POULTRY. 457 



The breast of the perfectly marked cock will be either black, or black with each feather 

 slightly and evenly mottled with white, but on no account should there be splashes of white, 

 or uneven markings. It should be well carried forward, full, broad, and deep. The body, 

 like the light variety, is broad and deep, the under part of which is black in plumage. The 

 wings are small and well folded up under the saddle feathers and thigh fluff. A good 

 sharply defined black bar across the wing is considered by good judges of this variety, very 

 important. 



The primary feathers are black, or black with a narrow border of white on the outer 

 web ; the secondary feathers are white on the outer web, and black on the inner, with a dark 

 spot at the end of each feather. The fluff on the thighs and hinder part is very abundant 

 and soft, and should be black or very dark grey. 



The thighs are large and well covered with nice soft feathers, either black or black 

 slightly mottled with white, which gives them the color of dark grey; the legs yellow and 

 well feathered on the outside to the ends of the outer toes. The feathers of the legs are 

 black, or black and white. 



The color of the hen, except head, neck, and tail, is the same all over the body, each 

 feather having a grayish -white ground with very dark pencilings corresponding to the 

 outlines of the feather. &quot; The penciling on the throat and breast,&quot; says an extensive writer 

 on this subject, &quot; is very important, and is one of the first points looked at in a prize hen.&quot; 

 The legs of the hen are rather short and thick, and profusely feathered on the outside, the 

 feathers being the same color as those of the body. They are docile and gentle in disposition, 

 quiet in habits, and do not suffer as much as other varieties do when they are confined. 



The plumage being so distinctly and uniformly marked with black or dark pencilings, 

 is very beautiful, and is thought by many to be more attractive than that of the Light 

 Brahma, while the color being darker, would not attract the attention of their natural 

 enemies, the hawks, rats, cats, etc. ; besides the plumage is not so easily soiled as the light 

 variety, which in the confined pens of cities and villages, often become so dingy and 

 begrimed with soot or dust, as to detract much from their original beauty. 



A choice between the two varieties is mostly based upon taste as to color, since their 

 intrinsic merits and economic value are about equal. They are a little more difficult to breed 

 true to color than the light variety, though this with many would not be deemed a serious 

 objection; they also do not average quite so large in size as the latter. We find with breeders 

 generally who have bred both varieties, that the point of preference lies with that vanety in 

 which they have had the larger experience, and therefore the better acquaintance (aside from 

 the question of color), since the Brahma breed has so many excellences, and so few defects 

 that the better it is known, the more it is valued. Our own preference would be the light 

 variety. 



Merits and Defects of Brahmas. As has been previously stated, Brahmas are of 

 a gentle disposition, quiet in their habits, and thus easily kept within a limited enclosure, if 

 necessary, which makes them a very desirable breed for farmers who do not wish their poultry 

 to have a free range of their farm, also for those living in a village or city, where a limited 

 space is absolutely necessary, since a fence three feet high will keep them enclosed, where one 

 five times as high would be necessary to confine some breeds; besides they are almost harmless 

 as scratchers compared with the Leghorn and some other breeds. They also make very good 

 mothers, though care should be taken in hatching that the hen does not step on the young 

 chickens and injure or kill them in this way, as her great size and weight would render her 

 liable to such accidents, if she were disturbed. 



The writer has at the present time pure-blooded Brahmas, and a cross between this breed 

 and the white Leghorn, and while the former fully merit the good things we have- said 

 respecting them, the latter seem to inherit the objectionable traits of the Leghorn, vdz. : 



