they are very numerous.

This is not the only reason why the breed has not
a very large following. There are two other chief
hindrances : one is the necessity for double mating,
and the other is that the Standards as at present
arranged necessitate, if they do not connive at, a great
amount of trimming and faking before the birds are fit
for the show-pen.

One of the Hamburgh's chief adornments is its
beautiful rose-comb, so fully described in the Club's
Standard which I am permitted to print at the end of
this chapter. To produce a comb of the character

X 2

308 THE POULTRY MANUi^L

described : " On top very full of work . . . not leafy
at sides ; finely-pointed spike or leader free from knobs,
set at same angle as the rest of the comb with no
downward tendency,"" etc., has led to a great amount of
comb-trimming. Mr. Lewis Wright says : " There is
an amount of trimming in Hamburghs as yet unknown
in any other breed. Such combs as are now required
cannot be shown honestly save in some rare case out of
scores, and the vast majority are cut and carved into
shape. . . ."

This has grown to such a pitch that the cleverest
carver and not the most painstaking breeder would
seem to be the winner. So long as this practice is
winked at by the breeders, so long will carelessness in
breeding good combs continue. It cannot be doubted
that if every attempt at this practice was strictly
condemned and penalized, breeders would pay more
attention to breeding perfect combs, and even if the
precise perfection scheduled in the Standard was not
attained at once, it would soon be approached, and
credit would be given where credit was due, viz. to the
skilful and patient breeder, and not to the most expert
trimmer. As the case stands, there are men in the
Fancy well known as clever comb-makers, just as, in
the old cock -pit days, men were renowned as clever
" heelers," i. e. experts in fixing the artificial spur.

The wondrous beauty of the spangled plumage has
been the next temptation. Fashion decrees almost
impossible combinations, viz. that the spangle should
be as large as possible, and yet should not overlap.
When the spangle is very large it buries its higher
edge underneath the spangle that falls upon it from
the overlapping feather, and the result is more or less
of a black mass with little of the gold or silver ground-
colour showing. This has led to trimming out the
intervening feathers. Mr. Lewis Wright again remarks,
" Up to the present, we have never heard of any judge
penalizing ' thinning,' in other words, wholesale plucking
of spangled feathers."

Whether there has been any alteration in this
respect since Mr. Wrighfs criticism in 1902, I am not
able to say. I am pleased, however, to quote Rule 5
for 1908 of the Hamburgh Club—

BRITISH BREEDS OF POULTRY 309

"That faking, as detrimental to the well-being of
the breed, be discouraged as much as possible, and
judges be instructed to disqualify all such when
detected."

While the above rule acknowledges the present prac-
tice of " faking,"" it is somewhat weak kneed. Judges
should be instructed to look out for all faked speci-
mens, of whatever degree, and discourage it altogether,
and not as " much as possible," which may mean as
much as is convenient, or only when clumsily done.

It will be at once evident that this particular fancy
would gain in popularity if it should be ordained
either (1) that large spangles should be allowed to
overlap in those parts of a bird's plumage where it is
natural for them to do so ; or (2) that a smaller spangle
should be bred for, as in America, so that they should
show distinctly without the necessity for plucking. The
distinctness of spangling does add greatly to the beauty
of a show bird, and is more beautiful than a huge
spangle overlapped.

It ought in justice to be said that Hamburghs are
not the only breed treated to trimming in this way, as
rumour has it that many of the laced breeds, as the
Wyandotte, or barred birds as the Rock, are similarly
" plucked." Where this nefarious practice is only
indulged in to a minor degree it is difficult of detec-
tion ; and as long as unscrupulous keenness passes the
bounds of fairness it is likely to go on.

Another cause for regret in the Hamburgh fancy is
the extreme vogue for fineness of pencilling in the other
varieties. In the extreme rage of fashion for fineness
and greatness in number of the pencilled bars all else
has been sacrificed, and the breed is in danger of be-
coming bantamized. In addition to this, the pure
gold or silver hackle, as the case may be, is becoming
inundated with ticks, and what is gained in one way is
being lost in another.

The stamina of the breed is also being affected, and
they are said to be veiy liable to roup and kindred
affections. This fine and beautiful pencilling applies
of course only to the pullet-breeding strains, as the
cockerels are bred from an altogether different strain.
And it is remarkable that the cockerel-breeding pullets

310 THE POULTRY MANUAL

are much more vigorous. They lay a larger egg and
are in all ways more robust and profitable.

The same rule holds good in many other breeds.
The cock-breeders are the more robust, and are the
biggest-bodied and best-laying fowls. This I know from
experience is notably the case in the Brown Leghorn
and in the Partridge Wyandotte. They afford a lament-
able example of the truth that in many cases the
fancier, in his zeal to obtain arbitrary " points," spoils
the breed. A little more give and take, instead of
straining after some one definite point to the neglect or
detriment of the rest, would save many a beautiful
variety from decay and ultimate extinction.

I make these remarks under the heading of Ham-
burghs, because the breed affords the most glaring
instances of fancy running to madness, though many
other breeds are not exempt from the same tendency.
As I am permitted to print the Club's Standard of
Excellence there is need for little more than a brief
general description of each of the varieties.

General Characteristics of Hamburghs
The Cock is a small sprightly bird. The largest
are the Blacks and the Spangles, and the Pencilled
somewhat smaller. The head is rather small and neat,
and is carried erect. The beak short and the e^e full
and bright. The breast is prominent and round, and
carries a good deal of meat for the size of the bird.
The whole appearance is alert and graceful. The thighs
are slender and short, and the shanks small boned and
of medium length. The wings large but neatly tucked
up. The two most distinguishing features are the comb
and the luxurious plumage. The comb should be square
in the front, not indented, and tapering toward the back,
ending with a long spike, pointing in a straight line
with the surface of the comb. The top level and
covered with fine points, or as designated in the Standard,
"full of work." The tail is of great length, most
profuse in sickles and secondaries, which are as broad as
[)ossible, and nicely curved. The carriage is rather
high, being somewhat over 45° than under.

The Hen is similar to the cock but neater and
smaller in head-points, lobes, etc. The body is round in

BRITISH BREEDS OF POULTRY 311

shape, not flat-sided, and the tail a good length, carried
at an angle of about 45°.

Gold Spangled Hamburghs
The Cock. — The entire hody-colour is a rich golden
bay, covered with markings of rich beetle-green, except
the tail, which is black with a soft transparent green
lustre. The neck-hackle is striped, and so are the hack-
and the saddle-hackles. The wing-hoto is a dark bay
with dagger-shaped spots. The wing-bars are two in
number, being rows of large green spangles bold and
clear, and the secondaries add another row of large green
spangles which are called steppings. The breast, under-
part and thighs are spangled all over with green spangles,
smaller near the throat and larger near the thighs, but
the spangles should be divided by the visible golden
bay of the ground-colour. The lobes of the Spangled
varieties are not so pure in colour or fine in texture as
in the Laced, the cause being the cross of the Yorkshire
Pheasant, which had red lobes, with Lancashire Mooneys
noted for the extra beauty of their markings.

The Hen. — The marking of the hen is very similar
to that of the cock. The tail, which is large, is not
black but covered with very large spangles, which at the
end leaves only a narrow margin of ground-colour.

Silver Spangled Hamburghs
The Silvers are duplicates of the Golds, except that
the ground-colour should be a silvery white instead of
a golden bay. The tail of the cock is white with large
spangles of beetle-green at the end of each feather.
The hen''s lobes are the weakest in quality of any of the
varieties, owing in this instance to red-lobed blood of
the Lancashire Mooneys, which had coarse red lobes.

Amateur breeders of these varieties should not attempt
chance matings, but put themselves into the hands of
some well-known and trusted breeder for a correctly-
mated pen.

Silver Pencilled Hamburghs
In both Sexes the beak is horn colour, the eye red,
the ear-lobes white and kid-like in texture, rather smaller
than in Spangles or Blacks, and the legs leaden blue.

312 THE POULTRY MANUAL

The Cock is almost a pure white bird with the
exception of the tail, which is a lustrous black, and the
sicMes and tail coveiis, which are black with a narrow
edging of white. The visible part of the wing-feather
is white, but that part of the feather which is over-
lapped is coarsely pencilled with black.

The Hen, which is bred in an entirely different way,
is a study in black and Avhite, each feather of the body
and tail being distinctly and evenly pencilled straight
across with parallel bars of a rich green. The iiecli-
liacMe should be pure silver, but this is rarely seen, as it
is more frequently ticked. The ioeaT<; parts in the
pencilling are the throat and adjoining parts, and the
end of the wings.

Gold Pencilled Hamburghs

These are similar to the silvers except in colour.
The Cock is a rich reddish bay. An indistinct bar of
black on the wing is admissible, and the lacing of the
sickle feathers is a trifle broader.

The Hen is a very delightful little bird, and when
the richly-pencilled body is set off" with a bright golden
hackle cannot be surpassed for beauty. It is a pity
they are so tiny and apparently delicate. It is entirely
a fancier's fowl.

The Black Hamburgh

These are larger and more useful birds than any of
the other varieties, and with larger and more beautiful
lobes. They are an old Lancashire breed, long ago
known as Black Pheasants.

It is generally understood that in order to increase
their size they have had Spanish blood infused, or that
of the Black Minorca. This cross is evidenced by the
coarser head frequently seen in the variety, as well as
by the fact that when they are crossed with the Black
Minorca, or any other single-combed breed, the rose-
comb is no longer dominant as is the case with a pure-
bred rose-combed cross. Their chief beauty lies in the
exquisite green lustre on the feathers, which is not seen
in such perfection on any other fowl. It should be free
from any purple or bronze tinge.

They are very liable to go white in face, which is a

313

BRITISH BREEDS OF POULTRY 315

fatal objection. The lohes are large and round and of
a beautiful texture. In the cock they are sometimes
as larffe as a florin. But the texture and substance of
the lobe is of more importance than mere size.

Black Ham burghs are noted for the abundance of
eggs they produce, which are white in colour and of a
fair average size.

Buff Hamburghs
Though this variety has been admitted into the
Poultry Club Standard, it is not to be found in the
Hamburgh Club Standards, and as a matter of fact is
very rarely met with. The cohur should be uniform
throughout, though it may be of any shade from lemon
to a rich buff.

Mating Hamburghs

In mating Hamburghs it should be remembered that
double-mating is practised in all the varieties, and
that both pedigree and " strain '' have to be considered.
This is practised even in the Black, self-coloured Ham-
burgh, though both sexes can be bred from the same
pen.

Gold and Silver Spangled Hamburghs

To breed CocTcerels. — The cock in either colour should
be a typical exhibition bird, and be pure in colour.
The hens to mate with them should be large in body
and with good head-points. Remembering the general
law as to loss of colour, they should be heavily spangled,
and of a cock-breeding strain. If of the same " blood"
so much the better, and when found to breed well, no
fresh blood should be introduced.

To breed Pullets. — The hens are the first consideration,
and should be typical exhibition birds, and the cock
should be heavily spangled and of a pullet-bred strain.

Gold and Silver Pencilled Hamburghs

These are more decidedly double-mated than the
Spangles.

For cock-breeding, an exhibition cock should be mated
with cock-bred pullets which are very coarse in pencilling
and not at all fit for the show-pen. If of the right

316 THE POULTRY MANUAL

strain, and related, the chief points to consider are size,
so as to maintain this in the progeny, and good head-
points.

To breed Pullets. — The hens should be typical speci-
mens, and the cocks related, pullet-bred birds, showing
pencilling on the wings and breast, and having tails
black, or nearly so, not at all, in body, like the
immaculate show birds.

It would, however, be an unsafe proceeding for the
novice to attempt to mate his birds by appearances
only, and he should place himself in the hands of a
reliable breeder for the mating of his stock.

Mating Black Hamburghs
These can be bred from the same pen like all self-
coloured birds, regard being had to the quality of colour.
A few red feathers in the hackles of the cock, while dis-
qualifying him for the show-pen, would add lustre to
the pullets bred from him, and make him a suitable
sire to mate with pullets deficient in brilliance, A
cock with extra large lobes is more suitable for pullet-
breeding, as they are generally deficient in that point.
Care should also be taken not to mate together birds
which have the same defects in comb, lobe, face, or
colour.

HAMBURGH CLUB STANDARDS OF EXCELLENCE

General Characteristics
Cock. —Com6.' Smooth, glossy, coral coloured, uot pimpled
nor rough in skin, square in front, and well filled in at this part,
not having a wedge-shaped hollow ; on top very full of work, not
hollow in centre, nor leafy at sides, all narrowing out into a
long, smooth, finely-pointed spike or leader free from knobs, set
at the same angle as the rest of the comb, with no downward
tendency, but keeping parallel with the line of the beak and eye.
The whole comb must be set firmly and squarely on the head,
with no inclination to either side, and proportionate to the size
of the bird. Face : Bright coral red, smooth in texture, free
from coarse skin, stubby hairs, or white touches. Ears: Of
great substance, pure white, not rough, corded, folded, blistered,
nor hanging thin and loose from the face, nor yet blue, or edged
or streaked with red. They must be round, thick, and a glossy,
smooth white, varying in size according to (1) sex, (2) variety.
Legs : In Spangled and Pencilled, leaden blue ; in Blacks, black.
Carriage : Graceful. Plumage : Most profuse, long, and broad.
Colour : For Silvers, a pure silvery white ground right down to

BRITISH BREEDS OF POULTRY 317

the skin for every feather^ no smuttiness or pepperiness, or
running of markings, or brown or sulphur tinge anywhere. For
Golden Spangled a rich bright bay, or mahogany ground all o\'er
except the tail_, which is black (laced with bay in the hen). For
Golden Pencilled a bright golden chestimt, rich and even, black
parts in both Spangled and Pencilled to show a green metallic
lustre, as also on Blacks, free from all rustiness, purple, or
mazarine shading or bars, and coloured feathers.

Hen. — Comb: Possessing same properties as those of cocks,,
but smaller. Lobes: Same as in cocks, only smaller. (In
Spangled hens, though very desirable, quality of lobe has not
yet acquired the perfection seen in other varieties.) Shape:
Fully round, and in nowise flat-sided or narrow. Size : Larger
in Blacks or Spangled than in Pencilled. Colour : In Silvers, pure
white as in cocks. In Golden Spangled hens a bright mahogany
ground, in Pencilled a golden chestnut, very even all over, and
a little more golden than in cocks, not too dark, so as to destroy
contrast with rich deep green-black pencilling, nor too pale, so
as to look faded. In Blacks, the green to be of the most lustrous
quality, almost a sheeny grass-green, with no purple or mazarine
bars. Legs : Same as in cocks. Feather : Profuse in hackle and
tail, and latter well clothed with side feathers, long, broad, and
rich in lustre.

Silver Spangled Cocks

The Spangles are to approach each other as nearly as possible,
but not overlap so as to show a dense black patch. In shape,
they are, on the full broad feathers of the breast, to be as nearly
a circle as possible, as also on all sickle-shaped feathers of the
tail, and free from white lacing. On the back they become a
thiinier pear-shaped blot, with an intenser black diamond-shaped
marking in the centre. On the square tail the tips of each
white feather assume more of the crescent shape, whilst hackle
?ind saddle are boldly ticked down the centre of each feather with
black. The bars and steppings of wings form a very special
feature. The former should be bold, clean and shai-p, and nicely
arched across the wing, whilst the latter should be quite circular
in spangling, not thinner on one side of the spangle than the
other, and the larger the better.

Silver Spangled Hens
Lobe, as yet, coarser than in any other variety ; spangles,
large and round, and free from any white lacing ; bars and
steppings of wings very bold, solid and round, as in cocks ; tips
of tail crescent shaped, on an absolutely white ground ; size, the
larger the better.

Gold Spangled Cocks
Neck-hackle nicely striped with black down centre of every
feather, but not to show a black collar around bottom of the
neck ; breast, boldly spangled, free from any grey lacing,
nowhere flecked with white ; wing-bars and steppings bold and
clear ; back nicely striped with black down centre of each
feather ; tail black, profusely feathered.

318 THE POULTRY MANUAL

Gold Spangled Hens
Hackle nicely striped with black down centre of each feather,
showing a nice gold lacing on etery feather ; breast boldly
spangled, not overlapping nor showing a grey lacing or any
white flecking ; back and wings as in Silvers ; tail swarmers a
lustrous green black, showing a sharp gold lacing round each
feather ; straight square tail feathers, black, except the two top
ones, which are slightly but sharply edged with gold.

Pencilled Cocks
Size, as large as possible ; comb and lobe very smart, rather
smaller and smarter than in Spangled or Blacks ; feather very
profuse, but is not so large in tail as the other varieties ; sickles,
about 18 inches ; top hanger, 12 to 13 inches, the whole to be
as broad, and hangers as numerous as possible, a lustrous beetle-
green, free from mazarine or light bars, and the edging to be
of the sharpest and fairly narrow on both top and under-side of
every feather, about one-eighth of an inch broad in Golds at the
most, the finer and sharper cut the better ; in Silvers rather finer
than in Golds ; grey in sickles a serious defect.

Pencilled Hens
Hackles, clear of all marking if possible ; pencilling to read
well in lines all round the bird from throat to tip of tail, not
coarse or lustreless. Each feather is to have the same width of
ground-colour visible as there is of pencil, and as many alternate
pencils and grounds as possible, tlie more numerous on each
feather and the finer the quality the better. The pencils are to be
clean and sharply cut, straight across the feather, not in blotches
(as in cockerel-breeding pullets) nor peppery through admixture
with the ground-colour, nor anywhere mossy. The bay of the
wing (a weak point) is to be as free from mossiness and as
sharply pencilled as possible.

Black Cocks
The size, feather and lobe the most ample of all varieties ;
lobes, large, smooth, round, thick, without folds, creases,
cording, splashes, red edges, or blisters, and kid-like in texture,
no white running from it into the face at all, nor anywhere
apparent on face, which must be uniformly the brightest coral
red ; colour of feathers, brightest green sheen, though in this
matter seldom approaching that to be seen in the hens.

Black Hens

Size, largest ; shape, roundest and fullest ; colour, brightest
beetle, almost grass-green ; lobes, immaculately white, but not
so large as in the cocks, which latter will run to the size of a
florin or larger.

Note. — White faces to be passed in any variety ; squirrel-tail
or wry-tail a serious drawback. If the bird has the power to
rest its tail on either side at will, bringing the tail over from one
side to the other, it should not be accounted wry-tailed.

319

BRITISH BREEDS OF POULTRY 321

Stancabds of Excellence
scales of points

heae

MARKINGS

og

w

M £; «

"if

VARIETY

ffl

p

a
o

<

B

b^ a

WINGS

t^ eo CD
? « C

rt Pi,
is

<

H

o

H

ij

f^

B 1 < tn

H

O

<

n

g

°s

Gold Sjiaugled cock .

10

5

5

10 1 15

0

15

5

5

5

10

10

ino

Gold Spangled hen .

10

5

5

10

15

5

15

5

6

5

10

10

100

Silver Spangled cock

10

10

5

10

10

15

1 '

S4

^3

H

10

10

100

Silver Spangled hen

10

5

5

15

15

10

10

3^

3i

H

10

10

100

Gold Pencilled cock

10
10

10
5

5
5

5

15

35

15

15

—

—

-

30
10

10
10

100

Gold Pencilled hen .

10

100

Silver Pencilled cock

10
10

10

5

5
5

5

15

36

15

15

;;_

—

—

30
10

10
10

100

Silver Pencilled hen

10

100

Black cock

15

15

15

—

—

15

—

—

—

—

20 plus
Legs 5

15

100

Black hen

15

15

15

"

5

7

"

~

"

30 plus
Legs 5

15

100

Passed by Committee, 1903.

Note. — In all varieties except Blacks, comb, face, symmetry, and
condition are the same. In Pencilled cocks, 90 per cent, for head,
colour, tail.

THE REDCAP

The Redcap is the utihty Gold Spangled Hamburgh
with coarser and less definite markings. It is a larger
bird with red ear-lobes instead of white, and with an
immense beefy rose-comb, sometimes measuring as much
as 5 inches or more in length and nearly 4 in width,
and covered with endless spikes. The huge comb
makes them look unsightly, and a neat specimen without
overhanging is seldom seen.

It seems a pity that so undoubtedly useful a fowl
should be spoilt in this way.

Their home is Derbyshire, and they are seldom seen
at shows outside their own and the neighbouring
counties. The cocks weigh 7 lb. or more and the hens
a pound less. Like the Hamburgh, they delight in a
free range, and speedily suffer from confinement and
overcrowding. Large as the comb is, it is said to resist
cold weather and frost to a remarkable degree. They
are long-lived birds, very hardy, and of a pugnacious
character. Though they are akin to the Ham burghs,
they are said to have a dash of Game blood in them,

Y

322 THE POULTRY MANUAL

and although the comb is the largest of the rose-combs,
they throw single-combed chicks occasionally when
strains are crossed, which fact bears out the indictment
of Game blood.

The spangling of the Redcap should be crescentic
and not round like the Hamburgh. There is little
spangling seen on the cock, since his breast and under-
parts are black. The spangles on the wing form the
wing-bar. The neck- and saddle-hackles and back are
red striped with black, and the tail and sickles are
black.

The hen is marked more like the Hamburgh, except
that the spangles are smaller and more half-moon shaped,
and the tail is black. The body-colour is a rich nut-
brown and the black is more blue than green. They
are among the best layers known, and it is a pity they
are not more widely bred and known.

ORPINGTONS

Sub-varieties : Black, Buff, White, Jubilee, Spangled, Cuckoo,
Blue, etc.

The Orpington, in one or other of its colours, is the
most popular fowl in the world. There is probably no
village in England without its pen of Orpingtons, and
there is hardly any quarter of the globe where they are
not to be found in a thriving condition.

The reason of this widespread popularity is their
strong basis of utility. They serve the dual purpose
of providing large birds for the table with flesh of first-
rate quality, and they are good layers of large brown
eggs. They are a docile breed, easily kept within
bounds, and the hens make gentle mothers. The
chickens are hardy, and are easily reared. They are
not yet old enough as a breed to have been entirely
spoilt by the arbitrary selection of fancy points, though
the Black Orpington, the oldest of the family, is
dangerously near it. It would be a great pity should
this, the newest of the breeds, share the fate of many
of the fancy breeds which have gone already !

The Orpingtons are usually classed among the
British breeds because they were manufactured in

BRITISH BREEDS OF POULTRY 323

England, in the village of Orpington, near Chislehur.st,
in Kent, whence they got their name. The originator,
the late Mr. W. Cook, was quite justified in thus
naming the breed in the several varieties, and did but
follow the general rule of poultry nomenclature, e.g.
the C-ampine comes from the district of I^a Campine in
Belgium, and the Leghorn, Minorca, Sumatra Game
and other breeds from the parts whose names they
bear. But though the name Orpington is strictly local
the breed is truly cosmopolitan.

Mr. Cook himself tells us, in describing the way in
which he manufactured the Black Orpington, that
with the wastrels from the good breeds he formed the
Black Orpington, using birds that represented the
poultry of the three Continents, viz. Minorcas from
Europe, Langshans from Asia, and Plymouth Rocks
from America.

At the introduction of most of these varieties a storm
of opposition was raised. They were called mongrels,
and, to be candid, they looked it, so varied was the
appearance of any single hatch. The blending of the
several breeds was not complete, and traces of some-
times one and sometimes of another were most prominent.
In other words, they did not breed true. Like did not
produce like until the innate predominance of first one
and then another feature prevailed, or was fixed by the
arbitrary law of the fancier. But they sprung into
popularity because of (1) the novelty of their appear-
ance, and (2) their undoubted utility and hardiness ;
and they still maintain their popularity because the
fancier has seized upon them and fixed their " points."

The Black Orpington

This was the first of the varieties to make its appear-
ance, and was introduced by Mr. Cook in 1886. As
already stated they were made by the inter-crossing of
several other breeds with the definite purpose of pro-
ducing a fowl which should be black in colour to enable
it to withstand the smoke and dirt of suburban districts,
which should be a good layer of brown eggs, and be a
useful table-bird of good size, and with a white and fine
skin. The nearest approach to this was the Langshan,

324 THE POULTRY MANUAL

but it was considered to be too long on the leg, and its
feathered legs were thought to be objectionable.

Mr. Cook says that he first mated a large Minorca
cock with some Black Plymouth pullets, and afterwards
mated the progeny with a short-legged Langshan cock
devoid of feathered shanks. The Minorca is well known
as the layer of the largest white egg of any known breed,
but its comb is too large to stand wintry weather, and
its lobes are white. Even to this day traces of the white
are to be found in the ear-lobe of the Orpington. The
Black Rock is a large, hardy fowl, and a good winter
layer, but its skin is yellow, and the English taste
prefers white flesh. The Langshan had a big body and
good flesh, was hardy, and the layer of the richest
coloured brown egg of any breed, but the feathered
shank had to be disposed of. Traces of this are very
often seen to-day, after the lapse of over thirty years, so
persistent is this feature.

On the whole, the Langshan blood has proved the
most predominant, and for a long time the breed looked
exactly like a short, clean-legged Langshan. From it
the brilliant green sheen has been derived, the medium-
sized comb, and the dark eye. But breeders are still
troubled Math the large comb in the pullets, derived
from the Minorca, and with the blue sheen instead of
the green from the same source, and also the pale ear-
lobe, while the red eye or the daw-coloured greenish-
yellow eye of the Rock occasionally crops up.

The eggs of the Black Orpington are of various
shades and shapes and sizes, as might be expected from
its mixed ancestry. Some strains lay almost as large an
egg as the Minorca, and the average is a good, saleable
size, weighing about seven to a pound, while the tint of
the shell varies from a rich cream to the dark nut-
brown of the Langshan. In this breed, as in many
others, it is noticeable that the largest birds do not lay
the biggest egg, and it is a certainty that they do not
lay as many of them.

The exhibition strains of the Black Orpington are not
good layers, and the complaint is well-nigh universal
that it is most diflicult to get eggs from December to
the end of Februar}^, when eggs for hatching exhibition
stock are most to be desired, and, moreover, that what

BRITISH BREEDS OF POULTRY 325

few eggs are produced do not hatch well. The causes
of this are, mainly, threefold. One is that the birds
mature slowly, and very readily lay on fat unless most
carefully fed and managed. Another reason is the
exhibition craze for extreme size. Although the
Standard fixes the weight of the cockerel at 9 lb.
when fully matured, a bird of that size would have
but little chance in the show-pen, and unless he attains
to nearer 12 lb. the report is, " Nice and shapely, but
fails in size," or " There is not enough of him." A very
large cockerel is never as good a stock-getter as a smaller
bird, and if, in addition to his size, he has been much
exhibited, there is little hope of fertile eggs until genial
weather arrives. The third and most powerful reason,
because it is the origin of the other two, is that present-
day exhibition fowls have a very large and too prepotent
admixture of Black Cochin blood, which is most notice-
able in the superabundance of their fluff. Any observant
visitor to a large exhibition in an evening, when the
birds are resting in their pens, will stop at the Black
Orpington classes and think he is looking at the Black
Cochins, or vice versa. And when they stand up,
although in Cochin classes he observes the abundant
foot and shank feathering, and in the Orpington the
clean, black legs, he cannot but notice the Cochiny
cushion in the Orpington hens, and abundant fluff on
the thighs of both sexes. And yet the first word in the
Standard under the heading of plumage is " Close," and
then is added, " black throughout with a ' green ' sheen
or lustre upon it, free from coloured feathers."

The Black Orpington to-day is anything but " close "
feathered, and this departure from the still published
Standard of Perfection has done more than anything
else to diminish its usefulness and popularity. Beyond
all question it is not the first-class layer it was for the
first ten years of its career, and though it has gained in
apparent bulk its usefulness has declined. There are
still good and useful strains in existence, and it is note-
worthy that in the Australian laying competitions which
extend over a period of twelve months, the Black
Orpington has more than once headed the list, with an
average of about 250 eggs to its credit ; and from the
photographs I have seen of the winning pens they not

326 THE POULTRY MANUAL

only seem to have kept the true Orpington type, but
also to be of a respectable medium size.

However, so long as the Fancy overrides or pushes to
extremes the standard for judging, so long must breeders
strive to fulfil the requirements of the judge, since, from
a pecuniary point of view, one bird that can win is worth
a score of those which cannot. A stricter adherence to
the Standard would prove of great value to the breed,
and reinstate it in public favour. The Standard rules open
with the sensible statement : " As it is the intention of
the Club to fully develop and maintain good laying
and table properties, in judging this variety attention
should be strongly directed to points indicating these
qualities."

The Standard for the Cock is as follows, only that
I have put in italics the parts needing more careful
attention. Plumage : Close, black throughout, with a
" green " sheen upon it, free from coloured feathers.
Head : Small, neat, fairly full over the eyes, carried ej^ect.
Comb : Medium size, erect, evenly serrated, free from
side-sprigs. Face, ear-lobes and rvattles : Red. Shape :
Cobby and compact. Breast : Broad, deep, and full,
carried well forward, long straight breast-bone. Bacl: :
Short, with broad shoulders. Saddle: Rising sliglitly.
Tail: Medium size, flowing and inclined backward.
Hacldes : Full, both neck and hackle. Legs and feet :
Black, strong, short ; four claws on each foot with
Avhite toe-nails ; soles of feet xcliite ; free from slightest
feather or fluff. Sl:tn : White, thin, and fine in tex-
ture. Flesh : White and firm. Carriage : Erect and
gracefid. Weight : Between 9 and 10 lb. when fidly
matured.

Standard for the Hen. — Same as cock, except in
the following : Tail : Medium size, inclined backward
and upward. Cushion : Small, but sufficient to give the
back a short and graceful curved appearance. Weight :
About 7 or 8 lb. when fully matured.

Defects. — The slightest feather or fluff on legs or
feet ; yellow skin ; yellow in legs or feet ; long legs.

Li the points for judging, most stress is rightly
placed on shape (15 points), then follows plumage and
condition (10), breast 10, carriage 10, size 10. The
head, including face, beak, comb and eye account for

BRITISH BREEDS OF POULTRY 327

25 — the remaining 20 being equally divided for tail,
cushion, legs, and fineness of skin. In iJractke^ how-
ever, it will be found that size counts nearer 30
than 10, and whereas only 5 points are allotted to the
eye much more is assigned to it. It is most frequently
the critical and decisive point which decides the first
place in a strong competition, e. g. a Rock-coloured eye,
i. e. a yellow or " bay " colour, would throw out the
best specimen, and even a dark bay would stand little
chance. To win, an Orpington must have an eye as
nearly black as possible, especially in young birds.
Dark eyes often turn " bay " in the second year.

Hints on Mating Black Orpingtons
From the foregoing notes on the standard of perfec-
tion and the points for judging, it will be noted that
the three main features in exhibition Black Orpingtons
are size, shape or type, and colour, and these must be
kept in mind when mating to breed show birds.

If the breeder has a long purse he may purchase stock
of both sexes as near perfection as possible ; and if their
good qualities have been inbred, and they are not the
chance offspring of mediocre, loosely-bred stock, he may
breed first-class cockerels and pullets from the same
pen, and may have a very large proportion of good birds
fit to show. But such birds still fetch a high price —
£50 being an ordinary figure for a single specimen —
and even then it is not difficult to note faults in some
particular point. The art of mating consists in counter-
acting the faults on the one side by a corresponding
perfection or correction in that particular point on the
other, e.g. if the hens or pullets you have in your
breeding pen should have faulty or sprung-combs {i. e.
large and overgrown) but are good in other respects,
the cock to be mated with them should have a good-
shaped comb, but decidedly on the small side. If mated
with a cock having a medium-sized comb, such as is
desired for the show-pen, most of the pullets and many
of the cockerels would have combs too large. If mated
as indicated, some of the pullets would still come with
ungainly combs and some of the cockerels with mean-
looking small combs, but a very fair proportion would
have coiTect head-ffear in both sexes.

328 THE POULTRY MANUAL

The effects of this cross-mating to produce perfection
in any given point depend very largely on the way in
which the birds have been bred, i. e. on the prepotency
of the point in question. It is easier to perpetuate a
fault than to correct it, and there are some failings
which should not be played with but ruthlessly
exterminated.

If, for example, a cock has an ugly side-sprig or a
very faulty serration, it is likely to reappear through
many successive generations. Even if the hens are free
from this fault, and some of the progeny are also free,
it is certain to reappear in the very next generation. A
side-sprig is wonderfully prepotent, like a rose-comb,
and is very difficult to breed out. It should therefore
be studiously avoided, and more especially in a male
bird, and for the same reason any attempt to deceive by
trimming the comb and cutting off the offending excres-
cence, at any stage of its growth, should be severely
dealt with. A faulty serration, though still a blemish,
is of minor importance. I remember a wonderful
cockerel some twelve years ago which did a great deal
of winning. He had a double serration on an other-
wise typical comb, and to this day that identical failing
can be traced, but it was accompanied by so many other
o;ood traits that it is rather to be souffht after than
avoided, where the other good points are still in
evidence.

It is a generally accepted dogma that the male bird
has most influence over the outzvard characteristics such
as the head points, comb, eye, etc., and the colour of
plumage, and, where the prepotency on both sides is
equal, this is undoubtedly true ; and that the hen has
most influence over size, shape and constitution.

And, although both sexes contribute their quota to
the result, the dictum may be accepted as a guide.
What has been said about the comb is true of other
desirable features, A deficiency on the one side must
be counterbalanced in mating by a corresponding excess
on the other.

It should, however, be borne in mind that the cockerel
is of more importance than any one of his mates, since
he is responsible for half the blood of the whole of his
progeny, and an endeavour should always be made to

BRITISH BREEDS OF POULTRY 329

get as good a male bird as the means at one''s disposal
will allow.

Mating for Size.— As already indicated, where size
is desired the hens or pullets should have this featvire.
A very great deal can be done by correct feeding and
rearing to produce size, just as neglect in these particu-
lars during chickenhood Avill produce dwarfs from the
largest stock. But it is very difficult to raise large
robust stock from puny hens. I have known, and have
bred, large stock from small-sized hens, but that has
been, as a rule, when the hens have lacked size through
being hatched late in the season, and when their parents
have been of good size.

Of more importance almost than mere size or weight
is the possession of a good frame, with strong, stout,
well-set legs. It is a general rule, also, that large birds
are more usually produced from hens in their second
year than from pullets, the difficulty in this case being
to get the hens to lay sufficiently early in the season.
The secret is to take pains to get them well through the
moult early, and then to avoid overfeeding.

The typical mating is to have a cockerel at least nine
months old, as near perfection as you can get him, with
short, stout legs, and good in type ; and though of
good size yet not over-large, and certainly not over-fed,
or over-shown, and to mate him with three or four hens
in their second year, or if these are not ready early
enough, then with a few well-grown and matured
pullets. You cannot have the cockerel too large pro-
vided he is active enough, but this combination of
activity and size is a prevailing difficulty. It may be
taken as a safe general rule that you will get larger
stock where the hens are large and the cock a good
medium size than where the size is on the male side
only, and it is quite certain that the eggs will be more
fertile and produce earlier stock.

If the cockerel has been bred from large stock the
probability is that you will rear from him some
cockerels larger than himself; but it is Avell to remem-
ber that the whole tendency of breeding is to maintain
the average or normal size, and that to perpetuate
either extreme is a matter of artificial selection continued
from one generation to another,

330 THE POULTRY MANUAL

If you especially wish to breed large males you must
see to it not only that the sire and the dam are large,
but also that the sire of the dam was large. With all
these precautions, however, it will be found that the
stock varies considerably in size, many reverting to the
normal of both sexes, even where mating and feeding
combined have been directed to producing extra large
birds ; but the more carefully both these points are
watched the greater will be the proportion of progeny
of the size desired.

Mating for Type.— A very big Orpington is of little
use in the show-pen unless he is of the right type, and
type is produced even more by careful and consistent
mating than from mere size. By careful handling a
difference of several pounds may easily be made in the
size, but feeding has bvit comparatively little influence
over type, though even here it may be noted that both
very early- or very late-hatched birds are usually shorter
and cobbler in build than those hatched and reared in
more congenial weather. The natural inference from
this fact is that where birds have a fairly large range,
and are able to forage a good deal for themselves, the
greater number of worms and the abundance of insect
life with its large proportion of nitrogenous food
consumed by the birds has been the cause of more
massive bone, and this hint should be borne in mind
when feeding the less-favoured stock.

Type or shape is, or should be, the most important
factor in any breed, and the standard concisely puts
this when it describes the Orpington as " cobby and
compact.*" Any elongated form is alien to the Orp-
ington. A typical Orpington has short, stout shanks,
and is so well feathered on thigh that little of this
is seen. The breast is broad, rounded, and prominent,
the back broad, short and well curved. This short-
ness is more apparent than real, owing to the fulness
of the neck-hackle, which should fall in a graceful
contour till it almost meets the saddle, which should
itself be full and broad, and gently rise to meet
the tail. As the carriage of the bird is described as
" erect and graceful," the head, when the bird stands
erect, should be nuich higher than the sickle feathers of
the tail, which should be " medium in size, flowing and

BRITISH BREEDS OF POULTRY 331

inclined backward." A huge tail is a great disfigure-
ment to an Orpington, almost as much so as a long,
horizontal back, or long shanks and thighs. I have
seen cockerels with sickle feathers which were so long
that they would not disgrace a Yokohama fowl, and
even with the lesser sickles trailing on the ground.
Some strains are noted for it, and, when once admitted,
it is very difficult to eradicate.

Looking at the profile of an Orpington, there should
be a clean, curvilineal line extending from the throat to
the under-side of the true tail feathers, allowing for a
slight fulness of the outline around the fluff of the
thighs, while the contour of the back should be a wide-
mouthed U with a curved beginning and ending, the
curve of the tail being about one-fourth lower than the
head.

It is much easier to get this shape in small or
medium-sized birds than in the larger ones, as these are
very apt to be elongated in the back. Natui'ally, a
wider curve is looked for in larger birds, but this
should never be carried to excess, or approach the
Langshan in type.

In mating to produce such specimens too much care
cannot be taken to ensure that the pedigree of the stock
is correct, or you may find a decided reversion to a
long-backed type.

In choosing a cockerel see that he is typical in shape,
with broad back and breast, and short and stout on his
legs, with no tendency to stand in at the hocks, but with
feet well set apart, like an Old English Game cock.
The cock is half the battle, perhaps more.

If you wish to breed large pullets select hens that
have been short and stout-legged as pullets. Plenty of
bone is a sine qua oion. When I say short, I mean
short in comparison with the body, for a big frame
naturally requires more timber to carry it.

Although the head does not count much in the scale
of points, it does count in the show-pen. A neat, well-
set, and evenly-serrated comb puts a finish to a bird
that nothing else can give, therefore avoid coarseness.
And if circumstances compel you to have it on one side
see that the defect is counterbalanced on the other.
Choose, if you can, a cockerel with a. large, intelligent

THE POULTRY MANUAL

black eye. A cockerel with a light eye is useless for
breeding show stock. There is a natural tendency to
loss of this density of colour as the bird advances in age,
and though you may tolerate a dark bay, or chestnut
colour in a cock which you know had a darker eye as a
youngster, it should not be tolerated in a young bird.

The colour of the eye would seem in some way to be
connected with the colour of the leg, since dark-eyed
birds have most frequently black scales on the shank,
while light-eyed ones frequently have slate-coloured
legs.

Any fluff or feather on the legs is a mark for which
birds are often passed over in the show-pen, while
plucking them ensures disqualification. You should
therefore be sure that your breeding stock have dean
legs, and that they have been clean from the time of
hatching. Birds rarely if ever shed fluff or feather on
the shank naturall}'-, but they are not infrequently takeil
out from birds intended for show or sale, and when the
fluft' is fine it is difficult to detect the removal until the
new growth appears.

In choosing a male see that his toes are not crooked.
Deformed feet are not only unsightly, but are the
frequent cause of unfertile eggs.

Mating for Colour. — At first sight this may be
thought to be an unnecessary section, since the bird
is self-coloured, and both sexes may be bred to
perfection from the same mating.

It is true that all the progeny will be black, and that
the plumage may be expected to be free from any
coloured feathers ; but since all healthy black fowls have
a sheen or lustre upon their feathers, and the Standard
has fixed upon a "green"" sheen, it is not so easily
produced as may at first sight appear.

The brilliance of the sheen may be augmented or
diminished by feeding, washing, or shading, but the
particular colour of the sheen must be inbred. This
colour may be green, or blue, or violet, or bronze, or
ebony black, or, after long exposure and a season^s
wear, a rusty brownish-black, or it may be, and
commonly is, a combination of these various shades.
It is comparatively rarely that a brilliant green sheen
with no suspicion of purple or bluy is seen, and a cock

BRITISH BREEDS OF POULTRY 333

may have a green body-colour with a bronze tail which
shows altogether purple in one light and green in
another, or he may have a brilliant green neck-hackle,
and breast and body-colour with purple bars across the
wings or on the sickles.

My opinion is that the cockerel has most influence
over colour, and that if the cockerel is bright and
lustrous, with a green sheen, and sound in his under-
colour — i. e. dark slate -coloured fluff' down to the skin —
he will produce a great proportion of good-coloured
ofl^spring, even if the hens to which he is mated fail
somewhat in sheen. It often happens that a bright
top-coloured cockerel is light in under-colour, and then
he is not so prepotent in giving good stock.

I have known many a pullet that was of a blue or
mazarine sheen moult into a good, sound-coloured hen.
Many a pullet has been bought cheaply at the summer
or early autumn shows for a small price on account of
being blue, which has moulted a brilliant green before
the larger events, and taken a high place.

This leads me to believe that blue is the stronger
colour, and is due to an excess of colouring matter.

It is well known that most breeds lose in colour as
they advance in age — e. g. buff' hens are usually paler than
they were as pullets — and the colour fades in all breeds
as the moult approaches. The blue colour stands the
stress of weather longest. I should not hesitate to
breed from a hen that was blue in sheen if good in
other ways ; but I should hesitate about a cockerel,
because it is rarely, if ever, that a cockerel which has
much blue or purple moults out a good colour.

On close examination of a " blue bird " it will be
found that this colour is in the form of bars across the
feather, and that the wider these bars are found, and
the more frequent their appearance, the bluer the bird
appears. When present only in a slight degree it may
pass away.

The bronze appearance seems to be a close com-
mingling of both colours, and the bars are not readily
noticeable. In one light it may look bronze, and in
another either purple or green, like a piece of " shot "
silk.

Other birds are a lack-lustre jet black, which if held

334 THE POULTRY MANUAL

ill certain lights may show in parts a greenish hue, but
which never covers the whole surface.

These are not desirable specimens, and often turn a
rusty-brown colour. On that account they are even
more objectionable than the blue.

These various shades of colour can only be correctly
judged in the daylight. It is a singular and striking
fact that at night-time in a great show one whole row
of Black Orpingtons will look blue, and those on the
opposite side look green, which shows not only the effect
of light and shade, but also that few even among show
birds are quite free from the blue or purple bars.

It is also a striking and well-known fact that in all
black breeds great brilliance of colour on both sides
often produces cockerels with red feathers in the hackle,
and sometimes even on the wing-bar. And the con-
verse is true, also, that cockerels with a few red feathers
in the hackle will breed the most brilliant-coloured
pullets. This is true of Black Hamburghs, and Black
Minorcas also, and though it may, in some cases, be
the least expensive way of producing such pullets, the
probability is that a large percentage of the cockerels
will have the same defect, and if persisted in would
lead to double mating, which is a misfortune for any
breed.

If you can manage it, breed from birds with a green
sheen on both sides ; if not, then see to it that the
cockerel is green, or that the bars of purple are as faint
and infrequent as possible.

It is worth striving after, for it is very beautiful
when seen to perfection, and a good-coloured bird,
though it may fail in size, often beats a larger but
faultily-coloured bird, and deservedly so, from an
artistic point of view.

One good feature about the Black Orpington is that
the proportion of good birds bred from a well-mated
pen is greater than from almost any other breed, and,
when bred, they stand exposure to the weather better
than any other colour, and look well in a flock till
nearly the end of the breeding season. There is jio
doubt, however, that exposure to sun and rain diminishes
the bloom even of the black plumage, and a bird that
is intended for show at the early summer shows is better

fc>

BRITISH BREEDS OF POULTRY 335

kept out of the breeding pen, or carefully watched and
given a roomy scratching shed, and not allowed out in
stormy weather.

A little iron in the drinking-water of Blacks is a help
to maintain brilliance of plumage, and during the moult
a little linseed, boiled, and added to the soft food a
short time preparatory to a show helps to restore the
loss.

To Prepare for Show. — Very little trouble is
required. The birds are naturally tame, and are easily
trained to stand well in the pen, though they differ
widely in this respect, and, in every case, it is necessary
that they should not be wild when approached, but
submit quietly to be handled or turned round by the
judging-stick.

If the bird has got dirty it is necessary to wash it.
In this case it should be zcell done, and care be taken
that after washing (see Chapter VII, p. 116, on Washing)
all soap should be got out of the feathers — especially
from the fluffs — or it will not web out again, and the
bird will appear less in size and have a bedraggled
appearance. When it is necessary to wash, the operation
should be performed at least two or three days before
the show, to enable the plumage to regain its gloss, and,
as directed, a little linseed should be added to its food.

In ordinary cases all that is needed so far as plumage
is concerned is to wipe over the surface of the plumage
with a damp sponge, and then rub it dry with a soft
linen or silk kerchief.

The only other parts needing attention are the legs
and head. These should be well washed with soap and
water, the comb briskly rubbed till dry, and a mixture
of oil and vinegar rubbed over it and the face and then
rubbed off again.

The legs, after drying, may have a touch of olive oil
rubbed on and then wiped off, just sufficient to give a
polish, but no grease of any kind should be allowed to
remain on the legs, or it may attract dust and dirt from
the show hamper and spoil the bird's looks, besides
leading to a suspicion of faking. On no account should
coloured oil or any such preparation be applied ; and if
the bird''s legs are either naturally of a slate colour, or
have become so through age, as they generally do, no

336 THE POULTRY MANUAL

attempt to darken them should be attempted. It is no
detriment to a moulted bird to have paler legs, and to
attempt to make them as black as a chicken's is an
attempt to defraud.

The Rose-combed Black Orpington

This variety, brought out about the same time as
the single-combed variety, had a comparatively short
life. It never took the public fancy strongly, and is
now practically extinct. Why, it is not easy to deter-
mine, unless it was that the rose-comb was looked
upon as the prerogative of the Wyandotte. There
must be something in this notion, since the same fate
has befallen all the other rose-comb varieties, whether
white, buff, or other colour. I kept the rose-combed
variety nearly twenty years ago, and considered them
quite as useful as their colleagues, and a more distinct
variety, there being no other black fowl with clean
black legs and a rose-comb with a large body and a
red face, whereas the single-comb could then hardly be
distinguished from that of a Black Rock or a clean-
legged Langshan. However, fashion decrees and fanciers
obey, unless some strong motive leads to a booming and
financing of them. Except for the comb, the bird should
in all other respects follow the single-comb. But it was
never bred to such a perfection in type, and the weedy
ones looked very weedy.

The Buff Orpington

The Buff' Orpington is, to-day, probably the most
popular fowl in the world, Avhether as a fancier's fowl
or as kept by the multitude for purely utility purposes.
And it is likely to remain popular on account of its
intrinsic merits. It is easy to rear, gentle and docile in
character, a good layer of tinted eggs both in winter
and summer, and a first-class table-fowl. And although
it does not yet breed as true to type and colour as the
Black variety, it has much more pronounced utility
qualities. It lays at a much earlier age, produces more
eggs in the year, and its mis-marked cockerels find a
readier sale as table-birds, because of the ease with
which they are fattened, and because both flesh and

BRITISH BREEDS OF POULTRY 337

legs are white. When dressed for table, a well-fattened
bird looks almost as good as one of its progenitors, the
Dorking.

Its Introduction. — Introduced by the late Mr.
William Cook in 1894, eight years after the Black, it at
once hit the public fancy because of its pleasing colour,
although very different then from the beautiful, even-
coloured specimens now so plentiful.

When first exhibited by Mr. Cook, probably at his
stall in the Dairy Show, not even the originator him-
self could have foreseen its great future. It was a
large bird, not much less in size than the present-day
specimens. But like most new varieties it had a
mongrel appearance. It was tri-coloured, very red on
the wing-bar and shoulders, with various shades of buff
on the back, paler buff on the breast, and almost in-
variably with black feathers in the tail. The legs were
white and short, but some had feathers on the shanks,
and others showed distinctly the mark of the fifth toe.
The owner made no secret of its origin. Indeed it bore
upon it the marks of the Dorking in its shape, and in the
colour of its legs, and of the Cochin in its colour and
feathered shanks.

Mr. Cook's own account of it is that he had discovered
by various crosses made with the Buff Cochin that the
progeny were hardy and good layers, as Lincolnshire
farmers had found the breed known as the Lincolnshire
Buff'. These birds were not bred to type or colour, and
were undoubtedly a cross-bred fowl with both Cochin
and Dorking blood in them. But they were all shapes
and all sizes, sometimes had freely-feathered shanks, and
sometimes buff legs and skin. Mr. Cook determined
to bring out a bird of an even buft" colour that should
have a massive body, with a good plump breast ; and
stout, clean, and white legs.

He states that he first selected Golden Spangled
Hamburgh cocks, the largest he could find. These
birds have a rich, bay-coloured plumage spangled with
black, and with a lustrous black tail. These he mated
with Dorking hens. He found the reddish-brown
progeny of these the best layers, and with them he
mated a Buff Cochin cock, and states that he found
about two out of every three of these came with clean
z

338 THE POULTRY MANUAL

legs. He spent about ten years in breeding out the
feathered legs and broodiness of the Cochin before he
introduced them.

At first they were loudly decried as mongrels, and
as nothing but Lincolnshire Buffs. And in the early
days there is no doubt that many Lincolnshire Buffs
were sold as Buff Orpingtons, and many of them laid
the foundation of fresh strains of Orpingtons.

As a breeder of them from the time they were intro-
duced, I know that the fifth toe frequently made its
appearance in the newly -hatched chicks. Sometimes on
one foot only, sometimes a forked double toe on one or
both feet, and that for many years a large proportion
came with feathers on their shanks, and with a pearl-
coloured eye. I have never been able to trace any sign
of the Gold Spangled Hamburgh blood. I never saw a
spangled feather, and although many came Avith black -
striped hackles, this may have come from the Dorking.
The white leg soon proved predominant over the yellow
of the Cochin, and though traces of fawn colour still
appear on the toes, or even on the lower part of the
shank, I am inclined to think that this has come through
a second infusion of Cochin blood by way of the more
perfectly buff-coloured Buff' Plymouth Rock, a near
cousin of the Buff Orpington. The fifth toe has been
eliminated despite its ancient ancestry in the Dorking,
but the feathered shank and the orange eye still persist
and reappear in the most startling and unexpected
quarters. And the Cochin has also prevailed in colour.
The true black tail has disappeared, whether derived
from the Hamburgh or the Dorking, and black feathers
are no more frequent in the Buff Orpington than they
are in the Cochin. In point of colour the Cochin has
dominated, and a good Buff can now equal the Cochin
in its own fashionable attire. It is true that a good
Buff Cochin has the most glorious mass of buff plumage
to be found on any fowl, and its beautiful mellowness
of shade is still the desideratum of the Orpington
breeder, and is but rarely met with. But it is found
here and there, and, when found, is valued accordingly.
The Cochin blood has prevailed in the Buff as in the
Black, though it has not left behind that extreme loose-
ness and fluffiness of feather found in the Black, and it

BRITISH BREEDS OF POULTRY 330

is sincerely to be hoped it will not do so. In one respect
it has left its mark more than in the Black, viz. in the
conformation of the tail. The Black has a tail, some-
times, like a Sumatra Game, much to its disfigurement,
but sparsity of feather, rather than excess, is the rule
in the Butf. But the Buff Orpington has not yet
arrived at the shapely contour of the Black, and is
more commonly seen with a longish Dorking back,
though, since more emphasis has been laid on type
and less on colour alone, it is coming more into line
with the rounded Orpington type.

The Typical Buff Orpington Standard

The Colour should be clear, sound, even buff of
one shade throughout, and buff to the skin. Its skin
and flesh should be fine in texture, and white.

In Type it should be like the Black Orpington
already described. Deep, massive, broad and cobby
in body, short on the leg, Avith plenty of bone. Its
breast should be deep and full, and carried well forward.
The tail should be short and compact, and its back
short and nicely curved, with a wide saddle. In
carriage it should be bold and upright, not stooping
like the Cochin.

Head and Eye.— The eye should be red or brown (red
preferred) ; the beak, white or horn colour. The comb,
face, ear-lobes and wattles, a bright red. The comb
small to medium in size, firmly set on the head, evenly
serrated and straight. In some of the best-coloured
hens it often lops over to one side, but this is a dis-
figurement commonly caused by too close confinement
in order to preserve its colour.

Legs and Feet. — Legs should be short, white, and
well rounded and free from fluff, and as free as possible
from pink or redness on the sides of the shank, or from
tan-coloured scales. The four toes should be straight
and well spread out, especially in the cock. The toe-
nails should be white also.

Size. — Cockerels should weigh from 8 to 11 lb. ;
pullets from 6 to 9 lb. Adult birds may be a trifle
heavier, but colour has more value than mere size, and
a typical well-coloured bird of medium size is always to
be preferred to a large one lacking these qualities,
z 2

J340

THE POULTRY MANUAL

Condition or bloom is also of value in the show-pen.

Defects. ^ — Birds are penalized, or put back in the
scale of points, for any bodily deformity such as a roach-
back, a wry-tail, or badly-twisted toes. They may also
be put back for side-spikes on the comb (although these
are too often passed over without notice), white in the
ear-lobe, long legs, or feathers on the shank.

A little white in ear-lobe is often caused, like the
overhanging comb, through the bird being shaded too
much, and pullets often win with this defect. It is
especially objectionable in the cock. A very slight
trace of fluff on the shank does not keep an otherwise
good bird out of the money prizes, and is infinitely
better than a plucked shank. Another serious defect
is smut or slate-coloured fluff, which often occurs on the
saddle.

Disqualifications. — Plucking the shank is the most
frequent cause of disqualification, and rightly so since it
is an attempt to defraud. Cutti]ig the lobes to remove
traces of white or plucking feathers from the tail or
flights are also grounds for disqualification.

The Development of the Buff

During the fifteen years of its existence the Bufl'
Orpington Fancy has passed through various phases.
When introduced it was lacking in almost every one of
the ideal points aimed at. And though, in a measure,
every one of its ideals has been borne in mind, special
stress has been laid from time to time upon some
special feature, and the value of "points forjudging" has
been altered. This will be clearly shown by a com-
parison of the three standards of points printed
below.

Points for Judging Buff Orpingtons

About 1890.

Colour, including con-
dition

Type

Head . . . .
Leg3 and feet

About lOOO. |

Colour
Type . .
Head and comb
Condition .
Feet and legs
Size

. 35
. 20
. 10
. 10
. 15
. 10

100

'.^_

1907.

Colour
Type .

Head and comb
Condition .
Feet and legs
Size

BRITISH BREEDS OF POULTRY 341

For a long time colour was more than half the battle,
and even to-day, though technically it figures less, it is
in fact predominant. But in the early days, and down
to about 1900, it was given so prominent a place that
type was in 1 900 deliberately lessened by ten points and
then almost lost sight of altogether. Mr. Lewis Wright
refers to this in his Booh of Poultry, 1902 edition. I
went round the pens at the Palace Show with him in
1898, when he pointed out that not a single Buff
Orpington cockerel was typical in shape, and that a
nearer approach to the Orpington type was found
among the Buff' Plymouth Rocks. Many of the best-
coloured birds were tall and narrow, and almost as long
in the leg as Langshans.

Soon after this, in 1900, the Club altered its Standard
to give less points to colour, though type had not yet
gained its true place. It is nearer the mark to-day,
though there is still room for improvement. It is a
good sign, too, that greater value is now given to head
and comb, since ugly-combed specimens often with
side-spikes and other malformations were given the
chief honours. A bad head spoils the appearance of
any breed, and is persistent in its transmission.

Mating Bdff Orpingtons

In breeding Buff Orpingtons, colour counts first, type
second, and size third, though every breeder tries to
secure all the three. But just as the Club has proceeded
by stages, gaining one point first and then another, so
must the individual breeder proceed, unless he is the
happy possessor of birds with all the good qualities
fixed

Size and Type. — These need not detain us long,
since the remarks on mating Blacks for size and type
apply with equal force. In size the hen has most
influence. Good big birds are never bred from weedy,
under-sized pullets. And well-matured pullets, after
they have laid their first batch of eggs, or, better still,
hens in their second year, throw the largest stock ;
whilst feeding on wholesome, but not stimulating, food
and a good grass range have great influence. The food
for size is well-ground oats, either Sassex oats, or the

342 THE POULTRY MANUAL

best you can procure at a cheaper rate nearer home.
Scalded bran is also a good bone- and frame-maker.

In type, both sexes play an important part, but
while it may be necessary to use a hen or pullet which
is long in the back because of her size, care should be
taken that the cock should be of typical shape, with a
broad, deep, massive frame, and a short, broad back.

Mating for Colour. — There are fashions in colour.
At one time, not unreasonably, the darkest birds were
all the rage. There is a great tendency in Buffs to
breed lighter each year, and if two Buffs of a very soft,
light shade are bred together, some of the progeny will
be almost white, and very many of them have white
feathers in flights and tail.

The present-day tendency, which has prevailed for the
past five or six years, is to go for very pale-coloured
birds almost of a lemon shade. Such birds are very
handsome, but they are comparatively of little Aalue in
the breeding pen unless mated to birds of a darker
shade than themselves.

The old Standard said : " Clear, sound, even dense buff
to the skin from lemon to orange (not red or chocolate),"
allowing a little richness in top-colour of cocks.

The words " lemon or orange " have slipped out of
the present Standard, but " any even shade of buft'" still
holds good. If a good soft medium shade, like that
of a typical Buff Cochin, were more in favour, there
would not be the difficulty in breeding good specimens
of both sexes from the same pen.

As it is to-day, it is almost necessary to have two
breeding pens, one for cockerels and the other for
pullets. This is detrimental to any breed. And, as a
matter of fact, it will be found that at the great classic
shows it rarely happens that the winners in the two
sexes come from the same yard. It is more common for
one to win the chief prizes in cockerels and another in
pullets.

Certainly the breeder who has limited space, or
limited means, will be better advised to concentrate his
money and his energies on breeding exhibition specimens
of one sex, although it will be at once apparent that if
one man can breed good pullets and another good
cockerels, the same results would follow if the respective

BRITISH BREEDS OF POULTRY 343

pens were concentrated in one yard and mated as they
are in the separated yards.

It is difficult to advise on the best way of mating,
since methods are various and nature is capricious.
Besides, what answers one season may not answer in
another, and, strange as it may appear, mated pens
that breed Avell in the beginning of a season may fall
away in the end of it, or vice versa.

There must, of course, be a reason for the elusiveness
of buff colouring. Sometimes this is easily accounted
for, especially in large pens containing seven or eight
birds, by some hens being much better layers than others,
and the difficulty of knowing which hen is laying (unless
trap-nests are used) at one time or another.

But I believe the health and stamina of the birds
has much to do with it. If the cockerel is especially
vigorous his coloration prevails ; and if the hens or
pullets are especially fit and in good trim, so their
colour is more certain to be imparted. Again, at the
beginning of a season, if the cockerel has not been
over-shown, he is more powerful in the colour line than
later on, when his energies have been dissipated. Hence
the advisability of a rest from time to time to renew
his loss of colouring matter. For the same reason I
hold that a coch cannot be depended on for the same
amount of colour as a cockerel. This may be an
advantage, at times, if he has been too harsh in colour
as a cockerel ; and the same holds good of the hens.

I should hesitate to lay this down as an absolute
law, but observation convinces me that there is some-
thing more than mere fancy in it. It is an undoubted
fact that most buff birds lose their individual colour
with age, and moult lighter each year, though there are
exceptions to this rule ; and, further, that the progeny
of any birds of any given shade are usually lighter than
the parents ; and I see no reason, therefore, why this loss
or accentuation of colour should not vary during the
mating season, owing either to the health of the bird
or to the colouring pigment having been temporarily
exhausted. This tendency to loss of colour leads to a
statement of a general law for mating.

Mating for Cockerels. — Choose a cockerel of the
shade you desire for the show-pen, if you can get him.

344 THE POULTRY MANUAL

The fashionable shade is at present nearer to the lemon
than the orange, but a good medium, rich, golden shade,
without any suspicion of redness, is the best. Avoid
bay-coloured wings, or deep cinnamon flights ; see that
his under-colour is sound. When the feathers are lifted
see that the shaft of the feather is buff, and of the same
shade as the feather, and that it is buff' right to the
root, or as near as can be. The flight feathers should
be buff" and not tinged with white (a frequent fault with
the paler shades), and if possible the covered part of the
secondaries should be buff', though a little sprinkling of
black here is not a serious defect. If you can get it,
see that the neck-hackle feathers are also of sound
colour underneath. The most common failing is for
these to be buff' only on the surface and to be washy
underneath. If he has a red eye so much the better.
In type and size let him be as good as you can procure.

To a cockerel as near like this in colour, etc., as you
can find mate three to six hens or early pullets, a shade
or two darker than himself, but not more. Too great
an infusion of colour will only lead to unevenness in
colour, which will manifest itself on the wings of the
cockerels bred from him. The under-colour should
again be noticed. A medium under-colour with a buff'
shaft is best. If too dense, the excess of colour will
show itself. If too light or white, even though the
top-colour is darker, the progeny will be splashed, and
white flights are sure to be present.

Mealiness. — And here may be noticed a prevailing
fault of colour known as " mealiness " (see Glossary).
This is a failure in the soundness or evenness of the
colour of a feather, as if the buff' colour had been
finely sprinkled with flour. In pronounced cases it
looks very patchy, like a handful of coarse bran, some
flakes of which expose the white surface of the bran
and thus show the wheat colour. It is most commonly
found on the small wing-coverts of the pullet or hen.
Sometimes the whole feather is aff'ected, and is very
plainly seen ; at other times it is nearer the base of the
feather, and is covered by the overlapping feathers.
The mealiness is put down among the serious defects,
and is a fatal fault in the show-pen.

Some over-zealous judges go so far as to discard any

BRITISH BREEDS OF POULTRY 345

bird from the prize list if it shows the very faintest
trace, requiring ahnost a magnifying-glass for its dis-
covery, and certainly quite hidden unless searched for
by turning up the feathers.

It is a singular fact that this fault occurs most fre-
quently in the pens which breed the best- and soundest-
coloured cockerels. I have sometimes examined and
found as many as seventy-five per cent, of mealy pullets
bred from a pen which has produced a large proportion
of winning and high-class cockerels. If such a bird is
good in other ways, and the mealiness is not excessive,
I should not hesitate to mate it with a sound-coloured
cockerel for cock-breeding. But a mealy pullet never,
so far as I know, breeds a sound pullet.

