BREEDING BROWN-RED GAME. 



367 



pointed) lemon lacing. The shaft of every 

 feather black. The lacing should extend from 

 the throat to the junction of the thigh with the 

 body. The sheen, a most important point, must 

 be a brilliant green. In the hen the hackle 

 should be pure bright lemon, with the centre 

 and shaft of each feather black, the lemon colour 

 running well on to the top of the head. The 

 breast laced similarly to the cock's. The rest 

 of the body and tail black, with a brilliant green 

 sheen. 



" The chief faults to be avoided in Brown- 

 red cocks are long backs, bad eyes, thick necks, 

 and long feather. Cocks showing a darker 

 shade of colour on the wing-bow than on the 

 back should be carefully avoided. In hens the 

 most common faults are long backs, bad eyes, 

 soft feather, and coarse tails. Purple or bronze 

 sheen, or dull body colour, in either cocks or 

 hens, cannot be too strongly condemned. 



shade of colour than a show cock. The cock 

 must be very sound and glossy in his black, 

 especially in his thighs and belly, and must not 

 be overdone with lacing. His hackle also must 

 be perfectly even in colour from the top of his 

 head to the bottom of his neck. An exhibition 

 cock mated with very glossy-bodied hens, with 



Breast. Back. Saddle. 



Fig. 1 16.— Feathers of Brown-red Cock. 



Breeding 



BrownEed 



Game. 



"To produce exhibition cock.s, a perfectly 

 coloured cock should be mated with hens rather 

 short of breast lacing, or with hens that show a 

 lot of black in the hackle. A 

 capped hen (that is, a hen with the 

 feathers on the head black instead of 

 lemon) will also often produce good 

 cockerels, but not pullets, when mated with an 

 exhibition cock. Good cockerels may also_ be 

 had by mating hens with too much breast lacing, 

 or with lacing on the back and sides, with a 

 cock rather darker in colour than an exhibition 

 cock, but he mu.st also have very little lacing, 

 and be short and hard in feather. 



" Pullets for the show pen may be bred from 

 exhibition hens, and a cock of a rather darker 



hackles rather too dark for the show pen, will 

 also produce good pullets, and occasionally a 

 good cockerel. This therefore is some approach 

 to a single mating. 



" Of course many birds will be bred with 

 brownish bodies, bad eyes, crooked breasts, in- 

 knees, etc. These should be disposed of at once. 

 Avoid breeding from coarse sickled cocks, any 

 birds having flat shins, or possessing any other 

 deformity. Always choose cocks full of quality 

 and of a pure, sound, even colour, whether light 

 or dark in shade ; and never breed from a cock 

 having a pale washy-coloured back and a dark 

 wing bow. Above all things, never cross Brown- 

 reds with Birchens or Duckwings. Much has 

 been said about the beautiful Dure lemon colour 



