68 WYANDOTTES. 



from the expressed term of the standard -pure white and this fail- 

 ing almost always extends to under-color. We forget that this 

 variety has a yellow skin, as well as yellow legs, and that this yellow 

 pigment is strong enough to dye certain portions of the plumage 

 yellow, straw, or reddish, which comes more or less on the surface 

 of the greater number of this variety. 



The color faults consist in the shadings from pure white to yel- 

 low. If we are to have pure White Wyandottes, we do not want 

 them with yellow or bleached plumage. A sunburnt plumage is not 

 a yellow one, and a bleached plumage is not a pure white one. Per- 

 fection of color is just as much of a desideratum, and should be as 

 highly prized as shades, pencilings, lacings and barrings in a parti- 

 colored variety. Whites should be much easier to breed, and should 

 come truer to type than the Laced varieties; but even with this 

 advantage"~and the fact of many females scoring two or three points 

 higher than the other varieties, and also some of the males gaining 

 a point or two over their cousins, we must cut in accordance with 

 the value of pure white. The straw, or reddish brick color, will 

 show upon the surface of neck, back, primaries, secondaries and 

 sickles, and the cuts in each section will range from one-half to one 

 and a half points. 



In some strains, the frequency of yellow quills is so prevalent 

 that it seems to be " dyed in the w6ol," or, in other words, constitu- 

 tional. Such serious faults may be so aggravated that dark color 

 may show in both wings, to disqualify the specimen. Notwithstand- 

 ing the advantages of a self-colored variety like the Whites, the 

 yellow shading on neck will be cut one-half to two points; on back, 

 one-half to two points; on breast, one-half to one point; on body, 

 one-half to one point; on wings, yellow feather one-half point, yellow 

 shading and quills one-half to three points; on tail, yellow in webs 

 one-half to one and a half points, in quills one-half to two points; 

 in legs and feet, other than yellow, or faded from bright yellow, one- 

 half to three points. Thus it is seen that these possible cuts will 

 reduce the number of specimens which the casual observer, or 

 young amateur, thinks worthy of a much higher score than their 

 Laced cousins, and the number of Whites which will score over 91 

 or 92 honest points, will not be so large as one would expect from 

 a self-colored variety. 



Every breeder of white fowls with yellow legs and skin, knows 

 the difficulty of breeding them with pure white plumage; some con- 

 tend that a " blossomy white " plumage cannot be maintained on 