Mealiness is a failure in the colour of a given part,
usually the wing-bow. A chief failing in cockerels is
an excess of colour in the wing-bow, and the one may
serve to counteract the other, though if the practice
were persisted in, mealy-winged cockerels would follow.
Where sound pullets can be got, especially if bred from
a pen which has bred good cockerels, I should very
much prefer them. It may sound like treason to some
fanciers to connnend or even hint at this, but I have
known yards, where the plan of double mating has been
follow^ed, in which it has been most successfully carried
out.

Mating for breeding Buff Pullets. — In this case
the pullets should be chosen as near to perfection as
one can get ; of a soft medium shade, quite free from
mealiness, sound in top- and under-colour, and quite
free from smuttiness.

Let them be as large and typical as possible, remem-
bering that you must have large stock birds if you are
to get large chickens. The pullets bred will resemble
their parents in size and colour, and in a great degree
type also, if well mated.

As there is a tendency for the progeny to come lighter
each season, mate up hens, if you can find them, that
have kept their colour during and after the moult.
There are a few examples here and there to be found
where the hen moults out as fresh and sound as a
pullet. These are invaluable for breeding good stock
of either sex.

346 THE POULTRY MANUAL

The cockerel to mate with, for the purpose of breed-
ing pullets, should be a shade darker than the pullets,
to compensate for loss of colour. Take care he is not
red in colour on the wing, or harsh in tone of body-
colour, but he may well be a shade darker than the
fashionable show colour. If he is a brother of good
show pullets so much the better.

Soundness of Under-colour is the great point to
look for when mating stock. Birds may look very well
and yet when handled may prove to be nearly white in
under-colour. This indicates a lack of colouring pig-
ment. In this case like will not produce like, even as
far as top-colour is concerned ; but most of the progeny
will be mealy, or patched with white on the secondary
feathers, or white in the flight feathers or tail, and
perhaps in all these parts. If one has pullets like this,
and is content to improve slowly, then a sound under-
coloured cockerel may show improvement in some of
the stock. Soundness of under-colour means that the
feather is buff underneath and has a buff shaft. Nearly
all birds are paler in this colour as the end of the shaft
is reached, but this paleness should not extend to white.
Many birds are advertised as " buff' to the skin," but
few are found to answer this description. And birds
that are " buff' to the skin " are sometimes too dense in
colour, and the result is harshness in the progeny. A
colour that is buff' throughout, yet gets paler as it
extends to the root of the feather, is the ideal.

Preserving the Buff Colour. — Little more remains
to be said except that it requires as much pains to
preserve the buff colour when it has been bred as to
breed it. Exposure to sun and rain quickly puts the
best-coloured pullets out of condition, though cockerels
stand the elements much better. Most of the exhi-
bition specimens that grace the show-pens in the autumn
have been carefully sheltered from the rain from the
age of about four months, when the chicken moult
begins. They may be let out early in the morning,
and towards sunset in the evening, or in well-shaded
runs they may be out during the day. To allow a bird
to get wet with rain, and then be exposed to the hot
sun to dry, quickly fades the feathers, on the back and
saddle especially ; and the feathers show a faint fringe

BRITISH BREEDS OF POULTRY 347

or lacing of a lighter shade. Yet it often happens
that fanciers of limited means and small covered runs
grow and exhibit some of the best.

Effect of Washing. — A buff to be shown to per-
fection must be perfectly clean. If soiled in plumage
it must be washed. And although washing may im-
prove the general appearance there is a danger of injury
to the colour. Many a bird of soft and beautiful
colour has been turned into a harsh colour through
the effect on the colouring pigment of the soda in the
soap. It has a strange chemical action which has the
effect of intensifying the colour, and to wash a bird
whose colour is already dark enough is to ruin its
chance in the show-pen, though it may improve the
colour of a buff that is too pale. Washing will not
turn a patchy or mealy bird even in colour. I have an
idea that the addition of a little acid (vinegar or acetic
acid) in the final water would neutralize the effect of
the alkali and leave a buff, after washing, the same
colour as it was before being washed. It is worth
trying, though it is better worth trying to keep a
chicken''s colour pure from the time of its first adult
moult till the show season is over. It is not the icet-
ting that does the mischief, else buff birds would be
darker after every shower of rain, but a chemical action
in the soap which acts on buff pigment, though it seems
to have no effect on a black, or white, or multi-coloured
plumage.

Other Imperfections in Colour demand only a few
words. Lacing destroys the evenness of colour, and is
most common on the breast feathers of both sexes.
When the feather has a pale fringe, or a white tipping,
it indicates lack' of colour, and is most common on birds
of the paler shade, and is a decided disfigurement.

On the other hand, there is a dark lacings more
common still, which is noticeable chiefly in rich-coloured
pullets, and may occur in all parts of the body, though
it often happens that a pullet with a fine sound-coloured
breast is laced on the back and the wings. It looks
pretty, and if intensified may make a new variety ; but
it is contrary to the Buff standard and is a defect. I
consider this is due to an excess of colour, as it is not
common in hens whose store of pigment is less abundant,

348 THE POULTRY MANUAL

Shaft mess is another form of lack of colouring
pigment, and is the name given to feathers the shaft of
which is lighter than the web. It destroys the beauty
and evenness of many an otherwise good bird.

Brassiness is a term given to the hackles on both
sexes and to the back of the cock when these feathers
have a " brassy " coloured, metallic fringe. Such
feathers usually have a darker centre. It spoils the
softness of colour and is a defect. I have an idea that
this bra^ssiness is often the effect of exposure to the
weather, as it is so common in other breeds, e.g. the
Barred Rock.

Smutty under-colour is the only other blemish in
colour to note. This is a black or blue smudge in the
fluff instead of buff'. Though it may occur in any
part of the body it is most commonly found in the back
or saddle. When found in any great intensity it is
usually accompanied by tickings of black upon the
feathers in its vicinity. It is commoner in rich- than in
pale-coloured birds, and is often quite unsuspected in
otherwise sound-coloured birds. Many judges pass a
bird altogether for the slightest trace of this, just as
they do for mealiness. It is a bad fault in breeding
stock as it usually repeats itself, and throws birds with
ticked or mossy feathers.

It will have been noted from the list of defects above
named that it is by no means an easy task to breed and
exhibit a good Buff Orpington.

Yet the very difficulties themselves act as a spur and
an incentive to the fancier, and its adherents increase
in number as the years pass by. The many pitfalls and
uncertainties in mating also keep up the popularity.

There is no other breed I know of where the winners
at the great events are changed so often. Owing to the
gradual loss of colour I have mentioned, it is very rare
that the same breeder is in the front for more than a
couple of years. When he has to change his blood a
great uncertainty comes in, and many of the best birds
every season are bred by a novice in the Fancy. There
is no other breed in which there is a greater chance for
the novice to come rapidly to the front, and this is as
it should be. When one or two men dominate a fancy,
especially if they are greedy exhibitors, it soon spells

BRITISH BREEDS OF POULTRY 349

certain ruin. In Buffs the little man has a good chance,
if he has the means of shading his birds, and this
is often possible even in a backyard. And, if he has
not the desire to do much exhibiting, he will have no
difficulty in getting a good round sum for a typical and
sound specimen, while those not up to show form may
be mated to breed better stock, and in the meantime
will amply repay him by their undoubted economic
qualities.

Weeding out the Chickens. — Even at the time
of hatching some wasters can be detected. Any with
fluff on the shanks, or deformed toes, or with a dark
patch of colour on the head, especially if with a striped
back, like a newly-hatched Bro^vn Leghorn or Partridge
Wyandotte, can be put on one side, as also any hatched
with side-spikes to the comb. Birds of a medium shade
of buff are likely to be the best. The fluff at time of
birth is a good indication of the future under-colour,

A chick with light fluff, indeed all shades of
fluff, will come darker with its flrst chicken
feathers, and darker still w^hen it puts on its
first adult plumage at about four months ; and
at each moult afterwards go lighter. Chicks
Avith much black in the flight feathers can be discarded,
as this never grows less. But white in the flight
feathers up to three months old often comes a pure
buff' with its final chicken moult. If this moult is in
any way retarded through cold or weakness the adult
feathers may come with a light tip, especially in the
wings. Some breeders assert that this gradually becomes
buff' as the bird develops. I have not found it so,
though I have known a cockerel with sound under-
colour, but white in the flights, moult his adult plumage
in the second year cpiite a sound buff', as also in the case
of early-hatched chicks in their second moult in the
autumn. But I have never knoAvn any which show
signs of w^hite in the secondaries cast it off afterwards,
and these are of no use except for utility purposes.

Cockerels which look a typical shape at three months
often grow very lanky when passing through the moult,
and until six months or more, and then " come down "
as it is called, and make large typical birds. A cockerel
which develops its plumage slowly often makes the

350 THE POULTRY MANUAL

finest adult. Pullets showing mealiness never improve,
and can be put on one side as " layers "" only. Every
breeder knows to his cost that many which " seem
sound " at first often develop this blemish at later stages.
Not every promising chicken maintains its place, and
the " Aveeding " process has to be long continued. Yet
the sooner it is begun the better the chances for the
rest. Black in the early stages, and white in the later
are most to be feared.

The Rose-combed Buff Orpington

The Rose-combed Buff, like its Black namesake, has
never caught the eye of the Fancy, and has had a short
life. The Standard for it is similar in all respects to
the single-comb except that the comb is described as
" small and neat, firmly set on the head with a good
working and a nice spike at the back lying well down to
the head."

This description is so like that for a Wyandotte that
nothing more is wanted except buff legs to make a Buff
Wyandotte. This latter breed has had a fitful life and
only appears occasionally in the "Any Other Variety
Wyandotte Class,"" while the Rose-comb Orpington is
less seldom seen. I have not seen one for seven or
eight years.

One Buff breed alone has caught on firmly, and it is
perhaps as well, since of the making of breeds there is
no end ; and if one may further paraphrase the words
of the "■ wise man," " much study of them is a weariness
to the P'ancy."

The White Orpington

If the Buff Orpington has, at the time of writing,
the larger number of admirers, it is very closely followed
by breeders of White Orpingtons, and at the great
International Show of December 1908, held in the
Crystal Palace, the two Club Shows ran a neck-and-
neck race in popularity, since each variety was repre-
sented by exactly 150 entries, with the Black a good
third with 140 entries.

The late Mr. W. Cook brought out a White Orping-
ton about 1889, soon after the Black and before the

A GROUP OF TYPICAL WHITE OUPINGTONS.

BRITISH BREEDS OF POULTRY 353

Buff. He states that they were made by crossing
White Leghorn cocks with Black Hamburgh hens, and
that the pullets from this cross all came white. He
mated these with a Rose-comb White Dorking cock,
but was several years before he could produce white
birds ; some came blue, and others cuckoo-coloured.

This original breed was never taken up largely. No
club was formed for them, and so far as I know they
were never exhibited. In general appearance there was
a very wide departure from Orpington type as we now
recognize it. They were much smaller birds with white
legs and large flowing tails, with neat rose-combs of the
Hamburgh type. After a few years they seem to have
died out, though they may still be kept here and there
for utility purposes.

The single-combed White Orpington followed, made
by using a single-combed Dorking, but they were of the
same type, small birds about half the size of the Blacks,
and I do not remember in twenty years ever seeing one
in a show-pen.

The Albion Fowl. — Some few years after the
introduction of the Buff Orpington in 1894, a white
fowl of true Orpington type began to be talked about,
and at the Dairy Show of 1900 two classes containing
eighteen exhibits were on view, shown by two exhibitors,
Mr. W. Richardson and Mr. Godfrey Shaw, who were
also exhibiting Buff Orpingtons.

This is the only show of note in which I find any
account of the so-called " Albions," but it is noteworthy
that in a couple of years later White Orpingtons were
admitted into the Variety Orpington Club. In 1904
there were over fifty exhibited at the Dairy Show, and
it is worthy of note that, at this show, where about 300
Orpingtons of all colours were shown, the silver medal
of the Dairy Association for the best Orpington in the
show was awarded to a White Orpington cockerel.

From this time their popularity has spread like wild-
fire, and in four or five years they have almost caught
up the Buff in the race for fame, and are more than its
equal in true Orpington type, being almost equal to the
Black in this respect.

The reason for their popularity is again their
undoubted utility qualities. Their white legs and

A A

354 THE POULTRY MANUAL

plumage, with fine white flesh make them the daintiest
of table-birds. They are quiet, hardy, easy to rear,
good sitters and mothers, and the very best of winter
layers. I know no layer of brown eggs to equal them
either in summer or winter. The one thing against
them, if kept in a dirty or smoky neighbourhood, is their
colour, but their good qualities will make them general
favourites in spite of this. No matter how cold or
exposed the place, any one, with proper care in housing
and feeding, may be sure of eggs.

How they were made. — As I have said, the
breed first called by the name was chiefly a rose-combed
bird. It never reached the show bench, and is, I believe,
nearly if not quite defunct, though I have seen it
figuring in some recent manuals as if it were the White
Orpington of to-day. It would seem as if the " Albion "
had something to do with its birth. Was the Albion a
sport from the Buff" or the Black Orpington ? Or was
it made by a cross between the two ? Or was it made
by selecting the whitest of the Light Sussex fowl ?
This latter variety, bred chiefly for table purposes, in
and around the great fattening districts in Sussex, is
a black and white variety, and some specimens are
almost white, in fact the show standard for them is
pure white colour throughout, except for striping with
black in neck-hackle, and a little black in flights and a
black tail.

Sussex would seem to be the home and place of origin
of more than one variety of Orpington, in which Old
English Game and Dorking have played the chief part.

I have seen White Orpingtons made by the cross
suggested (Black and Buff" Orpington) of pure Orpington
type and pure white in colour, although in the produce
of this cross I have seen both black birds with coloured
hackles, buff" birds with black hackles, cuckoo-marked
specimens, and a few dun-coloured as well as the pure
whites, and some of the whites had bluish legs, and
others came with buff" or black feathers in various parts
of their bodies.

These latter defects are still noticeable in the White
Orpington. Many birds otherwise pure in colour come
with buff' feathers in the hackle or tail, and others,
usually of the purest white, come with tickings or

BRITISH BREEDS OF POULTRY 355

feathers of black ; and sometimes a true white bird
comes with bluish legs.

The variety is now fairly established, however it was
made, and breeds as true to colour, size, and type as any
variety of Orpington.

The beautiful engraving of White Orpingtons
(page 351) shows the present-day type to advantage. It
will be noticed that they show no trace of Cochin blood.
There is not the abundant fluff' of the Black Orpington
with its heavy thighs and cushion, while the type is
equal to the Black and better than the Buff'.

The Standard of Perfection calls attention to the
undoubted utility qualities of the breed, and urges
judges to adhere to the points named.

The Colour should be snow white, free from admixture
with any other colour.

The Type should be that of the Black Orpington,
broad and cobby in body, the breast broad, deep,
rounded and full, with straight breast-bone. The tail,
rather short and compact. The back short in appear-
ance and nicely curved, with a wide saddle. The carriage
bold and upright.

The Head and Comb. — Face, ear-lobes, wattles, and
comb, bright red. The comb, single, erect, medium
in size, firmly set on the head, evenly serrated and free
from side-spikes. Eye, red.

Feet and Legs. — Legs white, short, stout, straight,
bone well rounded ; perfectly free from feathers. Toes,
four on each foot, straight and well set apart, and the
toe-nails white.

Value of points. — The Variety Orpington Club awards
30 points for colour, and 30 for size and type com-
bined.

The White Orpington Club, formed 1906, gives
25 for colour, 25 for type, 15 for condition, 10 each
for size, feet and legs, and head and comb, reserving 5
for the eye colour.

Defects. — Side-spikes on comb, long legs, feather or
fluff on legs or toes, discoloured legs, sappiness or yellow
in plumage.

RoSE-COMBED WhITE

There is a Rose-combed White, and a few were shown

AA 2

356 THE POULTRY MANUAL

in 1905, but even already the variety seems dead. It
would appear that the public will not endure a rose-
combed Orpington ; and when the public ceases to
patronize, the fancier ceases to breed to any large
extent.

To Mate a Breeding Pen

The same rule applies to the White as to the Black
in reference both to size and type.

Colour is the chief thing, although it is to be hoped
that the true Orpington type will never be lost sight
of. The type, however, is more perfect than the colour.
Like all white breeds there is a great tendency to
sappiness, i. e. a yellow tinge in the colour of the
plumage. The very best specimen yet bred would look
a rich creamy colour after long exposure to the weather
in the breeding pen. This shows most plainly in the
hackles and wings of the cock. The hens preserve a
seemingly white appearance all through the season
except on the neck -hackle. In breeding for colour
take note of under-colour. See that the skin is a
bluish- white cast, and that the quill of the nezo feathers
is bluish, not sappy or yellow, and that the whole of
the under-colour is pure white.

If possible, select birds, especially the male, with red
eyes. It is a mark of great beauty and is, moreover, a
true mark of the albino.

Avoid birds which throw buff feathers, a trace of
black is no objection, and a good typical hen or pullet
with a bluish tinge in the leg will breed the purest
coloured cockerels. Avoid any trace of yellow in leg-
colour.

Try to counteract the defect in one sex by an excess
in the other, e. g. if a hen or pullet has a large comb
select a neat head in the cock, or if you must breed
from a hen with long legs or light in bone, see that the
cock excels in these points.

It is a strong point in favour of White Orpingtons
that both sexes can be bred for exhibition from the
same pen.

How to keep them White is the great problem.
It matters little how exposed your breeding pen is so
far as colour is concerned, or how weather-stained they

BRITISH BREEDS OF POULTRY 357

become, they will moult out white again if they have
been bred white.

But the young stock need shelter, like the Buff's, from
the time they begin to get their first adult feathers,
usually about four months after hatching. They then
need a good roomy shelter and freedom from exposure
to the southern sky. An early morning outing or an
evening run round will be the only exercise in the open
permissible. If the scratching-shed faces the south,
screens of canvas should protect them from the sun's
direct rays.

The Nature of the Soil has something to do with
colour. Sandy soil with much iron in it is bad. I
once sold a pen of White Orpingtons, and afterwards
exchanged them for better ones. They came back to
me the colour of Yorkshire canaries, simply because
they had been dusting in a fine coloured sand, and the
colour remained till the birds moulted. For the same
reason sulphate of iron should not be given in their-
drinking-water, and food-stuffs with a yellow colour,
such as maize, must be avoided. Oats, dari, rice, and
buck-wheat should form the basis of the feed, at any
rate during the moult.

Washing. — A white bird should be washed prepara-
tory to a show, and it is best if done several days before.
It has been noted that washing with soap turns a buff-
coloured bird a darker shade, unless counteracted by an
acid. Washing only whitens a bird's colour. But as
an acid prevents a buff' from growing darker, I am
not sure that it will not whiten a white bird. Certain
it is that I have known birds sold for half their value
because they were sappy in colour, and then shown
shortly afterwards by their new owner as white as snow.
There are several exhibitors who show birds of an
immaculate whiteness, of almost an unearthly hue, and
I am suspicious of the means adopted to procure it.

At present I am not prepared to advise this method
of bleaching, as it may lead to fraud, because a specimen
worthless for breeding may be sold as a perfect stock
bird, and there Vould be less incentive to breed a pure
white specimen. It is one thing to show how to wash
a fowl to prevent its inherent good qualities from being
destroyed, but quite another to show how to cover up

358 THE POULTRY MANUAL

inbred defects. The point to aim at is to breed by
selection a pure albino, and to prevent its loss of
purity by careful handling and by a correct diet. To
bleach an imperfect bird is, practically, to whitewash it,
and it is an offence against exhibition etiquette and
morals almost as grave as dying a bird of imperfect
colour.

Sun-bleaching is a different matter. As linen is
spread in the sun to bleach, so many a sappy bird, i. e.
a bird with the natural sap not dried out of the feather,
may be vastly improved by allowing it to run in the
sun, but care must be taken not to over-expose it or it
will become tanned. A white bird may be either
exposed too much or sheltered too much.

Where White Orpingtons are kept for utility pur-
poses only, by all means allow them all the sunshine
they can get. In a fairly clean place they will keep
clean, and appear quite white until they are placed side
by side with one duly cared for and protected from the
elements. And such birds will be hardier and healthier
for the exposure, and moreover will breed specimens
quite as white and with more stamina than those which
have been deprived of their natural exercise.

Postscript — Origin of White Orpingtons

Since writing the above I have had an interesting
letter from Mr. Godfrey Shaw, who claims to have been
the originator of the White Orpington. He says :
"I made the breed by getting a pen of Light Sussex
and breeding the black out, hence the good legs and
flesh."

These were shown in "Any Other Variety" classes
from 1897, and then were shown, as I have stated, as
" Albions," and the name afterwards changed to White
Orpingtons.

How the " Light Sussex " originated I don't know,
but it is certain that the White Dorking had a promi-
nent place. The Sussex Club still has a note in its
Standard, under the head of "Serious Defects," for
which a bird should be passed, " other than four toes,"
... or " rose-comb," and these are distinguishing marks
of the White Dorking, so that, whatever other blood is

BRITISH BREEDS OF POULTRY 359

in the White Orpington, the White Dorking has the
chief place. It is also clear that other breeders have
introduced other blood, and that the Buff Orpington
and the Black play no small part.

Mr. W. Richardson, a well-known breeder of Buff
Orpingtons, kindly writes and says : " The Albions are
pure sports from the Buff Orpingtons "" ; that he
" simply changed their names," and that they have no
other breed in them, and that they have no connection
with the so-called White Orpington.

What seems clear to me from the two accounts of
these early breeders is, that the Light Sussex and the
Buff Orpington are both blended in the White Orping-
ton. This alone would account for buff and black
feathers, which alike appear so frequently in White
Orpington chicks.

VARIETY ORPINGTONS

Under this heading I place the other varieties of
Orpingtons, and as they are less popular, and likely to
remain so, I shall devote less consideration to them.

The Jubilee Orpington

This variety was introduced by the late Mr. W.
Cook in 1897, hence its name. It is almost identical
with a breed called the " Speckled Sussex," although
the latter is a far older variety, and is somewhat less
loose in its plumage, and is said to carry more meat on
its breast. In shape the Jubilee is a typical Orpington,
though most of the exhibition cockerels I have seen
have been disfigured with ugly combs, and are some-
what smaller in size. The colour is a very attrac-
tive one, the prevailing shade being a bright mahogany.
The neck-hackle, saddle, and back are of this colour,
with a black stripe to the feather and a white tip. The
breast is also mahogany, with a black spangle and a
white tip. The three colours should be well broken,
avoiding a ticked effect on the one hand and a blotchy
effect on the other. In adult birds the white is more
marked, corresponding to the general loss of colour as
age increases. The true tail and sickle feathers are black
and white, with or without the mahogany.

360 THE POULTRY MANUAL

The secondary feathers also contain the three colours,
but the hidden flight feathers contain more white.

The colours in both sexes are similar, and one good
feature about the breed is that there is no need for
double mating.

They look like first-class table-birds, and are said to
be good layers. Classes are formed for them at the
large shows, and though they have a place in the
Variety Orpington Club, they will probably get a club
of their own. At present the numbers who exhibit
them are few, and the entries are not more numerous
than the Speckled Sussex, which to the casual observer
is an identical variety.

The value ofpomts is, for colour, 35 ; size and type,
30 ; head, 10 ; legs and feet, 10 ; condition, 15.

Spangled Orpingtons

This is a still later form of Orpington, and is yet
far removed from its ideal. Classes for them at the
chief shows were mainly combined with Jubilee till
about 1903. When, in 1904, classes were formed for
them at the International Show, there were only three
exhibitors, though the number has since risen, as a
specialist club has been formed for them.

The plumage is black and white, the black feathers
showing a white tip, and the hackles also being tipped.
The wing-bow is black and white, and the wing-bar
black. The legs should be Avhite with black mottles,
as even as possible, but such are, at present, rarely seen.
Most of them are nearly or quite black, and the general
appearance is that of a Black Orpington of only
medium type and size, faintly speckled with white.
Like most new crosses they are a hardy fowl and good
layers, but personally I see little beauty in them. They
have one good feature for show purposes, viz. that they
take little trouble to prepare for exhibition.

They are not unlike the Light Sussex, with a decided
dash of Black Orpington blood infused.

The points for judging are the same as for the
Jubilee — colour, 35 ; type and size, 30 ; head, 10 ; feet
and legs, 10 ; condition, 15.

Defects are feathers on leg, long legs, poor shape.

BRITISH BREEDS OF POULTRY 361

or much white in lobes. The latter, like the comb,
wattles and face, should be red.

RoSE-COMBED JuBILEE AND SpANGLES

are admitted to the Standard, but few specimens are
exhibited, and they are likely to share the fate of other
rose-combed varieties, though in their case there is the
advantage that they could not be mistaken for other
breeds, and are a step further removed from the Sussex
fowls, into the class for which only single-comb specimens
are admitted.

Cuckoo Orpingtons

made their debut at the Dairy Show of 1908. Like
the rest of the family, they have fair Orpington shape
and size. The Standard for them says : —

General Shape and Carriage. — Cobby and compact,
erect and graceful.

Size and Weight. — Large, from 10 to 14 lb. for a
fully-matured cock, and 7| to 10|^ lb. for a hen.

In colour they resemble the old-fashioned Barred
Rock, i. e. with Mdder bars than the American Rock
now so fashionable.

With these exceptions there is nothing but the stout
zvhite legs to distinguish them from the Rock.

I do not know how Messrs. Cook and Gilbert pro-
duced them. The cuckoo marking consists of alternate
bands of black and white, or of a light bluish-grey,
barred across with bands of a darker bluish colour.
But it is well known that when birds of a black plum-
age are crossed with white ones barring often results,
and it would be possible, were it worth the while, to
produce them in this way from pure Orpington blood.

The more probable origin of the variety is the in-
fusion of the blood of the Barred Plymouth Rock.
On a recent visit to a breeder's poultry yards in
Sussex, at the time of the Dairy Show, I saw some
cross-bred pullets which would have passed muster in
the classes I had just left behind. They had been bred
by mating a short-legged, well-barred Rock cockerel
with some large Buff Orpington pullets. It had been
done simply as a cross to produce strong, sturdy birds,

THE POULTRY MANUAL

and not for experimental purposes. I saw a score of
pullets all more or less barred in plumage, rather wider
in the barring than the sire, but with white and not
yellow legs, and of good Orpington type. The cock-
erels were mostly a mixture of colours, showing a
conglomerate mass of imperfect barring mingled with
straw or buff colour, some with red wing-bows, and
nearly all with straw-coloured hackles. It was a
singular coincidence that I should see the new variety
exhibited for the first time at the Dairy Show, and on
the same day some mongrels which would pass as
members of the same family on the female side.

The Fancy is a vague and capricious creature, but
in the coming race for popularity the Cuckoo Orping-
ton is heavily handicapped by the Rock, while many of
its more stable companions are firmer favourites. It
may be, however, that those who like the sober cuckoo
colouring may find it equal or better as a layer than
the Rock, while its white flesh and sturdy Orpington
shape will make it a better table-bird. In any case it
is likely to be useful as well as novel.

Colour of Cuckoo Orpingtons. — Beak : White ; Eye : Red ;
Comb and Wattles: Red; Face: Red, free from any trace of
white. Lohes : Red^ no white whatever allowed. Legs : White,
or white mottled with black, but white preferred. Toe-nails:
White. Plumage : Light bluish-grey ground, each feather being
barred across with a darker blue-black, proportioned to the size
of the feather, and the same on all parts of the body.

Value of Points in Cuckoo Orpingtons.

Cock or Hen.

Defects in condition

„ colour and plumage

„ head

,, want of shape

,, ,, size

,, legs and feet

„ saddle and back

„ skin and flesh

A Perfect Bird to count .

10
25
10
15
20
10
5
5

100

Serious Defects. — Any feather or fluff on legs ; long legs ; any
yellow on legs and feet ; more than four toes ; side spikes on
comb ; white in lobe ; any deformity

BRITISH BREEDS OF POULTRY 363

The Blue Orpington

There has been a long-continued and well-sustained
rage for buff fowls, in spite of the enormous difficulty in
the way of keeping the colour sound and pure. It is
now probable that we are on the eve of a craze for blue.
Both the Leghorn and the Wyandotte Fancy are
now suffering from an attack, and it is not unlikely
that the Orpington Fancy may be afflicted in the
same way.

Like the Athenians of old, fanciers still crave for
" some new thing ! "" How this new coloration may be
produced and fixed is discussed more at length in the
Chapter on " Colour." But if Orpington fanciers go in
for this colour, it may at least be said for them that it is
" no new thing," but a return to an earlier stage, since,
as already stated in the beginning of the chapter on
the White Orpington, Mr. Cook found in breeding his
Whites that, when he crossed the pullets from a White
Leghorn and Black Hamburgh cross with a White
Dorking, he got some blue chickens. These were
thrown aside as " wasters," or we might have had
" Blue Orpingtons " twenty years ago, and I presume
they would have had white legs. If the Orpington
now joins in the race it will not be far behind, since
we have the black and the white, from which the blue
is formed, already near perfection in type and size.
There is no doubt that slate-coloured legs would be
easier to establish and be more in keeping with the
plumage, but it would not be so popular as a table-
fowl. Perhaps a readier way to get them would be to
use the newly-arrived Cuckoo Orpington. The colour is
there already and only wants spreading evenly over the
plumage instead of being defined in bars. A judicious
admixture of Black and White with the Cuckoo would
soon bring some specimens of the desired hue. But
whoever undertakes the task must be prepared for a lot
of mis-marked chicks destined speedily for the pot, and
not for the exhibition pen. When it comes it will
be at once a handsome and a useful fowl, and add
another to the already overwhelming variety of the
Orpington race.

CHAPTER XIV

AMERICAN BREEDS OF POULTRY

DOMINIQUE JAVA PLYMOUTH ROCKS WYANDOTTES

RHODE ISLAND RED

We owe several of our most popular and modern
breeds of poultry to the skill and enterprise of our
American brethren. Other breeds than those named
above have come to us through American fanciers, such
as the Cochin and Brahma (classed as Asiatics) and the
Leghorn, which is included in the Mediterranean breeds.
The Plymouth Rock and the Wyandotte are, however,
distinctly of American origin, and flourish there to-day,
and are as popular, and perhaps claim a more prominent
place among the numerous varieties kept, than they do
with us, and this is more especially the case with the
Barred Rock and the White Wyandotte.

The chief characteristics of these American breeds
are their great size and hardiness combined with rapid
growth, and their yellow legs and yellow skin. In
America, the yellow-fleshed birds are preferred for table
purposes, and are in great demand at a tender age as
broilers. They are good all-round birds, as they are
above the average as layers. The Wyandotte is per-
haps the more prolific, but the eggs of most of the
varieties are rather small, and of various tints from
cream to chocolate.

THE DOMINIQUE AND THE JAVA

These ancient American breeds have played such an
important part in forming the Barred Plymouth Rock,
the Black Rock, and the Black Wyandotte, not to
mention many varieties of the coming blue breeds, that

364

365

AMERICAN BREEDS OF POULTRY 367

they deserve a short notice, although neither of them
are bred for exhibition purposes in England, and I am
not sure that classes are now formed for them in
American shows. The fame of the offspring has
dimmed the glory of the ancestors.

The Dominique

In the Illustrated Booh of Poultry, revised edition,
1880, there is a very fine coloured plate of a pair of
Dominiques, while there is the barest mention of the
Plymouth Rock. In the new edition of 1902 many
pages are devoted to the latter, while the Dominique
shrinks into a paragraph, sic transit gloria mundi.

Mr. Lewis Wright says, " The Dominique is, perhaps,
the oldest of the distinctive American breeds, being
mentioned in the earliest poultry -books as an indigenous
and valued variety.""

It resembles the rose-combed Cuckoo Dorking in
colour, but has four toes only, and yellow legs. The
rose-comb is like the Hamburgh's, the ear-lobes small
and round, smooth and red in colour. The character
of the marking is less clear and defined than in its
descendant the Rock, and is crescentic in barring and
much wider. In this respect it resembles the Rock in
its earlier days, though many specimens are still to be
found with the broad crescent-shaped markings of the
Dominique. The present-day fashion for the Barred
Rock is to have narrow bars running nearly straight
across the feather. Another noticeable feature in the
Dominique is the wealth of sickle feather, which almost
equals that of the Leghorn, while its prevailing colour
is much lighter than that of the body. These features
are still too common in the untrimmed Rocks of to-day.

The American Standard for the Dominique in 1880
was —

General Shape and Colour. — Comb : Rose, large,
bright red, similar to Hamburgh's. Wattles : Red,
well-rounded, medium length. Beak : Yellow. Legs :
Yellow. Deaf -ear : Red. Plumage : A light-blue
ground, shaded with a dark slaty blue all over the
body, forming bands of various widths.

The Points. — Size, 25 ; comb, 20 ; plumage, 25 ; sym-
metry, 20 ; condition, 10.

368 THE POULTRY MANUAL

Disqualifications. — Legs other than yellow, or
feathered ; comb, other than rose ; splashes of white in
the breast or back ; red or brassy colour in hackle or
saddle.

The general tendency was for birds to be very light
in shade, and when a deeper shade was produced the
colour of the tail was black or nearly so, Mr. Galpin,
who imported, about 1867, some of the earlier birds,
says that they had evidently been carelessly bred, as
"many chickens came black, and several had single
combs." To me this seems to indicate that the
American fanciers had already begun to cross the
Dominique with the Black single-combed Java to
produce a deeper colour.

The size of the birds was medium, the weight being
about 7 lb. for cocks and 6 lb. for hens, and they were
said to be very hardy in constitution and good layers.

The Black Java

This breed was not mentioned in the early editions of
the Illustrated Booh of Poultry. In the 1902 edition it
is stated that they were mentioned in American Poultry
books in 1850, and that twenty years later they played
a part in the origin of the Plymouth Rock. It is not
unlikely that they had been used earlier, since Mr.
Galpin bred single combs from the stock of Dominiques
he imported as mentioned above.

They are a larger fowl than the Dominique, the cocks
weighing 10 lb. or more, and the hens 8 lb. The
black pullets which are still bred every year from the
Barred Rocks, are usually the largest chickens in the
hatch, and a matured pullet often weighs 7 lb. and
hens 8 lb. or more.

Some of the Black Javas were imported into England
about 1885, but they never seemed to have caught the
popular taste. The Black Orpington came out about
the same time and became favourite, though it un-
doubtedly borrowed its chief qualities from the Java
blood which had been infused into the Black Rock hens
from which the Orpington was bred. This affords
another instance of the child becoming more famous
than its parent. The Barred Rock and Black Orping-

AMERICAN BREEDS OF POULTRY 369

ton flourish with their borrowed plumes while the
Dominique and the Java are almost forgotten !

I have seen no standard of perfection for the Java,
but the Black Rock pullets, so familiar to us, are very
like it.

Mr. Lewis Wright says it was a black fowl, with
close plumage, with glossy green reflections ; that the
legs were black with a yellow shade under the feet, and
that the eye was brown, very large and full, " of a
peculiar soft, and yet sprightly expression." "The
comb is single, rather small, but somewhat thick at the
base and in the main evenly serrated ; but the serrations
commence farther behind the beak than usual, having a
kind of smooth edge first."

All these traits are preserved in the Black Rock
pullets, with the exception of the eye-colour. The
" brown ^ or bay iris is seldom seen, and a pale yellow-
ish-green shade has taken its place, and is much more
commonly seen in Rocks of all colours, although a " bay
iris " is the standard colour. The American Standard
for the Dominique does not mention the eye-colour. If
it is of a " daw " colour it would account for the
change in the colour of the Black Rock pullefs eye.

However that may be, the Black Java lives with us
in all its outward aspects unchanged, in the Black
Rock pullet, and its good qualities of great size, robust
constitution, and excellence in laying have not deteri-
orated in its descendant. It is singular, however, that
these pullets are still counted among the fancier's weeds,
and not at all easy to dispose of except for the table.
This doubtless had something to do with the effort to
make the Black Rock a distinct breed, with improved
leg-colour. The Black Rock pullet has also been
largely used in forming the Black Wyandotte.

The origin of the Java breed appears to be uncertain,
no definite account having appeared, so far as I can
find. It would appear to be closely allied to the
Langshan and the Cochin. The Black Javas, sported
" White Javas," and the cross between them Mottled
Javas, with speckled plumage like the Houdan. This
is an occurrence common to all black breeds. Where
there is a black we find a white, and usually either a
black-and-white in the form of barring, or mottling, or

B B

370 THE POULTRY MANUAL

lacing, and in the near future we are going to have it
as a blue.

PLYMOUTH ROCKS

Sub-varieties : Barred ; White ; BuiF ; Black.

The Barred Rock

Since the first introduction of the Barred Plymouth
Rock into England in the year 1871, it has remained
one of the prime favourites, and, in spite of the inrush
of many other breeds, it is likely to continue so, both on
account of its extreme hardiness and robust usefulness,
as well as for its undoubted and distinguished beauty of
plumage. In its own line of beauty — the sober, dignified
cuckoo plumage — it has had no serious rival. Its
nearest competitor, the Scotch Grey, has never been
popular in England, while the other " cuckoos " are,
like the Cuckoo Leghorn, either notoriously deficient in
style or beauty, or else rarely seen. It breeds fairly true
to colour, although a specimen approaching perfection
in evenness of colour and barring is by no means
common. But its off-coloured birds are always in
demand as farmers' fowl, or else find a ready sale for
the table.

There is hardly another breed in England to-day that
has had so long a career of even popularity, or that has
had fewer " ups and downs." Good specimens always
demand a fair price, hundreds of birds being sold every
season at d£'10 to ^£"50 each. One of the chief reasons
for this continued demand arises from the fact that it
requires considerable skill in breeding, and therefore
offers a constant incentive to the fancier''s efforts.

Its Origin. — There are many and various claims of
American breeders for the honour of its introduction,
and such opposite breeds as the Black Spanish and the
White Cochin crossed with the Dominique, or the Buff
Cochin and Dominique, or as I have described in the
Chapter on " Colour," the Dominique and the Black Java,
and later on, a cross of Dark Brahma blood, all claim
to have had a part in its origin. I have indicated in
the Chapter on " Colour " that buff colour crossed with

AMERICAN BREEDS OF POULTRY 371

black produced the cuckoo colour, and the other breeds
named, being black or white, would easily amalgamate
with the cuckoo colour of the Dominique, which has,
without a doubt, played a part in its manufacture, and
with the exception of the rose-comb, its numerous points
are reproduced every year, so tenacious is the cuckoo
blood when once infused. As the Rose-combed Domi-
nique was crossed with the Black Java — a single-combed
fowl — single combs would come as recessives in the
F^ generation, and continue to breed single combs
ever afterwards. A rose-combed Barred Rock rarely
if ever comes from a pure strain, while even if the cross
was made with the pea-combed Brahma we know that
both rose and single combs would be produced.

The consensus of opinion is that the Dominique cock
and the Java hen have played the chief part in the pro-
duction of the Barred Rock. A knowledge of this fact
helps to explain one of the chief difficulties the breeder
has to contend with to-day, viz. the battle with the
persistent black plumage of the Java, and light cuckoo
colour and too abundant tail feathers of the Dominique.
On the whole, the Java seems to have impressed its
shape and type more firmly than the Dominique, while
the latter has infused the yellow pigment of the legs and
the failures of colour still so common in the tail, where
white feathers will persist in making their appearance,
especially in the lower part of the sickles. The Domi-
nique is also responsible for the excessive length of
feather sometimes seem, which leads to the nefarious
practice of plucking the tail, and the consequent growth
of rotten feathers. No fowl can endure the strain of a
continual growth of sickles without weakness or disease
in the parts speedily following. Nature intends one
pair only to grow each year, and not parts of two or
three. It is time the various clubs formed for the pro-
tection of this breed should stamp out the practice and
not allow birds with partially developed tails to compete
for prizes. Otherwise they might take refuge in the
practice formerly adopted, I believe, by the Black Pekin
Club, and sanction tail plucking, and then bid farewell
to all attempts at honest breeding, and for ever abandon
the hope of seeing a well-barred tail ! Pekin Bantam
breeders have at last set their faces against this practice.

BB 2

37^ THE POULTRY MANUAL

Will the barred breeders remove this barrier to true
progress ?

The three main points to consider in an ideal bird are
colour^ type and size, and in the order given.

The Colour. — For the perennial difficulty attached
to breeding a perfectly coloured and evenly marked
barred bird. I must, to save space, refer the reader to
the Chapter on " Colour "" (page 238), where many of the
difficulties of breeding this curious mixture of black
and white — the particulate inheritance called barring
— is referred to, and especially how the difficulty is
enhanced by the desire to breed also the rich orange-
coloured leg which is such a distinguished mark of
beauty. And here we may note, before referring to the
cuckoo colour, the well-known fact that many of the best
and soundest coloured birds have dark spots on their
yellow legs. And when these are not numerous, it is
not much of a defect where it is counterbalanced by the
brightness and depth of the bluish black barring. The
same remark applies also to the bronzed cast of leg-
colour so common in good coloured pullets. This wears
off as the bird approaches maturity, and is frequently
cast altogether when the scales of the leg fall away at
the first adult moult, and the leg assumes a good colour.
A little black in either form is an indication of a good
reserve of black pigment. This at any rate is my
experience after eighteen years of breeding yellow-
legged fowls which are either black or black and white
in plumage.

Blue plumage, in poultry coloration, is akin to, and
indeed the produce of, black and white. And the
general hue of the Barred Rock's plumage, especially
when seen at its best in the twilight of an autumn
evening, is blue. Mr. Bateman defines the colour as
a picture in "black and white, seen through blue
spectacles." The Poultry Club Standard defines it as
•' a, ground colour of greyish white, finely and evenly
barred with bluish black, the two colours blending into
each other, free from rust or smutty colour."

The ideal colour is best seen in birds from six to nine
months old, when the plumage is fresh, and the birds
have been shaded from exposure to the sun and weather ;
or in freshly-moulted adult stock. On exposure in the

FEATHERS OP TYPICAL BARRED PLYMOUTH ROCKS.
Kindly sent by Mr. James Bateman.

Wing L'^'^'ilt feathers from a pullet, with tlie American type of narrow barring. Note the great number
' of bars and their clear definition down to the root.

3. BeeastJ

4. Feathers from the back of the Challenge Cup winning hen.
5 to 10 are feathers from a cock, an ideal stock bird.

5. Saddle-hackle. 6. Neck-hackle. 7. Breast. 8. Back,

373

9. Wing. 10. Tail Covert.

AMERICAN BREEDS OF POULTRY 375

breeding pen the general tendency of the cock or cockerel
is to become " brassy " on the back and wing-bow,
when the colours become "blurred" and indistinct.
In the hens the " blue-black " is apt to turn a rusty or
brownish black.

Some strains stand exposure to the elements much
better than others, and it will be found that birds of
the medium shade of colour stand better than either
extreme, viz. those in which the bars are of a distinct
bluish black, and the light intervening spaces are not
white, but a paler shade of blue, or greyish white. The
American birds are of a more black and white colour,
forming a more distinct type of barring than the
British, and the bars are much narrower and more
numerous on each feather. This shade has become
more fashionable with us in recent years, and is certainly
very pleasing to the eye. British judges are also
paying much attention to the barring of the unexposed
part of the feather, termed "barred to the skin."
Feathers taken from the back of a well-barred specimen
have often from seven to ten distinct bars across the
feather, and I have often seen feathers taken from the
cushion feathers of a well-barred hen of the American
type with as many as twelve distinct bars.

There is no breed which alters more in appearance,
and in apparent value, during the stages of the growth
of the adult plumage than the Barred Rock. A pullet
that looks like making a champion when her plumage
is half or three parts grown may finish badly, and be
altogether too dark, through the overlapping of the
feathers. This often happens when the hen has the
most desirable quality of a black bar on the end of
the feather. It is a great blemish in many an other-
wise good bird to have the tip of the feather white.
This is also an indication of lack of breeding quality,
showing a deficiency of colouring pigment.

Whatever the shade of colour may be, it should be
uniform throughout, and in the cock it is a distinct
mark of beauty when the neck -hackle and the saddle-
hackle correspond in colour, though the saddle may be
a little darker; and when the beautiful, fine barring
is continued down to the skin, and is not simply an
outward show of barring with white under-colour.

376 THE POULTRY MANUAL

Colour in Detail

In both Sexes. — Beak: Bright yellow. Eye: Iris
colour, bay. Comb, Face and Wattles: Bright red.
Ear-lobes : Brilliant red, free from any trace of white.
Legs: Bright yellow or orange.

In the Cock. — Plumage : Cuckoo feathered, but not
rounded crescentic markings of a blurred and indistinct
character generally known as cuckoo ; but a ground
colour of grey or bluish white, Jinely and evenly barred
with a dark blue of the blue-black shade. The two
colours not to be sharply defined as if cut with a knife,
or ruled with pen and ink (which is approached in
the pencilled Hamburgh), but blending one into the
other with a delicate fringe. It should be free from
rusty or brown colour, and not smutty, as when the
dark obtrudes itself into the lighter shade. Head and
hackle, and back and saddle-hackle : Very fine, but even
and distinct barring down to the skin. Breast and
thighs: Evenly barred down to the hocks, but the
barring is broader. Shoulders and wing-bows: Dis-
tinctly and evenly barred to harmonize with other
parts. This is a most difficult point to get, as in nine
cases out of ten, even in the show-pen, the wing-bow is
either brassy, or "shot"" with white, or blurred and
indistinct. The natural colour is red (as in the Gallus
Bankiva), and here the struggle for possession tends
to infuse the yellow pigment into its natural seat.
Wing-bars: Alternate barring, even and well defined.
Secondaries: The same. True tail: Greyish white,
well barred, free from white feathers (a common failing).
Sickles: Fine, distinct, even barring from root to tip.
This is seldom seen, and leads to the fraudulent habit
of plucking the feathers, which are often well barred
for the first half and then lose colour. The sickle
coverts should correspond to the body-colour.

In the Hen. — Plumage: As in the cock, clear and
distinct barring of bluish black on a grey ground. The
barring should be as fine as can be on all parts of the
body, and finest on the head and neck. In the primary
and secondary wing feathers, and the tail, the barring
is wider than other parts. The entire plumage should
be of one shade, and free from rusty feathers. A

AMERICAN BREEDS OF POULTRY 377

common failing is, as in the cock, to get white, or pale
and indistinctly-barred feathers.

Mating for Colour

It is always a pity, and militates against the popularity
of a breed, when double mating is necessary, i. e. when
birds of one shade are to be selected to breed show
cocks, and of another to breed show pullets. But all
the best and most successful breeders do so. The
natural tendency is for the majority of the cockerels to
come too light and washy in colour, and for the pullets
to be smutty, and a considerable percentage black, like
their ancestors.

Where Single Mating is attempted the medium
shade of colour is the best, with markings as clear and
well defined as possible, and with the great reserve of
under-colour known as "barring to the skin." Such
birds are rare. And even with such mating some
cockerels would be a very light shade, and some pullets
black. They follow Mendel's law of segregation.

The breeder's aim is to combat this natural tendency.
An extreme case of mating would be to choose a very
light, but well and finely-barred cockerel, bred from
good coloured specimens, and mate him with black
pullets, also well bred, and preferably from the same
stock. Many good specimens of both sexes are bred
every year in this way, though there would be a greater
proportion of black pullets. This latter is always the
case where pullets very intense in their black, with deep
and wide dark bars, are selected, or where either they
or the cockerel have thrown many entirely black feathers
in their plumage.

Where single mating is attempted it will be found
that the best-coloured cocks come from the darkest
hens, and the best pullets come from those of a clearer
and brighter shade. To be accurate in this mating,
either trap nests should be employed, or great care
taken to distinguish the eggs, and the chicks when
hatched should be marked either by punching holes in
the web of their feet, or by means of marking rings.

The character of the barring is as important as the
colour. A broad crescentic marking can never give the

378 THE POULTRY MANUAL

clear, beautifully-defined barring like that of the finer
and straighter barring of the American type, which is
called " ringleted," and gives the appearance of circles
of colour running round the body. The difference
between the American type of feather, and that of the
finely-barred pullefs feathers given on the plate, is that
the American feathers are much broader. It is this
which gives the "ringlet" appearance.

The mating of a black pullet with a finely-barred
cockerel is not tried as often as it might be. The
perpetual casting aside of the black pullets has caused
us loss of colour. The blue sheen on the bars is much
less commonly seen than it used to be. If a black
pullet with good sheen was used, it would do much to
restore this defect, while the barring would not suffer
if the pullet had been bred from finely-barred stock
herself.

For Cock-breeding the most generally-adopted
course, in double mating, is to choose a male bird of a
darker shade than the standard colour, and always,
where possible, bred from a good cockerel-breeding
strain, and mate him to well-barred hens of a rich
medium or dark shade. Such a mating will throw
pullets too dark, and some black, but some cockerels
of the desired hue.

For Pullet-breeding, hens of the same shade may
be selected, but a cockerel of a shade lighter than the
standard colour. The cock should be of a clean, bright
colour, but well barred. Such a mating will produce
many cockerels too light either for exhibition or stock,
and only fit for the pot, but some pullets of the clear,
bright and distinct barring so much admired. But no
mating of any kind, even with inbred and well-selected
stock, will throw a large percentage of birds fit for the
show-pen, and where the stock is selected from outward
appearance only, and with no care as to their relation-
ship, while many fairly decent-looking birds may be
produced, very few indeed of first-class barring will
make their appearance. This is shown by the well-
known fact that the most successful breeders, who carry
all before them at the great shows one season, are either
left altogether out of it another season, or have to buy
their winners — an odd bird produced here or there in

FEATHERS OF BABRED PLYMOUTH ROCKS.
Taken from birds in the breeding pens of the Rev. T. W. Sturges.

379

AMERICAN BREEDS OF POULTRY 381

some smaller breeder's yard, a chance specimen bred, it
may be, from a well-bred bird, but cast off, as an un-
likely breeder, from a good yard. Many a breeder who
has sold a small pen of birds, or even a single setting of
eggs, to a neighbour has had to buy back his winner,
while he has himself bred a hundred times as many birds •
without getting so good a specimen. Strange as it may
appear, this very uncertainty keeps the ball of popularity
rolling, as it enables the outsider to have a " good look
in " at the prize money, or to sell his best at a remunera-
tive figure. It also adds unlimited humour to the adver-
tisement columns when the season comes round for the
sale of eggs or stock.

Breeding for Type. — Type or shape is as important
in any breed as mere colour, though there is always a
danger of this being neglected where colour is much
sought after and is difficult of attainment. It leads to
birds being too much inbred in order to secure colour,
the best coloured birds being selected for the breeding
peri, though they may be deficient in size and stamina
and wanting in type. There is no doubt that many
strains suffer from these defects, and are not so robust
as they were some years ago. When judiciously exer-
cised, and care is taken that none but robust birds are
bred from, inbreeding has no ill effect, and is, indeed,
necessary to produce birds of the highest type.

Too many birds are still seen in the show-pen deficient
in size, with narrow bodies, deficient in breast, too long
in the leg, and often inkneed, and sometimes with too
much fluff. A Plymouth Rock should be large, with a
broad, deep breast, indicative of good table qualities,
since it is this quality which brought the breed into
prominence and is still one of the chief claims to its
popularity, and the reason why the mis-marked birds
find so ready a sale.

General Characteristics of the Male

Head and Neck. — Medium size, carried well up,
erect, not stooping like the Cochin, with a good breadth
of crown, and a good arch above the eye. Beak: Stout at
base and well curved. Eye : Large, bay colour preferred,
not pearl colour. Comh : Single, medium in size, evenly

382 THE POULTRY MANUAL

serrated. A tiny comb looks mean. Face : Smooth,
bright red. Ear-lohes : Well developed and pendent,
free from white. Wattles : Well developed and neatly
rounded. NecT\: : Thick and densely hackled, of medium
length and well arched.

Body. — Large, deep, square and compact. Breast :
Broad and deep, nicely rounded. Back: Broad and
short. Whigs: Medium size, carried well up, and covered
at bow by neck-hackle, and the tips covered by saddle-
hackle. \Vhen viewed in profile the body to present the
outline of a semicircle.

Tail. — Small and neat, after the Cochin type, spread
at the base, and " cone-shaped " when viewed in the
rear ; well covered with sickles and tail coverts. A long,
Leghorn-like tail is a disfigurement.

Legs and Feet. — Thighs: Large, strong, wide-set.
Shanks : Medium length, stout, free from fluff'. Toes :
Four in number, straight, well spaced.

General Shape and Can'iage. — Upright and imposing,
taller and more erect than the Orpington, and with less
fluff" and more agility.

Size and Weight. — Large ; weight 9 to 12 lb. when
matured.

General Characteristics of Hen

Head. — Beak, Eye and Face, as in cock. Ear-lohe .
Neat, not pendent. Wattles : Small and neatly rounded.
Neck : Moderate length, nicely arched.

Body. — Large, broad, deep, well rounded at sides.
Breast : Evenly barred, full, broad and deep, and carried
lower than the cock's. Back : Apparently flat at the base
of the hackle, and then almost horizontal to the end of
the tail, with a slight convex curve over the cushion, in
this respect forming a contrast to the cock Tail: Small
and neat. General appearance : Square and compact.

Size and Weight. — Large ; matured pullets, 7 to
8 lb. ; hens, 9 lb. or over.

White Plymouth Rocks

These beautiful birds, which in type and size follow the
standard for type already given in detail, differ only in
colour, which should be pure white, free from straw colour.

AMERICAN BREEDS OE POULTRY 383

The legs and beak should be yellow ; eye, bay colour ;
comb, face, ear-lobes and wattles, red. They are a pure
breed, if we grant that designation to the barred variety,
from which they are a sport. The white plumage is
everywhere a common sport from black, or black and
white fowl. They are said to show their origin by
occasionally throwing a barred specimen, or more com-
monly a white Avith an odd barred feather. Like their
ancestors they are very liable to " brassiness,"" or " sun-
burn,'''' though many specimens absolutely white are
shown when they have been protected from sun and
weather.

They are the most popular fowl of the day in America,
having displaced the Barred Rock from the premier
position since their advent in 1880. They are fairly
popular in England, but have such keen competitors in
the White Orpington and the White Wyandotte that
it is doubtful whether they will ever be generally
adopted, and they will certainly never be as keenly
sought after as their distinguished ancestors.

Single Matings are all that is necessary to breed
exhibition specimens of both sexes. They are a strong,
hardy, large, useful and beautiful addition to our
numerous varieties.

The Buff Plymouth Rock

Whether the Buff Rock has any real kinship to the
Barred I cannot say. It certainly could not have
originated as a sport, like the white, and if there is
any " Rock ■" blood in it, this has been largely swamped
by the infusion of Buff Cochin blood, which is the source
of all our large buff-coloured fowls.

At one time it was very popular in England, and soon
after it was taken up by English fanciers became a more
perfectly-coloured buff fowl than the Buff Orpington.
The yellow legs were in its favour. It lacked, however,
the size of the Orpingtons, and breeders began to cross
the two varieties, and crosses were shown in either Buff
Orpington or Buff Rock classes, according as they had
white or yellow legs. The Rock improved the Buff
Orpington in the colour of its plumage, but it left its
stigma on the legs in a deep yellow stain at the base of

384 THE POULTRY MANUAL

the shanks, which is still common in otherwise good
birds to-day, and it also imparted the Rock type, with
its narrower body, taller shanks, and longer back.

I bred the Buff Rock for ten years, and never had
fowls with more hardiness of constitution, more beautiful
appearance, or better layers of rich, tinted eggs in the
winter months. They laid, as a rule, a larger and longer
shaped egg than the Orpington, and one more uniform
in colour. In spite of their Cochin origin they were less
broody than their cousins, and laid more eggs. Yet,
notwithstanding their many good qualities, they rapidly
declined in popularity. It seemed as though the Fancy
could only endure one buff fowl, and it fastened upon
the Orpington as chief favourite. The Buff Rock was
not "puffed" and advertised to the same degree, and
came later into the field. But its merits were so great
that it did not die out, and there are signs of its return
to favour.

In Colour it may be any shade of buff from lemon
to rich orange, but the paler shade has always been the
most popular in the show-pen, so long as "washiness"
or " mealiness " were avoided. A deep red tinge on the
wing-bow is to be avoided, as also black or white feathers
in any part of the plumage.

In Shape it should resemble the standard for the
barred variety, and be quite distinct from the Orping-
ton. In the latter breed, yellow-legged chickens are
still hatched occasionally, showing the latent Rock
blood which was unfortunately infused, and many
otherwise good birds still revert to the taller and
narrower Rock type.

The Black Rock

During the last few years the Black Rock has been
bred as a distinct variety. It is a wonder it has not
been taken up long ago, since, as we have seen, black
sports from the Barred variety have always been with
us. By inbreeding the black blood, cockerels have been
bred, and these have come with good yellow legs, and
occasionally a good yellow-legged hen has been bred.

There will always be the old difficulty of the conflict
between the yellow pigment in the leg and the black of

AMERICAN BREEDS OF POULTRY 385

the plumage, though it ought to be less than in the
Leghorn, as it is not so profuse in feathering. They are
certain to be strong, hardy, useful fowls, of good size and
true Rock type, but the dusky-legged pullets will always
be abundant, as well as the disfiguring white sickles in
the cock.

The mating described in the Chapter on " Colour,'''
under the heading of Black Leghorn, will be of service
to the fancier of this variety. In judging, soundness of
plumage in the cock and clear yellow leg in the pullets
should receive its meed of commendation, while a bril-
liant sheen should be looked for in both sexes.

To secure good leg-colour, the Black Leghorn has
been introduced, with a consequent loss of shape in the
progeny and with too much feather in the tail.

It is a standing disgrace to Rock breeders that so
many birds are shown with either half-formed or plucked
tails, and fanciers seem almost to glory in the defect.
A glance at the year book of the Rock clubs, which
contains photos of winning specimens, will show this
clearly. Compare the Barred specimens, with their im-
perfect tails, with those of the White or Buff, and the
mutilation is at once manifest. The Whites do not
need plucking because the colour is sound, and the Buffs
are often sound in sickle feathers and so are allowed
to remain as nature made them. Why not the Barred
specimens 'i The white streaks or wide and defective
barring should remain on view and points be deducted,
or the absence of fully-developed feathers should be
taken to imply the defect.

Its nearest and greatest rival will be the Black
Wyandotte. Whether both will remain popular re-
mains to be seen. For purity of race and conformity
to type the Rock easily holds the pre-eminence.

Blue Plymouth Rocks

Now that we have both a White and a Black variety of
Rocks, the blue plumage should be easy to accomplish.
One dash of Black and two of White should give it to
us, though Barred sports would be sure to arrive. I
don't commend it as desirable, but there is no reason
why the admirers of this colour should not have it if
cc

386

THE POULTRY MANUAL

they so desire. It would be easier to breed and be
truer to type and Rock character than can be said of
many modern attempts at blue.

Value of Points in Plymouth Rocks

Where there are so many colours, each variety should
have its separate standard of value for this point, while
all may agree in points for type, size and condition.
The one standard at present given, though it may be
altered any day, is as follows —

Deduct up to

5

10

5

5

5

25

20

15

10

Defects in head
„ comb
Bad formation of tail
Want of shank-colour .
White in ear-lobe
Faults of plumage (colour)
Want of size .

„ symmetry (type)

„ condition

Legs

A perfect bird to count . . .100

Se7nous defects for which birds should be passed
feathered, or any other colour but yellow (allowance
should be made for blacks), white ear lobes, red, white,
or black feathers in barred or buff's, or any coloured
feathers in whites or blacks ; any bodily deformity.
(There ought to be added : Imperfectly developed, or
plucked tails, or faked or plucked plumage in other
parts of the body.)

WYANDOTTES

Sub-varieties : Sih^er Laced AVj-aiidottes, Golden Laced AVyaii-
dottes^ White Wyaiidottes^ Buff Wyaiidottes^ Buft" Laced
AVyaiidottes, Bkie Laced Wyaiidottes^ Partridf^e AVyandottes
(gold pencilled), Silver Pencilled Wyandottes, Black Wyan-
dottes, Black Laced Wyandottes, Columbian Wyandottes,
Blue Wyandottes, Cuckoo Wyandottes.

This is a mighty array of varieties in a modern breed,
and is a clear indication of the hold it has taken upon
the popular fancy. At our great exhibitions there is

AMERICAN BREEDS OF POULTRY ^87

no breed which musters more largely in aggregate
numbers, or which has more numerous varieties of
colour. Whenever a breed thus takes a firm hold on
the Fancy we may be sure it is in popular demand
as a farmers'' fowl, and is very generally kept for utility
purposes, for the simple reason that when the fancier
has no outlet for his second- and third-rate stock he
soon ceases to breed them in large numbers, and the
breed, or the particular variety, languishes. It may be
taken for granted as a safe general rule that the number
of exhibits, at our large shows, of any particular variety,
is a good index of the popularity of the breed among
the community at large. The fancier makes the breed,
but it is maintained by the multitude of poultry keepers
who are not exhibitors, but like fowls that appeal to
their taste, and are useful for providing meaty morsels
for the table, or which are renowned for their capacity
to fill the egg-basket, or for both. And there is no
fowl on the market at the present day which fulfils, as
a general purpose fowl, both these requirements better
than the many varieties of the Wyandotte. It is a
large fowl, the cockerels weighing 7 lb. or more and
the pullets about 6 lb., while the adults of a year or more
weigh from 1 to 2 lb. more. It has a good meaty
breast of excellent flavour, grows quickly, is hardy, and
readily fattens. The legs and the skin are yellow in all
the varieties, which tells a little against them in the
English market, though preferred in America. The
hens are good sitters and gentle brooders, though they
are not as persistent in this habit as many other
varieties. The eggs are tinted and of various shades,
from cream to chocolate. In some of the varieties the
eggs are rather small in size and average about 2 ozs.,
but they are readily saleable, and some strains lay larger
eggs than others. As a rule it will be found that,
where double mating is the fashion, the cock-breeding
pullets lay the larger-sized egg, the reason being, so far
as I can make out, that they are not so closely inbred.
A well-marked pullet is often selected for that point
chiefly, little or no regard being paid to the size or
general physique, whereas the cock breeders are selected
for size and robustness combined with the other desired
qualities.

cc 2

388 THE POULTRY MANUAL

The most marked peculiarity of the breed is the rose-
comb, and this, with the stout yellow legs, distinguishes
it at a glance from any other breed. The comb will be
described later on in detail. I mention it here because
it has not a little to do with its utility. A single comb,
especially when large or overgrown, is easily affected by
the frost, or by cold biting winds, and when so affected
the laying at once stops, or even when the hens lay the
eggs will be found unfertile unless the cock has been
dubbed. The Wyandotte is not affected by the weather
in anything like the same degree. If the comb is neat
in size there is no need for dubbing, and the hens are
not affected by the cold to the same extent, eggs being
both plentiful and fertile in the coldest weather. This
point has had not a little to do with the popularity of
the breed.

