250 



THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 



one of the most prominent breeders and ex- 

 hibitors : — 



" Seeing the popularity of the Buff and 

 Partridge Cochins amongst poultry fanciers, it 

 is somewhat remarkable that Black Cochins are 

 not more largely kept. They possess many 

 advantages over the other varieties from an 

 amateur's standpoint ; they are nothing like so 

 troublesome to keep in show form, and in smoky 

 and dirty neighbourhoods they can be kept 

 where it would be impossible to keep the other 

 varieties. Again, in exhibiting Black Cochins it 

 is not so necessary for the would-be exhibitor 

 to be an ' expert,' as beyond taking proper 

 care of the foot-feather very little is required. 

 And as regards a utility point of view, they will 

 compare favourably with any of the Cochin 

 varieties, and for hardiness they cannot be 

 beaten. 



" Many years ago exquisite Blacks were 

 shown. Some writers consider they were bred 

 from Buffs and Whites. More recently the 

 crossing of a dark male Partridge Cochin with 

 female Black Cochins had been known to pro- 

 duce most excellent birds ; but oddly enough 

 only the pullets came pure in colour, the 

 cockerels in nearly every case showing red or 

 coloured feathers in their neck hackle. The 

 introduction of crosses has no doubt been the 

 means of getting size into the breed, but at the 

 expense of disgusting many would-be breeders 

 and exhibitors, by the appearance of discoloured 

 feathers amongst their stock. Once these red 

 or discoloured feathers get introduced, it takes 

 considerable time and trouble to breed them 

 out. If a cross has to be tried, it should be of 

 Whites, as by crossing two distinct colours like 

 black and white, an improvement may be given 

 to each variety. No doubt some years ago the 

 Langshan blood was used to get colour ; but 

 this spoilt the shape and type, and accounts 

 for the huge tails some of the Black Cochins 

 possessed years ago. 



" The chief characteristics of Black Cochins, 

 apart from tneir being a lustrous green black, 

 are much the same as in the other varieties of 

 Cochins. The question of colour of leg is how- 

 ever one that has not yet been definitely settled. 

 Some breeders maintain that they should have 

 bright yellow legs, others dark slate colour, and 

 by others again the " lizard " or dusky yellow is 

 preferred. The latter colour is, I consider, the 

 correct one. The yellow leg has no doubt been 

 got by crossing with the other varieties of 

 Cochin ; and from a breeding experience of over 

 thirty years of this variety, I invariably find 

 that the bright yellow legs bring discoloured 

 feathers. The dark slate-coloured legs may be 



attributed to the Langshan cross, but stock with 

 this coloured leg produce a much larger pro- 

 portion of pure coloured birds. The lizard 

 coloured leg birds have also been found to be 

 much more reliable to breed from than the 

 yellow, and, from an extended experience, 

 should, I think, be taken as the standard, as 

 they are much more characteristic of the Cochin 

 than the black or slate-coloured. 



" Regarding the other points, a pure and 

 bright colour should be insisted upon ; either red 

 or black eyes ; and the shape should be similar 

 in every way to the other varieties of Cochins. 



" It is most gratifying to see the progress 

 Black Cochins have made during the last few 

 years, a very great improvement in size, shape, 

 foot-feather, and colour being noticeable ; and 

 in addition, at our large shows, where only, 

 unfortunately, classes are given in the majority 

 of cases, the entries in many instances have 

 come up to those in the Partridge and White 

 classes." 



There is not the slightest doubt that a large 

 proportion of the early Black Cochins really 

 were bred from Buffs and Whites, as stated in 

 the early part of this chapter : the fact is 

 recorded both as fact, and actual personal expe- 

 rience, by the authors of the Poultry Book of 

 1853, as also the fact that other specimens had 

 been imported direct. These latter appear to 

 have been the inferior of the two, for the same 

 authority states that " some of the best " had 

 been bred from the cross. At a Bristol show of 

 1S55 we distinctly remember the Black Cochins 

 as having bright yellow legs. No breeder of 

 any black fowl need be told how the attempt to 

 keep up this must handicap a black breed ; but 

 now the dusky leg is finally acknowledged as in 

 the " Standard," there is no reason why Black 

 Cochins should not enter upon a new career. 



In this respect the modern Black Cochin 

 possesses several present advantages over the 

 other colours. The hardiness above spoken of, 

 is beyond doubt due to the several recent 

 infusions of new blood already referred to. Its 

 superiority to the other colours as a layer, which 

 is noticeable, is partly due to the same cause, 

 but is further due in part to the desire for lustre 

 in the plumage This cannot be attained with 

 too soft and fluffy body-feather, but demands a 

 certain closeness of texture over those parts of 

 the body where lustre is desired ; hence in this 

 respect the Black Cochin approaches rather more 

 the older and better laying model, while at the 

 same time fluff and cushion can be developed in 

 ample proportion. 



In regard to colour, it is possible to over- 

 estimate the effect of crossing in producing the 



