a94 



THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 



remember, at the first revived Bristol show of 

 1867, where the chief of these did their best, 

 how four pens (trios) shown by Messrs. Lane, 

 Parsley, Roue, and Jones, were taken out and 

 placed in adjoining pens, and placarded by the 

 judges as " the four best pens of Spanish ever 

 seen together." It was difficult to say which 

 was really the best of these. We have nevei 

 seen better faces since, very seldom even so good, 

 and certainly never four exhibits so good ; yet 

 at that time the breed was still a good layer. 

 There were besides those just named, the late 

 Mr. Rodbard, and Mr. Hyde, and one or two 

 others. So long as these breeders could ex- 

 change, and so get blood, the breed did not 

 suffer in spite of the faces. But the phalanx 

 died off or were dispersed ; and when the stock 

 got into a very few hands, at wide distances, so 

 that they could not conveniently exchange blood, 

 and these used more artificial heat and began to 

 trust more and more to " exhibition arts " instead 

 of breeding skill, constitution failed, and the 

 breed went down. Another cause of failure was 

 the breeding of too large combs, remarked upon 

 by the late Mr. Teebay in 1872. To keep these 

 straight one of the Bristol breeders invented the 

 comb-guard, which removed one check there 

 had been upon size of comb ; and such combs 

 entailed more or less sterility, as mentioned in 

 a previous chapter. From this cause also con- 

 stitution suffered ; until now we see what can 

 only be described as absolute poverty of blood 

 clearly shown by the most certain of all its 

 signs, a legginess and weediness of build which 

 are considerably greater than formerly, and 

 are by no means shown at their worst in the 

 illustration. 



Yet the late Mr. Teebay wrote in 1872 a most 

 interesting account of how he, a breeder and 

 successful exhibitor for more than twenty years, 

 had found Spanish a hardy breed. He hatched 

 them in April and May, put them out with the 

 hen, and never took them in after ; and as soon 

 as the birds were able to fly they perched in the 

 trees, right through the winter. They feathered 

 well, and grew well, and the cocks' combs kept 

 firm, and even stood frost far better than those 

 kept indoors. The old birds roosted in houses 

 built for single horses, with the doors wide open 

 except on very severe frosty nights. So kept, 

 they were not tender, moulted well, laid well, 

 and lasted well. Of course, young birds thus 

 kept required to be kept penned up in a rather 

 warm closed house before exhibition, and old 

 birds needed at least three weeks of this to 

 bleach the faces and soften the white ; but the 

 really good specimens readily responded to this 

 treatment, and Mr. Teebay exhibited in his day 



some of the best Spanish ever seen. He always 

 preferred to breed from two or three year old 

 hens rather than pullets, the chickens feathering 

 more quickly; and his general methods might 

 be found worthy of repetition by some breeder 

 desirous of removing the present reproach of 

 this fine old race of poultry. 



The Spanish cock should be tall on the leg, 

 though not so stilty as most of the present day. 

 The neck is long and gracefully arched, and the 

 head carried high, with breast pro- 

 Characteristics minent ; this proud carriage is apt 

 of to suffer from an overgrown comb, 



Spanish. which is, however, less seen now in 



Spanish than in Minorcas. The 

 shanks are slate colour or lead colour, but get 

 lighter in old birds — almost a pale lavender in 

 some cases. They are bred lighter now than some 

 years ago, owing, we believe, to the more arti- 

 ficial regimen already alluded to. The body 

 should narrow to the tail, somewhat like that 

 of a Game cock. The tail should be full but 

 not carried squirrel fashion. The plumage 

 all over a rich black, as lustrous as possible. 

 The chief points are, however, contained in 

 the head and face. The beak is large and of a 

 deep horn colour, and the head, as a whole, 

 large, being both long, broad, and very deep in 

 the side, with large eyes, v/hich should be free 

 and open in the midst of the face. The medium 

 single comb should be perfectly upright, firm, 

 and straight ; rather thin at the edge, but 

 thick at the base upon the broad skull ; fine 

 and smooth in surface, with a few broad serra- 

 tions, not many narrow ones ; and rising from 

 the beak between the nostrils. But the chief 

 feature of the bird is the white face. Both face 

 and ear-lobe should be pure white, and in 

 texture like the finest white kid ; smooth, or 

 free from ridges and folds, and leaving the eye 

 unobstructed. The white should reach well on 

 to the beak in front, rise over the eye close to 

 the base of the comb, and e.xtend well towards 

 the back of the head, the further over and behind 

 the ear the better, and sweeping in an unbroken 

 curve towards the back of the neck. The large 

 white ear-lobe should be long, open, and broad, 

 lying spread out flat or free from folds, and 

 not at all narrowing at the bottom, but keeping 

 up the width till rounded off; thence the line 

 comes up to join the wattles in front. These are 

 long, thin, and florid, the inside of their upper 

 parts and the skin of the throat between being 

 white. 



The hen is very similar in most points except 

 that her comb falls entirely over one side of the 

 face. The face itself is, of course, smaller than 

 in the cock, but of the same general character ; 



