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The Illustrated Book of Poultry . 
them for other purposes, but whenever I have done so I have found them quite as steady, and 
quite as good mothers, as the regular sitting breeds, though this again is contrary to the generally 
received opinion. 
“ As a rule all my fowls enjoy perfect liberty, but during the breeding season I am obliged to 
keep some confined, and these I have found to lay well, remain healthy, and apparently quite 
contented, in yards about sixty feet long and ten feet wide. 
“There is no trouble in preparing Black Hamburghs for exhibition; they require no washing; 
the smoke of a town does not spoil their good looks. If they have a good grass-run, and are not 
injured by over-feeding or over-showing, they are always ready at a minute’s notice to be put into 
their travelling hampers. They are also less subject to roup than other Hamburghs, and when 
they do bring it home with them from a show, they seem to recover more quickly. 
“ They are, of course, subject to the same drawback as other Hamburghs ; i.e., the cocks are 
never so good for showing after their first year. The ear-lobe loses its smoothness, and, to some 
extent, its purity of colour. Mr. Beldon seems to have the knack of bringing out old birds in 
better condition than any one else can do ; and I fancy it may be due to his birds being kept more 
under cover, and therefore less exposed to be scorched by the summer sun. 
“In conclusion, I will only say that in my judgment there does not exist a more useful, 
handsome, or profitable breed of fowls. They are undeniably good layers of fair-sized eggs. 
They are very good upon the table. It is true they are not so la.rge as some breeds, but neither is 
their appetite; and I believe, if the quantity of food consumed is taken into consideration, they will 
show a better balance-sheet at the end of the year than some of their bigger brethren.” 
Besides the standard breeds of Hamburghs and the Redcaps already mentioned, various other 
kinds of marking have appeared from time to time at particular shows, or have been seen by 
individuals at different times. Amongst these have been a Silver Hamburgh beautifully laced, which 
has been seen by Miss Watts ; but as these birds were described as being very small, and have 
never appeared since, it seems to us very probable they were either a cross from the Silver-laced 
Bantam, or perhaps even a large pen of that variety with a full-feathered cock. There would, how- 
ever, be not much difficulty in producing a real laced Hamburgh if such were desired, by choosing 
and developing the crescentic marking of the old Yorkshire pheasant, till it was brought up to the 
required standard, as in the Polish fowl. A Black Hamburgh laced with white has also been spoken 
of, but its authenticity is doubtful, as there is no certain record of such a marking having ever been 
seen in any variety of fowl whatever. All buff, without any pencilling or spangling at all, has 
also been seen, but never, we believe, shown. A variety the colour of which was buff pencilled 
with white appeared on several occasions at shows many years since, but was never encouraged, the 
effect not being pleasing. It was very probably formed by crossing Golden-pencilled with White, as 
in the case of Chamois Polish fowls. Pure White Hamburghs have not unfrequently been seen, 
and Mr. Beldon informs us were formerly bred true to feather, but of late years have died out ; 
their points were the same as other Hamburghs, except being pure white all over. They used to 
be rather wanting in whiteness of deaf-ear, but this could easily have been corrected. They were 
rather pretty, and could readily be bred at any time by selecting the lightest Silver-pencils. The 
most worthy of preservation of all the extraneous varieties is, however, the Cuckoo Hamburgh, 
described in the following notes by Mr. Beldon : — 
“ I used,” he says, “ to have a breed of Hamburghs that were very handsome, of a cuckoo 
colour. They had all the characteristics of Hamburghs except the colour being cuckoo, both 
i_ocks and hens being alike. As usual in any variety of this marking, some of the cocks had red in 
