THE CAMPINES 



41 



Campines. Most of my chicks have been hatched in in- 

 cubators and have been placed in Cornell brooder 

 houses. Concerning my young stock that is now about 

 three months old, the manager of my plant, Mr. Hiram 

 Bradshaw, reports that never in his experience has 

 there been so small mortality among his baby chicks. 

 I do not believe that we have lost five per cent of the 

 Campines hatched this spring. 



I ascribe the manifest sturdiness of the third gen- 

 eration to two causes. The first cause is good parent- 

 age. All of my young stock are descended either 

 through their male or female parent from Silver King 1, 

 who, in addition to his other splendid physical points, 

 was as healthy a specimen of Campine as I have ever 

 seen. The second cause, I consider the hygienic sur- 

 roundings provided for the chickens. My breeding houses 

 are free from dampness at all times of the year. All 

 of them have about one-third of the frontage open, and 

 even in the coldest weather this third is covered only 

 with muslin screens. The health of my young stock, I 

 attribute largely to these two factors, dryness and fresh 

 air. 



It must be remembered, of course, that the physical 

 condition of little chickens is dependent to a great ex- 

 tent upon their daily care. Mine, when permitted to 

 exercise outside the brooder house have been placed in 

 yards with a soil of light loam and in which there is 

 little, if any, high vegetation. I learned last spring that 

 heavy dew in the morning and long wet grass are fatal 

 to the Campine chick. 



To sum up my opinions as to the utility of the 

 Campine stock, I believe that its hardiness, under fairly 

 favorable conditions, will recommend it for breed- 

 ing purposes; I feel confident that in the hands of any 

 careful breeder, the Campine, in a very short time, will 

 equal the egg production of the very best laying strains 

 of Leghorns. Indeed, in my opinion, these two stocks 

 will resemble one another more than any other of the 

 lighter breeds. 



As to the physical characteristics that add to the 

 beauty and therefore the popularity of the fowl, I wish 

 to see the Campine a sprightly creature, in type re- 

 sembling the Leghorn much more than the Minorca. I 

 would have the breast, especially in the females, a bit 

 fuller than the breast of the Leghorn. In preference to 

 the pronounced curve sought after in the back of the 

 Leghorn, I would have the Campine's back slope a bit 

 from the shoulders. In size and weight I think the 

 Campine should fall a little more than the other breed. 

 Beau Brummel, however, one of my Leghorn males, 

 who has been a noted prize winner during the last four 

 years, weighed seven pounds as a yearling! Now I 

 should n^t like to see a Campine male, even a cock, 

 considered as a standard toward which we should breed, 

 whose weight exceeded six pounds. 



At the present time, I favor allowing the breeder 

 a wide latitude as to the feathering of Campines, with, 

 perhaps, an agreement on such important considera- 

 tions as color of hackle, width of white bar on the 

 feather, and condition of the tail furnishings. It is very 

 difficult to get a white hackle and well-barred wings 

 and saddle in the same bird. If the feather-barring on 

 the breast is strongly marked there is a tendency to in- 



Claribel, First Prize Pullet Chicago Coliseum Show, 

 December, 1913. Owned by Frank B. Hering. 



determinate barring on the back. The establishment of 

 all of these desirable characteristics can be obtained 

 only by careful selection. 



I believe that if we emphasize white hackles, as free 

 as possible from ticking, wings with every feather 

 barred, pronounced saddle hangers and tail furnishings 

 •with every feather barred to the end, we shall add 

 greatly to the popularity of the breed. In the matter of 

 barrings, I favor a ratio of between three and four to 

 one between the white and the black bars, on all ex- 

 cept -the breast feathers. On these I think a ratio of 

 one to one should be accepted for some time to come. 



My strain has already contributed several valuable 

 additions toward Campine perfection. Most important 

 of these is the beautiful green sheen that I have been 

 able to accentuate in the plumage of my young stock. 

 Others are the regular and beautiful barrings of the 

 sickle feathers, and the increase in length of sickles and 

 saddle hangers. The first cockerel at the last show in 

 the Coliseum, Chicago, had sickle feathers that measured 

 fourteen inches in length and saddle hangers that meas- 

 ured between six and seven inches, at eight months of 

 age. The tail of this bird and his brother — first pen 

 cockerel — had an angle of about 45 degrees. Owing to 

 the length of the tail feathers and the very heavy cush- 

 ion across the saddle, the lines of these two males were 

 as graceful as the lines of the Leghorn. ' 



The Campine breed is new and the most of its 

 varied possibilities are yet to be revealed. A few years 

 spent in the study of it leaves much to be learned. For 

 some time to come the interest of the breed will best 

 be served by intelligent discussion and a free exchange 

 of opinion among its friends. 



