BLACK HAMBURGS.
In Black Hamburg cocks the breast, back, shoulders and tail should be a rich green, the wing-coverts exceedingly brilliant and the outer web of the secondaries (i. e., the whole of the lower part of the closed wing) almost as bright; the lesser tail-coverts are also very rich in color.
Tegetmeier speaks of spangling being visible in Black Hamburgs when seen in the sunlight. The birds he examined must have been decidedly poor ones, or perhaps it was his misfortune to see those birds compounded of Golden-Spangled Hamburgs and Spanish which we have spoken of. Such cross-bred birds will show the iridescent green spangle Mr. Tegetmeier has spoken of, but which we have never been able to discern on good birds of a pure strain.
Occasionally rich red or orange colored feathers will crop out in Black Hamburg cockerels—very seldom in pullets. These red feathers come from what we suppose was pheasant blood at some remote period introduced into these birds, or perhaps a part of their original make-up, and do not by any means prove the existence of impure blood. It is the result of our strenuous efforts to keep up and improve the greenish luster, and invariably comes from highly colored birds. These birds are sometimes of great use to breeders, and enable us to obtain finely colored birds by mating them with dead-black pullets.
But while we may tolerate an occasional showing of red feathers (which only appear in the hackle, as in the Golden Pheasant), we must be very severe on birds showing those of another color—namely, white feathers. There seems to be a natural tendency to show the white feathers in all black fowls, and this evil has been so stubborn to eradicate that Mr. Felch, at a meeting of the American Poultry Association, offered a resolution to allow white tips to appear in exhibition birds. The many evils which would thus arise from lowering our ideal Standard for this magnificent variety were so obvious that the members of that Association promptly rejected the resolution at a later meeting in Cleveland, Ohio. We know not whether most to blame the futile efforts of Mr. Felch to accommodate the variety to the wants of a few incompetent breeders, or to applaud the wisdom of our brethren of the A. P. A. in “squelching” such innovations. They surely have the thanks of all honest breeders of Black Hamburgs, which can be bred black as well as any other variety of black fowls, if we only have patience and honestly strive to eradicate this serious fault, which, if allowed, would work to the disadvantage of all.
Comb.—There is no style of comb so difficult to breed to perfection as the rose comb, and the excellent combs shown on Black and Spangled Hamburgs at our recent shows prove how much can be accomplished by judicious breeding. To our eye it is beautiful and elegant, and forms one of the chief attractions of the Hamburg. It should be a deep, rich red; not so large as to overhang the eyes or beak; square in front; fitting close and straight on the head; not inclining to one side; not hollow in the center—on the contrary, we prefer a slight rise in the center, although an even comb throughout is better. It should be uniform on each side; the top covered with small points, and terminating in a spike behind, which inclines upward very slightly. The absence of this spike is a grave defect, which if a natural blemish disqualifies a bird by the American Standard of Excellence, as does likewise a comb so large as to obstruct the sight.
Ear-Lobes.—The ear-lobe is one of the most striking features of the Black Hamburg, and in connection with the bright red comb and greenish plumage, form a tout ensemble such as no one can see without admiring. The ear-lobe on the old Black Hamburgs was smaller than it is nowadays, although it is noticeable that those birds which have been kept pure have a smaller and finer ear-lobe than those which were crossed with the Spanish. As we have before observed, Mr. Beldon (in common with some other breeders, who all ought to know better) has thought that the white ear-lobe was only introduced by the Spanish cross, an error which we have furnished abundant evidence to refute; so that really all that was gained by this unnecessary cross was a large, pendent ear-lobe, which is totally at variance with our accepted ideas as to what a Hamburg ear-lobe should be. It has been allowed by most judges, until quite recently, to be a little larger in the Blacks than in any other variety of Hamburgs, but it must be pure white, well rounded, lying smoothly and close to the face, like a piece of white kid glove, and the smaller the better. A large, pendent ear-lobe, like that of the Spanish and Leghorns, is certainly a grave blemish; nor should it be wrinkled or puffy, or at all tinged with red about the edges.
The Face.—One of our chief difficulties in breeding Hamburgs is the tendency to white in the face, which should be a deep, rich crimson, almost scarlet. A white face is a positive disqualification, and a dark gypsy face much to be avoided. Both these latter defects owe their origin to the Spanish cross, although white specks in the face will often appear in pure-bred birds as they advance in age. By careful breeding, and judiciously selecting those cocks which retain a pure red face, this may be entirely bred out, while breeding from birds showing the white face fixes the defect in the progeny, and causes much trouble to the breeder before it can be eradicated. It is rare to find a two or three-year-old cock which does not show a patch of white under the eye or near the ear-lobe; but the graver and more common the fault, the more pains should be taken to breed it out, and we have no doubt but the time will soon come when such a thing as a white-specked face in the show room will be unknown. We trust efforts will be made in this direction.