SILVER WYANDOTTES CHARACTERISTICS. n 



eye is satisfied in color of flesh, it is very likely that the palate will 

 share some of its satisfaction. However, the flesh of the Wyandotte 

 is generally praised for its flavor and sweetness. Of course, it has 

 not been tested so thoroughly by judges as that of the Dorking, 

 Houdan, Langshan and Game; but all fanciers of the breed accord 

 in pronouncing it a splendid table fowl. 



Egg production is a very valuable quality in Wyandottes. To 

 be sure, every experienced breeder knows that no breed of fowls 

 possesses all desirable qualities. A breed may be handsome in 

 plumage, faultless in type and carriage, and an excellent layer; but, 

 if we desire to unite splendid table qualities, kind disposition, domestic 

 habits and other merits, to the other qualities, some of the former 

 would have to be sacrificed. We can get, and we have got, all these 

 in some breeds, but they are not highly developed; they are medi- 

 ocre, and they do not excel only in one or, at most, two special 

 qualities. There is no question but what Leghorns, Hamburgs 

 and Polish, properly cooked, are good enough for a royal feast, yet 

 they are not the equal of the Dorking in point of table merits. We 

 are speaking of prime merits here ; fowls are not excepted from the 

 general laws governing animated nature, as all living things may 

 possess some high or transcendent quality individually, but none 

 possess all in a high degree. 



The Wyandotte, although not excelling in any special quality, 

 is the happy possessor of an even and well-balanced organism, which 

 makes it preferable to the majority of breeders over breeds excelling 

 in some points and deficient in others. It is the equalization of 

 useful qualities in the Wyandotte which makes it so popular ; there 

 is no excess of one quality at the expense of the other ; a " happy 

 medium " is established, and that goes to guarantee a higher improve- 

 ment in all, with time and skill. None of our standard breeds has so 

 many different elements in its make-up, and to these may be attrib- 

 uted the medium qualities which the whole family possess, as there 

 is a check on any characteristic exceeding due bounds, so to say, by 

 opposite characteristics of one or more of the composite stock. 



The type and plumage of the Silver Wyandotte are much in 

 their favor. The type approaches that of the Dark Brahma in a 

 modified way. This, we believe, was the one most in favor by the 

 leading breeders and judges, as it would not be judicious to trench 

 on that of the Plymouth Rock or Java. Type is an accepted index 

 of distinction in breeds. Originally, it was a short step between 

 the Brahma and Cochin, the Plymouth Rock and the Java, but the 



