Australian Game (Modern Type). 
271 
grey, minutely and evenly pencilled all over with markings of black. The breasts of these hens should be a 
rather pale shade of salmon. This will produce the brightest and best coloured cockerels, but the pullets 
will invariably turn out off-coloured Black-Reds, though at the same time, if used the following year with a 
Golden-Duckwing cock, will again produce sound-coloured Duckwing cockerels. 
To breed the pullets the pair of Duckwings are the best, and the more distinctly striped with black in 
hackle the hens are the better, and even if the hens fail slightly in this marking, this can be counterbalanced 
to a great extent by the cock's hackle feathers towards the bottom being slightly streaked. Again, when 
rather too much Black-Red blood exhibits itself in the form of a brownish cap on the head, and the ruddy, 
or rusty feathers on wings of the pullets, this can easily be bred out the following year by using a Silver 
cock, of which there are certain to be some produced from the system of mating for pullets, these Silver 
cocks being of the greatest value for bringing back the beautiful grey colour on the wings and backs of the 
pullets bred from them. 
In breeding the Piles to colour points, it is necessary to have recourse to the Black-Red blood at 
least once in three years ; and to produce cockerels clear white in breast, under-parts, and tail, and bright 
clear red top colour, the best plan to follow is to choose a sound, bright-coloured Black-Red cock, as free as 
possible from streak in hackle, mating him with Pile hens of a light shade on breast, and with hackles lightly 
edged with gold colour, and as clear white in body as possible, though at the same time excellent cockerels 
may be bred from Pile hens heavily marked with gold in hackle, rather pale in breast, and with wings and 
back well mottled with rusty or brown feathers. These should be mated with a sound-coloured Pile cock. 
All the chickens would not turn out good in colour, but there would be a good proportion up to Standard 
form. 
To breed the pullets, the pair of Piles are the best, and in this case the cock need not be as bright in 
colour as the bird used for cockerel breeding — that is, he may be more of a chestnut-red in hackle and back, 
and if with a few feathers on the breast, laced with gold, this will be an advantage, rather than otherwise. 
He should be mated with hens, sound, deep salmon on breast, well marked golden hackles, and the purest 
and clearest of white throughout back, wings, and tail ; this class of hen being the recognised Show Standard 
colour. 
Whites, being self-coloured, are not so difficult to breed. The chief thing to be avoided in breeding 
them is to note that the stock birds have no tendency towards straw, golden, or black or brown tickings in 
the plumage, selecting those that have the purest silvery white plumage throughout. These, however, have 
an inclination towards softness in feather, which must be guarded against, by selecting those alone for 
breeding that are hard, close, and lustrous in plumage. 
In breeding the Cuckoos to colour points, those birds only should be bred from which are sound and 
even in ground colour, and with markings, or barrings, clear and distinct. Any tendency to reddish, golden, 
or whole coloured feathers should be avoided, though there is great latitude allowed in this breed, the Ciolden 
Cuckoo being a very handsome and attractive bird ; but they do not breed true to colour, there being 
evidently a dash of Black-Red blood in their composition, and which exhibits itself rather too prominently 
at times. 
In breeding the Hen-feathered cocfe, as the marking of any of the hens of the former varieties and 
sub-varieties is allowable (with the exception of the Piles), no fixed rules could be laid down as to their 
mating, beyond the suggestion that the chief fault to be avoided in the stock cock is, that the top outer 
feathers, corresponding to the top outer tail coverts of the hens, or the sickles of a full-feathered cock of the 
other varieties, should not on any account exceed in length the true tail, j'tisi reaching the extremity, and no 
more, though this important feature, even in the best now exhibited, is very rare. These feathers should be 
fairly broad, and have a slight downward curve towards the extremities. In giving these hints on mating to 
produce Show stock, there will always be a more or less proportion of sub-varieties of colours produced ; but, 
these having no character, are scarcely worth the trouble of attempting to perpetuate for Show purposes. 
The colours treated on are the Standard colours, and any others bred are merely individual favourites. For 
