130 
The Australasian Book of Poultry. 
important in mating, and it will be found that this varies to a remarkable extent, ranging from quite a pearly 
grey to a very dark colour. This becomes of value, as with two birds it is desired to mate, both appearing 
rather too dark on the surface to breed together for fear of producing too much marking on the progeny, 
if on examination, there is a marked difference in the shade of colour of the iinJer-fliiff, they may be mated, 
and success will follow ; l)ut, again, by carefully studying the shades of the under-fluff, birds may be mated 
which will produce a good proportion of Standard chickens of lioth sexes - a big advantage where one 
breeding pen only can be accommodated. To breed pullets up to Show form, a cock should be selected 
with rather narrow and not too distinctly marked stripes in his neck hackle, his saddle hackles being quite 
white, and also the leg feathering, mating him with hens almost totally black in hackle, but sound white in body 
colour. From this pen the pullets produced would be up to exhibition form, and, possibly, there would also 
be produced a fair cockerel or two. 
Colour ok Dark Brahmas. 
Cock. — The head of the Dark Cock is white, the hackle feathers also being white, but more heavily 
marked than in the Light Variety. The back is white, with stripes of black appearing irregularly. The 
Fig. 6o.— Neck Hackle Feather of Fig. 6i. -Saddle Hackle Feathei of 
Dark Brahma Cockerel. Dark Brahma Cockerel. 
base of the neck between the shoulders should be black, the saddle feathers being white, rather more 
distinctly striped with black than in the Light Variety, though for exhibition, birds with less striping than 
described are preferred for the Show pen. The stripes in the saddle hackles become broader and broader 
till they merge into the tail coverts, the latter being a brilliant, glossy, greenish black, laced all round with a 
thin edging of silvery white, the tail being a glossy greenish black, the top sickles being edged with 
white, similar to the Light Variety. The wing coverts, or wing-bar, as it is more commonly called, are a glossy 
black, the ends or tips of the secondary feathers each having a black spot, which, when the wing is closed 
form a black stripe from the wing-bar to the end of wing. The wing secondaries are white on the outer 
edge and black on the inner, the wing when closed appearing white in the triangular space formed. The 
primaries are black, except a slight fringe of white on the lower edge. In some cocks on the top of the wing- 
bar and down the top sides of the secondaries a brownish tinge often appears. (Birds with this feature are 
very useful for breeding the darker shade of pullets,) The breast should be glossy black, though slightly 
