Dorkings. 113 



requires attention and careful breeding. The pure White 

 Dorking may truly be considered as fancy stock, as well as 

 useful, because they will breed true to their points ; but 

 the grey Sussex, Surrey or Coloured Dorking, often sport. 

 To the breeders and admirers of the so-called ^ Coloured 

 Dorkings ' I would say, continue to improve the fowl of 

 your choice, but let him be known by his right title ; do 

 not support him on another's fame, nor yet deny that the 

 rose-comb or fifth toe is essential to a Dorking, because 

 your favourites are not constant to those points. The 

 absence of the fifth claw to the Dorking would be a great 

 defect, but to the Sussex fowl (erroneously called a '■ Co- 

 loured Dorking ') it is my opinion it would be an improve- 

 ment, provided the leg did not get longer with the loss." 



The fifth toe should not be excessively large, or too far 

 above the ordinary toe. 



The White Dorking must have the plumage uniformly 

 white, though in the older birds the hackle and saddle may 

 attain a light golden tint. The rose-comb is preferable, 

 and the beak and legs should be light and clear. 



The Coloured Dorking is now bred to great size and 

 beauty. It is a large, plump, compact, square-made bird, 

 with short white legs, and should have a Avell-developed 

 fifth toe. The plumage is very varied, and may have a 

 wide range, and might almost be termed immaterial, pro- 

 vided a coarse mealy appearance be avoided, and the pen 

 is well matched. This latitude in respect of plumage is so 

 generally admitted that the assertion ''you cannot breed 

 Dorkings true to colour," has almost acquired the authority 

 of a proverb. They may be shown with either rose or 

 single combs, but all the birds in a pen must match» 



The Dorking is the perfection of a table bird, combining 

 delicately-flavoured white flesh, which is produced in 

 greatest quantity in the choicest parts— the breast, merry- 

 thought, and wings — equal distribution of fat, and symme- 

 trical shape. Mr. Baily prefers the Speckled or Grey to 

 the White, as '' they are larger, hardier, and fatten more 

 readily ; and although it may appear anomalous, it is not 

 less true that white-feathered poultry has a tendency to 



