2 go The Illustrated Book op Poultry. 



of steel-blue feathers on the wing, which gives the whole class of these fowls the name of 

 Duckwing, being similar to the bar on the mallard's wing. The under parts of the body were 

 black, and breast black with a slight blue cast ; tail black, sickles sharp and fine, and secondary 

 sickles short, and standing or carried just one touching the other, with a green bronzy-black 

 appearance, very little tail-coverts being carried in this breed. They were in general a hard-fleshed 

 fowl, short in feather, and carrying very little of what is termed offal, that is, any clumsy weight 

 where not required ; they were also noted for their quickness and long endurance in fighting, 

 and I have seen cocks of this breed kill four and five adversaries before leaving the pit. The 

 hens to match are of a quiet colour, almost approaching to some coloured Brown-reds, being of a 

 dark grey body, striped with silver slightly on most feathers, giving it more of a laced colour ; the 

 breast being a little more starling-marked ; hackle dark, laced with silver ; tail black, the outer 

 feathers slightly brown ; legs dark willow or black. These colours are different from what are 

 sometimes given for the hen ; but the fact is the breed has not been shown for nine years, when 

 Mr. Dixon showed the last pen of them at Preston ; hence they have been described by people who 

 did not know them. They were, in fact, a true breed, which needed no crossing to get the colours, 

 and so the hen was always darker and duller than the yellow Duckwing. Feathers from a Silver- 

 grey Duckwing hen are shown in Fig. 73, and by comparing with the yellow Duckwing feathers 

 on the preceding page, the difference will be readily seen. These feathers were plucked from a 

 beautiful hen belonging to Mr. James Fletcher, of Stoneclough, near Manchester. 



" What are termed Birchen Duckvvings are merely birds bred from Duckwings on both sides, 

 and sometimes will come from the cross of Brown-reds and Duckwings. This breed cannot be 

 admired, for the simple reason that there is no purity of feather. The nearest description that 

 can be given is as follows :— Head and hackle dark straw, mixed with rusty brown ; breast, creamy 

 brown, a "Jiodge-podge " colour of cream and rusty brown straw ; saddle, straw and rusty brown ; 

 wing-butts, dull brown ; bow, copper-brown ; coverts, mottled rusty brown and claret, with a dash of 

 straw ; tail black, slightly bronzed ; legs willow or carp. Hen to match, a dirty. dark grey, almost 

 a brown — in fact, the Silver-grey hen in all points, only browner, and few distinguishing colours or 

 markings, the shoulders being a little greyer than the back. They never had many admirers, not 

 being bred for, but coming from crosses ; and not being tried for, and no one seeming to wish to keep 

 the breed up, it is seldom now to be met with. 



" PILE GAME. — This is a breed very much admired, and always was. There are several 

 varieties which merely vary in a few different-coloured feathers, such as the Worcester Piles and 

 Cheshire Piles, having a few black feathers intermixed in body and tail ; whereas the Lancashire 

 Pile is of pure colours, being white where a Black-red is black, and such we will describe, although 

 a slightly-marbled breast is highly prized if not too heavy :— Symmetry a little lighter or more 

 sprightly than a Black-red in general ; head a chestnut-red, hackle running a little lighter in colour 

 than the head ; face a rather brighter red, and the chestnut carried right to the point of the hackle. 

 Back, chestnut and claret colour; shoulder-coverts and bow of the wings a rich red violet ; breast, 

 higher part marbled, or each feather laced with a pale chestnut inclining to a shade of blue ; 

 wing-coverts white edged with red chestnut ; the tail white or merely a slight tick of black in the 

 sickles, both in great and small sickles ; thighs white ; under part of body white ; eyes red ; legs 

 yellow, white, or willow. 



" The Pile Game hen's head is a light chestnut ; hackle white, faced with yellow chestnut ; the 

 back a white ground-colour, slightly laced with red, a shade of gold prevailing ; and salmon- 

 coloured wing-coverts almost similar to back, but just a little heavier in the dark colour ; breast a 



