250 



THE AMERICAN BREEDS OF POULTRY 



chicks; single combs and pea combs and no combs at all, but all fighters from 

 away back. 



Many names for my new breed suggested themselves, and year after year they 

 bred tru,er to the type I had in mind, which was a modified Cornish shape, with 

 the very darkest of red plumage, hens containing some black not being objectionable 

 to me, so long as the males kept that dark red shade I admired. 



Characteristics of Buckeyes.. It is commonly supposed that this 

 variety carries some Cornish Indian Game blood, but the originator 

 does not so state. The type is intermediate between that of the 

 heavily muscled, big boned, hard feathered Cornish and the Rhode 

 Island Red. The breed has a close fitting pea comb and small, short 

 wattles. 



This variety is strictly cockerel bred, the originator having always 

 selected males that measured up to her requirements and then got 



A Pair of Buckeyes, Showing Correct Buckeye Type in Both 

 Male and Female. 



the females as good as they would come. The result has been that 

 good Buckeye females have been very few in numbers, although a 

 number of fine males have been shown. These good males have had 

 greenish-black tails like a Rhode Island Red, although the Standard 

 allows red to show in the tail. Red usually shows in the tails of 

 females, or rather it is a dull, wheaten-red color. 



In the early days of the variety, the- Buckeyes were of a rich, dark 

 red as compared to the majority of Rhode Island Reds. Mrs. Metcalf 

 believed that the plumage should be bred with some black pigment in 

 the under-color. She had noticed that all wild birds had some slate 

 in their under-plumage to feed the depth and strength of color 

 exhibited by their surface plumage, so the Buckeye male and female 



