10 
and female, and bright yellow legs. Those who are partial to their color 
of plumage will find the Dominiques good birds to keep. They are good 
layers, hardy, mature early, and dress well for the table. 
The standard weight of cocks is 8J pounds5 hens, 6£ pounds; cock¬ 
erels, 7^ pounds; and pullets, 5J pounds. 
JERSEY BLUES. 
The least-known variety of the American class is the Jersey Blue. 
It is one of the largest breeds of poultry, being in size between the 
Plymouth Bock and the Light Brahma. Their plumage resembles that 
of the Andalusian, being blue throughout. Their breast and fluff are 
light blue; hackle and sickles, very dark blue, approaching black; 
shanks and toes dark blue, the lower surface of toes lighter in shade, 
and the nails white. They are not as good layers as are the others of 
their class, and are hardy and easily kept in confinement. They are 
not popular for table purposes, preference being given to yellow-skinned 
and yellow-legged birds. 
The standard weight of cocks is 10 pounds; hens, 8 pounds; cock¬ 
erels, 7 pounds; and pullets, 5 pounds. 
BRAHMAS. 
The leading variety of the Asiatic class is the Light Brahma (fig. 9). 
This fowl has a history that would fill pages were it recorded. These 
are the fowls which caused the “hen fever” of the fifties, about which 
so much has been written in later years. Their early history is a 
matter of controversy, the best authorities differing as to their origin. 
They were first known as the “Brahma Pootras,” “Gray Shanghais,” 
“ Chittagongs,” “Cochin Chinas,” and what not. The early breeder 
named them according to his fancy for high sounding and sensational 
names to sell his stock. Fabulous prices were paid for them when the 
craze for fine poultry was at its height in the early days of the last half 
ol the present century. The standard of the present Brahmas was fixed 
in 1869, and no deviation from the type then adopted has been made. 
They have stood high in popular favor since then without abatement; 
the vast number of breeders who are raising them fully attest their 
worth as a practical bird to the industry. The Brahma is a character¬ 
istic fowl; it is unlike other varieties, and it should not be confounded 
in shape with the Cochin. 
The average Light Brahma male is in height 26 inches; back from the 
ground, 16 inches; keel from the ground, 8 inches; length of body, front 
of breast to rear of fluff, 14 inches; height of tail, a trifle over 21 inches; 
saddle hangers to rear of fluff', 2 \ inches; eye, from tip of beak, 2 ^ 
inches; length of head and beak, 34 inches; breasts to rear of a drop 
line from point of beak, three-fourths to 1^ inches. As specimens 
depart from this proportion they become awkward and valueless as 
exhibition stock, and often also as egg producers, in shape, oblong, 
