THE CAMPINES 



65 



It will be noted that some of these breeders seem to 

 have the Leghorn type in mind as ' their ideal. While 

 this view is not entirely erroneous, we believe the Cam- 

 pine has and should retain its own individual breed char- 

 acteristics, in type as it does in color, and in our opinion, 

 to advocate a typical Leghorn shape as the ideal would 

 not be using the best judgment. While the Leghorn type 

 is a very beautiful one in all its harmony of curved sec- 

 tions, still I believe the Campine should be modified in 

 some sections, especially in length of body, fullness of 

 breast and shape of back. The breast should be fuller 

 and more developed, the back should be a trifle longer 

 and curve gradually into juncture of tail and saddle. 



In size and weight they should average somewhat 

 heavier than the Leghorn, yet should not approach the 

 Minorca in anyway. The angles of a Minorca are not 

 becoming to a good Campine and should be discouraged. 

 The cockerel illustrated in Fig. 1, page 60, pleases us 

 in many ways, yet he does not entirely fulfill the desired 

 ideal. Cockerel No. 4 possesses many beautiful and 

 desirable qualities and we believe a blending of the two 

 profiles would make nearly an ideal in body shape. No. 

 3, although a most wonderful colored cock, is too short 

 and cobby for an ideal, while No. 2 is too long and racy, 

 and approaches the Minorca in many ways. This is very 

 apt to be the fault in an immature cockerel at the age 

 at which this bird was photographed. 



A well matured female should resemble a good util- 

 ity Leghorn in shape. She should not show quite so 

 much curve to back and cushion as does the best show 

 Leghorn, but should have enough of this quality to re- 

 lieve the back Hne from the straight Minorca shape. She 

 should be rather long in body, well developed in stern, 

 but should not have an excessive low hanging fluff. Cam- 

 pines are sprightly and active and should possess style 



and vigor to a large degree. The legs should be set 

 fairly well apart and be moderately long and fine in 

 texture. One of the greatest difficulties to overcome in 



The above is a female back feather and Illustrates 

 the effect produced by numerous bars on one feather. 

 As a rule female back feathers show from three to four 

 bars and oftentimes only two distinct white bars are 

 seen as illustrated in female back feathers in plate on 

 page 58. To increase the number of bars means to ap- 

 proach the Hamburgh marking and should be dis- 

 couraged. The white markings on above feather are 

 much too wide according to the present accepted Stand- 

 ard, but even if they were narrow and fine, the possi- 

 bility of showing off a rich green lustre would not be 

 as good on this type of feather as it would be on a 

 feather with fewer white bars and a broader black 

 ground color. — A. O. Schilling. 



Campine type has been to establish a low carried tail. 

 This is a fault which I find in most of the pure Belgian 

 birds. The English have improved this defect in a large 

 measure, but we still find many specimens shown in re- 

 cent years carrying their tails en- 

 tirely too high. 



We venture to say that Americans 

 will improve the type in Campines 

 more rapidly than the English, as 

 low tails are a great hobby with 

 breeders in this country, not only 

 with the Mediterranean breeds, but 

 with our own American varieties. 

 To overcome the production of high 

 tailed specimens our advice is to se- 

 lect as breeders females having 

 plenty of tail coverts and heavy sad- 

 dles. It will be found that these fe- 

 males produce males with better tail 

 furnishings and full saddles, which 

 will tend to help in a natral way to 

 hold the tail down to a more pleas- 

 ing angle. Have you ever noticed 

 that the highest tailed males were al- 

 ways those having scant tail furn- 

 ishings and a lack of flowing saddle 

 feathers at base of tail? Mate your 



There are three causes for defective marked plumage in the backs and 

 wings of Silver Campines. We have endeavored to illustrate these separately 

 by the photographs of feathers shown above. No, 1 illustrates intermediate 

 barring, which is a common defect among the average flock of Campines, 

 especially those which may have had the old Belgian Braekel color type as 

 their near ancestors. This intermediate barring is like a faint irregular 

 penciling between the two white bars and has a brownish cast of color. 

 Group of feathers No. 2 illustrates mossiness in backs of females. The gen- 

 eral tendency is for females to show this defect after they have cast off their . nverrnmp thpcp rlofpr-ts =nH 

 original coat of pullet feathers. At present good, clear barred hens of two P^"^ ^" overcome rnese aeiects ana 

 or three years of age are not numerous. Group No. 3 are select pullet the Campine will be much improved 

 feathers and represent the finest kind of Campine barring as it is produced 

 at the present time. We call attention to the small white tip at end of 

 each feather and note how objectionable this marking is as it lays upon the 

 surface of the black bar on the under-laying feather. The English and 

 American Standards call for this mark on each feather in describing their 

 ideal and we see no reason why this should be so. It is a fact that this 

 characteristic exists in nearly all specimens, more or less, but we hope that 

 breeders will consider this subject carefully and mould their Standard ac- 

 cordingly. If this white tip is not beneficial to the production of clear, dis- 

 tinct barred effect on backs of male or female, why should we describe it as 

 a Standard breed characteristic? We suggest that it be stricken out and 

 eliminated by selection and breeding. — A. O. Schilling. 



in type. 



A large beefy comb is another eye- 

 sore on the average Campine male 

 of today, but we are glad to see 

 considerable improvement has al- 

 ready been made especially in this 

 country. We can recall the time when 



