SSo 



THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 



dental sports. Various specimens of these have 

 been found from time to time, and have been 

 bred from, but have hitherto failed to produce 

 any crested progeny. The experiment has been 

 tried both by Mr. Simpson in America and 

 by Mr. Tegetmeier in this country, but both 

 gentlemen failed to produce even a trace of a 

 crest. The crest, therefore, remains as an 

 accidental " sport," and nothing more ; though 

 Temminck states that Maaame Backer had a 

 whole flock of crested turkeys in her aviary 

 at the Hague. 



Nearly all good shows have classes for tur- 

 keys ; but where there is only one for each sex, 

 it is almost useless to exhibit anything but the 

 Bronze, though now and then we have seen a 

 fine White come in for second or third prize. 

 They used to be judged mainly by weight at 

 Birmingham ; but that is a thing of the past. 

 The real or apparent size is, of course, of 

 great importance, but mere excessive weight is 

 not now encouraged, as it spoils the bird for 

 breeding. Below is the standard of the Poultry 

 Club for these birds. 



GENERAIv CHARACTERISTICS 



Head. • — Long and broad, and carunculated 

 (covered with fleshy protuberances). Beak : Strong, 

 curved, well set in the head. Eyes : Full. Throat 

 Wattle : Large and pendent. 



Neck. — Long, curving backward toward the tail, 

 the top and most of the front carunculated. 



Body. — Long, deep through the centre, and well 

 rounded. Breast : Broad and full ; the cock's 

 beard long, bristling, and prominent. Back : Some- 

 what curving, rising from the neck to the centre 

 and descending in a graceful curve to the tail. Wings : 

 Large and powerful, carried well up and closely to 

 the sides. 



Tail. — Long and drooping, the end almost touch- 

 ing the ground. 



Legs and Feet. — Legs : Long, stout, and strong. 

 Toes : Straight and strong. 



Weight. — Black cock, 27 lb. ; hen. 18 lb. Bronze 

 cock, 36 lb. ; hen, 20 lb. White cock, 26 lb. ; hen, 

 16 lb. 



Carriage. — Stately' and upright. 



Plumage. — Hard and glossy. 



COLOUR 



THE BL.iVCK 



Beak : Dark horn or slate black. Eyes : Dark 

 hazel. Head (including Face, Jaius, Throat Wattle, 

 and Caruncles) : Brilhant red, changeable to blue- 

 white. Legs and Feet : Dark lead or slate black. 



Plumage. — Lustrous black. 



THE BROKZE 



Beak : Light horn at the tip and dark at the 

 base. Eyes and Head : As in the Black. Legs and 

 Feet : Black, approaching brown in young birds, 

 of a pink hue or flesh in adults. 



Plumage of the Cock. — Neck : Light brilliant 

 bronze. Beard : Black. Back : Light brilhant 



bronze, each feather terminating in a narrow black 

 band extending across the end. Breast : Dark 

 brilhant bronze. Body : Black, shaded with bronze, 

 but not so brilliant as that of the breast. Wings : 

 Bows, black, with a brilhant bronze or green lustre ; 

 coverts, rich bronze, the feathers terminating in a 

 wide black band, and forming a broad bronze band 

 across the wings when folded, and separated from 

 the primaries by a glossy black ribbon-like mark, 

 formed by the ends of the coverts ; primaries, 

 black or dark brown, pencilled across with bars of 

 white or gre}^ the more evenly and regularly the 

 better ; secondaries, similar to the primaries, the 

 colours clianging to a bronze brown as the middle 

 of the back is approached, but with httle admixture 

 of white ; an edging of white or brown on the 

 primaries or secondaries is verj^ objectionable. Tail : 

 Dull black, each feather regularly pencilled with 

 narrow bands of brown, ending in a broad black 

 band with a wide edging of dull white or grey, the 

 coverts dull black or dark brown, each feather 

 regularly pencilled with narrow bands of brown, 

 ending in a wide black and bronze band extending 

 across the feather, with a wide edging of white or 

 grey. 



(Note: The more distinct the colours throughout 

 the whole plumage, the better.) 



Plumage of the Hen. — Similar to that of the cock 

 (but not so brilhant nor so clearly defined) except 

 an edging of white on the feathers of the back, 

 breast, bod)^ and wing-bows, the edging to be 

 narrow in front and gradually widen as it ap- 

 proaches the rear. 



THE white 



Beak : Pink or flesh. Eyes and Head : As in 

 the Black. Legs and Feet : White or pink-white. 



Plumage. — Pure white ; cock's beard, deep black. 



SCALE OF POINTS 



Type . . 



Colour 



Weight 



Head and wattle 



Legs and feet 



Condition 



30 



Serious defects : Wry tail ; crooked breast-bone ; 

 any deformity. In the Black : feathers of any other 

 colour ; cocks weighing less than 20 lb., and hens 

 less than 12 lb. In the Bronze : white feathers in 

 any part ; wings clear black or brown, or minus 

 wMte or grey bars more than one-Iialf the length 

 of the primaries ; back, tail or tail coverts clear 

 black, brown, or grey ; cocks weighing less than 

 30 lb., and hens less than 18 lb. In the White : 

 feathers of any other colour ; legs other than white 

 or pink-wliite ; cocks weighing less than 20 lb., 

 and hens less than 12 lb. 



THE GUINEA FOWL. 

 Under the general head of Guinea fowls, or 

 the genus Ntunida, naturalists have grouped 

 many wild varieties ; but the fact that all be- 

 long to some part of Africa, makes a common 



