164 DIFFERENT BREEDS OF POULTRY. 



cock's breast a pure and perfect black ; tail and larger coverts 

 also black, with metallic reflections] head, hackle, back, and 

 saddle-feathers, pure silvery white ; and the wing also white, 

 showing up well a sharply-marked and brilliant bar of black 

 across the middle. A single white feather in the tail would be 

 fatal. Hen's breast salmon-red, shading into grey at the 

 thighs ; head and neck silvery white striped with black ; back 

 " silver grey," or fine dark grey pencilling upon light grey 

 ground, the white of the quill showing as a slight streak down 

 the centre of each feather ; wings also grey, with no shade of 

 red ; tail dark grey, passing into black in the inside. The 

 general appearance of both birds should be extremely clean and 

 aristocratic. 



The White birds should be what their name implies a clear, 

 pure, and perfect white. There is generally in the cock more 

 or less tendency to straw or cream colour on the back and 

 wings, and we would by no means disqualify a really first-class 

 bird in all other points on account of it ; but it is decidedly a 

 fault. White Dorkings are usually much smaller than the 

 Coloured, which we believe to have hindered the popularity of 

 this truly exquisite variety. This defect might be easily 

 remedied by crossing with the large Coloured Dorking, and then 

 breeding back ; and on a visit to Linton Park we once saw the 

 experiment fairly commenced, with every prospect of success. 

 A good White cock had been mated with some light-coloured 

 hens, and out of the progeny there appeared six or seven pure 

 white chickens, of very great merit. Two cockerels attracted 

 our special attention ; they were not six months old when we 

 saw them, but they were fully up to the Coloured Dorking 

 standard of size, and we have not the slightest doubt, when 

 full grown, would weigh at least 12 Ibs. each, whilst in colour 

 they were quite equal to their parent. We commend this 

 method of increasing the size to all White Dorking fanciers, 

 as far superior to the cross with Game fowls, which has been 



