January, 1912.] 



41 



Live Stock. 



was considered an improved type of 

 Black Orpington, and provided practic- 

 ally new blood. It is supposed that he 

 utilised none of the cross used by Mr. 

 Cook, and that the strain probably 

 contained Cochin blood. Mr. Parting- 

 ton's bird being bigger, more fluffy, and 

 all dark-eyed, found greater favour on 

 the show bench, and he completely 

 scooped the pool. 



The Black Orpington to-day is any- 

 thing but "close" (says Mr. Sburges) 

 feathered, and this departure from the 

 still published Standard of Perfection 

 has done more than anything to dimin- 

 ish its usefulness and popularity. 

 Beyond all question, it is not the first- 

 class layer it was for the first ten years 

 of its career, and though it has gained 

 in apparent bulk, its usefulness has 

 declined. There are still good and use- 

 ful strains in existence, and it is note- 

 worthy that in the Australian laying 

 competitions, which extended over a 

 period of twelve months, the Black 

 Orpington has more than once headed 

 the list with an average of 250 eggs to 

 its credit." 



The Standard for Black 

 Orpingtons. 

 generally recognised is, according to 

 Mr. Lampe, as follows : — 



Cock Bird. 



The head must be small, neat, and 

 fairly full over the eye, and carried 

 erect. Many show judges pay too little 

 attention to the head of the Orpington, 

 and coarse-headed birds frequently 

 occupy prominent positions on the ex- 

 hibition bench, The importance of a 

 small head cannot be too strongly 

 emphasised ; it generally accompanies 

 all the excellent qualities that formerly 

 belonged to the Croad Langshan. The 

 eye should be dark-brown, or even black, 

 in colour, should be full, bright, and in- 

 telligent. An eye with all these charac- 

 teristics is seldom found on a very 

 coarse headed bird. The comb should 

 be of medium size, rather thin than 

 otherwise, erect, evenly serrated, and 

 free from side sprigs. The wattles 

 should be of medium length and well 

 rounded, and the ear lobes rather long, 

 thin, and fine in texture. The comb, 

 face, ear-lobes, and wattles should be 

 a bright red colour. The beak should 

 be short and strong, nicely curved, and 

 of black or very dark horn colour. The 

 neck should be not too long, well curved, 

 and with full hackle. 



The Body.— The breast should be 

 broad, deep and full, and carried well 

 forward ; the breast bone straight and 

 fairly long, the whole body looking 

 6 



massive and solid, and set fairly low. 

 Particular attention should be paid to 

 preserving the correct shape. The back 

 short, with broad strong shoulders, the 

 saddle rising slightly with full hackle ; 

 the wings well formed and carried close 

 to the body ; the skin thin and fine in 

 texture and white in colour ; flesh white 

 and firm. The tail should be of medium 

 size, not too large by any means, and 

 inclined backwards and slightly up- 

 wards. 



The Legs and Feet. —Thighs and shanks 

 should be short, powerful, and well 

 apart ; the shanks free from feathers, 

 black in colour, turning lighter after the 

 first moult ; toes, four in number and 

 well spread. General shape and carriage 

 should be cobby and compact, erect, 

 and graceful. The plumage should be 

 close. It is impossible to pay too much 

 attention to this point. It is to be 

 deeply deplored that so much encour- 

 agement is given by a ceitain section 

 of show judges to birds showing an 

 extraordinary amount of fluff. The 

 breeding of birds for fluff tends to 

 decrease the laying powers of the hens, 

 and fluff generally accompanies an un- 

 commonly thick skin, loose, ungainly 

 body, coarse head, general sluggishness, 

 and lack of vigour and stamina. Such 

 birds are useless from the commercial 

 standpoint, and are an eyesore to all 

 practical breeders. The plumage should 

 be black in colour, with a green sheen 

 or lustre, and the weight should be 

 about 9 lb. to 11 lb. when fully matured. 

 The Hen. 



Practically the same characteristics 

 apply to the hen, with one or two excep- 

 tions. The cushion should be small, but 

 sufficient to give the back a curved 

 appearance ; weight about 8 lb. or 9 lb. 

 when matured. In South Australia the 

 Black Orpington threatens to rival the 

 White Leghorn in popularity. It shows 

 remarkable adaptability to any sort of 

 climate, and though it flourishes in 

 winter better, probably, than any other 

 breed, it still withstands the summer 

 heat almost as well. It is a docile 

 bird very easily handled, can fly very 

 little, and stands confinement well, 

 though, if allowed free range, it is a 

 vigorous forager. For these reasons 

 alone it is an ideal home bird. The 

 plumage being of self colour, the bird 

 always looks and wears well. Nothing 

 could be more beautiful than the rich 

 beetle-green sheen or lustre of its plum- 

 age. There are no markings or lacings 

 to breed for, and, whereas other birds 

 mostly deteriorate in colour or markings 

 after their first season, the Black 

 Orpington tends to improve in the 