Wyandotte Type. — The chief points in this, as in
other breeds, are type and colour. This should be the
same for all the varieties, and I will not attempt to
describe it, referring my readers to the beautiful coloured
illustrations of the pair of ideal Silver Laced Wyandottes
and Partridge Wyandottes ; and also to that of the
Dark Brahmas, which more ancient breed they should
greatly resemble.

The Wyandotte is a made breed, and of recent origin,
the first of the race bred and exhibited in England
being shown by Mr. T. Heath in 1884, who for a
quarter of a century has been one of the most successful
exhibitors. They had been known and written about
in American journals for some ten years previously.
But these earlier birds had Hamburgh combs and were
called Sebright Cochins. The Silver Sebright Bantam
is one of the most perfectly laced fowl we have, and is
still the envy of Laced Wyandotte breeders. About
1880 a larger bird with the rose-comb now so charac-
teristic of the Wyandotte was shown. This was
probably a cross between the Silver-Spangled Hamburgh
and the Light Brahma.

The Comb. — The Brahma has a neat, close-fitting
pea-comb, and the Hamburgh a broad rose-comb full of
" working," and with a long tapering spike. From
such a parentage has the Wyandotte comb sprung. It
should fit close to the head like the Brahma''s, be full of

AMERICAN BREEDS OF POULTRY 389

neat " working " like the Hamburgh's, and its spike, or
finish at the back, should follow the course of the neck,
and not with a horizontal or upward tendency like the
Hamburgh. This latter tendency is still seen in some
specimens, and is considered a disfigurement. A slight
tendency in this direction is noticeable in the plate
illustrating the Partridge Wyandotte cock, a more typical
comb being shown in the Silver Laced cock. The comb
should not be large and meaty, nor projecting over the
side of the face — a common fault with Gold Laced
Wyandottes, though by no means confined to that
variety. It should be full and square on the front, not
a hollow depression with two side ridges. A perfect
comb is seldom seen. They are either hollow, or too
plain, or too large, or finish badly behind with no spike,
or a spike crooked, or turned up. They are not as
easy to breed as good single combs. The various im-
perfections, and especially when they are overgrown,
give rise to much trimming, though not to the extent
it is practised in the Hamburghs. The practice cannot
be too strongly condemned. I have written fully about
the comb because it is the Wyandotte's distinguishing
characteristic, and is a mark of great beauty \v'hen
neat, well formed, and natural.

General Characteristics of the Wyandotte Cock

The Head should be short and broad, though neat,
to carry the comb well. The face^ smooth in texture,
not coarse. Ear lobe and wattles : Medium in length,
though larger than in the Brahma. Neck: Medium
length and well arched, with full and flowing hackle,
carried erect like the Brahma, not low and crouching
like the Cochin.

Body. — Breast: Full and broad, well rounded and
deep, forming a nice curve from the throat to the top
of the thigh. Bacl: : broad and short, the saddle rising
to the tail, in the cock, with a, nice concave curve.

Tail. — Well developed, spread at the base, the true
tail feathers carried rather upright, but well covered
with broad sickles of medium length. The head and
neck should rise higher than the tail, giving the bird
an alert and graceful appearance,

390 THE POULTRY MANUAL

Legs and Feet. — Thighs of medium length, but
showing more than in the Orpington, well covered with
soft feathers. Shcml:s : medium length, strong, but
not coarse in bone and Avell set apart. Toes: Four
in number, well spread out.

General Shape and Carriage.— Cobby, well set
together, yet graceful and Avell-balanced as in the
Brahma, giving the bird a noble and majestic appearance.

Size and Weight. — Rather large, weight about Gh
to 7 lb. for cockerels. Adults I or 2 lb. heavier. Many
specimens are 10 lb. or more, but quality and shape
are more important than size.

General Characteristics of the Wyandotte Hen

The hen is much the same as the cock, but the
comb is neater and the wattles smaller, and the hackles
full and short. The body should correspond with the
cock''s, but less of the thigh is shown, and the back
is a trifle longer and less curved, but not like the Rock.
The back should be short and broad, and the breast
wide and Avell rounded. The tail should be well spread
at the base, and the cushion full and abundant. In
other points as in the cock. Weight: 5h to 6 lb. for
pullets. Hens a pound or so more.

Thin, narrow, lanky, long-backed specimens, some-
times win on account of the beauty of their plumage,
but type should hold a prominent place.

The Colours of Wyandottes are as numerous as
the tints of the rainbow. To describe in full all the
points, to enumerate the defects and appraise their
value would take a volume in itself, and while the main
features can be pointed out, and understood by the
reader who grasps the simple rules given in the Chapter
on " Colour,"" which he is recommended to read first, if
he wishes for detailed minutiae he should buy a mono-
graph on the Wyandotte alone, and join the club
which fosters the interest of the variety he fancies.
The following notes on the several varieties are given in
the order in which these were introduced.

The Silver Laced Wyandotte

This Avas the earliest, and was brought out about
1 880 in America and shortly afterwards introduced into

AMERICAN BREEDS OF POULTRY 391

this conntiy. It at once made firm friends, and in spite
of ups and downs, still remains one of the prime
favourites, as it is certainly one of the most beautiful.
It is one of the most difficult to breed up to Standard
requirements, and (like the Barred Rock) the chief
winners of each year crop out in most unlikely places.
A bird as perfect in its lacing and in the regularity of
it as the Silver Laced Cockerel which illustrates this
chapter is never seen. It may be as perfect in parts,
but never in the whole. The ideal is scarcely attainable.

It is a study in black and white, the white ground-
colour, called Silver, giving the variety its name. The
difficulty lies in breeding the colour so that the black
should appear in the places the Standard requires and
nowhere else. Instead of keeping to its own province
in the tail, the striping of the hackle and the lacing of
the breast and thighs of the cock and the body of the
hen, it steals into the " ground-colour," and produces
feathers which are described as " mossy," when minute
ticks or pencillings invade the whole surface of the
feather, and especially on the back and cushion of the
hen ; or " ticked " or " streaky "" feathers in which the
white webbing is ticked or streaked with black. Some-
times the black dominates the entire hackle, or the
throat. At other times there is a worse failure, and
the white prevails, and there is either a silvery hackle,
or the black stripe becomes grey, or a dirty brown, or
the stripe is black only for a short distance from the
top. A common failing in otherwise excellent specimens
is an outer fringe of white beyond the black lacing, or
a white tip to the feather. And many specimens which
appear well laced, are only laced at the tip or exposed
part of the feather, instead of following round the
entire web. In this breed, as in most others, there is a
general tendency to loss of colour, and for the birds to
breed paler each year, hence, if specimens as near per-
fection as possible in both sexes Avere bred together, the
general tendency would be for birds deficient in black
lacing to be bred. This has led to double mating.

Double Mating. — The general principle is, e. g. in
breeding cockerels, to choose a male as near perfection
as possible, and to mate him with hens, bred from a
good cock-breedino; strain, that are too dark for show

THE POULTRY MANUAL

purposes, with lacing heavier than Standard require-
ments, even if it be so far as a dense neck-hackle, or
with tickings of black in feathers on the saddle.

In hreeding Pullets the reverse is done, and to Standard
pullets a cock darker than is required for exhibition,
and too heavily laced, is used. Care must be taken, in
this case, that the cock has a sound black tail, that his
flights are sound in colour, and that the under-colour is
darli slate and not a pale grey. These are indications
of a reserve of black pigment which are necessary if
the colour of the progeny is to keep up to Standard
requirements. The novice should place himself in some
reliable breeder's hands, and it is better, for a time at
any rate, to confine his attention to the breeding, for
exhibition purposes, of one only of the two sexes.

The Standard Requirements
if given in detail for the Silver Laced, will apply to
the other laced varieties.

In both Sexes. — Beak: Horn colour, with yellow
tip. Eye: Bright bay. Comb, Face, Ear-lobes, and
Wattles : Bright red. The lobes are often tinged with
white, which is a blemish. Shanks and feet : Bright
yellow.

In the Cock. — Head : Silvery white, with a clear
black stripe through the centre of each feather. The
stripe should not run out at the tip, but have a silver
border throughout. The black should run well up into
the feather, and should not be grey or a nasty brown.
A good hackle is rarely seen, and is a point of great
beauty. The Saddle-hackle should match. The Shoulder
tip : White, laced with black. Wing-how : Silvery
white, free from ticking, though this latter is useful in a
pullet breeder. Wing-coverts: Evenly laced, forming
two or more bars, well defined. The Secondaries : Black
on inner web, and wide white stripe on outer web, but
edged with black. Flight feathers : The same, but
broadly striped with white on outer edge. Entire
white colour shows a lack of pigment. Breast and
Under -parts : The web wliite with jet-black lacing Avith
a green lustre, well defined and regular in width, and
free from white tips, or white outer lacing, and the
lacing to follow the feather over the \yho\e of the

Silver-Laced Wvandottes.

AMERICAN BREEDS OF POULTRY 393

webbed surface. Under-colour : The whole of the fluffy
portion of the feather to be dark slate colour. Tail:
The true tail feathers, the sickle feathers and the
coverts to be black with a green lustre. Thighs and
Fhiff: Black or dark slate powdered with dark grey.
Clear lacing round the thighs as much as possible.
This is rarely seen perfect.

In the Hen. — Head : Silvery white. Necli : Silvery
white, with a clear black stripe, as in the cock, free
from ticks. The broader and denser the striping the
better for cock-breeding. Breast and Bade : The web
of the feather, silver, with regular and well-defined black
lacing around the xvhole of the webbed portion, the
broader and more open the centre the better, according
to present fashion, though the almond-shaped centre is
very beautiful. The black lacing should have a lustrous
green sheen. The back and cushion are often cloudy
or mossy. Wings: Same as back. Secondaries and
Primaries: As in cock. Tail: Black, showing green
lustre. Tail Coverts : Same as the body. Thighs and
Fluff : Black or dark slate, as also the under-colour of
fluff over the body. The regularity of the lacing is a
most important feature, but absolute evenness of spacing
is never seen. The great importance attached to this
feature is a great incentive to exhibitors to pluck
feathers where they are too thickly clustered together.
A well-known Club judge told me that he rarely found
a bird at the great shows which had not been trimmed.
The quality of the lacing should be as important as its
regularity. A photograph of the best birds of the
year is the best evidence of the irregularity of the
lacing, though it cannot depict the quality of it, which
is often a deciding point.

The faults oj lacing most prevalent are (1) a broad
black tip or spangle at the end, instead of an even
width ; (2) a white fringe or lacing outside the black
lacing, sometimes only seen at the tip, at other times
following the entire outline of the feather ; (3) in-
complete lacing, which only borders the tip of the
feather ; (4) too heavy a border. For some of these
faults see the plate of Imperfect Feathers at the end of
the chapter on Colour, and for specimens of well-laced
feathers, the plate, p. 501,

394 THE POULTRY MANUAL

Like all other white birds Avith 3'^ellow legs, brassiness
is a common failing, and shows most on the back and
wing-bow. Exhibition cockerels, therefore, should be
shaded.

Golden Laced Wyandottes

The interest aroused by the advent of the Silver
Wyandottes set many breeders at work to produce a
gold-coloured specimen. How they were " made " at
the first is not clearly known, but it is most likely that
various attempts were made, and with different crossings.
Mr. Raines, in his monograph, states : " I believe they
were chiefly made up of a mixture of Rose-combed Leg-
horns, Golden Hamburghs, and Partridge Cochins; later
on came an infusion of Black and Brown-red Game."
I should have thought that a cross between the Golden
Hamburgh cock and the Silver Wyandotte hen would
have been the readier method, though the conflict of
the red in the Hamburgh would destroy in parts the
black lacing. Mr. Lewis Wright tells us that in 1888
Mr. Sid Conger came to the front with them by cross-
ing his " Gold cocks " with the Silver hens of other
breeders, but he does not state how the Gold cock was
bred.

Later on Redcap blood appears to have been infused,
which would account for the enormous combs seen in
some specimens, though it Avould give the desired red
lobe instead of the white one derived from the
Hamburgh.

The cross with the Silver hens would help to perfect
the form of the comb, and a further cross with the
Indian Game would perfect it further and give it the
Wyandotte close-fitting character. That the Indian
Game blood has been infused is beyond question, and
traces of the " type "" of this breed are still to be seen.
The ground-colour would be enriched and rendered
a deeper bay, but dense neck-hackles would also result,
as well as traces of double lacing. With such a mingled
strain of various breeds the Gold Wyandotte must have
been an intricate puzzle to breed true to colour and
type, though a rare vitality would be infused. The
best layers I ever had were of this breed, and I once
had a pullet that laid 39 eggs in 40 days.

AMERICAN BREEDS OF POULTRY 395

The Colour. — The name " Golden Laced " is some-
what of a misnomer, since the prevaihng colour is a
"rich bay." Birds are frequently exhibited too dark
a colour to be pleasant to the eye — the tint being of a
rich chestnut hue. A rich golden bay is the colour to
aim at, and that of a solid, not a patchy character. It
need not be further described, as a reference to the
colour for Silver Wyandottes is sufficiently clear if
" rich golden bay " is substituted for the silver ground-
colour. The variety is liable to the same failings in its
lacing, and to the tendency to the white tips or lacings
on the feather, which are more conspicuous on account
of the dark background. Brightness of colour, and
evenness, together with regularity of lacing, are of prime
importance in the show-pen. They are not, as a rule,
as showy or well defined in marking as the Silvers, nor
as consistent in shape, as may be imagined from their
various parentage. They are as hardy as the Silver,
equal as layers, and stand exposure to the weather with
less detriment.

The White Wyandotte

The White Wyandotte is to-day one of the most
popular of all the general purpose breeds. The fact
that they have carried off the chief awards for the last
few years in the annual laying competitions has had not
a little to do with this, although their admirers are
singularly oblivious of the fact that in the same com-
petitions in which one pen has won the first place,
others of the same variety are at the bottom of the list.
The fact is that good laying qualities are more a matter
of " strain " than of breed. Personally, I have found
them the best layers, of the sitting breeds, that I
have kept.

The White is a genuine Wyandotte, being a sport
from the Silvers, and, as may be expected, carries black
as a recessive character. When mated with any black
breed the chickens are mostly black, though some will
have partly white plumage, laced after the character of
their parents.

The Colour should be a pure silvery white without
any creaminess of tinge, and in some strains careful

396 THE POULTRY MANUAL

selection has accomplished this. The reserve of black
pigment has combated the yellow of the legs, and kept
it confined to the shanks and beak. In many specimens
the leg-colour is very pale, almost a rich cream tint,
most noticeable when viewed in the dusk. This detracts
from the beauty of the variety. The beak should be
yellow and not horn colour, and care should be taken
to breed only from a male with a perfect red lobe.
Many specimens have white in them. This defect is
more common in the Whites than in the other colours.
They are true to Wyandotte type, with the erect
Brahma carriage, and a great point in their favour is
that both sexes can be bred from the same pen. It is
one of the nearest, if not the nearest, to a perfect albino
we have, and when it is set off by a rich, bay-coloured
eye (not a yellowish green daw colour) and the head-
points are a bright red, it is a beautiful fowl. Especia
care should be taken to see that the male bird is pure
in his white and not sappy. The Whites are somewhat
heavier than the other varieties, but type is of more
value than mere size.

Buff Laced and Blue Laced Wyandottes

These two beautiful varieties are classed together
because they are often bred from the same mated pen ;
and they are introduced here, out of order of date,
because they are bred from the mating together of the
Gold and the White.

They were first exhibited in 1897, though attempts
at breeding them were made in America ten years
earlier.

Mr. Lewis Wright thus refers to them : " Both these
varieties originated in America, Mr. Ira C. Keller
appearing to have been the first in the field. He com-
menced in 1886 to cross Golden Wyandottes with
Whites, producing birds whose lacing was violet blue ;
these violet laced birds threw a certain number with
white lacing, and from these were derived his Buff Laced
breed." The aim was to produce a golden buff ground-
colour laced with white. A reference to the Chapter on
" Colour" will explain the rationale of this. The white
colour of the White Wyandotte, mingled with the black

AMERICAN BREEDS OF POULTRY 397

lacing of the Gold, produced the Blue. And the birds

*&'

white and some black laced fowl. The tendency of the
White Wyandotte would also be to soften the " rich
bay " ground-colour of the Golden Laced birds and pro-
duce a Buff. As may naturally be expected, there were
many difficulties to contend with. In the Buff Laced,
the Standard says : " Tail: white.*" But black tickings
would appear, and sometimes traces of blue, both here
and in the hackles. The solid buff' colour would also be
difficult to get with a good white fringe. Other breeds
have been introduced to overcome this, and the Buff
Wyandotte was introduced, and the laced " Chamois
Polish." Needless to add, these only introduce further
difficulties, such as the peculiar shape of the Polish
skull and the crest, etc. Enough has been said to excite
the interest of the amateur fond of experiments, and no
more interesting experiments in colour can be imagined.
There Avould be many mis-marked birds, but these
would be interesting and certain to be excellent
layers.

Colour in Buff Laced Wyandottes

In both Sexes. — Beak, Eye, Comb, etc., same as
Silver Wyandotte, and of course the legs and comb
characteristic of the breed.

In the Cock. — Head : Buff. Neck and Saddle : Rich
buff* with a white stripe replacing the black in the
golds. Breast and Thighs : Rich buff with clear and
regular white lacing ; under-colour, zvhite (not slate
colour). In other parts : The black of the Gold Wyan-
dotte is replaced with white. Tail : Pure white. This
would be greatly improved if the tail Avere also buff
laced.

In the Hen. — The colour is the same as in the cock,
viz. rich buff', with regular white lacing. Tail : White ;
the lacing on the cushion may continue into the tail
coverts.

The rich golden sheen on the neck-hackles of good
specimens is the nearest approach to burnished gold
seen on any fowl, and is exquisitely lovely. For some
reason they have not caught the popular fancy to any
great extent.

398 THE POULTRY MANUAL

Colour of Blue Laced Wyandottes

The colour is the same as in the Gold, save that blue
everywhere should replace the black. The difficulty is
to keep the blue colour free from white or black, since
blue mated to blue is certain to produce both black and
white.

Brightness and equality of ground-colour is of more
importance than the shacle of lacing. The Gold mated
to the Blue Laced would add to depth of colour.

The Standard calls particular attention to type, since
the further introduction of Indian Game blood has done
something to spoil the typical character. The Blue
Laced is less popular than the Buff Laced, and a good,
well-marked specimen is seldom seen.

The Buff Wyandotte

These were introduced in 1893, after the craze for
buff-coloured fowls had well set in. They have never
taken the public taste to any large extent, and are now
practically dead, being only seen occasionally in "Any
Other Variety " classes at the chief shows. Occasionally
a first-class specimen appears, e. g. at the Birmingham
show in December 1908. I awarded the special prize,
for the best bird in the four A.O.V. classes provided, to
a Buff Wyandotte cockerel. The chief point is colour,
which should be one even shade of buff over the entire
body. They are again a made breed, the chief
ingredients being the Silver Wyandotte and the Buff
Cochin, to which latter blood the tendency to feathers
on the legs is to be attributed. The Buff Orpington
and Buff Rock have also been infused into it, the rose-
comb swiftly dominating the single.

The PARTRintiE Wyandotte

This lovely coloured variety was introduced into this
country from America in 1896, and exhibited by Mr. J.
Wharton, at Liverpool, a year later.

There is no doubt that they owe their origin chiefly
to the blood of the Partridge Cochin, whose exquisite
pencilled plumage they inherit. The Gold Wyandotte

PARTRIDGE WYANDOTTE COCK.

The Property of Mr. Hubert Wright, ist Palace, 1905, etc.

AMERICAN BREEDS OF POULTRY 399

gave them the comb and shape, and it is probable that,
as in the Gold, the Indian Game has also been used to
secure the lacing.

A glance at the two coloured illustrations, inserted
by kind permission of Mr. Hubert Wright, will show
their beauty more than a\ ords can do. The beauty of
the hen is wonderful, and her exquisite colour and deli-
cate pencilling make her one of the most beautiful of
all our domestic races of poultry. In size they are
equal to any and larger than most, adult cocks weighing
10 to 12 lb., and hens 7 or 8 lb. are not uncommon
This is a great point when the mis-marked specimens
come to be disposed of, and make it a desirable table
fowl.

For egg production in winter they are among the
best. Though the eggs from pullet-breeding pens are
not large, they are readily saleable when eggs are scarce,
and the eggs from the larger and more robust cock-
breeding pullets are well up to the average size. They
are distinctly above the average in the laying line, and
produce eggs in the winter when they are required to do
so, and this makes greatly for utility.

They are among the hardiest of fowl, and the eggs
are more fertile than from many breeds. The hens
make gentle and good mothers, and are very docile in
general character. With beauty and utility thus com-
bined there is little wonder that they soon became very
popular and, for some years after their introduction,
good specimens fetched fabulous prices, ^£"50 being a
common figure, and the record price of d£'165 was paid
for a winning cockerel at the International Show of
1904, which is now in one of my breeding pens and still
vigorous and active.

When first introduced the cockerels showed much of
the Gold Wyandotte character and colour, and were
generally too dark, and less like the rich dark red
colour of their Cochin ancestor. Mr. Marx then de-
scribed them as " dull in colour, and defective in sound-
ness of black on breast and thigh." If the pencilled
breast and thighs then so connnon had been accepted as
the Standard colour there would have been no need to
resort to double mating, and if the cocks had lacked a
little of their present definiteness of colour they would

400 THE POULTRY MANUAL

have been more popular, since double mating always
mitigates against this.

Double mating is now an essential for breeding ex-
hibition specimens. One great point in favour of the
Partridge is its lasting qualities as an exhibition fowl.
A good cockerel or a good pullet maintains its beauty
of plumage throughout several seasons, and the delicacy
and beauty of a well-pencilled pullet is maintained or
improved after each moult, so that the old birds often
gain the championship prizes over the younger ones,
whereas in many breeds a good adult cock or hen is
rarely seen.

The fashion now is for a pure gold hackle lighter
than the orange shade, especially on the back. The
difficulty in these cases is to get the saddle-haclde to
match. This should also be well striped.

Colour in Partridge Wyandottes

In both Sexes. — Beak, eye, comb, face, ear-lobes
and Avattles as in Silver or Gold Wyandottes.

Legsand Feet: ^r\^tje)\ow. Toe-nails: Horn colour.
This is still lacking, and the legs of the pullets are
commonly of a dusky colour, and moreover the feathered
shanks of the Cochin still protrude themselves, and
either show feather, or marks where feathers have been
plucked out. The Club has rightly set its face against
this practice, and has inserted the following clause in its
Standard : " Birds with feather on the leg, or traces of
feather or down on the leg, shall not be incapable of
winning prizes, but the same shall be a defect which
the judge must, in awarding prizes, take into account.
Birds which have had the same, or any part removed,
nmst be passed." Many good birds are bred of either
sex quite clear of feather on the shank, and it is only a
matter of time before all will be clear. But as many
of the most beautifully marked specimens still show
traces of feather, it is not to be expected that they
should be sacrificed, though they might well be confined
to the breeding-pen.

In the Cock. — Head : Rich orange. Neck : Orange
or golden red with paler shade at the back, each feather
having a glossy black stripe down the centre. This

AMERICAN BREEDS OF POULTRY 401

stripe should have an orange border at the tip, and the
stripe should continue well up towards the root of the
feather.

Bach : Rich dark red (well shown in coloured illus-
tration), not a dull or mahogany colour. It should be
solid and not ticked with black, though this is common
in cockerels till the moult is completed. Wing-bar:
Rich lustrous black, free from tickings. Flight J eathers :
A sound black. Any white in flights or tail is fatal for
breeding good cockerels, though a little often appears
in the second year. Secondaries: Rich bay on outer
web and black on the inner. Only the bay shows when
the wing is closed, and this forms the wing-bay at the
end. Breast : Black, as also the thighs and under-parts
right to the tail. In an exhibition bird this should
be free from bay tickings or lacing. Tail: Including
sickles and coverts, a solid glossy black.

In the Hen. — Head : Rich orange. NecJ^ : Golden
yellow, pencilled with black. The Standard used to de-
scribe the neck-hackle as striped. But no well-laced
pullets are striped, though this is a great point in
choosing pullets for cock-breeding. The neck-hackle of
an exhibition pullet should be laced or ticked, and not
striped. Breast, Bacl; and Wings : A light brown ground-
colour, free from red or "foxiness," or from a yellow
tinge ; every feather distinctly and plentifully pencilled
with a darker shade. There is usually a ticked or
pencilled stripe running down the shaft of the feather,
and two lines of the darker lacing following round the
entire web of the feather, but leaving a lighter fringe,
as in the neck-hackle. Fluff: Brown, and the more
pencilling on it the better, as in the coloured illustration
of the hen. Many otherwise good pullets fail here, and
indeed nicely laced fluff is rarely seen. It is of great
value in the breeding pen, as well as adding to the beauty
in the show room. This is as difficult to get as a well-
pencilled throat. Tail : True tail feathers black, shading
to brown at the top and well pencilled.

The Standard for Type is the same as for other
varieties of Wyandotte, though many specimens are
still too Cochiny in type, with less of the majestic
carriage of the Brahma.

D D

402

THE POULTRY MANUAL

Value of Points

The Cod:

Tlie Hen.

Defects

in comb. — Deduct up
„ head, etc. ,, „
,, neck ,, ,
,, breast ,, ,
„ back ,, ,,

to

S
11
12
10
12

Defects

in comb.— Deduct
„ head, etc. .,
,, neclv ,,
,, breast ,,
,, bade ,,

up

to 6
11
S
13
13

Waiit of
dition

„ wings ,,
,, tail

,, fluff „
>> legs ,,
size and con-

10

7
8
S

U

,, „ wings .,
„ „ tail ;,

,, fluff
,. ,. legs ,,
Want of size and con-
dition , ,

"'

13

7
7
8

14

A perfect bird to count

100

A per

'act bird to count

100

Serious Defects for which Birds should be
passed. — Permanent white in ear-lobes if covering more
than one-third of surface, combs other than rose, or
falling over, or too large. Wry tails, deformed beaks,
or any bodily deformity. Legs other than yellow.
[This latter is singular, since most good birds are not
yellow but bronze.]

Hints on Mating. — The chief point should be that
the birds are well bred, and if one desires to breed
cockerels, all the birds in the pen should be "cock-bred,"
and not simply appear to be so, e. g. mis-marked pullet-
bred pullets are often sold as cock-bred, and look like
it, but they will not breed good male birds, and vke
vtrsd. There is more security about zvell-marTied pullets.
They cannot be " cock-bred," but the cockerel to mate
with them may look like a pullet-bred one and yet be a
cock-bred one. See to it, then, that your stock is " line-
bred " for cockerel or for pullet breeding.

To breed CocJcs. — The male bird should be up to
Standard requirements and as perfect as money Can buy.
Care should be taken that the black is sound, not only
on the breast and fluff, but in flights and at the base of
the tail. The pullets to mate with him should be cock-
bred. They should be large and robust. The neck-
hackles should be well striped toitli black. The lacing
is indistinct, and the birds are generally darker in
appearance, with more black in the pencilling. The
reserve of black pigment shown in pencilling and sound
fluff helps to keep the cock's breast black, and the light-
coloured neck -hackle, if densely striped, repeats itself in
the cock and becomes his chief adornment.

To breed Pullets. — The females should be as near

'' '-«^.

PARTllIDGE WYANDOTTE FEATHERS

1. Breast feathers and general type of niarldng of a good hen (kindly sent by Mr. R. Watson).
2a and 26. Thigh feathers of a pullet-breeding cockerel \

3. ^leck-hackle of the IfiO-i International winning cock u i „t. „ p t> tit c

4. Body leather of a cock-breeding hen \ ^ ™™ breednig-pens of Rev. W. Sturgbs
5fi and 06. Neck-hackles of a pullet-breeding lien J

C«, 66, 6c. Specimens of the heavier markings approved by American fanciers (kindly sent by Mr. R.

Watson).
7. A tiny ueck-hackle from exhibition cock.

D D 2

403

AMERICAN BREEDS OF POULTRY 405

exhibition specimens as means will allow, with clear and
well-defined concentric markings, and of a soft brown shade,
even to the fluff. The neck -hackles are broken-pencilled
and not striped. The male should be from a pullet-
breeding pen, and is usually of a darker shade than the
exhibition cockerel, with darker hackle, and the stripmg
need not be so distinct, but pencilled like the pullets.
The breast will not be solid black but laced or ticked
with red, and this should continue to the thighs and
fluff. Care should be taken that he is pullet-bred.

To Jicep the pedigree clear the eggs from each pen
should be hatched either in separate drawers of an
incubator, or under different hens, and when hatched
should be marked by toe-punching, otherwise it is im-
possible to separate either the cockerels when grown, or
the medium quality pullets. Mixing of strains spells
confusion in future breeding.

Populanty zvaning. — Like other varieties that have
had a rocket-like and rapid popularity, it now suffers
from decline, and though still fairly popular there is
nothing like the demand for medium quality birds,
though first-class specimens are still saleable. The
decline has come through (1) the sale at high prices of
ill-mated pens ; (2) the necessity of double mating ;
(3) the winning being confined to a few prominent
fanciers — always a cause of decline ; (4) the faking and
rumours of faking ; (5) big breeders exhibiting at
small shows.

Its popularity is now being catered for by the club,
especially in providing classes exclusively for novices.
Young breeders should join the club. Its year book is
a mine of information.

The Silver Pencilled Wyaxdotte

This breed is practically a Dark Brahma with clean
legs. It is smaller than the Partridge, though similar
in markings, substituting silver for gold or brown, and
white for red. Why they should be so much smaller
I do not know. They are as beautiful as the Partridge
(or Gold Pencilled), and there is less difficulty about leg-
colour and fluff on the legs. They were introduced into
England in 1901.

Being a study in black and white there is the peren-

406 THE POULTRY MANUAL

nial struggle in keeping the two colours confined to
their proper domain, as in the Silver Laced variety.
They are equal as layers, but so far as my experience
goes are not so hardy. They are more consistent in
type than the Partridge.

Mating Silver Pencilled Wyandottes

For Coclv-hreeding, as in other double matings, the
cock should be an exhibition specimen, and the pullets
large, with well-striped hackles and indistinct lacing.
Both sexes should be cock -bred, and be as sound in their
black as possible.

For Pullet -breeding, the females should be show birds,
or good pullet-bred specimens, clear in their lacing
even to the thighs, and the male be a pullet-bred
specimen with ticked breast and thighs, and not so clear
in his white.

The Yelloio leg presents the usual difficulty and spreads
its yellow tinge over the white plumage of the cock, and
is especially marked on the wing-bow. As the cock-
breeding pullets have usually darker legs, this helps to
preserve the purity of colour, as also the more densely
marked plumage.

Their fofidarity has not yet been established, and
despite their beauty and utility it is doubtful if they
will catch the public taste. One main reason for this
is the difficulty in keeping the colour sound. They
must be shaded. Another is the fact that they do not
improve with the moult like the Partridge, and a good
old cock or hen is rarely seen. There is the same
difficulty and uncertainty as there is with the Silver
Laced variety. It would be a pity if they fell out of the
ranks, and a turn in the tide of war may yet bring them
with flying colours to the front.

The Columbian Wyandotte
This is a recent aspirant for Wyandotte fame, and
has already found a host of admirers, and has a club,
like most of the other varieties, to look after its interests.
It was included in the Poultry Club Standards in 1905,
but it has since that date made rapid strides. In 1906
one of the leading breeders described them as " scratchy,"
but in 1907-8 many beautiful specimens were staged.

AMERICAN BREEDS OF POULTRY 407

Why the breed is called "Columbian"'"' I do not know,
but the title is distinct, like the bird, from any other
variety. Practically the Columbian Wyandotte is a
Light Brahma with clean yellow legs, and has un-
doubtedly been manufactured from a cross between the
Light Brahma and the White Wyandotte, and, as we
have seen from the origin of the Silver and other
varieties, this is a typical origin. But, as the White
Wyandotte is a sport from the Silver, some of the
progeny show traces of the Silver parentage, and the
wings of the pullets are apt to show the black on the
wing-bar or at the end of the wing ; and there is also
the scanty and irregular marking in the striped hackle.

The chief faihire of present-day specimens is the
scantiness of the true striped hackle, which should be
that of the Light Brahma, and a further dash of Brahma
blood could be used with advantage to set this right,
even if it be at the cost of a little extra leg feathering
for a season or two. The washiness of the neck-hackle
must be got rid of, and the abundance of it is as much
needed as its quality. It should come right round and
meet under the throat instead of leaving it white. The
faults described in the " Silver" are still common. The
striping is often grey or a dirty brown, instead of the
glossy greenish black, and, what is worse still, the edge
of the feather is black instead of white, and the centre
white, as there is an outer ticked fringe. The bird is
really beautiful, as now shown in the best specimens,
but it cannot yet compare with the Brahma, and this is
not to be wondered at considering the longer pedigree
of its ancestor.

It will be seen from the Club Standard, which I am
enabled to print through the courtesy of the Hon.
Secretary of the flourishing club formed for its advance-
ment, that the members have set their faces against
trimming the shanks. Fluff and feathers will be a
trouble yet for years to come, as it was, and indeed
is still, with other varieties of Wyandottes and the
Orpingtons. Well-marked birds with slight feathering
are of great value in the breeding-pen, and though this
defect rightly penalizes the variety in the show-pen,
yet, if shown, they should be shown as nature made
them and not with plucked or shaved shanks.

408 THE POULTRY MANUAL

Another trouble which besets the fancier of the
Columbian is impurity in the colour of the white.
They should be the colour of skimmed milk, or, as the
Standard describes it, "pearly white." Sappiness, in
various degrees, is still the bane of the Light Brahma
fancier. It should be less so in the case of the Columbian
owing to the albino nature of the White Wyandotte.

It will usually be found that the purest body-colour
is accompanied with a slaty or at least a bluish under-
colour. This abundance of black pigment militates
against the yellow pigment of the leg, and keeps it in
check, and for years to come birds with dark under-
colour should be used both to preserve the purity of the
white and to add to the intensity of the neck-hackle.
This can, of course, be overdone, and show in ticked
feathers on the saddle, but at least one of the sexes should
possess it, and pure white under-colour be fought against
until the hackles are improved.

Mating for Columbian Wyandottes

The rules should be much the same as for Light
Brahmas, to which the reader is referred.

For CocTi-hreeding. — A male bird as near exhibition
type as can be procured should be used. The pullets to
accompany him should have a good supply of black
pigment, as shown by the slaty under-colour and by the
density of the hackle. Personally, I do not like to see
the hackle so fashionable at present in Light Brahmas,
nearly black with a very wide stripe and the merest
apology for a silver fringe to it ; but this is better than
the washy sort, and is invaluable in the breeding pen.

For Pullet-breeding. — The hens should be of the
desired type and colour, and a reserve of colour in the
cock ; a white under-colour would spell confusion.

The pedigree counts for something, and a cock bred
from sound pullets should be used where possible.

For both .sexes. — It is a pity whenever double mating
has to be resorted to. When both males and females
are bred up to Standard type, especially if they have
dense neck -hackles, both sexes fit for the show bench
may be bred from one pen.

The breed is certain to maintain its popularity on
account of its great beauty. It has all the elegance of

AMERICAN BREEDS OF POULTRY 409

its ancestor, and is a much better layer. This is
probably due to the influence of the White Wyandotte,
which at present leads the way.

Its utility cannot be questioned. All who keep
them speak of them in the highest terms as excellent
layers of a good-sized egg. The hens are very docile
and good mothers. A little more size in them will
come in time, as it has done in the White. They grow
quickly and make good table birds, while they are
as hardy as can be. In type they should easily be typi-
cally Wyandotte on account of their parentage, though
it is to be hoped they will not follow some of the
present-day Light Brahmas and become too slouching
and Cochiny.

Standard of the Columbian Wyandotte
Colour in both Sexes. — Beak : Yellow or liorn-coloured.
Eye : Bright bay. Comb, Face, Ear-lobes and Wattles : Bright red.
Legs and Feet : Yellow or orange yellow.

In the Cock. — Head : Silvery white. Neck-hacMe : Silvery
white with a distinct black stripe down the centre of each feather,
but the hackles to be free from a black outer edging and black
tips. Saddle-hackle : Silvery white. Tail coverts : Glossy green-
black either laced or not with white. Tail Feathers : Glossy
green-black. Primaries : Black or black edged with white.
Secondaries : Black on the inner edge and white on the outer.
Rest of Body : Pearly white, entirely free from ticking, the under-
colour being either slate, bluish-white or white.

In the Hen. — Head: Silvery white. Hackle: Bright intense
black feathers entirely surrounded with a silvery white margin.
Tail feathers : Black, except the top pair, which may or may not
be laced with white. Primaries : Black or black edged with
white. Secondaries : Black on the inner edge and white on outer.
Rest of Plumage : Pearly white, entirely free from ticking, the
under-colour being either slate, bluish-white or white.

Scale of Points^

Coarse or Brahma head. — Deduct

up to

3

Defective comb

}i

5

Ear-lobes and wattles

}y

4

Pale legs

?y

5

Scanty hackle

y?

4

Defects in hackle .

yy

20

Primaries out of order .

}}

4

Defects in tail

yy

5

Want of size and condition

yy

15

Want of type or shape .

.??

10

Impure body colour.

yy

2.5

A perfect bird to count , .100

410 THE POULTRY MANUAL

Serious defects for which birds may be passed — Combs
other than rose, wry-tails, deformed beaks, crooked backs, per-
manent white or yellow in the ear-lobes covering more than one-
third of their surface, shanks other than yellow in colour (except
adult cocks and hens, which may shade to light straw-colour),
any feather or fluff on shanks or toes. Judges are instructed to
disqualify birds if in their opinion any feathers have been
removed from the shanks.

The Black Wyandotte

This is the most recent " rage of fashion " in Wyan-
dotte circles, and, though bred for many years in
America, was only "boomed" in England in 1906.
It is said to be a sport from the Silver Laced variety.
The aim of English breeders is to produce a sound-
coloured black bird, of Wyandotte type with, yellow
legs.

The American birds are smaller than our Standard,
and though bred fairly true to type and sound in
colour have almost black legs. They are content if
it shows traces of yellow on the shank, and has a
yellow foot underneath, much the same as the Black
Rock pullets.

The breed had a phenomenal boom, and all the
virtues under the sun were ascribed to it. Its good
table qualities, prolific egg-laying capacity, its docility
and hardiness, the fact that it would stand any climate,
clean or dirty, and look well though uncared for and
unwashed, etc., were boomed sky-high. The immediate
demand for specimens was enormous, and every farm-
yard was scoured to find any black birds which hap-
pened to have rose-combs and traces of yellow in the
leg, which were picked up at killing-prices and sold at
times for almost fabulous sums.

With these miscellaneous specimens bred in any
haphazard fashion, Wyandotte cockerels of various
colours were mated. Dark Golds, Partridges, Silver
Pencilled or Silver Laced were used, while those who
had Black cockerels mated them to White Wyandotte
pullets; or White cockerels were mated to Black Rocks,
and produced some of the best specimens. Many bird
thus bred were exhibited and carried off prizes as pure
Wyandottes, and not a few Avith such alien blood as
the Black Orpington, Black Leghorn, or Indian Game

411

AMERICAN BREEDS OF POULTRY 413

found themselves with honours or prizes as Wyandottes !
All had more or less pretence to black plumage, but
when bred together all known colours were produced,
and among the very best, and from eggs readily sold
at 42s. a dozen, there were more white specimens than
black. Other varieties of Wyandottes have had a
mixed parentage, but the Black caps the lot. Birds
were rapidly imported from America or Holland, where
they had been fostered for years ; some of the best
realizing .£100 apiece !

A Club was formed, and at the time of writing has
over 130 members, and its year-book, which can be
obtained for 2d. from the Hon. Sec, Mrs. Bury, of
Lomber Hey, High Lane, Cheshire, is one of the
best year-books ever published, and is illustrated with
photographs of recent winners. Some are wonderfully
true to Wyandotte type and are sound in colour, while
others look for all the world like the old and defunct
Rose-combed Black Orpington.

They still realize high prices when they at all resemble
Club type and Standard, and the improvement has been
very decided.

Through the kindness of the secretary I am enabled
to give the Standard for 1909. The Standard agreed
upon is typically Wyandotte, and is as follows —

Standard of Excellence
General Characteristics. — Typically Wyandotte.
In both. ^e-xBS.—Comh, Ear-lobes and Wattles: Bright red.
Beak : Briglit yellow. Eye : Bright bay. Legs and Feet : Bright
yellow. Plumage : Black with rich beetle-green sheeiij, under-
colour as dark (black) as possible.

Scale of Points for Judging

Shape .

C'omb .

Head

Colour .

Under-colour

Legs

Size

Condition

20
10

5
20
15
10
12

8

Total

100

The Serious Defects for which a bird may be passed are exactly
the same as for Partridge Wyandottes, to which the reader is
referred.

414 THE POULTRY MANUAL

Hints on Mating. — Though this breed is a self-
coloured one, success cannot yet be attained by single
mating, as is the case with the White variety. The
difficulty is the old combination of the yelloAv leg with
the dense black plumage. These difficulties and the
way to overcome them are referred to in the case of
Black Leghorns, dealt with in the Chapter on " Colour."
There is not at present, apart from the mixed parentage,
the same difficulty as in the Leghorn on account of

(1) the fact that the Wyandotte has a shorter tail, and

(2) that the Club winks at dusky legs, though it states
they should be yellow in the Standard. Even the cocks
have bronze legs at present, and, though I have examined
many, I have never yet seen a good yellow-legged one
with a sound tail and dense black under-colour, and the
Club insists on a dense black under-colour and makes it
of prime value, giving 15 points to it and only 10 for
legs. So far the cocks exhibited are better in shape
than the pullets, many of the best of them show Indian
Game blood, with the fierce cruel face and beetling
broM', and with the long sloping back and whip-tail,
while others are too narrow and Leghorn-like.

If a novice cared to tr}^ his hand to make his own, I
should commend either a White Wyandotte cock of
typical shape, and as near a Wyandotte-shaped pair of
Black Rock hens as I could find. Many of the best
have been bred this wa}^, and a couple of years would
produce xery fair specimens. Or I should mate a Black
Wyandotte hen with a White Wyandotte cock of
good shape and size. In these crosses the Black
would dominate the White, and nearly all the chicks
would be black, though some white ones would appear
in the F^ generation.

Mating to breed CoclxS. — Sound colour on both sides
is of prime importance. Let the cock have as good leg-
colour as you can get, but be sure he is sound black in
fiuff, flights and tail. The pullets should also be sound
in colour, and it docs not matter if their legs are dark,
because a yellow-legged pullet rarely breeds a sound-
coloured cockerel.

To breed Pullets. — The pullets or hens should them-
selves be sound in colour and have as good legs as you
can get. But the cockerel should have good yellow or

AMERICAN BREEDS OF POULTRY 415

orange-coloured legs, if you can get him. It is not so
important that his under-colour should be sound. I
have already indicated that a White Wyandotte mated
with sound-coloured hens will breed good pullets ; much
more one with a brilliant black sheen on his top-colour,
even though he be white in his under-colour. As in
other breeds, such a cockerel is more likely to be a
success if he has been bred from a good hen, or is
brother to good pullets, and that, even if he has
coloured feathers in his hackle.

It will be years yet before they breed true, and though
the improvement made has been wonderful, there is still
room for improvement both in type and colour, and
especially in /eg'-colour, which has not yet received its
due meed of praise.

Meanwhile, scores will be bred for one fit to exhibit,
and better birds will be sold for a few shillings than two
or three years ago sold for pounds, while the madness
reigned ; and the farmer will have a chance of verifying
all the optimistic appraisements lavished on an unformed
variety. Will the breed last ? It is certain to have a
large number of enthusiastic admirers, for good speci-
mens are undoubtedly handsome, and until they are as
common as blackberries in the autumn many will pursue
their fancy. But of the many who started in the race
Avith flying colours only a few have continued. It is
a Avinding path, and the surface is a rough one.

The Blue Wyandotte

is still in the making, and of the many blues, as
of books, there is " no end." The specimens up to
now exhibited have been miserable in the extreme,
the veriest mongrels in type and nondescript in colour.
They may yet be popular unless another conjurer first
attracts the attention of the crowd and empties the
pockets of those who come to the fair. There is a
Club started for its furtherance, and I believe that
a self-coloured blue, i. e. not a laced blue, has been
decided upon. For the would-be breeder the Chapter
on " Colour " and the hints on blue breeding will point
out the way, and show the difficulties, as well as the
methods of procedure.

416 THE POULTRY MANUAL

With Black and White Wyandottes already on the
way to perfection there should not be much difficulty,
and certainly no need to introduce other than Wyan-
dotte blood, which is already sufficiently mixed.

In the case of the Blue Laced variety we have seen
how the white affected the black lacing and produced
blue, and therefore a white and a black should produce
some self-coloured blues, and the black and the buff
would do the same. The black and white chickens of
the F^ generation would again throw blue as in the
case of the Blue Andalusian. When the colour can be
got solid in character and of a pleasing shade, without
black or laced hackles or black or white in the tail,
we shall see some handsome specimens, and both type
and size ought to be easy to breed. They will of a
certainty be good utility fowl, and they give those who
are fond of experimenting a chance to achieve fame, it
may be in a year, or it may take longer. But, like the
comic song which comes and dies in a season, breeders
should learn its lines while it is still the fashion, or
they may find nobody willing to listen to their ditty.

The Cuckoo Wyandotte

This is one of the oldest varieties and yet one of the
least popular. The land of its birth is America. It
was expected to displace the Barred Rock in popular
favour, but this it has failed to do. Probably its origin
is the same as that of its successful rival, the single-
combed Rock, and should be as easy to breed, since its
progenitor was the Rose-combed Dominique.

But the tables are turned on it, and what little
popularity it enjoyed is threatened by the advent of the
Rose-combed Rock — though the various Rock clubs will
not hear of the latter's introduction, and that rightly
so, since the rose-comb and the yellow legs have for so
long been given over to the Wyandotte. It would only
" make confusion worse confounded " if we had two
breeds which nobody could distinguish one from the
other. They would be like Tweedledum and Tweedle-
dee, though one brother may have a little more chest
measurement than the other, or be a trifle taller and
longer in the back. If we are to have another cuckoo

AMERICAN BREEDS OF POULTRY 417

variety one of them must be " barred," and I vote for
the resuscitation of the Wyandotte. They may be
popular yet, since a cross with their cousin the Rock
would give definiteness to the barring and increase their
size. But I imagine that there will not be much
hubbub about them. It will be a Quakers' meeting, as
becomes the sober Quaker dress they wear.

Black Laced and Other Varieties

We are threatened with a Black Laced variety, i. e. a
black bird with white lacing to its feathers, the converse
of the Silver Pencilled. I have seen some fair specimens
bred as sports from Black Wyandottes which had them-
selves been bred from a cock silver pencilled. This
latter variety, it will be remembered, is a black and
white pencilled fowl which has an outer white fringe to
its pencilled feathers. It would be a novelty in lacing
if introduced, but the difficulties in its path to glory
and fame are many, and I am doubtful if there is room
for it.

It would be easier to breed it like the Spangled
Orpington, although it would have the yellow leg to
impede its progress. But to get the regular lacing
which is the hall-mark of the Wyandotte will be a
difficult problem which few will care to solve. Let
them all come. They can but live their life and die.
They will add to our store of dead poultry and give us
a few more eggs, unless they fill space which may be
more worthily occupied, and so add to the ranks of the
unemployed. If they only had a Government pension
of 5*. a year per head for their up-keep until they were
fit to sally forth they might survive. But Governments,
like poultry fanciers, may have too much of a good
thing, and the appetite palls, though the table may
groan with delicacies.

Are we at the end of the chapter ? Or shall I
indicate other patterns in the kaleidoscope. Why not
try a Blue Pencilled variety and introduce the exquisite
pencilling of the Partridge to a taste of the " blues"" ?
The White would do it, and the kaleidoscope would go
mad with envy. There would be certain to be white
feathers somewhere in the plumage, and then we could

E E

418 THE POULTRY MANUAL

sport the red, white and blue. The palette is not
empty, but the canvas has run short and I will leave
others to dream of colour and to envy " Joseph's coat,"
and may their dreams and the interpretation thereof
not bring them into trouble, unless it bring them also
to Pharaoh's house and fill the granary. Otherwise the
corn bills will be heavy and the " silver cup " may be
claimed by others.

THE RHODE ISLAND RED

This is another American breed which need not
detain us long. It has no merit as an exhibition fowl,
and looks more like a badly-shaped Buff' Orpington of
too dark a colour, and with a black tail, and, indeed,
much resembles some of the brick -red specimens of this
now popular breed when it first appeared. The Buff'
Cochin is its ancestor, and the Brown Leghorn had also
a share in its making. It is said to be a good layer,
but even its utility qualities have not assisted much
in making it popular. A glance at the Feathered World
will show the relative demand, as the advertisement
pages show sixteen columns allotted to the Buffs and
a quarter-column to the Rhodes.

By the Standard allotted for them the cock's colour is
cherry-red, with back and wing-bows darker, and a
black tail. The hen is a lighter shade of golden red,
the hackle tipped with black, and the tail black. The
under-colour for both sexes red or salmon. They may
have either rose- or single-combs, and the size and
weight is that of small Buff' Orpingtons — cockerels,
6J lb. ; pullets 5 lb.

To be popular in England a fowl must have beauty
as well as utility. It must catch the fancier's eye, for
he is the breeder, as well as the seeker after useful
qualities.

CHAPTER XV

MEDITERRANEAN BREEDS

BLACK SPANISH MINORCAS ANDALUSIANS LEGHORNS

ANCONAS

The Mediterraneans are par excellence the egg-laying
breeds. They have all the non-sitting instinct developed
almost to perfection, or, if you will, the natural broody
instinct destroyed. This instinct is, however, only
dormant and not dead. An occasional sitter is found
in all the breeds, though this may in part be due to
crossing which has taken place to improve fancy points.
A. cross of these with any breed produces sitters, and
restores the natural instinct. The eggs are larger than
from the sitting breeds, and are all white-shelled,
though in some cases a tinted shell is a sign of the
infusion, at some period, of other blood. The char-
acteristic of the Mediterranean breeds is the very large,
erect, and serrated single-comb in the cocks, and large
drooping combs in the hens, accompanied with large
wattles and white ear-lobes. They are sprightly and
active in carriage, and should have abundance of
plumage with well-developed sickles. The feathering is
not loose and fluffy like the Asiatics, nor tight and close
like the Game, but midway between the two.

How the non-sitting instinct arose is not known. It
is probably the work of centuries. Some have attributed
it to the practice of artificial incubation in Egypt
carried on for centuries. If the broody instinct was
persistently discouraged, and the hens not allowed to
rear their own young, it can be understood how the
disuse of the faculty would lead to its decline, especially
when aided by selection and the keeping of those only
which continued to lay with little or no desire for
broodiness.

E E 2 419

420 THE POULTRY MANUAL

The same principle of selection may have brought
this about when eggs were greatly in demand. Mr.
Lewis Wright thinks this is the cause, since the
northern shores of the Mediterranean Sea are peopled
by Roman Catholics who are allowed the use of eggs
on fast-days when the use of flesh-meat is forbidden.
In any case, this may have led to the preference for
this non-sitting fowl, probably reared in Egypt, in a
pre-Christian era, long before there was any Roman
Catholic religion.

THE BLACK SPANISH

This is the oldest of the race, and though now nearly
extinct in England, was at one time " all the rage," and
in the " forties " the most popular fowl we had. Most
men of middle age can remember their parents' talk of
the famous egg-laying capacities of the Spanish, and
scores of folk at any show to-day can be heard calling
the Minorca, or the Black Leghorn, "Black Spanish."
A good name lives long. An occasional specimen is
seen at our great shows, but very rarely is a class pro-
vided for them. They were once spoken of as a " hardy
fowl,"'"' and as being able to roost out on the trees
throughout the year. To-day they appear anything
but strong, and at the best of times, with their ghostly
features, they look the most sepulchral type of any
living fowl. If we read any of the older poultry books,
such as Dixon, 1848, or Doyle of about the same period,
we find pages devoted to their many virtues, and this
was long before the American races, or the many modern
breeds, were heard of.

The Black Spanish seems to have reached us from
Spain, whenc6 it takes its name. Mr. Dixon wrote in
1848 : " In North Devon they call the Spanish fowls
' Minorcas,' others call them Portugal Fowl, neither
terms removing them far from their old-established
location, if not their original home. It is a noble race
of fowl, possessing many great merits ; of spirited and
animated appearance, of considerable size, excellent for
the table, both in whiteness of flesh and skin, and also
in flavour, laying exceedingly large eggs in considerable
numbers." He also speaks of a " pure white, in shape

MEDITERRANEAN BREEDS 421

and carriage exactly like the Black Spanish, only want-
ing the white cheek-patch. They are much larger and
broader than any of the Black I have ever seen, and
they are very fine in the neighbourhood of London.
The cock that came with the first lot (in 1846) is
entirely black and long in the legs, but without the white
cheek-patch." These were probably the Black and
White Minorca, a contemporary of the Spanish, and
from the same neighbourhood. In speaking of the
eggs from these black and white fowls he says : " The
eggs are equal in size and number to the Black Spanish.
Some of mine last year weighed three, and some four
ounces each."

Some attribute the decline to the showing mania for
the tremendous extent of white face and ear-lobe, and
to the elaborate preparation needed to get them into fit
shape ; and also to the practice of forcing the growth
of huge combs. But their delicacy must to a large
extent be attributed to their close inbreeding as well
as to their being pampered for showing. The Black
Minorca has now taken its place, and there are other
new breeds of the non-sitting races equally as good for
utility purposes as the Spanish in its prime. It suc-
ceeded at first because there was no other layer of large
white eggs, and now its popularity is not likely to be
resuscitated.

It is like the Black Minorca, except that it is not
as large and has a white face and very large pendulous
lobes. It is also taller and more gamey-looking, and
the legs and shanks are longer and of Sipale slate colour
instead of dark slate or black.

Many modern Minorcas are too like the Spanish in
style, and some dashes of Spanish blood have doubtless
been infused to give the large lobe. The comb is
smaller than the Minorca's and is more Andalusian in

Its scale of points indicates its cause of decline, viz.
defects in comb and wattles, 15 ; face and lobes, 86 (an
exaggerated estimate of any single point like this spells
downfall) ; plumage, 10 ; shape, 15 ; want of size, 15 ;
condition, 10. Birds with coarse lobes, or with any
stain of blue or red, or any black on legs, are to be
passed. It is all lobe, and that an exaggerated one,

422 THE POULTRY MANUAL

from start to finish. It has killed the Spanish. May
the Minorca be spared !

THE MINORCA

Sub-varieties : Blacky White, Cuckoo^ Rose-comb.

The Black Minorca

This breed probably came to us from the small
island in the Mediterranean of the same name. For
many years after its importation it was bred almost
exclusively in Devon and the adjoining western
counties. Like many other of our breeds it was much
smaller when first introduced, the adult males weighing
about 5^ lb. and the hens a pound less. It was known
as the " Red-faced Spanish " to distinguish it from its
white-faced relative, and it is probable that both breeds
had a common origin.

Modern Minorcas are getting too like the Spanish in
their stilty carriage and gait, and differ considerably
from the square- and massive-shaped bodies of the
Minorca of even ten or twelve years ago. This is
probably due to the infusion of other blood, including
the Spanish to obtain the larger lobe, the Black Lang-
shan to get the black eye and legs and the more
brilliant plumage, and probably a dash of Game blood
also. Traces of all these "infusions" are still to be
seen. The occasional feathered shank and smaller
comb point to the Langshan, the red eye to the Game,
and the white face, exaggerated lobe and pale legs to
the Spanish. These are all considered to be defects,
and are to be avoided.

The results of these crosses have perchance added at
various times to the robustness of the breed. But the
prevailing desire for exaggerated size in the white ear-
lobe, and for the enormous comb, in both sexes, has
undone the vitality imparted, and though the Minorca
of to-day is beyond all question one of the most useful
breeds we have, it is not as robust as it once was. The
cocks have suffered more than the hens in this respect,
and while it is common enough to find hens two or
three years old maintaining all the freshness and vigour
of youth, and fit for the show-pen, it is rare to find

MEDITERRANEAN BREEDS 42^

a cock that has survived his first season and still main-
tains a sound red face, and a comb erect and in good
proportion. And when such a bird is found it is
usually one which as a youngster was considered to have
a comb and lobe too small.

The sound path in these matters is the via media,
avoiding exaggerations on either side. In the revolt
from our methods the Americans have gone too far,
and the comb of a winning pullet there would in any
of our large shows be passed for " a mean-looking comb."
Their standard also asks for " thin " lobes. We prefer
them thick.

Their Utility Qualities. — Before providing details
of the standard points of a Minorca I give the founda-
tion of the Minorca's popularity in its undoubted use-
fulness. It lays the largest white egg of any living
fowl where it is kept in suitable surroundings ; and its
flesh is a dish for an epicure. In spite of the vaunted
qualities of the Dorking and Indian Game, which may
carry more flesh on the breast, it is one of the best-
flavoured fowls we have, the flesh being white, juicy,
tender, and abundant, and it possesses little offal.
There are no big sinewy thighs as in some of the heavy
sitting breeds. It is the largest of the so-called " light
breeds."" A well-developed cockerel will weigh 7 lb.
or more, and pullets a pound less, while many show,
specimens exceed these weights by 1 or 2 lb.

They are active fowls and forage well where they have
space to roam, and to grow cockerels well they should
have liberty. But they thrive in the most confined
quarters, and are essentially the fowl for a town-dweller,
or for the artisan with confined space in a backyard.
Many of the best exhibition pullets of the year are
grown in very tiny covered runs, and if care is taken
that the birds get scratching exercise, and are not fed
with over-fattening foods, they are champion layers
under such conditions.

TTiei/ stand confined spaces well, and where an Orping-
ton would become simply rolls of fat the Minorca keeps
in good laying condition.

They are tame and readily eat out of the hand of the
person accustomed to feed them, though they can fly
when in an open range, or when startled.

424 THE POULTRY MANUAL

They are quiet and do not cackle away for an hour
after laying an egg, as though it were a wonderful
event. They are a steady, sober, business-like fowl.

All these points are in their favour, and the fanciers
in and around London are able to maintain a large and
flourishing club, called the " London Minorca Club,"
and, in confined runs for the most part, breed some of
the best specimens every year. I had almost written
that they do better in confined quarters, so well adapted
are they for the purpose. They certainly lay more eggs
where they are sheltered by surrounding buildings from
stress of weather, and thrive much better in winter in
such places than in open and exposed quarters, unless
plenty of artificial shelter is provided. And they do
better on a light soil than a heavy one, and above all on
a well-drained soil. The thing they cannot stand in
winter is a wet, undrained soil. Otherwise they are
hardy enough, as some of the best are bred in the north
and in Scotland, though the home they love is still the
more balmy and sunny west and south-west.

One reason why so many of the good birds come from
the northern counties is that they come on to lay at a
later age, which gives them a chance of developing their
frames more than the rapidly-maturing southerners.
The growth to rapid maturity often has to be checked by
moving the pullets from one pen to another, when size
is a desideratum, though this can be carried too far,
and the laying qualities injured. It has been injured in
some exhibition strains, and the pullets will not lay
till nine or ten months old. If eggs are the chief aim,
pullets hatched in April and May will begin to lay in
October or earlier, if they are kept growing and allowed
a fair amount of stimulating food.

For crossing with other breeds they have hardly an
equal, and invariably increase the size of the eggs, while
they most frequently add to their abundance.

A strain of Minorcas bred for laying will readily yield
an average of 150 to 170 eggs a year, and though the
shell is white, their large size, excellent flavour, and
deep-coloured yelk make them readily saleable, and
town-dwellers who keep them and get winter eggs
have no difficulty in selling all they have to dispose
of. Where they are kept for this purpose the medium-

MEDITERRANEAN BREEDS

425

sized fowl do better than the very large ones, and
medium-sized head points should be preferred to those

m excess.

THE EXHIBITION MINORCA

By the courtesy of the Minorca Club, of which I have
for many years been a vice-president, I am able to give

426 THE POULTRY MANUAL

a copy of ideal Minorcas of both sexes, which will
enable the reader to understand many of the " points,"
and also to give a copy of the Standard of Perfection,
to which I add a few explanatory notes of my own.

General Characteristics and Colour of Cock

Head. — Long and broad, so as to carry the comb
quite erect.

Beak. — Fairly long, but stout ; dark horn colour or
black.

Eye. — Full, bright, and expressive.

Note. — A dark eye, as nearly black as possible, sets off a
Minorca. Many otherwise good birds are spoilt by a "gamey "
eye. Where black cannot be got, dark brown is next best, but
red eyes, or those of a daw character, are to be avoided. A dark
eye is usually accompanied by a dark leg.

Comb. — Single, large, evenly serrated, perfectly up-
right, firmly set on the head, straight in front, free
from any twist or thumb mark, reaching well to the
back of the head, moderately rough in texture, free
from any side-sprigs.

Note. — A glance at the ideal Minorca comb as illustrated will
make this long description clearer. The comb is perhaps the
most important "fancy" point in a Minorca, and certainly the
most difficult to breed true to the ideal. If anything, the draw-
ing represents too large a comb. It should be noted that the
spikes, or serrations, are five in number (but one more is not out
of place). Also that the spikes are wedge-shaped, not pencil-
spiked, and that their depth from point to the wider base is about
equal to the depth of the blade, or flat portion, from the head
to the base of the spikes. Note also that the centre spike should
be erect and slightly taller than the rest, and that an imaginary
line drawn from point to point would describe a semi-circle.
The front of the comb should not protrude over the beak, other-
wise the bird could not eat with comfort, or without damage to
the comb. A firm comb, with a thick base and correctly formed,
is of more importance than one of great size, and one 6 inches
long and 4^ inches deep from the tip of the centre spike to the
base is big enough for the largest and most fully-developed
specimen. It should follow the line of the neck-hackle but
without touching it, otherwise there is a temptation, too often
indulged in, to cut a piece from underneath to prevent its falling
over. It should also have a moderately rough or granulated
surface, not a smooth one like the Spanish fowl.

MEDITERRANEAN BREEDS 427

Face. — Fine in quality, as free from feathers or hairs
as possible.

