390 



JOUKNAL OF HORTIcaLTDRB AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



[ October 29, 1874. 



Fig. 112. 



The first specimens I saw, and were really what the Brahma 

 onght to be. They had exactly the form and characteristics of 

 the best made Cochiu-China, but more developed, because the 

 size was larger. The back of the cook was perfectly horizontal ; 

 the shoulders large; the hind part formed by an enormous ex- 

 pansion of feathers on the abdomen, and the thigh feathers were 

 extremely large. The tail very short ; the leg 

 Bhort and strong, nearlj' entirely hidden under 

 the thigh feathers. The shank very large and 

 short, hidden under a thick mass of feathers 

 extending far on the toes ; the head and neck 

 small for so large a bird. 



The colour of the plumage is not less cha- 

 racteristic. Each feather of the hackle (cock) 

 should be marked with a lengthened black 

 mark, and there is a like one on the back, 

 shoulders, and lance-shaped feathers {fig. 112). 

 Feathers marked with a prey pattern, very 

 like those of the Cuckoo Cochin-China, are 

 at the side Of the breast, near the shoulders, 

 little sickles, the back part of the thighs, and 

 the feathers of the feet. The feathers of the 

 abdomen and sides are grey mixed with white. 

 The breast is white, and the wing-coverts are 

 marked with black, and the middle and large 

 sickles are of a green bronzed coloiir; and the 

 down beneath the whole plumage is entirely 

 grey. 



The form of the hen is like that of the finest 

 Cochin-China. She is low, large, compact; 

 her legs are strong, short-feathered, and hid- 

 den under the thigh feathers. Her plumage 

 is still more characteristic than that of the 

 cock, being very like that of the Partridge 

 Cochin; and I have seen and possessed birds 

 whose plumage was exactly similar, the colour only excepted, 

 so that one might reasonably have called one the Brown Par- 

 tridge Cochin and the other the Grey Partridge Cochin. To 

 this last is given the name of Partridge Brahma, hut most of 

 the variety are white at the breast, on the back, and wings. The 

 pattern of the feathers mentioned does not show on the sides of 

 the breast, the shoulders, the tail-covering, the thighs, and the 

 legs. The flight feathers and the tail are black, and those of 

 the hackle are regularly marked with black, as mentioned in 

 describing the cook. The abdomen is strongly mixed with grey, 

 and the same colour is more visible than in the cock across the 

 white part of the plumage. The comb should be straight and 

 single for the cock as well as the hen. With the cock the hackle, 

 back, shoulders, and lance-shaped feathers should not be yellow, 

 as this is often the case with inferior birds, and hardly the 

 slightest tinge of yellow is admissible. 



They have made by a cross between the Black Cochin and 

 Brahma a variety they call the Inverted Brahma. The body is 

 entirely black, and the hackle, like that of the ordinary Brahma, 

 appears very clearly on the deep ground of the plumage. The 

 head of the true Brahma should, both in the cock and hen, have 

 a plumage entirely white, only marked with black on the hackle 

 at the end of the wings and tail. Amateurs have made them as 

 much like as they could to the White Cochin and White Malay, 

 &c. The comb is generally double (Malay), the back at an angle 

 of 45° instead of being horizontal. The hind part is scanty. 

 The leg is long, the feathers flowing, and entirely divided from 

 the thigh feathers. The leg is long and without feathers. 



This variety, which I believe is no other than a variety of 

 Cochin-China or Shanghai, is perhaps the best of the different 

 varieties. They lay longer (from forty to sixty eggs). The flesh 

 is good, and the hen above all in the quality of acquiring weight 

 is Buperiorto that of other Cochins. The chickens are extremely 

 home-loving, and not at all impatient of confinement. As to 

 the name of Brahma Pootra, it is that of a river in India. 



M. Jacque recommends a Brahma cook to be paired with 

 Houdan and Creve-Ooeur hens. 



Stuart insist on calling a perfectly-marked Mealy a mismarked 

 Pouter? He may call it an off-coloured bird if he chooses, but 

 the markings are as perfect as the best standard-coloured bird 

 ever seen. IBesides, the mealy colour, I beg to submit, is of afar 

 more delicate and superior colour to many of the slaty Blues, 

 pale chequery Reds, milky Yellows, and sooty Blacks seen too 

 frequently at our exhibitions, and in too many of our model 

 lofts. 



I think it is quite plain to all fanciers except those that winna 

 see, that mismarked birds are those of the standard markings, 

 such as ring necks, solid breasts, gay and snip, or blaze on the 

 face. These have a class for themselves among their own re- 

 spective colours; why, then, put them among the "Any other 

 colour or marking class ? " This class is intended for the Mealy, 

 Sandy, Chequer, and Splash. Mr. Robert Fulton, who knows 

 the Pouter well, says that the great drawback to the Mealies is 

 their low price. 



