48 



POULTRY BREEDING AND MANAGEMENT 



Black Hamburg and White Dorking. Brown offers objec- 

 tion to this origin on the ground that as two of these 

 breeds have rose combs, the White Orpington of the pres- 

 ent day would show the rose comb very frequently. Later 



knowledge of breeding, 

 however, teaches that if 

 proper selection be made 

 of the crossed offspring, 

 the characteristic rose 

 comb need not ever 

 show in subsequent gen- 

 erations. Data on this 

 point is given in Chap- 

 ter III, page 79. Brown 

 declares his belief that 

 the White Orpington 

 originated as a sport 

 from the Blacks. 



The recent popularity 

 of the White Orpington 

 in this country is strik- 

 ing evidence of the power of printers' ink. While 

 the breed undoubtedly has great merit, there is no 

 real reason why it should displace our American breeds 

 which are not handicapped by white skin and legs. Unless 

 a new breed can be shown to have superior egg-laying 

 qualities it is a mistake to advocate it as a utility breed 

 when it possesses other characteristics which depreciate its 

 value as a market fowl. If. certain breeders wish to cater 

 to the fancy trade, well and good ; if their effort is to pro- 

 duce something which will delight the eye and sell for 

 fancy prices on that account, that should be clearly under- 

 stood. But utility values should not be set by the amount 

 of printers ' ink used in advertising. Where the real 



WHITE ORPINGTON HEN 

 A noted prize winner. 