Note. — The face should be a dark blood-red colour, and free
from white spots or streaks. To remove feathers is trimming
and illegal. Better far a gipsy face, i. e. one covered with tiny
feathers, than a pale red face streaked with white. Any white
extending beyond the ear-lobe, and over the face or the ear is a
fatal defect. The gipsy face is much more common in hens
than cocks. " My face is my fortune, sir, she said," is the
Minorca's motto. Take care also that the face is red under-
neath the lobe, otherwise " white face " is sure to come with
age.

Ear-lobes. — Medium in size, almond-shaped, smooth,
flat, fitting close to the head.

Note. — A hollow, loose, or folded lobe is a disfigurement.
The best are smooth, of kid-like texture, though a good-shaped
and thick lobe slightly wrinkled is not a bad feature. A smooth,
thin lobe is common enough and of little value. While the lobe
should keep its place and not wobble about as the bird moves, I
like to see it thick and with a rounded edge, with the white
surface following well underneath. Such lobes have plenty of
substance and keep their shape well. Tlie craze for over-sized
lobes is dying out and more importance is rightly attached to its
shape and texture. Still, it is likely to continue, seeing that
the Minorca's head is its crown of glory, and a good comb, lobe
and face go a long way towards achieving the ideal.

Wattles. — Long, rounded at the ends.

Note. — They should be nicely half-folded, like the half skin of a
stout banana, not wrinkled or bunched together.

Neck. — Long, nicely arched, with flowing hackle.
Body. — Broad at the shoulders, square and compact.

Note. — One of the failings in the drawing of the ideal is that
the breast is not deep enough, nor thick enough through from
the centre of the back to the centre of the breast, and the back
slopes at too great an angle. In this respect the London Minorca
Club's ideal is better.

Breast. — Full and rounded.
Back. — Broad and rather long.

Note. — Care should be taken that the back is flat and not
roached.

Wings. — Moderate in length and fitting close to the
body.

Note. — The flights and secondaries should be black, not grey.
Chickens often come with white flights which are exchanged for

428 THE POULTRY MANUAL

black at the first adult moult. White or grey in flights is a
blemish but not a fatal defect.

Tail. — Full, sickles long, well arched, and carried
well back.

Note. — It is a very rare thing for a Minorca to sport white
sickles. A prevailing fault is high carriage of tail^ which is also
sometimes turned up towards the head so as to merit the term
^'^ squirrel tail." The carriage in the ^'^ ideal" is correct.

Legs and Feet. — Thighs and shanks of medium length
and stout. Colour, " very dark slate."

Note. — Many of the best birds have now black legs to
accompany the black eye, and these points are to be highly
prized. A light slate is too reminiscent of " Spanish " blood.

Toes. — Four in number.

Note. — As in all other breeds these should be straight and
well spread apart. A cockerel with crooked toes is rarely a good
stock-getter.

General Shape and Carriage. — Upright and graceful.

Size and Weight. — Medium, rather large to be pre-
ferred, considered with symmetry and type. Adult
cocks should weigh at least 7 lb. ; cockerels, 6 lb.

Note. — These weights are now commonly exceeded. But
quality is moi*e important than size.

General Characteristics of Hen

Head. — Beak and eye as in the cock.

Comb. — Single, fairly large, evenly serrated, arched,
drooping well down over side of face so as not totally to
obstruct the sight, slightly rough in texture, free from
any side-sprigs.

Note. — The blade of the comb before the first spike should
fold over the head and make a loop in front of sufficient sub-
stance to carry the comb free from the face on the other side,
and not obscure the sight. It is pitiful to see a soft, flabby
comb lying flat on the face, obscuring the sight and making the
hen go peering about like a blind mute. The comb should be
well and deeply serrated like the cock's, and have five or six wedge-
shaped spikes, although this is not of such importance as in the
cock. ITie comb in the ideal is a little too large.

Ear-lohes, Face and Wattles. — As in the cock, the
ear-lobe being rather more rounded, but still oblong

MEDITERRANEAN BREEDS 429

and not round. Birds crossed with the Hamburgh to get
a smooth lobe, often have lobes almost circular.

Nech. — Long and nicely arched.

Body. — Broad at the shoulders, square and compact.

Note. — The ideal sketch is excellent. The back is longer and
not so drooping, and the body is square at the shoulders and
angular.

Tail. — Full and neat, carried well back.
Legs and Feet.— As in the cock.

Note. — Medium size and length, and black or dark slate in
colour.

General Shape and Cai'riage, — Upright and graceful.

Size and Weight. — Medium, rather large to be pre-
ferred. Adult hens should weigh at least 6 lb., pullets
5 1b.

Note. — These weights are commonly exceeded. I have had
pullets 7 to 8 lb. Quality is more important than size.

Plumage. — In both sexes " glossy black."

Note. — The true Minorca colour is a hluish black. Many
prefer the green sheen, which I think has been borrowed from
the Langshan. A dull black is to be avoided.

Value of Points in Minorcas

Deduct
up to
Defects in face : Bloated red, coarseness,
or too hairy . . . . .15

Comb badly shaped or twisted . .15
Wrinkled, folded or stained lobe . .10
Too light in legs, eyes, or beak . . 8
Other defects in colour . . . .10

Crooked breast-bone .... 7

Want of size ...... 15

„ „ style or symmetry . . .10
„ „ condition . . . .10

A perfect bird to count . . . 100

Note. — Although defects in face, comb and lobe count 40 in
this list, in practice they count more, and so does the light eye.
A red or pearl-eyed bird ought not to win however good in other
points.

430 THE POULTRY MANUAL

Serious Defects, for which birds should be passed. —
White in face ; wry or squirrel-tailed ; feathers on leg ;
other than single-combed ; coloured plumage other than
black or white in the several varieties ; other than four
toes ; legs other colour than black or slate in Black
Minorcas, or white in White Minorcas.

Note. — Since the big lobe craze has diminished white faces
are uncommon. A brilliant-plumaged cockerel often has red
feathers in the neck-hackle and on the wing-bow^ which^ as we
have seen in the Chapter on "Colour," are the natural quarters for
red colour. These feathers are no sign of impurity of race, but
are incident to all black breeds. They are a disqualiii cation in
exhibition specimens^ but the cocks with them are most useful
as pullet-breeders. They add to the brilliance of the pullet's
plumage, but a fair percentage of the cockerels bred from them
will have coloured feathers themselves. If not extra good in
other ways they are better killed for table, or used for crossing
Avith other breeds. To pluck the feathers and then exhibit or sell
the birds as if they were sound in colour is to defraud, and the
practice is too common. Beware of it in selling classes at shows.

Breeding and Mating for Exhibition

The novice who has studied the Standard of Per-
fection I have annotated in such detail, and compared
it with the ideal sketch, should have a fair notion of
what a Minorca should be. But he will search long and
in vain to find a perfect specimen, though a few are
" staged " each year nearly approaching it. In mating
the stock, care should be taken that the birds are of
robust health, not over-shown or pampered specimens.
If the cock has any marked fault, see that the pullets
excel where he is deficient, e. g. if he has a light eye see
that the pullets have dark ones ; if his comb has too
many serrations, that the hens are correct ; if his lobes
are wrinkled, folded, or thin, that the hens make up for
t ; or if the hens have a high carriage of tail, that he
carries it low. In fact, never breed from a high or
squirrel-tailed cock, however good in other respects.

Single Mating. — Good exhibition specimens are
bred from the same pen every year, though nine out
of ten of the most noted breeders practise double
mating.

Where only one pen can be afforded or kept, and the
owner wishes to breed show birds of both sexes, he

MEDITERRANEAN BREEDS 431

should secure as typical a cockerel as he can get and
mate him with about three hens for cock-breeding and
the same number for pullet-breeding — the chief differ-
ence between the two lots being that the cock-breeding
hens shovild be rather taller on the leg, and should have
combs thick, firm at the base and well serrated. Such
a comb when held erect will look like a cock's with a
good stretch of smooth, unserrated blade in the front,
and rise neatly from the beak without a lot of folds and
wrinkles, and it will follow the line of the neck behind.
Some good cock-breeders have combs almost erect. For
the pullets the combs should be extra large if the cock's
is small, and should lean gracefully to one side. It will
commonly be found that a comb with six or even seven
deeply-cut serrations, hangs more gracefully than one
with four or five. The lobes should be as large
and thick as can be obtained. The tendency in the
Minorca is always toward the small lobe, and the per-
centage of large lobes is small. The size of lobe may
be too large and disproportionate for exhibition, it
cannot well be too large for breeding purposes.

Double Mating. — Competition being so keen, the
most expert breeders nearly always have two or more
breeding pens, and when these are kept distinct, and
the progeny registered, there is an advantage in having
birds " line-bred " in these directions. The method of
mating has already been partly indicated.

To breed Show Cocks. — The bird should be as
near the ideal as your opportunities or the amount you
have to spend will permit. . The greatest care should be
taken that his comb, face, and lobes are good, and also
that there is brilliant colour in the plumage. The cock
has the greatest influence in these respects, though
there is certainly inter-action between the sexes, e.g. if
the cock has large lobes and the hen small or thin lobes,
few good-lobed cocks will be bred. See that the comb
is a natural one and not a trimmed one, and that no
side-sprigs are present, or traces of the place where they
once grew. There is usually a scar, or a dark blotch
visible when the comb is held up to the light.

The hens to mate need not be show birds, and their
combs will usually be too thick to look well, and should
be as described for single mating. If you are anxious

432 THE POULTRY MANUAL

for good lobes, both sides should have them, though a
folded lobe in a hen or pullet is not a great matter.

To breed Show Pullets. — The general rule applies,
viz. let the pullets be as good as you can get, and with
good size. Although white in face is to be avoided as
far as possible I should not reject a good big hen with
large lobes to breed pullets, even if she was not quite
sound in the face. See that they have low tail carriage.

The Cockerel to mate with them should have a large
comb of good shape. If thin and upright it will do,
but the combs of pullet-bred cockerels usually lean over,
and before attempting to breed from should be dubbed.

Dubbing. — A cockerel with a large comb, especially
if it is weak at the base and overhangs, will never
fertilize eggs and get stock so long as cold weather
lasts, and to wait till April or May is to wait till the
season for breeding show birds has gone. I have tried
to breed from them scores of times and have failed. A
touch of frost, or a hen-pecked comb, and good-bye to
fertility ! Besides, even the weight of such a comb often
makes the bird uncomfortable, or unable to take food
properly, and the result is the same. The great majority
of successful breeders dub their stock cockerels about
November or December, or as soon as the big shows
are over, A dubbed cock has twice or thrice the vigour
and will last longer as a stock bird, and though the
operation may seem cruel it is in reality a kindness to
him. The operation only takes about two minutes,
with the aid of a razor and a pair of dubbing shears.
The large wattles and the loose skin adjoining should
first be removed, and then the comb, leaving only about
half an inch of the blade attached to the head. A
sponge and cold water soon stops the bleeding and a
thin film of medicated wool should be placed on the
surface. When the bird is put down he will crow
lustily, and, if permitted to do so, would eat a hearty
meal. It usually takes about ten days to heal, when he
is ready to put in the breeding pen. On the ground
alike of kindness to the bird and service to the breeder,
dubbing, when skilfully performed, is to be commended,
and it is almost universally necessary in the case of
pullet-breeding cockerels. A move in the direction of
single mating, and of smaller combs, would lessen the

MEDITERRANEAN BREEDS 433

necessity, but in northern climates it would still be of
frequent necessity. It is one of the disagreeable things
which must be tolerated.

In breeding for utility only there is no need for
dubbing, as the combs may be moderated in size and
the birds not being penned up to prepare for show,
may run out in all weathers and get their combs
hardened, or if a serrated point gets touched with the
frost it does not matter.

To prepare for Exhibition. — Both comb and lobe
in the Minorca need preparation as a rule, and readers
are referred to the chapter with this heading, which
applies to all the Mediterranean breeds and not to the
Minorca alone.

Rearing Minorca Chickens is fairly easy if the
stock birds are strong. They grow and feather rapidly,
though not as precociously as Leghorns. In a rearer,
care should be taken that they do not get over-heated
or remain too long, as otherwise the combs of the
cockerels get " sprung " or over-grown — a common cause
of thumb marks. The same applies to those under a
hen. Many a cockerel's comb is ruined through the
bird remaining a week too long with the hen or in
the rearer. The most precocious cockerels rarely make
the best specimens. The comb grows too rapidly and
the bird rarely attains a good size. They should be
separated from the pullets when about three months
old, and allowed as wide a range as possible, and in
their sleeping apartments shoiild never be over-crowded.

When hatched, the throat, breast, and under-parts are
white, and the feet are often yellowish. The more
white in the chick the better the colour in the adult.
A chicken hatched black all over never gets a brilliant
plumage. The same remark applies to all black breeds.
They nearly always have one or more white flights, but
these drop out at the adult moult, which usually takes
place from four months old and after. Birds with side-
sprigs on the comb, or deformed bodies or crooked toes,
may be disposed of at an early age, or any with feathered
shanks. Comb and lobe develop at the same time late
in the bird's growth, at the end of the moult. The
slow-growing, lanky-looking cockerels make the best
specimens. In birds intended for exhibition the growth

F F

434 THE POULTRY MANUAL

should not be forced by stimulating or over-fattening
food until the moult is finished.

The White Minorca

This is a sport from the black and is similar in all
points except colour. This should be a pure white and
free from black tickings. The face should be free from
white, and the legs of a pinky white colour. Unless
kept in a very clean atmosphere they require washing
before an exhibition. They are said to be as hardy and
useful as their black relatives, and even to excel them
in laying. They have, however, never been very popular,
and though classes are provided for them at the club
shows they rarely fill well.

It is a remarkable fact that these " sports " rarely
occur except in the yards of exhibitors who practise
inbreeding or " line-breeding " to a great extent. It
would seem to be a matter of the mating of cousins.
A similar consanguineous mating of cousins in the
human race is responsible for more than the average
output of albinos.

The White Minorca so closely resembles the White
Leghorn, from which it is distinguished chiefly by the
leg-colour, that this may account for its lack of popu-
larity. In the multiplicity of breeds, distinct and
marked characteristics are required to secure many
adherents. All the same it is a very beautiful and
most useful fowl, and can hold its own when in com-
petition with the black.

The Barred Minorca

This recent aspirant for fame is described in the
Chapter on " Colour." When exhibited at the Inter-
national Show, in 1908, it certainly made a good start
and appeared full of Minorca character, in shape and style
and head-points, and the barring was of good quality.
They appear to be chiefly of Dutch origin. Whether
they will become popular remains to be seen. They
are much more pleasing than the Cuckoo Leghorn,
which, with a longer life, has made little progress. If
a standard is favoured, it must follow the lines of the
older varieties and differ only in colour.

MEDITERRANEAN BREEDS 435

The Rose-combed Minorca

This variety, though long bred in America, the land
of the rose-combed breeds, has only within the last feu-
years been known in England. It is, I believe, admitted
to the standards of the Northern or British Minorca
Club, but has not been admitted into the old Minorca
Club.

It is admittedly a cross between the Black Hamburgh,
with its rose-comb, and the Black Minorca, and still
shows the most evident traces of the cross in its more
abundant plumage, especially of the tail, and in its
rounded lobes. The comb has made more progress,
and although it still greatly resembles the Hamburgh,
an attempt has been made to make it follow the Wyan-
dotte type, and follow the line of the neck instead of
the horizontal and long " leader " so characteristic of the
Hamburgh.

There is no doubt that it is a first-class utility fowl,
and though the egg may not be as large as the Black
Minorca's, it will probably lay more of them, since no
fowl excels the Hamburgh as a layer in the number of
its output.

It will be hardy also, as the effect of a recent cross,
and its rose-comb will be less liable to the effects of
frost. It is at present smaller than the Minorca,
though size could easily be bred if required.

What it lacks most at present is Minorca character,
and Minorca fanciers therefore fight shy of it ; and
though increasing in the number of its adherents it is
not at present widely bred.

It is sure to throw, for a time, a number of single-
combed specimens, but these will rapidly diminish.

It is already more than half Minorca blood, as is
proved by the fact that the Hamburgh used to produce
it threw a large percentage of single-combed chicks.
If it had been pure Hamburgh we know from Mendel's
laws that the rose-comb would have been dominant,
and all the chicks would have had rose-combs in the
Jirst generation. But the Black Hamburgh itself has
been crossed with the Minorca to get size, and a large
specimen would be sure to be selected in making the
new variety. It should be popular with those who like

436 THE POULTRY MANUAL

a black fowl with a rose-comb and want abundance of
eggs, and in time, when its character and type are more
fixed, it may fitid its way into the standard varieties.
It might have been more popular with another name,
though it is not for me to suggest it. Novices who
desire a thoroughly useful fowl, and would like to win
a few prizes, where classes are provided, have a rare
chance of coming to the front, and should the fickle
Fancy adopt it as one of its favourites, they have a
sporting chance of a good thing, and, while they are
certain of a good utility fowl which will pay its way,
have the pleasant task of establishing on a firm basis
its " fancy " points.

THE BLUE ANDALUSIAN

This interesting breed has for many years held a
unique position as the only really popular fowl of the
blue colour, though, attracted by its novel hue, it is
now being followed by many other breeds.

Its peculiarities in breeding have been referred to at
length in the Chapters on " Colour" and " Mendelism "
as illustrating at once Mendel's law of segregation and
the intricacies of the colour question, and to these the
reader is referred.

The early Andalusians were sometimes called "Blue
Spanish," and they take much more after the " Spanish "
type than the Minorca, in their sprightly and more
Game-like appearance, and in having smaller combs.
In fact, one of their chief wants from a show point
of view is the paucity of comb in the pullets, many
being exhibited with almost erect combs, in spite of
these being reckoned among the "defects."

Comb and lobes are not of such exaggerated import-
ance as in the Minorca, colour and lacing being the
prominent features.

The early Andalusians were said to be almost a self-
coloured blue of "a sort of dove-colour," though some
had fair black lacing.

It has doubtless been crossed with the Black Minorca
to increase its size and the density of its lacing, as well
as to increase its head-points, but it still retains a strong
individuality of its own.

MEDITERRANEAN BREEDS 437

It is a contemporaiy of the Black Spanish, and doubt-
less a very near relation. In the notes on the Spanish
fowl, I gave a quotation from Mr. Dixon which shows
that, in 1846, a Mr. Barber imported black and also
white Spanish fowls " without the white cheek-patch,"
and these may have been the foundation of the Anda-
lusian. This is borne out by a further note (on p. 276).
Another gentleman says : " I have a few chickens out
from Mr. Barber^s Andalusian hens (called Andalusians
because they came from thence), some of which seem
to be the true old Black Spanish, and some a grizzly
white . . . some of these are of a blue, or grey, or
slaty colour.""

When it is stated, therefore, that the Andalusians
are a cross between the Black and White Minorca, it
should be remembered that this means the original
Black Minorca, or Spanish, and that they are a con-
temporary, and not a descendant, of the original Black
Minorca, and that they adhere closer to the original
type, in spite of a modern cross. In the west of
England they are still called " Blue Minorcas."

When they first came over they were not a laced
bird, but a rather pale slate colour, and the lacing came
as an afterthought and is due to repeated infusion of
black blood.

Their Utility Qualities are considerable, and they
are said to equal the Minorca as layers. The eggs are
more like the Spanish in shape, having both ends almost
equal, making a true oval, not a mere pear-shaped egg
with a thick and thin end. They are hardy and active,
though the chicks do not feather as readily as the
Minorca. They are not equal to the Minorca as a
table-fowl, but they are quite as strong and hardy,
if not more so.

General Characteristics of Andalusians

These are similar to the Spanish fowl already
described. They differ from the Minorca in the
following —

Face. — Fine in texture and h'lgfit red in colour.

Ear-lobes. — Fair size, almond-shape. The lobe craze
has not touched the Andalusian.

438 THE POULTRY MANUAL

Tail, — Large and flowing and carried 7'ather high, but
not squirrel.

General Shape. — Very upright and strutting, with
prominent breast and keen, alert appearance.

Colour of Andalusians

In both Sexes. — Beak : Dark slate or horn. Ei^e :
Dark red or reddish-brown. Comb, Face and Wattles :
Bright red. Legs : Dark slate or leaden-blue.

In the Cock. — Head, HacMe, Back and Saddle,
Shoulders and Wing-hows: A rich lustrous black.
Breast and Thighs: Clear silver-blue ground-colour,
with distinct black lacing on each feather. Second-
aries, Flight Feathers and Tail: Clear silver-blue.
Sickle Feathers and Tail Coverts: Purplish black.

In the Hen. — Head and Hackle : Black, with lacing
on the lower feathers. Breast, Back, Body and Thighs :
Silver-blue ground-colour as clear as possible, with dis-
tinct black lacing on each feather. The Whig-bars
should be distinctly laced also. Tail: Laced at the
ends if possible.

The chief difficulty is to get a clear blue ground-
colour and well-defined lacing combined. Most pullets
are sooty in ground-colour about the throat and breast.

Points forjudging Andalusians. — Comb 10. Lobe
10. Defects in face 15. Defects in colour of plumage
20, and of lacing 20. Size and shape 15. Condition 10.

Serious Defects. — A bird should be passed for
squirrel- or wry-tail ; very white in face or very much
red in lobe, for drab or rusty saddle or hackle, for
crooked toes ; or for other than slate-coloured legs.

Mating

It is essential in breeding, to mate together heavily-
laced birds for pullet-breeding, as the tendency is to
lose colour. The lacing in any case must be heavy on
one side. If a light-coloured but well-laced cock is used,
the hens must be on the dark side. If a dark cock is
used with true black where black should be, the hens
may be light-coloured, but should be well-laced.

If the two sexes come from the same strain, though not

MEDITERRANEAN BREEDS 439

too near in relationship, good specimens of both sexes
can be bred from the same mating, and although the
most successful breeder told me that many black and
white chicks would come from any mating, yet he
believed that of the true blues, he got as many ex-
hibition specimens, and in as large a proportion, as
from any other breed. In Andalusians as in Minorcas,
or, indeed, in any other breed, the best way is to go to
a reliable breeder and purchase a pen of related stock,
and not to pmrchase a cock here and a pullet there.
The lacing takes years of patience to fix in anything
like a definite way, and to cross strains is to lose all
that has been gained by line-breeding. A well-laced
Andalusian hen, when fully developed and in bloom, is
a unique picture and very beautiful.

THE LEGHORN

Sub-varieties : Brown^ White^ Cuckoo^ Black, Pile, Duckwing,
Buff, Paz'tridge, Blue, Anconas

The Leghorn is the egg-layer par excellence, and is a
very useful and popular fowl, though its popularity is
not as great as the Wyandotte or the Orpington, which
are of much later origin. A glance at the catalogue of
the great International Show held at the Crystal Palace
in November each year will show the relative esteem in
which fanciers hold the respective breeds. In 1908 we
find there in round numbers 780 Orpingtons, 640
Wyandottes, and 260 Leghorns, though the latter have
sometimes mustered over 300. The reason for this
lesser number is that the farming class prefer a general
purpose fowl, whose value as a table-bird is a few pence
more than the Leghorn, forgetful of the fact that the
output of eggs from the Leghorn class would very much
more than counterbalance this.

They also object to the more active habits of the
Leghorn, which, unless penned up or kept in separate
enclosures, will leap fences and wander far afield.
Where this is a serious objection, a cross of a Leghorn
cock with the heavier breeds would add 20 to 50 per
cent, to the egg production, and produce a more sober
and stay-at-home race almost equal for table purposes.
Where eggs are the chief object (and they are certainly

440 THE POULTRY MANUAL

the most profitable part of utility farming), nothing
can beat the Leghorn varieties.

Its introduction to us, like most of the yellow-legged
breeds, came to us through our American cousins, who
imported them from Leghorn. And as there were rose-
combs as well as single in the heterogeneous stock first
imported, they bred the original browns with rose-combs
also. Their genius seems to be fascinated with this
class of head-gear. But English fanciers have not
taken to it, and prefer to keep to the large single-comb
as the hall-mark of the Leghorn in common with the
other Mediterranean breeds.

The Leghorn is as popular to-day as ever after having
stood the test of well-nigh forty years, and, unlike some
of the newer breeds, which are certainly doomed to
speedy extinction, has not been boomed into an
ephemeral popularity. Neither has it withered with
age nor been spoilt by the fancier's fads. Some of the
varieties have been " improved " to the detriment of
their utility, especially in certain " strains." But the
rank and file are as robust and vigorous as ever, and
they are so widely spread that there is little fear of
inbreeding destroying their general utility. For ele-
gance and beauty and variety of colour they can hardly
be excelled.

As president of the Leghorn Club I am able to give
the revised Standard of Perfection which will shortly
appear in the Poultry Club Standards. It is not
improbable that this Standard, and the scale of points
for judging, will, with the aid of the clubs formed for
fostering the several varieties, undergo further revision,
since the value of such points as colour and size are by
no means identical in value in the whole of the varieties.

To enter into /if// details of the history, manufacture,
methods of mating, rearing, selection of chickens would
occupy a separate treatise. It is hoped, however, that
the hints here given, together with the Chapters on
" Colour " and " Preparing for Exhibition," will be of
interest and assistance to the novice. To those who are
keen on any special variety I would also commend Mr.
H. Hesford's book on Leghorns of all varieties and Mr.
Verrey's treatise on " The Leghorn Fowl," as well as to
such a masterpiece as Lewis Wright's Book on Poultry,

MEDITERRANEAN BREEDS 441

though all these do not bring the history of the more
recent varieties up to date. I am indebted for some
notes to Mr. Verrey's paper on " Mating Leghorns "
in the Report of the National Poultry Conference, held
at Reading; in 1907.

The Brown Leghorn

This ancient variety is of the black -red type, like the
parent of all breeds of poultry, the Gallus Bankiva.

The jfirst Brown Leghorns reached England in 1872,
but they had been known and bred in America some
twenty years earlier, where they were imported direct
from Italy. The original stock was very small, only
weighing about 3| lb. each, and Leghorns in their native
home are not much larger to-day. It is noteworthy that
these smaller Leghorns are better layers than the larger
specimens — i. e. they lay more eggs, but the size of the
egg is not equal to that laid by the modern type.

When first introduced they were said to be more of
the h'own-redi type than the black -red, and the cocks
had breasts mottled with brown instead of black. In
their chickenhood the modern Leghorn cockerels re-
produce this type and have mottled breasts until their
adult moult, and should not therefore be cast aside by
the novice for this incipient defect.

Had the brown breast been retained as the Standard
colour, we should have been spared the confusion of
double mating ; but having decided upon the black
breast, after the pattern of the Black-red Game, fanciers
resorted to a cross with the Game to bring about more
speedily the desired result. The result has been more
brilliance of colour, the rich black breast, and probably
the brighter-coloured neck -hackle, with the loss, how-
ever, of the black striping, one of the most beautiful
of the Brown Leghorn cock's features. As the legs of
the Black-red Game are willow, this may also account,
as Mr. Verrey points out, for " dusky feet and spots
on the legs of Brown Leghorn pullets." This cross
may also be responsible for the slightly tinted egg, and
for the accompanying desire of some pullets to become
broody.

Of course all BroAvn Leghorns were not crossed in

442 THE POULTRY MANUAL

this way, but birds so crossed have been inbred to
others, and traces are still to be found of the
amalgamation.

In spite of traces of this alien blood, I consider the
Brown Leghorn the most typical variety we have,
although some specimens are still of too stilty a
character.

The Coloured Plate of the Brown Leghorns shows a
very typical specimen, as will be gathered by comparing
his appearance with the Standard of Perfection. The
faults in the plate are (1) one serration too many in
the front blade of the comb. The centre spike should
also be a trifle wider and larger, and more in the centre
of the comb. (2) The lobe should be more pendulous,
and not stretch towards the wattles. (3) The colour of
the neck-hackle is shown too red on the back, and the
saddle-hackle is not solid enough, and does not show
the striping. (4) The diamond on wing-bay is not
clearly shown. (5) The legs are a little willowy in cast
and not decided enough as " yellow or orange." It is
very difficult to produce perfect colouring from block
printing.

A Typical Cock may be described as having a comb
of fine texture (not so rough as a Minorca's), large,
erect, firmly fixed to its base, evenly serrated, with
broad wedge-shaped spikes following, but not closely,
the line of the neck, free from wrinkles or hollow
indentations called thumb-marks on the front, and free
from side-sprigs at the back. Brown Leghorns are very
liable to this defect.

The nech should be well arched and the hackle full
and flowing. The wattles should be long, thin and fine
in texture but not bunched together. The face bright
red, and fine in texture, not coarse, wrinkled or bloated,
and free from white. The lohes^ medium size, almond
in shape, pendulous, smooth and fine in texture like
white kid. White lobes are preferable to those of
a cream colour. The plumage should be bright, and
the hackle a rich orange-red, striped with black, but not
too densely. The body should be wedge-shaped, Avide
at the shoulders and tapering toward the tail, the bach
slightly rounded and sloping to the tail (not straight
and angular as in the Minorca). The bi^east should be

MEDITERRANEAN BREEDS 443

round and prominent, as in the illustration, and the
breast-bone should be straight. (A most common failure
is a crooked breast, and this defect has been tolerated
too long and too leniently.) The tall should be full
and the sickles broad, well spread (not whipped
together like a Game fowl), and carried at an angle of
about forty degrees from the perpendicular, i. e. a
little more erect than sloping. Shanks rather long and
free from feathers, and the thighs a moderate length
and showing below the line of the breast curve — a
trifle more thigh than in the illustration. The carriage
should be upright, sprightly, and alert. The size
medium. Six pounds is a good Aveight for a cockerel.
The breast, under-parts and tail should be a glossy black
with a green sheen.

A Typical Hen. — As portrayed in the coloured
plate. The chief differences from the cock are comb
fine in texture, large, but not overgrown or beefy, rising
from a firm base and falling gracefully over one side
of the face, but not so as to obstruct the sight. The
body wide at the shoulders and tapering to the tail,
which should not be carried so upright as in the cock.
The h'east round and very full and nicely curved from
the neck. The back long, fairly broad, and not so
sloping as the cock's, and but slightly rounded. Tail :
Fairly long, but carried closely and at a slightly lower
angle than the cock's. It should be curved and not
rectilineal as in the Minorca.

The Colour of the Hen is difficult to describe.
The hackle a rich golden-yellow, broadly and sharply
striped with black. This striping is essential in pullets
selected for cock-breeding, but in the softer-coloured
exhibition pullet it is most commonly pencilled or
ticked and not striped. Breast : Salmon-red, running
into maroon round the head and wattles, and ashen-
grey at the thighs. It should be solid in colour, and
as free from shaftiness as possible. Body-colour, a rich
but soft brown, very closely and evenly pencilled with
black, and free from shaftiness, and the wings should
be free from feathers of a foxy-red colour, upon which
the pencilling is usually faint (see Chapter on " Colour ").
The tail black, but the more pencilling on the outer
feathers the better. The flight feathers are black with a

444 THE POULTRY MANUAL

fine outer edging of brown colour. White in flights is
a common but serious defect. The secondary feathers
are black on the inner web and brown on the outer, and
like the body finely pencilled with black. (Brown
Leghorn feathers are illustrated on the Plates of
Feathers, pp. 483 and 501.)

Serious Defects for which a Bird should be
passed. — Cock"'s comb twisted or falling over, or hen's
erect ; ear-lobe red ; any white on face ; legs any colour
but yellow or orange ; wry or squirrel-tails or any bodily
deformity. To this should be added any feather on
the leg. And also as grave defects, side-sprigs on comb
or white flights.

Mating Brown Leghorns

It is necessary to mate two pens to breed exhibition
specimens, one for cockerel- and the other for pullet-
breeding. For utility purposes good-looking birds of
both sexes can be produced, and a good-looking cockerel
is often bred from an exhibition pullet pen.

For Cock-breeding the male should be a good
exhibition specimen, as already described. The hens
to mate with him are more coarsely pencilled. Care
should be taken to select birds with well-striped neck-
hackles, the denser the better. Cock-breeding pullets
should be large birds and are often a little taller on the
leg. Their combs should be well serrated, and when
held erect resemble a cock^s, with a firm base, fitting
well to the arch of the neck. A little ruddiness of
colour is an advantage, and they should be sound in
under-colour and flights. Low tail carriage is an
advantage. The lobes should be large and smooth.
Such birds are useless for exhibition ; but, if cockerel-
bred, will throw good cockerels. They are usually more
robust than the pullet-bred birds, and lay a larger egg.
Rusty-coloured birds are often bred from pullet pens,
and ruddiness alone is not a sufficient guide to their
suitability.

For Pullet-breeding. — The pullets are either show
birds or pullet-bred birds of a nice soft colour, with
pencilling as fine as can be got, and with no tendency
to rustiness. To combat the natural tendency to rud-
diness on the wing, the pullet-breeding cock should be

MEDITERRANEAN BREEDS 445

of a darker shade of colour, and with a densely-pencilled
neck-hackle. The black helps to subdue the red and
keep it in check. See that the cock is sound in his
black, except the breast where a few ruddy feathers are
no disadvantage, or the fluff on the thighs ticked with
brown. The brilliant plumage on the cock, and the
sober but delicate colouring of the hen, will always
make them objects of admiration, and the fact that
they require careful mating which exercises all the
breeder's skill is an incentive to the true fancier.
There is hardly another breed in which it is so difficult
to obtain the desired softness of colour in the female
or more difficult to maintain the softness when once
achieved. The tendency to lose the black pencilling
and for rusty-red to creep in is the chief difficulty.

Their Utility is fair but not excellent. They are
good layers of a medium-sized egg, and the chicks
feather quickly and are fairly strong. They have a
great tendency to crooked breasts, which I attribute
to prolonged inbreeding in certain yards, and to con-
sequent loss of stamina. There are straight-breasted
birds, and once a bird with a strong and straight
breast-bone is introduced, the common failing is soon
overcome, though it may be with loss of colour for a
season. I have rarely found 25 per cent, of exhibition
browns without indented breasts.

The White Leghorn

This was the earliest introduction from America, and
came over to us in 1870, though not brought from Italy
till a later period than the Brown. When first intro-
duced they were small, smart, sprightly birds. The
plumage was more cream colour than white, and the
lobes were not pure white, though the legs were a deep
yellow. It is now the largest of all the Leghorn
varieties, and the white colour is immaculate.

There is some ground for Mr. Verrey's contention
that this spotless whiteness is the result of alien blood.
He considers that a White Minorca cross was introduced
to impart the spotless plumage, but there was a corre-
sponding loss in leg-colour, and that to remedy this, as
well as to impart size, another cross was made with the

446 THE POULTRY MANUAL

White Malay. Breeders of the modern type deny the
allegations, and direct proof of the cross does not seem
to be forthcoming. No one, so far as I am aware, has
confessed to the introduction of this blood.

But beyond all question many modern specimens are
very much after the Malay type, and, if they were
penned side by side, the likeness would be at once
apparent. The long, stilty shanks and the flat hocks,
with the sparse feathering, betray the likeness, as well
as the narrow attenuated body and the low carriage of
the whipped tail. Another feature, otherwise un-
accounted for, is that yellow feathers often appear in
chickens of this type, and that cocks which have been
white as snow in their first year, sport yellow or cinnamon
feathers in neck and saddle-hackle in their second moult,
i. e. when about eighteen months old. As the White
Malay is a sport from the Cinnamon, this would account
for its occasional appearance in the cross, I have no
desire to rekindle the ashes of a dead controversy, and
while I return the Scottish verdict of " not proven," I
feel tempted to add, " don't do it again."

In any case the modern exhibition White cockerels
from 1900 to 1907 were not of Leghorn type. Their
legs were too long and the breast was not prominent,
their sprightly alertness had departed, and in its place
was a heavy tight-feathered bird, with legs bent in
at the hocks, as if tired of life. The hens also, instead
of the bright and alert Leghorn type, were like White
Plymouth Rocks with their long, straight backs and
more sober gait, stately dames of 8 lb, weight instead
of the medium size.

There was a noticeable improvement in 1908, and
there is still room for a return to type. The colour
was perfect, but this and size seemed to be the one aim
of breeders.

The evolution of the Leghorn can easily be traced
in the various editions of the illustrated poultry books,
and the change is great in the extreme from the tiny
high-tailed specimens (which nobody wishes to see
again, except in the farmyards where egg production is
the one and only aim) to the tall but drooping giants
of to-day.

Let us keep the white colour, but breed true to

WHITE LEGHORN COCKEREL
Bred and exhibited by the Author

MEDITERRANEAN BREEDS 449

Leghorn type, and though extra size may be allowed in
the White variety, it should not be carried to extreme
lengths.

The General Characteristics in both sexes should
be that of the race to which they belong. The colour
pure Avhite, without a straw tinge. The lohes white or
cream, the former preferred.

Their Utility Qualities. — I have bred both types
and find them hardy and easy to rear. The modern
type do not mature so quickly as the smaller birds, but
it must be said in their favour that they lay eggs of a
very fine size, even larger than the Black, and I know of
no other breed except the Black Minorca to equal them,
and moreover they lay plenty of them. They have not
lost the utility features so much as extremists on the
other side would make out.

Mating

Though good specimens of both sexes can be pro-
duced from the same pen, still the most successful
breeders practise double mating.

For breeding Cockerels. — To as typical a cock as
can be found or afforded, mate pullets or hens bred
from a pen which has produced show cocks. The chief
difference in outward appearance is in the comb, those
more suitable for cock-breeding having smaller combs
with more substance and a firmer base. Some of them
carry the comb nearly erect. There is no doubt what-
ever that when birds of both sexes have been selected to
breed suitable head-gear in the cockerels, blood tells.

For breeding Pullets, the reverse process is adopted.
The cockerel should have a large, thin comb, which
usually requires dubbing before the breeding season
commences, and the pullets as typical as can be got and
pullet-bred.

For some years past there has been a deficiency of
size and substance in the pullets' combs. A small stiff'
comb is out of place in a large bird, just as an over-
grown comb dwarfs the size of a tiny one. By dual
mating this ought to be overcome.

For exhibition the White Leghorn must be Avell
washed some days before the show. This is not a

450 THE POULTRY MANUAL

difficult matter, and the method is described in
the Chapter on " Preparing for Exhibition." It is
necessary also to keep the cockerels shaded from the
sun while they put on the final plumage, though they
can be allowed out morning and evening. Cold winds
are apt to blister and discolour the lobes.

It is advisable also not to feed on maize, which is said
to cause the sappiness in colour which breeders desire to
avoid.

The White Leghorn is a popular fowl and in large
demand both for exhibition-breeding and utility. In
1908 a Club was formed for the furtherance of the
modern type, and it already numbers over two hundred
members.

The Cuckoo Leghorn

This variety, though only introduced in England in
1884, is one of the oldest, and has been bred in America
and Denmark as the Dominique Leghorn. If it has
Dominique blood in it, there is but little trace of the
cross, as it is the smallest of all the varieties and more
like the original type than any other. It has found few
admirers in England, and has made but little headway
from an exhibition point of view.

The best hen I ever saw was exhibited at the Leghorn
Club Show at Leeds in 1908. Both lobes and comb
were unusually good for a Cuckoo, and the barring was
clear and well defined ; but both size and shape bore
indications of a Barred Rock cross at some time, though
it may have been a distant cross.

The chief failings in colour are those peculiar to the
barred breeds, viz. white in the tail of the cockerels,
sometimes dusky legs, and a blurred sootiness in the
ground colour.

The barring of the Cuckoo Leghorn is not meant to
be as clear and straight and well-defined as in the new
American type of Barred Rock, but more like the
broader old-fashioned type, and to have zigzag markings
with the colours gently blending into one another.

The best I ever saw both in size and markings were
bred from a cross between a Black Leghorn cockerel, with
good lobes and legs and light under-colour, mated with
Black Rock hens. The cockerels were of the Leghorn

WHITE LEGHORN PULLET.
Bred and exhibited by the Author.

06 2

451

MEDITERRANEAN BREEDS 453

type and well barred. If one of these cockerels, already
half Leghorn, had been mated with Cuckoo hens, I
should expect to have seen a great advance both in size,
head points, and clearness of marking, while the Leg-
horn type would have been preserved either in this
generation with three-quarter Leghorn blood, or in
later broods.

If an objection be made that they would not be
Leghorns, but a cross, I reply that there would have
been no Leghorns as a fancier's fowl without a cross, and
that when this can be done without loss of type and a
general spoiling of Leghorn characteristics, it does
good and not harm. Such an infusion of new blood
would rescue the Cuckoo Leghorn from being merely a
utility fowl, whose existence is threatened even in that
class, since the fancier is the fountain-head of the
world's supply of utility stock.

If any Cuckoo admirer would like to see the breed
advance, yet detests an infusion of any but Leghorn
blood, let him use a typical Black Leghorn to infuse
colour, and, if necessary, add a medium-sized White
Leghorn afterwards to clear the ground colour. The
barring is so insistent in its nature that it would remain
in spite of the new blood, and only Leghorn blood
would be used, while the undoubted utility qualities
of the Cuckoo Leghorn would be preserved, and possibly
improved. As they remain at present, they are too
puny and weedy long to survive in days when beauty
and utility go hand in hand.

For the difficulties which are to be encountered in
breeding the barred plumage reference should be made to
the Chapter on "Colour ;" and for the Cuckoo Standard,
to the end of this chapter.

The Black Leghorn

This is one of my prime favourites, and after twelve
years' persistent breeding it still holds first place. I
know of no other variety which combines so many good
qualities. It is still a popular fowl, and though it has
suffered like many others from the fierce competition of
the newer breeds, it still holds its own.

Apart from its beauty as a study in broadcloth and

454 THE POULTRY MANUAL

gold, like a gentleman in evening attire, it has an
elegance of its own, and is as typical in its form and as
noble in its carriage and outline as any of its numerous
relatives.

The foundation of its success, however, is its super-
excellent character as the premier egg-producer of to-
day. It would not be difficult to raise birds which would
average 200 eggs apiece in the year, and I have often
had individual birds to exceed this figure, and, next to
the Black Minorca, I know of no other breed which lays
eggs of such a size, except the exhibition White Leghorn.
The average weight is seven eggs a pound, and often six
will weigh as much. It is true they are white and have
to overcome the English prejudice for tinted eggs, but
their size and quality easily accomplishes this, and as
the birds are as hard as nails, and will lay well in the
winter, and do well in confined quarters, they lay when
" eggs are eggs " and in great demand.

That they can hold their own in competition with all
other breeds is shown by the fact that, at our great
International Show, they have more than once carried
off the trophy for the best fowl of any breed in the
competition against 4000 others of all breeds and all
colours.

Purity of Descent. — The Black Leghorn is of
pure Italian blood, and has long been known and
bred in Italy, as well as in Germany, Switzerland
and Belgium. Some of the best are found to-day in
Belgium, while the rank and file are a common sight
throughout the Continent. They were known in
America at the same time as the White and Brown
varieties, but were neither " made " nor introduced to
us from there. In 1881 I saw them by the thousand
dotted here and there over the whole of Switzerland,
and again, in 1886, in Germany and Belgium as well.
Shortly after this period they were known and exhibited
in England, and some of the best were imported from
Belgium. In their original home fanciers are few and
far between, and the birds run wild and, for the most
part, uncared for. They are small birds, naturally,
under such conditions, and as wild as sparrows, but
prodigious layers. I found them in all altitudes, from
the borders of the Italian lakes in perpetual summer to

MEDITERRANEAN BREEDS 455

the highest mountain passes amid the eternal snows, and
they seemed to thrive ahke in all.

Their Improvement. — With the additional care
and feeding bestowed upon them by expert fanciers, and
care in selection, they soon began to put on extra size
and to improve in colour. But many of them, even in
the exhibition pen, had dusky legs and stained ear-lobes,
with very indifferent head points, while nearly all the
males showed white in the tail sickles. As classes began
to fill better, and the Blacks began to assume gentle-
manly attire, general attention was attracted to them,
and fanciers of the older and better-known breeds began
about 1900 to take them up and set about to "improve"
them. The Ancona of that day had better leg-colour
and better lobes, and they are a kindred race, if not of
the same origin, and there is little doubt that the best
leg-coloured pullets of that time were due to the infusion
of this blood, traces of which showed chiefly in mottled
breasts, which led to the practice of plucking out many
of the tipped feathers.

Then others introduced the Brown Leghorn to secure
the same features, and traces are still common, especially
in chickenhood, while from the " champion strains "
chicks with yellow legs and backs streaked with brown
are often hatched, hardly distinguishable at first from
the Brown ; but these features usually disappear as the
chick grows. These " infusions " were not so bad, though
harmful, because they kept the type and Leghorn
character true. But this was followed by the usual
craze for size, and beyond any doubt Minorca blood
has been used for this purpose. Singularly enough,
yellow legs (though these are often spotted with black)
and increased size of comb and lobe have accompanied
the larger bulk.

The number of " wasters " with hlack legs which were
produced in this way is not stated, but they must have
been considerable, and very few, if any, good pullets
came from this source. Character and type were lost
in a great degree, and this has been most noticeable
during the past two or three years, while the angularity
of the Minorca has displaced the rotundity of the Leg-
horn. As the birds gained in size they lost much of
their alert and sprightly carriage, and in some measure

456 THE POULTRY MANUAL

their hardiness. Some Blacks shown last year almost
rivalled the White Leghorn in size. This is a pity, and
if continued will spell decline, if not decay, in a vigorous
and useful race.

So far as I know the infusions are all of Mediterranean
blood, although traces of feather on the shank occasion-
ally point to a touch of the Langshan, which may have
crept in mingled with the Minorca blood. These changes
are only confined to a few breeders, and Blacks of the
true Leghorn type are still found in hundreds of fanciers'"
yards. The Black Leghorn has so much good in its
foundation qualities that all that was necessary could
have been evolved without this " haste-to-be-rich ""
admixture, and care will have to be taken lest the
essential features die.

The General Characteristics of the variety are
the same as in the other varieties, and the colour is
simplicity itself, viz. Plumage: Rich blue-black, per-
fectly free from feathers of any other colour. Some
judges prefer the green sheen, but much depends on the
light in which a bird is seen. Li some lights it looks
blue, and in others green. Either lustre will pass
muster, but blue is the original. In both sexes the heak
should be yellow or horn, and the legs yellow or orange,
and the toe-nails yellow. The lohes white or cream, white
being preferred. Eye : Red. The difficulty in colour^ as
readers of the Chapter on " Colour " will have noted, is to
get the sound black plumage combined with the yellow
leg.

In Cockerels it is easy to get the yellow leg, but
the sickle feathers, and especially the two main ones, are
usually streaked -with white when the tail is fully
developed, and not one male in ten is exhibited without
traces of it when the sickles have finished their growth.
Moreover, when there is a sound tail the legs are rarely
of a good shade of colour, but somewhat willowy in cast,
or with black spots. The under-colour is usually light
also, if not white. This has led to the nefarious custom
of either plucking the tail feathers so lacking in colour,
or of showing them with partially developed sickles, the
originals having been hand-moulted some weeks before.
Whatever may be said of Barred Rocks being slow in
growing these feathers, the same is not true of the Leg-

MEDITERRANEAN BREEDS 457

horn, and when this particular part of the bird is not in
keeping with the rest, it should be penalized in the show-
pen, and a black half-tail should not be considered the
equal of a full tail which shows traces of white.

In Pullets the chief difficulty has been, not with
plumage, but with leg-colour. Most pullets, though
not all, have good, dense black under-colour, but the
legs are often dusky, and in more than nine cases out of
ten the beak is not yellow, but horn colour or black.

These facts indicate that there is abundance of yellow
pigment in the male and a deficiency of it, or super-
abundance of black in the female.

Hints on Mating

These will be found in detail in the Colour
Chapter (p. 227).

It is sufficient to say here that while good birds of
both sexes can be bred from the one pen, with an
exhibition cock mated with three or four yellow-legged
pullets for pullet-breeding, and the same number with
stiff combs and dusky legs for cock-breeding, it is better,
where possible, to mate two pens, or to have all good
pullets and mate alternately a sound-coloured cock and
one with light under-colour for pullet-breeding.

Mating for Cocks. — Take an exhibition cock, like
the one in the illustration, if you can get him, and mate
with pullets of dense under-colour, the legs being a
secondary consideration. Let the combs be of good
substance, well serrated and with a firm base, as already
described, and a few sound-coloured cocks may be
expected.

Mating for Pullets. — Choose exhibition pullets
with good legs and as sound under-colour as you can
get, but let rich leg-colour be the first thing looked
for.

The cockerel to mate with them should have the right
type of comb and leg-colour and beak, and be as brilliant
in sheen as you can get. If the under-colour is white as
snow he is none the worse, nor is a white tail a fatal
objection, though I prefer him without much white.
Such a cockerel, especially if bred from good pullets,
will perpetuate the yellow leg in the pullets, though

458 THE POULTRY MANUAL

the cockerels will only be of use for table or stock pur-
poses. These pullet-bred cockerels are excellent for the
table if killed at about twelve weeks old, before the final
chicken moult, when they will be found to be as plump
as pheasants and quite tender. The most precocious
ones should be killed off, as they never make large birds
when they crow at six weeks old. Any with side sprigs,
or badly serrated combs, or crooked toes, etc., should
be killed, and only the bigger and more likely birds be
retained. These usually develop more slowly.

The Chickens are hardy and grow very fast. When
moved from pen to pen they are often given to flying
over the fences, but not if gently trained, and if shut in
their scratching-sheds till they are familiar with them
and with their sleeping apartments, they give less trouble.
They should not be unduly forced, and after they are
three months old little flesh-meat should be given them.
When hatched, they are black and white, the breast and
under-parts being of the latter colour. The brightest-
legged birds, especially if the beaks are yellow, are
usually cockerels. The best birds have dusky j'^ellow
legs which brighten with age, and some retain their
duskiness till within a few weeks of maturity, just at
the commencement of laying. The most precocious
pullets lay smaller eggs, but they increase in size after
the first batch.

The cockerels are of prime value for crossing with the
heavier breeds, and the progeny are hardy and make
good layers, since the cockerel of a good laying strain
imparts that quality to the chicks he begets. They are
very shy birds, and always retire to the furthermost
corner of their pen when approached by strangers, and
should always be handled and treated with gentleness,
when they give little trouble. On a wide range they do
well and are good foragers, but a confined run suits
them well, as they do not readily become too fat. Those
who want eggs, and plenty of them, all the year round
cannot aflbrd to be without them ; while the fancier will
find his hands full in attempting to combine the black
and the gold and to breed and perpetuate these features
when achieved.

MEDITERRANEAN BREEDS 459

The Pile Leghoen

The Pile Leghorn is a new variety made at home, its
chief ingredients being derived from the two oldest
varieties, the White and the Brown. If you look at
the illustration of the Brown Leghorn and substitute
white for all those parts which are either black or
brown pencilled with black, you have the Pile (or pied)
Leghorn. For a coloured illustration, see the Frontispiece.

In 1881 Mr. G. Payne mated a White Leghorn cock
with a Brown Leghorn hen. The pullets raised were
white except in breast-colour. Other crosses of White
and Brown were made till the colour was fixed. As
we have seen, white plumage is usually dominant over
black, and has a softening effect on the red.

The Brown hen originally mated is stated to have
had white flights, which showed a tendency to albinism,
and so helped the change of colour. The first Piles
were exhibited in 1886, and the pullets gained prizes,
but a large number of chickens had to be bred to secure
a few true to colour.

Later on the Pile Game, in which the same coloration
had been long fixed, was used, and helped to complete
and to render the colours more permanent, and to this
day the Pile presents a more " Gamey " appearance than
any other of the varieties.

The Colour of the Cockerel is like the Brown
except that the bi'east, thighs, under-parts, tail, and
wing-har are white instead of black. The neck-hacMe
is bright orange without the black stripe, and I presume
that a Brown cock without the striping was used. The
hack and saddle are (or should be) rich maroon, the
shotdders and wing-hows dark red, and the wing-hay,
being the other part of the secondary feathers, red also
or dark chestnut.

The Hen should be entirely white in body-colour
except the hreast, which should be salmon-red like the
Brown, and the neck-hackle white with a golden tinge.

The Chief Difficulties in the Cock are to keep the
tail and flights a pure white free from black tickings ;
to maintain the rich dense colour on the back and
wing ; and to keep the hackle a solid gold colour, and
not with a white centre to replace the black. A fresh

460 THE POULTRY MANUAL

infusion of black -red blood from the Brown Leghorn
would intensify the colour of hackle, especially if the
hackle of the Brown was bright and stripeless, and
would add to the solidity of the wing and back, but it
would add to the black of the tail. It will probably
always be a hard task to find all these three difficult
parts overcome in the same bird, but the solidity of the
red colours is more important than the black ticks.

In the Hen. — The chief difficulty is to maintain a
rich-coloured breast without getting what is called a
rosy wing, since red finds its natural seat there.

Mating of Pile Leghorns

It will be readily understood that the hens with a
rich breast and a rosy wing are best to mate with an
ideal coloured cock to breed good cockerels, and that the
somewhat paler-coloured cocks are best to keep the
colour of the pullets' wings free from rosiness. As in
the other varieties many good birds of both sexes can
be bred from the same pen, and there is not the same
necessity for double mating that there is in the
Browns.

The wasters from this variety will naturally be like
their parents, white or brown, though they need not be
numerous. The colour has now become so fixed that a
dash of fresh colour is not often needed, especially if the
hints on mating are carried out and the excess of colour
on one side be mated to the deficiency on the other.

The popularity of the Pile Leghorn is for some reason
not as great as some of the other varieties, although none
is more striking; especially is this true of the cocks,
when the colour is dense and the wing perfect in its
tri-coloured divisions.

They are hardy and useful, and as good layers as the
average Leghorn, which is saying a great deal.

The DucKwtNG Leghorn

This again is an English-made variety and from the
same originator, Mr. G. Payne. As the Pile Game
suggested the Pile Leghorn, so the Duck wing Game
suggested this charming but little cultivated variety.

In colour it is a reduplication of the Game in all but

MEDITERRANEAN BREEDS 461

one respect, viz. that, in the Leghorn, the neck-hackle
is striped with black and not a silvery-white as in the
Duckwing Game cock.

The body-colour of a Silver Duckwing hen is one of
the most delicate colours in the whole range of poultry
coloration, a clear delicate French-grey daintily pen-
cilled with black, like the Brown, and presenting a
charming contrast with the fawn colour of the breast
and neck, while the silvery neck-hackle striped with
black gives the finishing touch. It is a more pleasing
contrast than in the Brown Leghorn.

For some years there was a confusion caused through
the two varieties of the Gold and Silver Duckwing, the
cocks looking quite distinct, but the Gold pullet looked
at best only like a very poor imitation of a Brown
Leghorn.

Their Origin. — Captain Payne, who was the first to
exhibit Duck wings in both sexes, and who did most to
originate the breed, has not taken the public into his
confidence, but as he was the originator of the Pile Leg-
horn, from the Brown and the White, it is presumed
that he used some of the mis-marked birds bred in
this way as the foundation for the Duckwing. We
know from the laws of colour that the white would
dominate all the black, and that some would come with
blue plumage (a mingled black and white, particulate
inheritance) where the Pile shows white on the breast
and tail, etc., viz. in all those parts where the black
feathers are found in the Brown Leghorn. This would
form the foundation for the silver pencilling in the
Duckwing. It is also stated by various writers that
use was made of an utterly alien cross, viz. the Phoenix
or Yokohama fowl. This ancient Japanese race is
noted chiefly for the excessive length of tail feathering.
It is bred in all colours, and the Duckwing colour is
among them. The colour, so long fixed in the Phoenix,
would impart itself to the Leghorn, and also the
abundant sickle feathering, which sometimes manifests
itself even now.

Another breeder, Mr. Terrot, had exhibited Duck-
wing cockerels before Mr. Payne, and the breeds used
to make them were the Game Duckwing cock and the
Silver Grey Dorking hen and Brown Leghorn. It wil

462 THE POULTRY MANUAL

be seen, therefore, that the Duckwing Leghorn of to-
day is made of very various breeds, two of which carried
the Duckwing colours on the male side, and the Silver
Dorking pullet the sweet soft colour of the pullets.

I have often thought that the huge combs sometimes
seen on the cockerels are derivable from the Dorking,
as well as the square build of the body, and in fact the re-
semblance is often striking between the Silver cockerels
of both breeds, while the colour has been derived from
the Phoenix and the Game.

If I had to start a new strain of Duckwing I should
confine it to the Brown and Black Leghorn, and expect
the black pigment in the Black to harmonize with
the black plumage of the Brown Leghorn, while it
destroyed the brown of the partridge colour and left
the silver in its place, finely pencilled with black. If
the colours did not become sufficiently definite, a cross
with the Duckwing Game would be desirable, and a dash
only of it should suffice. As it is they are of a very
composite mixture and difficult to breed true to colour,
and this is a hindrance to their popularity.

The Colour. — The reader is referred for details to
the " Standards " printed at the end of the chapter.
Briefly, the Duckwing is a copy of the Brown ; all
the black in the cockerel remaining intact, the wing-
bar having an additional iridescent blue sheen, while
the various shades of gold, orange, red and maroon
are replaced by white in the Silver Duckwing,
and softened in colour in the Gold Duckwing to
a deep gold or orange. In the pullets the salmon
breast remains, though of a bright shade, while the
" rich brown " of the body-colour has become a pale
silvery-grey or French-grey in the " Silver," and a
darker shade of grey in the " Gold," and the gold of the
neck-hackle has become silvery-white, and still retains
the black striping.

Hints on Mating of Duckwings

Gold Duckwings. — The cock is a gorgeously coloured

bird, though not so dense in colour as was formerly

fashionable. In the opinion of Mr. Hesford, an early and

successful breeder, they are still bred of too dark a

MEDITERRANEAN BREEDS 463

shade, and instead of the " straw-coloured hackle " he
would prefer a " creamy tinge."

The difficulty is, that the pullets bred from a rich-
coloured cock are too rusty in colour, and are only poor
imitations of the Brown. This was my experience ten
years ago when I bred them. Such pullets are necessary
in the breeding pen to maintain the colour of the cock,
but, like cock-bred Brown Leghorn pullets, they are
unfit for the show-pen. In fact, where a good Gold-
bred pullet is not obtainable a Brown Leghorn pullet
may be used to maintain the colour.

When it is desired to breed Gold pullets for exhibi-
tion, a pullet should be selected as free from rust as
possible, or a Silver-bred pullet with a rich breast be
used instead.

In my opinion the Gold Duckwings are destined to a
short life unless some alteration of the Standard takes
place, and that especially in the softening and toning
down of the cock's colour.

The Silver Duckwing is to my mind a much more
handsome bird than the Gold, though the colour may
not stand exposure to the elements so well.

One great advantage is that a well-mated pen will
produce good specimens of both sexes. The natural
tendency is for the pullets to become too washy in
colour, and, in the breeding pen, pullets of a rather
darker shade than the show tint are desirable, with
clear striped hackles in both sexes. Care should be
taken to have the white colour solid in the cock, and to
see that the hen is free from brown feathers. There is
no other Leghorn pullet more beautiful than the
delicately- coloured Silver Duckwing when free from
rustiness and with the solid, fawn-coloured breast.

Their Utility Qualities are said to be of the
highest. Their composite character would add to
their vigour for a time, though how far this has worn
off by now I have no means of determining. When
any breed gets into few hands its vigour is sure to
decline. They were first-rate layers, though I never
found them to equal either the Black or White, either in
number or size of eggs. I have found the Duckwing
more disposed to broodiness than the other colours in
the Leghorn, though I should not like to entrust eggs to

464 THE POULTRY MANUAL

them. The desire of the Dorking to " sit "" has not yet
been ehminated from the traces of this blood which
still remain.

The Buff Leghorn

The Buff Leghorn came to us from Denmark, and
the first exhibit in England was in 1888. When I first
began my periodical visits to the Crystal Palace shows,
nearly twenty years ago, they were few in number, but
they soon caught the eye of the Fancy, and were
fairly popular before the Buff craze set in with the
introduction of the Buff Orpington in 1895, though
they do not seem to have taken the same hold on popular
esteem.

The original Buff Leghorn was not what we under-
stand by a " Buff" to-day. In the words of Mr. Verrey,
one of the oldest exhibitors, "The cocks were of an
almost cinnamon colour on breast and back, with a
lighter hackle ; the tail feathers were white in the
centre, margined round with an edging of buff, the
effect being very striking."

In the desire to improve the colour of these
" Chamois " or " Yellow " Leghorns with their white
tails, and open white-laced feathers, resort was made
to the Buff Cochin, the fountain-head of buff colour.

The details of the crossing which thus took place are
narrated by Mrs. Lister Kay, in Mr. Harrison Weir's
book, Our Poultry. Having purchased Leghorns from
Denmark — a cock and two hens — she mated the cock,
which is described as of " lemony colour," with a poor
comb standing off the back of the head at an angle of
45°, and with flights almost white, and squirrel-tailed,
with two Buff Cochin hens, and also with two Leghorn
hens. Details are given of the breeding for eight years,
till Leghorns were produced in 1893 with only one part
Cochin blood and thirty-one parts Leghorn, showing
how the Cochin shape had been bred out while the
loveliness of the colour had been retained. The labour
involved in this breeding was enormous, and I know
of no other instance in which the public has been
admitted to the confidence of the breeder so fully as
in this case, detailed in Vol. II, pp. 512-19 of Our
Poultry.

MEDITERRANEAN BREEDS 465

The hundreds of birds bred not fit for show were
either killed or exported to America, and for many
years, 1892-7, Mrs. Lister Kay carried all before her in
the show-pen. The desire to be on a level with these
specimens led fanciers to import birds back from
America, and with the new blood thus obtained the
number of breeders rapidly multiplied.

There is little doubt but that the Buff Rock was
introduced by English breeders both to maintain colour
and size, and in recent years specimens have been shown
bearing, in the more bulky size and shape, evident
traces of this cross.

The breed, however, never became very popular, and
although a Club has been formed for its advancement
it does not seem to make much headway. I have bred
them for twelve years, and while they are excellent layers
I do not find them equal to the Black or the White,
and they are not so hardy. The Club has recently set
its face against the demand for increased size, being
determined to keep the breed true to the Leghorn type.
For some reason or other good combed specimens are
rare. The original stock was weak in this respect, and
the small comb of the Cochin has left its mark, more
especially in the pullets.

The Colour and Hints on Mating of Buff Leghorns

The colour should be one even solid shade through-
out, though it may vary from a lemon buff' to a rich
orange shade. The rules for breeding are the same as
for Buff Orpingtons, to which the amateur is referred.
The " cinnamon " colour still shows itself and is an
undesirable shade. The points to bear in mind are :

(1) That there is always a tendency to loss of colour,
as in all Buff' breeds, and that to breed good cockerels
the hens should be of a deeper shade than the desired
tint, and conversely, in breeding pullets the male should
have a reserve of colour to impart to the pullets.

(2) That under-colour is a matter of the highest im-
portance. If neglected, white tails and flights are
certain to come. (3) That colour should be infused
gradually, i. e. the sexes should not be of extreme
shades, or patchiness is sure to result.

