THE ORPINGTONS 



15 



over to one side; red face and car-lobes, black beak, very 

 broad breast and long liroast bone; flesh white, plumage 

 black throughout, with a splendid green sheen. The cocks 

 have long tails, with, very fine hangers (feathers at the 

 side of the tail.) They have a number of these feathers 

 which give the birds a \'ory graceful appearance. The 

 tail should bo carried well back, not straight up; the legs 

 are black, and free from any tint of yellow, a little red, 

 however, not being objectionable; four toes on each foot. 

 The feet should be white underneath. The hens should 

 in every way correspond with the male bird, except that 

 the comb should be smaller. If it is evenly serrated and 

 straight, it may fall a little to one side. The tail, of course, 

 is smaller." 



Origin of the Rose Comb Black Orpington 



Of the Rose Comb Black C-^rpiugtons, also originated 

 by Mr. Cook, the latter writes, in the same year: 



"Lately another variety has been introduced; namely, 

 the Rose Comb Orpington. This is a breed which stands 

 right away from all the rest, and there is no other large 

 breed of black rose combs in England. The Black Ham- 

 burgs are small birds, with white ear lobes, and lay white 

 eggs, whereas the Rose Comb Orpingtons lay brown eggs, 

 I am often asked which of the two varieties — the Orping- 

 ton and the Rose Comb Orpington — is the better to keep. 

 My answer is, that it is more a matter of fancy, as they 

 dififer very shghtly in regard to their useful qualities. The 

 Rose Comb Orpingtons lay rather the more eggs, but they 

 are not so large in size as the Orpingtons. The weight of 

 eggs produced in a year does not vary, the quahty of the 

 flesh is equal, and also the fowls' appearance, except that 

 they differ in the matter of their combs. Many people, 1 



of the progeny came with rose combs. No notice was 

 taken of this, and many were killed and eaten. Fortunately 

 I got hold of a few, and bred from them, and I bought as 

 many as I could about the country, until I had a nice flock 

 liigether. Then I crossed them in the same manner as I 



ROSE COMB BLACK ORPINGTON COCK, 1890. 



find, have an idea that the rose comb variety have Black 

 Hamburg blood in them, but this is altogether a mistake. 

 "About fifteen years ago there were some Langshans 

 imported into England with rose combs. They were mated 

 with Langshans with the orthodox single comb, but many 



ROSE COMB BLACK ORPINGTON HEN, 1890. 



had done to get the single comb variety, using the Rose 

 Comb Langshan instead -of the others. I wish my readers 

 t6 understand that the rose comb is obtained by a freak 

 of nature, and not from any existing breed of fowls. 

 These freaks of nature are called 'sports.' 



All poultry keepers who have had experience in breed- 

 ing rose comb breeds of fowls know that they do not all 

 come with rose combs, although their parents all pos- 

 sessed rose conibs. The. Rose Comb Orpington is not an 

 exception to this rule, and being a newly-made breed, it 

 can scarcely be expected, when an old established breed 

 like the, Black Hamburg throws birds with single combs. 

 Of the cockerels also, a few come slightly mismarked with 

 red feathers, instead of being black throughout, as they 

 should be. Some people think it strange that the cockerel 

 should be thus marked, but it is a frequent occurrence 

 that when two black breeds are mated together, their 

 progeny will throw red feathers in their hackles and 

 saddles. 



"The Rose Comb Orpington cock should be black 

 throughout, with a splendid green gloss upon the plumage, 

 broad in the breast, and with a nice flowing tail, carried 

 well back, black beak well curved, dark or hazel eyes, the 

 former preferred, and a neat rose comb, closely fitted to 

 the head, with ^ short spike at the back, red face and ear- 

 lobes, black legs with white toe nails, four toes on each 

 foot; the sole of the foot being white. The hen should 

 match the male bird in all points, only the comb and tail 

 are smaller. The chickens are very hardy and can be 

 brought up in small runs and often lay at six months old. 



