FARM-YARD FOWLS. 



H3 



Holland; "Dutch every-day Layers," and "Ev- 

 erlastings," for the same reason, and their great 

 productiveness as layers. 



Both sexes of this sub-variety are character- 

 ized by a compactness and neatness peculiarly 

 their own. The cock has a full, bright-red rose- 

 comb, about three quarters of an inch wide, erect, 

 though low on the head, and regularly pointed, 

 but terminating in a single point or " pike" be- 

 hind, which should extend far back and curve 

 gently upward ; ear-lobe white and large ; wat- 

 tles large, round, and red ; head small and fine ; 

 beak short and white; plumage entirely white, 

 with the exception of the wings and tail ; the 

 wings barred very regularly with black ; tail am- 

 ple, very erect, measuring nine inches to the top 

 of the highest of the sickle-feathers, which are of 

 unusual length, and, with the rest of the tail feath- 

 ers, of a highly iridescent black, their edges only 

 being very lightly margined with white, silvering, 

 as it were, the whole plume. Mottled feather- 

 ing is objectionable in the tail; but compara- 

 tively few birds attain the more perfect form 

 described above. Height may be placed at six- 

 teen inches, while an average weight would 

 reach 4i pounds. 



The hen displays the peculiar markings which 

 characterize this sub-variety much more distinct- 

 ly than her lord ; and as the penciled feather 

 is strictly applicable only to the Hamburg va- 

 riety, we give a specimen on the next column. 

 The ground color must be either clear creamy 

 white or coppery yellow, accordingly as the birds 

 belongto the silver or golden classes, and marked 

 in either with at least four parallel transverse 

 dark bars, as if an artist had worked them with 

 a black-lead pencil. The hen's head is very 

 small and fine ; comb double-rose, shaped like 

 that of the cock, but very much smaller ; ear- 

 lobes white ; eyes in both sexes large and prom- 

 inent ; neck-hackle creamy white, without a black 

 feather ; the rest of her plumage, even to the tips 

 of the tail-feathers, regularly penciled through- 

 out; the tail-feathers often have a broad black 

 tip ; legs and feet blue, and perfectly clean or 

 featherless ; nails white. Under the belly is 

 often white, but the less of this the better. Span- 

 gled feathers mixed with the penciled are very 

 objectionable, as is also that confusion of color- 



ing or sprinkling of black among the white, 

 which we should suspect first obtained for such 

 specimens the designation of the Silver-moss 

 fowl. Such we say was probably the origin of the 

 term as applied to the Silver Hamburgs, though, 

 as it is well known, the fowl now called the Silver 

 or Golden Moss is certainly the Silver or Golden- 

 spangled Hamburg, which also bears the syn- 

 onym of the Silver and Golden Mooney. A bird 

 whose penciling has run or become blended with 

 the ground color, conveys a good representation 

 of the erratic growth of moss or sea-weed ; hence 

 the apparent derivation of the term, which it is 

 evident becomes difficult of explanation when 

 applied to any spangled specimen. Weight 

 of hen about 3 pounds ; height about fifteen 

 inches. 



THE GOLDEN-SPANGLED HAMBURG. 



The Golden-spangled Hamburg cock is a per- 

 fectly beautiful bird ; nothing but a full-sized 

 drawing, colored, can give an adequate idea of 

 the extremely rich coloring and brilliant lustre 

 of his plumage. 



The Spangled fowls in their essential points 

 are the same as the penciled. The same remark 



