326 
The Australasian Book of Poultry. 
with a cock good in Show points, will throw birds exceptionally true to feather — both cockerels and pullets. 
I consider that the Golden-Spangled hens are quite equal to any of the other varieties of the Hamburg tribe 
as high-class layers, and the eggs are, as a rule, larger, though I am aware that this is opposite to other 
writers' statements. 
Silver Pencils. 
" In breeding this variety it is compulsory to make up separate breeding pens, to produce both sexes fit 
for exhibition. To breed cockerels, a cock must be procured that is pure white in ground colour, not having 
a yellowish tinge, as this would be fatal to success in breeding from him. I would also like to see a little 
more pencilling allowed on wings and thighs than is acknowledged by the Standard ; if this were done it 
would be much easier to breed the both sexes from one pen of birds. The tail should be a solid black, the 
sickles and tail coverts also a sound black, laced all round from fluff to point, each side with a narrow and 
distinct stripe of white. The majority of cocks fail in this distinct marking. A bird of this description, if 
of good shape and style, will produce cockerels like himself if mated with hens much too white, or wanting 
in pencilling, for Show purposes. These are called cock-breeding hens ; and, if they have neat, close-fitting 
combs, round and smooth ear-lobes, it will not matter if they are almost white in plumage. One thing must 
Fig. 82. —Secondary Wing Feather of Silver-Pencilled Hamburg Cock. 
be strictly avoided in purchasing cock-breeding hens, see that they do not show any yellowish tmge in 
the ground colour. 
" In breeding pullets of this variety, again, a different stamp of cock will be required, the best class of 
bird for this purpose being a hen-feathered cock, the hens to match being as close as possible to the ideal 
Show hen, i.e., with a clear silvery-white neck hackle; the breast, thighs, back, saddle shoulders, wing-bows, 
wing coverts, tail coverts, and top feathers of tail, ground colour clear silvery white, distinctly and evenly 
pencilled straight across with fine parallel bars of a deep greenish colour ; the true tail feathers barred across 
on lower edge, black on upper, the distance between each bar being the same width as the bar itself ; the 
secondary feathers barred straight across on lower edge, and black on the upper ; the flight feathers pencilled 
as much as possible, but only slightly pencilled on the outer or lower edge. 
" The pullets will come very uniform from this system of mating, the cockerels being again useful for 
breeding pullets if mated with Standard-marked hens. The only difficulty likely to arise in using the hen- 
feathered cocks is the risk of infertile eggs. Pullets of this variety always look better just before they lay 