HH

4^66 THE POULTRY MANUAL

Utility Qualities. — For egg-laying they are above
the average, and the eggs are a good size, though
usually slightly tinted in colour, which is doubtless due
to the distant Cochin cross, as well as to that of the
more recent Buff Rock. They are very timid fowls and
seem to have forgotten the slow-moving instincts of
their Cochin ancestors. To those who love the buff
colour and a well-filled egg-basket they can be recom-
mended, while the exhibitor will still have his hands
full to maintain the colour and to improve the head-
points.

The Partridge Leghorn

Mr. Verrey states that Partridge Leghorns have long
been known in Denmark.

However that may be, they have only quite recently,
i. e. from about 1905, been seen in England, and they
are not yet advanced sufficiently to take rank with the
other varieties, or to compete with them, but they have
made considerable strides towards that stage.

The chief exhibitor, and I believe the originator, is
the Rev. J. Raine. The aim is to produce a Leghorn
with the beautiful pencilling of the Partridge Wyan-
dotte, but true in all other ways to Leghorn character.

This is being done by a cross between the Partridge
Wyandotte and the Brown Leghorn. Both are of the
black-red type, and the cockerels of either breed are
coloured similarly. In this fact lies one of the chief
difficulties, since a Partridge Leghorn cockerel would
look like a badly-marked Brown Leghorn, and the
head-points would not be so good for years, as the lobes
would be liable to a red tinge and the comb small.

There is the further difficulty that if such a show
cockerel could be produced he would not breed good
pullets, but double-mating would be necessai-y, as it is
with the Partridge Wyandotte. This is always a
barrier to popularity.

The originator has endeavoured to obviate this
difficulty by breeding the cockerel with red breast
instead of a black one, more like a pullet-bred Partridge
Wyandotte cockerel. This should have the desired
result of making it possible to breed exhibition speci-
mens of both sexes from the same pen, though it will

MEDITERRANEAN BREEDS 467

take the Fancy some time to get accustomed to a
red or mottled breast. If the breast could be pencilled
like the pullefs breast it would be very beautiful.

The pullets have advanced more towards perfection,
and several were shown at the International Show of
1908, and at the Club Show held at Leeds, with mark-
ings very like the Wyandotte, though the accuracy and
delicate character of the pencilling is not yet achieved,
nor are the combs sufficiently developed.

It will undoubtedly be a hardy bird and a good layer,
and as beautiful as any in the breed.

Nor need the originator blush at the " cross " which
is manifest, since it will be as " pure " as most, and of a
less composite character than many.

To those who admire beauty of plumage combined
with utility, and who would like to start early in the
race with a new favourite, the present is the time.
When specimens are bred as correct in type as the
Brown, and as beautiful in plumage as the Partridge,
they will command a big price and be more widely
adopted.

Blue Leghorn

This is the most recent candidate for popular favour,
and like mushrooms which spring up in a single night, so
the Fancy has been smothered with the " Blues '' in
a single season. At the International Show of 1908
the Blue Leghorns outnumbered any of the other
colours, while at Leeds, a month later, they numbered
as many as the xoliole of the other classes combined.

Like the mushroom-bed in another respect, there
were " Blues " here and there before the main crop came.
A reference to the advertisement columns of the Feathered
World for any time during the past eight or ten years
will reveal an odd advertisement or two, and at the
great Norwich Show of 1906 there were some very
pretty specimens, of a pleasing shade of blue, like the
ground-colour of a good Blue Andalusian fowl, but
without the lacing, while the legs were a good yellow.

Whether these Blues have had any share in the
numerous output of the intervening period I have no
information, but the Fancy has been smitten, and
their ardour fanned into flame by the press, particularly

H H 2

468 THE POULTRY MANUAL

by a long and scintillant controversy in the Feathered
World.

The grand array, at the two exhibitions I have
named, were of all shapes and sizes, and with garments
of all colours from dirty- white to a navy-blue or black,
like a scratch regiment for home defence in a time of
distress. And the officers which wore the medals were
hardly distinguishable from the rank and file. It was
in truth an international army, in which American
blood was not " barred," nor the natives of Andalusia
with their laces shut out. The cosmopolitan blood of
the Black and the White Leghorn were strongly in
evidence with their " grey attire," while every farmyard
in the kingdom had been scoured for natives which
wore a blue ribbon. The truth is that the forces had
been summoned before they had undergone sufficient
drill, and before the " War Office " had decided upon
the colour of their " uniform." Some voted for blue
capes and some for black. All of them were to wear
blue waistcoats, though some were trimmed with lace and
others were plain, and the vote was unanimous for yellow
leggings and red caps with white buttons on the side.

Still, like many another scratch army, there was
abundance of raw material to make an efficient " body,"
and by the time they are " called out " again they will
make a more presentable array, since the uniform is
decided upon, and is to be a clear blue, though a darker
coloured cloak is allowable for those who prefer it, since
it is feared that the " clear blue " mieht not endure the
Vicissitudes of the weather.

How to breed the Blue. — Readers are referred to
the latter part of the Chapter on "Colour " to see how the
" Black Watch " and " Buffs " amalgamate, or how the
White with a recessive character of Black, when mated
with Black may produce the colour now in vogue.

The Blue Andalusian was once without lacing, and
there is no ostensible reason why the Black Leghorn
and the White should not, after due selection, produce
the Blue. If the patience and skill shown in making
the Buff Leghorn is imitated by the breeders of the
Blue, there is no reason why in a few years they should
not be equally presentable, and that without the infusion
of such alien blood.

MEDITERRANEAN BREEDS 469

There should be no need for introducing Andalusian
blood, and there would be the difficulty of the blue leg
to overcome, as well as the laced plumage ; but even
were such blood introduced it is not so far off in
relationship as either the Game, the Dorking, or the
Cochin, which have entered into the composition of the
other colours. The Andalusian is a member of the
same Mediterranean race and has many characteristics
in common.

A White Leghorn often sports a few black feathers,
and such a one mated to a Black without too dense an
under-colour would soon produce a Blue. The intro-
duction of the Buff Leghorn would present difficulties
in a straw-coloured hackle which is hard to eradicate.
A cross with a Cuckoo-coloured fowl would also produce
the Blue, and I am told that the Cuckoo Leghorn has
already been the basis of winners.

It is to be hoped that the Rock (which in the bufi
colour has spoiled the grace and beauty of many a Buff
Leghorn) will not creep into the camp and breed
mischief, but the presence of so many breeders of the
Barred Rock in the ranks of the " Blues " points to a
danger in this direction.

There are colours enough in the Leghorn family
to accomplish all that is desired, if due patience is
exercised.

The blue coat is a pleasing colour when set off with
yellow stockings, as the founders of the Bluecoat schools
discovered long ago. May the new school of " Blues "
stand the weather as well as they have done, and be as
useful to their generation !

Their utility is sure to be considerable for a time,
and the egg proclivity great. And this will be equally
true of the many which will not be presentable.

" Full many a ' blue ' is born to blush unseen
And waste its sweetness on the desert air^"

or to be more exact, " on the dunghill mound," not in
the fancier's yard ; and many a crowing youngster will
be killed before he has had the time to don his tunic !
This is the common fate of all new ventures, and those
who throw in their lot with it must expect it. But a
rare specimen may come forth at any time.

470 THE POULTRY MANUAL

'^'The princeps copy, clad in blue and gold."

J. Ferriar, Bihliomania, line 6.
" Now cheaply bought for thrice their weight in gold,"

Ibid., line 65.

Those who have no eye for colour may pass the best
of them unheeded. They have " never felt the witchery
of the soft blue . . ." for which so many seek and so
few find. It is as rare as the blue in an English sky,
the dull and sombre grey being more prevalent. The
land of the blue skies has given us the Blue Andalusian,
why not the Blue Leghorn ?

Hints on Mating Blue Leghouns

First make the blue and then maintain its hue. It is
primarily a mixture of black and white, as proved by
the Andalusian offspring and their mating. The point
to guard against is loss of colour. The blue colour is
always half-way to white, and unless the darker shade
is used loss of colour is certain. Although the clear
blue is the standard colour, and dark-hackled cocks are
at a discount, they will always be needed in the breeding
pen to maintain colour, and will be far more useful
than a fresh infusion of black which would otherwise
be necessary from time to time, besides being less likely
to impart the smoky and indistinct hue so commonly
seen. The yellow leg will also be a difficulty, and will
be liable to throw straw-coloured hackles and wing-
bows. Dense under-colour is the best antidote to this
tendency. The soft blue is very charming in combina-
tion with the bright yellow leg, but the shade of which
Robert Southey wrote, " Blue, darkly, deeply, beauti-
fully blue," will be invaluable, when created, to maintain
the quality and quantity of the colour.

The rule for breeding is therefore as in other
varieties.

To breed Cocks. — With a male bird of the desired
shade mate females of a darker hue than desired.

To breed Hens. — Use a cock with a darker top
than is required in the show-pen, and take care in both
cases to see that the tail is sound in colour and the
under-colour as dense as can be found.

True blue blood, whether in man or man's creative
effort, has always been a rare quality, and is usually

MEDITERRANEAN BREEDS 471

associated with an ancient pedigree. When the modern
Leghorn can boast of this latter quality, the former
may be more common, meanwhile des nouveaux venus
may afford a passable resemblance, and either by a
marriageable alliance as a speedy method, or by slowly
building up its inherent graces, become worthy of its
name.

THE ANCONA

The Ancona is one of the more modern breeds of
poultry, and was little known as a distinct breed in this
country until some twelve or fourteen years ago. When
I first knew them twelve years ago, they were called
Anconas, but were hardly distinguishable from Mottled
Leghorns. They were irregularly splashed fowls, with
more white than black in their plumage, and with the
tails of the cockerels nearly white, with long, flowing
sickles like the other varieties of the Leghorn family.
They now claim to be a distinct breed, and are rightly
named as having come from Ancona in Italy. They
are probably near akin to the Black Leghorn, and share
with them the characteristics of extreme agility and wild-
ness, of being very precocious, of rapid growth and early
maturity, and of being marvellous layers of a large
white egg.

Whatever their origin, they were soon taken up by a
group of fanciers, who at once set about to " improve "
them in size and markings. There is no doubt they
were crossed with the Black Minorca to increase their
size and head points. One result of this cross was said
to be a diminution of their hardiness, and it certainly
would reduce their activity.

With the increase in size there came a desire to make
their markings more regular and distinctive. Ten
years ago a fresh " Standard of Perfection " was drawn
up. The result has been that the breed presents a
much darker appearance, and is now more of a black
than mottled bird. The plumage is of a good beetle-
green ground-colour, tipped with white V-shaped tips
at the end of each feather, avoiding laced ends. As only
the point of the tip shows, they look much darker.
The tail also is black instead of white, and is only

472 THE POULTRY MANUAL

tipped with white. The leg-colour was changed from a
pure yellow to ""yellow mottled with black spots."
One of my earliest acquaintances with the Ancona, after
the change had been made, was at the Dairy Show,
where an eager aspirant for honours had used a blue
ink pencil to mark the spots on a yellow leg ! He had
forgotten, however, to put them on the sides and back
of the shank, and the imposition was discovered and the
bird disqualified.

With the increase of black pigment and sound under-
colour, the black spots soon found their way naturally
into the legs, though many still come with pure yellow,
and win with them. Many breeders regret the change
in colour and type. It has never caught hold of the
fancy to any great extent, and the Black Mottled
Leghorn, by which name it was once known, is either
dead or seldom seen.

In its general habit and character it is nearest akin to
the Black Leghorn, and there is no doubt that infusions
of this blood have constantly been made, indeed I have
often sold birds for that avowed purpose.

They are the wildest and most timid birds I ever
bred, and a run wired over the top is as necessary for
them as for the Hamburgh. They can stand a cold
climate well, but wet is very harmful, and especially so
to the growing chickens. By general report they are
not as good layers as when they were first introduced,
and in this respect they do but share the fate of most
new-comers when undue stress is laid upon purely fancy
points. But they are still much above the average as
layers, and their eggs are readily saleable.

Hints on Mating.— To breed exhibition specimens
the same rules apply as to the Black Leghorn and the
Blue, and they are not unlikely to be a factor in the
creation of the new colour. If the V-shaped tipping is
to be maintained birds with this character must be
selected, and not those which show a crescentic end, or
a broad daub, as these indicate lack of colour, and
especial care should be taken to see that the flight
feathers are sound, the tail black to the roots, and
the legs mottled. All these show a reserve of black
pigment, and the general tendency is to a lack of
colour.

ANCONA COCK.

Property of Mr. Sam Peel.

Winner, 1st, Skiptoyi, etc.

473

MEDITERRANEAN BREEDS 475

The Standard. — There is no need to give this in
detail, as the Leghorn Standard apphes in all details
with the exception that a little higher tail-carriage is
allowed, and that not so much thigh is seen. They,
like the original White and Black Leghorn, and the
present-day type, more resemble their near relation, the
Cuckoo Leghorn. Although the V-shaped tip is made
a great point, it is seldom, if ever, seen in perfection,
even in the best specimens.

The Rose-combed Ancona

This variety has been admitted to the Ancona
Club, and is simply the original Ancona crossed with
the Spangled Hamburgh or Silver Wyandotte to impart
the small rose-comb. These are seldom seen of a really
good shape, and the variety has not been in great
demand. In all other respects it is like the single-
combed variety.

THE LEGHORN CLUB STANDARDS

General Characteristics of Cock

Head and Neck. — Beak : Stout, the point standing well clear
of the front of the comb. Comb : Fine in texture, large but not
overgrown, single, perfectly straight and erect, deeply and
evenly sei-rated, the spikes broadening at the base ; extending
well beyond the back of the head and following, without touch-
ing, the line of the hackle ; free from thumb-marks and side-
sprigs. Face : Fine in texture, and free from wrinkles or folds.
Wattles: Long, thin, and fine in texture. Lobes: Well de-
veloped and rather pendent, equally matched in size and shape,
smooth, open, and free from folds. Neck : Well arched and full
in hackle.

Body. — Body: Wedge-shaped, wide at the shoulders, and
narrowing to the root of the tail. Breast : Round and prominent,
the breast-bone straight. Back : Slightly rounded and sloping
to the tail. Wings : Large, carried well clipped up.

TaiL — Moderately full, carried at an angle of 40° to 45° from
line of the back.

Legs andFeet. — Legs: Moderately long. Thighs: Fairly promi-
nent and well covered with feathers. Shanks and Feet : Free from
feathers. Bone : Fine quality and round. Flat shins objectionable.

Carriage. — Sprightly and alert.

Size. — Medium, rather large to be preferred, consistently with
symmetry and type.

476

THE POULTRY MANUAL

General Characteristics of Hen

Head and Neck. — Beak, Wattles, Face, Lobes and Neck: As
in the cock. Comb : Fine in texture, large but not overgrown,
single, deeply and evenly serrated, free from side sprigs, rising
from a firm base and falling gracefully over to either side of
face.

Body. — Body : Wide at the shoulders and narrowing slightly
to the tail, longer and not carried so upright as in the cock.
Breast: Round, very full and nicely curved from the neck.
Back: Long, fairly broad, and but slightly rounded.

Tail. — Fairly long and moderately full, but carried closely and
at a slightly lower angle than the cock.

Legs and Feet. — As in the cock.

Carriage. — Description of cock applies.

Size. — As in the cock.

Serious defects, for which a bird should be passed : — Cock's
comb twisted or falling over, or hen's erect ; ear-lobe red ; any
white in face ; legs any colour but yellow or orange ; wry or
squirrel tails, or any bodily deformity.

Colour in White Leghorns

In both Sexes. — Beak: Yellow. Eye: Red. Comb and
Wattles : Bright red. Face : Bright red, without any trace of
white. Lobes: White or cream, the former preferred. Toe-
nails : Yellow. Legs : Yellow or orange. Plumage : Pure white
(straw colour is to be avoided).

Value op Points in White Leghorns

(cock or hen)

Defects.

Dednct

up to

Defects in comb .

12

„ ear-lobe.

folded, wrinkled or stained with

red .

15

,, colour .

. . . . .2.5

„ legs

8

W^ant of condition

10

,, size

15

„ symmetry

. . . . .15

A perfect bird to count

100

The Brown Leghorn
Colour in Brown Leghorns

In both Sexes. — Beak: Yellow or horn. Eye: red. Comb
and Wattles : Bright red. Face : Bright red, without any trace
of white. Lobes : White or cream, the former preferred. Toe-
Horn or nearly white. Legs : Yellow or orange.

MEDITERRANEAN BREEDS

477

In the Cock. — Head and Hackle : Rich orange red, striped
with black ; crimson red at the front of the hackle below the
wattles. Back, Shoulder Coverts, and Wing-how : Deep crimson
red or maroon. Wing coverts: Steel blue, with ^reen reflec-
tions, forming a broad bar across the wing ; primary wing
feathers brown. Secondaries : Deep bay on outer web, which is
all that appears when the wing is closed, and black on the inner
web, and covering the points. Saddle : A rich orange red, with
or without a few black stripes. Breast and Under-parts : A glossy
black, quite free from brown splashes. Tail: Black, with green
reflections ; any white in tail is very objectionable. Tail coverts :
Black edged with brown.

In the Hen. — Hackle : Rich golden yellow, broadly and sharply
striped with black. [The exhibition hen has a pencilled and not a
striped hackle.] Breast : Salmon red, running into maroon
around the head and wattles, and ashy grey at the thighs. Body-
colour : A rich brown, very closely and evenly pencilled with
black ; feathers free from light shafts. Tail : Black, outer
feathers pencilled with brown.

Value of Points in Brown Leghorns

(both sexes)

Defects.

Deduct
up to

Defects in comb ....

12

Ear-lobe folded or wrinkled .

6

Stain of red on ear-lobe

10

Want of hackle ....

10

Faults in colour ....

20

Want of size

15

„ symmetry

15

,, condition

12

A perfect bird to count

100

The Pile Leghorn
Colour in Pile Leghorns

In both Sexes. — Beak : Yellow or Horn. Eye : Red. Comb
and Wattles : Bright Red. Face : Bright red, without any trace
of white. Lobes : White. Legs : Yellow. Toe-nails : Yellow.

In the Cock. — Head and Hackle: Bright orange. Breast and,
Thighs : White. Back and Saddle : Rich maroon. Shoulders and
Wing-bows: Dark red. Wing-bar: White. Secondary flight
feathers: Dark chestnut outer web, which is all that is seen
when the wing is closed, and white inner web. Tail, Sickle
feathers, and Tail coverts: White.

In the Hen, — Neck-hackle : White, tinged with golden colour.
Breast : Deep salmon red, shading off to white thighs. Rest of
Body: White.

478

THE POULTRY MANUAL

Value of Points in Pile Leghorns
(cock or hen)

Defects.

jueauci
up to

Defects in comb ......

10

Ear-lobes red, wrinkled, or folded

10

Fault in colour ......

30

„ legs

5

Want of size .......

15

,, condition ......

10

,, symmetry .....

20

A perfect bird to count

100

The Duckwing- Iieghorn

Colour in Golden Duckwing Leghorns

In both Sexes. — Beak and Toe-nails : Yellow or horn colour.
Eye : Red. Comb, Face, and Wattles : Bright red. Ear-lobes :
White. Legs : Yellow or orange.

In the Cock. — Head and Hackle: A rather light yellow or
straw colour, a few shades deeper at the front below the wattles,
the longer feathers striped with black. Back : Deep rich gold.
Saddle and Saddle-hackle : Deep gold, shaded down in hackle to
pale gold. Shoulder coverts and Wing-bow : Bright golden or
orange, solid in colour (an admixture of lighter feathers is very
objectionable). Wing coverts: Metallic blue (bluish violet),
forming an even bar across the wing, which should be sharp,
clean cut, and not too broad. Primaries: Black, with white
edging on the outer web. Secondaries : White outer web, whicli
is all that is seen when the wing is closed, forming the wing-
bay ; black inner web and end of feather. Breast : Black, with
green lustre. Under-parts : Black throughout. Tail: Black,
richly glossed with green ; grey fluff at the base.

In the Hen. — Head: Grey (a brown cap very objectionable).
Hackle : White, each feather sharply striped with black or dark
grey (a slight tinge of yellow in the ground-colour admitted).
Breast and Under-colour : Bright salmon red (this point is very
important), darker on throat, and shaded off to ashy grey or
fawn colour on the under-parts. Back, Wings, Sides, and
Saddle: Dark slaty grey, finely pencilled with darker grey or
black. Tail : Grey, slightly darker than the body-colour. Inside
feathers a dull black or dark grey.

Colour in Silver Duckwing Leghorns

In both Sexes. — Beak and Toe-nails : Yellow or horn colour.
Eye: Red. Comb, Face, and Wattles: Bi-ight red. Ear-lobes:
White. Legs : Yellow or orange.

In the Cock. — Head and Hackle: Silvery white, the long

MEDITERRANEAN BREEDS

479

feathers striped with black. Back, Saddle, and Hackle : Silvery
white. Shoulders and Wing-bow : Silvery white^ as solid as
possible (any admixture of red or rusty feathers very objection-
able). Wing coverts : Metallic blue (bluish violet), forming an
even bar across the wing, which should be sharp, clear-cut, and
not too broad. Primaries : Black, with white edging on outer
edge. Secondaries : White outer edge, which is all that is
visible when the wing is closed^ forming the wing-bay ; black
inner web and end of feathers. Thighs and Under-parts : Black
throughout. Tail : Black, richly glossed with green ; grey fluff
at base.

IntlieHen. — Head: Silvery white. Hackle: Silvery white,
each feather sharply striped with black or dark grey. Breast
and Under-parts : Light salmon or fawn colour, darker on throat
and shaded off to ashy grey on the under-parts. Back, Wings,
Sides, and Saddle : Clear delicate silvery grey or French grey,
without a shade of red or brown^ finely pencilled with dark grey
or black (purity of colour very important). Tail: Grey, slightly
darker than the body-colour ; inside feathers a dull black or
dark grey.

Value of Points in Duckwing Leghorns

(cock or hen)

Defects.

Deduct
up to

Defects in comb ......

10

Ear-lobe folded or wrinkled ....

-5

Stain of red on ear-lobe .....

10

Want of hackle ......

10

Faults in colour ......

20

Want of size

15

,, symmetry

20

,, condition ......

10

A perfect bird to count

100

The Buff Leghorn

Colour in Buff Leghorns

In both Sexes. — Beak: YqWow. ^?/e;Red. Comb and Wattles :
Bright red. Face: Bright red, without any trace of white.
Lobes : White or cream, the former preferred. Toe-nails : White.
Legs: Yellow or orange. Plumage: Any shade of buff from
lemon buff to rich buff, on the one side avoiding washiness, and
on the other side a reddish tinge. The colour to be perfectly
uniform throughout, allowing for the greater lustre on the
hackle and saddle feathers, and of the wing-bow in the case of
the cock only.

480

THE POULTRY MANUAL

Value of Points in Buff Leghorns

(These are approximate only, as the new scale of jioints is not printed)
(cock OB hen)

Defects.

Deduct
up to

Defects in comb

10

,, ear-lobe, folded, wrinkled or stained

15

„ colour . . . . .

80

„ lef?s

10

Want of condition

10

,, size .

10

,, symmetry ......

15

A perfect bird to count

100

The Black Leghorn

Colour in Black Leghorns

In both Sexes. — Beak: Yellow or horn colour. Eye: Red.
Comb and Wattles : Bright red. Face : Bright red, without any
trace of white. Lohes : White or cream, the former preferred.
Legs: Yellow or orange. Toe-nails: Yellow. Plumage: Rich
blue-black, perfectly free from feathers of any other colour.

Value of

Points in

Black Leghorns

(cock or

hen)

Defects.

Deduct
up to

Defect

5 in comb

10

)}

ear-lobe

, folded.

wrinkled.

or

stained

with

red

10

>>

colour

25

})

legs

15

Want of condition

10

}}

size

10

}>

symmetry

20

A perfect bird to count

100

The Cuckoo Leghorn

Colour in Cuckoo Leghorns

In both Sexes. — Beak: Yellow or horn. Eye: Red. Comb
and Wattles : Bright red. Face : Bright red, without any trace
of white. Lobes : White. Legs : Yellow. Toe-nails : Yellow or
horn. Plumage : Light bluish-grey ground, each feather barred
across with bands of darker grey or blue. The marking to be
uniform throughout, and the colours shading into each other so
that no distinct line or separation of the colours is perceptible.

MEDITERRANEAN BREEDS

481

Value op Points in Cuckoo Leghorns

(cock OB hen)
Defects.

Defects in comb .......

„ ear-lobe^ folded, wrinkled, or stained
with red

„ colour

„ leg-s
Want of condition

„ size

,, symmetiy

Deduct
up to

10

10
25
10
10
1.5
20

A perfect bird to count .

100

The Mottled Leg-horn

Colour in Black Mottled Leghorns
In both Sexes. — Beak: Yellow or horn. Eye: Red. Comh
and Wattles : Bright red. Face : Bright red, without any trace
of white. Lobes : White. Legs : Yellow. Toe-nails : Yellow or
horn. Plumage: An even distribution of black and white
mottling, neither colour predominating, with an entire absence
of lacing. A green sheen on the black most desirable.

Colour in Red Mottled Leghorns

The description of Black Mottled applies to Red Mottled,
except in plumage, where " brownish-red " should be substituted
for "black."

Value of Points in

Mottled Leghorns

(cock OB

hen)

Defects.

Deduct

up to

Defects in comb

10

„ ear-lobe, folded.

wrinkled, or stained

with red

10

„ colour .

25

„ legs

10

Want of condition

10

„ size .

15

,, symmetry

20

A perfect bird to count

100

The Blue Leghorn

Colour in Blue Leghorns

In both Sexes. — Beak: Yellow or horn colour. , Eye: Red.
Comb and Wattles : Bright red. Face : Bright red, without any
trace of white. Lobes : White or cream — the former preferred.
I I

482

THE POULTRY MANUAL

Legs: Yellow or orange. Toe-nails: Yellow. Plumage: One
even medium shade of blue from head to tail^ a little darker blue
allowed in hackles and saddle of cocks^ but the more even the colour
the better. Any barring to be included under serious defects.

Value of

Points in

Blue Leghorns

(cock OB

hen)

Deduct

Defects.

up to

Defects

in comb

10

}}

ear-lobe

folded^ wrinkled, or

stainec

with

red .

10

}}

colour

30

}}

legs

10

Want of condition

10

}>

size .

10

}}

type or symmetry

20

A

perfect bird to count

100

vV^

"OK^uXti^^ k/^'

a*"^^ j"^*^ ^.Ax^w;- Co^Jicr^

ti. ^^V'

^CLi-i Covt'/~f^

'«V.V«f f

BREATHERS OF BROWN LEGHORNS, HAMBURGHS, CAMPINES, AND WYANDOTTES.

(Note the similarity of the Hamburgh featlier of ten years ago with the modern Campines. Also that the

Campine feathers end with a white bar, and the Hamburgh with a blacli one.)

I I 2

483

CHAPTER XVI

UNCLASSIFIED BREEDS OF POULTRY

CAMPINES INDIAN GAME LAKENVELDERS POLISH

SILKIE SCOTCH GREY SULTAN— SUMATRA GAME

SUSSEX

With but few exceptions all the various breeds and
varieties of poultry described in this book have found
their way into the Poultry Club Standards, and so bear
the hall-mark of distinctness in character as well as
beauty in markings.

There are several breeds which cannot well be classi-
fied in the larger groups we have already considered,
which are admitted to the Standard and therefore
deserve notice. They are arranged in this chapter in
alphabetical order.

THE CAMPINE, SILVER— GOLD

This is first on the list and first in fame for beauty
and utility alike. It has a character all its own, and
stands out distinctly from any other breed, though it
bears a likeness in its markings to the Silver Pencilled
Hamburgh. The Campine is undoubtedly an ancient
breed, and is probably referred to by the wi-iter Aldro-
vandus (a.d. 1600) of whom I made mention when
writing of the Hamburghs. In addition to its antiquity
it has the virtue, in the poultry world, of being one of
the few not spoilt by the admission of alien blood,
though it is said that some few breeders have recently
introduced the Hamburgh to secure more distinctness
in the marking, and clearness in the silvery white ground-
colour. Therein lies a danger, for whereas the pencil-
ling of the Hamburgh should be " the same width as
the intervening ground-colour," the barring of the

485

486 THE POULTRY MANUAL

Campine should be " as near as possible three times the
width of the ground-colour," so that what would be
gained in one direction would be more than lost in the
other. And, moreover, the barring in the Campine
assumes different characters on the various parts of
the body, viz. " straight or slightly curved on the
breast,"" but " on the top, the shoulders, saddle-hackle
and tail in a more or less V-shaped direction," where-
as in the Hamburgh " each feather is . . . pencilled
straight across with fine parallel lines.""

Tn Campines both sexes are barred alike, and both
can be bred from the same pen, the reverse holding
good with Hamburghs.

During its brief show existence of ten years in
England, the Campine has had many vicissitudes and
the Standard has been altered several times. Through
the kindness of the secretary of the club, the Rev. E. L.
Jones, I am enabled to give it in its final form at the
close of this section, and a comparison of it with the
Hamburgh Standard will show how widely the two breeds
are apart. In their distinctness lies the safety of both.
The new comer in the show-pen must have a greater
distinctness of its own than the single-comb confers
upon it, if it is to live as a fancier"'s fowl and gain
favour ; and it has much to do before it can fairly be
judged by its ideal.

This, again, is not a bad thing. For, strange as it
may seem, no sooner does a variety breed true to its
Standard than the zest for breeding it departs, since
only those can then win who can devote much time to
gain extra size, or to get an extra sheen. To-day, the
good Campine is hard to find. It has so many wants.
Head-points are still deficient and good combs in both
sexes scarce. The cocks have a singular tendency to
side-spikes, whether as token of their ancient kinship
to the Rose-combed Hamburgh or as the result of a
more recent cross I am not able to say. There is a
Rose-comb Campine also in Belgium, and in numberless
cases the Single and Rose varieties have run together in
the same yards. This may be the cause of the fre-
quently recurring side-spike. In any case a determined
endeavour should be made to eradicate this unsightly
blemish. The breeder should kill and eat the cockerels

UNCLASSIFIED BREEDS OF POULTRY 487

so mis-marked at an early age, and judges should rigor-
ously exclude them from the list of prizes or honours.
The lobes, of the cocks especially, are seldom white and
clear. The tails also are too often black or mossy, and
the sickle feathers and lesser sickles are wanting in
length. In this respect they are years behind the
Hamburgh with its glorious wealth of feather. But we
must remember that the latter held pride of place
in the show-pen for generations, while the Campine
languished as a utility fowl on the bleak and dreary
wastes of La Campine.

There is an allied race in Belgium, known as the
Braekel, which is similar to the Campine in all respects
except that it is larger in size, and from what I can gather
has a rather more fully-developed comb. It also differs
from the modern Campine in having both neck- and
saddle-hdiC^e^ clear silver, and not barred. The earlier
Campines were similar silver saddle-hackled birds, and
this colour certainly gave the male bird a more dis-
tinguished and picturesque appearance. But the Club
has decided to have only the neck-hackle white, and the
saddle barred in the cock, as it has always been in the
hen. This alteration should make it easier to breed
exhibition birds of both sexes from the same pen, and
so prove of distinct advantage to the breed, but it
introduces another difficulty, in making it much harder
to get a pure white neck -hackle in either sex. There
is a correlation between the neck- and saddle-hackles,
and when a cock is bred with a well-barred saddle-
hackle, the purity of the neck -hackle will suffer and
also the pullets from the same source.

The same difficulty is experienced with the Pencilled
Hamburghs, and all that can be expected, for some time,
will be to get the top part of the neck-hackles pure
silver and the bases ticked with black.

The Campine, as we know it, has Braekel blood in it.
But both are of the same race, the larger size of the
Braekel being due to its cultivation for centuries on the
richer soil of Flanders, while the Campine was bred on the
open plains, and is naturally, in consequence of its
ancient upbringing in exposed quarters, a very hardy
fowl. M. Louis Vander-Snickt, the great Belgian
authority on poultry, declared, at the Reading Con-

488 THE POULTRY MANUAL

ference, that both Campines and Braekels have " been
famous shice the thne of Charles V (1519 a.d.) for
producing dehcious milk chickens in winter, and in
summer for the enormous quantity of cockerels (poulets
de grains) which must be killed or caponized before they
are four months old." The natives declare that when
Julius Caesar visited their country he took a number
of these fowls back with him, and that the Roman
epicures declared that they were " food for the gods."

Their utility qualities. — There is no doubt that
the Campine when young is very good eating, and
carries a great deal of breast meat and little offal in
proportion to its size. As layers they are hard to beat.
Like most other breeds there are big-egg and little-egg
strains, and the latter may be due to a cross with the
Hamburgh. The average size of the egg is 2 ozs., just
a fair size, and wonderful for the size of the bird, as the
hen is only about 4 lb. and the cockerel 1 lb. heavier.
I have seen Campine eggs as large as the Black or
White Leghorn 7 to the pound, and on the other hand
have had pullefs eggs 9 to the pound. The small size
of egg is often due to breeding from late-hatched pullets,
or to selecting stock for their markings only. In this
way a diminution in size is sure to take place. The best
plan for those who breed for utility only is to mate a
smart cockerel to hens in their second or third year,
when size is easy to maintain and the chicks will be
stronger.

. The Braekel weighs 6 lb. or more, and is therefore
much larger, but the egg is no heavier, and it is to be
hoped that Campine breeders will not strive after undue
size in their birds. They will naturally grow larger
with us on account of the extra care bestowed upon them,
and more generous feeding, but they are naturally small
eaters and good foragers, and should not be over-fed, or
the egg supply will diminish and large eggs with thin
shells be the rule.

M. Vander-Snickt states that there are also in
Braekels, " White, Black, Blue, Gold Chamois, and even
Silver Chamois, like a White Peacock." I have never
seen these colours in England, and only the Silver and
Gold Campine are seen at our shows, but very few of
the latter, which are usually smaller in size, less distinct

SILVER CAMPINB COCKEREL.

Property of Rev. E. Lewis Jones.

Winner, 1st, Dairy, etc.

UNCLASSIFIED BREEDS OF POULTRY 491

in markings, and likely to die out as an exhibition
fowl.

It is a noteworthy fact that the Silver Campine
breeds remarkably true to colour. After many inquiries
I have never heard of a hlack chicken being produced
from these " barred "" parents. As this is so common
an event in all other barred breeds, it seems to me
another indication of the antiquity of the race. Nor
have I heard of a white chicken, though many specimens
are hatched with nearly white breasts, white flights, and
broad white ground-colour between the bars.

The Braekel, whose blood is intermingled with the
Campine, is less distinct in its barring. M. Vander-
Snickt, in describing the Silver variety, says, " No more
beautiful sight can be seen than a flock of 100 hens with
snow-white necks and dark bodies. It is of no moment
if the grey body-colour is barred, flowered, or simply
ashen-grey, for, except at feeding-time, the birds are
always seen at a distance, and never penned in a cage."
These " flowered ^ bodies, with their irregular patches of
colour, have left their mark on the Campine's breast,
and the irregular lacing now so common on the breasts
of the best birds is a point to be fought against. The
Hamburgh is much more regular in its definition, but it
is not desirable to attempt the remedy by this infusion
of blood, since other evils attend it.

The chickens are fairly easy to rear, though they do
not endure wet weather very well till they are half
grown, and they cannot stand overcrowding.

They are wild in their habits, and can readily leap or
fly over a high fence, but I have found them more
tractable than the Black Leghorn or the Ancona, and
they readily cluster round one at feeding-time. It is
much a matter of handling or training. When not
needed for showing, or after show time is over, cutting
the flight feathers of one wing, or tying them up,
readily keeps them in their own quarters. The more
timid and agile a breed is, the better it lays, and the
more slow and cumbersome, the worse. Agility for
eggs, and slow movement for flesh, are almost always
the usual combinations.

492 THE POULTRY MANUAL

The Ideal Campine

is so well described in the Standard of Perfection
printed at the end of the chapter that few words are
needed here. It has the colouring of a good Silver
Pencilled Hamburgh pullet, though it differs altogether
from the Silver cockerel, which is nearly white. But
instead of the barring being of equal width with the
ground-colour, it should be three times as wide, only
leaving a narrow, well-defined and clear streak of ground-
colour visible. It is a shorter, cobbler bird than the
Hamburgh, and with a broader front. Both sexes are
marked in the same way, and the mackerel markings
of the body are set off with a silver cape which should
be as free from ticking as possible. The comb should
be erect in the cock, single, and Avell serrated, and
following the line of the neck behind without touching
it. In the hen it should fall gracefully over to one side
of the face. At present about nine out of ten show
pullets are deficient in comb, which stands erect or
nearly so. This is doubtless a virtue so far as egg
production in cold weather is concerned, and no attempt
to grow a large Leghorn comb is desirable ; still there
should be enough of it to fall gracefully over to one
side. There are specimens with good combs, and these
should be encouraged, otherwise the bird will always
present an immature and scrappy appearance.

The eye should be dark brown, and the pupil black —
as distinguished from the red eye of the Hamburgh —
and the leg-colour a leaden blue.

The Colour. — This should be pure white without
the barring running into it and giving it a blurred
appearance, and the barring a pure black with a rich
beetle-green sheen. The end of each barred feather
should be white.

Attention is drawn to the list of serious defects in
the Standard. Since the alteration in the Standard to a
barred saddle-hackle in the cock, many specimens are
shown with " henny " tails almost devoid of sickles, and
the hackles are very short and broad. They are
improving, and when these are well defined, and
accompanied with a barred tail also, the marking will
be very beautiful.

SILVER CAMPINB PULLET.
Property of Mr, W. Hu^jtee Gandy.
Winner, 1st, Dairy Show.

493

UNCLASSIFIED BREEDS OF POULTRY 495

Hints on Mating. — The breed is now in the making
so far as the perfection of its marking is concerned.
It has so many wants. Among these are : (1) Better
combs ; (2) white lobes in the cockerel ; (3) definite
barring on the cock's saddle-hackle — this latter accom-
panied with a developed tail — and (4) brilliant sheen.
When birds approaching the Standard are found there
will be little difficulty in mating, since both sexes can
be bred from one mating. Until then the best possible
must be chosen, taking care not to mate birds together
which both contain the same defect.

The Rev. E. L. Jones, one of the most successful
breeders, wrote in Monthly Hints : " The question is
how to breed this bird, and it is a question I have
been trying to solve for the past four years. First
of all see that your breeders have good points, and
that their tails are as free as possible from ' greyness ""
or mossiness. Then select the best marked of your
cockerels — dark in colour and with rich sheen or
lustre. Select from the hens or pullets those which
have broad black — too broad for exhibition — and see
to it that they are sound in fluff', dark grey in colour.
Let them, too, be as rich as possible in sheen. Reject
as breeders all who are not sound in eye, as a wrong
eye is very persistent — dominant, as the Mendelists
say. Also see that the ear-lobe of the cockerel is
white ; it is almost universally so in pullets. In all
your breeders always examine the individual feathers
and reject any which do not show a white bar (faint
it often is) at the end. Rely upon your hens for size,
shape, and alertness of carriage.""

The advice here given concurs in a general way with
the line I have taken throughout in mating black and
white plumaged birds, viz. that the thing to avoid is
lack of colour. The natm-al tendency is for the progeny
to come too light. The most marked defect is the
paleness of the breast in both sexes, especially near the
throat. Clearness of the white is important, as there
are but few without mossiness.

I have written so fully on this breed because it is one
of current interest, a breed which the amateur may well
take up with a chance of success, and one that is sure to
supply him with a well-filled egg-basket. With ordinary

496 THE POULTRY MANUAL

care he is equally sure to be delighted with the pleasant
picture they make on a green lawn, and if he ventures
into the show-pen he may, when he least expects it,
walk away with a champion prize. The breed deserves
success on account of its sterling merit and its ancient
pedigree.

THE CAMPINE STANDARD

General Characteristics

Beak: Rather short. Eyes: Bright and prominent. Comb:
Single^ medium size^ with even serrations, coming well back, but
clear of the neck, free from excrescences. Upright in cocks,
falling over in hens. Face : Smooth. Ear-lobes : Medium size,
inclined to almond shape, free from wrinkles. Wattles : Fine in
texture, length in proportion to comb. Neck : Medium length,
nicely arched, well furnished with hackle. Breast: Very full,
round, carried well forward. Back : Rather long. Body : Broad,
narrowing to ta,il, close and compact. Wings : Large, neatly
tucked up. Tail: A good length, carried well out from the
body ; in cocks, sickles and secondaries broad and plentiful.
Legs and Feet: Legs, medium length ; toes, slender and well
spread ; four toes on each foot ; shanks free from feathers or
fluff. Size: The larger the better, maintaining the type.
Carriage : Very alei-t and graceful. Markings : Every feather on
the bird's body, with the exception of those of the neck-hackle,
should be barred in a transverse direction ; these bars should be
as clear as possible, with well-defined edges ; they should run
across the feather so as to form as near as possible rings round
the body. The barrings on the feathers of breast and under-part
of the body should run across the feather either in a straight or
a slightly-curved direction, but on the top, the shoulders, saddle-
hackle and tail, in a more or less V-sli^^ped direction. The bars
in all cases should be clear, well defined, and with clear-cut
edges. The bars should be as nearly as possible three times the
width of the ground-colour, which must be clear and distinct.
The saddle of the cock should be furnished with a good flow of
properly-developed hackles.

THE INDIAN GAME

The Indian Game is one of the monarchs of the
poultry world, and no show with any pretension to rank
is without separate classes for it. It is famous for two
things : first, its wonderful table properties, combining
great size with abundance of flesh-meat on the breast,
which quality makes it the most popular fowl of the
day for crossing with other breeds ; and, secondly, the
brilliance of its plumage and the beauty of its laced

UNCLASSIFIED BREEDS OF POULTRY 497

markings. Although the Standards give 8 lb. as the
weight of an adult cock, and 6 lb. for the hen, these
weights would be considered small for exhibition stock.
They look heavier, and they handle much heavier than
they appear ; 2 lb. heavier would be nearer the mark.

Their expression is morose and sullen, and they are
only approached in this respect by the Malay and the

JNDIAN GAME.

Aseel, both of which claim parentage. Like many
other modern breeds, it is of a composite nature.

Its natural home would appear to be Devon and
Cornwall, where they are still more extensively bred
than in any other counties, and their popularity was
for a long time confined to these parts, where they seem
to have flourished for over sixty years.

In Mr. Lewis Wright's Book of Poultry^ published
in 1880, the notice is very scanty, and they were then

K K

498 THE POULTRY MANUAL

supposed to be chiefly of Malay blood crossed with
Game, to which Mr. Comyns thought a " touch of
Aseel and Indian Jungle Fowl" had been added.

The latter description is now known to be near the
exact truth. The originator is said to be Sir Walter
Raleigh Gilbert, who stated to a friend in 1846 that
he had formed them by crossing a Red Aseel imported
from India with English Black-breasted Red Game of
Lord Derby's famous strain. In later days it would
seem that the Sumatra Game blood was infused, which
would add to the brilliance of the plumage, besides
adding a quality now considered undesirable, viz. excess
of feather in the tail.

The Aseel has a " pearl or a yellow eye "" among its
many colours, the Black-red Game a red eye, and in the
Standard for Indian Game the eye-colour is described as
" varying from pale yellow to pale red "" ; and the colour
of the cock in his black is "rich glossy green-black,""
which describes the Sumatra Game. Mr. Wright thinks
the " red eye " a sign of the Game cross.

In the Chapter on " Wyandottes "" we saw that Indian
Game blood was used to add depth of colour to the
Gold variety, and it is more than probable that the
cross so formed was afterwards used in breeding the
Indian Game to add to its lacing.

However that may be, the various amalgamations of
half-a-century have produced a bird remarkable in
many Avays for strength and beauty and usefulness.
Other breeds will come and go, but the " Cornish
Game," to give a familiar appellation, is not likely to
leave us.

General Characteristics

To all intents and purposes the Indian Game is a
magnified and glorified Aseel, possessing the indomit-
able courage of its ancestor and many familiar like-
nesses, in its tight feather, broad and prominent
shoulders, and naked point at the breast-bone.

The head is a composite of the three races, not so
short as the Aseel, nor so long as the Game, and with
the savage aspect of the Malay. It is described as
"rather long and thick, broad in skull, rather heavy
eyebrows, giving a cruel expression." The eye is full

UNCLASSIFIED BREEDS OF POULTRY 499

and bold, and the comb, a pea-comb, close fitting. As
a matter of fact the comb of the cock is seldom neat,
and when an attempt was made a few years ago to show
undubbed birds they looked very unsightly, and they
are now always dubbed for shows, except in the case of
very young chickens. The wattles also are dubbed.
The hen's comb is neat. The face is red and smooth,
and the ear-lobes red, neat, and small. The neck is
medium length and stout, and slightly arched.

General Characteristics of Cock

The Body is thick-set and broad, with prominent
shoulders. i?r(?a5^ ; Wide, deep, and prominent. Back:
Flat, short, broad, and tapering towards the tail.
Wings: Short, muscular, often bare at the top, and
tightly clipped up.

Tail. — Medium length, tight-feathered, the second-
aries narrow. It is carried low, at an angle of about
45" from the sloping body. There is a tendency to
grow too much feather, and tails are too often plucked
to produce the smart, whipped appearance. A big-
tailed specimen looks awkward.

Legs and Feet. — Medium length, strong and thick
^the more bone the better. A modern tendency is to
show cockerels too tall, probably due to the rage for
double lacing in the hen, which has led to neglect of
type.

General Carriage. — Upright, commanding, cou-
rageous. General appearance strong, muscular, and
active, with legs set well apart and not inkneed.

Plumage. — Close, narrow, and hard. Soft feathers
and fluff very objectionable.

General Characteristics of Hen

The description of the cock applies. The tail
is short and fine, tight-feathered, each feather
overlapping, carried slightly higher than the cock's.
The back should be broad at the shoulders, short, and
flat.

Colour of Indian Game

In both Sexes. — Beak: Horn or yellow. Legs:
Rich yellow or orange. Comb, Face, Eai'-lohes : Red.

K K 2

500 THE POULTRY MANUAL

In the Cock. — The prevailing colour is a rich
glossy green-black, much the same as a Black-red
Game. The breast, underparts, thighs, tail, and sickles
of this colour. The Jlights and secondaries are black
also, with chestnut colour on the outer web, which
makes a rich bay diamond on the wing-bay. A little
chestnut also intermingles in the base of the hackles,
saddle-hackles, and on the wing-bow, the original spots
for these colours. Except in the wing-bay the traces
of this colour are often very small.

The Hen differs entirely from other members of the
Black -red group, and is gloriously laced from head to
tail and from throat to thigh. The ground-colour is a
rich bay or chestnut, every feather being edged with a
lustrous beetle-green, and those specimens are accounted
best which have a double lacing, one inside the other,
making it more resemble the Partridge Wyandotte.
The jiecJi -hackle is black at the top and then bay, edged
with black. The back and wing-bows should be very
distinctly laced, and the wing-bars heavily laced, while
the end of the secondaries or wing-bay is a rich bay with
a narrow edging of black. The tail should also be
fringed with beetle-green black.

Points for Judging. — These are numerous in divi-
sion, but, roughly, 20 are given for head-points, 42 for
colour and shape of body, 8 for legs, and 20 for size,
symmetry, and condition.

Serious Defects are any malformation, single- or
strawberry-combs, red hackles, or knock-knees or bow-
legs. The straightness, stoutness, and strength of legs
is a matter of importance.

Hints for Mating

Both sexes can be bred from the same pen for exhibi-
tion. But it is only natural to seek for heavily-laced
and dark hens to mate with the cock for cock-breeding,
and lighter ground and narrower lacing to breed pullets.
A noted breeder confided to me that he liked cockerels
with more red in the wing-bow, and more distinct red
lacing in the hackles, both of neck and saddle, to pro-
duce pullets. It adds confusion and destroys popularity
to push distinct matings to extremes, though in slight

1. Laced Wyandotte, breast feathei-

2. ,, ,, neck-hackle of cock-breeding hen.

3. ,, „ feather from the back.

4a and 46. Mealy feathers from wing of Buff Orpington hen.

5. Triple-laced feathers from Indian Game hen. Though very beautiful, this triplelacing is not desirable,

and may be due to the influence of Dark Brahma blood.

6. Laced Wyandotte, a mossy feather.

7. Correctly marked double lacing, from Indian Game hen.

8. Flight feather of Brown Leghorn hen.

(The Indian Game feathers were kindly sent by Mr. W. Brent, a well-known exhibitor.)

501

UNCLASSIFIED BREEDS OF POULTRY 503

differences of colour it will always be advisable to
correct the tendency to loss of colour in this as in
other breeds. I have many times heard it said that the
rage for double lacing, to the neglect of other points
which must follow when this feature is pushed to
extremes, has led to considerable loss of type, with
the result of narrower, taller, and longer-backed birds.
Type and colour should go hand in hand, if the noble
and majestic courage and stamina of the cock, and
the rich and beautiful lacing of the hen are to be
preserved. White feathers in any part of the plumage
are a serious defect, though a little " greyness " is often
seen in old stagers. It is noteworthy that the birds
have wonderful staying power as exhibition stock, and
are often shown several years old.

The Utility of the Indian Game has already
been remarked upon. They have won a place in the
first rank as table-fowl, despite the gibes of Mr.
Harrison Weir and others, and have done not a little
to diminish the prejudice of the English people against
yellow flesh. When mated with the white-fleshed
Dorking — a favourite cross — progeny with white flesh
and plenty of it are produced, and these frequently win
in table classes, where shown, either living or dead. As
layers they are only of medium worth, so far as number
is concerned, as none of the breeds used in their make-
up are noted layers. The egg is of a brown tint and
medium size. Chickens are best when bred from two-
year-old hens. They are fairly hardy, but do not stand
confinement well, or they get leg weakness. Hard food
is the best diet.

THE LAKENVELDER

This is a still later breed than the Campine, havino-
been introduced in 1902 from Holland. It has been
spoken of as " Lakenfelder de Jerusalem," where it is
said to have originated. It is much like the Campine
except in colour. Its body-colour is a dead white, while
the neck and saddle-hackle are a dense velvety black,
and the tail black also, with long, flowing sickles. The
comb is single and erect in both sexes. The lobes are
white and almond shaped, the shanks a blue-slate colour,

504 THE POULTRY MANUAL

and the eye red. The tail is more developed and carried
at a lower angle than in the Campines.

They are small, sprightly birds, the cock weighing
about 5 lb, and the hen 4 lb. The great contrast
between the dense velvety black of the hackles and tail
attracts attention at once.

For some reason they have not caught on, and are not
now likely to do so, as they have no supreme merit
either as layers of a small white egg, or as table-
fowl.

The difficulty, from a show point, has been to get the
saddle-hackle of a solid black — patchiness too frequently
resulting. The guide for breeding is to note the under-
colour.

In their native haunts they are said, like the Campine
from which they may have originated, to be champion
layers, but in England this has not been found to be so.
Despite their unique colour they have not found many
admirers, and one only sees a specimen now and again
in mixed classes.

POLISH

This is an ancient breed of almost endless colours,
laced, spangled, speckled and plain, the varieties finding
their way into the Poultry Club Standards being the
Silver Polish, Gold Polish, White, Chamois, or White
Laced Buff", Black Polish with white crest, and Blue
Polish with white crest.

Once the pride of the show-pen, and by no means
indifferent as layers, and filling a large space in Early
Victorian poultry books, they are now almost dead,
except to fame, and only an odd specimen is seen now
and again.

It is now essentially a fancy fowl, and is not to be
compared, either as food for the table or as a supplier
of eggs, with the many useful modern breeds.

Its name is probably derived from its " poll " or crest,
which is of an unusually large size, and is the bird's chief
adornment.

It attracted the attention of Darwin, who mentions it
in Animals . . . under Domestication (vol. i, chap, vii,
p. 227). He writes : " Crested or Polish breed. Head

UNCLASSIFIED BREEDS OF POULTRY 505

with a large rounded crest of feathers, supported on a
hemispherical protuberance of the frontal bones which
includes the anterior part of the brain. . . . The orifice
of the nostrils raised and crescentic. Beak short. Comb
absent, or small and of crescentic shape. Wattles either
present or replaced by a beard-like tuft of feathers.
Legs leaden blue. Sexual differences appear late in life.
Do not incubate."

The chief interest, from Darwin's point of view, was
the peculiar skull formation, which he describes above,
and the very marked difference between the naked skull of
this fowl and that of any other uncrested variety is most
marked. Reference is made to this in the Chapter on
"Mendelism,'"and it affords the basis of many experiments
made by Davenport, where it is shown that these
abnormal developments are recessive to the normal,
and though this is no proof positive of its modern
development as an acquired character, it points in that
direction. The breed is an ancient one as compared
with most varieties. Mr. Dixon thinks the Polish is
one of the breeds quoted by Aldrovandus (a.d. 1600)
under the name Paduan. Darwin states that the
peculiarities of the skull formation were pointed out by
P. Borelli in 1657, and goes on to say, " I may add that
in 1737 one Polish sub-breed, viz. the Gold Spangled,
was known ; but, judging from Albinos description, the
comb was then larger, the crest of feathers much smaller,
the breast more coarsely spotted, and the stomach and
thighs much blacker. A golden-spangled fowl in this
condition would now be of no value."

Mr. Darwin thinks that the crest in the Polish fowl
is Sijemale characteristic which has been transferred to
the male also, and quotes from Blumenbach (a.d. 1813),
a writer on Ahnormal Characteristics in Domestic
Animals, that in his day " the skull of the hen alone
was protuberant " ; and later says, " Hence there can be
no doubt that this remarkable character in the skull of
the Polish fowls was formerly in Germany confined to
the female sex, but has now been transferred to the
males, and has thus become common to both sexes "
(p. 257).

It would seem, therefore, that the abnormal develop-
ment of the crest has caused the bony protuberance to

506 THE POULTRY MANUAL

support it, and that when " the crest is not much
developed it is supported on a fatty mass/"' A good
figure of the skull of a Polish fowl is given in Lewis
Wright, p. 441.

Another peculiarity in the Polish is the absence o±
comb. The Poultry Club Standard says : " Comb, if any,
should consist of only two small horns, preference being
given to birds quite without."

In the allied breeds like the Creve-coeur, La Fleche,
and Houdan, this has been developed.

There is little doubt but that Polish blood has been
the basis of all the French breeds, and so it has
proved to others, if not to us, both useful as well as
highly ornamental, and, as such, deserves mention. It
is not improbable that the excessive development of the
crest, with the corresponding diminution of comb, has
been the cause of its downfall as an English fancier's
fowl.

Crested birds in our climate are peculiarly liable to
roup and kindred ailments, and when not kept in suit-
able surroundings are very wretched looking. At the
best of times the good crest is very difficult to grow.
They are good summer layers of large white eggs, and,
as we know from the French breeds, when crossed with
other breeds make excellent table-birds.

I have never seen a Blue Polish, but, if the colour is
really good, it is not improbable that the variety may
be requisitioned for that quality, and its crest and skull
formation bred out again. Polish fowls are more popular
in America than with us. If only on account of their
rare beauty it is a pity that so few English fanciers take
them up. There are fewer now than ten years ago, when
the late Mr. J. Partington showed superb specimens.

General Characteristics

The breed is very like the more familiar Houdan in
appearance, though a pound or two less in weight.

The Cock. — Head: Medium size. Crest: Large as
possible, and circular, free from any split or parting,
high and smooth in the front, compact in the centre,
and falling evenly with long, untwisted feathers far
down the nape of the neck. Eije : Bright, large, and

UNCLASSIFIED BREEDS OF POULTRY 507

red in colour. Comb: Absent, or two small horns.
Face and Wattles : In two varieties, viz. the black and
the blue, which have white crests, the face is red and
smooth, and the wattles large and pendent. In the
other varieties the face is hidden with the muff, and a
pendulous beard or tuft of feathers takes the place of
wattles. Ear-lobes : Small and circular and bluish white
in colour. Neck : Long and tapering. Body : Long,
deep, good shoulders. Breast : Full and round. Back :
Fairly long and flat. Wings: Large. Tail: Fully
furnished and carried at a low angle. Legs and Feet :
Fairly long thighs and shank, so as to give a graceful
bearing. Shanks : Free from feather.

General Shape and Carriage. — Proud and stately,
erect. Weight : About 6 to 7 lb.

The Hen. — Head^ Neck, Body : As the cock. Tail:
Neat and carried rather low. Weight : About 5 lb.

Points for Judging, give 60 out of 100 for crest
and colour, which are the dominating points.

Colour in Polish Fowl

The Silver Laced or Spangled Polish is the one

most frequently seen. The only points differing from
other silver-laced breeds being in — -

(1) The Crest, which is silver in colour, but black at
the base and the ends of the feather ;

(2) The Tail, which is laced with blacl: (other laced
breeds like the Wyandotte, or Pencilled Hamburgh are
laced with white) ;

(3) The Sickles also are laced with black, and span-
gled at the end. The Beard is mottled or laced also
in both sexes.

Though often called the Spangled Polish, it is now
really a laced fowl. It is seldom that the lacing is as
perfect as in other laced breeds, and the irregularly
marked breasts often present the appearance of the
Spangled Hamburgh.

The Golden Polish is similar to the Silver, substi-
tuting gold for silver.

The White Polish is pure white throughout.

The Black Polish is set off' with a white crest, and
the Blue is the same. The contrast is very striking.

508 THE POULTRY MANUAL

The Chamois Polish is buff in colour, each feather
being tipped with white, and the sickles buff, laced with
white. This variety has been suggested as suitable for
crossing with the Buff Laced Wyandotte to perfect its
markings.

The finest crests are found on the Silver and Golden
Polish.

Mr. Wright says that a group of Chamois Polish,
disporting themselves on the grass run is " a picture of
surpassing loveliness." They are rarely seen, but if the
neck-hackles shine like the burnished gold of the Buff"
Laced Wyandotte I can imagine no more charming
sight.

THE SILKIE

No compendium of poultry would be complete with-
out a mention of the Silkie fowl, which is a kind of
enlarged Bantam, the cock weighing 3 lb. and the hen
2 lb., and instead of the ordinary webbed feather, being
covered with a mass of silky fluff, or hair. In ordinary
fowls the rib or stem of the feather is stiff; In the
Silkie it is thin and weak, and the " fibre weak and non-
elastic." In type it is Cochiny, and has short feathered
shanks, with Dorking-like feet and five toes.

Darwin's description. Animals . . . unde7' Domesti-
cation, chapter vii, is : " Silkie Fowls : Feathers silky,
with the primary wing and tail feathers imperfect ;
skin, and periosteum of bones black ; comb and wattles
dark leaden blue," etc.

He points out another peculiarity, viz. the skin,
which is a deep violet colour, almost black. The flesh
is said to be good eating, though somewhat unsightly
in appearance. Another peculiar feature is the comb,
which in the cock is an almost circular cushion of
purple-black flesh, covered with fine nodules, at the
back of which is a crest soft and full, with a streamer
of fine silky hairs streaming from the back of it, about
an inch and a half long. In the hen the comb is small
and neat, and the crest is like a powder puff, round in
shape. The face and wattles are a purple-black, and
the lobes small, oval in shape, and of a peculiar
turquoise blue.

UNCLASSIFIED BREEDS OF POULTRY 509

It is altogether a quaint, singular little creature,
broad, stout looking, with a dainty strut, and a bright,
intelligent-looking black eye, and legs and feet of a lead
colour.

The essential points in judging are silkiness of feather
in all parts of the plumage, correct leg-colour, the five
toes, and well-feathered legs with fine silky feathers
without any trace of a vulture hock. The correct
colour of face, comb, and lobes each count for ten points,
but a bird with a red comb or light eye could not win,
however good other points may be.

The white colour is recessive to black, as may be
imagined from the prevalent black pigment in skin, etc.

It has so many peculiar features that it is used in
many experiments to test the Mendelian theories. In
crossing, the silky feathers soon give way to the normal,
but the black skin persists.

The Silkie is probably of Japanese origin and of
ancient descent, since its many peculiar features, which
breed true to type, must have taken a long time to
perfect. Breeders of the Black Minorca are familiar
with the silky, hair-like feathers which are common on
the thighs and in the fluff of many of the best-coloured
birds. This is derived from the Langshan, another
Asiatic race.

They lay small cream-coloured eggs all the year
round, but are persistent sitters, and want to incubate
after each dozen eggs. In this fact lies their chief
merit, as they are a perfect god-send to breeders of
bantams, owing to their gentle and persistent habits.
They are now being crossed with larger fowls, like the
Wyandotte, to make broody hens of a larger size to
hatch the eggs of larger breeds. They are probably
the most regular, dependable, and persistent sitters
known, and are often available in the early parts of the
year when broody hens are scarce indeed.

Colour. — ^The most common colour is white, and the
purer the colour the better, though many are creamy or
sappy in tint.

There are also Black Silkies, which are again becom-
ing fashionable, and Blue, though they are rarely seen.
These are naturally the result of mating together the
Black and the White. The purple head-gear would not

510 THE POULTRY MANUAL

afford so great a contrast as in the White variety, but
the appearance would be very quaint and pretty.

Fanciers who keep the Silkie grow very fond of them
for their gentle habits and eccentric appearance, for
much the same reason as Pug dogs are idolized as pets.
The mystery of their origin adds an additional charm.

THE SCOTCH GREYS

At first glance this breed is hardly distinguishable
from the Barred Plymouth Rock, as it is marked in the
same way and is cuckoo coloured. A closer scrutiny
will show that the Scotch Grey is of rather lighter
build, that the tail is more abundantly furnished with
sickle feathers, and, above all, that its shanks are not
yellow, but white, or white lightly mottled with black.
Good specimens are as large and heavy as the Rock, and
the standard weight is given as from 9 to 11 lb. for
cocks, and 7 to 9 lb. for hens.

It has been called the Scotch Dorking, though it has
probably no Dorking blood in its veins. The Standard
says of its shape and carriage : " Neither Dorking nor
Game, but a blend of both, i. e. having feathers allied
to both ; erect, lively, active, bold and graceful." It
has a more active and " gamey " look than the Rock,
and is quicker in its movements. The fact that
breeders find that it never throws a five-toed chicken
is no proof that Dorking blood is not in it, since I
cannot recall a case for the past six or seven years where
a Buff Orpington has thrown a five-toed chick, although
Dorking blood has undoubtedly been used in its forma-
tion. Its origin is doubtful. It so much resembles the
Dominique in colour and style, except for the substitu-
tion of a single comb for the rose, that it is generally
understood to have been derived in this way. But Mr.
Harrison Weir thinks it is an original Scotch breed
bred from the intermingling of ordinary farmyard stock,
and quotes from Daniel's Rural Sports (1813), which
describes them as "square, plump, short in leg and
thigh . . . eyes red, and ear-lobes ivhite or pink; the
bodies of the hens were brown, or a grey-brown, with
dark hackles, and the cocks had mottled grey and black
breasts. The Cuckoo Gi^eys were called Shepherdls

UNCLASSIFIED BREEDS OF POULTRY 511

Plaids." Of the Scotch Grey he says, " This is a very
old breed," and quotes Mrs. Ferguson Blair to impress
the fact that such of them as were carefully bred had
" light pink ear-lobes."

