266 



THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 



vulture-hocks) which had already found toleration 

 amongst the Cochins of that day. With this 

 change in fashion, the Chinese element began 

 to over-power the Indian, and the Brahma to 

 assume more and more of Cochin character ; 

 losing far too much at the same time, unfortu- 

 nately, of its former good qualities. There was 

 a time, indeed, when many winners were little 

 else than Cochins of another colour, with the 

 constant broodiness, thick skins, and coarse 

 flesh which generally accompany that model ; 

 but some reaction from that extreme has lately 

 been observable. 



Under these circumstances the general 

 characteristics of Brahmas cannot be described 

 with quite the same definiteness as in the case 



of some other breeds. Both the 

 Characteristics Dark and the Light are supposed 

 of Brahmas. j-q be exactly the same in size, 



shape, and carriage ; but this has 

 not always been the case, and can hardly be 

 said to have been absolutely so at the end of 

 1900. In the earlier days of the breed the 

 Lights were considerably inferior to the Darks, 

 possibly owing to mixture with Cochin strains ; 

 now the Lights as a rule are more broad and 

 massive and fluffy than the Darks, with more of 

 the Cochin type. This should not be so ; but 

 the truth really is that the Dark Brahma 

 breeders have made rather a more successful 

 fight for the Brahma model, and it is too true 

 that under many judges a Light Brahma cock 

 of the same model as is still often seen in Darks, 

 would stand little chance. Still, the leading 

 points may be preserved in both colours, and 

 may be described as follows. 



The Brahma as a rule looks smaller than a 

 Cochin, but is in reality very often heavier, 

 because the Cochin's loose fluff adds to its 

 apparent bulk. On the other hand the Brahma 

 plumage, though far more abundant than 

 formerly, is still desired to be close-fitting. 

 Cockerels six months old should weigh 8 or 

 9 lbs., and pullets 7 lbs. or more ; really pure- 

 bred strains are never remarkable for early 

 weights, though these may be forced ; but on 

 the other hand they grow more than most other 

 breed? the second year. Adults sometimes 

 reach great weights. We once knew a cock 

 weigh 1 8 lbs., but he was a brute; 14 lbs. and 

 IS lbs. we have come across several times in 

 exhibition specimens, but 1 1 to 12 lbs. is more 

 usual. The heaviest hen we possessed was 

 11^ lbs., but we knew several over 12 lbs. As 

 a rule these enormous birds are deficient in 

 symmetry. 



The head of the cock should be small, short, 

 and rather wide over the eyes ; not enough to 



give a cruel or Malay expression, but a sort of 

 peculiar archness or intelligence : the beak also 

 should be thick and short, in harmony with the 

 grouse-head model. Many birds lately have 

 had large and coarse heads, or else long and 

 slender face and beak, either of which looks 

 very mean. The comb — the " pea-comb " — 

 resembles three small combs pressed into one, 

 the centre being the highest. This should be 

 small, with the centre ridge straight, and the 

 shape preferred is to rise somewhat from front 

 to centre or beyond, and then decrease a little, 

 with a slight arch. Formerly a very common 

 shape was to rise towards a peak behind, and 

 this is still occasionally seen, but looks very 

 ugly. In some cases we have seen a comb 

 evidently of this type originally, with the rising 

 portion at the back cut off, as shown by the 

 glossy scar : trimming of this kind should not 

 pass unnoticed. The face should be fairly 

 smooth, not too hairy. The ear-lobes in all 

 early Brahmas which we can remember were so 

 long as to fall below the wattles, which ought to 

 be rather small, not long and pendulous ; this 

 should be sought therefore as a Brahma point. 

 They should be smooth and bright red and 

 free from feathers. 



The neck should be very full in hackle, so 

 that it stands out and makes a sort of junction 

 with the head. It should be long, and well 

 arched, which gives grandeur and nobility of 

 appearance ; but the more Cochin-shaped 

 birds generally have rather short necks. The 

 shoulders should be wide and flat, not too 

 much gable-shaped, and the back short, the 

 saddle starting from very little behind the base 

 of the hackle. The saddle is, however, to be 

 very long as well as wide, rising uninterruptedly 

 to the tail, with hackles long and abundant, 

 flowing well over the points of the wings. 

 However massive and thick the bird is other- 

 wise, or even fluffy, the saddle feathers should 

 lie close and hard-looking, and rise more and 

 more with almost a concave profile towards the 

 tail, which rises still more upright so as to form 

 part of the same graceful " sweep " of line from 

 end to end. The tail may be nearly upright, 

 but should not be quite so, and in any case 

 should work in with the contour of the saddle, 

 not stand up "out" of it. However profuse in 

 plumage and thick in shape, this Brahma 

 " sweep " should be well seen, and is faithfully 

 depicted in the coloured illustration, which at 

 the same time should be massive enough for 

 anybody. 



The real Brahma tail is itself characteristic, 

 but only seen occasionally. It is sometimes 

 described as if the upper sickles diverged, but 



