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Show POULTRY T - - - 1 n 1 n riri MATING. II. C. S. Gorlinc. In Mating black varieties, we give shape first importance and then, color, col-or, for it is not easy by any means to obtain the glossy black with a greenish sheen, any more than it is to obtain the silvery seen on pearl in the whites. Too often the glossy black becomes a dull lustcrlcss black with a .brownish tinge, or it may be of- the color of lamp black with a-purplish a-purplish edging. In single matings it is very seldom that one may obtain ob-tain a .fair percentage of good color in the progeny, as a mating of male and female of good tcolor is almost sure to produce a solid black with the purplish bars or edging. With the Black Langshans, the Black Spanish and the Black Leghorns, the best color may be obtained by mating a male of strong good color to females of the faded brownish black. A male liaving the purple sheen may be used to good advantage with females of correct color, although' the percentage of good color in the progeny will be less than in the former mating. It is very difficult to obtain a good yellow shank in the Black Leghorn with the glossy black plumage, but if a good yellow shank can be obtained, obtain-ed, we would prefer a male with a brownish black plumage with the purplish pur-plish tinge mated to females of standard stand-ard colored plumage regardless of shank coloring, because the yellow shank is much more difficult to obtain ob-tain than the standard colored -plumage, and we would expect to get the best percentage obtainable in the progeny pro-geny through the male line. In mating red birds, there should be less trouble to get the desired color than in any of the other solid colored Lirds, because red is the original or-iginal or natural color of the gallus bankiva, but of late years fanciers seem to have become color-blind to such an extent that buff is often mistaken mis-taken for red, whereas there should be nothing akin between the rich, golden buff and the indescribable beauty of the cherry red sheen. However, How-ever, as with the blacks, a mating of male and females of standard red will produce but a small number of standard colored progeny. A- standard stand-ard colored male bred to females of-sable of-sable or faded undercolor will produce pro-duce the best colored progeny and r will have a tendency to eliminate the bkick and so produce a solid red. So far, that has not been accomplished by any one, but it is to be hoped that this is the inevitable future of 1 the Reds when red may be classed as a strictly solid- coloY.) J In mating buff varieties, more Skill" "jjr" and- good judgment coupled with ab- solute knowledge is required to ob- V tain good results- than in any other cr r. The aim of the breeder should be to procure a solid golden buff sur- it face color, with rich mellow under 1( color, and) unlike any other solid , color, experience has shown the best results from mating bird's of standard stand-ard color. Wfc would select the best colored male and the best colored color-ed females that skill and care in selection se-lection can produce to make up our I en, and persistently follow this course by line breeding year '.after year. By ruthless culling and adhcr- - 4 ' iug strictly to the color line, the ideal color may be obtained and rctaincd and by this method only. Und'ercolor is of utmost importance. We want a pure soft buff, a shadcJightcr than surface color, and under no circum-stances circum-stances must this be neglected. Care- , less selection of undercolor will rapidly ra-pidly undo what may have taken several sev-eral generations to produce. A sound undercolor may be relied upon asf a basis from winch to work out all x regularities in surface, color in the way of splotches of foreign color. If the undercolor is too light, more or less black ticking will show up in tails and flights; if it is too dark, the defects in surf cc color will be as bad, or worse. A good golden buff, while one of the most bcautful creations crea-tions of the fancier, is at the same time the most difficult color to obtain. ob-tain. Note the buff varieties in any poultry show, and it will be observed that the colors range all the way from brick-dust red to grayish white but all buff. Particularly is this true in Buff Rocks and Buff Leghorns; Leg-horns; we have seen Buff Rocks and heard many inquiries to learn if those were Rhode Island Reds, and no won- dcr, for the birds were more nearly red! ,than buff. In the,, most carefully care-fully selected matings of ibuffs a , large proportion of the clucks upon I reaching maturity, will show traces ' of white or' black in tails and flights and occasionally splotches on the L. ' wings or possibly a reddish tinge on hackle, or saddle of thc males, or there may be different shades of buff in surface color. The quickest and easiest way to overcome this diffi-culty diffi-culty is by culling all such specimens and obtaining birds of accurate standard stand-ard color. The problem of breeding out this uncvenness is too difficult, and requires too much time for the avcragc'urccdcr to waste upon it. Compensation matings will be found very slow, very uncertain and more than likely wholly unsatisfactory, and we believe the best way is the easiest eas-iest way, and that is to breed only from standard colored birds. |