He declaims against the " red ear-lobe " as a sign of
the introduction of alien blood, whether of Shanghai or
Plymouth Rock. It would seem, therefore, that the
breed is an old one, raised from mongrel stock, and
known in Scotland, where it is still chiefly bred, long
before the advent of the Plymouth Rock in 1872, and
often shown at Scottish shows at an earlier date.

Mr. Lewis Wright says they were then much smaller
than they are now, and it is probable that the Rock
would be used, as soon as it " caught on," to perfect the
plumage, as well as to increase the size. As a proof of
this cross Mr. Weir says that on crossing some Scotch
Grey hens, quite recently, with an Old Kent . . . white-
shanked cock he " hatched two chicks with yellow feet,"
a reversion to type when thus crossed. Its utility
qualities are considerable, as the breed is an excellent
table-fowl, and a good layer of large eggs of a pale
cream colour. They are not good sitters, as the broodi-
ness soon passes off, and in this they are totally distinct
from the Rock. Both the colour of the egg and this
non-sitting trait show us that there is not a Im^ge
element of Rock in them, since both are dominant charac-
teristics. They are said not to stand confined quarters,
and in this again they differ from the Rock. Their
popularity is not great. At English shows they are
about as rare as the Polish or the Sultan, though they
are largely bred in Scotland, and are more popular in
America than with us, which is a pity. But as with
the Buffs, so with the Barred, there seems only room
for one popular fowl.

Mating

In mating, the usual difficulties of " blurred mark-
ings " and white in tail have to be contended with, and
the difficulty of keeping the blue colour is experienced.

In colour the code's plumage is described as a ground-
colour of pale greyish-blue, finely and evenly barred with
a dark metallic blue, and the alternating bands of equal

512 THE POULTRY MANUAL

width. The shade all over the body should be of the
same tint and the markings fine.

The hen is similar, except that the markings are larger
and broader. This is much the same as in the old type
of Barred Rock. Both black and very light chicks come
from loosely-mated pens, and the remedy is the same as
that described for Rock breeding, viz. to avoid breeding
from stock with white feathers, and to see that the
black pigment is plentiful and under-colour sound.

The Points for Judging

There is a club in Scotland to look after its interests.
The points in Scotch Greys as drawn up by the Club in
1885 are summed up as 25, and divided as follows :
Size 5, head 3, tail 3, colour 5, symmetry 5, condition 4.
Total 25. But the Standard as now printed in the
Poultry Club year-books differs very widely from this.

Dividing the points into 100, 10 are given for head
and comb, and no less than 50 for colour, dividing the
body into five sections and awarding ten each for
hackle, shoulders, back, breast and tail. Size gets 15,
symmetry and condition 10 each, and legs 5.

This shows at once the difficulty of getting a good
coloured bird, and the corresponding value placed upon
it. It is the only instance I know where colour is thus
divided into sections, and at least affords a good hint to
English standard makers, who might thus emphasize the
importance of a difficult section, e. g. the wing-bow of a
Barred Rock is very seldom clearly marked, and when
found should be duly appraised.

The intense patriotism of Scotchmen will not allow
the breed to die out either in Scotland or in " foreign
parts," but whether it will ever become fashionable
with us is more than doubtful.

THE SULTAN

This is a quaint, snow-white, crested fowl from the
land of the Sultan, hence its name. Introduced from
Constantinople in 1854, they have only been bred for a
few ardent fanciers.

An odd specimen turns up now and again at Birming-

UNCLASSIFIED BREEDS OF POULTRY 513

ham, which has several large classes for unclassified
breeds, but otherwise they are, like their ancestors the
Polish, seldom seen. They are medium in size, the cocks
about 6 lb. and the hens 4| lb.

In appearance they are more like the White Polish
than any other, but they have heavily-feathered shanks
with vulture hocks and five toes like the Houdan, while
the comb is a nearer approach to that of the horned
Creve-coeur than any other, and the crest is large,
globular and compact.

In habit they are said to have a strange mixture
of wildness and tameness, as when startled they will fly
like Guinea fowls and alight on any tree or building
within reach, and shortly afterwards come down and eat
out of one's hand.

They lay a large white egg. The chicks are very
hardy, like their parents. For the lovers of the curious
they should afford a pleasing change, though they can-
not claim the merit of utility in the same degree as the
Silkie,

SUMATRA GAME

This is another ancient breed recently introduced into
this country. During its brief sojourn of six or seven
years it has found about a score of admirers, who have
formed themselves into a Club for its welfare.

It is probably a native of the island whose name it
bears, and ancient in its descent.

Its chief attraction lies in the wealth of its tail
plumage, and the extra brilliance of its rich, glossy,
beetle-green plumage. By the kindness of Miss Rilot,
the ardent secretary of the Sumatra Club and one of its
judges, I am enabled to give the Standard in full, from
which its general appearance may well be gathered.

The birds are said to be hardy, and good layers of a
fair-sized egg, and to be good for food.

They are very pugnacious and full of spirit.

The inherent love of the fancier " to go one better,"
and to win a prize by all or any means, is well illustrated
by the fact that no sooner was the Sumatra introduced,
than somebody tried by crossing the fierce pugnacity
of the Aseel with the black-plumaged Langshan to

514 THE POULTRY MANUAL

produce a pea-combed and black-plumaged fowl to com-
pete with the Sumatra in its own class. It is a thousand
pities that " well " cannot be let alone. The Club has
set its face against the cross and stamped it out.
Whether the strong individuality of the breed and its
glorious sheen will make a sufficient number of admirers
to make it "go," still remains a question. No breed
lives long which does not frequently appear in the show-
pen, and if the breed is to have classes of its own they
must be guaranteed to fill by its supporters. This is
an expensive matter, and had not the small Club formed
for its maintenance been generous in its support the
breed would, before now, have vanished into the
obscurity from which it came.

This is another breed in which the novice may soon
come to the front, and although there are not many
special classes provided except at the larger shows, the
breed can well hold its own in the variety classes at
agricultural and other shows. When in good condition
it stands out for distinction and grace, and often bears
away the coveted award. They lose somewhat of their
grace of outline and stately carriage when confined in
the show-pen. But just as a true-born aristocrat can be
detected no matter what his attire, so the Sumatra
stands out from other breeds even in disadvantageous
surroundings. Its large, bright and bold dark eye gives
it a distinctness quite apart from any other.

The Black Sumatra Game Fowl Standard

Genkral Characteristics of Cock

Head and Neck. — Head : Small^ rather short, and somewhat
rounded. Beak : Strong, of medium length, slightly curved.
Eye : Large and very bright, with a quick and fearless expres-
sion. Comb : Pea, low in front, fitting close to the head, the
smaller the better.- Face: Smooth and fine in texture. Ear-
lohes and Wattles : As small as possible, and fitting very closely.
Neck : Rather long, nicely arched, and well covered with very
long and flowing hackle.

Body. — Breast : Broad, full, and rounded, with straight breast-
bone. Back : Of medium length, broad at shoulders, and very
slightly tapering to tail. Saddle-hackle very long and flowing.
Stern: Narrower than shoulders, but firm and compact. The
whole body very firm and muscular. Wings : Strong, long, and
large, carried with fronts slightly raised, the feathers folded
very closely together, not carried drooping or over the back.

UNCLASSIFIED BREEDS OF POULTRY 515

Tail: Long and drooping, with a large quantity of sickles and
coverts, which should rise slightly above the stern and then fall
streaming behind, nearly to the ground. Sickle and covert
feathers should not be too broad.

Legs and Feet. — TA/^f^s; Of strictly medium length, thick,
strong, and muscular, set well apart. Shanks : Of strictly
medium length, straight and strong, set well apart, with smooth,
even scales, not flat or thin. There is no objection to two or
more spurs on each leg, it being a peculiarity of the breed for
this to occur. Feet : Broad and flat, four long, straight toes on
each foot, spread well apart, with strong nails, the back toes
standing well backward and flat on ground. Plumage: Very
full and flowing, but not soft or flufl"y. Gener<il shape and car-
riage somewhat long, straight and upright in front, with a
pheasant-like carriage, giving a proud and stately appearance.
Size and Weight : 5 to 6 lb.

General Characteristics of Hen

The same as in cock. Size and Weight : 4 to .5 lb.

Colour in Both Sexes. — Beak : Dark olive or black (olive pre-
ferred). Ere : Very dark red, dark brown, or black (dark red
preferred). Face , Comh , Lohes , and Wattles: Black or "gipsy"
faced or very dark red ("gipsy" faced preferred). Legs and
Feet : Dark olive or black (olive preferred). Plumage through-
out very rich glossy beetle-green or green-black, with as much
sheen as possible.

Disqualifications,— Other than four toes, single, or rose-
combs. Dubbing or any deformity.

Value of Points

Defects.

■Deduct up to

Head and beak ......

5

Comb, face, lobes, wattles ....

10

Eye

5

Neck

5

Legs and feet ......

10

Colour and sheen .....

15

Carriage, type, and symmetry .

20

Want of feather .....

15

Condition

15

A perfect bird to count . . 100

THE SUSSEX FOWL

The descent from the aristocratic Sumatra to the
Sussex fowl is like coming from the castle to the lodge
at the gate, or to the cottages which fringe the estate.
It is a barn-door fowl, a poulterer's pet, as its name
denotes, though, like some of its owners of humble

I. L 2

516 THE POULTRY MANUAL

origin, it has mingled its blood with families of a higher
rank in life, and added not a little of its usefulness and
vigour to them.

Moreover, encouraged by the affluence of its near
relations the Orpingtons, it has aspired also to the
dignity of the show arena, and has found for itself
a place in the latest editions of the Poultry Club
Standards.

How much of the ancient Dorking and Game have
found their way into its composition it is hard to say.

Its keenest defender is the late Mr. Harrison Weir,
who illustrates it with pencil and pen, in his own
inimitable way, in his great book, Oin- Poultry^ though
even he, after unstinted praise of its virtues and of its
long-renowned usefulness, declaims against its degeneracy
in these latter days.

It has been spoilt by Shanghai crosses, etc., and
though it is now a clean-legged bird once more, it has
also lost the jfifth toe, the hall-mark of its usefulness.
But, then, one cannot appear at Court in corduroy, and
dress must change with altered circumstances.

Its chief merit, and that no small one, is its useful-
ness to the poulterer. It claims classes of its own at
the great Dairy Show in the dead poultry classes, and
when it competes with " Any Other Variety " usually
secures prizes, finding its keenest rivals in the Orpingtons,
which have run away with its plumes. But its merits
are not only in its table qualities, though these are pre-
dominant, as it is also a capital winter layer, and owing
to its mingled blood is of a robust constitution. Like
many another aspirant for a rise in the world, it is
often mistaken for a gentleman, and one has often to
look twice to be sure that the " Speckled Sussex "'*' is
not one of the dignitaries which marched out at the great
Jubilee procession in 1897.

They readily lay on fat and flesh, and have deep,
well-developed breasts, with clean white legs and flesh,
and provide a dish for an epicure. Whether the French
copied from us, or we from them, the Sussex is the
nearest approach to their composite breeds as a table-
fowl, though their appearance is as wide apart as the
two nationalities are distinct.

UNCLASSIFIED BREEDS OF POULTRY 517

The Varieties

The varieties at present recognized are the Red (or
Brown), the Light, and the Speckled. The Buff, which
has not thrown off* its Cochin gaiters, has been left to
Lincolnshire,

General Characteristics of the Cock

The Orpington character prevails. Single-comb :
Erect. Ear-lobes and Wattles : Medium in size. Bod?j :
Broad and square, carried well forward, with a long
and deep breast-bone. The shouldei's are wide, and
the back broad and flat with less feather and fluff than
the Orpington. There is more of the Game character
about it. The skin is clear, fine in texture and white.
Tail: Moderate. Legs and Feet: Thighs and shanks
short and stout and free from feathers. Toes: Four
only. The general shape is cobby and compact with
erect carriage. Size and Weight : 9 lb. and upwards,
and the plumage close.

The Hen is like the cock, except that the back is
curved backwards. Weight : 7 lb. and upwards.

Colour of the Red Variety

Beak, Shanks and Feet and Skin: A clear white.
Eye : Red or brown.

In the Cock.^Phwiage : Glossy brown striped w^ith
black in the head and hackle. Body : Dark or chestnut-
brown, with darker wings and wing-bow. The tail is
black, with dark-brown tail coverts. Flight feathers
black.

The Hen. — The colour is similar, dark brown and
black in hackle striping, tail and flights.

Both look like the earlier Buff Orpingtons of too
ruddy a type.

Colour of the Light Variety

The Cock. — Similar to above, except in colour of
plumage and that the eye is orange. The plumage is
white throughout except the neck-hackle, which is striped
with black like a Columbian Wyandotte, The tail
is black and the flights have black feathers. The tail
coverts, like the hackle, are slightly tipped with black.

518 THE POULTRY MANUAL

The Hen is similar, pure white except in hackle,
which is striped with black, and has black in the flights,
and a black tail.

Colour in the Speckled Variety

This looks like a cross between the two, black,
white and brown feathers being intermingled, but some
authorities think it the oldest variety of the three.
The eye may be orange or brown in either sex. Beak :
White or horn. Legs, Feet mid Skin : White. Comb,
Face, Ear-lobes and Wattles : Red.

In the Cock. — Head : Rich red, with black stripe in
hackle, but with a white tip. Wing-boxo : Red. Flights :
White. Fail : Black and white. Saddle-hackle : Like
the neck.^k Body-colour : Speckled as evenly as possible
with black, white and brown.

In the Hen. — Same as cock, except that the whole
body is speckled with the three colours, and the tail
also has the three colours.

They are very like the Jubilee Orpington, except
that the Orpington is a little deeper in colour, and
insists on a mahogany stripe to the feather. The
Sussex is quite as large and heavy, and has probably
more breast-meat but less fluff.

The Points

In all the varieties size counts for most, then type
and colour.

Dejects are five toes, feathered shanks, other than
single-comb, and any bodily deformity.

They are a good useful fowl, but bred far more
loosely in type and colour than the Orpington. Utility
is stamped on them in large letters, and beauty is quite
a secondary point.

CHAPTER XVII
FRENCH BREEDS OF POULTRY

FAVEROLLES HOUDAN CREVE-CffiUR LA BRESSE

LA FLECHE, ETC.

Of the numerous varieties of poultry bred in France,
only the Faverolles and the Houdan are at all widely
cultivated in England, though specimens of the other
breeds are occasionally seen at our larger shows, when
they usually appear in the " Any Other Variety " classes.
Of these only a brief notice can be given.

Although we import an enormous quantity of eggs,
and those of the finest quality, /rom France, it is note-
worthy that the pure breeds which are cultivated there
are more valuable on account of their table qualities
than for their egg production. The French produce
some of the best table-fowls in the world, and Mr. Brown
declares that the flesh of the La Bresse has a flavour
decidedly in advance of the Dorking. Poultry are
much more common as an article of diet on the
Continent, though we are slowly progressing in that
direction.

It should be remembered, however, that such good
qualities as they possess have chiefly been derived from
our Dorking crossed with other breeds, and it is not
rmlikely that their superiority is due to the care
bestowed on fattening them, and to the culinary skill
for which the French are famous.

THE FAVEROLLES

This is the most popular French breed in England
at the present time, although it is one of the most
modern. It is very composite in its blood, being built
up from the Houdan, Dorking, Cochin, Brahma, etc.

519

520 THE POULTRY MANUAL

It has the shape and comb of the Dorking, and the
five toes, while it inherits the beard and muffling, or
whiskers, of the Houdan, and the feathered shanks of
the Cochin. There are various types and colours in
France, but the Salmon Faverolles is the one favoured
by English fanciers, so named from the colour of the
hen. The cock resembles the Silver Dorking more than
any other English breed.

It was famed as a good layer when it was introduced
to us about 1896 ; but its very shape and size pronounces
it to be a good table-fowl, and one hears less about its
egg-laying proclivities than formerly.

There is an Ermine or White Faverolles, marked like
the Light Brahma, and a Black variety, which may
become popular later on, as there is a general demand
in England for self-coloured fowls, whether white, black,
or buff.

In shape and type all the colours should be alike, the
Dorking element being the most pronounced. The
chickens are said to be very hardy and to put on weight
quickly, which is a matter of importance to those who
raise early chickens for the market. So far, however,
they have done nothing more than gain " commended "
cards when shown in competition against other English
breeds — the Orpington or the cross-bred Sussex usually
taking higher places. As a cross with the Indian Game
they have done better. There is little doubt, however,
that they are more robust than the Dorking, and when
bred, pure or crossed, as table-fowls for the general
market, they take a high place, and should be popular
with farmers, who like a fowl to carry lots of flesh and
to be thoroughly hardy.

General Characteristics
The Cock. — Head : Broad, flat and short, free from
crest. Comb : Single, erect and neat. Ear-lobes : Small,
hidden by whiskers. Wattles: Small. Beard and
Muffiing: Full, but the beard is preferred short.
Neck : Thick and short. Bodi/ : Thick, deep and broad ;
square, like the Dorking. Breast: Broad, prominent.
The Back : Flat, square, very broad across the shoulders,
more rounded than the Dorking and not so long. The
Tail: Carried rather upright, sickles of medium length,

FRENCH BREEDS OF POULTRY 521

carried like a Brahma's. The Legs and Feet. — Thighs :
Short, wide apart. Shanks : Rather short, straight, and
sparingly feathered down to outer toe. Toes : P'ive in
number, the fifth toe clearly divided from the fourth and
tru'ned up. General caiTiage : Active and alert. Size :
Large, 7 to 9 lb.

The Hen. — Head and Neck: Like the cock, but
with a neater comb and more erect carriage. Body :
Longer and deeper as compared with the cock, with
a longer and straighter back. Tail: Fan-shaped,
furnished with broad feathers of medium length, carried
at an angle of about 45°. Size: Large, about 6 to
7 lb.

COLOUII

In both Sexes. — Beak : Horn or white. Eye : Grey
or hazel. Face, Ear-lohes, and Wattles : Red. Shanks
and Feet : White.

In the Cock. — Beard and Muffling: Black, ticked
with white. HacMes : Straw colour (many otherwise
good specimens have a silvery hackle too like the
Dorking's). Baclx: and Slio\dders : A tortoiseshell
colour, a mixture of black, white and brown (many are
altogether too silvery). Breast : Black (not ticked
with white), and the same for thighs, under-colour, and
tail. Wing-bow : Straw colour.

In the Hen. — Beard and Miifffling: Creamy white.
Head and Neck-hacMe : A wheaten colour, striped with
same colour of a darker shade. Bacli and Shoidders
the same, the colour running lighter on the sides, while
the breast^ thighs and under-parts fade away to a cream
colour. The tail a darker wheaten -brown.

The points for beard and muffling and colour count
45, and so are the most important.

Serious Defects ar e skin or legs any other colour than
white, or absence of beard or whiskers.

The coloured illustration of the cock is excellent in
shape and style, but the colour of the hackles should be
straw, not silver, and should be devoid of striping. The
hen is well depicted, and little fault can be found with
it. Many exhibition specimens are too washy in colour.
The colour might, however, have been a little more
regular and softer on the -h ing, and not show the glint

522 THE POULTRY MANUAL

of white on breast. Coloured plates cannot yet
accurately depict the fineness and delicacy of colour
the fancier looks for. I might add that the lustre of
the cock's black plumage should be bronze, and not
a beetle-green.

Hints on Mating

There is no other breed where the two sexes present
so marked a contrast in colour, though the various
members of the black-red family and the Dark Dorking
present a somewhat similar appearance. In these classes
the hens have salmon-coloured breasts, and the cocks
a black breast, and the general rules for mating these
breeds will apply to the Faverolles.

Black feathers in the tail of the hen or smutty under-
colour are defects in the show-pen, but would help to
maintain the colour in the cocks bred from them, and
the more straw-coloured the hackles of the cock and
the more red pigment on the back will help to breed
good salmon-coloured pullets, as also the presence of
bronze in his plumage and brownish feathers in his tail.
With such a conglomeration of colours, and of mixed
pedigree, the colour factor must be a puzzle for a long
time, but the breed is fast losing its " farmyard "" ap-
pearance, and the many varied types and colours once
seen in the show-pen, when almost every yard sported
its own colours, are fast coming to some uniformity. It
is a valuable addition to our gallery of living pictures,
while its economic qualities will ensure it a long life.

THE HOUDAN

This is one of the oldest of the French breeds, and
perhaps the most familiar to us. Though bred by
comparatively few as a pure breed, the cockerels are
used in all parts of England to cross farmyard stock.
It is more active and hardy than the Dorking, which
largely enters into its composition, and enables it to
breed good table-fowls with abundant white flesh, while
it is not to be despised as a layer. The distinctness of
its blood adds vigour to the other breeds with which it
intermingles, though they mostly bear a mongrel ap-
pearance and all come with top-knots beards and

HOUDAN COCK.
Property of Mr. Henry Bdyb.
Wiiiiio; 1st, hUcrnatioaal, etc.

FRENCH BREEDS OF POULTRY 525

whiskers, though of diminished size. Readers of the
Chapter on " Mendehsm "" will note how the distinctive
characteristics of the Houdan have made it one of the
chief sources of experiment in the matter of inheritance.

In the early books on poultry it figured much more
prominently than it does to-day, and half a century
ago this breed, and the various colours of the Polish
fowl, took a chief place among our ornamental races,
before they were swamped by the various modern crea-
tions of America and the Mediterranean importations.

The Creve-coeur and the Polish fowl are said to have
been used in its making, and from these its peculiar
head-gear have been derived. The crest is very like
that of the Creve-coeur in shape, but mottled black and
white, the. latter colour usually prevailing, and the
beard and muff are the same. Its most noticeable
feature is the comb, which the Standard describes as
" well defined, even, smooth leaf-comb, in shape some-
what resembling a butterfly (with open wings) placed
in the centre of the head." The " wings " of the comb
are serrated like those of single-combed birds, while
the centre is like a small, ill-shaped strawberry. This
shape of comb is peculiar to the Houdan. The two
horns of the V-shaped Creve-coeur comb bifurcate in
the same way, and a cross between that fowl and a
single-combed fowl like the Dorking would be likely
to produce it.

Characteristics of Cock
In shape the Houdan is more like the Dorking,
though it also resembles the Creve-coeur. The Breast
is broad and deep, with a long and straight breast-bone.
Back: Broad and moderately long. Wing: Carried
well up. Tail: Full, and well arched, with long and
prominent sickles, carried at a higher angle than the
Dorking, and more like the Creve. Thighs and Legs :
Stout, short, and wide apart, and finer in bone than the
Dorking. Toes : Five in number, the fifth curving up-
wards like the Dorking. The Crest: Bold and full,
inclined backward so as to fully expose the comb. (The
large crest is not common in France, nor with us when
bred for utility purposes, and is against the fowl's
health when once grown.) The Comb: As described

526 THE POULTRY MANUAL

above. General Shape and Carriage : Bold and lively.
(The Houdan cocks are very active, and rare fertilizers.)
The beard and whiskers are large, fuUj and compact,
and hide most of the face, while the wattles are cor-
respondingly small, as though the beard had taken
their place. Size and Weight ; 7 to 8 lb. (In the
show-pen the larger the better.)

Characteristics of the Hkn

C^-est : Very large and globular. Comb : Leaf-shaped
but small. Muffies : Large, and beard pendulous.
Wattles: Very small and round. Tail: Medium length
and carried almost straight (not erect as in the cock).
The body and legs and other parts as in the cock.
Weight ; 6 to 7 lb.

Colour of Houdans

In both Sexes. — Bcal- : Horn. Eije : Red. Ear-
lobes : Pinky- white. Crest : Black and white, usually
lighter than the body-colour, but evenly distributed.
Beard and Muff: The same. Plumage : Glossy green,
black and white, evenly mottled, with crescentic white
markings. Like all black and white birds, the white
is greater in extent as the birds advance in age ; and
many exhibition chickens are almost black, but whether
much mottled or little, it should be evenly distributed.
The darker birds have usually darker legs, but these are
not desirable.

Legs and Feet : Pinky-^^4lite, mottled with blue or
black. As in all dark-legged birds the black turns
slate-colour after the first moult.

Serious Defects: Red or straw-coloured feathers.
These feathers are natural to all black birds, and in-
dicate a reversion to the original type. The barndoor'
Houdan has them in abundance, but they are a serious
defect in show birds. Other serious defects are an
outside spur, other than five toes, or any deformity.

Hints on Mating

The rules for all black and white birds apply to the

Houdan. Even-coloured birds on both sides would

throw some good specimens, but many would be too

light, as the general law as to loss of colour with time

FRENCH BREEDS OF POULTRY 527

prevails. A light cock should be mated with dark
hens, or vice versa. As in all other breeds, birds with
similar defects should not be mated together.

The birds are vigorous to an advanced age, where
climatic conditions suit them, but, so far as my ex-
perience goes, a cold and damp situation is most
detrimental, and renders the stock peculiarly liable to
roup. This is common with all crested breeds.

Their chief use in England has been to cross with
farmyard stock, and this is likely to remain so.
Breeders are comparatively few, and those chiefly con-
fined to the southern counties.

THE CREVE-CCEUR

This is one of the oldest of the French breeds. To
all intents and purposes they are practically a black-
plumaged Houdan with four toes and Avith a two-
horned V-shaped comb instead of a leaf-comb. They
are seldom seen and but little bred or exhibited in
England, and are said to be rather delicate in con-
stitution. They derive their name from the peculiar
shape of the comb (Creve-coeur = split hearts), the
comb being like a V with a broad base and filled up
half its height with a protuberant growth of flesh.
The horns of the comb should be straight, not curved,
and without branchings. The shape of the comb alone
would stamp it as a very ancient breed, since to perfect
its peculiar shape from either the single-comb or crosses
with the rose, etc., would take a long period.

The General Characteristics, as already stated,
are similar to the Houdan. The body is square and
large and the legs short. It is a more cloddy bird than
the Houdan, and a trifle larger. The entire plumage
and legs are black. The crest of both sexes resembles
the Houdan except in colour. The wattles are longer.
They are said to be good layers of large white eggs.
As with so many other black breeds, there is a White
variety, and blues are not unknown, but rare.

LA BRESSE
From what I have seen of this breed it presents a
more mongrelized appearance than any French breed.
Their great feature is their value as table-fowls, and

528 THE POULTRY MANUAL

they are well known, as they appear on every menu in
Continental hotels, as " Poules de la Bresse." Some
writers even place them ahead of the " La Fleche.""

They are distinctly of the Mediterranean class, and
are more like big mongrelized Leghorns than anything
else, though with smaller combs, erect in the cock and
falling over in the hens. I have only seen the white,
but there are black, blue, and grey as well. Their
various sizes and shapes may be inferred from the fact
that while some writers call them " Dorkings with four
toes," others say they are " more like the Ancona than
the Dorking."

They are a " poulterer's " fowl, and seem to fill their
office well, and they are also said to have the merit of
being good layers. They may have a chance of be-
coming a favourite with the Utility Poultry Club,
but as a fancier"'s fowl they are simply nowhere, and
though they appear in mixed classes now and again, I
have no recollection of seeing one in the prize list. The
lobes may be any colour, red, blue, white, or a mixture,
but as the lobes are not to be eaten this is of small con-
sequence. They seem to be a good and useful " barn-
door "" fowl, and would not merit a notice but for their
estimable culinary properties.

LA FLECHE

This is undoubtedly the most popular table-bird of
France. Except for the comb, these birds resemble a
Black Minorca more than any other breed. In the
illustration in Wright's Booh of Poultry the pair
depicted would make ideal Minorcas if they had single- -
combs instead of the two small round horns which act
as a substitute. The white lobes, are, however, more
rounded in shape and not so large.

They are splendid table-fowls, though again they are
said to be delicate and not to mature very rapidly.

The comb is not as large as the Creve-coeur's, and
does not branch as widely, and the two neat round
horns seem to spring more directly from the head, and
have no growth between. They are at once distin-
guished from the Creve by having either no crest, or
only a small tuft inclining backwards behind the horns.
It may be fancy, but I always think they are more

FRENCH BREEDS OF POULTRY 529

diabolical in appearance than any other breed. The
colour of the plumage is black, the shanks clean, and
either black or dark-blue, and the eye red. There are
usually a few to be seen in the A.O.V. Classes at our
greater shows, and they are not infrequently in the
prize list. They lay a large white egg. It has been
suggested that they are the outcome of a cross between
the Black Spanish and the Polish. Weight, adiilt
cocks, 8 lb. ; hens, 6 lb. More points are given for
size, symmetry, and condition than anything else, while
10 points are deducted if the crest is large.

OTHER FRENCH BREEDS

These can only be briefly enumerated.

Du Mans. — A breed resembling the La Fleche, but
with a rose-comb. It might make a good cross for breed-
ing rose-combed Minorcas. The plumage is black
and the ear-lobes white. The flesh is fine and delicate,
and it is a good layer.

Du Mantes. — A mongrel Faverolles, with single-
comb, a beard, and thick, clean grey legs. It is
speckled in plumage like the Houdan, but is a sitter.
It is said to be a first-class layer.

Courtes Pattes. — Mr. Brown calls these a " quaint
little fowl " with black plumage, with ver^ short legs, a
single-comb, of Mediterranean type. They are recom-
mended as " a gardener"'s fowl," as they cannot scratch
much, but I should not like to keep the best of them
there unless on a cabbage-patch.

The Barbezieux, said to be the Minorca of France,
a descendant of the Black Spanish race, and like its
ancestors good alike for eggs and table purposes. It is
bred for utility and has no pretensions to beauty or
exhibition qualities.

There are other breeds still less known. Table
qualities are the prime object, while the egg-basket
is not overlooked. Utilitarians may well think that
our Gallic neighbours take a saner view than we do of
the purposes for which poultry were created. They set
us the fashion in their Parisian gowns, but it would
seem that they have no eye for beauty in other direc-
tions. When this is needed they buy or borrow from
us.

CHAPTER XVIII

BANTAMS

At all the greater shows there is now an extensive
array of classes for Bantams, while there are but few
indeed of the smaller shows where several classes are not
found. At the International Show of 1908 there were
275 classes for the large breeds of poultry, and 108 for
Bantams. The larger breeds had 3560 exhibits, and
the Bantams 1070. This one list alone will show to
how^ great an extent the Bantam fancy has grown in
recent years, and it is still largely increasing, so that
it bids fair, in the near future, for every breed and
variety of the larger breeds to have its counterpart in
the smaller. The more the varieties extend the easier
it becomes to still further extend them, since the main
difficulty in the past has been to find breeds of the right
colour small enough to cross with the new variety it is
desired to bantamize. But as all our modern breeds
are said to have descended from the Gallus Bmikiva^
and perhaps another large and heavily-feathered Asiatic
ancestor, so the Bantams of to-day are largely indebted
to the Game Bantam and to various crosses with the
Silkie fowl. They are more " crossed " and hybridized
even than the bigger breeds, and hence the necessity of
inbreeding whenever a new variety is started, both to
preserve the type, and also to keep down the size. No
sooner is a new breed started to-day than a simultaneous
effort is made to produce its counterpart, and the skill
and ingenuity required in the selection of the parent
stock and the subsequent matings is one of the great
incentives to take up the fancy. They are great pets
with ladies and children, and an example has been set
by our gracious Queen Alexandra, who is a great

530

Sebrights.
Fi'izzles. White Japanese.

Black and White Rose-combs.
Silver Spangled Hamburghs. White Polish.

Silkies (centre).
Spanish. Silver Laced Wyandottes.

Indian Game. Modern Game. Scotch Greys. Old English Game.

White Pekins. Malays. Light Brahmas.

M M 2 ^^^

BANTAMS 533

admirer of them and a frequent exhibitor. The per-
fection to which they have attained is testified to by
the fact that a Bantam not infrequently bears aAvay the
coveted trophy for " the best bird in the show."

At the smaller shows they are usually divided into
two classes for Game Bantams, and two for " Variety
Bantams " ; or two for clean-legged varieties and two
for feather-legged varieties ; and sometimes into six
classes, in which the Game have two to themselves,
with two for other clean-legged varieties and two for
the feather-legged.

It is much less costly to exhibit Bantams than the
larger breeds. The entry fee and the prize money are
usually the same, but the cost of railway carriage to and
from a show is only about one-fourth as much. Three
or four Bantams and the divided hamper in which they
are sent would not weigh more than one hamper with a
large bird. In shows a long distance from home this
makes a material difference.

There is a great charm about these little pets, and
though some of the varieties are notoriously bad layers,
like their larger ancestors, others give as good a return
in- eggs, when the diminished cost of housing and feeding
are considered, as the bigger breeds, and many a delicate
invalid could be tempted with a Bantam's egg who
would turn aside from an ordinary one.

Three or four hens and a cock form a decent breeding
pen, and the house to hold them need not be above
3 feet by 2 feet, while the run necessary to keep
them in health may be correspondingly diminished.
There is no trouble preparing hot food, since hard corn
forms their staple diet, in oi-der to keep down the size,
and though they need careful management, they are not
half the trouble of the bigger breeds, except at hatch-
ing time, when the young are more delicate. Some
Bantam hens will hatch and rear their own chickens
comfortably, and a bantamized hen of a larger breed
will do, but most expert breeders employ the Silkie or
a cross of the Silkie and another breed for this purpose.
The eggs do not hatch well in an incubator, though it
is a common and successful practice to remove the eggs
from the hen a few days before hatching and then
place them in an incubator to hatch out, a practice

534 THE POULTRY MANUAL

successfully adopted also with the larger fowl, as there
is then no danger of the chick being crushed.

One of the chief points for the exhibitor to aim at is
diminished size, the general rule being that a Bantam
should weigh one-fifth the xceight of the original breed,
so that when a cock weighs 6 lb. in a large breed the
Bantam should weigh 18 to 20 ozs., and if the hen
weighs 5 lb. the Bantam should be 16 ozs. Some
allowance is made in the newer breeds for extra size, as
it usually takes years to get type and size combined
into regulation order.

This lilliputian size is one of the chief difficulties for
the breeder, as the very tiny specimens rarely lay fertile
eggs, and indeed there is considerable danger in their
laying eggs at all when the size is diminished below the
average, so that many a champion in the show-pen
leaves no progeny behind.

When they are kept as pets only, with no intention
of showing, they usually exceed the standard weights,
but they are more easily reared, unless the other
extreme is reached and the birds are over-fed and
too fat.

This chapter can only glance at this dwarf race, as
each of the numerous breeds with their sub-varieties
could claim a chapter to itself. There are several
standard works covering the whole ground, besides
monographs of the more popular, and to these "the
reader who desires to exhibit is referred.

Most of the Bantams are simply a copy in
miniature of the larger breeds, one-fifth or there-
abouts of the size, and w^ith similar markings and
characteristics .

The scales of points, hozcever, clijfer materially, and as
the newer varieties approach perfection, the scale is
amended from time to time, and the way to be " up
to date" is either to join the club which fosters the
variety, or at least to secure the latest " standard of
perfection " issued by the club, and which may vary any
year. The Poultry Club Standards are only revised
at much longer intervals. In the case of the older
and better -known varieties the standard remains
permanent.

In all the Bantams it is desirable to breed as small

BANTAiAlS 535

as possible, but type, symmetry and colour should have
the first consideration and in the order named. It will
also be found that in many of the varieties head-points
count for more than in their large counterparts, e. g.
in Minorca Bantams, defects in comb count 30 points,
while in the larger it is 15 ; in Leghorn Bantams 20, in
the larger 12. The reason of this is that in breeding
the smaller birds, breeds with rose-combs, or peculiar
combs like the Silkie, have been introduced, and perfect
combs are more difficult of attainment. The same
general rule naturally applies throughout, viz. that where
any feature is the most difficult to obtain, it scores the
highest number of points. In no single instance do
the points count exactly the same in the larger and
the smaller races, although the aim of the Bantam
breeder is to produce a copy in miniature. In one case
it is size, in another shape or colour ; in others Avealth
of feather is most difficult to obtain in foot and shank
or tail. It is therefore necessary for the amateur
breeder to know which points are the most important
for the time being, and not to despise a Bantam for
a failing which would at once put the larger breed out
of court.

Bantam breeders guard their secrets more jealously
than any others, and the methods by Avhich the various
breeds have been bantamized, and brought to the
measure of perfection they have attained, are not the
popular possession of the Fancy, and there is no book
of which I am aware that goes into the details of the
matter. The reader of the Chapters on " Mendelism "
and " Colour " who takes the pains to understand the
law of the segregation of the gametes, and the dominant
and recessive qualities will have a guide more valuable
to him, than to the breeder of the established varieties,
because there is more hybridizing to be done on
systematic lines than is necessary for the larger breeds,
and the choice of material is smaller.

The most popular varieties are the Game Bantams,
the Black Rose-comb, the Sebright, and the Pekin in
its various colours ; though there are many charming
minor varieties fast gaining ground, among which the
Brahma Bantam , takes a foremost place. Of these the
Sebright has no large namesake, and this distinction

536 THE POULTRY MANUAL

is shared by other breeds such as the Booted Bantam
and the Japanese.

The Game Bantam is a copy in miniature of its
elders, and exists in nearly all its varieties. The small
size and the fineness of bone are two of its most
difficult attainments. The weight for moderns is 20 ozs.
for cockerels and 24 ozs. for cocks ; for pullets 18 ozs.
and hens 20 ozs. The various " points " are fairly
equally divided between size, type, colour and feather.
Coarseness is a great fault. The feather should be
short and the bone light. Shortness and compactness
of body with great reach of limb are essentials.
The Black-reds are the most popular, and a good
specimen realizes a high figure. Piles are sometimes
victorious over the other colours, and are marvels of
colour and daintiness. Birchens are more difficult
to keep small, but are very attractive, while their
counterparts, the Brown-reds, are as difficult as any to
breed true to colour. A good Game Bantam cockerel,
with its erect carriage and finely-drawn body, is the
daintiest creature imaginable.

Old English Bantams follow the moderns closely
in the race for popularity, and as the good ones are not
in as few hands, and are later in origin, they are rising
in demand. The Spangle is perhaps the most popular,
the Black-reds are very attractive, but for quaintness of
colour the Blue-reds take first place. They are as
small in weight, but shorter in build and more bulky in
body than the moderns.

Rose-combed Bantams are very popular, especially
the black variety. They resemble the Black Hamburgh
in style and shape. A good colour and a wealth of broad
sickles are prominent features, while the comb and ear-
lobes count for 35 per cent, of the marks. The remarks
made about the trimming of Hamburghs' combs are
said to apply with even greater force to the Bantam's.
If the patience and skill which is devoted to the
manipulation of combs were applied to breeding them,
and due allowance made for minor defects for a time,
the need for trimming would die a natural death. As
it is, a clever faker escapes, and the clumsy hand is
penalized, while the novice and the man who would
exhibit his stock as Nature made them is discouraffed.

BANTAMS 537

111 breeding, great care should be exercised to select
a cock that has been bo'ed with a good comb, neat
in size, square in front, and the top "crowded with
little round spikes," which have not been multiplied by
the trimmer's dividing knife, not cut off at the sides,
where they are apt to overhang. If a trimmed comb
would breed its " like " something could be said for it,
but where " cut and come again " is so fruitful in a
wrong direction the practice is deplorable. For dimi-
nution in size the smallest hens that will breed should
be selected, the cock being the fount of colour and style,
and the hen of stamina and size.

The White Rose-comb is very pretty, but not bred
so near to perfection nor so popular as the Black.

Sebright Bantams have many attractions. They
are the most jaunty little creatures in existence, and
the wondrous delicacy of their lacing is not equalled by
any other breed, large or small. There are two colours,
the Silver Laced and the Gold Laced, of which the former
is the more strikingly attractive, and the more popular,
and the lacing is usually more perfect. In the lacing
their nearest compeers are the Silver Wyandottes, but
the perfection of lacing is not comparable, while the
comb is more like that of the Hamburgh, narrowing at
the back, and slightly upturned, the top being covered
with tiny coral-like points. The wings are carried low,
almost touching the ground. The peculiar feature of
the cocJh is that he is hen-feathered, and has no true
hackle feathers, while the tail is hen-shaped, spread oul
and carried high. The body is short and compact, and
the breast prominent.

The hen is similar in shape and general characteristics,
but has a smaller comb and head-points. The lobe in
both sexes is dark purple or dull red, the eye dark, the
legs a slate-coloured blue. The rules for breeding are
similar to those for breeding Silver Wyandottes. For
cock-breeding a correctly-marked cock is mated to
pullets heavy in lacing, or a heavily-marked cockerel
to lightly -laced pullets, the general tendency being to
a loss of intensity of colour.

In pullet -breeding mate a lightly-laced cock with
pullets too heavily laced for the show-pen. It is said
that if a cockerel has a tendency to sickle feathers he

538 THE POULTRY MANUAL

is serviceable for pullet-breeding, and is more likely to
be fertile, as sterility is a usual accompaniment of hen-
feathered cocks. Of course, a Sebright cock with
sickle feathers would be of no service for showing, nor
would he be likely to breed good cocks.

The plumage of the Silver should be a clear silvery-
white ground-colour with a sharp, fine lacing of beetle-
green black. Every feather should be evenly laced,
even the secondary feathers and the tail. These latter
are the weak parts. There are specimens as nearly
perfect as possible, but a great number fail at the
bottom, or unexposed, part of the feather, where the
lacing fails, or there are smudges of black. A good
laced specimen is lacing at its best.

In the Golds the lacing is the same, and the ground-
colour a uniform golden bay throughout. The difficulty
is to get the colour even and to avoid a pale buff colour
or a rustiness on the black. In buying a pen take care
that all the birds are either cockerel-bred or pullet-
bred. Inbreeding and keeping to one strain is
necessary to achieve and to maintain success, and, as
in so many other breeds, better results are obtained hy
mating together birds lightly laced with their mates
heavily laced, than from breeding show specimens
together.

This is one of the oldest breeds of Bantams, and has
a pedigree dating back to 1800, when Sir John Sebright
brought out the breed. There has been a Sebright
Club for nearly 100 years. An interesting account of
their origin is given in the first edition of Lewis
Wright's Book of Foultry. The cross was between
some common Bantams {i.e. probably Game) and the
laced Polish, and then a hen-tailed Bantam cock was
accidentally discovered, from which this peculiarity has
been bred. It would appear that the Golds were first
bred, and then the Silvers were made by the introduction
of a white Bantam Cock. The actual and precise
methods by which the Sebright was made does not
seem to have been disclosed. They are very popular,
and 150 specimens were exhibited at the club show of
1908.

The Pekin Bantam is a miniature of the Cochin,
and though it cannot claim to stand alone, like the

BANTAMS 539

Sebright, yet it has the undoubted merit of being even
more perfect and beautiful than its elders in the
feathering of the shanks and feet. In America they are
called Cochin Bantams. The cock's standard weight is
32 ozs. and the hen's 28 ozs.

They are now bred in all the Cochin colours, Buff,
Partridge, Black, White, Cuckoo, and Mottled. The
standard of perfection is almost identical with that for
the Cochin, and the same for the colour; and the
breeder would not go wrong who referred and adhered
to these standards.

They have single erect combs, long wattles, short and
arched necks, bodies broad and deep, with a prominent
and rounded breast ; the nearer they are to rotundity
the better. The cushion is pronounced, the tail short,
and the fluff abundant. The shanks are heavily feathered,
and so are the middle and outer toes.

The colours are the same as for the Cochins, and no
description of the Buff, Partridge, White or Black is
needed, save that the latter has a better sheen than the
Cochin, and the more metaUic it is the better. Of these
colours the black is decidedly the most popular. The
cuckoo colour is seldom seen and the mottle hardly
ever, the latter colour being black mottled with white.

They are the hardiest of all the Bantams, and I have
known them reared in backyards of the tiniest area.
Like all heavily foot- feathered birds they are best when
kept on short grass, but I have known many reared on
boards only, with a very thin covering of peat moss or
sand. For breeding purposes the feathers are often cut
away from the feet and shanks of the cock to make him
more sprightly, and the heavy fluff' of the pullets is also
cut short. They make the best of sitters. Mr. Lewis
Wright says, " If a Pekin hen be crossed with a Silkie
cock they produce the very best sitters for Bantams
that can be produced, which cannot be equalled either
as sitters or mothers for Bantam chicks."

The White Pekin is liable to a creamy or yellow
tinge, and is often crossed with a Black Pekin to
eradicate this taint. The white chicks from the cross
are a purer white and breed true to colour, which is
another illustration of Mendel's Law of Segregation and
of the dominance of white over black. The black

540 THE POULTRY MANUAL

chicks from the cross carry white as a recessive factor,
and do not breed as true, though they may be useful in
breeding cuckoo-coloured progeny.

It is a great pity that the practice has grown up of
almost universally trimming the Pekin''s tail feathers to
preserve the short tail and the rotund appearance. A
well-timed resolution recently passed by the Poultry
Club to penalize this action will, it is hoped, have a
good effect in putting an end to the practice. It only
wants patient and persistent breeding from the shorter-
tailed specimens to bring about a permanent amend-
ment.

Booted Bantams differ from the Pekin in being
taller and longer -limbed. The wings are carried
drooping and are large and long. Stiff' feathers on the
hocks reach almost to the ground, and the carriage,
instead of being stooping like the Cochin, with the head
and tail on the same horizontal line, is erect and
strutting. The tail is large and carried erect, and the
sickles are long. The weight is less than the Pekin
Bantams, being 22 ozs. for cockerels and 18 ozs. for
pullets.

The White Booted has white legs and the Black
Booted black legs, whereas the Pekins have yellow.
There are also spangled Booteds, and occasionally a
muffled sub-variety is seen. They are not often
exhibited in the show-pen. They are the most heavily-
feathered variety of Bantam, and great care is needed to
keep the enormous foot-feathering intact.

The Japanese Bantam is another old variety
with no large type corresponding to it. They are
very odd, quaint little beings, with legs so short that
the body is only just carried above the ground. They
are more like a squat Booted than any other, with long
wings almost touching the ground, but with tails so
erect that they almost touch the head. There are
whites, blacks, greys and buffs in colour. They have
short, clean legs and feet, which are yellow in colour.
The " white '" has a black tail laced with white and with
a ticked neck-hackle. They are an ancient race and are
said to breed very true. There were 25 on view at the
last International Show.

The Scotch Grey Bantam is a midget of the old

BANTAMS 541

and large Scotch Grey. An admirable monograph is
written" on the breed by Mr. R. Fletcher Hearnshaw.
The Scotch Grey can boast of a 50 years' pedigree. It
was bred from small, late-hatched Scotch Greys and
Black Rose-comb Bantams, the latter cross being said to
account for the white in the lobes of so many show
specimens. They are a hardy breed and good layers,
and a good sort for an amateur to start with.

These are difficult to breed true, like the Barred
Rock and the Scotch Greys. There are the usual
wasters of very light chicks and black ones according to
Mendel's Law, and of the rest some are medium in shade
and others dark, and, hke the bigger breeds, a good
Black mated with well-barred but light chicks may
throw good-coloured chicks. They are not as popular
as many other breeds, but are coming to the front.
Really sound specimens of an even shade, free from
black feathers or others too light, are not plentiful.

The colour of the ground is a pale greyish-blue,
finely and evenly barred with a dark metallic blue. A
great point is the evenness of shade from head to tail.

Brahma Bantams are very pretty and striking.
They are a much more recent addition than Pekins, and
how much they owe to this breed and to the Silkie is not
told us. They have not yet attained to the standard of
one-fifth, but are rapidly diminishing in size. They do
not lay as freely as the Rose-comb or the Scotch Grey,
following their prototypes in this respect, but they are
very taking, and the number of their admirers is
increasing. There were nearly 100 at the last club show.
These dwarfs of a giant race are very interesting, and
are certain to find an increasing number of admirers.

Other varieties are too numerous to allow of more
than a mere mention, except the Indian Game and
the Malay Bantams, two other of our giant races which
are being rapidly reduced to miniature.

The Malays head the list at the great shows, and the
catalogue prices indicate the high values their owners
place upon them, ^50 being a common figure.

The Indian Game show the lovely lacing and sheen of
their larger brethren, and are very pretty, and will be
more taking still when their size is diminished.

Wyandottes of all colours are now added to the list.

542 THE POULTRY MANUAL

and some pretty Partridges, aided by their ancient
cousins the Partridge Cochin, are very striking. Whites
and Columbians and Blacks are coming on.

The Barred Roch Bantam is making headway, through
an alliance with the Scotch Grey ; and the Buff' Rock
has long been known.

The Andalusian, Minorca, Leghorn, Spangled and
Pencilled Hamburghs, Polish, Sultan, and even the
defunct Black Spanish and the Aseel, all have their
places and standards already assigned to them. The
Ancona and the Orpington are being brought as
additions, while the Nankin is almost extinct ; the
Rumpless Bantam maintains its place, and the Frizzles
attract attention by their odd feathering, and are always
on view at the larger shows.

Many as are the known varieties, there is still room
for an increase in the number of these tiny competitors
for place and honour. For utility little can be said for
most of them, but for the display of ingenuity and for
the cultivation of a delightful hobby nothing could be
better. There is as much "money" in Si good Bantam
as in the larger breeds, and quite as much enjoyment.
Their popularity is not likely to diminish, and the room
they occupy is no criterion of their value or measure of
their worth in adding to the innocent pleasure of a too
materialistic age.

544

CHAPTER XIX

DUCKS— GEESE— TURKEYS

Ducks : Rouen^ Aylesbury^ Pekin, Indian Runner^ Cayuga,
Campbell, and Buff Orpington Ducks ; Ornamental breeds.
Geese : Embden, Toulouse, Chinese.
Turkeys : American Bronze, Cambridge, White, Black.

DUCKS

It is more than probable that the several varieties of
domesticated ducks have all descended from the Mallard,
or Wild Duck. Darwin writes in Vol. I of Variatm?is
of Plants and Animals unde?' Domestication, " Unless we
deny that domestication, prolonged during centuries,
can effect such unimportant characteristics as colour,
size, and, in a slight degree, proportional dimensions
and mental disposition, there is ]io reason whatever to
doubt that the domestic duck is descended from the
wild duck, for the one differs from the other in no
important character."

When once the distinct and savoury character of wild
ducks'' flesh had been discovered and appreciated, we
may be sure that man would not be long before he
attempted to domesticate them, so as to have them at
hand when needed. Accordingly we find early writers
like Columella describing the methods by which the
taming may be accomplished.

The Rouen takes pride of place amongst ducks,
occupying the same position in the duck family as that
of the Gallus Banlciva and its princely descendants of
the black-red type amongst poultry.

But ducks do not claim anything like the same space
in the fancier''s interest as either Bantams or the larger
breeds of poultry. At the International Show of 1908,
notwithstanding the wide classification of twenty-six

N N 545

546 THE POULTRY MANUAL

classes provided for them, there were only 217 exhibits,
while Bantams were over 1000, and large poultry 3500,
and the same relative proportions hold good for the
Dairy Show.

One of the chief reasons for this is probably due to
the fact that they are less amenable to the fancier's
ways ; they do not stand confinement as well as poultry,
and are harder to present in tip-top form.

On the other hand they are more easily bred than
poultry. The deaths and diseases among them are not
as numerous. They thrive and fatten in places where
poultry would die, and nine-tenths of the ducklings
which find their way to the market have never seen
water except in their drinking- vessels. They are much
dirtier in their habits than fowls, and where they have
no access to a stream or a pond make a great mess both
in eating and drinking. For this reason it is a great
mistake to let them run with fowls, as they commonly
do in the farmyard. The duck usually gets the better
of it, as it is a quick, greedy, and voracious eater.

For breeding purposes it is necessary for ducks to
have access to water, although it is said that the
sprightly Indian Runner duck will breed without pond
or stream. The usual number to mate is three or four
ducks to a drake. Their sleeping-house is best with a
concrete floor, which can easily be cleansed, and littered
with straw. Cleanliness in the sleeping-house is
essential. Although some breeds of ducks, like the
Rouen and the Aylesbury, are broody, it is much more
common to hatch the young either under a hen or in an
incubator. In the latter case hens' and ducks' eggs
should not be hatched together, as ducks' eggs require
a lower temperature, and the time occupied is twenty-
eight days and not twenty-one. The food the ducklings
require is much the same as for poultry, i^gg and
bread-crumbs make a good start, and then barley-meal
or other ground grain, Avith the addition of Spratt's
biscuit-meal and a little meat or Crissel. Green food
should be liberally supplied. From a utility point of
view ducks are more profitable than poultry, as they
only take half the time to prepare for table, and Avhen
fed for the purpose are ready to kill at ten weeks old,
before they enter upon their adult moult ; and the

DUCKS— GEESE— TURKEYS 547

demand for ducklings always exceeds the supply. For
laying, too, the Indian Runner duck is very prolific,
and beats the average hen as a layer both summer and
winter.

The Rouen Duck is strikingly beautiful, as a glance
at the exquisite coloured plate will show. They are by
far the most ornamental of our domesticated breeds,
and excel their ancestor, the wild Mallard, in this
respect, besides being double the size. When bred for
exhibition the standard weight for the drake is from
9 to 11 lb., and for the duck a pound less, though
these weights are seldom if ever seen on market-
able birds. Though they give place to the Aylesbury as
table-birds, owing to their taking longer to mature, and
partly on account of their darker feathering and flesh,
they are equal to them in flavour, and some judges con-
sider them better. But their very heavy keels are
against them. The coloured plate depicts their exquisite
colouring better than words.

Colour of the Drake. — The beak of the drake is a
greenish -yellow, with a black bean at the tip, but a
black mark or saddle across the centre of the beak is a
serious defect. The head and neck down to the white
ring is a lustrous green, the ring should be clear-cut and
almost meet at the back. The breast is a rich claret
colour, and should be free from white lacing or chain
armour, and clean-cut, not running into the body-colour.
The flank and sides are flnely pencilled with black on
a blue French-grey ground, and the stern up to the
vent is the same, and followed by rich black feathers up
to the tail coverts, the curled feathers being a glossy
green-black. The shanks and feet are a rich deep
orange colour. The wing-bar is a striking feature, and for
perfection in marking is the envy of all breeders of
duckwing fowls. The bar is a broad purple-blue band
flanked on either side with a narrow bar of black, followed
by a strikingly effective narrow band of white. The
back should be a rich greenish-black from the collar
to the tail. The wings are a greyish-brown, and the
flights a slaty-black with a brown tinge, but quite free
from white.

Colour of the Duck. — Though less varied in colour the
duck is almost as beautiful as her mate. The general

N N 2

548 THE POULTRY MANUAL

body-colour is a rich golden or chestnut-brown, which
should be even in shade throughout, every feather except
the wing-bar and flights being distinctly pencilled with
black or very dark -brown, and the feathers of the back,
wings, and rump should be of a rich green sheen. The wing-
bar is the same as the drake's, and makes an even more
striking contrast. The head is brown with a wider
darker line from the base of the beak to the neck, with
lighter stripes above it on either side. The bill is orange
colour with a black splash in the centre, which must not
touch the " bean " at the tip or extend to the sides.
The beak in both sexes is less defined in colour in the
summer, when the adult drake also loses its gorgeous and
varied hues for a more sombre dress, somewhat resem-
bling its mate's, resuming his true colour again in the
early autumn.

The shape of both sexes is very similar, the bodies
being as wide and long as possible, deep and square in
keel with a good bow in the front, and the back long
and broad. The wings are large. The legs and feet
strong and medium length, and the body just clears the
ground. The head is very massive, and the beak long,
flat, and wide, set on a line with the eye. The neck is
long and slightly curved and not arched like the Pekin's.

Although they differ so widely in colour, both sexes can
be bred for exhibition from the same mating, but,
following the general rule so often referred to in mating
poultry, the best drakes are bred from females of the
darker shade in order to counteract loss of colour, and
the best ducks from the lighter shade, but with perfec-
tion in lacing. The drake assumes his full plumage at
about three to four months old.

A show of ducks would lose its chief attraction if the
Rouens were absent. They are only moderate layers
and develop slowly. They are largely used for crossing
purposes, and their blood contributes the colour to the
ubiquitous farmyard duck and adds to their size and
hardiness.

In judging, colour is the chief point, then size and
symmetry.

The serious defects are bodily deformity, such as
crooked backs or twisted wings. A lead-coloured beak
is very objectionable, so also is white in plumage, except

DUCKS— GEESE— TURKEYS 549

on the wing-bar, and the absence of a ring in the drake
or its presence in the duck.

The Aylesbury is the famous table-bird of the
family, and is world-renowned. Its colour should be pure
white and free from other coloured feathers. It is large,
and should weigh 9 or 10 lb. at six months old
for exhibition, though the thousands sent yearly to
market are much smaller, and it is said that the poul-
terers object strongly to the immense keels of the show
specimens. It is a finer-headed bird than the Rouen,
with a very long, broad and strong bill of a pinky- white
colour, difficult to preserve in its pure colour when the
birds are at liberty. The shanks and feet are of a bright
orange, paler in shade than the Rouen or the Pekin.

In shape^ the sexes are similar, the chief features
being the long, straight head and beak, the very massive
body with good girth, and with a deep and straight
keel extending from just behind the legs to the breast,
giving a horizontal carriage.

Their chief merit is the rapidity with which they put
on flesh. Many are sold at eight weeks old weighing
four or more pounds in weight. They are not good
layers, and are improved in this respect by a cross with
the Pekin, which is also said to increase their hardiness,
though it spells ruin for exhibition. Many birds sold
as pure Aylesburies are cross-bred, and many of them
find their way into agricultural shows, with a loss both
in size, colour, and carriage.

The Pekin Duck differs entirely from the Aylesbury
in shape and carriage, being more erect, with an absence
of keel. It is elevated in front and slopes downward
from throat to paunch, the latter being broad, and to
the end of the tail curves so as to make a semicircle.

Many Pekins are shown with too much of an Ayles-
bury carriage, the cross having been made to attain
size.

The wings are short and are carried close to the side.
The bill is a bright orange colour, and free from
black marks. The legs are also a bright orange, and
are set far back, causing erect carriage. The eye is a
dark leaden hue.

The colour is not a pure white, but creamy, and in
the drake is of a deeper tinge — almost canary colour.

550 THE POULTRY MANUAL

The colour is an important factor in choosing the
drake, and the females should be as large as possible
and very erect in carriage. Pure white plumage or
dark marks on the beak are serious defects.

Size is a great point in judging, if attained without
loss of colour and style, which are next highest in the
scale of points. Exhibition drakes weigh from 8 to 9
lb., and the ducks a pound less.

They are excellent layers and non-sitters, and are
fast gaining favour on the London markets over the
heavy-keeled Aylesburies. They are great favourites
on the American markets. They are very hardy, easy
to rear, and the eggs are said to be more fertile than
the Aylesbury. Their name denotes their place of
origin, and, unlike the Aylesbury, which has an ancient
pedigree, they are decidedly a modern introduction,
having been first brought into this country in 1874.
As an all-round duck of good table and good laying
qualities combined they are hard to be beaten, though
they are excelled in the former respect by the two
breeds already named, and in egg- production by the
Indian Runner.

The Indian Runner Duck is of a different type
altogether from any of the former breeds, though near-
est in character to the Pekin. Its chief merit is its
enormous laying capacity, and it naturally follows that
its table qualities are of secondary value, but this is
more on account of the smallness of its size than from
its lack of flavour, especially at a tender age.

Its most marked feature, apart from colour, is its
erect Penguin-like carriage, and its long thin neck and
finely-drawn flat head with the eye situated near the
top. The beak, which is thick at the base, broad and
long, comes as nearly as possible straight from the skull,
giving a wedge-shaped appearance. The body is long
and narrow, and there is no indication of keel on the
breast. The legs are set far back, and the bird is very
alert and racy-looking. The plumage is hard and
close.

The markings are very distinct from any other breed.
There are two colours, the fawn and the grey, but the
former is the original colour, as in the first imported
stock from India, and is the more popular.

DUCKS— GEESE— TURKEYS 551

The marking of the head and neck counts 20 points,
and the body markings 25. The head is adorned with
a fawn cap, and the cheek markings to match, a narrow
hne of white dividing the two, starting from the eye
and running into the white neck, a narrow hne of
white also dividing the bill from the cheek markings.

The neck is white to slightly above the shoulders, and
the breast and back fawn, the latter being a heart-
shaped patch with the point reaching to the tail,
leaving a distinct contrast with the white flights, a
broad elongated stretch of white plumage dividing the
fawn-coloured back and shoulders from the breast.

Whether grey or fawn, the colour should be even,
except the tail of the drake, which is darker. In young
birds the bill is yellow, but with age it changes to green.
Serious defects are claret breasts, blue wing-bars, or
horizontal carriage, all of which point to a cross with
the Rouen.

The birds are great foragers, wander very far afield,
and have a trick of laying away from home. Like some
of the larger breeds, it is best to keep them confined
till they have contributed their share to the egg-basket.
Though only a modern introduction, they are sure to
become increasingly popular on account of their laying
propensities, as well as for their charm in style and
colour. It is to be hoped that no craze for increased
size will destroy the unique position they hold. The
standard weight is only 4 to 4i lb. Their counter-
part in the poultry world, the Leghorns, have suffered
from this cause. The small duck and the large and
plentiful egg should be preserved. In judging, colour
takes first place, and symmetry and carriage next, and
these are the two points to look for in mating, especially
the good colour in the drake.

Cayugas. — This is a black-coloured duck with a bright
and lustrous green sheen. It is said to be of American
origin, but has been bred in England for a long time.
It has been made into an exhibition duck of altered
shape and perfected colour at the expense of its utility,
as the poulterers do not like a heavy keel. It is still
hardy, of quiet habits, and a good layer. In shape it
is now very like the Rouen, and the standard weight for
drakes is 7 lb., and the duck 6 lb.

55^ THE POULTRY MANUAL

In judging, style and symmetry comes first, then
colour and size. The beak of the bird is a strong
fancy point. It should be slaty -black with a jet black
saddle ; an orange colour is a mark for disqualification,
as indicating a too recent addition of foreign blood, or
a reversion to an older cross. The black " saddle "
should come to within an inch of the top, but should
not touch either side of the beak, which should be long,
straight, and flat, set like that of the Rouen, and not
dished or saucer-shaped. Any other colour than black
feathers is a serious defect in the show-pen. It is a good
breed for dirty quarters, and makes a capital cross Avith
the Indian Runner, where increased size, hardiness, and
good laying are in demand.

It may have had much to do with the foundation of
the Blue duck. One of the prettiest " Blues " I ever saw
was a direct cross of the Cayuga drake and the fawn-
coloured Indian Runner duck.

