BLACK HAMBURGS.
Be that as it may, Black Hamburgs are known to have been bred in Lancashire long before the poultry-showing era, and were called by the peasants Black Pheasants. They had the rose comb, but it was much larger than in our present birds, and not nearly so well formed. They also had the white ear-lobe, despite the claims of many breeders that this desirable point came from a cross with the Spanish. There is no doubt that many Blacks have Spanish blood in them, and some prominent English breeders openly acknowledge its existence in their strains. But we have birds to-day that have never known a particle of Spanish blood in their composition, which possess superior qualities over those with the Spanish cross, and which have the white ear-lobe in all its beauty and perfection.
In a recent letter Mr. Beldon says: “The Black Hamburgs I remember perfectly well when I first began the poultry fancy some twenty-seven years ago, but they were not commonly bred at that time. They were a large bird, with rather coarse combs. Since then the Spanish cross has been used to produce them; in fact, I have known them to be bred from a Black Spanish and Spangled Hamburg, and by careful selection brought to much perfection, with better black plumage, bright red faces and pure white ear-lobes.”
Black Pheasants did not formerly possess the exquisite symmetry which is so marked in our present birds, being coarse and short-legged, while the most attention was paid to that resplendent greenish sheen which forms their chief attraction and renders them to-day the most beautiful of black fowls.
There have been many and clever expedients devised to show that the Black Hamburgs came from crossing. Mr. Seebay says: “I have been told by reliable persons that Black Pheasants have been shown for prizes, such as copper kettles, etc., more than a hundred years before my time. The true Silver-Spangled is almost black in one stage of its chicken plumage, and as I have known them produce chickens almost black, and as the shape of the Spangles and Blacks is exactly the same, I had always thought one sprung from the other.” This theory is the most plausible one we know of, and is also endorsed by Mr. Sergeantson. The most absurd assertion is that they are the result of a cross between the Golden-Spangled Hamburgs and the Spanish, which is easily refuted by our positive knowledge of their great age. There is no doubt but that some Black Hamburgs (so-called) have been made from this cross, as Mr. Beldon says; but the unfortunate breeder who gets any of these fowls into his yards, will soon discover from a plentiful sprinkling of single combs in his chicks and a general want of fixed characteristics, that he has been imposed upon. It is not of great importance to know exactly how they did originate, as from a practical point of view it is enough to know that they are now a firmly established breed of great beauty and undoubted excellence.
The Black Hamburgs lay the largest eggs of any variety of this breed, while in numbers they fully equal the Spangled and Penciled. They are therefore much sought after by those who wish to obtain eggs for the market as well as for the table, and are perhaps the most popular variety of Hamburgs.
Plumage.—This is the most important point in the Black Hamburg, though it has been much neglected by American breeders. It should be exceedingly soft, the feathers having a feeling as of satin to the hand, and a deep but distinct and beautiful gloss or tinge. Much weight should be given to this in both sexes, although it can be cultivated to a greater extent in the female than in the male. This green gloss should not appear on the end of the feathers only, but throughout the entire plumage—the greener and richer the color the better. To be seen to advantage this beautiful gloss should be viewed in a strong light or when the sun is upon the bird. You then see that sheen in which they surpass all other black fowls. The color required is the green black; the purple, bluish or raven black so often seen is very undesirable, and should be avoided. These colors are so distinct that there is no liability to mistake the true shade. Some strains are of a deep blue green, almost a steel blue; these have green tails. Other strains are of a lighter green; these have bronze green tails. The purer the green and the less admixture of any other tinge the better. Never breed from birds which seem to be penciled with bluish purple. It is often caused by a late and protracted moult, and may appear in birds which as chicks had the green tinge in all its perfection; but more often it is hereditary. Lancashire fanciers called this mazarine, and it appeared principally on backs of hens or flights of cocks. As we have mentioned, this glossy tinge is not so uniform on the male as the female birds, and this is seemingly in direct opposition to the usual decrees of Nature, which seems to have ordained that the male part of creation be more brilliant than the opposite gender. We are pleased to observe, however, a marked improvement in the plumage of cocks of late years, and hope to see the time when the male bird will show this characteristic as fully as the female.