THE ORPINGTONS 



23 



cause it is cheaper, easier, and more satisfactory to get 

 fresh blood and start afresh. Should it occur, as is not 

 improbable, that type and size shall be demanded as im- 

 peratively in Buffs as in Blacks, then the breeder who has 

 neglected these points will find himself out of the running 

 for some time. 



"To secure feather color, iii-and-in-breeding has been 

 resorted to by some breeders, with such success that in 

 many instances long backed and narrow chested types 

 have been so fixed that their prepotency is very strong, 

 and they will resist change accordingly and revert back in 

 a most irritating manner. 



"That in-breeding of this sort is absolutely necessary 

 to secure color we have been told by some authorities, and 

 their success shows that it is sound in practice at least. 

 But that it has been retained by more than one noted Buff 

 breeder who indulges in fresh blood each season for his 

 best pen so as to maintain type, substance and stamina, 

 is proof to me at least that although a ready method it is 

 not quite indispensable. And as it brings other dangers in 

 its train, only dire necessity can justify it — such a neces- 

 sity as is gradually being swept away by the general ad- 

 vance towards a pure Buff feather." 



The Goodacre Chart 



A. G. Goodacre of California, one of the earliest breed- 

 ers and importers of Orpingtons, who was associated with 

 Mr. Willett in the east at the beginning of the Orpington 

 boom in America, contributed an instructive chart repre- 

 senting Orpington type to the National Single Comb Buff 

 Orpington Club catalog of 1906 which we reproduce here. 



Mr. Goodacre offers the following explanation of the 

 above chart: 



"We give a chart showing an Orpington pullet, the 

 inner dotted line where the actual carcass of the bird is 

 carried. This aptly illustrates how the back of an Orpington 

 is shortened by a slight cushion, a strong hackle and a 



GOODACRE CHART 





EARLY IDEAL OpPINGTON FEMALE 



i''^:^-- ^^f 



rather short, neat tail; where the dotted line approaches" 

 the superficial line the feathers will be found shorter; the 

 typical Orpington has a long under line and a medium 

 long back; the great length of body has been moulded in 

 such a way as to cover up harsh lines on the surface and 

 stamped it with a character entirely different to all other 

 breeds of poultry. We desire a rather long tapering head,, 

 with very prominent eyes, a comb in proportion to the 

 specimen, medium in size with five serrations, arched so 

 that the spikes point uniformly outward; the largest spike 

 in the center, the others shortening to outer edges. The 

 comb should have a good broad base setting well on skull, 

 the neck hackle full, in the males a continuation of lustrous 

 feathers from head to tail, not broken across the shoulders 

 with coarser feathers; the saddle should be full, and tail 

 medium in male; the tail in female should rise gradually 

 from back, being rather short and pinched; both sexes 

 should show great depth from back to hock, the shanks, 

 rather short with toes apparently long, a broad back 

 across shoulders, flat, with a deep well rounded breast, 

 coupled with an arched neck, good red lobes and wattles, 

 a sprightly walk, and always that great depth of body at 

 any angle viewed. These are the characteristics of a fowl- 

 with a strong constitution, and the Orpington everybody 

 wants; the commercial fowl as well as the show bird." 



This chart is an excellent object lesson for those, who 

 year in and year out, keep advocating long backs on 

 fowls and condemning short ones, as well as the blocky or 

 cobby type of Orpingtons and other breeds. These critics 

 judge the length of back by the feathered outline and not 

 by the carcass Une. Feathers like religion, cover up a 

 multitude of bad qualities, but they frequently also hide 

 the good ones. But feathers, when perfectly developed in 

 each section, fix the type of the breed as unmistakably as 

 two and two make four. It is but another illustration off 

 the old truism: "Shape makes the breed and color the va- 

 riety.'' 



