Modern British Game. 
235 
leaving second and third colours out of the question. A cock of the colour I have described, and mated 
with two selected hens, will breed cockerels from the one and pullets from the other which will be all desired, 
there being no other colour of Game which will breed as true to feather as the Black-Reds. 
" The hen, to match this cock for producing pullets^ should match the cock in eyes, beak, and legs, and 
have head and neck hackle golden, streaked with black, not mottled ; back and wing.s, a sort of golden 
brown (very hard to define), with very evenly-marked, small, wavy-black pencillings, but quite free from shafts 
or streaks in the feather (English writers term this marking partridge, but, as partridge markings are more 
distinct, and more like black blotches, I cannot see the analogy). This colour should extend well up the 
tail feathers ; the flight coverts should be a trifle darker even towards the tips. The true tail feathers at the 
roots should be brown, merging into black towards their ends. The breast should be a rich light salmon, 
evenly marked and not streaked, running off to an ashy-grey colour on the thighs. This is the colour of hen 
to breed from in order to obtain good pullets, and occasionally a good cockerel will come from this system 
of mating, which will be of the greatest use as a pullet breeder ; but my experience proves that, as a general 
rule, cockerels bred from hens of this colour are far too dark for .Show purposes. 
" The hen to put with the cock for breeding cockerels should match the cock in eyes, beak, and legs. 
The head and neck hackle should not show nearly so much streak as the first hen described, the whole body 
colour being of a much lighter shade, and a rust or rich brown colour on the wings and sides ; this rusty 
marking is a decided fault for the Show pen, but for breeding bright-coloured cockerels is a necessity, the 
pullets, however, not being fit for exhibition, so that these must be retained again for cockerel breeding. 
Both of the hens described will throw close, hard-feathered birds, and, in order to keep this good quality 
intact, never use a Pile or Duckwing cross to try and improve Black-Reds, as the young stock so bred will 
come loose and soft in feather. 
" The next colour that is most fashionable in Australia at the present time is the Lancashire Pile, the 
cock being white where a Black-Red is black, and red where he is red ; and here let me slate that some 
Fanciers do not think a few black or ticked feathers in the tail or a blotched or marbled breast any detriment, 
but in my opinion and fancy, as the Pile markings are exactly the same as the Black-Red, with the exception 
of the ground colour, any black feathers should be an objection. Imagine a Black-Red being exhibited 
with a red blotched breast or white feathers in the tail ; and it should require very little argument, if any, to 
convince Fanciers the black markings or red marbling on breast and underparts are very objectionable faults. 
The Pile cock's breast should be white, his tail and underparts the same ; the feathers of the head and neck 
hackle a bright red (a shade lighter than the Black-Red) right through to the points, not streaky or mottled, 
but a good sound colour ; back, shoulder coverts, and wing-bows a rich crimson, not rusty or clay-coloured ; 
flights white, edged with rich bay. The Pile cock's legs and beak should be a bright yellow or orange, eyes 
orange red, face and throat red, the skin of smooth texture. This is the colour I fancy most, though it is 
difificult to breed Piles, especially with a Black-Red cross, that will not show the black feathers or blotched 
breast ; but in time, if Fanciers will only study the mating of their birds, they will manage to produce a bird 
approaching perfection. 
" The Pile hen should match the cock in eyes, face, beak, and legs. Her head feathers and hackle 
should show a light shade of gold colouring streaked with white, becoming more pronounced towards the 
end of the hackle ; back, wings, and tail, pure white ; breast, a rich salmon right from throat to thighs, 
shading off to a much lighter colour on the belly and underparts. Piles breed fairly true to colour, but it is 
at times necessary, in order to preserve the richness of colour and hardness of feather, to have recourse to 
the Black-Red to keep this up. (A pen of Piles will often throw a certain percentage of Black-Red 
chickens.) It is best, when using the Black-Red to cross, to select a hen which has a clear white body, and 
as pale in breast as possible. This will produce good cockerels, but no clear-bodied pullets, and to produce 
pullets for the Show pen these must be bred from Piles on both sides. 
" The next Standard colour is the Duckwing, so called from the marking of the cock's wing, which 
resembles the wing of the Mallard Drake. In this colour the breeder has a difiicult task to produce 
