THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 59 



(not white,) particularly remarkable on the hackles and 

 wing coverts, and also on the darker feathers of the 

 breast. The thighs are of a dark-brown, or blackish 

 shade, and the legs and feet are of a bluish-grey. 



THE SPANGLED HAMBURGH HEN. 



The hen is yellow or orange-brown, with the feathers 

 margined with black, after the manner of those of the 

 cock. Birds thus colored are called " golden spangled/' 



In the " silver-spangled" variety, the only perceptible 

 difference is, that the ground color is a silvery white, 

 with perhaps a tinge of straw-yellow, every feather be- 

 ing margined with a semi-lunar mark of glossy black. 

 In other words, when the fowls are at rest, the feathers 

 present the appearance of regular semi-circular spots or 

 spangles. Hence the name of " spangled Hamburghs," 

 the varieties being called " golden" or " silver," accord- 

 ing to the prevailing color, being bright-yellow or silvery 

 white. 



Both varieties are extremely beautiful, having full, 

 plump bodies, a tender skin, and but little offal; and 

 the hens lay freely an abundance of good-sized eggs. 



These fowls gained the prize at a late show of the 

 Royal Agricultural Improvement Society of Ireland. 



