BLACK WYANDOTTES DESCRIPTION. 55 



medium length and gracefully curved; legs, short and stout at 

 thighs, and well covered with soft feathers; shanks, short, stout and 

 free from feathers, and in color yellow or yellowish black; toes, 

 straight, well spread, and in color the same as shanks. 



THE FEMALE. 



The plumage should be a rich, deep black throughout; head, 

 short, crown broad and somewhat flat; beak, dark horn color, shading 

 to yellow at the point; eyes, bright bay, large and clear; face, red; 

 ear-lobes, bright red, and well developed; comb, rose, and similar 

 in form and curve to that of the male, but smaller; wattles, bright 

 red, medium length and well rounded; neck, short, arched, and 

 hackle abundant; back, short, flat and broad across shoulders, and 

 slightly cushioned; breast, broad, full and round; body, short, deep, 

 and round at the sides; fluff, full, soft and abundant; wings, medium 

 size, and neatly folded; tail, well developed, and well spread at base; 

 legs and toes, the same as in male. 



REMARKS. 



One cannot give a complete list of the disqualifying clauses, on 

 account of not knowing what the standard will enforce by its judg- 

 ment on the color of legs. However, we can approximately judge 

 that it will not be far from the following : Disqualifications. Feath- 

 ers on shanks or toes; permanent white or yellow covering more 

 than one- third of the surface of ear-lobes; combs other than rose, 

 or falling decidedly over on one side, or so large as to obstruct 

 sight; decidedly wry tails; crooked backs or other abnormal 

 deformity; shanks other than yellow, yellowish black, or black 

 shading to willow; feathers tipped or spotted one-half with false 

 color on any part of plumage; presence of any false color to be cut 

 severely. 



The standard weights are the same as for other Wyandotte 

 varieties. The scale of points for judging this variety should be the 

 same as for Whites. A few more years of intelligent breeding will 

 remove some of the defects now apparent. The chief trouble is, 

 that white appears in primaries and secondaries in the females, and 

 white feathers and silver hackles and saddles, and white in wing-bar, 

 in the males. These, in time, will be lessened by judicious breed- 

 ing and culling, as will also white in under-color. 



It is not to be expected that the Blacks will produce a large 

 percentage of salable birds at present, as the pullets usually come 



