BRAHMA.--Meat breed. Two varieties, light and dark. Show heavy leg and
toe feathering, thick, close plumage. General color of light Brahma,
white, with black tail and black center stripes in both hackle and
saddle feathers. In dark Brahma, wings of cock crossed by heavy black
bar, and entire breast, body, leg and toes black. Back, wings, body and
breast of female have a basis of gray on which are distinct dark
pencilings. Weight for dark cocks eleven pounds, hens eight and one-half
pounds; for light cocks twelve pounds, hens nine and one-half pounds.
Brown egg.
COCHIN.--Meat breed. Four varieties, buff, partridge, white, black.
Peculiarity is an appearance of massiveness and fluffiness. Heavy, short
feathering is piled high on back and extends wide at sides. Excessive
thigh and shank feathering. Combs single, low, close on head and evenly
serrated with five distinct points. Cocks weigh eleven pounds, hens
eight and one-half pounds. Brown egg.
DORKING.--General purpose, meat especially. Three varieties, colored,
white and silver-gray. Body long and deep. Carries abundance of flesh.
Skin white. Colored largest cocks weigh nine pounds and hens seven
pounds. White cocks weigh seven and one-half pounds, hens six pounds.
Silver-gray variety is between these two. All have a fifth toe. Eggs of
very light color.
HAMBURG.--Egg and fancy breed. Six varieties, golden spangled, silver
spangled, golden penciled, silver penciled, white and black. About size
of the Leghorn. White egg.
HOUDAN.--General breeding purposes. Color black and white evenly broken
in alternate splotches throughout entire plumage. Head ornaments of
crest and beard. White skin. Carry fifth toe on each foot. Cocks weigh
seven pounds, hens six pounds. White egg.
INDIAN.--Meat breed. Two varieties, Cornish and white. Beaks and shanks
yellow. Bird of strong proportions. Back and wings of cock mixture of
red and black, tail and breast black. Hen’s back, wings, breast and body
a rich bay penciled with black. Cocks weigh nine pounds, hens six and
one-half pounds. Tinted egg.
LEGHORN.--Egg production. Eight varieties, single-comb and rose-comb
brown, single-comb and rose-comb white, single-comb and rose-comb buff,
single-comb black and single-comb silver duck-wing. Characterized by
early maturity and great activity. Large combs on the top of head. White
egg.
MINORCA.--Egg breed. Three varieties, single-comb black, rose-comb
black, single-comb white. Long body, carried rather upright, deep at
breast with back tapering sharply toward tail, which is long and carried
rather low. Comb large. Ear lobes large and pure white. Cocks of
rose-comb weigh eight pounds, hens six and one-half pounds. Single-combs
weigh one pound heavier. White egg.
ORPINGTON.--General purpose. Three varieties, buff, black and white.
Long body, abundant plumage, white skin. Short, heavy shanks. Tendency
to feathering on shanks. Cock weighs ten pounds, hen eight pounds. Egg
tinted.
PLYMOUTH ROCK.--General purpose, for both meat and eggs. Three
varieties, the barred, white and buff. Back and body rather long, breast
broad and deep. Single combs, yellow shanks. Cocks weight nine and
one-half pounds and hens seven and one-half pounds. Brown egg.
RHODE ISLAND RED.--General purpose. Two varieties, single comb and
rose-comb. Tail color black. Rhode Island red has a red surface of body
plumage, with a red under color, free from slate.
Buckeye breed surface color is dark, rich garnet, and under color allows
a bar of slate-color next to surface. Body of both long. Rhode Island
Reds level. Buckeye body shows slight elevation in front. Weight of
Rhode Island red cocks eight and one-half pounds, hens six and one-half
pounds. Buckeye cocks nine pounds, hens six pounds. Brown egg.
WYANDOTTE.--General purpose, for both meat and eggs. Eight standard
varieties, white, buff, black, silver, golden, silver penciled,
partridge and Columbian. A bird of curves, back short and broad, body
deep and round, breast broad and deep, with a low-set keel. Shanks
short, strong and carried well apart. Colors silver, white, black, buff
and mixtures. Close-fitting rose combs. Abundant fluffy, close-fitting
plumage. Weight eight and one-half pounds for cocks, six and one-half
pounds for hens. Brown egg.
=Duck= (_Anas domestica_).--The various breeds of domestic duck are all
descended from the wild species. The prominent characteristics of the
family are familiar: the short webbed feet, with a small hind toe; the
netted scales in front of the lower leg; the bill, about as long as the
head, rounded at the tip, and bearing the nostrils towards the broad
root. They are aquatic birds, swimming with much agility, diving
comparatively little, preferring to grub in the shallows for
water-plants, worms, and small animals.
Duck raising is extensive in Europe both for flesh and eggs, which are
more generally used than in the United States. In eastern Asia, notably
in China, ducks are grown in enormous numbers. Duck raising has become
a profitable industry in the United States, particularly since the
introduction of the Pekin duck, which was introduced into the United
States from China in 1870.