CHARACTERISTICS OF COCHINS. 



243 



most inconsistent conduct on the part of the 

 then leading judges. Tliese had carried prac- 

 tical disqualification for vulture-hocks to such 



an extreme, that birds with the 

 Vulture least fulness of shank-feather were 



Hocks. repeatedly passed over for what 



was really only nice covering with 

 quite soft and well-curled feathers. That pro- 

 voked reaction to excessive shank-feather, and 

 birds were exhibited with hocks heavily plucked ; 

 and then almost of a sudden the judges gave 

 way and went to the other extreme, and vulture- 

 hocks sprang in with a bound, so far as England 

 was concerned. It always seemed to us that 

 heavy and stiff quill-feather was inconsistent 

 with the idea of a Cochin ; and it has been 

 proved in America that heavy shank-feather 

 can be bred without stiff hocks ; but in England 

 the hocked fashion has now prevailed since 

 about 1875. As the Cochin, with this and other 

 changes, has now become almost entirely a 

 "fancy'' fowl, kept up by fanciers solely, 

 nothing can be said in objection to the standard 

 they adopt ; but the few birds now exhibited 

 in comparison with the large classes which 

 formerly appeared at large shows,* are an 

 eloquent testimony to the change which has 

 taken place in general appreciation of this once 

 popular breed. 



Turning next to the Cochin as it is bred 

 to-day, its great characteristic, above all, is 

 massiveness of appearance, especially in the 

 buffs, which are superior to the 

 Characteristics Other colours, as a rule, in Cochin 

 of character. The bird really is very 



Cochina. large and heavy,a full-grown cock 



weighing from 10 lbs. to 13 lbs.; 

 but a good bird looks larger for his weight than 

 any other breed, owing to the fluffy plumage. 

 This is thinner in the quill, broader in the web, 

 and with more length of loose fibrils from the 

 root than other breeds, thus standing out more 

 from the body, and making it look larger, even 

 on those parts where it appears to lie close. The 

 comb is single and straight, only medium in 

 size, with neat top outline and serrations ; and 

 these and the wattles and the face and lobes 

 should be smooth and fine in texture, not red- 

 pimpled all over. The head should be small, 

 with a gentle and intelligent look ; the neck 

 rather short, and very full towards bottom of 

 the hackle, which flows well over the shoulders. 

 These are wide and flat, and the back so short 

 that the saddle or cushion seems to rise to the 

 stern almost from the base of the hackle. The 

 saddle or cushion must be very broad, and rise 



•There were 58 buff cockerels at Birmingham in 1874. 



well, all but burying the short tail of the hen ; 

 the tail of the cock should be as short, and the 

 coverts or sickles as soft as possible, the whole 

 forming a sort of smooth line with the saddle 

 hackles. The body is deep and large every 

 way, the fluff on cushion and thighs standing 

 out as profusely as possible ; but the wings are 

 not quite so tight-feathered, or clipped in so 

 close as formerly, but themselves carried more 

 loosely from the body, so that the thigh-fluff 

 in most birds does not show such marked 

 " globes " as it did some years ago. The breast 

 should come down very deep, and be well 

 covered with soft plumage. The shank-feather 

 should be very abundant, and stand well out 

 from the shanks, especially at the weak place 

 just under the hocks. In the hocks, as little of 

 projecting stiff quill as possible is preferred, 

 and to be sought for. Vulture-hock is objec- 

 tionable, but the heavy feather down the shank 

 m.ust not be mistaken for vulture-hock. Close 

 examination would reveal the different nature 

 of the feather, for vulture-hock means hard 

 quilled feathers standing out from the back of 

 the hock. The shanks must be short and set 

 wide apart, and the feather extend to the end 

 of outer and middle toes. The attitude is 

 rather forward, with the stern carried high, 

 and the head (in comparison with most breeds) 

 rather low, and the carriage is dignified. 



Coming now to the varieties of Cochins, at 

 the head of them all stands the class of colours 

 now all known as Buffs. As already observed, 

 at an early date the buff colours 

 Buff were much sub-divided, ranging from 



Cochins. the lightest silver-buffs and silver- 



cinnamons, through lemons and buffs, 

 to the deep-coloured cinnamons, which would 

 now be called almost red. The lightest of these 

 colours were very pretty, the breasts being so 

 pale as to be almost a French grey, while the 

 hackles and top plumage of the cockerels were 

 much darker. The propensity for uniform 

 colour all over displaced these variegated 

 colours, and then lor some years the classes 

 were headed "cinnamjon and buff." The colour 

 of many birds was still lacking in uniformity, and 

 for several years cockerels occasionally won, 

 which would now be called " tri-coloured," the 

 breast being lemon or orange buff, the hackles 

 and saddle much darker, and the wing darker 

 still, even a red. Such birds did not breed well, 

 besides their variegated appearance, and would 

 not now be tolerated in any decent competition. 

 It may be stated broadly that the chief thing 

 now desired is unifoniiity of colour all over in 

 buff Cochins. Of course the hackle, from its 



