LIGHT BRAHMAS IN NEW ENGLAND. 



Fifty Years of Improvement and of Advancement in Popularity— Points of Recent Improvement— A 



Comparison of Winning Types. 



By T. P. McGrbw. 



^From the Reliable Poultry Journal.) 



F 



iROM the time of what is known as the "Cornish im- 

 portation of Brahmas" into Connecticut, in 1849, via 

 the Port of New York from some south sea country, 

 the Brahmas have become the pride of all New England 

 fanciers. New England, of all the world, is the home of the 

 Brahma; there they are produced in all their glory and mod- 

 ern perfection. 



Early in the seventies— almost thirty years ago — Mr. 

 Lewis Wright, of England, wrote the following words: 

 "Each breeder should fully acquaint himself with the proper 

 characteristic of his favorite fowl and have in his mind a 

 definite idea as to the standard of perfection after which he 

 aims. If such ideas have been formed intelligently and on 

 good grounds, they should not be lightly given up for the 

 fashion of the hour, which can often not be depended upon 

 longer than that of a lady's bonnet. It will often be better, 

 and in the end even pay better, to sacrifice some prizes for 

 a year or two than to give in to the present fancies of sec- 

 ond-rate judges and degrade a stock in order to meet them." 



These timely spoken words of the "King of the Brahma 

 fancy" in England saved the Brahma from ruin and main- 

 tained their characteristics, while not in our cherished type, 

 yet of the same fashion, only more cobby than we select. 

 At that time, in England the opinion of the judges, whether 

 right or wrong, had great influence and many followed the 

 lead of these experts and tried to fashion their Brahmas on 

 Cochin lines by shortening their legs and encouraging 

 heavy hocks. The words of Mr. Wright changed these plans 

 somewhat, and called the attention of all to the true rule of 

 breeding to a true-type. Many times with us could this same 

 warning be sounded as against following a fashion that is 

 made popular by the placing of awards in opposition to the 

 standard rule. It would be well for us at times if some one 

 of authority could save us from ourselves when we wander 

 from a true type while searching for a solid wing flight, or 

 a handsome covert, as if these constituted the whole thing. 



Too much attention cannot be paid to the rich coloring 

 of our Light Brahmas. The neck feathers of the males, 

 when examined singly, may be quite handsome, but the 

 proper coloring of the hackle should present a beautiful 

 blending of color from just at the juncture of head to well 

 down over the shoulders, the whole presenting a picture of 

 beauty in black and white that is most attractive. The 

 black centre of the hackle should be rich and bright and 

 the white edge of the same pure white, without any shading 

 of black whatever. The black should be clear cut and dis- 

 tinct—no running of the black into the white, the white 

 border or edging of each feather should be pure white and 

 entirely free from any shading of dark or black. 



Such rich, pure coloring of the neck is very beautiful 

 when the black centre is of a rich shining black that tapers 

 to a fine ending at the point, and the whole edged or laced 

 all about the black centre clear up to the very start of same, 

 with clear, pure white that has no tinge of color in it. When 

 such coloring extends close up to the head and well around 



in front, marking the entire hackle plumage, leaving no pure 

 white portion upon the plumage, then the perfect neck is 

 present. No more will the white ring about the neck, just 

 back of the head, pass muster as the perfect marking, nor 

 will it do to have clear white portions of the hackle on 

 either side in front, lacking the black centre; the hackle 

 must be well marked in every feather. 



The pure black flights in the male are most difficult to 

 obtain in these handsomely marked specimens that have 

 the nice white lacing about the coverts, and the pure, clear, 

 rich black tails which are nicely filled in with feathers 

 laced with white. This beautiful combination of clear black 

 and white, with the black or almost black flights, gives us 

 the present up-to-date rich colored show specimens. Many 

 such were seen at the Boston show, of a quality that sur- 

 passed any yet produced in this country, their form, color 

 and markings being the admiration of all who saw them. 



There are many fanciers throughout New England who 

 pride themselves on the high quality of their Brahmas who 

 never send a "bird to a show, and there are many more who 

 breed them for the keenest competition and come to the 

 ring side, as it were, to contend for supremacy. The latter 

 are the backbone of the New England fancy; they form the 

 membership of the New England Brahma Club; they are 

 the men who guide and guard the future welfare of the 

 Brahma, and to them the world must look for the greatest 

 ■ advancement and quality in this breed. 



The application of all rules of law can be so construed 

 as to fit almost any existing condition; it seems to be much 

 the same in applying the Standard of Perfection to the 

 Brahmas in our seyeral shows. After 'the awards were placed 

 in Boston in 1900, the accusation was made against the win- 

 ning pullet that it was Cochin in shape. Under the approval 

 of the New England Brahma Club this claim was made em- 

 phatically. Next year they had the exhibit and the selection 

 of judges in their own hands, and we find second on cock 

 birds and first on cockerels placed on specimens that 

 showed more of the Cochin type in their make-up than had 

 the pullet of 1900. 



When we compare the awards of one year at Boston and 

 New York, we find that a cock bird of admitted high quality 

 was first at Boston. This same cock bird, when he came to 

 New York two weeks later, was superceded by one that was 

 selected two weeks before at the Boston show because he 

 was considered to be the style of bird most preferred by the 

 New York judge. All the Boston pullet winners were turned 

 down at New York in favor of one that did not gain a place 

 at Boston. The winner at New York was small in size, trim 

 in form, beautiful in hackle plumage, not clear white in 

 body plumage, and her wing flights almost too weak in color 

 for an old hen. Here we have a demonstration of the great 

 gap that divides the opinion of these two experts. 



This shows the importance of having a better under- 

 standing and of getting closer together on the whole matter. 



T. P. McGREW. 



