PARTRIDGE WYANDOTTES. 



325 



b)- that name, ap[)ears to suit the neat and 

 close-feathered Wj'andotte type particularly 

 well. The following notes upon this variety are 

 contributed by Mr. John Wharton, of Honey- 

 cott Farm, Hawes, who was the first to 

 introduce it into this country : — 



"It was, I believe, in the year 1S94 that I 

 noticed in an American poultry journal a letter 

 by the late Mr. McKeen, stating that he was 

 working on the manufacture of Partridge 

 VVyandottes, and this letter was immediately 

 followed by one from Mr. Geo. H. Brackenbury, 

 stating that he too had been engaged in breed- 

 ing such a variety. These fanciers, it must be 

 remembered, had been working quite unknown 

 to each other, as their homes were some 

 thousand miles apart. Mr. McKeen had the 

 assistance of Mr. E. O. Theim, an able and 

 careful breeder, whilst Mr. Brackenbury had an 

 equally good helper in Mr. Cornell. On 

 noticing the above letters, I wrote Mr. McKeen 

 asking if he had any birds to spare. He replied 

 that he would be pleased to fill me a small 

 order in the autumn, when he thought he 

 could send me a good start ; but before autumn 

 came Mr. McKeen was removed by death — a 

 valuable worker in the fancy was gone. How- 

 ever, through the extreme kindness of Mr. 

 Theim, we were able to procure a cock 

 and two hens, and two cockerels with six 

 pullets, and these reached us safely early in 

 December, 1896. They immediately com- 

 menced laying, and from the very first sitting 

 we hatched the well-known hen ' Pippin,' which 

 has won forty-eight first prizes. 



" I never asked how they were originated, 

 but from what I have noticed in their breeding, 

 I should say Partridge Cochin blood laid the 

 foundation, whilst a judicious mixture of 

 Golden Wyandotte and Indian Game made up 

 the remainder. 



" Of course the birds we imported were not 

 perfect ; in fact, they were far from that standard, 

 which could be accounted for by more reasons 

 than one. They were a new breed ; and no new 

 breeds are expected to be perfection, or the 

 charm would be lost in taking them up. But a 

 greater reason than that made them look im- 

 perfect to British eyes, and that was their red or 

 mahogany ground-colour, the idea of their 

 originators being to get what we don't want, 

 viz. a foxy or red ground-colour [see on 

 American Partridge Cochins, page 256]. No 

 one regrets this difference of opinion over the 

 breed more than myself, as otherwise we could 

 year by year have improved our yards by 

 importation, and they would have reaped a good 

 harvest of dollars. As it was, a second importa- 



tion proved to us the folly of importing any 

 more from America, as English judges considered 

 them far too red in ground-colour and too dark 

 in hackle. 



" I ought here to mention that Mr. Petti- 

 pher, of Banbury, brought out a little later than 

 our importations another strain, of his own 

 home manufacture. In making this he strove, 

 and with much success, to improve the ground- 

 colour, and keep it of an English type. This 

 strain was said to be produced by the careful 

 blending of five different breeds. 



" Many have an idea that the breeding of 

 Partridge Wyandottes will be easy compared to 

 Silvers and Golds. To such I say, ' Try.' I will 

 give a little of my experience with the variety, 

 which may help those that who taking them up 

 to know how to breed, and what to breed for. 



" First we will take the cock. The beak 

 ought to be a bright yellow, though very few 

 are yet to be found that possess this point. 

 Next, the eye should be red, or at least bright 

 bay : a pearl eye is a great objection, and 

 very hereditary. The comb should be of that 

 true Wyandotte shape, termed a ' cradle comb,' 

 one that fits close to the head, and has the spike 

 following the arch of the neck. Colour of head 

 should be a rich orange, not red as we often see 

 them. The hackle should be full, and fall well 

 on to the back. The colour should be orange 

 or golden-red, each feather having an intense 

 black stripe down the centre, but not running 

 up the full length of feather, or this will give 

 the fault known as a smutty hackle, which is 

 very objectionable. The breast should be a 

 raven black right up to the throat ; no feather 

 should be tipped with red, neither should there 

 be any red visible even when the feathers are 

 separated. The black should also continue 

 over the thighs, between his legs, and right up 

 to the root of tail ; a bird that shows light or 

 grey behind is faulty. His back is required to 

 be a rich red, but a bright red, not too dark a 

 colour. The saddle hackle should harmonise 

 with the neck, and be equally as well striped. 

 The bar across wing should be as black as the 

 breast, free from red tipping. The secondaries 

 should be a rich bay on outer web, having a 

 solid rich appearance when closed. The tail 

 should be black right to the roots ; many birds 

 have white in tail. Legs, as in all Wyandottes, 

 are required a rich yellow all round, not red up 

 the side or smutty in front, with toes well spread 

 and free from any sign of ' duck foot.' 



" 1 o mate for the above we should require a 

 male as near like it as possible. To him we 

 would mate large hens or pullets, because with- 

 out large females we cannot get large cockerel.s. 



