20 



SUCCESS WITH POULTRY 



tion of other buff breeds free from feathers on the legs, 

 but which possess at the same time all the advantages of 

 a buff fowl. These new breeds are Buff Plymouth Rooks, 

 Buff Wyandottes and Buff Leghorns, the first two Being 

 general purpose fowls. 



fowls, as tnese pin feathers are barely noticed, even when 

 the fowls have not been very carefully plucked. The Buff 

 breeds are favoritSs, and they have proven such valuable 

 fowls from the utility point of view that the public says- 

 they must stay, and the public knows. 



BI^CE MINOaOAS. 



standard-bred Buff Wyandottes. 



A .close inspection of the cuts of Buff Eocks, Buff Lieg- 

 horns and Buff Wyandottes presented herewith will disclose 

 that in the matter of shape they are like the other varie- 

 ties of the same breeds. This is as it should be — form is 

 the first thing to be considered; the dress is another matter. 



Breeders of these new varieties of Bocks,'Leghorns ancf 

 Wyandottes have suceeeded in prgducing some fowls' of a 

 wonderful shade of buff, and each year the color culls are 

 fewer than the preceding. When these varieties were orig- 

 inated a few years ago many of them came too red or too 

 pale in shade, but almost any color can be fiied by patient 

 breeding- from year to year and now some breeders have 

 strains that will reproduce their color in large proportion. 

 Some years ago the poultry judge, Mr. Theo. Hewes,' in an- 

 swering an inquiry about Buff Wyandottes, >rith which ho 

 bad been experimenting, said to the questioner that it would 

 be well tor amateurs to let such breeds remain in the hands 

 of old fanciers until the color is more firmly established, 

 and the time has now arrived when the color is eatablisHted, 

 Bo that any young breeder, with such an application of in- 

 telligence as is needed in handling the older breeds, may 

 breed these new-comers true to color. 



The putting on of a buff dress should in no degree in- 

 jure the good qualities of any breed, either in weight, 

 shape, or egg-producing qualities; in fact, as we have said, 

 it improves the appearance of the dressed fowls. 



All xjeghorns lay well and the Buff variety is not Be- 

 hind the others. It lays an egg equaling (in many strains) 

 the size of that laid by the White I/eghorn, and many 

 flocks of Jiuffs have an advantage in size of body. 



As general purpose fowls the Buff Eocks and Wyan- 

 dottes possess the qualifications of the other varieties of 

 these breeds, with the additional advantage of a color of 

 plumage which assists in securing the yellow skin desired by 

 the public. The fact that the pin feathers are of a color 

 similar to that of the skin, adds to their value as market 



Black Minorcp(S have come to be quite popu- 

 lar in America, though npt nearly so popular as 

 the Single Comb Brown and White Leghorns. 

 The Minorcas seem to rival the Leghorns as lay- 

 ers, but they have hardly succeeded. They are 

 in fact great layers, and as such are valuable 

 ' ^ fowls. They have two important advantages 

 ~, over the Leghorns, viz: They are Cipnsiderably 

 larger an^ heavier and lay a larger egg. There 

 are no standard weights for Leghorns, but they 

 range in size from four and one-half pounds for 

 male birds, and four to five pounds for females, 

 .''^ while the standard weights for Minorcas is as 

 4y', follows: Cock, eight pounds; hen, six and one- 

 half pounds; cockerel, six and one-half pounds; 

 pullet, five and one-half ]^ounds. .The Miorcas 

 lay a handsome, large, pure Ti;hite egg and lay 

 a good many of them. 



In color of plumage they should be a rich, 

 glossy black throughout, showing an absence of 

 purple barring, and having the same rich green 

 sheen that is so desirable in Black Langshans. 

 This sheen is not required by the Standard to 

 the same extent as it is in Langshans, but it should be. 

 Any White or gray in Black (Minorcas is as serious a defect 

 as in Black Langshans and should disqualify specimens 

 for breeding purposes, except in cases where an off-colored 

 feather is the result of an accident, like a bruised pin- 

 feather or the bird being out of condition when molting. 

 It is dangerous to compromise at all with white in the 

 plumage of black fowls, for too often breeders are too len- 

 ient in this respect, the result being a cropping out of 

 white or partially white feathers in their strain, to its 

 ruination. 



Standard-bred Bla«k Minorcas. 



The Minorcas include as a breed the Blacks, Whites and 

 Eose Comb Blacks. The Whites are the same as the Blacks, 

 excepting that their plumage is pure white throughout, and 

 their legs are of a flesh color instead of slate color. The 

 Eose Comb Blacks are the same as the Single Oomb Blacks 

 except comb. Tor views of a Eose Comb see illustrations of 

 Eose Comb White and Brown Leghorns in these pages. 



