44S 



THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 



This being so, the question arises whether such 

 thinning should not be legalised, in the same 

 way as trimming Spanish faces. It should, we 

 think, be one thing or the other. The fact is, 

 and it ought to be known, that the judges — 

 and one now deceased judge in particular, who 

 persistently encouraged combs that could not 

 be honest, while he deliberately winked at the 

 methods by which they were " made " — ha\e 

 been mainly responsible for the present state 

 of things. Comb-trimming, at least, is not at 

 all difficult of detection ; and its bare-faced 

 toleration has done more to deter the genuine 

 amateurs from attempting to exhibit Ham- 

 burghs than anything else. 



The Standards of the Poultry Club for 

 Hamburghs and Redcaps are as follow: — 



HAMBURGHS 



GENERAL CHAR.\CTERISTICS 



COCK 



Head. — Skull : Fine. Beak : Short. Eyes : Full. 

 Comb : Rose, firmly and evenly set on the head, 

 square fronted, gradually tapering towards the back 

 and narrowing into a long, finely-ended spike or 

 leader pointing in a straight line with the surface of 

 the comb, and without any downward tendency, the 

 top level and covered wdth small coral-like points of 

 even height, and free from hollows. Face : Smooth, 

 free from coarse skin and stubby hairs. Ear-lobes : 

 Smooth, round, and thick, varying in size according 

 to sex and variety. Wattles : Smooth, round, and thin. 



Neck. — Of inedium length, and covered with full 

 and long hackle feathers coming well over the 

 shoulders. 



Body. — Of medium length, wedge shaped, fairly 

 full at the shoulders and narrowing to the root of 

 the tail ; well rounded breast, and large and neatly 

 tucked wings. 



Tail. — Long and sweeping, carried well up but 

 avoiding " squirrel " carriage, the sicldes and second- 

 aries broad and plentiful. 



Legs and Feet. — Legs : Of medium length, the 

 thighs slender and the shanks fine and round. Toes : 

 Four on each foot, slender, and well spread. 



Carriage. — Graceful. 



Weight. — Pencilled, about j lb. ; other varieties, 

 heavier. 



Plumage. — Very profuse. 



HEN 



The general characteristics of the hen are similar 

 to those of the cock, allowing for the natural se.xual 

 differences. 



Weight. — Pencilled, about 4 lb. ; other varieties, 

 heavier. 



COLOUR 



THE BL.\CK 



Beak : Black or horn. Eyes, Comb, Face, and 

 Wattles : Red. Ear-lobes : White. Legs and Feet : 

 Black. 



Plumage. — .\ rich black, wdth a distinct green 

 sheen from head to tail, and especially on the sickle 

 feathers and tail-coverts, any approach to bronze 

 or purple tinge or barring to be avoided. 



THE GOLD PENCILLED 



Beak : Horn. Eyes, Comb, Face, and Wattles : 

 Red. Ear-lobes : White. Legs : Lead blue. 



Plumage of the Cock. — A bright red bay or bright 

 golden chestnut, except the Tail, which is black, 

 the Sickle feathers and Coverts being laced all round 

 with a narrow strip of gold. 



Plumage of the Hen. — The ground colour similar 

 to the general colour of the cock, and except on the 

 hackle (which should be clear of all marking, if 

 possible), each feather distinctly and evenly pencilled 

 straight across wdth fine parallel lines of a rich green 

 black, the pencilling and the intervening colour to 

 be the same wddth, and the finer and the more 

 numerous on each feather the better. 



THE SILVER PENCILLED 



Except that the ground colour, and in the cock 

 the tail lacings, are silver, this variety is similar to 

 the former. 



THE GOLD SP.\NGLED 



Beak, Eyes, Comb, Face, Wattles, Ear-lobes, 

 Legs, and Feet : As in the Pencilled varieties. 



Plumage of the Cock. — Ground colour rich bright 

 bay or mahogany ; stidping, spangUng, tipping, and 

 tail rich green black. Hackles and Back : Each 

 feather striped down the centre. Wings : Bows, 

 dagger-shaped tips at the end of each feather ; 

 bars (two), rows of large spangles, running parallel 

 across each wdng with a gentle curve, each bar 

 distinct and separate ; secondaries tipped wdth 

 large round spangles, forming the " steppings." 

 Breast and Under-parts : Each feather tipped with 

 a round spot or spangle, small near the throat and 

 incixasing in size towards the thighs, but never so 

 large as to overlap. 



Plumage of the Hen. — The ground colour and 

 spangling are similar to those of the cock. Hackle, 

 Wing-bars, and " Steppings " : As in the cock. 

 Tail-coverts : Biack, wth a sharp lacing or edging 

 of gold on each feather. Remainder of Plumage : 

 Each feather tipped \\dth a spangle, as round as 

 possible, and never so large as to overlap, the 

 tpangling commencing high up the throat. 



THE SILVER SP.^NGLED 



Beak, Eyes, Comb, Face, Wattles, Ear-lobes, 

 Legs, and Feet : As in the Pencilled varieties. 



Plumage of the Cock. — Ground colour, pure silver ; 

 spangling and tipping rich green black. Hackles, 

 Shoulders, and Back : Each feather marked with 

 small, dagger-like tips. Wings : Bows, dagger- 

 shaped tips, increasing in size until they merge 

 into what is known as the third bar ; bars (two) 

 and secondaries, also Breast and Under-parts simi- 

 larly marked to those of the Gold Spangled variety. 

 Tail : Ending with bold half-moon shaped spangles ; 

 sickles, with large round spangles at the end of 

 each feather ; coverts, similar, though spangles not 

 so big. 



