296 HAMBURGH FOWLS. 



gives an exquisite finish to their appearance, pure white deaf- 

 ears, or ear-lobes, and light slaty-coloured blue legs. With- 

 out the whole of the above characteristics, I should deem them 

 impure, and not worth breeding from ; and I consider these 

 three qualities indispensable in the genuine Humburgh Fowl. 

 I think we should avoid splitting them into too many sub- 

 varieties, and beg to submit this simple mode of doing so 

 under each variety of colour. Two sub-varieties of this Fowl 

 will be clearly identified under the definitions of Pencilled and 

 Spangled Hamburghs, and will embrace all the specimens I 

 have yet seen or heard of; thus, in the Chittaprats and Bolton 

 Bays we have the Pencilled Hamburghs, in the Moss and 

 Moonies we have the Spangled Hamburghs. The marking 

 and characteristics of each sort I will now describe. 



"Silver Pencilled Hamburghs are about the size of ordinary 

 Game Fowl, and, when quite pure, are (with the other varie- 

 ties of Hamburgh Fowl) the most prolific layers we have. 

 Their ground colour is pure white; the Cock has very little 

 black upon him at all; the whole of the neck and saddle 

 hackles, breast, and back purely white, and not (as in some 

 specimens that have been shown as genuine birds) marked or 

 pencilled upon the breast. This defect will always produce 

 imperfect birds. The only parts that should have any black 

 upon them are the wings and tail ; the former should be barred 

 across with black, and the latter should be black, with the 

 feathers edged with white, gradually blended into the black. 

 The Hen should have a pure white neck ; and spots of black 

 upon the hackles very much detract from the purity and 

 beauty of the Fowl, and should therefore be strictly guarded 

 against and rejected. The whole of the body, wings, and tail 

 should be delicately but distinctly pencilled with clear black 

 upon a clear white ground ; and there are in general about 

 five such distinct pencillings or bars across each feather upon 

 the body, the extremes being marked the most distinctly. The 



