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Schedule for Judging Dorkings. 
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SCHEDULE FOR JUDGING DORKINGS. 
General Characteristics of Cock. — Head and Neck — General appearance of head rather large, but dignified, and tree 
from coarseness; beak stout and well-proportioned [not “short ’as in the “Standard ]; comb, if single, laige, upiight, evenly 
serrated, and free from excrescent growths — if rose, square or upright on the head, wide in front, and narrowing to a peak 
pointing backwards with a slight upward inclination behind, and the tops of the points presenting an even suiface fiee fiom hollow 
in the middle ; wattles very large and pendent; deaf-ears moderately developed, hanging as nearly as possible about one-third the 
depth of the wattles ; neck rather short, and very full of hackle, making it appear extremely broad at the base, and tapering rapidly 
to the head. Body— General appearance deep and square ; the outline, when viewed sideways, presenting almost the appearance of 
a short rectangle (see Fig. 78) ; back broad and rather long ; saddle broad, but inclining downward to the tail, which springs out at 
nearly a right angle ; breast very deep, prominent, and full ; wings 
larg_- and broad. Legs and Fed — Thighs large and well-developed, 
but carried “along” the body so as not to be conspicuous; shanks 
short, moderately stout, fine in texture, perfectly free from any sign of 
leg-feather, and set on well to the body — the spur in the proper position, 
pointing rather inside ; toes large and well-spread, the hinder toe 
being double, and the extra toe well-formed — viz., the normal toe as 
nearly as possible in the natural position, and the extra one placed 
above, starting from close to the other, but perfectly distinct, and 
pointing rather upwards (see Plate). Tail — Full and ample, carried 
nearly erect, but not squirrel-fashion, and the sickles very broad and 
sweeping. Size — Very large, ranging from ten to thirteen and occa- 
sionally even fourteen pounds in adults, and eight to eleven pounds 
in cockerels. General Shape — Square and plump. Carriage — Rather 
quiet but stately, with the breast carried well forward. 
General Characteristics of Hen. — Head and Neck— General 
appearance of head neat and matronly ; comb resembling the cock’s if 
rose, but if single falling over to one side of the face ; wattles and deaf- 
ears as in the cock, but proportionately smaller ; neck short and neat. 
Body St ry similar in general appearance to the cock’s, but longer in 
proportion. Legs and Feet — Tike the cock’s in all points, with the 
exception of spurs. Tail— Well-developed and the feathers very broad, but carried rather closely if the bird is in healthy condition. 
Size-Very large, ranging from eight to ten pounds, or even more. General Shape— Plump and deep, but rather long compared 
with the Asiatics. Carriage — Staid and matronly. 
Colour of Grey Dorkings. In both Sexes- — Comb, deaf-ears,* and wattles brilliant red. Legs a delicate white, with a 
pinky shade. Colour of tock Hackle white or straw, more or less striped with black. Saddle resembling hackle ; back various 
shades of white, black and white, or grey, mixed with maroon or red. Wing-bow white, or white mixed with black or grey ; 
wing-coverts or bar black glossed with green ; secondaries white on outer web, black on inner web. Breast and under-parts black, 
or black mottled with white, and occasionally with red. Tail black, richly glossed, often however mingled with white. Colour of 
Hen— Hackle white or pile straw, striped with black or greyish black. Breast a salmon red, each feather tipped with dark grey 
verging on black. Rest of body nearly black, the shaft of feather showing cream-white, and each feather being slightly paler on 
the edges; except on wings, where the centre of the feather is a brownish-grey ground, covered with a small rich marking, 
surrounded by a thick lacing of the black. Tail also nearly black, the outer feathers slightly pencilled. Another successful colour 
is, every feather over the body pencilled a brownish grey in the centre, with a black lacing round, breast being as just described. In 
a very few cases hens have won with a colour approaching silver-grey, the black lacing being almost absent, and the pencilling 
lighter ; but this is never the case unless very large and fine birds. 
Colour of Silver-grey Dorkings. In both Sexes — Comb, face, deaf-ears,* and wattles brilliant red. Legs white, or 
pmky-white [in this breed the legs are much more pinky than either of the others, usually showing a very strong reddish tinge 
between the scales]. Colour of Cock— Hackle and saddle pure silvery white, free from both straw-colour or marking of any kind. 
Back, shoulder-coverts, and wing-bow silvery white ; wing-coverts, or “bar,” lustrous black glossed with green or blue. Secondaries 
* The colour of deaf-ears is not of great importance even in Silver-greys ; but there can be no doubt that red is the correct 
colour, and that white is some little disadvantage in competition. 
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