Andalusians. 
293 
such are generally fairly good all round, with no pronounced fault, if no remarkable feature. What is wanted 
in the breeding pen are birds of strong individuality, exceptionally good in some particular point, though 
they may fail more or less in others. 
" From this it will follow that if the hens are too light in colour the cockerel must be a dark one, 
and vice versa. I don't think it - is of vital importance which sex is the lighter and which the darker, but 
personally I prefer a dark cockerel and light hens ; of course, each must b3 carefully selected. 'J"he 
cockerel must, in accordance with the third rule, be extra good in the ' Fancy ' points, such as comb, lobes, 
etc. He should be long on the leg and not flat-sided, but he need not be a big bird. As to colour, the top 
colour should be of the blackest purple, and the colour a good deal darker than in an Exhibition specimen, 
while the lacing should be extra broad and well defined, and should be found on the back, under the 
hackles, and on the wings and tail, as well as on the breast and thighs. The hens to mate with him should 
be rather light in ground colour, and perhaps not heavily laced enough for Exhibition purposes, but the 
former must be quite clear, and the lacing on every feather. They should be as large and well-shaped as 
possible, for the reasons in Rule 3 ; and, what is also of the greatest importance, they should be an even 
lot, as like each other as possible. From such a pen as just described, due regard having also been had to 
Rules I and 2, I would expect the best results. With regard to mating light males and dark females, the 
difficulty is to find a very light cockerel that has no rustiness in the hackle, for all birds with any suspicion 
of brown, or even grey, hackle feathers should be rigorously excluded from the breeding pen, as the invariable 
consequence of using them is to reproduce this fatal fault in the cockerels, and to deprive the ground 
colour of the pullets of that uniformity of clearness which, as has been stated, should be one of the main 
objects to be aimed at. 
" Another fault that should be avoided is any trace of white in face, for I do not believe that this can 
be corrected or compensated by the other bird or birds having sound faces. At the same time this applies 
more particularly to young birds, and an old cock, otherwise good, might be used (especially to make up an 
extra pen), in spite of some specks of white in his face. 
" It will be noticed that I have spoken all along of mating cockerels with hens ; and I prefer to have 
the male just under twelve months, and the females about two years old, but excellent results are also to be 
obtained from an older cock and younger hens. I do not, however, believe in breeding from pullets under 
ten or twelve months old, though they may have commenced to lay when much younger. 
" A cockerel may be given six or seven hens, or even more ; but a cock should only have four or five, 
and with a very old bird it is a good plan to put the hens or pullets in with him only for an hour or two in 
the afternoon. 
"Rearing of Chickens.— Having made up the breeding pens, the next consideration will be the 
setting of eggs and rearing of chickens. In N.S W. the best months for the young ones to make their 
appearance are July and August, while June and September are also fairly good. The hens moult late, 
and, probably, few of their eggs will be available before June ; but those laid just after the moult produce 
the finest chickens, and the pullets hatched from them should be laying from the following Christmas 
onwards, when eggs are scarce. 
'■ As the eggs are large, and the weather, probably, cold at this time, not more than 9 or 1 1 should be 
put under a hen if that method of incubation be adopted. When hatched, the chickens require only the 
ordinary treatment ; but, in my opinion, from the time they are three months old a great deal of the soft 
food may, with advantage, be replaced by grain— oats in particular. A considerable percentage of the 
chickens will feather very slowly. These often turn out the finest, both in size and colour, and, therefore, are 
not to be despised, for all their uncouth appearance. A few words will be said about warts and lice later on. 
The latter are, I believe, the chief cause of ill-health and failure, and should never be allowed to appear, 
still less to stay in the coops, or on the birds. 
Thinning out will have to be more rigorously carried out by the Fancier than is necessary with most 
other breeds. In the first place, all but the Elues must be disposed of in some way or other as soon as they 
