206 THE AMERICAN BREEDS OF POULTRY 



be given to the breast color of the male. It should be free from 

 light colored quills, called shafting; it should be free from whitish 

 lacing; and it should be as nearly as possible of the shade of color 

 desired in the females. Moreover, ancestry is of fundamental impor- 

 tance, and a male to be a good breeder of females should not merely 

 be a good individual himself, but his dam should have been a smooth, 

 level colored hen. 



The breeders of Buff Orpingtons are today producing a wonder- 

 ful coat of buff plumage on both sexes, and a few points on how 

 these breeders are handling the color should be of value to Buff 

 Wyandotte men. 



William Hobbs, of Buff Orpington fame, mates a Standard col- 

 ored male to Standard colored females to produce good pullets in 

 Buff Orpingtons. He can use a male a tone rich in color, mated to 

 females with medium light hackles, to produce good colored males. 

 Of course, the tones of color indicated above present comparatively 

 slight differences. "Light" and "rich" to a breeder accustomed to 

 lots of quality do not mean lemon and red. When extremes are 

 mated together the produce shows patchiness and unevenness. 



M. F. Delano can mate rather strong colored females to Standard 

 males and produce good cockerels in Buff Orpingtons. On the breed- 

 ing of pullets, the following illustration will be of interest. Mr. 

 Delano imported a light buff cockerel that won first at New York, 

 1906. His white did not show at New York, but he was such a soft 

 shade of color that he quickly got white, and it almost showed on 

 the surface of his hackle. He, however, was the sire of the first prize 

 pullets at New York, Cleveland and Chicago the next year. The 

 club show was at Cleveland and there was tremendous competition. 

 The bird sired a number of beautiful pullets. 



It is the Buff Wyandotte females that require the extra study. 

 These hens with good hackles, even though patchy in back color, 

 will produce good males; but better females can be produced only 

 from males with brighter, higher toned breast color, even though 

 they fail in some other sections. If this fact is grasped, we can look 

 for Buff Wyandotte females the rival of any other buff colored fowls 

 in the whole category of breeds. An ambitious breeder can start 

 now to produce what is wanted, outdistance old competitors, and make 

 a name for himself. Get the breast of your male right, have his 

 ancestry on the female side right, and then overlook some minor 

 points in his own individuality, Such a male will breed good pullets. 