In breeding remember that size comes from the duck
and colour from the drake, and it is better where
exhibition specimens are aimed at to keep to one
strain, otherwise the hybrid elements are released and
" serious defects " in colour of beak and plumage are sure
to follow. Like all black-plumaged birds, white feathers
will appear now and again, especially after successive
moults.

Other Breeds. — Buff fowls have found such popular
favour that there is little wonder at the various attempts
to breed buff' or khaki-coloured ducks. As the nearest
approach to buff" is found in the Rouen duck and the
Indian Runner drake, there is little doubt that these in
various combinations formed the groundwork for colour.
There are Campbell Ducks, small birds, said to be first-
class layers. Khaki-Campbells, a laced bird of small
size, 4 to 5 lb., khaki colour except for bronze head
and tail, a miniature Rouen, of quick-maturing habits,
and good layers. The Biiff Orpington Dtick followed,
and is a much larger bird, the attempt having been
made to produce an even rich shade of fawn throughout,
with a darker shade to set off the head and neck. They
are more popular in Australia than with us. Like the
Orpington fowl, the aim is to combine excellence in
laying and table qualities.

DUCKS— GEESE— TURKEYS 553

The standard colour for the BufF Orpington Duck is
" a nice even rich shade of fawn-buff throughout ; the
head and upper portion of neck in the drake to be at
least two shades darker." Eye: brown iris with blue
pupil. Legs and Jeet : bright orange yellow. Size and
weight : drakes 7 to 9 lb., ducks 6 to 8 lb. Shape :
like the Rouen.

The Blue Orpington Duck has been out for years,
but I have not seen a specimen, and they do not appear
to be largely patronized. The new fashion for blue
poultry may give them a lift, but neither these nor the
Buff are likely to oust the older breeds, with those who
desire uniformity of type and colour.

The standard coheir for the Blue is "an even blue
without lacing ; a white bib allowed, but blue preferred."
Eye: brown iris, with black pupil. Legs and feet:
orange and black. Size and xveight : same as for the
BufF. Shape : like the Rouen.

The Muscovy Duck is attractive and ornamental, the
plumage of the variety usually seen being a pied black-
and-white, though there are entire white, and also
black-plumaged birds. Their most striking feature is
the head, which is very large in the drake, and the face,
which is without feathers, is covered with a rough
scarlet growth of caruncles. The drake is large, from
8 to 12 lb., and the duck only half the size. They
are wild in their habits, and fly from one end of a pond
to the other, or roost in trees. They are spiteful to
other poultry, and in consequence are not bred largely.
They are more ornamental than useful, and as progeny
of the Muscovy with the Rouen or its descendants are
sterile inter se, they are probably a distinct species. It
is said that the eggs take 5 weeks to hatch instead of
the usual 28 days. I have never seen one in a show-
pen, and they more properly belong to the various
ornamental breeds which are quaint, and sometimes
very lovely in colour, like the Mandarin and Carolina,
but are neither bred nor exhibited to any large extent
in this country.

GEESE
These birds are hardy, easy to rear, and easier to
feed. Like the donkey, they will live on little, and for

554 THE POULTRY MANUAL

the greater part of their short lives find their own
living on grass or stubble. They are as good as a
lawn-mower on an overgrown poultry-pen, and they
deserve to be called the cottagers' and farmers'* friends.
They are not in as great demand as formerly, but
are still delightfully reminiscent of Michaelmas and
Christmas. They are, and look like, an ancient race,
and Caesar found them when he visited our shores.
Their stately and sedate carriage has a charm for many
folk. A learned bishop once confided to me his
admiration for them, and said that he admired their
stately and orderly walk. They certainly perform it
with a precision which must be the envy of many a
drill-sergeant.

They make a speedy and profitable clearance of the
oat stubble, and the droves of Irish geese which come
over here in the summer to be fattened and got ready
for the market show how they are appreciated, and that
none too many are bred in England. There are two
kinds only which are largely bred and exhibited, the
Embden and the Toulouse.

The Embden Goose is, or should be, pure white,
with an orange bill and legs and a light-blue eye.
Bred for exhibition, they are very large, the standard
weight for a gander being 30 lb., and for a goose
22 1b.

The Embden is a rapid grower, and speedily fattens
when a suitable addition is made to his foraging fare.

The carriage should be sprightly, erect, and bold, like
a monster Pekin Duck, with no trace of the keel shown
by the Toulouse. The neck is long and swan-like, and
the thi'oat without the drooping gullet. The body is
broad and thick, with a broad, solid breast. A gander
has a long life and will breed for ten or more years.
The goose is not a prolific layer, a score of eggs in a
season being a fair average. If a goose is allowed to sit
she will cover 10 or 12 eggs. Many are hatched under
hens, and they cover about 3. It shows how little
sense of the fitness of things a hen possesses to cover
such monstrous eggs. But some hens would try and
hatch chicks out of a bunch of turnips ! The period of
incubation is 28 days. The best time to hatch is April
to get young geese ready for Michaelmas or Christmas,
when they are only about half the standard weights.

DUCKS— GEESE— TURKEYS 555

It takes two years for them to arrive at maturity and
be really fit for stock purposes.

Toulouse Geese are grey and not white. The back
and wings are a dark steel grey with a paler edging, and
the breast a sound grey of a lighter shade, and shading
lighter to the thighs. The stern, paunch and tail are
white. Both bill and legs are orange, and the eye dark.
The head is strong and massive, and the bill thick, with
a uniform sweep from the tip to the back of the skull.
The neck is shorter than the Embden's, and has a peculiar
drooping mass of loose flesh under the lower mandible,
called the gullet. The breast is more prominent, and
continues with a uniform sweep from keel to paunch,
which is very heavy, and the stern is almost square. If
the Embden may be compared to the Pekin, this breed
more resembles the Rouen in carriage and shape. The
plumage is full, and looser than the Embden's, and
though they look bigger, they are a little less in size.
The standard weight is : gander 28 lb., goose 20 lb.
The ordinary grey farmyard geese have Toulouse blood
in them. Indeed, for utility purposes the two breeds,
Embden and Toulouse, are often crossed, and mixed
specimens are often shown at agricultural shows, hence
the coloured feathers and squat carriage of some so-
called Embdens, as well as traces of the gullet ; while,
on the other hand, Toulouse geese are shown too tall on
the leg, without the dewlap, and with white feathers
on the head and light eyes. The Toulouse is considered
a better layer than the Embden, and is not as much in-
clined to broodiness. They do not lay on flesh so readily.

The Chinese Geese have no place in the Poultry
Club Standards of 1895, though they are sometimes
exhibited. They are more like the Toulouse than the
Embden, both in colour and carriage. They are said to
be very good layers, and excellent for the table. Their
peculiar feature is the long, white, swan-like neck, and
a large black knob on the base of the bill.

They are often crossed with the Embden for market
purposes. They are even more noisy than the other
two breeds. Geese are troublesome customers to
exhibit, and, as may be expected, the railway rates are
high, which makes it an expensive matter, and only
those who have well-adapted places for rearing them
and keeping them clean should exhibit them.

556 THE POULTRY MANUAL

TURKEYS

In the exhibition pen the variety of turkey most
commonly seen is the American Bronze, but there are
separate classes at the larger shows, such as the Dairy
and Birmingham, for White turkeys, and Buffs are
occasionally seen. There is also a Black turkey known
as the Norfolk, which, though not as large as the
Mammoth American, yet often weighs 20 lb. or more,
and is said to be the finest flavoured of any. The
Cambridge Bronze, a little larger, is said to be a cross
between these two. There is so much American blood
now infused that the Cambridge and the American are
practically the same. After the formation of the
Turkey Club the standard weight was much increased,
and the weight for Bronze cockerels is now given at 22 lb.
and the cock 34 lb., and for pullets 14 lb. and hens 18 lb.,
and all these weights have been much exceeded.

The wild American turkey, which is now fast dis-
appearing, was much heavier ; the turkey being one of
our domestic races which has divninished in size and in
brilliance of colour through domestication, the contrary
being the case with fowls and ducks.

This points to the obvious fact that turkeys thrive
best on a wide range, though I have known them
brought up in very confined spaces, when they are
usually most miserable in appearance. They thrive
best also on a dry soil, and are usually delicate to rear
for the first six or eight weeks, till they " shoot the
red,'** as the caruncles which adorn the head and neck
are called. After these small fleshy protuberances begin
to redden, the chicks are hardy, if well cared for, but
they look very weakly and wretched before this takes
place, and are both then, and afterwards, if at all
delicate, the veriest pictures of misery. They need
amply ventilated but dry quarters till the delicate
period is past. From the time they begin to feather
well, and shoot their tails, they grow with great rapidity
and are voracious eaters, A good grass run diminishes
the bill of fare. Maize-meal, barley-meal, and Spratfs
or other good biscuit-meal form the staple diet, while
greaves or Crissel should not be forgotten, or a plentiful
supply of green food and grit.

The Bronze Turkey is a most gorgeous creature when

DUCKS— GEESE— TURKEYS 557

in good health and suitable surroundings, and when
well tended is said to be very profitable. The immense
sizes are suitable only for exhibition specimens, as
medium-sized turkeys from 10 to 16 or 20 lb. are in
much greater demand, especially since the practice of
" gifts to customers "" has been diminished.

The Mammoth American Bronze TurTiey is the largest,
and is the easiest to rear unless we except the Black
Norfolk. Its general colour is a brilliant bronze, which '
glistens in the sun like burnished gold, the back and
breast being the brightest hued, each feather being
laced with a narrow black band. There are no "self '''-
coloured feathers on a good specimen in any part of the
body, and when they are devoid of pencilling on wings
or tail it is a serious defect in the show-pen. The more
distinct the colours the better. The legs are dark and
approach a brown colour in young birds, and more of
a pinky flesh-colour in old birds. Pure white feathers
in any part of the plumage are very objectionable.

The White Turliey is said to be more delicate to rear.
Its plumage should be pure white, coloured feathers
being a serious defect. The weight for a cockerel is
16 lb., and for a cock 26 lb. ; pullets 10 lb., and hens
16 lb. The shanks and toes are white, pinkish, or flesh
colour. A cock weighing less than 18 lb. or a hen less
than 10 lb. is of no use for show purposes.

The Black Turkey, or the Norfolk breed, is smaller
than the Bronze. It should be lustrous black through-
out, Avith slaty-coloured legs and beak. The standard
weight is, cockerels 18 lb., cocks 27 lb., pullets 12 lb.,
hens 181b. These are very marketable sizes. They are
seldom seen at the shows, as neither colour nor size make
them formidable competitors with the American breed,
although they have increased in size since their rivals
appeared. They are chiefly bred for marketing, and
are as good as any.

Buff Turkeys are occasionally seen but are not likely
to be largely bred, and there are others of a slaty-blue,
as is natural when White and Black are allowed to breed
together.

A turkey hen can brood 20 of her young, and is
a gentle mother. Hens are often used to hatch them,
or they may be hatched in an incubator. The period
of incubation is 28 days.

A" %2 kf

Fig. 15.— points OF A FOWL.

1.

Comb.

13.

Wing-bow.

2.

Face.

14.

Wing-bar.

3.

Wattles.

15.

The Primaries, or Flight

4.

Ear-lobe.

Feathers.

5.

Hackles.

IG.

Wing-butts, hidden in the

6.

Breast.

Sketch by Saddle-hackle.

Back.

17.

The Diamond, or Wing-bay.

s!

Saddle.

18.

Thighs.

9.

Saddle-hackles.

19.

Hocks.

10.

Sickles.

20.

Legs, often called "Shanks.'

11.

Tail Coverts.

21.

Spurs.

12.

True Tail

Feathers.

22.

Toes or Claws.

For further explanation of these and other technical terms used in deflning the
"points " of a fowl, reference should be made to the Glossary.

CHAPTEK XX

GLOSSARY OF TECHNICAL TERMS

IN COMMON USE AMONG POULTRY FANCIERS, WITH BRIEF
DISSERTATIONS ON POINTS OF INTEREST

The novice in the " Fancy " is often at a loss in
defining the various parts of a fowl, or in understanding
the terms in common use. It is essential, therefore, that
he should understand at least the more common words
in general use, in order that he may find the particular
part referred to, or give a concise definition for the
information of others.

Albino. — Literally " a person or animal whose skin
and hair are unnaturally white, and pupil of the eye red."
In fanciers' phraseology, a bird perfectly white, free from
all tinge of yellow or sappiness ; a specimen in which
all colouring matter has been eliminated or destroyed.
It is well known in breeding poultry that when the red
and black pigment in certain definite parts of a fowl's
body are opposed to each other, e. g. if a cock with an
hereditary red hackle be mated to a hen whose sire had
an hereditary black hackle, the resulting progeny would
have white hackles. This has probably been the origin ,
of the Duckwing Leghorn, where the hackle and the
wing-bay are white. The o\Aj perfect breed of albinos
that I know of is to be found in certain strains of White
Leghorns. The best of these will keep white even when
exposed to the sun and rain. There is no colouring
matter to tan. In these birds the reddest of eyes are
commonly found.

An albino is occasionally produced as a " sport " or
accidental albino from birds of other colours ; e. g. an
occasional White Wyandotte is hatched from the eggs

559

560 THE POULTRY MANUAL

of the Partridge Wyandotte, or a White Minorca from
the mating of two Black Minorcas. The rules that
govern this occasional production are not fully under-
stood. It may probably be the result of the clashing
of two different kinds of black, in one of which there
is an abundance of red pigment, which sometimes mani-
fests itself in the red feathers of the hackle, etc. In
other breeds of white fowl no such perfect albiiiism
has been bred as in that of the White Leghorn, though
the White Wyandotte is fast approaching that condition.
In the White Orpington, which in some strains has been
bred from the crossing of the Buff Orpington and the
Black (buff being a kind of red), the albinism is not
perfect, and occasional buff and black feathers manifest
themselves ; the buff' being the hardest to eliminate, and
the soundest white being found in those with an occa-
sional black feather. For further notes see Chapter on

" Colour."

Amateur. — Literally " one who cultivates a study or

art for the love of doing so, and not for gain " — not a

professional. In poultry circles it is used as equivalent

to "novice"" — a new hand, a beginner. (See " Novice.")
Barred^ Barring. — Alternate stripes of light and

dark across a feather. (See Illustration of Barred

Rock.)

Barred to the skin. — A term frequently applied to

the marking on a " Barred Rock " fowl, when the

barring is continued from the tip to the root of the

feather.

Bean. — The bean-shaped patch of black on the tip

of a Duck's bill, as in Rouens and Indian Runners.
Beard. — A tuft of feathers under the throat of some

breeds of fowls as Faverolles, Houdans, and Polish.

Note the coloured illustration of Faverolles, the beard

being black in the cock and a creamy white in the hen.

It is attached to the under mandible.

Beefy. — A term applied to a large, coarse, overgrown

comb. It is more especially applied to the huge combs

of the Mediterranean breeds, as Minorcas and Leghorns,

though it is also seen in the large combs of the Orpington

and other single-combed fowls.

Bib. — A tuft of feathers growing and pendent from

a fowl's throat. Another name for beard.

GLOSSARY OF TECHNICAL TERMS 561

Blocky. — A term sometimes used to designate a
thick, square-set bird with legs set well apart, as
distinct from a narrow, tall specimen.

Brassiness. — A brass-like, burnished appearance of
the feathers of a fowl's back after being weathered or
exposed to the sun. A common failing in Barred
Rocks, also noticeable in Black and Buff' Orpingtons.

Breed. — Any recognized family of fowl possessing
distinctive characteristics. The breed includes all the
varieties found in it, e.g. the Leghorn fowl is a
breed quite distinct from any other. Its distinct
characters are its large single comb, white ear-lobes,
yellow legs, sprightly carriage, and abundant feather,
a combination possessed by no other fowl. The
varieties are numerous, as Black, Brown, White, Blue,
Cuckoo, etc., which though very distinct in colour yet
possess, or should possess, the commoncharacteristics of
the breed.

Brood. — The name given to a family of chickens
under one hen.

Broody, — A desire to sit and hatch a brood of
chicks.

Capon. — A male bird deprived of his generative
organs. Once a common practice in England, but now
almost obsolete, though more common in France. A
caponized fowl lays on flesh more rapidly and in
greater amount, and the flesh is more tender.

Carriage. — The bearing, attitude, or " style " of a
bird.

Carunculated. — Having caruncles. A naked fleshy
excrescence on the head or neck of a fowl. Most
marked in the Turkey. It is sometimes applied to the
small fleshy protuberances which form the Rose Comb.

Chick. — A newly-hatched fowl. Only applicable
till the bird is a few weeks old, and must be brooded
by the hen or kept in a heated rearer.

Chicken. — A fowl under a year old. For exhibition
purposes, a bird hatched in the year the show is held.
A young fowl whose breast and vent bones have not
passed the cartilage stage.

Cloddy.— Heavy, thick-set.

Cloudy. — Indistinct. A term applied, e.g., to the
breast of an Andalusian when the lacing is not clear, or
o o

562 THE POULTRY MANUAL

to the body of a cuckoo-marked bird when the
barring is indistinct, and the colours run into one
another.

Cockerel. — A young cock under a year old, or
a male bird hatched the same year in which it is
exhibited.

Cockerel-bred. — See under " Pullet-bred.""
Comb. — The fleshy protuberance on the top of a
fowl's head, of many shapes and sizes, and one of the
bird's chief adornments. Single as in the Game, Cochin,
Leghorn, Minorca, Orpington, Rock, etc. Rose as in
the Wyandotte, Hamburgh, Redcap, etc. The pea-
comb is characteristic of the Brahma and the Indian
Game, and resembles three small combs in one, the
middle being the highest. The Houdan has a comb
like a butterfly with wings outspread ; while the Creve-
cceur and the La Fleche have V-shaped combs, consisting
of two coral-red horns, the Creve-coeur's being larger and
tufted at the base. Apart from its ornamental value,
the comb plays an important part in the circulatory
system of the fowl. It is almost devoid of sensitiveness.
Condition. — -The state of a fowl's general health
and vigour. It is essential for a bird to be " in good
condition " when sent for exhibition. Over-showing
has a deleterious effect on the brilliance and beauty of
the plumage.

Coverts. — See Tail coverts and Wing coverts.
Crest. — A crown or tuft of feathers on the head, as
on the Houdan, Polish, or Creve-coeur, etc.

Crop. — The bag or receptacle for a bird's food
immediately after it is eaten, and before its passage
into the gizzard.

Crop-bound. — The diseased state of the crop or
" craw " when the food cannot pass out into the gizzard.
For its treatment see the Chapter on " Diseases."

Cushion. — The mass of feathers over the tail-end of
a hen's back, covering the root of the tail. It is much
developed in the Cochin hen, and too much so in some
strains of Orpington fowl, and shows the prepotency of
Cochin blood.

Deaf ears. — Another name for ear-lobes.
Diamond. — The wing-bay, so-called from its tri-
angular shape. The term is much used by Game

GLOSSARY OF TECHNICAL TERMS 563

breeders and by breeders of Pile, Duck wing, and Brown
Leghorns. (No. 17, Fig. 15.)

Dubbing. — Cutting off the comb, wattles, etc., so
as to leave the head clean. It is an ancient Custom,
practised from the early days of cock-fighting, and now
in general use among breeders and exhibitors of Game
fowl. It is also commonly practised by breeders of
birds with large combs, in order to make them fit for
early breeding A large comb is easily affected by
frost or cold winds, and renders the bird sterile. It is
not a painful operation when skilfully performed, and
a cockerel may be heard to crow vigorously, and, if
permitted, to eat heartily immediately after dubbing.
In the case of an overgrown comb, and more especially
when it leans over heavily to one side, dubbing is
essential to preserve life.

Duck-footed. — A term of reproach when applied to
a fowl, and especially a Game fowl, when its hinder
toe turns in like a duck's. The hinder toe should stand
straight out, almost in a line with the centre toe, to
give the bird balance in fighting. It is due to a faulty
socket, which allows the toe to turn inwards toward
the other toes. The Game Club Standards direct that
a bird should be passed over, and left out of the prize
list, for this defect.

Ear-lobes.^ — The folds of skin hanging below the
small orifices forming the true ears. They form a chief
point in the beauty of the Mediterranean breeds, as
Minorcas, Andalusians, Leghorns, etc., in which they
are white and of the texture of a kid glove. In the
Asiatics and most large breeds of fowls they are red in
colour, and are usually folded and pendent. Other
colours less common are blue, as in the Silkie, or
purple, as in Birchen Game, etc. (No. 4, Fig. 15.)

Face. — The bare skin around the eye. Its smooth-
ness in texture, and coral redness, untainted with spots
or streaks of whiteness, are highly prized in white-lobed
fowls, especially when this soundness is found continued
to mature age. (No. 2, Fig. 15.)

Coarse face is when the skin, instead of being
smooth, is wrinkled or puckered, and is very objection-
able and unsightly. Such faces rarely keep sound.

Gipsy face. — A face covered with short black
o o 2

564 THE POULTRY MANUAL

feathers or hairs, giving it a dark appearance. It is an
offence against exhibition morals- to pluck these from
the face. It is not a very serious fault, especially as
such faces have the merit of keeping sound in colour
and free from the white, fungus-like growth, which is a
fatal objection.

Fluff. — The soft downy feathers around the thighs,
chiefly developed in the Asiatic fowl and their de-
scendants, e. g. Cochins, Orpingtons. The term is also
applied to the incipient soft feathers frequently seen on
the shanks of a fowl that should be free from all trace
of feathers, and to the soft part of the feathers on the
body of a bird. The colour of this " fluff " is of great
importance in determining the value of the fowl for ex-
hibition purposes, and for breeding ; e. g. if of an ashy-
grey colour in a Minorca or Leghorn, or Black Wyan-
dotte, it shows a deficiency of coloiu'ing pigment in the
fowl which, unless counterbalanced by that of its mate"'s,
would breed defective stock. And the same remarks
apply with equal force to buff-coloured fowls.

The fluff' is usually lighter in colour as it approaches
the skin, hence the meaning and importance of such
expressions as " buff to the skin," used of a sound
coloured Buff Orpington. A poor specimen is buff' on
the surface, but immediately begins to lose colour, and
the fluff is zvhite near the roots of the feather, or, worse
still, is white from just underneath the surface.

Flights. — The primary feathers of the wing of a fowl
used in flying, as is implied in the name. These
feathers are not visible when the wing is closed.

" White in flights'''' is a term used for a serious
defect in these feathers, as, e. g., in the case of a Black
Minorca or Leghorn, or of a Brown Leghorn, in which
the permanent or adult flight feathers are ticked or
splashed with white instead of being solid in colour.
Cockerels with this defect, if it is at all prominent,
are, in some breeds, only fit for the pot. This hidden
defect is the cause of many birds at exhibitions being
left without a prize even when they are in some other
respects superior to their competitors. It often seems
to the looker-on that the bird should have won, but
the judge has penalized it for the defect he has seen on
an examination of the wing. The seriousness of this

GLOSSARY OF TECHNICAL TERMS 565

blemish causes some unscrupulous fanciers to pluck out
these feathers before exhibiting. When unnaturally
absent the birds should be treated as if the defect was
present, and sometimes sterner measures have to be
adopted. (No. 15, Fig. 15.)

Folded Comb. — A hen's comb which falls over
partly to one side and then folds back the other way,
instead of falling gracefully to one side. A cap comb.
A common fault in Minorcas and Leghorns.

Foot-Feather. — The stiff feathers on the feet of
Brahmas, Cochins, Pekin Bantams, etc.

Foxy. — A term used to describe the colour of a fowl
when it is "red" or "rusty" in colour. The defect is
most common in birds of the black-red type, as in
Black-red Game hens. Brown Leghorn or Gold Duck-
wing Leghorn hens. The bird is said to be " foxy " or
rusty when the colour of a part of the wing is red and
harsh in shade when compared with other parts. It is
most commonly seen in Brown Leghorn pullets in the
centre of the wing (the part marked No. 14 in the
figure of the cockerel). In bad cases it forms almost a
coloured line round the wing when at rest, from the
shoulder to the wing-butts. (See Chapter on Brown
Leghorns.)

Frizzled. — This term is applied to a race of fowls
in which each feather is curled back, as if scorched or
frizzled, giving a quaint and grotesque appearance.

Furnished. — Fully feathered — completely furnished
with feathers. When a young bird has the hackle
feathers fully grown, and the sickle feathers in the tail
well developed, he is said to be fully " furnished " like
an adult fowl. In the early part of the show season,
from May to September, chickens are often exhibited
and win before they are " furnished," ^. e. before they
are of sufficient age to have developed certain parts of
their plumage. In some breeds, notably Asiatics, and
the breeds manufactured in part from them, as
Orpingtons, Rocks, Wyandottes, etc., the adult tail
feathers develop very slowly. This fault is occasionally
taken advantage of by unfair exhibitors, who pluck the
tail feathers from fowls that are older than the age
specified in the class in which they are exhibited, in
order to give them the appearance of youth. It also

566 THE POULTRY MANUAL

leads to the first or chicken tail feathers being moulted'
by hand when these feathers are faulty in colour. Such
practices cannot be too severely condemned.

Gipsy face. — See " Face."

Gullet. — The loose part of the lower mandible, the
dewlap of a goose. It appears also on the throat of
fowls, when it is unsightly, and looks like a miniature
beard. It is most noticeable in the Cochin, and more
modern breeds containing Cochin blood.

Hackles. — The feathers on the neck of a fowl. In
the cock they are long and narrow, and are called
" neck-hackles." (No. 5, Fig. 15.) The colour and shape
of these constitute one of the main beauties of a fowl.
Their value from a show point will be noted under the
separate breeds. In the cock similar feathers growing
at the end of the back nearest the tail are called
" saddle-hackles." (No. 9.) As a rule the nearer the
colour of the saddle- and neck-hackles match in shade
or marking the better, but there are exceptions, as in
the Light Brahma, where the neck-hackle is striped
and the saddle-hackle plain.

Henny or Hen-feathered. — The term denotes the
absence of neck- or saddle-hackle feathers and sickles in
a male bird, making it look to be feathered like a hen.
The Sebright bantam cock is hen-feathered, and so is
a variety of Old English Game, known as " Henny."

Hock. — The joint of the leg between the shank and
the thigh. (No. 19.) It is sometimes called the knee,
but more especially in the term " In-kneed " or " Knock-
kneed." This is a common ailment with large-limbed
fowls, especially in chickenhood. When retained till
adult age it is a serious defect. For its treatment see
Chapter on " Diseases."

Ideal — Literally, "Existing in imagination only."
Technically it refers to a drawing or painting of a variety
of fowl supposed to be perfect in all points as to shape,
colour, size, etc. Many of the specialist clubs have such
an " ideal " for members to keep before them, and to
aim at in the production of their stock. Every single
point can be obtained. It is the combination of all
the points in one and the same bird which is so difficult,
if not impossible, of attainment. In America, where the
judges are instructed to judge point by point, each of

GLOSSARY OF TECHNICAL TERMS 567

which has its separate and distinct value, as in our
standards of perfection, a bird which scores 95 points
out of the 100 is really a first-class specimen, and as
high a score as 97 is rarely attained. An absolutely
perfect specimen, from a show point of view, has never
been bred. It exists in the imagination only, a goal
still unattained.

Inbreeding'. — Breeding from stock related in blood
to each other, e.g. mating a cockerel and a pullet
together when bred from the same pair of birds ; or
mating a cock to a pullet of which he is the sire or
a hen to a cockerel of which she is the dam. This
practice of inbreeding is commonly resorted to by
fanciers in order to " fix " some valuable point or charac-
teristic. When practised with common-sense between
birds constitutionally sound, and with scientific insight
so as to achieve the desired end, valuable results are
obtained. Without its practice we should never have
obtained the many and beautiful breeds, and varieties
in the breeds, which now adorn our poultry-yards.
When practised on a scientific basis, and the degree of
relationship is carefully noted, it is called line-breeding.
Promiscuous and haphazard inbreeding is baneful, and
its common resultant is puny and enfeebled stock, or
downright mongrelism, as seen in farmyard or dunghill
stock.

Keel. — The vertical part of the breast-bone of a
fowl. In ducks, and more particularly in the Aylesbury
and Rouen breeds, it is used to denote the loose flesh
and skin below the breast-bone.

Knock-kneed. — See " Hock." A fowl has no knee,
but a hock-joint which corresponds to the knee in man.

Laced, Lacing. — A stripe or edging all round a
feather of a colour different from its ground-colour.
The lacing is single, as in the case of the Andalusian or
the Gold and Silver Wyandotte, or the Sebright bantam
(see coloured illustration of Silver Wyandottes) ;
or it may be double, as in many of the best
specimens of Indian Game. It is distinct from " pen-
cilling," which see.

In self-coloured fowls like the Buff Orpington any
indication of lacing as a fringe of darker or lighter buff
round the edge of the feather is a serious defect, as is a

568 THE POULTRY MANUAL

lacing or splash of white on the black breast feathers
of the Brown Leghorn or of any black-coloured fowl,
and is usually accompanied by want of under-colour in
the flights or the fluff. Perfect lacing should go right
round the feather, and not only at the tip or end of
it, and it should be fairly uniform in width and in
depth of colour.

Leader. — A single spike terminating the back of the
comb in a rose-combed fowl. In the Hamburgh it is
long and horizontal, in a straight line with the surface
of the comb. In the Wyandotte it is short and
following the shape of the neck.

Leaf-comb. — Shaped like a leaf or a butterfly with
open wings, as in the Houdan. (See " Comb."")

Leg. — In a live fowl this is the scaly part or shank.
In a dressed fowl it is the thigh or drumstick.

Leg feathers.^-The feathers growing from the out-
side of the shanks in some breeds, as in the Cochin or
Langshan. In breeds descending from these, as e.g.
the Buff or Black Orpington, " Feathered leg" is a term
of reproach and a mark for disqualification. To pluck
them out or cut them off is a serious offence against
show rules.

Leggy. — On the leggy side. A term denoting too
great length of shank and thigh. A bad fault in
Indian Game, Orpingtons, etc., which are meant to be
cloddy, with short, thick-set legs. A noted imperfection
in the Modern White Leghorn.

Line-breeding. — Inbreeding carried out on definite
and scientific lines.

Lobes. — See " Ear-lobes."

Markings. — A general term denoting the barring,
lacing, pencilling, spangling, etc., of the plumage. The
word is not in much use except by novices and those
ignorant or confused in the use of generic terms.

Mealiness. — A term chiefly used to describe a defect
in the plumage of buff-coloured fowls, in which the
feather, instead of being a solid even-coloured shade
throughout, is more or less speckled with white, as if
" meal" had been dusted over it. (See also p. 344.)

Moons, Mooney. — Spangles. The word is used in
reference to the bold " half-moon-shaped spangles " on
the tail feathers of the Spangled Hamburgh.

GLOSSARY OF TECHNICAL TERMS 569

Mossy. — Confused or indistinct colour in the mark-
ings is said to be mossy, e. g. where the darker colour
of the lacing runs into the lighter ground-colour of the
feathers. Commonly seen on the back of a pencilled or
laced Wyandotte. The cock-breeding pullets of the
Partridge Wyandotte are usually mossy, and in this
case it is no detriment, as they are not meant to be
distinctly pencilled.

Mottling, Mottled. — A small tip of white at the
end of a feather, as in the Ancona ; or the spots of
black on the yellow legs of the same breed.

Muff, Muffling. — The tuft of feathers on each side
of the face of some breeds, as the Houdan, Faverolles,
etc. ; also called zvhiskers. These should be of the same
colour as the feathers under the throat called the
beard.

Novice. — A new man, a beginner. In fanciers"'
phraseology one who has not done much winning at
shows. Usually a person who has not won a prize in
the open classes at great poultry exhibitions, such as the
Dairy, Palace, International, Birmingham, or the various
club shows. A novice also ceases to be a novice when
he has won a first prize in the novice classes.

Sometimes the word has a more restricted meaning
still, and a novice is an exhibitor who has never won a
prize beyond a given value at ani/ show. Where there
are special classes for " novices," particulars are usually
given in the schedule. As the novices are the feeders
of the Fancy, every means should be taken to encourage
them.

Pea-comb. — A triple comb resembling three small
combs lying side by side, the middle one being the
highest. A good specimen is often seen on a Brahma
cock.

Pen. — (1) A wire cage, as at a show, to hold the
exhibit. (2) A space enclosed for a number of fowls
to breed in. (3) The fowls themselves put together for
breeding purposes. It may consist of any number, but
usually varies from three to ten birds.

Pencilled Spikes. — The spikes of a comb are so
named when they are thin and not much wider at the
base than at the apex. It applies to single-combed
birds, and denotes a serious fault, as the " ideal " usually

570 THE POULTRY MANUAL

describes them as wedge-shaped. For a good example
of a wedge-shaped comb see the coloured illustration of
the Black Leghorn.

Pencilling, Pencilled. — Small markings or stripes
over a feather. These may run straight across, as in the
Hamburgh, or follow the outline of the feather in a
crescentic shape, as in the Partridge Cochin. For one
of the most beautiful instances of " pencilling " on
record, see the lovely coloured plate of the Partridge
Wyandotte hen, and for a good specimen of
Partridge Wyandotte pencilling see the plate on
p. 403 of pencilled feathers of Partridge Wyandottes,
both English and American, kindly lent by Mr. R.
Watson. The pencilled feather is, as a rule, not so
dense and solid in its colour as the lacing. The pen-
cilling has more the appearance of fine etching. The
lacing is mostly confined to the owfer edge of the feather
and the pencilling to the inner bands. The term is also
applied to the whole colouring of the body feathers, as,
e. g., in the case of the Brown and the Duck wing
Leghorn. (See the plate of the Brown Leghorn hen for
a good specimen.)

Pile. — The name given to a variety of Game fowl and
of Leghorns, the colour of which consists of various
shades of red and white, including salmon-red, dark-red,
maroon, and orange. It is probably a corruption of the
word " pied." The " pile " is a home-made variety, and
is made by a cross between the Black-red type and the
White. (See Chapter on " Colour," p, 220.) This colour
still needs a constant infusion of Black-red blood if the
brilliance of the red pigment is to be maintained.

Poult. — A young turkey of either sex. The term
is commonly used, however, in its original sense as
indicating a young hen, a pullet.

Primaries. — Another name for the flight feathers,
hidden, when the wing is closed and at rest, by the
secondaries or visible wing feathers. (No. 15, Fig. 15.)
For the importance of their colour see under " P^lights."

Prepotency. — The power possessed by a bird of any
breed of stamping his likeness, in colour or head-points,
or other marked feature, upon his or her progeny, to
the exclusion or diminution of the power of the other
parent. As a rule this power is possessed in a greater

GLOSSARY OF TECHNICAL TERMS 571

degree by fowls of ancient descent which bear marked
characteristics inherited from a long train of ancestors,
e. g. the black Java fowl has exercised a remarkable
prepotency on the Barred Plymouth Rock, of which it
was one of the originators. Although some of the
progeny when mated with a cuckoo-coloured fowl, called
the Dominique, come barred or cuckoo-coloured, and
these cuckoo-coloured specimens have been inbred
for many generations, black specimens are still annually
reproduced with remarkable regularity. (See Chapter
on " Mendelism.") The " Java " blood is prepotent and
cannot be entirely eliminated. This is so much the
case that recently some fanciers have seized upon the
fact and established a new breed of Black Rocks, which
breed more true to colour than the " Barred." This
fact seems to controvert Darwin's statement in Chapter
I of his Origin of Species, when he says, in writing of
the domestic pigeon, " No instance is known of crossed
descendants reverting to an ancestor of foreign blood
removed by a greater number of generations than a
dozen or twenty.*'''

Pullet. — A young hen, not a year old. For exhibi-
tion purposes a bird hatched in the year in which it is
shown. (See under " Cockerel.")

Pullet-bred, Pullet-breeding pen. — The term
is used to denote that the bird in question was bred
from a pen of fowls mated to produce exhibition pullets.
The cockerels from such a pen are not usually exhibition
stock, and are of value chiefly for breeding exhibition
pullets. Li some breeds of fowls, e. g. Brown Leghorns
and Partridge Wyandottes, it is necessary to have two
distinct matings for breeding exhibition cockerels and
pullets, e. g. the rust or foxiness on the wing of a
Brown Leghorn hen which is cock-bred would ruin the
mating if used to produce pullets for the show-pen, while
if mated to a cock-bred cockerel would be of service in
adding to the brilliance of the cockerel's plumage. The
mixing of cockerel-bred and pullet-bred specimens in the
same mated pen produces poor specimens all round. In
a pullet-breeding pen, therefore, it is necessary for all the
birds to be pullet-bred, and vice versa in the cockerel-
breeding pen. Appearances, however, are often decep-
tive in these cases, and it is necessary to know the

572 THE POULTRY MANUAL

pedigree of the birds to ensure correct results in
the mating. A " pullet-breeder "" does not mean that
the bird in question will produce more pullets than
cockerels, for as a general rule the sexes are about equal,
but that it is " pullet-bred," and is meant to reproduce
exhibition pullets. The same rule applies, though with
less force, to self-coloured birds. The knowledge of
these facts would often prevent great loss and dis-
appointment, as it often happens that almost perfect
specimens of either sex, when mated together promis-
cuously, produce only mongrels of both sexes.

Reachy. — Tall, able to reach high, upstanding. The
word is chiefly applied to Modern Game fowl, and
reachiness is one of the most important points of a show
specimen, both in the big fowl and in bantams. A bird
is said to be reachy when it stands very erect with its
neck stretched out, and makes almost a line perpen-
dicular with its legs. Training in the show-pen by
teaching the bird to stretch upwards for a dainty morsel
will induce this habit, though no amount of training-
will convert a thick, cloddy bird into a slim, reachy
one.

Roach-back. — A faulty spine in a bird, a hunch-
back, often a defect from birth, though sometimes
caused by injury — a serious defect both from an ex-
hibition point and for breeding purposes. Such birds
are only fit for table purposes, as, where congenital, it
is sure to be transmitted to its progeny.

Rooster.— An American term for a cock or cockerel.
Its origin is probably due to a puritanical delicacy. It
is a misnomer, as hens roost as well as cocks. Other
names occasionally used for a male bird are " stag "" and
" torn bird." Cf. " Tom cat."

Rose-comb. — A broad solid comb almost flat on
the top and covered with small regular nodules. A
" well- worked " comb has a great number of these, and
they are certainly much more ornamental than a plain
flat comb. It should be square and broad on the front,
and not indented as though it had been pressed down
by the thumb when in a plastic state. It is broadest
in front, and narrows toward the back and terminates
in a spike. (See under " Leader.")

Rosy-winged. — A term applied to a Pile Game or

GLOSSARY OF TECHNICAL TERMS 573

Pile Leghorn pullet or hen when the salmon colour, as
on the breast, has found its way to the wing-bow. It
is a remnant of the " foxy "-coloured feathers in the
female ancestor, red being the hardest colour to
obliterate.

Rust. — Another name for " foxy." A patch of
ruddy-brown on the wings of the hen in the " black-
red " breeds. Also applied to the black feathers tipped
or laced with red often seen on the breast and thighs
of the males of the black-red type, and most commonly
seen in cockerels which are " pullet-bred.""

Saddle. — ^The posterior part of the back reaching to
the tail in a cock. (No. 8, Fig. 15.) It corresponds to the
" cushion " in the hen. The word also applies to the
dark mark in the centre of a duck's upper beak, which
must not extend to the base of the bill, the side edges,
or to the " bean " or black mark at its tip. Seen most
plainly in the beak of a Rouen or Cayuga duck.

Saddle-hackles.— (No. 9, Fig. 15.) See "Hackles." A
distinguishing mark of a cock's plumage, and in some
breeds one of the earliest signs for distinguishing the
sex.

Sappiness. — A term used to describe the colour of
a bird's plumage when the " sap " in the growing
feathers shows on the surface a different colour from
the adult plumage, e.g. a white fowl often shows a
creamy or yellow tinge when part of the way through
its moult. The term is also loosely used to describe
the yellow tinge in a white bird's plumage after the
feathers have matured. This latter is due to remnants
of yellow pigment in the blood, and shows that the fowl
is not a pure white or albino, or it could not have
become tanned.

Secondaries. — The quill feathers of the wing which
are visible when the wing is closed. (No. 17, Fig. 15.) See
" Diamond " and " Wing -bay." A common failing in
all buff-coloured breeds is noticeable in the secondary
feathers when they show an edging of white. It is
a grave fault, not only because it is at once apparent
to the eye as a blemish, but because it is extremely
difficult to breed out. Such birds are of no use to
breed exhibition specimens. A faulty colour in fluff,
or flights, or under-colour may at times escape a judge's

574 THE POULTRY MANUAL

observation, but faults in the secondaries are apparent
to all.

Self- colour. — A uniform tint over the feather or
the bird. This is almost as difficult to obtain in a
buff-coloured bird, or even in a white one, as the barring
or lacing, etc., on other varieties.

Shaft. — The stem or quill of a feather.

Shafty, Shaftiness. — A term used to denote the
fact that the shaft of the feather is too visible to the
eye through being of a lighter shade than the web of
the feather. The fault is most connnonly seen in the
plumage of the Brown Leghorn hen, and is very pre-
valent in those of a soft shade of colour. Even in
good specimens it is seen on the centre of the wing,
and in poor ones it extends to the whole of the wing
and back. It is also a marked defect in buff-coloured
birds, and here again is most noticeable in the lighter-
coloured ones. It gives a patchy, uneven appearance
to the plumage, especially on the breast. It denotes in
all specimens a lack of colouring pigment, and on
examination it will usually be found that the quill loses
in its colour the nearer it gets to the root. A good buff"
shaft is a great indication of a reserve of pigment, and is
a valuable asset for breeding purposes. (See also p. 384.)

Shank.— The scaly part of the leg. (No. 20, Fig. 15.)
The condition of the shank as regards its smoothness and
softness is an important factor in determining a bird's
age, especially the finer scales which cover the back of
the leg upon which the birds rest Avhile at roost. The
colour of the shank is a point of importance, and
varies with the breed, all the varieties of which have
the same colour of shank though they may differ in the
colour of the plumage, e. g. Brahmas, Cochins, and all
the different varieties of Wyandottes and Rocks, which
have Asiatic blood in them, have yellow legs, which
vary in shade from orange to lemon, the darker-
plumaged birds having, as a rule, a more intense shade,
e. g. black birds frequently have a dusky yellow, and
white ones a pale shade, which in the albinos, or abso-
lutely white specimens, is often reduced to a pale
primrose shade. Leghorns of whatever variety should
have yellow shanks. To my mind the deeper and
brighter the colour the smarter and more beautiful the

GLOSSARY OF TECHNICAL TERMS 575

bird looks. It is a difficult matter to obtain a pure
white plumage with an orange-coloured shank. The
yellow pigment diifuses itself over the body and a
yellow tinge finds its way into the feathers, especially
on the neck. Dark or bronze-yellow legs often become
a sound yellow as the birds advance in age, and in all
specimens are lighter in shade after the first adult
moult. The brightness of colour is preserved by
allowing the birds to wander in wet grass. On dry,
sandy, or chalky soils the colour often fades. In these
cases frequent sponging with water and the addition to
the water of a little glycerine helps to preserve it.
Other colours of shank are black, slate, white, black and
white mottled, blue, lead, olive, willow, etc. White-
legged fowls are, in England, the most esteemed for
table purposes, e.g. Dorkings, Faverolles, etc., while
the yellow shank is the American fancy. Birds with
black legs usually become slate-coloured, and dark slate
becomes pale slate with adult age. The worst enemy
to beauty and brilliance of leg-colour is a disease called
elephantiasis, or scaly leg. For the treatment and pre-
vention of this see Chapter on " Diseases.""

Sheen. — That which shines. The beetle-green-
coloured brightness seen on the plumage of a black
fowl, as on a Black Orpington or Langshan. This
bright sheen is largely a matter of condition, and is
dull when the bird is not in first-class health.

Sickles. — The top curved feathers of a cock's tail.
The lesser sickles are those which fall below and
between the true sickles and the other curved flowing
feathers, which are called the tail coverts. (Nos. 10
and 11, Fig. 15.)

Side-sprigs or Side-spikes, — a fleshy growth at the
side of a single-combed bird, usually found on the back
of the comb, the portion farthest removed from the
beak. These are often an indication of a Rose-combed
ancestor. They form a " serious defect," and to cut
them off" is to " trim '"■ a bird, and is a serious offience.
(See Single-comb.)

Single-comb. — A comb which viewed from the
front is narrow, having its spikes in line behind each
other. These spikes, or serrations, should be broader
at their base than the apex, i. e. wedge-shaped. (See

576 THE POULTRY MANUAL

" Pencilled Spikes.") The comb consists of a base or
blade, and the spikes or serrations. The blade, which
grows from the head, should be thicker at its foundation
where attached to the head than in the upper portion.
It should be of about equal depth to the spikes or
serrations, and the spikes should when viewed from the
side form part of a circle, the middle spike being taller
than those in front or behind, and both the front and
the hinder parts should be without serrations or rough
nodules, either on the front or the side — the latter are
called " side-spikes," and are most objectionable and
difficult to get rid of. A cock with side-spikes is
certain to reproduce them in his offspring. In male
birds the comb should be erect. In the females it is
sometimes erect and neat, as in the case of Rocks, Orp-
ingtons, etc., or falling gracefully to one side, as in the
Mediterranean breeds, such as Minorcas, Andalusians,
and Leghorns. An average number of serrations is six,
one less being better than one more.

Smutty. — ^Indistinct in colour. Applied chiefly to
" barred " birds where the barring runs into the ground-
colour and presents a blotchy appearance.

Spangled. — A spangled feather is one that is
broadly-tipped with a colour of a different shade from
the ground-colour, and seen to greatest perfection in
the Spangled Hamburgh and the Redcap. It is some-
times of a circular shape, and at other times crescentic.
(See " Mooney.")

Spangling. — The marking produced by each feather
having a large spot of some colour differing from the
ground-colour. In the Polish fowl, which is a " laced "
breed, the heavier lacing at the end of a feather is
called " spangling."

Splashed. — Less regular spangling — when the darker
colour is not on each feather, e.g. Spangled Old
English Game and Jubilee Orpingtons.

Sport, Melanic Sport. — An unexpected offspring.
A reversion to a distant ancestor. A new variety. A
discontinuous variation.

Spur. — The sharp offensive weapon. A hard horny
substance with a sharp point, growing on the shanks of
a cock, and sometimes on a hen. In young birds it has
a rounded point and is loose. At an older stage it

GLOSSARY OF TECHNICAL TERMS 577

seems fixed to the shank. It is not a true test of age.
The Hghter breeds develop them much earher than the
heavier breeds, and in individuals of the same breed,
some grow them much more quickly than others. I
have known even pullets under a year old with sharp
spurs, while hens of several years have had hardly a sign
of any, and the same is true of cockerels.

Squirrel-tail. — A tail projecting in front of a per-
pendicular line, over the back. A bad specimen carries
it so as almost to touch the head, like a squirrel.
But in popular parlance a tail carried quite erect is
called squirrel-tailed, though more correctly it should
be called a high tail, and even before approaching this
it is called " gay"" in tail. A " squirrel ""-tail is a great
defect or blemish, and in most breeds is sufficient to
debar its owner from winning a prize, however perfect
it may be in other respects. It is most frequently met
with in the Mediterranean breeds, such as Leghorns
and Minorcas.

Sta§. — A young Game cock. (See " Rooster.")

Standard of Perfection. — ^The description, issued
by the Poultry Club, or by Specialist Clubs, of any
particular variety or breed of fowls, in all its various
points. Values are given to the various points, and the
total number is 100. These points vary in value from
1 to 80 or more, according to the estimate put upon
them by the leading breeders, and are usually assessed
according to the diflSculty of obtaining them. The
standards of most modern varieties vary from time to
time, as when a given point has been fixed and rendered
fairly easy to obtain its value is lowered, and increased
value is given to a point in danger of being minimized.
The Fancier therefore should always have at hand a
copy of the latest edition of the Poultry Club standards,
or of the Club which fosters any particular variety or
breed. As explained under the term " Ideal," the
complete standard is rarely, if ever, attained.

Steppings. — A term applied to the beetle-green
spangles on the ends of the secondary feathers of the
Spangled Hamburghs.

Strain. — A race of fowls which, having been bred by
one breeder or his successors for a number of years, has
acquired certain characteristics which can be depended
p p

578 THE POULTRY MANUAL

upon to breed true to those characteristics, and to
reproduce its progeny like itself. This prepotency is
acquired by " line-breeding," and the introduction of
alien blood may in a single generation destroy the care
and labour of years.

Strawberry-comb. — A name sometimes given to
the comb of the Malay, which is more correctly called a
Avalnut-comb, from its resemblance to half of a walnut-
shell.

Surface-colour. — The colour of a fowl's body, or
of certain feathers, exposed to view, without turning
up the feathers to examine the fluffy portion. (See
"Under-colour.")

Symmetry. — Perfection in the proportions of the
various points of a fowl ; e. g. a. small fowl with a very
large comb or lobe out of proportion to its size, or a
specimen with longer shanks and thighs than is typical
of its race, is not symmetrical. Symmetry must not be
confounded with the carriage or style of a bird.

Tail coverts. — The soft, glossy, curved feathers at
the side of the tail and below the sickle feathers. (No.
11, Fig. 15.)

Tail feathers. — Sometimes called the true tail
feathers (No. 12), are the straight and stiff" feathers of
the tail only, which grow inside the sickles and tail
coverts of the cock. These are sometimes carried close
together like a closed fan, and make what is called a
zohip-tail. When spread open and wider at the bottom
than at the top, like the letter A, it is called b. fan-tail.

Thigh. — The part of the leg above the shank ; called
the " leg " or drumstick in a cooked fowl.

Thumb-marked.— A term applied to the single-
comb of a cock when it has a hollow depression on the
one side, and a protuberance on the other, as though it
had been pressed in with the thumb. A grave blemish
in a Minorca or Leghorn, or other single-combed breed.
It is usually an indication of a weak base, and is most
frequently met with in large, overgrown, beefy combs,
though sometimes caused even in smaller combs through
a forced growth when young, e.g. through remaining
too long a time under a broody hen, or in an over-
heated rearer, or overcrowded poultry-house. The
comb then falls over to one side instead of maintaining;

GLOSSARY OF TECHNICAL TERMS 579

an upright growth from the first, and when at length it
grows erect it leaves a " thumb-mark " on the side to
which it has fallen over. If taken in time it may be
cured by a little manipulation and the use of a comb-
guard to press it into shape.

Tick.- — A tiny speck of colour, often found in the
fluff or feathers of white and bufF-plumaged fowls.

Top-knot. — Same as crest. A characteristic of the
Polish fowl, the Houdan, etc.

Tri-coloured. — A term sometimes applied to a fowl
with three shades of the same colour when it should be
uniform ; e. g. h, light-coloured Buff Orpington cock
with darker neck- and saddle-hackles and a still darker
or red wing-bow.

Trio. — A cock or cockerel and two hens or pullets.
This number is frequently advertised and sold as form-
ing a small breeding-pen.

Type, Typical. — Literally that which combines
best the characteristics of a group. In reference to
fowls it has especial regard to the shape of the body
and the symmetry of its various parts. In straining
after the possession of certain coveted points, and more
especially colour, type is often lost sight of; e.g. in
recent years the rage for evenness of colour in the Buff
Orpington was so great that birds as tall as Langshans
were awarded premier honours ! ! In the opinion of the
most competent judges "type" should never be lost
sight of. It is type more than any other character
which differentiates one breed from another.

Under-colour. — The colour of the fluffy part of a
fowfs feathers not seen when the bird is at rest, but
only when the plumage is lifted. It, together with the
colour of the shaft of the feather, is of the greatest
importance in determining the value of the bird for
breeding purposes, being the surest indication of the
amount of colouring pigment in the system.

Variety. — A definite division of a breed, known by
its distinctive colouring, e.g. a Black Leghorn is one
" variety "" of the numerous members of the Leghorn
breed.

Vulture hocks. — Stiff projecting quill feathers at
the hock-joint. The feathers must be both stiff and
projecting to be condemned. It was formerly a com-
p P 2

580 THE POULTRY MANUAL

mon failing in the Brahma, but is not now so frequently
seen. The feathers of a Brahma's hock should be as
profuse as possible, both on the hock and tmdemeath it,
but, if possible, without the stiff feathers.

Washiness. — Used to denote lack of colour, and
especially of surface colour. Faded, pale.

Waster. — A bird fit only for food, and not for
breeding purposes.

Wattles. — The fleshy depending structure, under
the throat, hanging from either side of the lower beak.
It is more developed in the male birds. As will be
gathered from the illustrations, they should be much
more pendulous in some breeds than others. They are
long and open in the Mediterranean breeds, and short
in the Asiatics, as, e. g., in the Brahma,

Web. — The web of a feather is the flat or plume
portion on either side of the shaft. The web of the
foot, the flat skin between the toes ; this is small in
fowls but much larger in aquatic birds. The web of
the Aving is the skin which is seen when the wing is
open, a triangular piece which joins the wing and the
body.

Wheaten. — The colour of the female in Black-
breasted Red Game, or the Faverolles hen (see coloured
plate). A rich, somewhat uneven brown, as seen in a
field of ripe growing wheat.

Whip-tail. — A finely-drawn-out tail, as in Modern
Game. The term is applied also to other breeds when
the tail is long and neat, the feathers folding over each
other instead of being spread out.

Whiskers. — The feathers growing from the sides of
the face in the Faverolles. Also called " muffling."

Willow. — A greeni?h-yellow of various shades, like
the bark of a willow-plant. The colour is esteemed in
the Black-red Game, but is a blemish in fowls that
shovild have pure yellow legs, as Leghorns.

Wing-bar. — The centre portion of the wing, covered
by the wing-coverts. (No. 14, Fig. 15.) In many breeds
and varieties this " bar '" is of a distinct colour from other
parts of the wing. (Cf Illustration of Brown Leghorn
cock, Dark Brahma cock, or the Faverolles cock.) The
" bar " should be perfectly even and clear, not ragged,
and is a mark of great beauty.

GLOSSARY OF TECHNICAL TERMS 581

Wing-bay, or Diamond. — The end of the wing
formed by the lower end of the secondary flight
feathers. (No. 17, Fig. 15.) In the ilkistrations this
diamond shows best on the coloured plate of the
Faverolles cock or in the plate of Leghorns. The end
of the diamond is frequently hidden by the saddle-
hackle feathers. I recommend the amateur to fix in
his memory the order of Bow, Bar, Bay, as constant
reference is made to these separate parts of the
wing.

Wing-bow. — The upper or shoulder portion of the
wing. (No. 13, Fig. 15.) The portion rounded like a
bow.

Wing-butts. — The corners or end of the wing.
The end of the primary feathers.

Wing-coverts. — The broad feathers covering the
roots of the secondary quill feathers.

Work, Full of Work. — Applied to a Rose comb
when full of fine caruncles or protruding points on its
surface.

Wry-tail. — A tail carried awry to the right or left
side of the spine and not straight in a line with the
body. When carried in this way permanently it is
usually due to a deformed spine. It is sometimes
only a trick the bird has learnt through being con-
fined in a small show-pen, and birds are to be noticed
sometimes carrying it alternately on either side. A
free range often eifects a cure. But a wry-tail cannot
be cured without a surgical operation, and this in
an exhibition bird would be a fraud. The attempt
is often made to cure by the use of the lancet both
this defect and also high or squirrel-tail, and when
done by a skilled hand is, unfortunately, difficult to
detect. Either defect is certain to reappear in the
progeny, and when high-tailed stock are bred from low-
tailed parents the owner should look out to discover the
imposition.

INDEX

Notc-

-The terms defined in the Glossary, being in alphabetical order, are not
included in this Index.

