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country, namely Piles, Black-reds, Silver black- 

 breasted Ducks (or Duckwings), Birchin Ducks, 

 Dark Greys, Mealy Greys, Blacks, Spangles, 

 Furnaces, Pole-cats, Cuckoos, Gingers, Red 

 Duns, Duns and Smokey Duns : there were 

 good birds in all these breeds. Cheshire Piles 

 had always been favourites. Sketchley also 

 had a high opinion of Shropshire Reds 



The Piles were eminently distinguished for 

 their "deadly heel"; the lighter coloured 

 Piles wielded their weapons in a more dangerous 

 direction than any other strain of game-fowl, 

 but by reason of their delicacy of constitution 

 they were liable to degenerate 



In and in breeding too long continued, serious 

 loss of blood in a fight, and undiscovered internal 

 injuries during a fight were the causes of 

 constitutional defects in progeny. The two 

 latter causes led to the preference of a 

 maiden - cock over a " fought cock " for 

 breeding purposes 



A great point to aim at was uniformity; it 

 was considered a great mistake to mate a cock, 

 because he was a good one, with hens unlike 

 himself. When a cocker pitted a "regular 

 set of brothers " so like one another that it 

 was hard to distinguish between them, their 



