218 AMERICAN POULTRY ASSOCIATION 



edition became effective, which fact, together with the knowledge 

 that this admixture of black and the existence of chestnut shades 

 even at the present time in the tails of many specimens (though 

 not the best ones, thanks to the skill of the breeders of buff 

 varieties, past and present), emphasizes the we 1 ! known diffi- 

 culty of producing clear, golden-burl tails. 



The color description of the female in this (1875) edition 

 shows greater uniformity, being restricted to such expressions 

 as "rich buff"- -"clear, rich buff"- -"clear, pure bufif" "and in 

 color, buff." Even then the description required a tail, "in color 

 buff" without modification. Evidently, females with clear buff 

 tails were not unknown even in those days, and judging from 

 the different Standard descriptions of male and female, must 

 have more frequently occurred in females than in males. 



In this connection, it may be well to note that the short lived 

 1874 Edition also required a uniformly clear, deep buff through- 

 out, tail included. It may be surprising to learn, now when buff 

 necks are the rule, that the 1874 Edition contained the following 

 sentence: "A clear, buff hackle preferred, but a slight marking 

 on the end of feathers of neck not a disqualification." This 

 modification was not discontinued until 1898. 



Prior to 1898, a marked difference of opinion as to what con- 

 stituted real "buff" had existed. It was seldom that the judges 

 agreed upon the exact shade that was most desirable or the most 

 beautiful. The lack of uniformity in the shades of the winning 

 specimens when judged by different persons was commented 

 upon and deplored by the breeders generally. These discussions 

 led to the appointment by the Standard Revision Committee for 

 the 1898 Edition, of a special sub-committee which, among other 

 duties, was to determine just what real buff color was, and then 

 to describe it comprehensibly. As a result of their investiga- 

 tions, we have the Standard phraseology, descriptive of buff 

 color as found in the 1898 Edition for all buff varieties, five in 

 number, very nearly as it is in the present edition. This descrip- 

 tion was a distinct advance in that, first of all, it decided upon 

 "golden-buff" as the most desirable shade and the most accurate 

 and expressive terminology; second, it demanded "one even 

 shade throughout," that is, in all sections, but allowed undercolor 

 of a lighter shade, though restricting the force of this clause 

 appreciably by further qualifying that "all things being equal, 



