94 POULTRY CULTURE 



which, of course, would debar him from the show ring but 

 will have a tendency to produce the proper colored females, 

 provided all other markings in both sire and dam are correct. 



In buffs the birds selected for mating should have proper 

 undercolor. That is, not too light; though too dark may have 

 a tendency to produce too much objectionable black, notice- 

 able particularly in the tail of the progeny; and too Hght may 

 cause white, particularly in the wing flight feathers. Buff 

 pullets are likely to lose their even buff color as soon as they 

 begin to lay. 



To get the proper color markings, proper slaty undercolor 

 is essential in Silver Spangled, as the S. S. Hamburg, and in 

 Columbian varieties, as the Columbian Wyandotte. 



Care need be exercised in selecting parti-colored birds for 

 breeding. In the Columbian varieties the black of the hackle, 

 wing, and saddle also of the proper portion of wing and tail 

 should be dark as the tendency of the progeny, especially in 

 the cockerels, is to be lighter than the parents. 



In most parti-colored birds, to obtain the best show birds 

 it is necessary to make a mating for the production of exhibi- 

 tion cockerels and another for exhibition pullets. 



In Mottled Houdan the male should be rather dark for 

 pullet production, as here white has a tendency to dominancy 

 over black and the pullets have a tendency to be lighter than 

 their parents. 



It is impossible to tell just what kind of plumage a bird 

 will have until it has its last coat. Black chicks may have 

 white baby feathers which come in black after these are shed. 

 This is also the case with Reds and many other breeds. The 

 baby feathers do not have that correctness of marking that 

 the same bird will in its mature plumage. We should there- 

 fore not be too hasty in discarding our promising youngsters 

 until we have had time to see the adult plumage. 



White Leghorns. — In selecting the Single Comb White Leg- 

 horn attention should be given to the proper weight. Too 

 often in selecting for the fixing of the laying character and 

 other important items the subject of weight is entirely over- 

 looked. A bird should possess proper weight and not allow 

 of the tendency toward a bantam type. The cockerel should 