This, I say, is the very reason that they are to be found in the 

 lofts of young fanciers, and in those of the working men. 

 And what has the working man not done for the Pigeon fancy ? 

 Why, then, exclude them and their birds from our exhibitions ? 

 I think if Mr. Huie's argument had had no other object than 

 the encouragement of the Pigeon fancy among them, il was well 

 worth the starting and well worth the keeping up of an " Any 

 other colour or marking class " at our exhibitions. 



I have only particularly mentioned Mealies, but there are 

 Sandies, Chequers and Splashes. As a rule, all these birds are 

 very elegant in shape, and all are of great value to those breeders 

 who know how to make use of them. The three former I have 

 seen marked to perfection. How, then, can they be called mis- 

 marked ? As to the Splash, it cannot be called either a marked 

 or mismarked bird. It certainly is marked to an extent, as a 

 marked Canary, a Splashed or Agate Tumbler, and therefore it 

 comes in among other markings. Mr. Stuart argues that the 

 Splash Short-face is useful for head and beak properties. True; 

 but bad Mr. Stuart not deserted his old love — the Pouter, and 

 had he really understood the mysteries of Pouter-breeding, he 

 would have known by this time the great value of the Splash 

 iu the breeder's loft. When men such as Mr. Huie and Mr. Ure, 

 for forty years Pouter breeders, advocate their use for breeding 

 purposes, surely a short-lived Pouter breeder should not venture 

 to say, " Wd can and will do without Mealies, Chequers, and 

 Splashes." — James McCulloch, Moss Bank, XJddingston. 



POUTERS, ANY OTHER COLOUR OR MARKING. 



I HAVE watched the debate on this subject with great in- 

 terest; and although I think it is very well understood over the 

 country, still, as it is of vast importance to Pouter breeders, of 

 which I have the honour to be one, I hope you will allow me a 

 small space in your paper to correct what I think has been 

 mystified, surely without intention, but it may be from want of 

 knowledge. 



Mismarked Pouters of standard colours seem to haunt one 

 writer to such a degree that he has confounded them with 

 Pouters any other colours than the standard colours or markings. 

 He goes so far as to tax Mr. Hnie with contradicting himself, 

 and quotes in proof that Mr. Huie admits that he breeds for 

 Mealies, Sandies, and Splashes ; but I find that Mr. Huie states 

 distinctly that he neither keeps, breeds for, or ever supported 

 mismarked Pouters. In the name of common sense, will Mr. 



IRON PERCHES IN AN AYIARY. 



The iron perches in the aviary of "E. J. E., Bishop's 

 Waltham," will not injure the Canaries in the least during frost 

 or cold. We know of more than one instance where they have 

 been advantageously used for many years. They are less likely 

 to harbour insects than wood, more wholesome for the birds, 

 and none the worse if rust accumulates upon them. Being im- 

 pervious to wet, they are not liable to retain the damp and 

 promote cramp. They are likewise more solid, and act with 

 good effect (likened to a butcher's steel upon his knife), and 

 thus tend to keep down an overgrowth of the horn of the bill. 

 Birds can have no particular choice ; iron perches are the same 

 to them as wooden ones. They are not of such a sensitive nature 

 as to become affected with feet being cold. 



We may conclude they are not very nice as to their likes and 

 dislikes when we consider the fearfully hot doses of cayenne 

 pepper they partake of. Your birds will be more likely to be 

 affected by a severe frost than through the iron perches ; but 

 as you state the aviary "faces west and south" — a favourable 

 situation — the birds will pass through the winter well. Cana- 

 ries can be acclimatised to almost any temperature. We have 

 known many instances where they have wintered well in 

 aviaries where the ice has had to be broken during the day for 

 the birds to obtain water ; but it is an advantage where the birds 

 are provided with a wellprotected recluse at the north or the 

 north-east portion of the aviary. The birds, of course, had been 

 well seasoned iu the aviaries during the previous summer aud 

 autumn. Canaries can well stand extremes of temperature, and 

 we have known them to be very prolific during the breeding 

 season iu a most excessive heat over a bakehouse. The change 

 from heat to cold is the all-important matter to be avoided. The 

 glass on the exposed side of the aviary will sufficiently protect 

 the birds from the cold. Beware of stones. It is always better, 

 where glass is used, to have wire netting. Do not place Belgian 

 birds in the aviary. They are very delicate, and much subject 

 to asthma and consumption. Birds in aviaries should be daily 

 supplied with fresh water, a free use of which will wonderfully 

 harden aud improve their feathers. Oar idea is a small fountain 

 turned on occasionally, and a little rivulet to carry off the water. 



KiLJiiBNocK PoiTLTRY Show.— There are twenty-seven medals 

 and timepieces offered in addition to the money prizes. The 

 only fault we have to find with the classes is, that Cochins and 

 Brahmas are for "any colour." No judge can decide satis- 



