26 WYANDOTTES. 



" In White Wyandottes, under-color is the main secret of pro- 

 ducing sound colored birds, for if this be not a pure white, free from 

 any cream or lemon tinge, then it is just about impossible to get the 

 surface color pure. The under color in Black Wyandottes should 

 be dark slate, as in the laced varieties but in many instances, on 

 lifting the black feathers, they are found to be white at the root. 

 This I can only put down to the influence of the yellow legs, for in 

 poultry breeding yellow legs and black plumage do not go hand in 

 hand, as one might wish to be the case." 



Some breeders say it is not natural. 



"I cannot travel quite so fast as this," continues Mr. Field, 

 " because, so far as I can see, there is nothing artificial in a yellow 

 leg. In Italy, where birds are not scientifically bred, Black Leg- 

 horns are seen with yellow legs. The percentage of good legged 

 ones, I admit; the unnatural part of it, I do not. 



"One thing is, however, evident, viz.: The lighter the blood, 

 the larger number of good legged ones obtained; and this leads me 

 to suppose that very little attention is paid to white under-color, so 

 long as that white does not appear in surface plumage. In these 

 self-colored varieties it is only right that more attention should be 

 given to combs and leg color, than in the laced varieties; not but 

 what these sections should be as perfect in the Goldens and Silvers; 

 but a faulty comb in a White or a Black, should be more severely 

 dealt with in selecting for show or breeding purposes; the same 

 applies to shanks. The reason is obvious. In the Whites and 

 Blacks we have not the various sections of 'mixed colors to breed 

 for, and, therefore, having only one color to obtain, the difficulty 

 should not be so great. 



" Color faults in these two varieties are more often seen in the 

 males in neck, wings, back and saddle of the Whites, and neck 

 and tail of the Blacks; but in the Black Wyandotte the most impor- 

 tant point of all in mating is the quality of the shank. The tend- 

 ency is to dark or yellowy-black, instead of bright yellow; and in 

 selecting a bird for breeding, if we cannot get a perfect bird, we 

 must use our discretion in choosing a bird sound in color but faulty 

 in leg, or one perfect in legs and white in neck or tail. It must 

 resolve itself into a question as to the extent of these two faults. 



" The Wyandotte, as seen in England, shows many deformities 

 of comb. They are generally large, heavy, deeply serrated, fleshy 

 masses, following the White Dorking and Hamburg type; spikes 

 all shapes, and straight out behind, or, may be, with an upward 



