Characteristics of Light Braiimas. 253- 



and broadly striped down each feather, the black stripe ending clear and sharp at the base, so as to 

 form a kind of dark necklace. All the body-colour should be a clear white surface, with an under 

 ground-colour of grey, the primary quills being black. The tail is also black, except the two top 

 feathers, which ought, if possible, to be edged with white on the top edges ; but this is not to be 

 too rigidly insisted on. The shanks, like the cock's, should be a bright yellow colour ; and the 

 feathers white, very slightly mixed with grey or black. Except the neck, tail, and the little black 

 or grey on the leg, the general appearance of both sexes should be a clear white all over, any 

 tendency to yellow being a great defect. The latter colour exists naturally in some strains, and is 

 distinct from the sun-burn which hot weather will produce even in good white birds. 



The Light Brahma is so extensively bred in the United States— more generally, perhaps, than 

 any other breed — that a few remarks on the American and English types as compared become 

 almost necessary. The American birds are, as a rule, much longer in the leg and back, and 

 therefore less compact in shape, than the English ; but (no doubt as a direct consequence of this) 

 are bred to a far larger size. An imported cock was shown in 1872 which exceeded eighteen 

 pounds' weight, and twelve and thirteen pounds are not at all unusual weights for hens. Hence 

 American birds make valuable crosses to gain size ; but we must confess our own predilection for 

 the square and compact English form, when bred to a satisfactory size, which there is no real 

 difficulty in doing. The American birds also differ somewhat in colour, being described by United 

 States' fanciers themselves as almost exactly the colour of new milk when drawn from the cow, not 

 the bluish colour of milk when skimmed of the cream. In England, on the contrary, this very 

 pearly or bluish-white colour is most preferred, as it is also by some American fanciers, being much 

 less apt to run into deep straw-colour in the cocks. American birds are also very often too long 

 in the head, which greatly detracts from their beauty of expression. Probably the most perfect 

 standard of perfection would lie between the two extremes as regards shape ; and there is little 

 doubt that overmuch seeking for short-legged cocks has seriously diminished in size several good 

 English strains : but neither, on the other hand, can we admire the long, rangy, raw-boned look of 

 some American importations we have seen. We should rather advise the mating of fine long-bodied 

 American hens of ten or twelve pounds' weight, with a broad-backed, short-bodied, and very short- 

 legged English cockerel of a good pearly colour, taking especial care the male bird had a broad 

 and rising saddle. From such a cross, if rightly chosen for breeding colour, valuable results may 

 be secured. A long, rangy American cock may also be put with compactly-built hens for the 

 same purpose ; but we would prefer the cross first mentioned. 



The chief difficulty in breeding Light Brahmas is to obtain a sufficient amount of black 

 marking in the hackle, without producing colour where not wanted. The natural tendency of 

 most poultry is to breed lighter and lighter ; but if, to counteract this, cocks be chosen with 

 densely-striped hackles, and saddles also striped, and mated with dark-necked hens, the almost 

 inevitable result will be pullets with backs and other parts spotted or splashed, and cockerels with 

 black spots on the fluff, in the wing, and other undesirable places. The best plan, at all events at 

 commencement, will be as follows :— To breed pullets, put a cock with narrow but tolerably 

 distinct stripes in his hackle, saddle quite clear, and leg-feathering nearly white, with hens so 

 darkly striped in the neck as to be unfit for exhibition, or if they can be got so dark, entirely 

 black, even in the very fringe, as in one of the feathers shown in Fig. 64, which was plucked from 

 a fine American hen. From such a cross, hackles resembling the other feather in Fig. 64 will 

 be produced, and so far as regards colour nearly every pullet will be fit to show ; while a fair 

 number of good cockerels may also be expected, but not marked enough to be considered really 

 perfect birds. To breed cockerels for showing, on the contrary, a cock should be selected with 



