COCHIN MALE SHAPE. 



Criticisms of Foremost Judges and Cochin Breeders on a Composite Ideal From Live Models, Drawn 

 by Franklane L. Sewell— A Collection of Opinions That Are in Themselves Authority on 



the Ideal Shape of a Standard Cochin Male. 



From the Reliable Poultry Journal. 



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'E PRESENT the following criticisms of Artist F. 

 L. Sewell's delineation of Standard Cochin male 

 shape offered by those most interested in the 

 Cochin fancy in an honest endeavor to secure a 

 more uniform type for the guidance of breeders and judges: 

 G. 0. Brown, Maryland, judge and breeder: "The male 

 appears too much wedge-shaped, lacks fullness of both 

 breast and fluff in comparison with height. Comb too far 

 front. "Wattles too large and should not fold. Leg and toe 

 feathering a trifle too full for American Cochins, but if 

 full feathered or English is to become the prevailing fash- 

 ion, all right. Short in neck in comparison with size of 

 specimen." 



F. H. Shellabarger, Iowa, judge and breeder: "The 

 cochin male as submitted is, in my judgment, too high up 

 to his back from his feet. Or, in other words, strip his 

 thighs and shanks of the feathering and his legs would be 

 long enough for a Brahma. His neck is also full short for 

 the proportion he shows otherwise. His wattles are also a 

 trifle long for a Cochin." 



George H. Northup, New York, judge and breeder: 

 "Cochin male nearly perfect, wattles a little too long, breast 

 not quite full enough. Too much length from lower edge of 

 wing to bottom of feet. I do not notice any other section 

 that can be improved." 



D. T. Heimlich, Illinois, judge and breeder: "The 

 Cochin male appears entirely too high on legs and too short 

 in neck. The leg feathering and the feathering under breast 

 are entirely out of proportion to the size of his body. Back, 

 tail and body shape are all 0. K. If the breast were a little 

 deeper it would make an improvement in his appearance." 



S. L. Roberts, California, judge and breeder: "The first 

 impression one receives from the Cochin male etching is 

 that the distance from center of back to foot is too great. 

 Shorn of the shank and toe feathers the bird would appear 

 very stilted. Head is not carried forward as Cochins carry 

 their heads. Upper mandible of beak is blunt. Comb is 

 small for massiveness of bird. Breast is too full at throat 

 and down to point of keel. Neck is too short. Shoulder is 

 held too low. Fluff is not heavy enough latterly on thigh. 

 Tail is too rounded and blunt. The etching is evidently 

 done to meet the requirements of the modern bunch of 

 plumes known as Buff Cochin, whereas it should have con- 

 formed to a composite Cochin type; for, sad to say, all 

 Cochins are not characteristically of same form, as now 

 bred. In some respects I like the work very well." 



Theo. Hewes, Indiana, judge and breeder: "The outline 

 Mr. Sewell has furnished does not leave very much room for 

 any one to pick flaws. The position of the bird makes him 

 look as if he were standing on an uneven surface. I should 



like the bird to show a little broader in breast, and a trifle 

 deeper; back broader and tail a little more upright. In 

 feathers he is immense and fits the new Standard well." 



W. S. Russell, Iowa, judge and breeder: "Male bird is 

 not deep enough in body. Is too narrow in breast, too 

 scanty in fluff, too short in back. The bird in total is too 

 high for his depth." 



H. S. Babcock, Rhode Island, judge and breeder: "The 

 Cochin male from top of back to bottom of feet is too long; 

 too pronounced a V in the whole outline. Otherwise very 

 good, though personally I prefer to see the legs a little bet- 

 ter defined." 



H. B. Savage, Texas, judge and breeder: "Male — Well, 

 these illustrations, to my mind, are so near perfection that 

 there is little left to say. Would like the neck a trifle longer, 

 breast a little more plump, and legs a trifle shorter, with 

 fluff a little heavier." 



A. B. Shaner, Illinois, judge and breeder: "The head 

 shows a little coarse, wattles are too long. Neck should be 

 short, but in my judgment, the one submitted is a trifle too 

 short. The convex curve of back is a trifle sharp. Lower 

 breast might be a little fuller. In general, he stands in a 

 trifle too much of a neck-drawn-in posture." 



C. H. Rhodes, Kansas, judge and breeder: "I consider 

 the cut of Buff Cochin male about right; the outlines are 

 Oochiny all over. The great abundance of fluff and loose 

 feathering fills up all angles and represents a Cochin in 

 every sense of the word. I have no comments to make." 



S. A. Rigg, Illinois, breeder of Buff Cochins: "In regard 

 to the etchings of Cochins, I think Mr. Sewell must be a 

 mind reader. The male is exactly the mental picture I have 

 always formed of ideal Cochin shape, though I must confess 

 I can not get my hens to see it just that way." 



F. B. Donisthorpe, Nebraska, breeder of Buff Cochins: 

 "I do not wish to criticise too severely friend Sewell, for I 

 am a lover of his work, but I cannot help thinking that in 

 sketching this male he had not fully obliterated from his 

 mind the old English Shanghai that we used to raise twen- 

 ty-five or thirty years ago. I apply this simply and solely 

 to the height of the bird. I think that if about an inch 

 were taken off from the height we should have a better 

 Cochin shape. Of course, to-day we are breeding for a 

 'blocky' bird. We want to get, if possible, a ball of feath- 

 ers. I admire very much, indeed, the tail of the male, neither 

 too high nor too low. I have been trying for the last two 

 years to have my males so that a horizontal line could be 

 drawn from top of head to tip of tail. I would furthermore 

 criticise in a slight degree the comb of the male. I think 



