The Illustrated Book of Poultry. 
312 
assistance in revision of Mr. Douglas, of the late Mr. J. H. Smith, and finally of Mr. Entvvislc ; 
and they may be relied upon as representing the birds as now demanded for the show-pen. Since 
the decline of cock-fighting, some of the sub-colours have so nearly gone out, and can so seldom 
be shown with any chance of success, that we shall only describe the standard colours, with the 
addition of a few from the American “ Standard,” leaving the descriptions in the text to answer 
for the remainder. Should any of them ever be exalted to exhibition rank — and there have been 
some signs lately of an attempt to revive the Blue Dun, a most magnificent fowl — fanciers would 
speedily frame standards of feather far more precise than any which could be given now, and any 
minute description would, therefore, not only be at present useless, but whenever it became of any 
use, almost certainly erroneous. 
SCHEDULE FOR JUDGING GAME. 
General Characteristics of Cock. — Head and Neck — General appearance of head rather long, thin, and keen : beak 
strong, slightly curved, and stout where set on ; whole face smooth and fine in texture, including deaf-ears and throat. [In undubbed 
birds the combs should be upright, thin, straight, and evenly serrated ; deaf-ears and wattles also very thin, red, and smooth in 
texture.] Eyebrows free from “lowering” expression, which denotes Malay blood. Neck somewhat long and slightly arched; 
hackle short, so as just to reach between the shoulders, but not to flow over the back. Body — General shape rather slight, largest 
at shoulders, and tapering to the tail somewhat like the shape of a fir-cone ; back flat, widest at shoulders, and tapering towards 
saddle, and somewhat slanting ; breast hard and full, but not deep or turkey-breasted ; saddle narrow, the feathers short and 
scanty ; wings powerful and of moderate length ; the points nicely carried under the saddle feathers. Legs and Feet — Thighs rather 
long, but well carried along the body, not perpendicularly, or so as to appear long, very round and hard ; shanks in just proportion, 
with smooth, handsome scales, the spurs set on rather low ; toes long, straight, and thin, with well-shaped nails, and the back toe 
low and nearly flat on the ground. Tail —A nice medium length, neither too close nor too spread, but only moderately raised, 
and each sickle-feather as nearly as possible just clearing the next one and no more ; the sickles and whole plumage sound, hard, 
and glossy. Size — Rather small, ranging from five pounds and a half to seven pounds and a half. General Appearance — Rather 
slim, but showing much agility, strength, “elasticity,” and vigour, with great hardness of flesh or plumage. Carriage — Very 
upright, alert, and courageous. 
General Characteristics of Hen. — In all respects similar to those of the cock, except that the tail is carried not much 
above the horizontal line, and her comb should be thin, upright, quite straight, and neatly serrated. Size — Rather small, averaging 
about four pounds and a half, or a little more. General Appearance — Very neat and trim. Carriage — Alert, quick, and active. 
Colour of Black-Red Game. — In both Sexes — Beak horn-colour ; whole face, including comb and deaf-ear, brilliant 
scarlet-red. Eyes brilliant red. Shanks, willow or olive preferable, but white permissible [yellow legs show the Pile cross, and are 
therefore not now allowed in show Black-reds ; white legs rarely now win anywhere]. Colour of Cock — Head and hackle bright 
orange-red. Back, shoulder-coverts, and wing-bow rich crimsom or claret-red. Wing-coverts, forming the bar across the wing, a 
rich green-black. Secondaries rich bay on outer web, which is all that appears when the wing is closed ; black on inner web, 
with a black end to each feather, forming a black edge to corner of the wing. Primaries black, with a bay edge on outside web. 
Saddle, bright orange-red. Breast and under parts rich deep black, of a bluish shade. Tail black, glossed with green or purple. 
Darker colours than the above are permissible, but inferior in both beauty and exhibition value. Colour of Hen — Hackle rich golden 
yellow, striped with black. Breast a salmon-red at the throat, running into ashy colour towards the thighs, which are a brownish 
ash-colour. Rest of the plumage a rich brown partridge marking, which should on no account run into distinct stripes or pencilling, 
except on the larger tail-feathers, in which some approach to bars is generally perceptible. 
Colour of Brown-red Game. — In both. Sexes — Beak nearly or quite black. Face and head a deep rich purple-red, or even 
almost a purple-black [there are judges who prefer each]. Eyes a very dark brown or black. Legs dark or willow. Colour of 
Cock — Head and hackles lemon or orange, with a faint trace of black streak in the feathers. Back and shoulders, wing-bow and 
saddle-feathers, lemon or orange, with a rich black stripe in each feather. Wing-coverts glossy greenish-black ; primaries and secondaries 
also green-black. Breast-feathers black, laced with bay or lemon, with a little streak in centre of each feather. Tail black, the 
sickles richly glossed. Thighs and all under parts black. [Other shades are permissible, such as darker orange.] Colour of Hen 
— Hackle bright lemon, rich gold, or deep gold striped with black. Breast lightly laced. Rest of body brilliant greenish- 
black, The brilliant black-bodied hens should go with the laced-breasted and brightest coloured cocks to look well. 
In Ginger-breasted Brown-reds some latitude is allowed, and- also in other sub-varieties of the Brown-reds. In all these, what 
is chiefly looked for is a general harmony of colour, with signs of careful breeding, combined with symmetry and hardness of flesh 
and feather. 
