THE ORPINGTONS 



37 



No doubt, Captain Gedney was somewhat prejudiced 

 in favor of his Langshans, which, added to his neighborly 

 feelings toward Mr. Cook, may have caused the above se- 

 vere condemnation. Our English cousins when they at- 

 tack each other in print, do not hesitate to call a "spade 

 a spade,'' or refrain from personalities. But every man 

 has his friends, so Mr. Cook was not left alone to fight 

 his battles, as the following letter, in answer to Mr, 

 Gedney's, which appeared in the January 12th, 1902, issue of 

 the American Fancier, will prove: 



"As a breeder and admirer of the Orpington, I have 

 read with much interest the correspondence that has re- 

 cently appeared in the American Fancier regarding the Bufif 

 variety. Mr. C. W. Gedney's letter in your issue of 27th of 

 October was evidently dictated by a spirit of personal ani- 

 mosity towards Mr. Cook, who, I am sure, from per- 

 sonal knowledge of him, does not merit the severe and 

 wholesale condemnation passed upon him by Mr. Gedney. 

 Surely the English public must be very stupid indeed if 

 they have allowed themselves to be 'gulled' for 17 years, 

 and we in the Australian Colonies must be equally stupid, 

 for as each new variety of Orpingtons is introduced at 

 home it is very soon thereafter imported here and eagerly 

 welcomed. I think Mr. Gedney must have drawn largely 

 upon his imagination in his description of the chicks 

 hatched from the sitting of Buffs he refers to, for I have 

 hatched scores of sittings during the past three years 

 and have never had or heard of anything approaching 

 such results. Mr. Cook, instead of attempting to conceal, 

 has frankly told both verbally and in writing the composi- 

 tion of the Orpington fowls, and so those persons who 

 breed Buffs are neither surprised nor disappointed when 

 some of the chicks are not a true buff color or have a few 

 feathers in their legs. My 

 own experience has been 

 that the chickens are very 

 free from feathers on the 

 legs and only a very small 

 percentage have specks in 

 the body feathers. Admit- 

 ting that such flaws occur 

 occasionally, these are only 

 regarded at all seriously by 

 exhibitors and in no way 

 detract from the value of 

 the Buffs as utility fowls of 

 the highest standard. In 

 this Colony the Orpingtons 

 are bred in large numbers, 

 being held in high estima- 

 tion on account of their su- 

 periority as early and pro- 

 lific layers and as quick 

 maturing table birds. The 

 government poultry expert 

 here stated in a recent re- 

 port that the Orpingtons 

 were by a long way the 

 best breed of utihty fowl 

 ever imported into this Col- 

 ony. On that account 

 alone are the praises be- 

 stowed upon them not well 

 merited and may not the 

 deprecatory remarks about 

 the breed and the personal 

 abuse of their clever creator 



COCKEREL IHPIPSTPRIIE-PErN BOSTOH JAN 1910 



BRED^"DOWliEDBY0WyirARfi5,VII1E:YARMAVEri,nA5^USA. 



be treated with contempt? The Diamond Jubilee Orping^ 

 tons recently imported here have already proved their 

 immense value as utility fowls and, like the others, have 

 come to stay. I would only add that in my opinion, Mr. 

 Cook has deservedly earned the warmest gratitude of 

 poultry keepers in this Colony as elsewhere for having 

 produced a breed of fowls which is second to none, if not 

 superior to all others, for utility purposes, and are more- 

 over wholly undeserving of the name of 'mongrels' which 

 Mr. Gedney appHes to them. E. BUTCHER. 



"Sydney, New South Wales.'' 



The above correspondence appeared at a time when 

 Buff Orpingtons began to gain a foothold in America. In 

 1901 at the New York Show, Buff Orpingtons were out in 

 great force and showed high quality, according to the re- 

 ports at that time. Such well known fanciers as F. W. 

 Gaylor, Chas. Bennington, Chas. Vass and S. D. Fur- 

 minger became interested in breeding Buff Orpingtons, 

 and as it fell to our lot to judge Orpington classes in 

 those days we could readily note the rapid advance made 

 in comparatively few years in the color and combs of the 

 English importations and in the American bred speci- 

 mens. But type was still far removed from what the 

 Standard called for. The birds were leggy and lacked 

 breadth and depth of body. In 1902 the Orpington fever 

 took firm hold of American breeders, as the following 

 report of the Orpingtons at the New York Show of that 

 year written by the enthusiastic Orpington champion, 

 Wallace P. Willett, indicates. 



At the New York Show in 1902 there were 63 Orping- 

 ton birds shown by eleven breeders against 23 by five 

 breeders last year. This shows how rapidly this breed is 



coming into favor, making 

 its own way quietly and 

 without any pushing thus 

 far. The breeders exhibit- 

 ing this year were C. E. 

 Vass, Washington, N. J., 

 Frank W. Gaylor, New- 

 port, R. I., Wallace P. Wil- 

 lett, East Orange, N. J., P. 

 Kyle, Flushing, L. I., Chas 

 Edw. Faber, Plainfield, N. 

 J., Arthur J. McCain, Dela- 

 ware, N. J., H. M. Car- 

 penter, Ossining, N. Y., 

 Jas. S. Warne, Washington, 

 N. J., Edmont Poultry 

 Farm, New Milford, N. Y., 

 and Mrs. J. G. Osborne, 

 Fabius, N. Y. 



"The first on Buff cock 

 went to Mrs. Osborne; 1st 

 hen and cockerel to C. E. 

 Vass; 1st Buff pullet to Mr. 

 G&ylor; 1st Black male and 

 female to Mr. Carpenter; 

 1st Buff pen to Mr. Willett. 

 Mr. Willett exhibited the 

 Spangled and Jubilee varie- 

 ties as well as the Buffs and 

 Blacks. Next year Secre- 

 tary Crawford promises 

 special classes for Buff, 

 Black, Jubilee, and Spang- 

 led, Wm. Cook & Sons, 