Accommodation in poultry

houses, 14
Advertising, notes on, 146
Albinism, 221-223
Albion Fowl, description of, 353

note on, 359
Alum, use of, 157, 166
American Breeds, 364
Ancona, origin of, 471

improvements in, 471

general character of, 472

hints on mating, 472

standard for, 475

JRose-combed, description of,
475
Andalusian, origin of Blue, 437

utility qualities of, 437

general characteristics of, 437

colour of, 438

mating of, 244, 246, 438

table of breeding, 245
Animal Food, use for egg-laying,
35

remedy for feather-eating, 168
AsEEL, description of, 280, 498
Asiatic Breeds, 252
Avian Tuberculosis, treatment

of, 161
Aylesbury Duck. See under
Ducks

B

Bantams, increasing popularity

of, 530
need for broody hen to hatch,

533
how to get a broody hen to

hatch, 539
one of the chief points to aim

at, 534

Bantams, head points very im-
portant, 535
most popular varieties in, 535
Game, description of, 536
points for judging and
serious defects, 536
Old English, description of,

536
i?ose-com6e(^, description of, 536
Sebright, description of, 537
peculiarity of cock, 537
general characteristics, 537
rales for breeding, 537
colour of, 538
Pekin, description of, 538
general characteristics, 539
colours of, 539
Booted, description of, 540
Japanese, description of, 540
Scotch Grey, description of,
540
difficulty of breeding, 541
colour of, 541
White Cochins, mating of
Black-red Yokohama and,
240
Brahma, description of, 541
Other Varieties, description of,
541
Barbezieux, description of, 529
Barley, value as food, 34

effect of, on young chicks,
160
Bateson, Prof., 172, 173, 185,

197, 211, 212
Beans, value as food, 34
Biscuit Meal, value as food,

36
Black Fowl, origin of, 225
Black Java, description of, 238,
368
origin of, 369

583

584

INDEX

Blues, how to breed, 243, 247,
272, 363, 385, 416, 468
on what popularity of, depends,
249
Blue Bredas, description of,

248
Blue Orpington Duck. See

under Ducks
Books, list of reference, 149
on Mendelism and Heredity,
210
Booted Bantams. See under

Bantams
Braekel, description of the, 487,

. 488
Brahmas, origin of, 253

common origin of Light and

: Dark, 254
reason for present deterioration
in, 255
. general characteristics of, 256
Dark, colour of, 257
value of points in, 259
serious defects, 259
mating of, 260
Light, colour of, 260
value of points in, 261
serious defects, 261
utility properties of, 261
mating of, 262
Brahma Bantams. See under

Bantams
Bran, value as food, 33
Brassiness, defined, 348. See

also Glossary
Bredas, Blue, 248
Breeds, suggested rules for new,

250
Brooders, cool, 86
hot-water, 87
, hot-air, 87

• American and British, 88, 89
chief dangers of, 89
" dent's " to be observed, 89
Broody Hens, how to get them,
44
value of Silkie as, 509, 533,
539
Buckwheat, value as food, 34,

357
Buff Colour, origin of, 226
Buff Fowls, breeding of, 226
washing of, 121, 357

Buff v. Black, 227

Buff Orpington Duck. See

under Ducks
Bumble Foot, treatment of, 167
Business, aids to, 148

C

Campbell Duck. See under

Ducks
Campines, Silver and Gold, per-
sistence of barring in, 248
danger from introduction of

Hamburgh blood, 485
difficulties in breeding, 486
compared with the Braekel

fowl, 487
utility qualities of, 488
the ideal, 492
colour of, 492
hints on mating, 495
standard for, 496
Gold, scarcity of, 488
Canker, treatment of, 165
Cayuga Duck. See under Ducks
Chance Fertilisation, 185,

215
Characteristics, acquired, 205
Chart for marking chickens, 77
Chicken Rearing, in early
stages, 79, 491, 503, 520
wet or dry food, 80
dietaries, 81, 82,
natural rearing, 83
treatment of hen, 84
when to remove chicks from

hen, 85
size and j)reparation of coop,

85
ventilation of coop, 86
number of chicks to hatching

hen, 86
cool brooders, 86
value of green bone, 86
hurricane lamps, 86, 89
artificial rearing, 87
hot-water and hot-air rearers,

87,88
American v. British rearer, 88,

89
chief dangers of rearers, 89
" dont's " to be observed, 89
Minorca chickens, 433

INDEX

585

Chickens. See also under Com-
mercial Side of Poultry
Keeping
crippled, 58

marking pedigrees of, 76
pedigree hatching trays?, 76
toe -punching, 77
chart for marking, 77
weeding out, 95, 349
separating the sexes, 95
how to distinguish sexes, 96
fatal faults in leg colour, 97
fatal faults in lobe of, 98
fatal faults in plumage of, 99
fatal faults in fluff of, 99
fatal faults in flight feathers of,

100
drastic culling necessary, 101
mis-marked, furnish utility

stock, 102
final selection of, 102
division of stock, 104
Chinese Goose. See Geese
Clover, value as food, 23, 35
Clover Hay, value as food, 23, 35
Clover Meal, value as food, 35
Cochin Bantams. See Pekin

Bantams, 539
Cochins, origin of, 226
introduction of, 262
present degeneration of utility

qualities, 263
value of points in, 273
Buff, effect of weather on. 111
effect of iron on, 113
difficulty of breeding, 225,

226
chief point of excellence in,

264
general characteristics of,

267
mating of, 267
how to preserve colour of,
268
Partridge, colour of, 269

mating of, 270
White, effect of weather on,
111
effect of iron on, 113
suggestion to increase size,

271
mating of, 271
prevailing fault of, 271

Cochins, Black, colour of, 271

utility qualities of, 272

effect of iron on, 113
Ciickoo, difficulty of breeding,
272

suggestion how to revive,
272
Colds, treatment of, 154
Colour, importance of, 214
source of, 216
description of Gallus Bankiva,

216
descriptions of G. Stanleyii,

Sonneratii, Furcatus, 218
description of Jungle Fowl,

218
in poultry, 219
red never found alone, 220
pure white dominates pure

black, 220
Eed,'^. Black, 221
pedigree of white heifer, 222
probable origin of White

Minorcas, 223
persistency of red pigment, 223
breeding of Brown Leghorns,

224
improvement of colour in

Partridge Wyandotte hen,

225
origin of Black Fowl, 225
origin of buff colour, 226
buff not so persistent as red,

226
difficulty of breeding buff

fowls, 226
value of sound under-colour,

226
Buff V. Black, 227
crossing of Buff Rock hens

with Black Leghorn cock,

227
Black -u. Buff in Black Leg-
horn, 227
breeding of Black Leghorns,

231, 234
other instances of correlation,

232
colour of beak and plumage,

234
White V. Black, 234
Buff, Black and White in con-
flict, 236

586

INDEX

Colour, mating together Gold

Laced and White Wyan-

dottes, 236
how to breed BufF Laced

Wyandotte, 236
the Dominique, 237
the Black Java, 238
tendency in breeding Barred

Rocks, 238
Davenport's experiments, 239
mating White Leghorn bantam

cock and Black Pekin hen,

240
mating Black-red Yokohama

and White Cochin bantam

hen, 240 '
result of mating Black Leghorn

and Black Rock, 240
probable origin of Barred

Minorcas, 241
the Blues, 242
Black X White = Blue, 243
how to breed Blue Andalusians,

244
summary of mating, 245
difficulty of obtaining self-
coloured Blues, 246
description of Blue Bredas,

248
persistence of barring in Silver

Campine, 248
what popularity of modern

Blues depends on, 249
suggested rules for admission

of new breeds, 250
Comb Guards, 107, 165
Combs, care in preserving large,

106
effect of heat on, 107
treatment of pullets', 107
treatment of diseases of, 163,

164

treatment of affections of, 164

treatment of wounds in, 165

treatment of comb over, 165

Commercial Side of Poultry

Keeping, 124
requirements for success, 125
three classes of breeders, 128
Fancier v. Utility Breeder, 129
Eygs for the market, cost of
transit of, 130, 135

preserving of, 131, 132

Commercial Side of Poultry
Keeping —
Eggs, sale of, for hatching, 133
packing of, 134
sending abroad, 135
Chickens, sale of, 136
dispatch by rail of, 137
price for, 137

best time for forwarding, 137
specimen label, 138
Adiilt Stock, sale of, 139
Utility Stock, sale of, 139
average prices locally, 139
railway rates, 140
best time for sale, 140
average price throughout
year, 140
breeding stock, sale of, 140
exhibition stock, sale of, 141
exhibitors, two classes of, 142
exhibiting, value of, 142
fees for showing, 143
railway rates for show birds,

143
Dispatch of Stock abroad, 144

cost of, 144
profits of fanciers, 145
advertising, notes on, 146
business, aids to, 148
reference books, 149
specialist clubs, object of, 150
Poultry Club, objects of, 150
Coops, size and preparation of, 85

ventilation of, 86
Cornish Game. See Indian Game,

498
Correlation op Colour, 232,

234
CouRTES Pattes, description of,

529
Cramming, 41

Creosote, use of, 15, 22, 94, 156
Creve-C(eurs, description of,

527
Crissel, value as food, 35
Crop-bound, treatment of, 159
Crosses, results of first, 187
Culling of chicks, 101

D

Dandelion Leaves, value as
food, 35

INDEX

587

Daei, value as food, 34
Davenport's Experiments, 190,

192, 194, 198, 239
Debility, treatment of general,

156
Depluming Scabies, treatment

of, 94
Dietaries, 37, 38, 40, 81, 82
DiHYBRiDiSM defined, 180

table of breeding, 182
Diseases of Poultry, 152
prevention of, 152
jDrecautions in early stages,

152
remedies for, 153
common remedies, 154
treatment of —
colds, 154
roup, 155

general debility, 156
moulting, 156
diphtheritic roup, 157
gapes, 158
leg weakness, 159
rheumatism, 159
gout and liver-limp, 159
crop-bound, 159
liver disease, 161
avian tuberculosis, 161
comb diseases, 163-164
comb affections, 164
combs, wounds in, 165
combs, over, 165
canker, 165

fowl-cholera(or enteritis), 166
mn co-enteritis, 166
biimble-foot, 167
scaly leg, 167
feather eating, 168
egg eating, 168
egg-bound, 169
Dominance, laws governing, 186

causes of, 201
Dominants, defined, 175

incomplete, 188
Dominant Characters, table of,

194
Dominique, description of, 193,
237, 364
standard of 1880, 367
Dominique Leghorn, 450
Dorkings, origin of, 282

general characteristics of, 285

Dorkings, mating of, 289
value of points in, 289
Darh, colour of, 287

mating of, 289
Silver-grey, colour of, 287

mating of, 289
White, effect of weather on,
111
effect of iron on, 113
description of, 288
mating of, 289
Cuckoo, description of, 288
Bed, description of, 288
Douglas Mixture, prescription

for, 156
Dropping Boards in poultry

houses, 7
Drying Fowls, method of,

119
Dubbing, 432. See also Glossary
Ducks, general remarks on,
545
housing and feeding, 546
utility qualities of, 546
Rouen, colour of, 547
shape of, 548
points forjudging, 548
serious defects, 548
Aylesbury, colour of, 549
shape of, 549
chief merit of, 549
Pekin, description of, 549
colour of, 549
points for judging, 550
utility qualities of, 550
Indian Runner, chief merit of,
550
description of, 550
markings of, 551
points for judging, 551
hints on mating, 551
mating with Cayuga Drake,
227
Gayugas, description of, 551
points for judging, 552
hints on breeding, 552
Campbell, description of,

552
Buff Orpington, description of,

552
Blue Orpington, description of,

553
Muscovy, description of, 553

588

INDEX

E

Ear-lobes, treatment of white,
108
effect of weather on, 109
w^hite in red, 110
in chicks, 98
EciGS, stale, how to hatch, 44
selecting, for incubation, 45
number of, for incubation, 46
structure of, 47
testing, 48, 66
testing, advantages of, 51
how to place in incubator, 64, 65
how to turn in incubator, 65
how to cool in incubator, 66
moisture for, in incubator, 69,

74
testing after twenty-first day,

70
tabulating result of hatching,

71
tabulating temperatures, 71
marketing of, 130
cost of transit of, 130, 135
preserving of, 131, 132
sale of, for hatching, 133
packing of, 134
dispatch of, abroad, 135
Egg-bound, treatment of, 169
Egg-eating, treatment of, 168
Egg-getting in winter, 26, 27,

491
Embden Goose. See Geese
Enteritis. See Fowl Cholera
Enteritis, Muco-, treatment of,

166
Epsom Salts, use of, 46, 156, 159,

160, 161, 166
Exhibiting, value of, 142

fees for, 143
Exhibition, preparing for, 105
preliminary stages, 105
care necessary with large combs,

106
comb-guards, 107
treatment of pullets' combs,

107
treatment of white ear-lobes,

108
effect of weather on lol^es, 109
white in red lobes, 110
necessity for shading, 110

ExHiBiTioTsr, effect of weather on

plumage. 111, 112
scratching sheds should face

north, 112
aids to brilliant sheen, 112,

113
effect of iron on plumage, 113
effect of food on colour, 114
care during moult, 114
hanging in moult, 114
effect of lice, 115
preservation of leg-colour, 115
moulting the scales, 115
cleaning the scales, 115
taming the birds, 116
washing fowls, 116
drying fowls, 119
straw colour in white birds,

120
washing buff-coloured birds,

121
final preparations for, 121
forwarding for, 122
Eyes, colour of human, 197

Fanciers, profits of, 145
Fattening Fowls, 39
Faverolles, how built up, 519

utility qualities of, 520

general characteristics of, 520

colour of, 521

points forjudging, 521

serious defects, 521

hints on mating, 522
Feather-eating, treatment of,

168
Feeding Poultry, 24

difficulty of, 25

when moulting, 25

when laying, 25

when feathering slowly, 25

prevailing fault in, 27

to avoid fat stock, 27

composition of poultrv foods,
28

table of poultry foods, with
explanations, 30

notes on food values, 32

animal food, 35

rules for, 39

effect on colour, 114

INDEX

589

Feeding Chickens, 79

when first hatched, 79

wet or dry food, 80

dietaries for chickens, 81, 82

value of green bone for, 86
Fences, proper height of, 21

cost of wooden, 21

wire netting for, 22

creosote for, 22
Fish Meal, value as food, 36
Fleas, how to get rid of, 92
Flight Fez\.thers in Chicks,

faults in, 100
Flocks, size of, 16

proportion of hens to cock, 17
Flowers op Sulphur, value in
slow feathering, 25

value during moulting, 157
Fluff in Chicks, faults in, 99
Fowl Cholera, treatment of, 166

G

Gallus Bankiva, description of,
216

Gallus Furcatus, descrij)tion
of, 218

Gallus Sonneratii, description
of, 218

Gallus Stanleyii, description
of, 218

Game Bantams. See Bantams

Game Fowl, origin of, 290
lesson for modern breeders, 293
colours of, 293
description of fighting, 294
Old English, description of, 295
varieties of, 295
general characteristics of,296
sub-varieties of, 299
value of points in, 301
Modern, difference from Old
English, 302
recognized colours of, 302
general characteristics of, 302
value of points in, 303
serious defects, 303
colour of Black-red, 303
colour of other varieties, 304

Game, Indian. See Indian Game

Gametes, defined, 179

Gametic Segregation, Law of,
183

Gapes, treatment of, 158

Geese, general remarks on, 553

Embden, description of, 554

Toidouse, descrijition of, 555

Chinese, description of, 555

General Debility, treatment

of, 156
Glauber Salts, prescription, 156

value of, 161
Gout, treatment of, 159
Grass, young, value as food, 35
Green Bones, value as food, 36,

86, 159
Grit, necessity for, 36, 161

H

Hamburghs, probable origin of

name, 305
table of various names of, 306
good and bad features of, 307
trimming combs of, 308
trimming feathers of, 308
suggestions to revive popular-
ity of, 309
general characteristics of, 310
mating of, 315
Club standards of excellence

of, 316
scale of points in, 321
Gold S'pangled, colour of, 311,
317, 318

mating of, 315
Silver Spangled, colour of, 311
317

mating of, 315
Silver Pencilled, colour of, 311,
318

mating of, 315
Gold Pencilled, colour of, 312,
318

mating of, 315
Black, descrij)tion of, 312

prevailing fault in, 312

utility properties of, 315

mating of, 316

result of mating with White
Leghorn, 180
Buff, effect of weather on. 111

effect of iron on, 113

description of, 315
Heifer, pedigree of a white, 222

590

INDEX

Hempseed, value as food, 34
Henny Game, description of, 300
Hens, liow to get broody, 44

feeding for broody, 47

treatment of, wben rearing
chicks, 84

when to remove chicks from,
85

number of chicks to broody,
86
Heredity, 170, 171
Heterozygotes, defined, 179
HoMOZYGOTES, defined, 179
HouDAN, description of, 522

characteristics of, 525

colour of, 526

hints on mating, 526

mating with Leghorn, 192
Houses, Poultry, 5

points to consider, 6

importance of roof, 6

floor of, 7

dropping boards, disadvantage
of, 7

ventilation of, 8

value of sunshine for, 10

necessity for shade for, 10

types of, 10, 23

scratching sheds, 11

scratching sheds, floor of, 15

scratching sheds, cost of, 12

accommodation in, 14
Hurricane Lamps, 86, 89

Incubation, 42

marking pedigree of chicks, 76
pedigree hatching trays, 76
toe-punching, 77
chart for marking chickens, 77
Natural, 42

disadvantages of, 42

advantages of, 44

how to get broody hens, 44

how to hatch stale eggs, 44

selecting eggs for, 45

making nest for, 46

number of eggs, 46

feeding hen, 47

structure of egg, 47

egg-testing, 48, 66

egg-testing, advantages of, 51

Incubation, Artificial, 55

how to choose an incubator,

56
best place for incubator, 57
essentials for successful in-
cubator, 57
crippled chickens, cause of,

58
types of incubator, 60, 72
Hot-water incubators, 60
how to start, 62
how to place eggs in, 64
how to turn eggs in, 65
how to cool eggs in, 66
how to trim lamp in, 66
question of moisture, 69,

74
testing after twenty-first

day, 70
tabulating results, 71
taking temperatures, 71
Hot-air incubators, 72
Indian Game, table properties
of, 496, 503
most popular for crossing, 496
natural home of, 497
general characteristics of, 498
colour of, 499
points for judging, 500
serious defects, 500
hints for mating, 500
Indian Kunner Duck. See

Ducks
Inheritance, common modes of,
198
exclusive or alternative, 199
particulate, 200
summary of modes of, 201
scheme of, 177
Insect Pests, 92
Iodide op Sulphur Ointment,

use of, 164, 168
Iron, effect on plumage, 26, 113

Japanese Longtails. See Yoko-
hamas, 281

Japanese Bantams. See Ban-
tams

Java, Black. See Black Java.

Jungle Fowl. See Qallus
Bankiva.

INDEX

591

Label, specimen, 138

La Bresse, description of, 527

La Fleche, description of, 528

LAKENfVELBER, colour of, 503

difficulty of breeding, 504
Lamp, trimming of, 66

liurricane, 86, 89
Langshan, origin of, 273
utility properties of, 274
Modern, general characteris-
tics, 274
serious defects, 277
mating of, 277
White and Blue, colour of, 277

mating of Blue, 278
Croad, difference from Modern,
279
serious defects, 279
utility properties of, 279
Leg-colour, preservation of,
115, 575
in chicks, 97, 458
Leghorn, egg-layer ^ja)* excel-
lence, 439
number exhibited at 1908

show, 439
activity of, 439
introduction of, 440
general utility of, 440
general characteristics of, 475
mating with Houdan, 192
Broion, introduction of, 441
a typical cock, 442
a typical hen, 443
colour in, 476
value of points in, 477
serious defects, 444
effect of weather on, 112
mating for, 208, 224, 444
utility qualities of, 445
White, effect of weather and
iron on. 111, 113
introduction of, 445
faults of modern specimens,

446
general characteristics, 449
utility qualities of, 449
mating for, 449
colour in, 476
serious defects, 476
value of points in, 476

Leghorn, White, result of mating
with Black Hamburgh,
180
result of mating with Black

Pekin, 240
effect of maize on, 450
Cuckoo, introduction of, 450
chief colour failings of, 450
suggestion for improving

breed, 453
colour in, 480
value of points in, 481
Black, author's liking for, 453
utility qualities of, 454
purity of descent of, 454
improvements in, 455
general characteristics, 456
difficulties in breeding, 227-

232, 234, 456, 457
hardiness of chickens, 458
colour in, 480
value of points in, 480
value of cockerels for cross-
ing, 458
hints on mating, 191, 457
mating with Black Rock,
192, 240
Pile, origin of, 459
colour of, 459, 477
chief difficulties in breeding,

459
mating of, 220, 460
utility qualities of, 460
value of points in, 478
Duckiving, Gulcl and Silver,
origin of, 460
colour of, 462, 478
hints on mating, 462
utility qualities of, 463
value of points in, 479
Dominique Leghorn. See

Cuckoo Leghorn
Buff, origin of, 464
details of crossing, 464
utility qualities of, 465, 466
colour of, 465, 479
mating of, 465
value of points in, 480
Partridge, origin of, 466

chance for novices in, 467
Blue, description of, 467
colour in, 481
how to breed, 468

592

INDEX

Leghorn, Blue, utility qualities
of, 469

hints on mating, 470

value of points in, 482
Mottled Black and Bed,

colour in, 481

value of points in, 481
LeG-weakness, treatment of, 159
•Lettuce, value as food, 35
Lice, remedy for, 93

effect of, 115
Linseed, value as food, 34
Liver Disease, treatment of, 161
Liver-limp, treatment of, 159
Lobe, in chicks, 98. See also

Ear-lobe

M

'Maize, effect on plumage, 25?
357, 450
vahie as food, 33
Maize Meal, value as food, 34
Malay, chief habitat, 280

good table fowl, poor layers,280
colour of, 280
peculiar comb of, 280
Mangolds, value as food, 35
Mating, tabulated results of, 182

summary of, 245
Mealiness, described, 344. See

also Glossary
Mediterranean Breeds, 419
Mendelism, introduction, 170
Continuous and Discontinuous

Variation defined, 173
Mendel's experiments, 174
Dominants and Recessives, 175,

186
Pure and Impure Dominants,

176
tabulated results of experi-
ments, 177
scheme of inheritance, 177
dominant characters, 178
inheritance carried by germ-
cells, 178
gametes, 179
zygotes, 179
homozygotes, 179
heterozygotes, 179
results from breeding homo-
zygotes with heterozygotes,
179

Mendelism, monohybridism, 180

Diliybridism, 181

result of mating Black Ham-
burgh and White Leghorn,
180

tabulated results of mating,
182

Laws of Gametic Segregation
illustrated, 183

value to the breeder, 183

Mendel's theory summarized,
183

chance fertilization, 185

laws governing dominance, l86

complete and incomplete
dominance, 186, 188

table of results of first crosses,
187

incomplete recessives, 189

author's own experiment, 189

result of mating Black Leg-
horns, 191

mating of Houdan and Leg-
horn, 192

result of mating Black Rock
and Black Leghorn, 192

list of dominant and recessive
characters, 194

most important part of Men-
del's law for breeders, 196

result of crossing Polish Fowl
with Minorcas, 196

do Mendelian laws apply to
man? 196

common modes of inheritance,
198

exclusive or alternative in-
heritance, 199

particulate inheritance, 200

summary of modes of inherit-
ance, 201

causes of dominance, 201

fanciers should record results,
202

Mendel's laws not fully known,
203

acquired characteristics, 205

Mendel's law of pure-bred
races, 206

breeding Buff Orpingtons, 207

breeding Minorcas, 207, 208

breeding White Wyandottes,
207

INDEX

593

Mendelism, does thi; law apply
to inbreeding of pure-bred
races 1 208
breeding of Brown Leghorns,

208
summary of conclusions, 210
list of authors for reference,

210
note on Mr. Bateson's new
book, 211
Middlings, value as food, 33
MiNORCAS, crossing with Polish
fowls, 196
Black, origin of, 223, 422
utility qualities of, 423
general characteristics, 426
colour of, 426
value of points in, 429
serious defects, 430
mating, for, 207, 208, 430
dubbing, 432

preparing for exhibition, 433
rearing chickens, 433
White, effect of weather on, 1 1 1
effect of ii'on on, 113
origin of, 223
colour of, 434
iitility properties of, 434
Barred, probable origin of, 241

description, of, 434
Rose-comhed, origin of, 435
utility properties of, 435
chief lack in, 435
chance for novices in breed-
ing, 436
hint on breeding with Du
Mans, 529
Blue. See Blue Andalusian,
437
Mites, treatment for, 93
MoNOHYBRiDiSM, definedLl80
Moult, hanging in, 114
Moulting, care during, 114
remedies during, 156
of scales, 115
Muco-enteritis, treatment of,

166
Muscovy Duck. See Ducks

Oatmeal, effect on young chicks,
33

Oats, value as food, 33, 357
Oats, effect on young chicks of

ground, 160
Orpingtons, reason of popu-
larity of, 322, 323
Black, origin of, 324

utility properties of, 324,

325
reasons for lack of eggs from

exhibition strains, 325
general characteristics of,

326
defects, 326
value of points in, 326
hints on mating, 327
preparation for show of,

335
number at Crystal Palace,

1908, 439
Bose-co7nbed Black, description

of, 336
Buff, effect of iron on, 113
intrinsic merits of, 336
introduction of, 337
general characteristics of,

339
defects, 340

points for judging, 340
mating of, 207, 225, 341-

346
mating with Rock, 361
preserving the colour of, 111,

346
effect of washing ori, 347
imperfections of colour in,

347
weeding of, 349
Bose-combed Buff, description

of, 350
White, effect of iron on, 113
popularity of, 350, 353
origin of, 354, 358
standard of perfection of,

355
defects of, 355
mating of, 356
preserving colour of, 111,

356
washing of, 357
Bose-combed White, description

of, 355
Jubilee, description of, 359
value of points in, 360

Q Q

594

INDEX

Orpingtons, Spangled, descrip-
tion of, 360
A'alue of points in, 360
defects, 360
Bose-comhed Jubilee and Span-
gles, 361 :'
Cuckoo, general characteristics,
361
origin of, 361
colour of, 362
value of points in, 362
serious defects, 362
Blue, how to breed, 363
Oyster Shell, necessity for,
36

Peas and Pea-meal, value as

food, 34
Pedigree Hatching Trays, 76
Pedigree Marking op Chicks,

76
Pekin Bantams. See Bantams
Pekin Duck. See Ducks
Permanganate of Potash, use

of, 156, 166
Pests, insect, 92
Phcenix Fowl. See Yokohamas,

281
Plumage, effect of maize and
red wheat on, 25
effect of iron on, 26, 113
effect of weather on, 111, 347,
357
Polish, crossing with Minorcas,
196
description of, 604
peculiarities of, 505, 506
difficulty of breeding good

crest, 506
general characteristics, 506
points for judging, 507
colour of, 507

Golden, IVJiite, Black, Chaviuia,
507, 508
Pollards, value as food, 33
Portugal Fowl, 420
Poultry Club, description of,

150
PuNNETT, Mr. R. C, 170,
185

E

Railway Bates, 140, 143
Rearing and Rearers. See

under Chickens
Recessives, defined, 175
Recessives, incomplete, 189
Red v. Black, 221
Red, persistence of, 223
Redcap, description of, 321

colour of, 322
Reference Books, list of, 149
Remedies for diseases, 153

list of common, 154
Revivers, value of, 154
Rheumatism, treatment of, 159
Rhode Island Red, description

of, 418
Rice, value as food, 34, 357
Rocks, Plymouth, 370
value of points in, 386
defects, 386
Burred, origin of, 370

chief difficulties in breeding,

238, 371
tail plucking in, 371
colour of, 372, 376
ideal colour of, 372
mating of, 377
general characteristics, 381
White, effect of weather on. 111
effect of iron on, 113
description of, 382
mating of, 383
Buff, description of, 383
colour of, 384
difficulty of breeding, 225,

226
crossing with Black Leghorn,

227
shape of, 384
utility properties of, 384
Black, description of, 384
mating of, 385
result of mating with Black
Leghorn, 192, 240
Blue, how to breed, 385
Rose-combed Bantams. See

Bantams
Rouen Duck. See Ducks
Roup, treatment of, 155

treatment of diphtheritic, 157
Runs, planning of, 18

INDEX

)9^

^yD

s

Saxdy Soil, effect on white birds,

357
Scabies, feather-eating or de-
pluming, 94
Scales, moulting of, 115

cleaning of, 115
Scaly Leg, treatment of, 167
Scotch Dorking. See Scotch

Greys
Scotch Greys, description of,
510
origin doubtful, 510
utility properties of, 511
mating of, 511
points forjudging, 512
Scotch Grey Bantams. See Ban-
tains
Scratching Sheds, value of, 11
types of, 7, 8, 9
should face north, 112
Sebright Bantams. See Bantams
Sebright Cochins, 388
Segregation, its importance, 183
Sexes, how to distinguish, 96
Shading, necessity for, 10, 110
Shaftiness, defined, 348. See

also Glossary
Sharps, value as food, 33
Sheen, aids to brilliant, 112,

113
SiLKiE, description of, 508
essential points in judging,

509
probable origin of, 509
broodiness of, 509
colour of, 509

Black and Blue, note on, 509
Skimmed Milk, value as food,

35
Smutty Under-colour defined,

348
Spanish, Black, origin of, 420
description of, 421
caiises of decline in popularity,

421
scale of points, 421
Spanish, Red-paced, 422
Spanish, Blue, 436
Steel Drops, use of, 166
Stock, how to avoid fat, 27
sale of adult, 139
QQ 2

Stock, sale of utility, 139
best time for selling, 140
sale of breeding, 140
sale of exhibition, 141
cost of dispatching abroad, 144
Stubble Houses, value of, 1 0, 22,

23
Success, requirements for, 125
Sulphate of Copper, value of,

155, 157
Sulphate of Iron, use of, 156
injurious to white plumage,
357
Sulphur Ointment, use of, 167
Sultan, description of, 512

hardiness of, 513
Sumatra Game, description of,
498, 513
origin of, 225

general characteristics, 514
colour of, 515
disqualifications, 515
value of points, 515
Sunflower Seed, value as food,

34
Sunshine, value of, 10, 358
Sussex Fowl, its chief merit,
516
serious defects, note on, 358
varieties of, 517
general characteristics, 517
points forjudging, 518
Bed, colour of, 517
Light, colour of, 517

note on, 358-359
Speckled, colour of, 518

likeness to Jubilee Orping-
ton, 359
Sussex Ground Oats, value as

food, 33
Swedes, value as food, 35

Taming Birds, method of, 116
Thirds, value as food, 33
Thompson, Prof., 170, 222
Toe 1'unching, 77

chart for, 77
Toulouse Goose. See Geese
Turkeys, general remarks on,
556

hatching of, 557

596

INDEX

Turkeys, period of incubation,
557
Bronze Turkey, description of,

556
White, Black, Buff, descrip-
tions of, 557

U

Under-colour, value of sound,

226
Unit Characters, 171, 183

V

Variation, Continuous and Dis-
continuous, defined, 173, 183

Variety Orpingtons, 359

Ventilating Poultry Houses,
methods of, 8

Ventilating Coops, 85

W

Washing Fowls, 116, 119, 347,

357
Weeding out Chickens, 95,
349
separating the sexes, 95
how to distinguish sexes, 96
Fatal faults in Chickens, 97
in leg colour of, 97
in lobe of, 98
in plumage of, 99
in fluff of, 99
in flight feathers of, 100
in chicken feathers of, 100
Wheat, Eed, eflfect of, on

plumage, 25
White v. Black, 234
White Birds, effect of weather
on, 111
eflfect of washing on, 357
effect of sandy soil on, 357
Wire Netting, for fences, 22
Wood Fences, how to make,

and cost, 21
Wyandottes, utility properties
of, 387
type of, 388
comb of, 388

general characteristics of, ,389
colours of, 390

Wyandottes, number at Crystal
Palace, 1908, 439
Silver Laced, difficulty of

breeding, 391
colour of, 391

common failing in, 391, 393
mating of, 391
standard requirements for,

392
Golden Laced, how bred, 394
suggestions for improving,

394
colour of, 395
utility properties of, 395
mating with White, 236
White, effect of weather on,

111
eflfect of iron on, 113
popularity of, 395
colour of, 395
defects of, 396
mating of, 207, 396
mating with Gold Laced,

236
crossed with Black Leghorn,

235
crossed with Black Java or

Black Minorca, 235
Buff Lcoced, Blue Laced, how

to breed, 236, 396
colour of, 397, 398
Buff, description of, 398
diflficulty of breeding, 225,

226
Partridge, eflfect of weather

on, 112
origin of, 398
utility i^roperties of, 399
mating of, 400, 402
present fashion in, 400
colour of, 225, 400
value of points in, 402
serious defects, 402
causes of decline in popu-
larity, 405
Silver Pencilkd, description of,

405
mating of, 406
Culumbian, description of, 406
chief failure in, 407
mating of, 408
utility properties of, 409
standard for, 409

INDEX

597

Wyandottes, Columbian, scale
of points in, 409

serious defects, 410
Black, origin of, 410

standard of, 413

scale of points, 413

serious defects, 413

hints on mating, 414
Blue, how to breed, 415
Cuckoo, description of, 416
Black Laced and Other Var-

ietieit, 417

YoKOHAMAS, description of, 281
mating Black-red with White
Cochin bantam hen, 240

Zygotes, defined, 179

Richard Clay & Sons, Limited,

bread steeet hill, e.c., and

bungay, suffolk

HEAR50N'5 o^'S^HZ^ |

INCUBAT0R5

REMEMBER !

THEY ARE NOT IN

THEIR

EXPERIMENTAL

STAGE, BUT HAVE

28 YEARS'

UNSULLIED

REPUTATION.

During the years 1904 and
1905, Hearson's Incubators
were tested at the University
College, Reading, with other
hot - water and hot ■ air
machines, the result being
that each year

HEARSON'S

INCUBATORS

hatched the highest per-
centage of eggs recorded.

HEARSON'S

Cramming Machine

HYDROTHERMIC

FOSTER MOTHER

For tlie Forced Feeding of
Chickens, Turkeys, etc.

For Rearing Chickens in Summer and
Winter.

SHOWROOMS: 235 Regent Street, London, W.

Proprietors- WRITE FOR ILLUSTRATED PRICE LIST TO

SPRATT'S PATENT Ltd.

24 & 25 Fenchurch St., LONDON, E.G.

I

J

CALWAY'S IDEAL POULTRY HOUSE

npHESE Houses are made in sections upon strong frames, and can be easily put together by any one in a few
•*■ minutes, all necessary bolts and nuts being provided. They are perfectly draught-proof, ventilated, very
strong and thoroughly finished. The sides and ends are made of thoroughly seasoned red planed matched and
beaded boarding, all worked with a special tongue. The roof is covered with a Special Felt and is sound and
watertight. Mounted on four strong iron wheels with wrought-iron axles. Strong wrought-iron bolts and rings
for traces. Fitted with outside nest boxes (which by an ingenious arrangenient tilt in for moving through a
gateway), moveable perches, slide and fowl ladder.^ The upper half of front side of house is hinged on the top
side to open outwards, so that perfect ventilation is provided without fear of any weather beating in, as is the
case with those with a sliding front only. Good iron lock and key, and complete as advertised. The floor
slides out and cleans itself by its own action.

° THE CHEAPEST AND BEST IN THE KINGDOM.

Carriage Paid to any Station in E7igland or Wales (^Mainland).

Size - 6 ft. long x 4ft. wide x 5ft. 4 In. high - Price 60/"
„ - 7ft. „ 5ft. „ 5ft. 8 In. „ - „ 75/-

6 ft. „ 6 ft. 6 in. „ - „ 92/6

9 ft.

CALWAY'S FARMER'S POULTRY HOUSE

ESTABLISHED

25

YEARS

Size - 6 ft. X 4 ft. -

- 7 ft. X 5 ft. -

- 9 ft. X 6 ft. -

Price 4-0/~
Price 50/-
Prlce 67/6

AWARDED

24 MEDALS

AND DIPLOMAS]

Carriage Paid to English and Welsh Stations.
MANUFACTURED UNDER MR. CALWAY'S PERSONAL SUPERVISION.

List of Poultry, Pigeon and Kennel Appliances Free.

THE BUILDING AND ESTATES DEVELOPMENT CO., LTD.

]BXCXiSmOX.

^^RY T6^

Expert Opinion

" Marston Vicarage,

" North wiCH,

"There is no doubt that your
Ovary Tonic brings birds on to
lay, and if I kept a farm for egg-
production I should always use it,

" (Signed) (Rev.) T. W. Sturges."

Prices —

2/- bottle (by post 2/4)

Half Gall, (equal ten 2/- bottles) 15/-

One Gall. 25/-

Ca7-riagc Paid Nearest Station.

Of all Corn Dealers, or direct from-

Leonard Smith & Co., Limited

60 BROMSGROVE ST., BIRMINGHAM

LIVERINE

sun holds the Field

No Poultpy Food to equal it. 17/- ewt., 9/- A-ewt. Cappiag-e Paid.

Biscuit IVIeals, Meat IVIeals, Bone IVIeals, Grits and Shell

UNEQUALLED IN QUALITY AND PRICE.

Perfected Clover Meal for Winter Eggs

12IB pel* cwi. Carriage Paid.

LIVERINE LIMITED, GRIMSBY

PORTABLE BUILDINGS

The Tenant's Own Fixture, very snug, warm, and draught-proof (no nails), put together with bolts in five minutes,

will last a life-time. Approval, prompt despatch. Suitable for Workshops, Store Rooms, Pantries, Summer

Houses, Tool Houses, Mission Rooms, Stables, Cow Houses, Pigsties, etc., etc.

Size 4 feet long, 4 feet wide, 6 feet high, ^i 4 o j Size 9 feet long, 8 feet wide, 9 feet high, ;^3 10 o

., 6

,, 6

■ ,, s

,. 7

4
5
6
6

7
8

Any oth

CHAS.

, 6 ,, 190 ,, ID ,, 8 ,, 9 ,,
, 6J ,, iiio ,,11 -> 8 ,1 8 ,,
! 7 1. I 15 0 ,, 12 ,, 8 ,, 9 ,, .
, 7 i> 250 ,, 14 ,, 10 ,, 10 ,,
8 , 2 10 0 ,, 16 ,, 12 ,, II ,,
, 9 .. 3 5 0 >> 20 „ 12 ,, II
er sizes quoted for. Catalogue and Thousands of Testimonials Free.

PACKED AND PUT ON RAILS FREE.

4
4
5
7
9
10

0
10
0
0
0
0

0
0
0
0
0
0

LONGBOTTOM, Nafferton Works, HULL.

HALF=PRICE POULTRY HOUSE

12 Fowls ... 4 ft. long, 4 ft. wide, 6 ft. high ... 20s. I 30 Fowls ... 6 ft. long, 5 ft. wide, 6 ft. high ... 27J.

20 „ ... 6 ft. „ 4 ft. ,, 6 ft. ,, ... 25s. I 50 ,, ... 8 ft. „ 6 ft. ,, 7 ft. ,, ... <oj.
If with a strong floor and 2 ft. shelter under it, 4s. extra. .
Packed flat, simply bolts together; extra stout planed^tongued and grooved boards (not Jin. like some makers).
Being own importer, and everything done by own machinery, and my works (6 acres) own property enabe^ me to
sell at half usual prices. Thousands of unsolicited testimonials saying would be cheap at double the price, etc.
Catalogue free. Ten per cent, discount for cash.

" I consider Mr. Longbottom's Poultry Houses, etc., some of the best and cheapest on the market. Nine of
my pens are fitted with his appliances." — T. W. Sturges.

CHAS. LONGBOTTOM, Nafferton Works, HULL.

COMB OVER

Improved eftectual Comb Erector and Thumb-
mark Preventer, for Cocks and Cockerels,

Sd. each, three for 1/9.
Appliance to train over Pullet's Comb, Leg-
horns, Minorcas, etc., 6d. each, three for 1/4.
Reliance Crooked Toe Straighteners, 1/- six.
Best and Cheapest. All with full instructions.
Recommended by E. Cobb, F.Z.S.

WATER GLASS

for Preserving Eggs for Winter Use ; 171b.
to the gallon. Full strength. None to equal
it, and also the cheapest. Easy to use —
simply add to water. Used on most up-to-
date Poultry Farms. 3-lb. tin (preserves about
300 eggs), 1/- ; One Gallon for 4/-.

Directions for use with each order.
A/l Caj-n'agc Paid British Isles.

Willis Brothers

35 Stanley Road,
Whalley Rang^e,

MANCHESTER

CREOSOTE

For Painting and Disinfecting Poultry Houses
and Destroying Insect Pests.

Gall. Tins, 116] 40-Gall. Casks, 2716

Free on Rail. Tins and Casks Free.
y^IRE NETTING

2 ft. X 2 in. mesh, 50 yards, now 5/5 ;

4 ft. X 2 in. mesh, 9/5.

Always close cut prices. Free on Rail.

G. P. AUSTIN, 39 station Rd., NGRTHWICH

R. W. WEBSTER

MAIDENHEAD, BERKS.

has successfully Bred and E.\hibited

SINGLE-COMB BLACK MINORCAS
ANO LIGHT BRAHMAS

during the past 25 years.

Originator of English Rose-COmb MINORCAS,

with which he has won First Prizes at Crystal

Palace and Birmingham Shows. Birds have

been exported to all parts of the world.

Author of "All About Single-comb and Rose-comb
Black Alinorcas."

MISS GARRETT'S

£t01 STRAIN

BUFF ORPINGTON

Winners of Cup, Medals and endless Prizes
at all the Best Shows.

-«r^'

/ v/

^^c <Ji.\

^k

Cock purchased for £101, Winner of 1st Prize at the Dairy, Crystal

Palace and Birmingham.
Hen, Winner of 1st Prizes at Crystal Palace, Royal and Birmingham.

SHOW AND STOCK BIRDS ALWAYS FOR SALE.

CHICKS AND EGGS IN SEASON.

BIRD5 EXPORTED TO ALL PARTS

Many of these have proved Winners of Cups in best company.

WELLSLEY COTTAGE, LONDON ROAD,

SUTTON, ENGLAND.

THE

"ST. LEONARDS"

WHITE
ORPINGTONS

WHITE ORPINGTONS, BRED and REARED on the
St. Leonards Farm, haue won:

The White Opping'ton Club Coekerel Cup,

First, Second, Third and Fourth at the Club Show,
1907 ; Second and two Thirds, 1908.

First Prizes at the Daipy ShoW in 1906 and 1907.

First and Second at the Cpystal Palaee in 1905.

First, Second and Third, Variety Orpington Club Show, 190S.

Three Firsts, two Seconds and two Thirds at Haywards
Heath in 1907 and 1908.

Two Specials, First and Second, Norwich, 1907.

And numerous other Challenge Cups, Specials, Firsts, and
other Prizes at all the leading Shows.

STOCK.

WIEALS, GRITS, ETC.

Birds bred from the same stock as the above winners always for
disposal at reasonable prices. Full quotations and particulars on
application.

As used on the St. Leonards Farm. Samples
and prices for large or small quantities on
application.

Visitors met at Ringwood Station (31 miles) liy appointment.

St. Leonards Poultry Farm,

WAji DETI I Leonaras rouiiry i-arm,

■ ■^' OtLL, RINGWOOD, HANTS

THE

"8T. LEONARDS"

BLACK
ORPINGTONS

BLACK ORPINGTONS, BRED and REARED on the
St. Leonards Farm, haue won :

The Poultry Club's Thirty Guinea Cock

Challeng*e TPOphy twice in succession (1907-08).

The Blaek Opping'ton Club's Twenty Guinea

Challeng'e TPOphy four years in succession
(1905-06-07-08).

The Daipy Show Gold Medal twice (1905 and 1907).

Six Silver Medals at the Daipy Show in six years.

Eight First, five Second, five Third, one Fourth, and one
Fifth Prize at the DaiPy ShOW in six years.

Eight First, four Second, three Third, three Fourth, and two
Fifth Prizes at the CPystal Palace in five years.

And numerous other Challenge Cups, First and other Honours
at all the leading Shows.

RIIFF flRPIMPTflNQ Although not exhibiting Buff Orpingtons to

the same extent as the Blacks and Whites,
I rear a large number yearly, and can give
quotations for birds for Stock or Exhibition.

St. Leonards Poultry Farm,

W||j| Dd I ^*- ■-eonai'ds Poultry Farm,

. IVI. DCLiL., RINGWOOD, HANTS

CS3

^- ORPINGTONS
BlacK, Buff and White

FRANK BLOOMER,

FOXCOTE, STOURBRIDGE,

Nearly twenty years a breeder of the most successful strain
of Orpingtons, Club Judge to the Black, Buff and White
Orpington Clubs, has made a special study of Orpingtons, and
at the present time o^vns England's best and most
select stud of Black, Buff and White Orpingtons.

The following are a few of the successes of the birds in his
breeding-pens for 1 909 —

Blacks. — Challenge Cup ; two ists. Crystal Palace ; 2nd,
Dairy; Cup, two ists, Birmingham ; ist. Royal Lancashire ;
three Cups, three Specials, Lancaster ; ist and Special,
Manchester; ist, Derby.

Buffs. — Challenge Cup ; ist and 2nd, Dairy ; ist, two 2nds
and 3rd, Crystal Palace ; Cup, ist, two 2nds and 3rd,
Birmingham ; ist and Special, Manchester ; ist, Barnstaple ;
three ists, Birkenhead ; two ists and Cup, Royal Counties ;
two ists. Royal of England.

Whites. — Two Challenge Cups and three ists. Dairy ; three
Challenge Cups, three ists, two 2nds and 3rd, Crystal Palace ;
two ists and 2nd, Birmingham; ist and Cup, Liverpool.

Young stock bred from the above winners
for sale at prices to suit all pockets and
on approval with pleasure # #

Buyer's are always welcome to inspect the birds, and are met at
Stotcrbridge Junction Station by appointment.

Special attention is paid to Export Orders, and
complete satisfaction assured.

The

Illustrated

PRICE
6d. MONTHLY

e^

Poultry Hscord

Edited by E. T. BROWN

Assisted by .

W. W. Broomhead {Fancy) y^ ^ Elkington

W. Brown {The Amateur Pouliry Keeper)

{Education and Experiment)

,, „ Y>K. Gk^^^'e. (Hy^iefte and Disease)

Verney Carter ^ -^* '

{Markets and Marketing) J. W. Hurst {Poultry Production)

INDISPENSABLE

PROFUSE L Y

ARTICLES

TO

AMATEUR FANCIER

ILLUSTRATED

BY
WELL-KNOWN

AND FARMER

THROUGHOUT

EXPERTS

SPECIAL CORRESPONDENTS IN ALL PARTS OF THE WORLD

ON SALE AT ALL NEWSAGENTS AND BOOKSTALLS

On receipt of a postcard to . . .

BROWN, DOBSON & CO., LIMITED,

15 Essex Street, Strand, W.C.

. . . a free specimen ivill be sent-

W. J. QOLDINQ,

Westwood Poultry Farm, THE WEALD, KENT. .

\

BREEDER AND EXHIBITOR OF

Champion Buff and Black

ORPINGTONS

Winner of nearly 1000 Cups and other prizes at all the leading Shows, including

the World's Champion Challenge Trophy, Crystal Palace ; also the
Sir James Blythe's Champion Challenge Bowl. The Grand International
Show for Champion Bird in the Show (4867 Exhibits).

Reliable Birds tor Exhibition or High=class Breeding always
on Sale at Reasonable Prices, also Eggs in Season.

EXPORT ORDERS A SPECIALITY.

PYNE, RAVENSCAR!

An EASY address to remember for all that
is best in high-class Birds and Sittings, also
ECONOMICAL Appliances and Foods. . .

% Mr. and Mrs. Pyne are well known
for their accurate breeding, having
originally applied their Recording
System 1892

%% Mr. and Mrs. Pyne^s customers are Winners
not only at the Great Laying Competitions,
but at numerous Open Exhibitions. . . .

INSTRUCTIVE CATALOGUE SENT BY RETURN

PYNE, RAVENSCAR!

p

Frank Neave

Breeder anti Ejchifoiior of
Prize Poultry and Pigeons

Winner of over 2000 Champion Cups, IVIedals, and Diplomas at all the leading Shows
throughout the Country, including Crystal Palace, Dairy, Birmingham, Manchester.

THE AVIARIES

LINGWOOD, near NORWICH

MEMBER OF POULTRY & PIGEON CLUBS. BARRED ROCK CLUB JUDGE.
NUN, CLUB JUDGE. MAGPIE CLUB JUDGE.

I cordially invite inspection of my Stock, which will be found amongst the vepy finest
Strains in the Country. All Birds are entirely my own tapeeding-,
and are reared on unlimited rang-es in the finest Poultry Growing
District in the World. All young Stock are brought up on Sea Sand, and are
the embodiment of health and vigour.

I keep the following Breeds of Poultry:

BARRED ROCKS
SILVER=LACED WYANDOTTES
WHITE WYANDOTTES
WHITE & BLACK LEGHORNS
WHITE ORPINGTONS
BLACK MINORCAS
INDIAN GAME

Exhibition Birds at prices

according to quality.

Stock Birds from 7/6 each.

And the UDdermentioDed Breeds of Pigeons:

BLACK, YELLOW

and DUN MAGPIES

BLACK, DUN, RED,

YELLOW and BLUE NUNS

WHITE DRAGOONS

(Gold Medal, Palace. 1908
for Best White).

Exhibition Birds at prices

according to quality.

Stock Birds from 10/- each.

I make a great speciality of supplying Mated Trios for both Exhibition and
utility. Prices varying from 30/- per pen upwards according to quality.

Ail communications to be addressed to

F. NEAVE

Ling^wood, near Norwich

Terms tor Great Britain :— Approval on receipt of Cash. Intending Purchasers

paying Carriage and returning Hamper. Cash returned on receipt of Birds

if not approved.

Telegrams: "NEAVE, LINGWOOD STATION." Station: LINGWOOD, G.E.R.

RB

SWANLEY POULTRY
FARM,

TelegraJ>hic and Cubic Address-

GILBERT, HEXTABLE

Telephone - 37, SWANLEY

WILMINGTON, KENT,
ENGLAND

Bankers: MARTIN'S, LTD. Terms: Strictly Cash with Order

Art. C. Gilbert

Poultry Experts Judge,
"Breeder and Exhibitor

Member of the English and American Poultry Clubs, also Member
of and Club Judge to many Specialist Clubs.

PEN OF WHITE ORPINGTONS ON THE SWANLEY POULTRY FARM.

CHALLENGE CUPS, MEDALS,

SPECIALS and FIRST PRIZES

won all over the Kingdom and Continent at the largest shows

Testimonials by the score from gratified Customers - Eggs for Hatcfiing in Season.

Birds Exported Safely to all Quarters of the Globe.

ALL VARIETIES OF POULTRY SUPPLIED, EITHER FOR SHOW OR UTILITY.

Advice given Free by Mail - VACANCY FOR A PUPIL.

SWANLEY POULTRY FARM, WILMINGTON, KENT

ART. C. GILBERT

SWANLEY POULTRY
FARM

Telegraphic & Cable Address ;

GILBERT, HEXTABLE

Telephone :

37, SWANLEY

WILMINGTON, KENT,
ENGLAND

POULTRY EXPERT, JUDGE, BREEDER AND EXHIBITOR

Member of the English and American Poidhy Clubs,
also Member of and Club pudge to many Specialist Clubs

Bankers : MARTIN'S, LTD.

Terms: STRICTLY CASH WiTH ORDER.

Buff Orpington, Cock and Hen

(Winners of 1st and Specials, Gerrards Cross, Ashford, Maidstone, Tring ; 1st, Cups, Medals,

and Specials, Best in Show, Sandy; 1st and Specials, Best in Show, Thornton Heath;

1st, Cup, Best in Show, Portsmouth ; 1st, & Special, Best in Show, Woodstock, &c.)

B}'ed and Exhibited by

ART. C. GILBERT, of the Swanley Poultry Farm, Wilmington, Kent.

Poultry Expert, Judge, Breeder, Exhibitor and Exporter.

Visits paid to give advice on mating and selecting stock, prize or utility, the planning out and valuation of poultry
plants, etc., at moderate inclusive charges. A fine selection of Stock Birds for sale in all useful varieties, both
fjr utility and show. Eggs for Hatching from the Best 5tud of Orpington Breeding Pens in the World.

I onHnn Citations ^ VICTORIA, HOLBORN VIADUCT
London Stat.pns ^ ^^^ gj_ p^UL'S,

Station— SWANLEY.

REV. E. LEWIS JONES

HEYOPE RECTORY,
KNIGHTON, RADNORSHIRE

Originator of the premier strain of
Silver Campines, which, in his own
hands or those of his custonners,
has won all the chief prizes during
the last few years.

Winner of Gold Medal for best
Campine and Pullet Challenge Cup
in 1907 and 1908, and also of
Cockerel Challenge Cup in 1908.

Black, Blue and White Wyandottes, and many
other breeds, are also kept and exhibited.

BIRDS HAVE BEEN EXPORTED
TO ALL PARTS OF THE WORLD

Birds always for sale, and Eggs in season, all
at reasonable prices.

Inspection Invited. Pupils Received and Advice given
on Poultry Matters

14

^^UAM H. COo^

^^^ Metftber of the English, American, Belgium ^ I

and German Poultry Clubs, The Utility
Poultry Club and many Specialist Clubs

Poultry Judge, Breeder, Exhibitor and Expert

OFFERS BIRDS FOR KEENEST EXHIBITION
AND FIRST-GLASS BREEDING PURPOSES,

in Buff, Black, White, Jubilee, Spangle and Cuckoo ORPINGTONS.

Black, Partridge, White, Silver and Gold Laced WYANDOTTES.

White and Black LEGHORNS.

Minorcas, Game, Houdans, Rocks and Dorkings.
Buff and Blue Orpington Ducks, also Aylesbury and Indian Runners.

Kindly note my Stock have tvon over 3000 OhallengG
Cups and Prizes in keenest competition, including Dairy
Show, The Club Shows, International, Haywards Heath,
Liverpool, Lancaster, etc., etc.

I am in a unique position to supply the requirements of all who wish to win at
local or larger shows at moderate prices. Satisfaction guaranteed, and inquiries
personally and promptly answered.

Specially mated Trios and Breeding Pens of True Club Type always for sale.

UTILITY BIRDS AND EGGS FOR SITTING

From the above breeds, and day-old Chickens supplied in any numbers.

Expori Orders (Birtts or Egffs) a Sfieciaiity

Over 3000 Birds have been exported by me since October 1904.

Inclusive Prices quoted to any part of the World. Birds seen safely

on Board, and RISK in transit taken by me.

m- ILLUSTRATED CATALOGUE AND HINTS POST FREE

Vacancy for Non-resident Pupil, moderate fee.

Advice on any matter pertaining to Poultry by post gratis.

Farms inspected and Birds carefully mated at a moderate charge.

Inspection Cordially Invited. Visitors met at the Station

National Telephone No. 39, Cray.

e^ KINDLY NOTE— I have only ONE Address in Great Britain, and have
no connection whatever with any one of the same name.

THE MODEL POULTRY FARM, ST. PAUL'S CRAY, KENT

Stations: — St- Mary Cray, i mile; Orpington, 3 miles; Sidcup, i| miles.

IS

The Bill of Fare for Successful
Chicken Rearing

SPRATT'5

PATENT

CHICKEN MEAL

{SOAKED) ■
AS THE CHICK'S BREAKFAST, and

'■^l"''".

"CHIKKO

J5

(Regd. Trade Mark)

AS THE EVENING DRY FEED

Per cwt. Bag-, 20/-. Per |-c\vt. Bag, 10/6. Carriage Paid.

MAKES HENS LAY

and

KEEPS THEM AT IT

Spratt's

"LAYMOR

Meal for Poultry

Per cwt. Bag, 14/-. Per ^-cwt. Bag, 7/6. Carriage Paid.

Your Dealer can sztpply you, hut see yon get our Foods in Sealed Bags.

J5

WE SUPPLY EVERYTHING FOR THE POULTRYMAN

Our Book oil ' ' Poultry Culture " zvill be sent Free on- request.

Spratt's Patent, Ltd., 24 & 25 Fenchurch St., London, E.C.

J

f

THIRD EDITION.

10,000 COPIES SOLD WITHIN EIGHTEEN MONTHS.

J9^

POULTRY
CULTURE

FOR

PROFIT

AN ILLUSTRATED GUIDE TO THE . .
GENERAL MANAGEMENT OF POULTRY

BY

REV. T. W. 5TURQE5, M.A.,

Author of "The Poultry Manual."

Crown 8vo. 144 pages. With 22 Half-tone Plates
and Coloured Frontispiece. Bound in Picture
Boards, 1/6 net ; also in Stout Paper Wrapper,

1/- net.

ONE OF HUNDREDS OF FAVOURABLE OPINIONS.

" I am interested in Poultry and have been reading your
' Poultry Culture for Profit.' For the money it seems to me
a long way the best book on Poultry that has come into my
hands.

"D. INMAN TOD, C.A.,

"Wellington, N.Z."

London :

MACDONALD & EVANS,

4 Adam Street, Adelphi, W.O.

J

I

Y

ES : A FULL
BASKET of EGGS
both in WINTER and
SUMMER is the

earnest wish of every
thoughtful POULTRY
KEEPER. It is obtain-
able if proper methods are adopted. Care and attention
to your flock are all that are necessary, but like other
attainments they have to be acquired. No surer method
of reaching this goal can be followed than by accepting
the advice proifered in the columns of . . .

ONE

PENNY

WEEKLY

EVERY
WEDNES-
DAY

Edited by "CHANTICLEER," F.Z.S.

A Practical Poultry Paper for Practical Poultry Keepers

PROFUSELY ILLUSTRATED BY PHOTOGRAPHS

" FEATHERED LIFE " is just the paper for the amateur
poultry keeper, because its articles are brightly and lucidly
written, and there are no technicalities to fog the beginner.
It is the Journal that County Council lecturers, through-
out the country, are unanimous in declaring the best and
brightest poultry paper
ever projected, and they
recommend it wherever
they go. e ® e

Asl- your newsagent TO-DAY for

a copy, or send postcard for free

specimen of

The Publisher,

" Feathered Life,"
5 FETTER LANE, LONDON, E.G.

A SALE
OF OVER

60,000

copies testifies

to the fact

that

THE

Feathered World

i^

is the paper for

Poultry Keepers

to read and

advertise in,

EVERY FRIDAY.
PRICE Id,

Offices —

9, ARUNDEL STREET,

STRAND, LONDOX.

SPECIMEN COPY

FREE. ^

;})

MRS. WILKINSON

BREEDER OF CHAMPION CHALLENGE CUP WINNERS, etc., in

BUFF, BLACK and WHITE ORPINGTONS
BARRED BUFF and WHITE ROCKS

HAVING WON

At Crystal Palace, Club Shows, Grand International,
Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Kendal, Haywards
Heath, etc.

Winner of Champion Cfiallenge Trophy FOUR YEARS
IN SUCCESSION for Buff Orpington Cockerel at Buff
Orpington Club 2 Show.

Also winner of Champion Challenge Trophy THREE
YEARS IN SUCCESSION for best Plymouth Rock at the
Grand International Show.

The above have been won within the last 15 years.

Mrs. Wilkinson has also supplied Breeding Pens and
Eggs each year for the last four years to her Customers,
that have produced more Challenge Cup winners than
any other breeder has supplied, which speaks volumes
for quality of birds and eggs sold.

in addition to innumerable First and Special Prizes have
been won by purchasers of her Stock and Eggs at shows
where all the prominent exhibitors compete, thus proving
she sells as well as retains good reliable stock.

A great speciality is made in properly mated breeding pens
or trios, hence the above wins by her customers.

ALL BIRDS SENT ON APPROVAL WITH PLEASURE.
Terms— Cash with Order.

EGGS FOR HATCHING IN SEASON. PRICES ON APPLICATION.

Burrow House, SCOTFORTH, LANCASTER

17

Messrs. BATEMAN, Milnthorpe, Westmorland

(Mr. James Bateman)
CHAMPION BREEDERS OF

BARRED PLYMOUTH ROCKS

BUFF PLYMOUTH ROCKS

BARRED PLYMOUTH ROCK BANTAMS

We have been winning at Crystal Palace and Dairy Show Year by Year since
1895. Many Hundreds of Cups, Prizes and Specials have been won by us at
all the leading Shows in Great Britain and at Shows abroad.

Challenge Cups have been won at the Yearly Shows held by each of the
Specialist Clubs for Plymouth Rocks — some of them being won outright.

We are the Pioneer Breeders of Buff Rocks in Great Britain, and have
probably bred more Winners of this Variety than any one.

EXHIBITION and the Best Class STOCK BIRDS always on sale
at REASONABLE PRICES.

Correspondence in any Language Invited.

EXPORTATION UNDERTAKEN WITH PLEASURE TO ANY PART

OP THE WORLD.

Mrs. HERBERT BURY

BREEDER AND EXHIBITOR OF

BLACK WYANDOTTES

Winner ist, Crystal Palace, 1906, and
Prizes and Awards at all the large shows.

The representative pair of

BLACK -WYANDOTTES

exhibited at the National Poultry Conference
at Reading in 1907 were lent by Mrs. Bury.

Club Judge and Hon. Sec. of the Black
Wyandotte Club. Terms of membership on
application.

Year Book containing standard and photos
of typical birds, etc., post free, ^d.

LOMBER HEY, "'^" '^^''^

CHESHIRE

HUBERT WRIGHT

MAYFIELD, KEIGHLEY

Breeder and Exhibitor of . .

PARTRIDGE AND COLUMBIAN

WYANDOTTES

ALSO

ENGLISH OWL and ANTWERP PIGEONS

Winner of the Highest Awards at
all the classical shows.

The strongest and most successful stock
of these varieties in existence.

Birds and sittings of eggs (from
poultry in season) on sale at reason-
able prices.

BIRDS AND EGGS EXPORTED

18

JOHN TAYLOR ^

HEATON, near LANCASTER

BREEDER, EXHIBITOR, BARRED. BUFF, AND
and ' '

cLUBJUDaEOF WHITE PLYMOUTH ROCKS

Prizes won at the GRAND INTERNATIONAL POULTRY SHOW.— Five First Prizes, Three
Seconds, International Challenge Trophy, International Medal, Verrey Challenge Trophy,
Two L., P. R. & A. Challenge Cups, Poultry Club Cup, Poultry Club Medal, Gold
Medal and Specials.

At the PLYMOUTH ROCK CLUB SHOW.— Seven Firsts, Seven Seconds, Challenge Shield'
for Barred Rocks, Challenge Shield for Buffs and Whites, Challenge Cup for Barred,
Challenge Cup for Buffs, Silver Medal and Specials.

At the DAIRY SHOW, LONDON.— Five Firsts, Four Seconds, Silver Medal and Specials.

At the ROYAL ALL ENGLAND and ROYAL LANCASHIRE.— Nine Firsts, Eight Seconds,
Seven Specials.

Also Thirty Firsts and Specials at Manchester, Liverpool, Chester, Birkenhead and Lancaster.

Utility Birds, 7/6 to 211- each. Exhibition Birds, 42/- to £W lOsm

Breeding Trios, 631- to £12 12Sm

THE VERY HIGHEST CLASS STOCK A MATTER OF CORRESPONDENCE.

Eggs, 10/6 to 42/- Chiclcens, 21/- to 63/- Cash with order or deposit.

Telegrams —

" FOODS, WESTHOUCHTON.'

Telephone —

30 WESTHOUCHTON.

BOLTON MODEL POULTRY FARM

LOSTOCK, LANCASHIRE

s

"MAKEBONE"

^

CHICKEN FOOD

Proprietors of

Principals —

"EG-KUM"

G. M. DOBSON

/^

Poultry Foods

W. W. DOBSON

•oMRioin \ ^ ^-^^^ «EareTElE^

"MEPOS"

Manager —

WM. BIBBY

(4^ QLJ

Game and Chicken
Foods, and

PREPARED AND USED AT

" B.B." Dog Foods

8f

The Bolton Model Poultry Farm,

LOSTOCK LANCASHIRE.

^

EXPORTERS, EXHIBITORS AND BREEDERS OF

HIGH-CLASS BUFF, BLACK and WHITE ORPINGTONS, BLUE ANDALUSIANS, WHITE, BLACK
and PARTRIDGE WYANDOTTES, INDIAN GAME, BUFF ROCKS, MAMMOTH BRONZE TURKEYS,
and AYLESBURY DUCKS.

Mrs. ALICE M. BOOT

THE BREEDER

and EXHIBITOR of

PALACE AND CLUB

WINNING

^

9

j?^

m

V

^

«

^

^

^

^\

EGGS

FOR SALE

No. I Pens, 30/- per doz.
No. 2 Pens, 20/- ,,
No. 3 Pens, 10/- „

BIRDS -from 10/- upwards.

LATEST WINS, 1908

First, Cup, Special, Palace, International, Spangled Orpington

Club Show.
Two Firsts, Tunbridge Wells.
Two Firsts, Manchester.
First, Terrington, Reading ; Cirencester, Specials, etc., etc.

BIRDS and EGOS exported all over the world
HAUTE TERRE,

HAYWARDS HEATH, SUSSEX

The Universal Poultry Providers

PtiiMLTRir ^^ export birds of every pure-bred variety to all parts of the world.
■■~^^~""~'"^~" Exhibition and Utility Stock-birds always on sale at reasonable
prices. Sitting's of eggs and day-old chicks in season.

£^PPLIANCES Possessing our own works, we inanufacture houses to our

CUSTOMERS' OWN DESIGNS AND REQUIREMENTS.

Chatham Incubators and Foster-mothers are unequalled. In
addition we carry a complete line of Bone-cutters, Coops,
Fatting Pens, etc., etc.

/REQUISITES Drinking-fountains, Feeding-troughs, Chicken-feeders, Leg-
^^^^^^^""■^■■^^^^ bands, Egg-boxes, Wire-netting, Chick-punches, Caponising-

instruments. Comb-erectors, in fact every necessity for

successful poultry culture.

POULTRY FOODS Laying Meal, 13/-; Growing Meal, 13/-; Ground
-^^^-^^— — — ^-^^^— Oats, 13/- ; Biscuit Meal, 19/6; Cut Clover, 11/6 ; Dry

Chick Feed, 15/- ; Poultry Mixture, 13/- ; Flint Grit,
3 grades, 5/- ; Oyster Shell, 6/6 per cwt. Carriage
Paid in England.

ALLEN'S PURE MEAT MEAL is a specialty for growing stock or
laying Hens. 14/- per lOO lb. Carriage paid.

PEAT MOSS (Granulated) in bales, 2^ cwt., 10/6. Carriage paid.

Note. — Half-quantities can be purchased by dividing the price and adding sixpence.

MEDICINES Roup Cure, Gape Cure, Cholera Cure, 2/1 per box, post paid.
^^■^^^^^ Tonic Capsules (invaluable for birds off colour), 1/6 per box.
Insecticide, 1/3 per tin, etc., etc.

EXPERT DEPARTMENT Farms planned. Farms visited, Post-
"^'^^^^^^^^"^"""■''''■''~''"™'""'^"''""''''"'"~' mortems, etc.

These are some of the leading features of our business by which we claim the title of

THE UNIVERSAL POULTRY PROVIDERS

but further information can be obtained by writing for a copy of " Enquire Within upon
Poultry," our handsomely illustrated catalogue.

ABSOLUTELY FREE OFFER

On receipt of a post-card we will send you without charge the current number of " Monthly
Hints on Poultry," a high-class 32-page magazine, devoted entirely to Poultry for Profit
(Subscription 2/- per annum, post free), and also a copy of "Enquire 'Within upon Poultry."

6^=^ W^RITE THAT POST-CARD NOW!!!

THE ALLEN POULTRY Co., Ltd.

SAWBRIDGEWORTH, HERTS.

Telephone ; 7, SAWBRIDGEWORTH. Telegrams ; POULTRY, SAWBRIDGEWORTH,

21

HENRY FILDES

Hill House,

MOBBERLEY, CHESHIRE

BREEDER OF . . .

BUFF AND WHITE

ORPINGTONS

Has bred many

CELEBRATED WINNERS

in both Colours.

BIRDS FOR SALE . .

. . EGGS IN SEASON

Poultry Breeders!

The Rev. T. W. Sturges tells you
in this book that one of the aids
to success in the commercial side
of Poultry Breeding lies in being

" a good correspondent, prompt, clear
and obliging."

^

MODERN

COMMERCIAL

CORRESPONDENCE

J. KING GREBBY,

Examiner to the Society of Arts,

will tell you all you want to know on this
subject.

Crown 8vo. -_ 296 pp. - PHce 2/6.

Second Edition.

MACDONALD & EVANS

4 Adam Street, Adelphi, W.C.

Mrs. CHATTERTON

SMARDEN, KENT

^

BREEDER, EXHIBITOR AND

EXPORTER OF

BLACK AND

WHITE LA BRESSE

ROSE-COMBED

RHODE ISLAND REDS

WHITE ORPINGTONS

AND

WHITE WYANDOTTES

\m

^

Catalogue Free

TO FANCIERS.

Much money made by Poultry Farming
is lost through hazardous speculation.

Mr. T. E.YOUNG, B.A.,F.R.A.S.,

Pas( President Institute of Acttiaries

and late Head Actuary of the
Coiniiiercial Union Assurance Co.,

A PLAIN GUIDE TO
INVESTMENT « FINANCE

how to invest money wisely. The
Financial Times describes the book as
the "best aid to the investor ever issued.

Crown 8vo.

Second Edition.
PriCB 5/-

55^ PP-

MACDONALD & EVANS

4 Adam Street, Adelphi, W-C,

22