284 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
[ April 7, 1881. 
ancestor. Even at this early stage these principles may frequently 
be applied, and later on they are all-important. Chief amongst 
them are those which relate to the influence of each parent over 
the qualities of progeny. First, as to size. Here it is universally 
admitted that the influence of the mother predominates. It is 
most important in breeding for size that the hen should be large 
and of a large strain. We do not for a moment suggest that a 
very undersized cock or cockerel should be bred from, but a cock 
of medium size mated with a large hen will produce a far greater 
proportion of large chickens than will result from the mating of 
a medium-sized hen with a large male bird. A very small bird of 
either sex should not be bred from unless the smallness has been 
occasioned by late hatching or under-feeding, and the bird is of 
special value for some other points. If the small bird be a very 
late-hatched one, and its blood is of special value, it had better be 
kept over until its second year before being used in the breeding 
yard. In most breeds the progeny of a bird which is small only 
on account of one of the above reasons will recover the lost size, 
but in such cases special care must be taken to give the chicks 
every advantage of early hatching and liberal feeding. Just as 
on the one hand, small size occasioned by what may be called 
accidental circumstances may be disregarded, so on the other 
hand extra large size occasioned by forcing the growth of the 
birds with much meat or other such food is of no advantage in 
the breeding pen. On the contrary, it has been found that these 
very large birds are frequently unproductive, or produce only 
weakly and degenerate offspring. Extra large size which has 
been produced by natural means is, where size is a point of merit, 
a distinct gain, and can if desired be perpetuated by in-breeding 
in the same manner as any other point. 
Although the hen has the most influence over the size of the 
progeny, the influence of the male bird is also material, and it is 
much better where it can be managed to breed only from large 
birds of each sex, but if it is necessary to breed from a small bird 
on one side the above rule must be followed. The breeder should 
never mate undersized birds, no matter how produced, together, 
as this cannot fail to lead to a deterioration in the size of the 
strain. 
When breeding, as in the case of Bantams and some varieties of 
Pigeons, for smallness, the converse plan must be adopted, and 
special care taken that the hen at least is as small as possible. 
In general structure and shape the hen has also the most influ¬ 
ence, but it must be remembered that this influence does not 
affect the cockerels amongst the progeny to such an extent as the 
pullets. The chickens of each sex show a tendency to inherit the 
properties of their ancestors of that sex, and although this ten¬ 
dency can be modified by the influence of the qualities of the 
other sex, still too much must not be expected. We may illustrate 
our meaning thus :—A Dorking breeder finds that his strain has a 
tendency to throw cockerels which are deficient in depth of breast. 
By selecting hens which are specially good in this respect to 
breed from he will probably find that nearly all the pullets in¬ 
herit the form of their mothers and have deep breasts, but that 
the cockerels are affected to a much less extent, and that many of 
them are as shallow-breasted as their father was. Some few will 
show a marked improvement, but that is as much as can be ex¬ 
pected from the process in the first instance. It is only by its 
repetition several times that the general character of the cockerels 
can be influenced. 
The statement that the female parent has most influence in these 
points may be illustrated by supposing the Dorking breeder to 
attempt to remedy the defect indicated by merely breeding from 
a full-breasted cock with hens somewhat deficient in breast. 
Here it would be found that nearly all the chickens, as well 
cockerels as pullets, were deficient in breast, and if the hens wrnre 
very bad in this respect the probability of getting a really good 
chicken of either sex would be slight indeed. 
In regard to points other than size, shape, and structure, the 
male parent has the most influence, and nothing short of pheno¬ 
menal excellence in any point in the hen can be relied upon to 
counteract in any degree a great defect in that point in her mate. 
Thus a cock with a very defective comb should not be used in the 
breeding pen if it can possibly be avoided. The chance of obtain¬ 
ing even one chicken with a perfect comb from such a parent 
would be infinitesimal, and both cockerels and pullets would be 
alike defective. A hen with an imperfect comb may, however, be 
bred from with a fair prospect of good results provided the cock 
mated with her be very good in this respect. Similar results will 
be obtained in regard to other fancy points, such as earlobe, 
colour, leg feather, and many others which might be mentioned. 
