. Wright's book of poultry, revised and edited in accordance with the latest poultry club standards. nately greater amount of flesh of course b**put upon the birds; in fact the fowl is now heavier-fleshed all over, with no more addition of olTal inproportion. There is yet a little to add before we canconsider complete even this briefest outline ofDark Dorking history. The breed as left it was darker than before, the speckle being gone, and the cocks mostlyblack-breasted. But fanciers and judges madeit by their selection darker still, until the feathersover the hens wings and ba
. Wright's book of poultry, revised and edited in accordance with the latest poultry club standards. nately greater amount of flesh of course b**put upon the birds; in fact the fowl is now heavier-fleshed all over, with no more addition of olTal inproportion. There is yet a little to add before we canconsider complete even this briefest outline ofDark Dorking history. The breed as left it was darker than before, the speckle being gone, and the cocks mostlyblack-breasted. But fanciers and judges madeit by their selection darker still, until the feathersover the hens wings and back became practicallyblack, with only the shaft of the feather showingwhite, more and more black coining into thecocks hackles. With this extremely darkcolour came in, unfortunately, more or less ofsooty feet and legs. This blemish led at onetime to much railing against the cross which had made, as being the cause of thesooty feet; but for this charge there wasno real foundation. The bird he had usedwas quite white in the feet; and for yearsno dark feet had appeared in consequence. As. THE MODERN DARK DORKING. ?,n \vc pointed out at the time, it was breeding thebirds nearly block that did the mischief, suchbody colour alwa\s tending to sooty feet inevery race of poultry. The dark colour hadbeen liked, as looking larger in the pen, andhad been fashionable, and had brought darkfeet with it, as such colour always will. Butthe fault caused some reaction ; and when suchvery dark birds no longer ruled, the dark feetsoon disappeared. The Dark or, as it was formerly called,the Coloured Dorking until quite recent yearswell maintained its position as an exhibitionfowl, and still, with the other colours, yieldsto none in its splendid utilityThe qualities. For the time it has been Modem elbowed aside by newer varieties, Dorking. some of which owe not a little to the Dorking themselves; but, incommon with all who remember the splendidclasses of Dorkings in the past at our classic
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1910, bookpublishe, booksubjectpoultry
