BUFF WYANDOTTES 203 



Andrew Riddell, L. C. Piser, and Warren T. Lord. They drew an imagi- 

 nary line between light buff and reddish-buff, and then they bred across 

 this line, selecting specimens not far removed from it on either side. 

 They eliminated the dark and light specimens as wasters ; and the breeder 

 of today will find that the beautiful buff will disappear unless he also 

 breeds for buff and selects out for disposal every bird that shows a 

 turning out of line. Let a dark bird be bred and the flock will soon run 

 to black and red. With the same neglect a flock can run to white. 



On this question of mating, E. R. Durand of Toronto, Canada, con- 

 tributed a valuable article to the Canadian Poultry Journal, which is as 

 follows : 



To put an even shade of golden buff, the most attractive of all colors, on a 

 true Wyandotte body, the most graceful of all types, is an effort that will always 

 stimulate the sporting instinct of the fancier. 



It would be a pleasure for the writer to describe step by step the gradual 

 development of the Buff Wyandotte ifrom the "good old days" until now ; from 

 the years when every shape and color was offered for the judge's decision, until 

 today when the best exhibitions demonstrate that the Buff Wyandotte is being bred 

 closer to the splendid type of the White variety than any other kind of Wyandotte. 

 But suffice it to say that the leading breeders have striven for type and are getting 

 it, after years of study, so that today one can, by judicious selection of his founda- 

 tion, produce beautiful typy stock from the beginning. To sum up the type of our 

 male, let us ask this question: "If he were white, would he look like a good Wyan- 

 dotte?" If the answer is "yes," he will do for the breeding pen, always remember- 

 ing that females, no matter how good, cannot correct the influence of a tight, short- 

 featured or gawky male. The cockerels from such a mating will be useless and the 

 pullets not so good as the hens from which they came. 



But our male is not to be white. He is buff, and many wiseacres will ask pro- 

 foundly, "What is buff?" 



Buff is the most fascinating, the most attractive and elusive color on the plumage 

 of domestic fowls. It is clean at all stages of growth. A flock of buffs will cause 

 the casual passerby to stop and look, where he would have gone his way without 

 a second glance at many flocks whose color demands a knowledge of Standard points 

 to be appreciated. 



Some dictionaries describe buff as a light yellow. One calls it buff the color 

 of buffalo, and gives as an example English oak-tanned leather. Thus we may 

 arrive at the basic shade, which the Standard amplifies by describing it as rich 

 and golden. There are many shades of gold, but the world standard for gold is 

 still, glory be, the English guinea. So here we have our buff with a golden hue 

 and rich, meaning that there is plenty of gold in it. There iv.ay be several degrees 

 of buff color, and the exact shade is o'f less importance than evenness, which should 

 be the ideal. Once attained, it is no longer illusive, for it can be fixed on the flock 

 by means of our line of sires. 



Breed from buff that has life in it. 



When a male's top color is so he has sheen. We must not stop there, 

 however, but match him in every section. His neck and back should show no 

 joining line of different shades, nor should his breast show any contrast with the 

 hackle except for the metallic sheen on the latter. In fact, tail, wings (folded or 

 open), body and fluff all of him should be of the same even basic shade. 



In under-color otir male will show his strength to transmit his color to his 

 offspring. The richer it is, the better. It will be weakest under the hackle, at base 

 of neck, base of tail, and base of breast. If it is good in all these sections he will 

 be "a find." 



Now note his quills. If they are of a lighter shade than the web of the feather 

 it is called "shafting" where it shows on the surface. We will never entirely elimi- 

 nate shafting in our females until we produce males without it, especially in breast 



