1 lie Illustrated Book of Poultry. 
380 
ot these points will stand scarcely any chance of winning in good competition, if well judged. 
The comb should be very red, and this redness cannot be obtained unless the bird be in 
fhst-class condition. In no other breed is condition of more importance than in this. We 
often see biids of other varieties winning when in bad condition ; but I have never yet seen 
Redcaps, shrunken in comb and rough in feather, in the prize list. On the other hand, the 
ver y best birds in poor condition are often beaten by the most worthless specimens, red in 
comb and glossy in plumage. 
Some would-be fanciers advocate that smaller combs should be bred, but I cannot think 
that any true Redcap fancier would care to see them with Hamburgh combs. The large 
comb is, and always has been, for the last hundred years, the distinguishing feature of the 
breed, and must on no account be done away with. If they are to be bred with small 
combs, then let another name be found, for they will no longer be Redcaps. The large 
comb is not the creation of to-day, as many appear to think; they have always been bred 
with such combs. The large comb does not look out of proportion to the size of the 
body, and there is not one bird in a thousand that cannot eat, fly to its perch, and carry 
its comb as comfortably as a Minorca. 
“ 1 he ear-lobes are red, neck and saddle rich red, striped with black. Many cocks are 
too black in neck hackle; others are spoiled by being too yellow. The back of the cock 
should be red, spangled with large half-moon black spangles, breast and tail black, legs slate- 
coloured, strong, and of good length. 
“ In general appearance the Redcap cock is much like the Hamburgh, being smart and 
lively; the breast full and round ; tail ample and well furnished ; and shape symmetrical and 
pleasing to the eye. 
“The Redcap hen is a large, round, comfortable-looking bird, weighing about 6 lbs. on 
the average. Good exhibition specimens often weigh considerably more than this. Two hens 
1 have just weighed turn the scale at 6J lbs. and 6 lbs. 10 oz. respectively. The ground-coloui 
of breast, back, and wings is a deep, rich, reddish brown ; each feather being tipped with a 
half-moon spangle of bluish-black, and these spangles should appear as regular and uniform 
as possible. Redcap hens are, many of them, too light in ground-colour, and, instead of being 
spangled, are laced with a thin edging of black. These birds have been produced by mating 
with cocks having yellow neck hackles. The comb of a good exhibition hen should be like 
that of the cock in everything but size. The comb of one of my best hens is 2f inches by 
2 inches when she is in full condition. 
“ There is no breed that can surpass the Redcap for laying qualities. As a rule, they 
will average about 180 eggs in the year, without exercising any particular care in the selection 
of the best layers, and many hens in their second year will lay more than 200 eggs. I 
have now a breeding pen of four hens, one five years old, two four years, and another two 
years old. Some of them are exhibition birds. The first began laying this year (1889) on 
January 27, the remainder in February, and up to the present time (June 26) they have 
laid 413 eggs, showing an average for the five months of 103. Hens of two, three, and even 
fours years of age will generally lay quite as well as pullets, and no hen should be killed 
until she is three years old, unless she has been proved to be a bad layer. 
“In my opinion the Redcap egg is the richest laid by any variety. The average weight 
of each egg is about 2 oz., and the colour white or slightly tinted. From a box containing 
about a score, I selected six of the largest, and found the weight to be exactly 13 oz., showing 
an average of 2 oz. 5 dr. for each egg. I have kept Redcaps for the last ten years, and, far 
