CHAPTEIR II 



Orpington Type 



Variations of Shape and Breed Ghnraoteristics in Blaok, Buff and White Orpingtons — Comparison of 



American and English Standard Types — Chart Illustrations Showing the Correct Cobby 



Type of the Orpington — English Type of the Past and Present Illustrated 



J. H. D 



HAPE makes the breed; color the variety" is 

 an old familiar expression coined by F. B. 

 Zimmer twenty years or more ago. It has 

 been used ever since by writers on Standard 

 bred poultry because it most briefly and em- 

 phatically defines the type of all varieties 

 bearing the family name of the breed as being 

 the same for all. This is, or should be the 

 Standard law for all breeds recognized by the 

 American Poultry Association and the English Poultry 

 Club. 



When we speak or write about Plymouth Rock, Wy- 

 andotte, Rhode Island Red or Leghorn type we have in 

 mind only the ideal Standard shape of the breed. There 

 can, or should be no difference in the shape of the White, 

 Barred, Buff, or Penciled Plymouth Rocks, even if some 

 Barred and White Plymouth Rock faddists are at odds 

 over what the correct type should be. Individual prefer- 

 ence in such cases is departing from a universal Standard 

 accepted by all breeders as a rule, and ignored by a few 

 who have a type of their own strain. Compare the win- 

 ning specimens of the Barred Plymouth Rocks with those 

 of the White, Buff and Penciled varieties and departure 

 from Standard Plymouth Rock type in the former will 

 be far more frequent than in the latter. Barred Plymouth 

 Rock fanciers have gravitated toward the Wyandotte type 

 as the Standard illustration of the Barred Plymouth Rock 

 male clearly shows. The breeders of other varieties 

 have adhered more closely to the correct type and have not 

 sacrificed shape for color. The remarkable evenness in 

 type of White Plymouth Rocks seen at our leading shows 

 is a convincing illustration of Zimmer's old saying, 

 "Shape makes the breed; color the variety.'' We make the 

 above comparison of Plymouth Rock types because in a 

 similar, but greater degree, the Orpingtpns are affected. 

 The original Orpington is the Single Comb Black. All 

 other varieties of the Orpington family are such in name 

 only. There is no blood relationship between the latter 

 and the Simon-pure Black Orpington, except in the case 

 of the Rose Comb Black, the latter having a Rose Comb 

 Langshan male progenitor instead of a Single Comb Lang- 

 shan. Some strains of White Orpingtons are claimed to 

 be white sports of the Single Comb Blacks, which, if true, 

 should entitle them to the claim of being true Orpingtons 

 in the blood lines and also claim heritage to the massive 

 type of the original Orpington. With the knowledge of 

 the origin of each variety- of Orpington as given in the 

 previous chapter, it is readily understood why there is 

 such a variation in type in Black, Buff and White varie- 

 ties. To look at the three classes exhibited at shows sev- 

 eral years ago, no disinterested observer would have 

 thought the Buffs and Whites belonged to the Orpington 

 family, the type being distinct in each from that of the 

 Black .Orpingtons. In the last two years the type of the 



revena 



(adt 



Whites has greatly improved, the best specimens exhib- 

 ited rivaling the Blacks in massiveness and size and ap- 

 proaching closely the outline of the original type. So, 

 also, in a lesser degree have the Buffs gradually ap- 

 proached the Blacks in size and type but there is still 

 much room for improvement in this respect, as hundreds 

 of Buff Orpingtons, albeit sound and beautiful in color, 

 are too long in shank, too narrow in breast and lacking 

 depth and length of body, breadth of back and fullness of 



EARLY ENGLISH BLACK ORPINGTONS 



The above illustration appeared in the book "The Orpington 

 and Its Varieties" by E. Campbell and represents the Orping- 

 ton type of that day. The influence of Langshan blood is 

 readily noticeable in the shape lines of the back and tail of the 

 female and to a lesser degree in the shape of the tall of the 

 male The fullness of the neck and the depth of the body are, 

 however, characteristic of the original Black Orpington.— 

 Editor. 



hackle and tail. They resemble the Rock more than they 

 do the Orpington type. But here is the same old 

 rock which Plymouth Rock breeders have struck in their 

 path to uniformity of type, many breeders of Buff Orping- 

 tons desire a longer shanked and bodied bird than pos- 

 sessed by the Black Orpington of today. They find it 

 difficult to obtain the size, massiveness of body and the 

 profusion of feathering characteristic of the modern Black 

 Orpington, also believing the latter has been allowed to 

 depart from the original type of the Cook Orpingtons in- 

 troduced twenty years ago. A study of the illustrations- 

 Figures 1 and 2 of Chapter I— will show the original type 

 in 1890. The illustration on this page shows the English 

 type of 1902. 



General Shape, Carriage and Plumage 

 In the English Standard the above is described as fol- 

 lows: "Cobby and compact; erect and graceful; plumage 

 close." In the American Standard of 1905 Orpingtons are 