The breeder must never lose sight of the fact that the issue of 
any given alliance take as much after their more remote ancestors 
as after their parents, and that this may modify very considerably 
the results of the alliance. Regard must therefore be had in 
mating a pair of birds not only to their personal qualities but to 
those of their ancestors, and to the greater or less degree in which 
any particular quality has become developed and settled. Thus 
a bird which is defective in any particular point in which the 
strain generally excel may with safety be made use of where a 
precisely similar bird whose family were equally defective would 
have to be rejected. 
Again, a bird which is of great merit in a point in which his 
ancestors were defective can only be expected to produce a very 
slight improvement in his offspring until in-and-in-breeding has 
been resorted to. 
This brings us to a matter of some importance which cannot be 
too strongly insisted upon—namely, the general rule, that a bird 
defective in any material point should never be in-bred to. Such 
birds may be used with advantage for the purpose of strengthen¬ 
ing a strain in points in which it is deficient, and they are of 
exceptional merit, but having served that purpose should not be 
used again. The converse of this is equally important—namely, 
that a bird which is of fair general excellence and of great excel¬ 
lence in any one point should be used as largely as possible in 
order to fix the good feature as a characteristic of the strain. It 
is only by thus seizing upon and breeding-in to what we may call 
accidental perfections, that the various breeds have reached their 
present respective high standards, and it is onlyHry similar pro¬ 
cesses that any improvement can now be effected. 
CROSS-BRED POULTRY. 
“ I am a trifle puzzled with one sentence among the admirable 
remarks of your correspondent ‘ C.’ upon cross-bred poultry. 
He mentions that two objects should be aimed at with cross 
breeds—viz., to produce good table fowls and good layers, and 
remarks that in the latter respect pullets ‘ as a rule ’ follow their 
mothers. If ‘ C.’ can point out a single instance in which in 
this respect a pullet has followed its father it will be to me quite 
a new sensation.—J. S. D.” 
The above was forwarded to “ C.,” who replied as follows :— 
“ We really cannot quite comprehend whether ‘ J. S. D.’ seriously 
expects an answer to his question, or simply wishes to enliven 
our columns with his wit. Certainly his sense of humour is 
greater than his appreciation of logic. We repeat that ‘ as a 
rule pullets follow their mothers.’ We drew no contrast between 
the influence of mothers and fathers ; we never mentioned the 
latter parents. It is possible for pullets, as good or bad layers, 
to be like their mothers, or not to be like them. What we assert 
is, that as a rule they are like them. It strikes us that 1 J. S. D.’ 
in trying to convict us of an Hibernicism has been guilty of one 
himself'!— C.” 
[We insert the above question with “ C.’s ” answer as an ex¬ 
ample of the curious way in which readers will occasionally 
misinterpret words which are perfectly clear in their meaning. 
While upon the subject we may, however, point out to “ J. S. D.” 
that it is of importance in breeding for laying qualities that the 
father as well as the mother should be bred from a good laying 
strain, A pullet may follow her female ancestors on the father’s 
side.— Eds.] 
RECOLLECTIONS OF DORKINGS. 
My letter on “ The Modern Dorking ” has brought me several 
private inquiries, chiefly as to the colour of this breed before so 
much uniformity in it was required as is now generally thought 
necessary. I will therefore, if I may. supplement my former 
observations with a few recollections which occur to me of the 
subdivision of the coloured classes, and of the changes in fashion 
as to colour, that have taken place since I have been actively 
interested in the breed. Novices are often puzzled with the term 
“ Coloured,” and naturally so. It originally signified other than 
White. “ Coloured ” Dorkings might be, and certainly at first 
were, of many colours ; then a subdivision was made between the 
light-coloured birds, which were called Silver-Greys, and the 
dark-coloured, which were often and still are somewhat incor¬ 
rectly called “ Coloured,” and by more precise fanciers “ Dark 
Dorkings.” 
When first I remember the Birmingham Show (in 1865,1 think), 
the subdivision had not taken place formally, though some people 
had begun to breed carefully for the silver colour, and birds of it 
had long been known as “ Lord Hill’s breed.” Mrs. Arbuthnot, 
writing about 1866, speaks of the subvariety as well established 
yet ignored by some judges. I think it had special classes in 
1868 at Birmingham. From the time that the lighter birds were 
bred for feather there has always been, in my humble opinion, a 
