CHAPTER X. 
THE WHITE DORKING FOWL. 
The White Dorking appears to be a distinct variety from the Grey or Coloured, and 
therefore demands a separate chapter. The grounds for this opinion may he 
briefly stated. The size of the White Dorldng is much less than that of the 
Coloured, the cocks rarely reaching ten pounds, or the hens as much as seven or 
eight pounds, and the general form and carriage being distinct. The White 
Dorking is in all probability the original breed, and the Coloured a composite 
fowl produced by crossing it with the large Surrey or Sussex fowls. 
For the following account of this variety we are indebted to one of its greatest 
admirers, Mr. Clift, of Dorking, who writes : — 
‘‘My individual reason for preferring the White to the Coloured Dorking, is, that 
though the white is certainly a somewhat smaller bird, it has the great advantage 
of a handsome plumage, a desideratum not to be overlooked by those who rear 
poultry as a source of pleasure, and not for a livelihood. 
“ The colour should be pure white, without any shade of yellow, or dark coloured 
feather of any description, about the body. When attention is directed to this 
single feature, few specimens, especially of the cocks, will pass muster; but 
still it is an essential point ; for as beauty is the only point in which the White 
Dorking is superior to the Grey or Speckled, so much more is it necessary that the 
feature which gives them this pre-eminence should be distinct and perfect. 
“ Both single and double combed birds may be pure bred, but it is now, I think, 
almost decided that this beautiful appendage should be double ; indeed, any 
person of taste, who has no knowledge whatever of poultry, would immediately 
pronounce for the double as being more graceful, and more in harmony with the 
general aj)pearance of the bird, than the single comb in the cock. The rose comb 
should be broad at the front near the beak, gradually passing over the back of the 
head in the form of a triangle, the point of which should be slightly curved 
upwards ; the whole of the surface should be evenly serrated, and not ragged and 
unequal ; the colour should be a bright red, indicating a healthy state and good 
condition of the bird. The same remarks will apply to the comb of the hen, only 
that it will always be found very much smaller than that of the male bird. 
“ The back should be broad, and should be almost straight from the neck to the 
root of the tail, which should be large and with a full round sweep of sickle- 
feathers in the cock ; the breast should be broad, full, and gracefully rounded— 
K 2 
