128 ANNALS NEW YORK ACADEMY OF SCIENCES 



Crosses between American Dominique Females and Langshan 



Males 



Parent Generation. — Both the hens and the cock were purchased from 

 breeders of these strains. 5 The one peculiarity calling for notice is the 

 occasional occurrence in the Dominique hens of black or partly black 

 feathers (Plate XIX, figs, b, &, e). One of the four hens used had sev- 

 eral such feathers. The other hens were free from them. The American 

 Dominiques have barred feathers (Plate XIX, figs, a, c), essentially like 

 those of Plymouth Rocks. 



F x Generation from Langshan $ by Dominique 2 . — About 15 offspring 

 were reared ; the hens were black and the cockerels barred. Of these, five 

 hens and two cocks were bred from. The black hens were like the father 

 as to color; the males were barred like the mother, except that a large 

 number of black feathers were present — some feathers entirely black 

 (Plate XIX, figs, r and t) and others barred and black (Plate XIX, 

 figs, p, q, s, u). 



F 2 Generation. — In the second generation, there were recorded 15 

 blacks and 11 barred birds. Three of the latter died or were killed by 

 animals. Of the remaining, there were 11 male and 15 females tabulated 

 as to color as follows : 



2 $ 



Barred 8 4 



Black 7 7 



The barred birds were fairly uniform. They were kept for about two 

 months, when their feathers were well developed. A few birds were dis- 

 tinctly darker than the rest, and one bird was much lighter. Certain 

 details regarding white feathers in the wings will be spoken of later. 



Bach Cross of F 1 $ (Barred) to Dominique 2 . — One of the sons was 

 crossed to the four hens that had produced his generation. A first census 

 of the offspring, when the birds were small, gave 19 barred and 4 black 

 birds. A later count when the birds were older gave 14 barred and 4 

 black. Five barred birds had disappeared. The distribution of color 

 and sex of 16 of these birds was as follows : 



2 $ 



Barred 7 5 



Black. 



5 The Dominiques came from W. H. Davenport, Colrain, Mass. The source of the 

 Langshans is given on page 115. 



