BUFF LACED AND VIOLETTES. 



choicer sample from the artistic point of view. 

 Let it be understood that this refers to colour 

 taken by itself, and other things being equal ; 

 and it is not to be supposed that a bright bird 

 with faulty lacing is to be preferred to a dark 

 well-laced one. Colour is only one of the points, 

 and the judge who goes for one point to the 

 exclusion of others of equal importance, is termed 

 a faddist. 



"In mating up the breeding pen, all the 

 remarks made above on the Silvers in regard to 

 lacing, should be followed in the Golds. As to 

 colour, there is however a little difference. White 

 is white always, and we cannot choose degrees in 

 it for breeding; but in breeding Golds, it is 

 better to err a little on the dark side. I have 

 always noticed that pullets are inclined to be 

 lighter in ground colour than their parents; so 

 in the pullet-breeding pen one should go for 

 plenty of ground-colour. The cockerels, on the 

 other hand, come better and brighter from 

 parents of the correct standard shade." 



From the same fountain-head of the original 



Black-Laced Wyandottes, have proceeded yet two 



other varieties of singular beauty, known as Buff 



Laced and Blue Laced, or Violettes, 



Buff Laced which are closely allied, and in the 



and main of the same parentage. The 



Bine Laced. y^fl- Laced resembles in colour the 



variety formerly known as Chamois 



Polish, the ground-colour being some shade of 



rich buff, laced with white instead of black ; 



the Blue! Laced has a similar ground-colour, with 



a lacing of blue-dun or Andalusian colour. 



Both these varieties originated in America, 

 Mr. Ira C. Keller appearing to have been first in 

 the field. He commenced in i8S6 to cross 

 Golden Wyandottes with Whites, producing 

 birds whose lacing was violet-blue ; these violet- 

 laced birds threw a certain number with white 

 lacing, and from these were derived his Buff 

 Laced breed, first shown at New York in 

 1895, and some of which were sent over to 

 the Rev. John Crombleholme, in 1897. Mr. 

 Keller aimed at a golden or golden-buff ground- 

 colour. 



Quite another strain was originated by Mr. 

 Brackenbury, from entirely different materials. 

 He mated a Golden cock with a hen of solid 

 blue or Andalusian colour, produced from two 

 generations of Golds on the male side, and of 

 blue on the female side. She produced a pair of 

 Golds with blue lacing, of which the female died, 

 and the male was bred to Golden females, pro- 

 ducing again blue-laced Golds. Meantime Mr. 

 Brackenbury had got from a cockerel bred from 

 Golden Wyandotte and Buff Cochin, and pullets 



bred from White Wyandotte and Buff Cochins, 

 a " sport " with Buff Laced plumage ; and this 

 bird was mated with some of the blue-laced 

 females above mentioned. The cockerels from 

 this mating all came black-laced ; the pullets 

 partly blue-laced and partly white-laced. One 

 of the best bluc-\z.cQdi. pullets was mated to a 

 blue-laced male, and three-quarters of her 

 chickens came creamy white with buff heads, 

 and ultimately moulted out Buff Laced. The 

 same bright-blue-laced pullet was afterwards 

 bred to a Buff Laced (i.e. a white-laced) bird, and 

 all of her pullets and three-fourths of the 

 cockerels came white in the lacing, or of the 

 Buff Laced variety. 



Other American breeders, like Mr. Charles 

 Pond, have also originated Buff Laced Wyan- 

 dottes by crossing Golden with White, Violettes 

 always appearing in the process. Probably from 

 these crosses of unallied blood, all breeders, 

 without exception, have reported them as re- 

 markable for hardiness and great laying powers, 

 ranking with the Whites in that respect. 



The Rev. J. Crombleholme's notes on these 

 varieties were as follows; — 



" Opinions differ, but in mine the Buff Laced 

 Wyandotte is the prettiest of all the varieties. 

 What should be the colour and what should be 

 the markings of a Buff Lace .•' For a perfect 

 hen, imagine a real rich buff with every feather 

 laced all round with pure white lacings; and a 

 perfectly coloured buft' cock, with white lacings 

 and stripes, would be a standard Buff Laced cock. 

 Or put it another way, comparing the Buff 

 Laces and Golds. Wherever the Gold is bay, 

 the Buff Laced is buff, and wherever the Gold 

 has black lacing, or striping, or fluff, the Buff 

 Lace is, or should be, white. You simply substi- 

 tute buff for bay, and white for black. 



"In breeding Buff Laces, the great difficulty is 

 to steer clear of the blue and black feathers, which 

 continually appear where the feather should be 

 pure white. They were probably made originally 

 from Golds and Whites crossed. Whilst 

 judging a show in Holland, I came across a 

 cockerel and a pullet which the owner declaied 

 to be a cross between a Gold and a White. They 

 were very fair specimens of Buff Laces, without 

 a trace of black about them, but I fear if the 

 owner breeds again from these birds the old Gold 

 blood will reassert itself, and many blue and 

 black feathers will be found in hackle and tail. 

 I know some English breeders also who have 

 made this cross, with a certain amount of success, 

 but Buff Laces require time and skill to breed. 

 One thing is certain, that in their composition 

 no alien blood has been introduced. They are 

 Wyandottes, made from Wyandottes. We never 



