340 



FANCIERS' JOUENAL AND POULTEY EXCHANGE. 



sometimes, I would like to ask if it would not have been 

 policy, yes even a good thing, to have just said the cock 

 may be all over the color of milk, with some little fixing 

 about the neck and tail ? Then you would have a style of 

 feathering none could fail to hit, and would have been a great 

 saving of words, and would have given us a standard broad 

 as any political platform, which could bo narrowed up 

 or lengthened out to meet the requirements of any set of 

 fanciers who might need the assistance of a standard to 

 judge of the merits or demerits of a fowl. 



But as this is all the defence I have seen of the so-called 

 new standard, and as it is from one of the various commit- 

 tees, I suppose it is the best they can give. Therefore I 

 think it might be a good plan to try once more, and do it 

 in the usual manner of doing such things in America, 

 adopting some such plan as I have named in the beginning 

 of this article. T. F. L. 



New Haven, Conn., May 15, 1874. 



(For Fanciers' Journal.) 



The American Standard of Excellence excludes B. B. Bed 

 Games with yellow legs ; hence they will be ruled out by 

 committees in awarding premiums. 



Now, is this to be approved of or submitted to by the 

 majority of breeders of Game fowls? I, for one, protest 

 against it, when no satisfactory reason can be given why 

 the yellow legs are not equal to the willow legs, both for 

 gameness and beauty. Some of the most beautiful Game 

 fowls I have ever seen on exhibition have been the B. B. 

 Beds with yellow legs. Game fowls should be judged by 

 their fighting qualities. Can any one tell me what advan- 

 tage in the pit a B. B. Bed with willow legs will have over 

 a B. B. Bed with yellow legs. I can prove that some of the 

 best fowls ever fought in this country have been the B. B. 

 Reds with yellow legs. I believe the new standard to be a 

 one-sided concern, got up for the benefit of the few. I have 

 heard a number of poultry fanciers express their opinion in 

 regard to the standard, and have yet to hear of one who is 

 not dissatisfied with it. S. L. Cumminqs. 



Rowley, Essex Co., Mass. 













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PEKIN DUCKS. 



We should like to learn more of the facts in relation to 

 the actual merits claimed for, but not yet substantiated, of 

 this new breed of water fowl. 



"We have heard of them growing well, and promising 

 great weight when a few months old. It is now over a year 

 since they were imported, one trio only of which survived 

 out of the lot. It is claimed that they suffered from the 

 hardships of the voyage, and were consequently dwarfed, 



but that they are good layers, and the young resulting from 

 incubation, which lasts only twenty- five days, appear to be 

 one-third larger than Kouens or Aylesburys when they leave 

 the shell, and grow more rapidly through the season. 



The last we heard from them, as to size and weight, it is 

 said that the largest pair on exhibition at the Connecticut 

 Poultry Show (where they excited a good deal of interest), 

 exceeded the old ones in size, and weighed fifteen pounds at 

 five months old, and were in good growing order, which is 

 good weight, but scarcely better than that of the Eouens or 

 Aylesburys which they are expected to exceed. Mr. Fowler 

 writes the editor of the Fanciers' Gazette, April 2d: "We 

 have an Aylesbury duckling (drake) barely ten weeks (two 

 and a half months) old, which weighs exactly eight pounds," 

 a weight not yet excelled nor approached by the Pekin in 

 this country, and we doubt if in any other, at 2£ month's 

 old. The Pekin ducks are described as having long bodies 

 and necks, heads rather large, wings and legs short, the 

 bills yellow, and the legs of a deep orange or reddish color. 

 Their plumage is white with a creamy tinge under the 

 feathers, which are remarkably abundant, giving them the 

 appearance of extra size. They are said to moult like geese, 

 as indicated by the great quantities of feathers thrown off 

 constantly through the summer in places where they most 

 frequently resort. It is therefore probable that they may, 

 like them, be "plucked" with equal profit if they are as 

 large and fluffy or downy as it is said they are. " They are 

 entirely hardy, bearing well, so far, our variable and extreme 

 climate, minding neither snow, rain, or sun;" excellent 

 foragers, though easily kept in small inclosures, providing 

 they have water constantly before them, and regularly fed. 

 Their general shape is peculiar, though their motions on the 

 water are easy, and their long graceful necks and large 

 bodies make them an attractive and ornamental feature. 



The drawing is said to represent them well. The stock is 

 in the hands of a breeder, who is interested in their intro- 

 duction to the notice of amateurs and fanciers generally, 

 and we hope to learn, soon as practicable, the result of the 

 experience of those who have given them a fair trial. 



(For Fanciers' Journal.) 



G. P. BURNHAM— THE ORIGIN OP THE 

 BRAHMA FOWL. 



In one of the earlier numbers of your Journal, G. P. 

 Burnham, in his "Reminiscences of the Hen Fever," gives 

 what he claims to be a true account of the origin of the 

 Brahma fowl. This account, I believe, after reading both 

 Burnham and Wright, to be entirely erroneous. Many of 

 your readers take a deep interest in the breeding of Brahmas, 

 and would like to know as much as possible about them. I 

 would refer those who wish to investigate the matter to 

 "Wright's Illustrated Book of Poultry," or to his " Brahma 

 Fowls." Mr. W. is very generally acknowledged to be the 

 best living authority on this breed of fowls. 



As many of your readers have not access to these works, 

 and in order that they may see how highly Mr. Burnham's 

 opinion is valued on the other side of the water, I request 

 you to publish the following extract from "Wright's Illus- 

 trated Book of Poultry," pages 243 & 244 : 



"We have already seen that Mr. Cornish's statement was 

 published long before Mr. Burnham's. It gives a perfectly 

 clear, consistent, and simple account of the origin of certain 

 birds which are proved by independent testimony to have 

 been all obtained from the State of Connecticut ; and the 

 obvious question is, by what testimony, save of the clearest, 



