Modern British Game. 
231 
" The Broicn-Rcd Hen must have the darkest of gipsy faces, comb, ear-lobes, and wattles, the darkest of 
eyes (the nearer they are, or quite black, the better;, and should match the cock in beak, legs, and feet. Her 
neck hackle should be straw colour or pale gold, with narrow black stripes each side of the shaft of the 
feather. The golden colour should go right over the head ; the breast should be nicely and evenly laced 
with pale straw or light gold, the rest of the body fealhen and tail the brightest and soundest green-black, 
ivithout mark or streak. 
" Standard coloured Brown-Reds such as described breed exceptionally true to feather. Occasionally one 
or two pullets will be produced which are laced on the back and shoulder coverts. These can be relied 
upon to produce the brightest and soundest-coloured cockerels if mated to a Standard Coloured cock. 
Another excellent plan to produce cockerels of a nice even lemon shade throughout is to cross with a 
sound-coloured Birchen, though with this cross there is certain to be a majority of Birchen pullets produced. 
" Pullets for the Show pen can be bred from hens that are too dark in hackle and wanting breast lacing, 
providing the cock or cockerel mated with them is a bright green black in flight coverts and tail, and fairly 
well laced on breast. 
" The Golden- Duckwing Cock should be the brightest red in face, eyes, throat, ear-lobes, and top of 
head ; neck hackles clear creamy white, quite free from dark stripes or markings ; the back, wing-bows, and 
shoulder-coverts the brightest shade of orange or golden yellow ; the saddle hackles shading off to a straw 
colour or nearly white ; wing-butts, breast, and thighs a perfectly sound blue-black, not mealy or mossy ; 
belly black, free from coloured feathers ; wing-bars, bright lustrous steel-blue ; flight coverts white, free from 
rustiness, the tip of each feather having a metallic blue-black end, the wings when closed having the 
appearance on the top side of a blue-black stripe, and the more defined this point is the better. The tail 
and sickle feathers should be a sound blue-black, quite free from any markings ; the legs, bright olive or 
willow green. 
" The Duckiving Hen should match the cock in eyes, beak, face, legs, and feet. Her breast should be 
a bright salmon red, shading off to an ashy grey on thighs and belly, and should be evenly pencilled with 
minute markings of black on a French grey or pale slate-coloured ground ; the head feathers white ; the 
neck hackle white shaft and margin, each side of the shafts having a black stripe ; the tail coverts and top 
outer feathers of tail same as the body colour ; the true tail black. To breed bright-coloured golden-backed 
cockerels, I find the best plan is to use a very bright-coloured Black-Red cock, clear as possible in hackle, 
and mate him with Standard Coloured Duckwing hens. The pullets from this cross will mostly turn out 
Blark-Reds, and perhaps an occasional wheaten or rusty-winged Duckwing will be produced. These latter 
are invaluable for breeding, and will produce the brightest coloured Golden-Duckwing cockerels if mated 
with a Standard Coloured Duckwing cock. 
"To breed pullets, I use a Silver Duckwing cock with Standard hens. The pullets from this system of 
mating will come very true, the cockerels, however, mostly turning out Silvers, being useful again for pullet 
breeding. 
" Red-Piles should have red faces and eyes, and for the Show pen yellow beaks and legs, though 
willow-legged pullets are not to be despised for the breeding pen if mated with a cock having yellow legs. 
In colour the Red-Pile cock should be white where a Black-Red cock is black, and red where he is red — the 
clearer and more distinct in markings the better. The Pile hen's hackle should have a gold margin all 
round the feather, the brighter the better, the feather having a white stripe in the centre. The breast should 
be a bright salmon-red, shading off to a creamy-white on thighs and belly. Her back wings and tail should 
be a clear creamy-white. I breed my Pile cockerels in two ways ; first, by using a sound, bright-coloured 
Black-Red cock mated with a lemon-Pile hen, yellow-legged. The cockerels thus bred are generally the 
brightest-coloured and hardest-feathered, though the pullets nearly always turn out Black-Reds, being useful 
again for breeding cockerels if put to a hard-feathered Pile cock. The second plan is to use a sound 
coloured Pile cockerel mated with hens that are high-coloured, i.e., with foxey or rusty markings on back, 
wings, and sides. Ofttimes this plan will produce a fair proportion of good cockerels and pullets, though 
