FOURTH ANNUAL YEAR BOOK— PART VII. 485 



combs, in both male and female, and bright yellow legs. Those who are 

 partial to their color of plumage will find the Dominiques good birds to 

 keep. They are good layers, hardy, mature early, and dress well for 

 the table. 



The standard weight of cocks is eight and one half pounds; hens, 

 six and one half pounds; cockerels, seven and one half pounds; and pul- 

 lets five and one half pounds. 



JERSEY BLUES. 



The least known variety ot the American class is the Jersey Blue. 

 It is one of the largest breeds of poultry, being in size between the 

 Plymouth Rock and the Light Brahma. Their plumage resembles that of 

 the Andalusian, being blue throughout. Their breast and fluff are light 

 blue; hackles and sickles, very dark blue, approaching black; shanks and 

 toes, dark blue, the lower surface of toes lighter in shade, and the nails 

 white. They are not as good layers as are the others of their class, and 

 are hardy and easily kept in confinement. They are not popular for table 

 purposes, preference being given to yellow-skinned and yellow-legged 

 birds. 



The standard weight of cocks is ten pounds; hens eight pounds; 

 cockerels seven pounds; and pullets five pounds. 



BRAHMAS. 



Tlie leading variety of the Asiatic class is the Light Brahma (fig. 

 9). This fowl has a history that would fill pages were it recorded. 

 These are thd. fowls which caused the "hen fever" of the fifties, about 

 which so much has been written in later years. Their early history is a 

 matter of controversy, the best authorities differing as to their origin. 



They were first known as the "Brahma Pootras," "Gray Shanghais," 

 "Chittagongs," "Cochin Chinas," and what not. The early breeder named 

 them acording to his fancy for liigh sounding and sensational names to 

 sell his stock. Fabulous prices were paid for them when the craze for 

 fine poultry was at its height in the early days of the last half of the 

 present century. The standard of the present Brahmas was fixed in 

 1869, and no deviation from the type then adopted has been made. They 

 have stood high in popular favor since then without abatement; the vast 

 number of breeders who are raising them fully attest their worth as a 

 practical bird to the industry. The Brahma is a characteristic fowl; it 

 is unlike other varieties, and it should not be confounded in shape with 

 the Cochin. 



The average Light Brahma male is in height twenty-six inches; back 

 from the ground, sixteen inches: keel from the ground, eight inches; 

 length of body, front of breast to rear of fluff, fourteen inches; height 

 of tail, a trifle over twenty-one inches; saddle hangers to rear of fluff, 

 two and one fourth inches; eye, from tip of beak, two and one sixth 

 inches; length of head and beak, three and one half inches; breasts to 

 rear of a drop line from point of beak, three-fourth to one and one 



