4>ii 



THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 



and a very good fattener. The flesh is excellent 

 in quality, but the birds, by reason of their 

 weight of bone, are not very rapid growers, and 

 I do not think they are equal to the best French 

 and English so far as flesh properties are con- 

 cerned. From such evidence as can be obtained, 

 it would appear that this breed owes its origin 

 to the Brahma engrafted upon the common 

 fowl of the country, though such a statement 

 scarcely affords an explanation as to the origin 

 of the cuckoo plumage, and it is probable that 

 some other influence has been at work in this 

 direction. As cuckoo plumage is practically 

 a mixture of black and white, frequently ap- 

 pearing in other breeds, it may be that the re- 

 sult was accidental in the first place, and the 

 fixing of the t\'pe due to careful selection. The 

 breed is well suited to the district in which it is 

 kept, and meets that demand for large birds 

 w-ith good flesh qualities which is found in 

 nearly all countries. My experience has been 

 that the Coucou de Malines does very well in 

 other places. I have had specimens over some 

 time, and they have succeeded very satis- 

 factorily. 



The Poultry Club Standard for JMalines is 

 as follows: — 



GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS 



COCK 



Head. — Skull : Strong, but not thick. Beak : 

 Strong and stout, and of medium length. Eyes : 

 Full and inteUigent. Comb : Single, of medium size, 

 straight and upright, with about five serrations. 

 Face : Smooth. Ear-lobes : Rather long. Wattles : 

 Of medium length. 



Neck. — Strong, not too short, rather thick, and 

 profusely covered with rather short hackly feathers. 



Body. — Breast : Deep and broad. Back : Long, 

 broad, and fiat, carried horizontally and not sloping. 

 Wings : Rather short and well tucked up. 



TeuI. — Short, and carried half horizontally. 



Legs and Feet. — Legs : Fairly long, strong, the 

 shanks and feet feathered to the outer toe, but 

 not heavily feathered. Toes : Four on each foot, 

 fairly long, strong, straight, and well spread. 



Carriage. — Upright, but not with a sloping back. 



Weight. — 9 lb. to lo lb. 



HEX 



Except that the Legs are rather short, the general 

 characteristics of the hen are similar to those of 

 the cock, allowing for the natural sexual differences. 



Weight.— 7 lb. to S lb. 



COLOUR 



THE CUCKOO 



Beak : White or horn. Eyes : Red or bright 

 orange. Comb, Face, Wattles, and Ear-lobes : Red. 

 Legs and Feet : \Miite. 



Plumage. — Blue-white ground, each feather barred 

 across with bands of blue-black, the blue reflection 

 disappearing the second year. 



OTHER VARIETIES 



Among other varieties recognised are Black, 

 Ermine, Gilded Black, Gilded Cuckoo, Silvered 

 Black, and WTiite, and the " Turkey-headed " 

 (triple comb) in all colours ; but they are not ex- 

 hibited in sufficient numbers in this country to 

 warrant description. 



SCALE OF POINTS 

 T>-pe . . 



Size and weight 

 Colour and marking 

 Carriage 



Breast and back 

 Comb, ear-lobes, and wattles 

 Beak and neck 

 Legs and feet 



Serious defects : Lack of size and weight ; back 

 sloping or not flat ; squirrel tail ; overhanging 

 comb ; white ear-lobes ; jellow egs ; bronze 

 feathers. 



" The breed known as the Bruges fowl is 

 frequently called the Combattant du Xord, and 

 it is met with to a moderate extent in Belgium 



and the French-speaking districts 

 Bruges. of Flanders. It is in appearance 



distinctly of the Game type, and 

 in some cases it is used for fighting purposes. 

 The appearance, however, is more like the 

 Indian Game or the Malay, in that it is much 

 heavier in build than the majority of our Game 

 fowls. The comb is single and very small, 

 the colour being deep red, as is that of the 

 wattles and earlobes ; the tail is horizontal, 

 the legs and feet are lead colour. In size, car- 

 riage, shape, and comb, the breed distinctly 

 follows the Malay, whilst by its activity, the 

 colour of the plumage, and general instincts, it 

 is more nearly allied to the English Game. It 

 is a very hardy breed, easily reared ; it is a 

 poor layer and uncertain as a sitter. Like 

 most of the Game fowls, the rapidity of growth 

 and quality of flesh are striking!}' in its favour, 

 and the breed is used to a considerable extent 

 for table purposes. 



ARDENNES 

 The southern sections of Belgium, that is 

 the Ardenne region, which consists of a high 

 hilly country, has a breed known under this 

 name, light in bod\-, very active and hardy, 

 and thus able to meet the conditions there pre- 

 vailing, which require a bird well able to find 

 a large part of its nutrition. They are gamey 

 in appearance, flat in front, have large wings 

 and full tail. The legs are of medium length, 

 blue-grey in colour, and with five toes on each 



