178 MR. J. T. CUNMKGHAM ON RESULTS OF A 



it developed ou the saddle. I have no record that any general 

 increase in the pig-mentation was noticed, but on the other hand 

 no individuals are noted as having slight or very slight colour on 

 the breast ; the records in my notes are either simply brown on 

 breast, or brown on breast moderate. 



The Pile, Coloration in Folds. 



I think the above evidence is sufficient to show that the 

 recessives from this cross of Black-red with White Silky were not 

 pure white, but developed in 6 generations into Pile fowls. The 

 Pile, a Avord which is probably related to pied and magpie, is 

 described by Mr. John Douglas, in Lewis Wright's ' Book of 

 Poultry,' 1885, as a variety of Game-fowls. According to the 

 description, it is white where a Black-red is black : neck and 

 saddle-hackles light chestnut-red, back chestnut and claret-colour, 

 shoulder covert and bow of the wings rich claret-red, breast white 

 or laced with pale chestnut, abdomen and thighs white, tail white 

 or with a slight tick of black on the sickles. This applies to the 

 cock ; in the hen the head is light golden chestnut, breast a 

 rich chestnut right up to the throat, thighs almost pure white, 

 hackles white faced with j^ellow-chestnut, back creamy white 

 with a shade of gold, tail white. 



The word chestnut here evidently means much the same colour 

 as I have called brown, which on my birds is a light reddish 

 brown. Nothing is said in the description about tlie immature 

 cocks having brown breasts, while in the ndult the breast is white, 

 but this is naturally to be expected considering tlia,t the pile is the 

 ahsence of black. In the cock of black-red fowls the breast and 

 tail are black : in the hen the black is chiefly on the back, head, 

 and tail, and almost absent on the breast and abdomen. Before 

 sexual maturity the cock in its first plumnge naturally resembles 

 the hen. At the same time it is to be noted that in Mr. Douglas's 

 description black is not entirely absent from the pile, and it was 

 not entirely absent from those which I bred, an occasional black 

 feather or one partially black having been veiy frequently 

 observed. 



Mr. Douglas remarks that Piles breed true to colour, as I have 

 shown was the case in my experiments, but that now and then a 

 cross of the black-red is thrown in to give hardness of feather, 

 after which every black-red produced from the cross should be 

 destroyed. This seemed to imply that the pile was dominant and 

 that when they were bred together after the cross they produced 

 dominant piles and recessive black-reds. As this was so contrary 

 to my own experiments, I wrote to Mr. E. Smalley of Silverdale, 

 Lancashire, an expei'ienced breeder of Game-fowls and w*ell 

 acquainted with Mendelism, who very kindly answered my 

 questions. He informed me that Pile is quite dominant to Black- 

 red so far as Game-fowls are concerned, whether the cross be 

 made with the Pile male or Pile female. Mr. Smalley also stated 



