■8 Nov., 1907.] 



Tlic Silver Dor kin". 



679 



centre and no amount of selection changes it with the other colours of 

 the body ; but the narrower the stripe the lighter is the colour of the 

 Deck. As the feathers approach the head the smaller the stripe, till the 

 head feathers are all silvery white, and this is best without a tinge of 

 brown towards the throat. The neck should be well arched, the full 

 feathering sitting well over the shoulder. As in all Dorkings the eyes are 

 red, or to be strictly correct, the colour is a deep orange or light red. 



Body should l:>e deep, long and broad; breast salmon colour, blending 

 to grey on the sides. The term salmon colour, or salmon red, is often 

 misunderstood; salmon colour is a reddish pink, softened an the Dorking 

 breast with the least tinge of grey in it which gives it a subdued shade. 

 The deep red of some hens is toO' dark for silver grev hens; that was 

 the colour of the old "Grey Dorking" before the Silver Greys were 

 bred. Too light or faint colours are also defective. A good, rich, soft, 

 salmon colour, with as little light shafting and edging as possible, and 



SILVER DORKING HEN. 

 ^b^ 3 years 9 months. Record 61 ^ Kggs. 



entirely free from dark spots, or tip feathers, is the handsomest breasL. 

 A good evenly coloured breast is a point of great desirability in a 

 Silver Grey Dorking hen. This colour is not found in anv other breed 

 of fowls, except Game and then it is seldom as rich. For the sake 

 of getting light backs and necks, the breast colour is often overlooked 

 or under-estimated in the Show pen. Many hens and pullets are awarded 

 prizes on account of their backs, while their breasts are ]JOor in colour. 

 The breast colour should be more regarded, as it is a distincti\-e Dorking 

 feature. 



We now come to the colour of the back of the Silver Gre\- hen, 

 which gives the name to the breed. It is not a solid colour, but when 

 looking at it closely we see a very fine mottling of deep grev and light 

 grey. On examining a feather we find it is made up of verv fine 

 etchings, short wavy lines and fine longish dots, neither round spots 

 nor straight lines. Some term it ])encilling, Init pencilling is more 

 applied to fine lines on the edges of feathers. This mottling is very 

 beautiful anrl is seen in some species of wild birds especially game 

 birds, but in none purer than in the Silver Dorking. The light and 

 -dark are about equal in quantitv ; when the dark predominates the colour 



