3G 



THE LEGHORXS 



neck, the hackles being a rich golden bay, striped with 

 black. This is substantially the language in all these 

 standards, but like some phrases in the present standard, 

 it is capable of an elastic interpretation. The necks were, 

 as a rule, darker than the words "rich golden bay" would 

 imply, the top being darker than the base. 



The wording of these standards on back is, to say the 

 least, peculiar and leaves us in doubt as to just what is 

 meant. The reading of this section is: "Very dark red, 

 approaching black on the lower parts, each feather 

 striped with golden bay." This certainly reads as though 

 the standard makers intended to get very dark red feath- 

 ers with broad golden bay shafts. The males of those 

 days did show what would today be considered very 

 broad shafting, but it hardly amounted to a stripe even in 

 the most pronounced examples. That the black-striped 

 saddles were in vogue and found favor as early as '82 or 

 '83, perhaps before, is certain. The writer secured a male 

 as early as '83 or '84 that was so strong in that particular 

 as one could be. and it was purchased of Tait and 

 Baldwin, which firm had won largely at the National 

 show at \\'orcester in 1883. This bird was a large six- 

 pound, vigorous fellow and the results of his influence is 

 often noted in the flock even now. 



The Dark Craze 



The language of these standards shows plainly that 

 an even colored bird, that is, one the same shade of red 

 in hackle and saddle, was' not desired. The birds were 



S. C. BROWN LEGHORN COCKEREL 



WORCESTER VIII'" 



Bred and 



much darker at the top of the neck than at the base, and 

 rather darker on the back and wing bow than on the 

 saddle. The dark birds grew in popularity during the 

 80's until they reached a point where the red was so dark 

 that it could scarcely be distinguished from the black. 

 Most of these birds were still some shades lighter at the 

 very base of the hackle. 



This lack of contrast in the two colors gave the birds 

 a dingy look and a reaction followed. 



This was before the days of double or special mat- 

 ings for either sex. Each mating was supposed to pro- 

 duce good males and females, and while some did pro- 

 duce good males and poor females and vice versa, it was 

 merely accidental and far from being the result of any de- 

 sign or foresight of the breeder. 



It was but natural then, that while the males were 

 growing darker the females were also and, as that is their 

 tendency in a dark line, they became very dark and were, 

 as a rule, coarsely penciled. They were not much in dis- 

 favor, however, for a time, and I have seen females almost 

 black score 93 to 94 points. Light shafting was still 

 prominent in the back and wing, but the latter did not 

 show as much of the red as formerly. About the happiest 

 result of the "dark craze" or "black craze," I was about 

 to call it, was that we were permitted to see a very few 

 males of that seal brown plumage, free from shafting and 

 also free from the reddish or bricky shadings that were 

 ever so distasteful. 



Reaction Against Dark Birds 



The reaction against the "crows," 

 ^ ^ i-~ some called them, had been grow- 



\, __/ ing and became a strong movement 



during 1886-1888. Several men had 

 been breeding from both lighter 

 males and females all along, and 

 previous to these dates had received 

 ume recognition, but they were now 

 in a fair way to obtain reward for 

 their firmness and perseverance. The 

 ni jvement for lighter males halted at 

 t e "middle ground," but that for 

 luhter females went farther and we 

 d our "penciled with a golden 

 1)1 own" standard. That meant that 

 the lighter markings of back and 

 wing should be of a yellowish brown 

 shade. This style of a female became 

 \ery popular. The shade of color on 

 tlie back and wings outweighed 

 e\erything else. Coarse pencilings, 

 ght shafting, red wings, weak 

 hackles, poor combs, light or dark 

 coloied legs were all admissible so 

 long as that one thing desired — a 

 golden brown penciled back — was 

 present. In other words, just as we 

 were on the road to the handsomest 

 and most admired type — a seal 

 brown, free from shafting in back 

 nid wing and clear salmon in breast 

 — the standar;! makers allowed them- 

 clves to be pushed too far by popu- 

 lar clamor and, in the opinion of the 

 writer, went even farther than the 

 popular demand. 



Th se golden brown females were 

 "the thing" for several years and 

 for a time the orange red males lost 



