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THE POULTRY ROOK. 
The following characteristics of Spanish fowl are in accordance with those drawn 
up for the Poultry Club “ Standard of Excellence,” by Mr. Teebay, to whom belongs 
the credit of breeding some of the very best Spanish that have been shown for many 
years, and also with the description with which we have been specially favoured 
by Mr. Hewitt. 
The size of Spanish places them amongst the larger breeds The weight of the 
cock should not be less than seven pounds when in full condition ; but it is rarely 
found to exceed that weight, if it approaches perfection in other respects. A full- 
sized hen when about laying should not weigh less than six pounds. 
The carriage and form of the cock is very stately and upright ; the head well 
drawn back ; the breast round, full, and protuberant, and legs and thighs long 
and high in the bone for the size of the fowl ; the back sloping towards the tail. 
The hens are rather high on the legs, which gives them a somewhat slightly built 
appearance ; still they possess good breasts, and when taken in the hand should be 
weightier than they appear to the eye. 
The general characters of the plumage may be very briefly disposed of. In both 
sexes it must be purely black, with bright metallic green-black reflections, which 
are most evident on the saddle and tail plumes of the cock, and the more vivid in 
their lustre the higher the condition of the bird. The plumage of the hen precisely 
resembles that of the cock, except that the metallic lustre is more sober. 
The neck in both sexes is long ; that of the cock should be very well covered with 
lustrous hackle feathers, the ends of which come down over the shoulders. 
The cock’s tail should be very well developed, with large well-curved sickle- 
feathers. It must be held well up, neither drooping, like that of the Malay, nor 
carried over the back so as to give rise to the exceedingly objectionable appearance 
termed squirrel-tailed,” and it should be black to the very roots of the feathers. 
In the hen the tail is large ; it should be carried upright, but not over the back ; 
the two highest feathers are often slightly curved at the ends ; the tail is closed 
more tightly than in most fowls, and must be uniformly black. 
The legs should be blue, or dark leaden blue, the more unbroken in colour the 
better ; but not unfrequently the whitest-faced Spanish have a tendency to whiteness 
in the legs, which is now regarded as a disqualification in a show-pen. 
The comb is a most important feature in the Spanish fowl. Mr. Hewitt writes : — 
The comb of cock is very large ; the serrations should be regular and perfect 
throughout, not coarse in general appearance, distorted, or overgrown ; without any 
twisting or wrinkle, or tendency to fall over ; if thin towards the edge, it is prefer- 
able, being less likely to lop as the bird gets old ; when the points of the comb 
are dark, the bird is either in bad condition or frostbitten. In Spanish hens, 
the combs, says the same authority, should lap in front, and fall over sideways ; 
and in fine healthy birds the comb, from its peculiar position, will entirely cover 
one side of the face. In the ‘‘ Standard of Excellence ” the comb of the cock is 
described as bright red, large, single, stiff, erect, straight, free from twists in front 
and not falling over to either side at the back, deeply serrated, rising from the beak 
