ORPINGTONS. 239 



becoming bioody once in the season, and being then a good 

 mother. It stands the Scottish climate better than most 

 fowls. 



The difficulty in breeding, as usual, is to keep the 

 colour and marking good ; black, white, and coloured 

 feathers being apt to appear. 



ORPINGTONS. This breed was manufactured by Mr. W. 

 Cook in the little Kentish town whose name it bears. Mr. 

 Cook's account of the process is that he crossed large 

 Minorca cocks with black Plymouth Rock hens, again 

 crossing the produce with clean-legged Langshans, breeding 

 afterwards by selection. The Langshan probably contains 

 Black Java blood, and the Rock almost certainly does ; it is 

 not, therefore, strange that the double cross of Asiatic blood 

 should have to all intents and purposes expelled or over- 

 powered the Minorca. Besides this, however, many sub- 

 sequent Langshan crosses have taken place, and it is known 

 that many clean-legged Langshans have been used and 

 exhibited as Orpingtons. The fowls as now exhibited and 

 known resemble in every visible point cobby, short-legged, 

 clean-legged Langshans, showing the real merits of that fowl 

 in its best form. One exception may be made in the fact 

 that in some specimens there is a yellow tinge in the 

 shanks from the Plymouth Rock cross, which in a Langshan 

 would entail disqualification. 



The black Orpingtons are massive and deep in body, 

 with prominent breasts, and short, clean legs. They are 

 hardy, capital layers, good eating, and very general 

 favourites. They also lay brown eggs, and have the gloss of 

 the Langshan breed. Besides the single-combed variety, 

 which has the typical Langshan head in every point, from 

 rose-combed Langshans has been bred a rose-combed 

 variety of the black Orpington. These birds, from some 



