Colours op Buff Cocnms. 211 



breast-feathers; the foot and leg-feathering same colour as breast, and free from any white or 

 discoloured feathers. 



" The next most important colour of cock is the Buff. The neck, saddle, hackle, and wing 

 and tail-coverts should be a bright dark orange; the breast and fluff rich yellow buff; the tail 

 buff or dark bronze, free from any discoloured feathers ; the foot and leg-feathering same colour 

 as breast, and free from any discoloured feathers. 



" The Silver-Buff cock — a colour much discarded by all judges, therefore very seldom seen, 

 but yet when true in colour one of the handsomest birds bred— is as follows :— The neck, saddle, 

 hackle, and wing and tail-coverts should be a light lemon ; the breast and fluff a French white ; the 

 tail-feathers light, tipped with orange or light bronze; foot and leg-feathering same colour as 

 breast ; flight-feathers of wing a pale buff or light cane-colour. 



" These are the three only important colours in cocks. I will now give the colours of hens of 

 each of these varieties. 



"The Lemon-Buff hen should be a light cane-colour, uniform shade throughout; feet and leg- 

 feathers and tail should be same colour; the hackle a light lemon. This is perhaps the most 

 fashionable colour. 



" The Yellow-Buff hen should be a good rich buff throughout, with hackle rich orange. 

 " The Silver-Buff hen is a very beautiful bird when perfect in colour. The neck and hackle 

 should be a light golden lemon ; the body French white ; the tail and wing-flights a light buff or 

 very pale cane-colour ; leg and foot feathers same colour as body. 



" I have thus briefly described the different colours in both cocks and hens, and will now give 

 the different points required in a high-class bird of each sex. 



" In the cock bird size is a most important point to breed for. A full-grown cock bird, say 

 twelve months old, should not be less than from ten to twelve pounds. A Cochin increases in 

 weight till three or four years old, and old cocks from two to three years old will increase to the 

 weight of fourteen or fifteen pounds each; but I maintain that a cock bird weighing twelve or 

 thirteen pounds when two years old is quite heavy enough, and shows in a pen to much greater 

 advantage than a bird heavier. A very high-class bird, with great depth of feather (a great 

 feature in a Cochin), is very deceptive in weight, and I have frequently seen cocks, thick heavy- 

 looking birds, full of feather, weigh much lighter than a close-feathered bird that in a pen does 

 not look so heavy by pounds. A close-feathered bird I very much object to. 



" The head should be long, not too thick or coarse ; the beak rich yellow ; the comb perfectly 

 upright, not too large, and evenly serrated ; the ear-lobes prominent and red ; the wattles deep ; 

 the neck well arched, not too short, and not carried too much back ; the shoulders broad and 

 square, and well carried up ; the breast full, and broad as possible ; the legs set well apart, the 

 more bone and thickness the better, not too long, nor either too short ; feet large ; toes thick, long, 

 and straight ; legs and feet well feathered, and free from any long hock-feathers ; the wing small, 

 carried well up, and close, the ends of the flight-feathers closely clipping the sides, so as to be 

 almost invisible. Twisted flight-feathers in the wing, or any of the long flight-feathers not carried 

 well under, are very objectionable. The tail should be as small as possible, free from any long 

 sickle-feathers, and resembling much the style of a plume of feathers. It is rare now in an 

 exhibition pen to see a genuine tail ; they are so artistically curled and twisted into shape, and so 

 many feathers pulled out, that an exhibition pen very rarely contains a bird in its natural form. 



"In the Cochin hen, also, size is a most important point; for, however good in quality and 

 colour, if under size they are of little use. Hens live to a greater, age than cocks, and, as Cochins 

 increase in weight every year, their weight is much heavier in proportion to the cocks. Hens at 



