JUDGING COCHINS. 



255 



rest two hens. Cochins are so tame and affec- 

 tionate and easily cheated that this can nearly 

 always be done with them, as it could not be 

 with other fowls. Any birds thus kept for 

 utility will probably be far less furnished with 

 fluff and foot-feather than is necessary for 

 exhibition stock, and will on that account be 

 generally found more profitable. 



Their size and hardihood make Cochins 

 even yet of some value as a cross, provided care 

 and judgment are used : without that the result 

 is ruin. Cochins were turned down on farms all 

 over the country in the days of the " mania," 

 the progeny being a lot of scraggy, coarse, long- 

 legged mongrels which did the chicken industry 

 distinct harm. With good Dorking hens the 

 cross produces rather coarse but large and useful 

 fowls, which any housekeeper is glad to buy, 

 though the Brahma is certainly better still. The 

 cross between a really short-legged Cochin and 

 the Creve is finer in bone, and very good indeed. 

 The Houdan cross is also well spoken of by 

 those who have tried it. On the other hand, 

 our notes in Chapter VII. have already shown 

 how even the disastrous primary cross of the 

 Cochin on local fowls, when further over- 

 powered and tempered down by further crosses 

 of the local blood, has entered into some of the 

 most useful stock of tabic poultry in the 

 country. 



The Cochin has, however, had far more 

 marked influence as one of the progenitors, the 

 real foundation, of quite a group of other 

 breeds, which owe to it size, hardihood, yellow 

 legs, and in many cases buff or other plumage. 

 We should have known nothing of Plymouth 

 Rocks, Lincolnshire Buffs or Buff Orpingtons, 

 and Wyandottes, but for the Cochin, to say 

 nothing of such American varieties as Rhode 

 Island Reds, Danvers Whites, and others, 

 which may or may not achieve some day a 

 wider popularity. If he is himself less popular 

 than formerly, he has cut his mark deep in the 

 poultry world even of the present day. 



The judging of Cochins has altered a great 

 deal since the breed was first introduced, most 

 of all in regard to shank-feather. At first a 



very moderate amount of a rather 



Judging ^°ft character satisfied fanciers and 



of judges ; and for years after more 



Cochins. began to be sought, vulture-hocks 



were practically disqualified, though 

 not avowedly so. So many birds were then 

 shown with plucked hocks, that as a lesser evil 

 toleration crept in, and hocks sometimes mean 

 little detriment at English shows. Personally 

 we agree with the description in the latest 



edition of the Poultry Club Standards — " as 

 free as possible from any stiff quills (vulture- 

 hocks) "• — since stiff quills, except in wings and 

 tail, are inconsistent with the fundamental 

 Cochin idea of soft plumage. 



The chief points which require vigilance 

 as regards trimming and faking are tails, 

 wings, and " fluf&ng." Tails are sometimes 

 plucked because too long, sometimes because of 

 feathers the wrong colour — especially white 

 feathers. Wings are sometimes plucked to get 

 rid of twisted feathers, which occur oftener 

 in Cochins than in any other breed. And 

 after the case alluded to in our last chapter, it 

 is certainly as well just to see whether any 

 artificial amount of fiuff has been imparted by 

 ingenious tampering of the kind referred to. 



The Poultry Club Standard of Perfection 

 for Cochins is as follows : 



GENERAL CH.ARACTERISTICS 



Head. — Sliull : Small. Beak : Curved, short, 

 stout at the base. Eyes: Expressive. Comb: Single, 

 upright, neatly arched, perfectly straight, free from 

 excrescences, of fine texture, and symmetrically 

 notched or serrated. Wattles: Long, thin, and 

 pendant. Ear-lobes: Sufficiently developed to hang 

 nearly or quite as low as the wattles. 



Neck Rather short and carried somewhat for- 

 ward, thickly furnished with hackle, vi-hich should 

 flow gracefully over the shoulders. 



Body. — Large and deep. Back : Broad but very 

 short. Saddle: Broad and large, with a gradual 

 and decided rise towards the tail, forming a har- 

 monious line with that member. Wings: Small, 

 closely clipped up, the flights being neatly and 

 entirely tucked under the secondaries. Breast: 

 Broad and full, coming as low as possible. 



Tail.— Small and soft, with as little hard quill 

 as possible, and carried low or nearly flat. 



Legs and Feet.— Thighs : Large, and thickly 

 covered with fluffy feathers standing out in a globular 

 form. Hocks: Nicely and entirely covered with 

 soft, curling feathers, but as free as possible from 

 any stiff quills (vulture hocks). Shanks: Short and 

 thick, wide apart, and heavily feathered down the 

 outside, the feathering to start out well from. the. 

 very hock, and continue to the ends of the middle 

 and outer toes. Toes: Four, large, straight, and 

 well spread. 



Carriage. — Rather forward, high at the stern, and 

 dignified. 



Weight. — From lo lb. to 13 lb.; cockerel from 

 S lb. to II lb. 



HEN 



Head Skull: Veiy small. Beak: As in the 



cock. Comb and Wattles: Also similar, but as small 

 as possible, the comb being uniformly serrated. 

 Ear-lobes: Well developed, but smaller than those 

 of the cock. 



Neck. — As short as possible, carried well forward, 

 and thickly furnished with hackle. 



Body. — Large, nearer a square than that of the 



