COLOR AND STRUCTURE OF PLUMAGE 



89 



guished not by difference in color, but by single and rose combs. 



Many people believe that the color types of fowls are very com- 

 plex and intricate. The fact is that the colors of chickens are rela- 

 tively simple, and the different patterns are not as numerous as 

 some suppose. There are red and black and their deviations, buff 

 and blue, also white with which to work. We therefore have red, 

 black, white, buff, and so-called blue varieties. 



There also are combinations of two colors in the individual 

 feathers, giving rise to barred, laced, penciled and Columbian feather 

 markings. If lacing is formed by a black edge on a white feather 

 it is called silver; if it is black edging on a reddish ground it is 

 called golden. If the penciling is formed by about three concentric 





Lacing. 



Barring. 



Penciling. 



bands of black lacing on a white ground it is called silver penciled; 

 if it is formed by black penciling on a reddish ground it is called 

 partridge. These feather patterns are not difficult to understand; it 

 is the nomenclature that is confusing. 



For instance, in the Wyandotte breed, a silver is a Silver (laced) 

 VVyandotte; in Rocks, a silver is a Silver (penciled) Plymouth Rock; 

 in both breeds a golden penciled specimen is a Partridge Plymouth 

 Rock or Wyandotte. The American Poultry Association virtually is 

 obliged to accept the name that is uppermost in popularity, for there 

 are few instances where a name has been changed successfully. St. 

 Petersburg was changed to Petrograd; but once it has become popular, 

 a name usually sticks, no matter how absurd that name may be. For 

 instance, the Cochin is truly the Shanghai, and probably never saw 



