COLOR Ai\U STRL'CTLM^E Ol' I'LUMAdK 



89 



guished not by ilittcroncc in color, hut liy .single and ro.su combs. 



Many people believe that the color types of fowls are very com- 

 plex and intricate. The fact is that the colors of chickens are rela- 

 tively siniide, and the different patterns are not as nimierous as 

 some suppose. There are red and black and their deviations, liuff 

 and blue, also white ^vith which to work. We therefore have red, 

 black, white, buft", and so-called blue varieties. 



There also are combinations of two colors in the individual 

 feathers, giving rise to barred, laced, penciled and Columbian feather 

 markings. If lacing is formed by a black edge on a wdiite feather 

 it is called sdver; if it is black edging on a reddish ground it is 

 called golden. If the penciling- is formed by about three concentric 



'^«li*r 



Lacing. 



Barring. 



Penciling. 



bands of black lacing on a white ground it is called silver penciled; 

 if it is formed by black penciling on a reddish ground it is called 

 partridge. These feather patterns are not difficult to understand; it 

 is the nomenclature that is confusing. 



For instance, in the Wyandotte breed, a silver is a Silver (laced) 

 Wyandotte; in Rocks, a silver is a Silver (penciled) Plymouth Rock; 

 in both breeds a golden penciled specimen is a Partridge Plymouth 

 Rock or Wyandotte. The American Poultry Association virtually is 

 obliged to accept the name that is uppermost in popularity, for there 

 are few instances where a name has been changed successfully. St. 

 Petersburg was changed to Petrograd; but once it has become popular, 

 a name usually sticks, no matter how absurd that name may be. For 

 instance, the Cochin is truly the Shanghai, and probably never saw 



