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THE ORPINGTONS 



should be close; tail medium; body, broad, deep, and full; 

 thighs, short; shanks, short and strong; the single comb 

 should be of medium size, evenly serrated and free from 

 side sprigs; flesh, firm.'' 



Buff Orpingtons Satisfy the British Market Demand 



The people of Great Britain are much in favor of 

 birds with white legs, in fact, a first-class table fowl must 

 show a white shank, or else it ceases to be a first-class 

 table fowl. As our only white-legged fowls, previous to 

 the advent of the Bufif Orpingtons, were the Dorkings and 

 some of the Game varieties, there naturally followed a 

 boom in that variety which has only just begun to subside. 

 Fanciers, farmers, and suburban poultry keepers all took 



WHITE ORPINGTON COCK 



Winner of first prize and special at Madison Square 

 Garden and Boston; also first at Cleveland, Ohio, 190S. 

 Bi-ed and owned by Sunswick Poultry Farm, South 

 Plainfleld, N. J. 



them up. Since the early days of the Buff Orpington it 

 has been wonderfully improved, but even now it is far 

 from perfect, though feathered legs and long backs no 

 longer appear in the show pen. It is still quite difficult to 

 breed them anywhere true to color, and indeed, sound 

 buff tails are yet scarce, but the utility value of the variety 

 makes amends, as the off-colored pullets may be kept for 

 layers and the cockerels fatted for the table. 



The three points to be considered in breeding Buff 

 Orpingtons are, first, color, which should be a sound buff, 

 free from black and white feathers; second, shape, which 

 should be similar to that of the Black Orpington; third, 

 clean, white feet and shanks, free from feathering. The 

 Poultry Club Standard differs somewhat from that for the 

 Blacks- 

 Poultry Club's (England) Standard for Buff Orpingtons 



Defects in head and comb, deduct up t'> 10 points 



Defects in color, deduct up to 35 points 



Defects in legs and feet, deduct up to IS points 



Want of >hape, deduct up to 20 points 



Want of size, deduct up to 10 points 



Want of condition, deduct up to 10 points 



100 



Serious defects for which Buff Orpingtons should be 

 passed are: Other than four toes; wry tail; feathers or fluff 

 on legs and feet; yellow skin; yellow in legs or feet; in 

 both Blacks and Buffs, any colored feathers other than 

 black and buff. 



White Orpingtons have been in existence for nearly 

 twenty years, but if my memory serves me, the originals 

 were not unlike the White Minorcas. They now approach 

 in appearance the White Dorking. I give below, the 

 White Orpington Club Standard, which is, I believe, ac- 

 cepted by the Poultry Club: 



The White Orpington Club (England) Standard 



For cock: Comb, single, of medium size, well set 

 upon the head, erect and free from side sprigs; eye, red; beak, 

 short, white, and nicely curved; ear-lobes, red, small and 

 round; wattles, well rounded, of fine texture; color, a pure, 

 snow white, free from any foreign. color; neck and saddle 

 hackle, full and long; tail, medium size and inclined back- 

 wards; back, short and nicely curved; legs and feet, white, 

 free from feathers, four toes on each foot, straight and set 

 well apart; breast, broad and full. 



For hen: Same color, head and type as in male bird, 

 of neat appearance and active habits. The type in both 

 sexes must be cobby, of low build and short on legs. 



White Orpingtons are steadily increasing in favor, in 

 some measure due to the boom in white breeds which 

 was a feature of last year, but it is their great value as a 

 table fowl tl'at is chiefly responsible for the larger num- 

 bers kept. They are gradually taking the place of the 

 White Dorkinu, as they are eciually good as table fowl, 

 better layers, and far hardier. Their only drawback is 

 their color. No small proportion of British poultry keep- 

 ers are town dwellers, either professional men or members 

 of the working classes, who have only a few square 

 yards of space to spare for the fowls. No white breed 

 shows to advantage on bare earth runs and hence the 

 suburban poultry keepers as a class, avoid white breeds. 

 Even the White Leghorn, in the height of its prosperity, 

 was not nearly so largely kept as the Black Minorca — al- 

 ways the chief favorite among suburban poultrymen. 



In size, all Orpingtons should be as large as possible, 

 consistent with type. 



Orpingtons Are Increasing in Popularity 



To this brief description of the various breeds of Orp- 

 ingtons today, and its present position in the poultry 

 world, I have little to add, but its fame is extending far 

 beyond these Islands. Our colonies have taken it up 

 largely, for instance, Xew Zealand has specially taken to 

 the Spangles, and imports them to this country. In South 

 Africa the Orpingtons are the most popular breed. They 

 are not in great favor on the continent, except in Hungary, 

 where they are bred in large numbers. 



Their universal favoritism indicates very plainly the 

 trend of popular taste toward utility as well as fancy. The 

 days of the purely "fancy" fowls arc past, such breeds as 

 the Polish, Spanish, etc., whose attractiveness is entirely 

 due to their quaint aijpearance, being practically extinct, 

 although they were formerly the mainstay of our shows. 



Orpingtons were originally bred for utility only, and 

 although our fanciers have taken them up so warmly that 

 at all our big poultry exhibitions they form a show of 

 themselves, the economic qualities of the breed have not 

 suffered, nor is there at present any chance, so far as I 

 can see, of any other breed even seriously challenging their 

 position in the near future. 



