SUMATJiAS. 



5°i 



GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS 



Head. — Skull : Short and fine. Beak : Strong 

 and well curved. Eyes : Large and bright. Comb : 

 Single, of moderate size, ex'ect, following the contour 

 of the skull, and evenly serrated. Face : Of fine 

 texture, and smooth. Ear-lobes : Almond shape. 

 Wattles : Medium length, well rounded at base. 



Neck. — Of medium length, finely tapered, and 

 furnished with long hackle flowing well on to the 

 shoulders. 



Body. — Long, and tapering to the tail. Breast : 

 Broad and full, and carried upward. Back : Broad 

 and short. ]Viiigs : Of medium length, carried well 

 up, the bows and tips covered by the neck-hackle 

 and saddle feathers. 



Tail. — Full, the sickle feathers long and carried 

 at an angle of 45 degrees. 



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

 shanks free from feathers. Toes : Four on each 

 loot, strong, and well spread. 



Carriage. — Sprightly. 



Weight.— 6 lb. 



HEN 



The general characteristics of the hen are similar 

 to those of the cock, allowing for the natural sexual 

 differences. (Note. — The comb is carried erect, and 

 not drooping.) 



Weight.— 4i lb. 



COLOUR 



Beak : Dark horn. Eyes : Red or bright chest- 

 nut. Comb, Face, and Wattles : Bright red. Ear- 

 lobes : White. Legs and Feet : Blue slate. 



Plumage. — Black and white. Hackle (and in the 

 cock the saddle hackle) and Tail : Solid black, free 

 from stripes or spots. Remainder of Plumage : 

 Pure white. 



SCALE OP POINTS 



45 



Colour 

 Size .J, 

 Head 

 Type . . 

 Condition 

 Legs and feet 



Serious defects : Comb other than single ; feathers 

 on shanks ; wry tails ; any other deformity. 



In the first edition of this work brief 

 reference was made to this breed, as still kept 

 and valued for its exceeding beauty in the 



United States, and possibly worth 

 Sumatras. introducing to this country. As 



already indicated (p. 340), we have 

 seen similar birds between the years 1870 and 

 1S77 under the name of Pheasant Malays, and 

 believe them to have been at that time used 

 for crossing with the Cornish Indian Game ; 

 but they appear then to have quite disappeared, 

 and not to have been known since, until Mr. 

 Frederic R. Eaton, of Cleveland House, 



Eaton, Norwich, imported in igo2 some speci- 

 mens which had won at the 1901 Pan-American 

 E.xposition, and another pen the following 

 year. From these importations the stock has 

 already spread considerably, and a Club has 

 been formed to promote the interests of the 

 breed. Mr. Eaton, formerly honorary secretary 

 of the Club, has kindly furnished the follow- 

 ing notes, the accompanying illustration being 

 also drawn from some of his birds: — 



" The earliest mention of the breed that I 

 have been able to find is in Miners Domestic 

 Poultry Book, published in America in the 

 year 1S53. They are described by Miner as of 

 indomitable perseverance and courage, and 

 noted for a beautiful green metallic lustre 

 upon their plumage. He further gives notes 

 by Dr. John C. Bennett, who stated that a trio 

 of birds (probably the first specimens) were im- 

 ported to Boston direct from Angers Point, 

 Sumatra, in April, 1847, by Mr. J. A. C. 

 Butters. Dr. Bennett describes the birds then 

 as having a small head, powerful beak, eyes 

 lustrous, quick, and fiery, a pea-comb (though 

 single combs sometimes appeared), small 

 wattles with a very small dew-lap, hackles long 

 and brilliant, tail long and drooping or 

 horizontal (in the case of the cock with abund- 

 ant ' plume '-feathers sweeping the ground ; 

 fan-shaped in the case of the hen), body slim 

 and very symmetrical, legs sinewy, with a 

 powerful and muscular thigh ; colour of 

 plumage variable, though he himself preferred 

 black. The fowl was not known in England 

 at this date. 



"As to breeding, Black Sumatras are not 

 of large size, but it would appear that the birds 

 do not now equal in size those of years ago. 

 This, however, can no doubt soon be remedied 

 by care and selection, but we must be careful 

 not to obtain size at the expense of type. Both 

 male and females in the breeding pen should, 

 as far as possible, be perfect in this respect. 

 The cock should have very long and flowing 

 tail and hackles, while if the tail feathers of 

 the hens are very long and nicely curved, all 

 the better. With regard to the head-points of 

 most cocks there is room for great improve- 

 ment, and care should be taken that not only 

 does each of the hens have a strong beak, red 

 eyes, neat comb and gipsy face, but that the 

 cock has these points as far as possible also, 

 though up to the present I have never seen a 

 cock with the true gipsy face, and have been 

 informed that this has not yet been obtained 

 even in America. 



" The colour of the plumage being a rich 

 beetle green, as in Black Hamburghs (though 



