COLOURS OF ENGLISH GAME FOWLS. 



357 



flesh and at the same time corky, or springy, and 

 warm, drawing his legs well underneath him. 

 He must be well balanced, and ' clever,' that is, 

 every part in due proportion, so that he sits 

 easily in the hand, not lumpy or helpless ; the 

 thumbs should not sink in between the wings 

 and the back, but be firm across ; there should 

 be very little fluff or underdown on him. His 

 weight should be about 5i lbs. or 6 lbs., larger 

 birds generally being coarse and dull, and 

 lacking that alertness and quickness so desirable 

 in this breed. 



'' The hen should, as far as her sex will allow, 

 possess all these points. Her head should be 

 small and tapering, comb small, straight, and 

 evenly serrated ; very thick, curved, and pointed 

 beak, large, bright, and full eye ; strong shanks, 

 the bone of fine texture, hard and evenly scaled, 

 and if spurred, and of the same colour as eye, 

 beak, and plumage, it is a sign of purity of race 

 and high breeding, flat clean feet, with long 

 tapering toes, wings very long and full, with 

 hard, strong quills, tail large and fan-shaped, 

 carried well up denoting strength and courage, 

 as a weak low tail indicates weakness and a 

 craven spirit. She should be wide in breast 

 and back, and taper nicely to the tail ; the im- 

 portance of the hen cannot be overrated in 

 producing Game cocks. 



" In colour of legs much latitude is allowed, 

 the rule in breeding being that the eye, beak, and 

 legs should match in colour. In Black-breasted 

 Reds, for instance, white, yellow, carp, etc., are 

 allowed to compete on an equal footing, each 

 breed having its admirers, and being equally 

 good and handsome. The white-legged ones 

 may have also grey or daw eyes, as not only 

 have some breeds (the Lord Derby's always 

 had them), but they match the legs and beak, 

 and the white under-plumage of these birds, 

 which also usually show a few feathers wholly 

 or partly white, in wings or tail, all in character 

 with it. 



" The colours in Black-breasted Light Reds 

 are much the same as in the modern Game, 

 except that in the Old English the colours are 

 richer and more brilliant, and may be darker, as 

 some little latitude is allowed. For the hens, 

 partridge colour is to be preferred to whcatens, 

 the latter being used to produce bright hackle 

 and saddle in the cocks, and if persisted in, also 

 producing mealy breasts, while those bred from 

 good partridge coloured hens produce sound 

 coloured cocks, though a trifle darker m colour. 



" Brown-breasted Reds may have clear brown 

 or robin breasts, or brown shaded or marked 

 with black ; the hackle and saddle are dark red 

 or dark orange, and the eyes and legs dark. The 



hens to match them should be a rich dark 

 mossy brown all over, or they may be black 

 with a tinsel hackle ; of course legs, eyes, and 

 beak to match the cock. 



" The Silver Duckwings are in colour the 

 same as the modern Silver Duckwing Game, or 

 the Silver-grey Dorking, and should be kept to 

 their own colour in breeding, and not crossed. 

 The Yellow Duckwing may also be bred from 

 Duckwings entirely, or can be produced by 

 crossing with Black-breasted Reds, which will 

 produce bright and rich coloured cocks, using 

 either a Duckwing cock with a Partridge hen 

 or a Black-breasted Red cock and Duckwing 

 grey hen, though nearly all the pullets bred 

 this way will show ruddy wings, which are fatal 

 in the show-pen. 



" Duns (or, as they are improperly called, 

 ' blues ') may also be crossed with Black or 

 Brown-breasted Red cocks ; the former with a 

 blue hen producing Dun-breasted Reds or 

 ' Blue Reds,' as fanciers are apt to call them, 

 and a Blue hen with gold hackle and a Robin- 

 breasted Red cock producing excellent ' Red 

 Duns.^ 



" Piles are much like the modern in colour, 

 but brighter. Some prefer the white-breasted 

 birds, but the streaky-breasted are also very 

 handsome. The colour is liable to become 

 lighter unless an occasional cross of the 

 Black-breasted Red is used. 



" Blacks and Whites should, of course, be 

 bred from pure self-coloured birds. 



" Spangles are very popular in the show-pen 

 at present. They may be bred from Spangles, 

 or as a cross with Black-breasted Reds, which 

 also produce very good Red Spangles. 



" The Black-breasted Black Red is a breed 

 that is considered one of the best and purest 

 strains, and one that should be revived if not 

 too late. The cock is a clear vivid dark red 

 free from spot or streak, on hackles, shoulders, 

 back and saddle feathers ; while his breast, belly, 

 tail, primary and secondary wing feathers, his 

 thighs, legs, beak, and eyes are jet black, and 

 his under-plumage black all over, also beneath 

 his hackle ; the hen to match him is a dark 

 partridge, brick breasted, with hackles red above, 

 and black beneath, and beak, eyes, and legs 

 black also. No breed was more celebrated 

 than this in the old days, and it is much 

 to be regretted if it is allowed to disappear 

 from amongst us. 



" The Henny is also another most useful 

 breed, being perhaps the best layer among Game 

 fowls, and certainly in the front rank for the 

 table. It is a very ancient breed of Game, and 

 perhaps has been kept more free from crossing 



