THE MODERN DARK DORKING. 



377 



we pointed out at the time, it was breeding the 

 birds nearly black that did the mischief, such 

 body colour always tending to sooty feet in 

 every race of poultry. The dark colour had 

 been liked, as looking larger in the pen, and 

 had been fashionable, and had brought dark 

 feet with it, as such colour always will. But 

 the fault caused some reaction ; and when such 

 very dark birds no longer ruled, the dark feet 

 soon disappeared. 



The Dark or, as it was formerly called, 

 the Coloured Dorking until quite recent years 

 well maintained its position as an exhibition 

 fowl, and still, with the other colours, yields 

 to none in its splendid utility 

 The qualities. For the time it has been 



Modem elbowed aside by newer varieties, 



Dorking. some of which owe not a little to 



the Dorking themselves ; but, in 

 common with all who remember the splendid 

 classes of Dorkings in the past at our classic 

 shows, we trust that they may yet enjoy their 

 own again. 



The following notes on Dark Dorkings are 

 contributed by Mr. M. F. Smyth, The Lodge, 

 Coleraine, Ireland, who has probably bred 

 them longer than any other exhibitor of the pre- 

 sent day ; — " Dorkings are not a breed of fowls 

 suited for dwellers in towns, or for small runs, 

 •t is true ; but that they can only be kept satis- 

 factorily on very dry soils is quite a fallacy. 

 The soil here is a heavy clay, and lies low, 

 and our climate in the north of Ireland is one 

 of the wettest in the three kingdoms ; yet I 

 have bred Dorkings on it for over thirty years 

 with very considerable success. 



" One of the great advantages of the Dark 

 Dorking is that it needs so little preparation for 

 exhibition: merely to have it well accustomed 

 to being penned, to wash its legs and feet 

 thoroughly with soap and water, giving the 

 comb and wattles a rub over with a damp 

 sponge before sending it off to a show. The 

 Dark Dorking has also ' the pull ' over its 

 lighter coloured brethren (Silvers or Whites) in 

 not requiring much shading from the sun, nor 

 can its legs lose their colour on any soil, as is, 

 I believe, often the case with some of the now 

 fashionable yellow-legged breeds. What, how- 

 ever, tends more than anything else to make it 

 so largely kept, is that a very wide range of 

 colour of plumage is now allowed, and birds 

 have not to be bred to a particular shade or 

 marking of feathers, as in so many other breeds. 



" That the Dark Dorking of to-day has 

 changed its colour considerably from forty or 

 fifty years ago is undoubted ; and that no 

 alien blood has ever been introduced, save 



the one dark Indian-bred cock mentioned by 

 the late Mr. John Douglas, I do not for a 

 moment believe. <The Dark Brahma, once all 

 the rage, was probably an outcross formerly 

 at times employed, as evinced in the 

 feathered legs and buff-tinted eggs, which I 

 am glad to say are now much less seen than 

 formerly. Of late years I cannot help think- 

 ing that the Indian Game, and possibly the 

 Langshan, may be accountable for the coarser 

 appearance, and still more for the erect car- 

 riage, sloping back, and the general want of 

 roundness of breast, as well as for what I 

 should myself describe as a want of quality. 

 When first I began exhibiting Dark Dorkings 

 it was only the very dark-feathered birds that 

 mostly caught the judge's eye ; but now a much 

 lighter colour of plumage, especially in the 

 cocks, is not only recognised, but by some pre- 

 ferred, this change to a lighter shade being 

 accompanied by whiter feet. 



" The Dorking being essentially a table 

 fowl, size is naturally of much importance. 

 The old-fashioned Dorking was a short-legged, 

 compact, and active bird, and many of the 

 old breeders, like myself, think that in the 

 desire to get size, a coarser and less typical 

 bird has been produced, which just now finds 

 favour with many judges. In Dark, as in all 

 the other colours of Dorkings, the shape and 

 colour of the feet are most important, and the 

 legs, feet and toe-nails should be quite white. 

 The feet of a Dorking should be large, well 

 spread, and the toes perfectly straight, a 

 crooked middle toe being a by no means un- 

 common failing. The fourth and fifth toes 

 should stand out separately from the leg, the 

 former pointing slightly downwards, with the 

 fifth toe turning up towards the leg. I like 

 to see the fifth toe thin and hard, as coarse 

 drooping fifth toes are not only most un- 

 sightly, but are apt to strike against each 

 other when the bird is walking. The fifth 

 toe of the Dorking is in my opinion an 

 abnormal point, and is in consequence often 

 malformed. In some instances there is a 

 more or less distinct sixth toe, while in 

 others the fifth toe is entirely wanting, either 

 of which should certainly disqualify a bird, 

 no matter how good it may be in other 

 points. Another peculiarity also, I believe, 

 arising from the extra or fifth toe, is a double 

 toe-nail. These double nails are confined en- 

 tirely to the upper toes, sometimes on one 

 foot only. Often the double nail is a mere 

 split or division in the nail, but in any form 

 I greatly dislike it, as being not only most 

 hereditary, but likely to lead to all sorts of 



