JF 489 / 
 
 IPrice, 25 Cents. 
 
 ! The Book of the Dorking. 
 
 ; A BRIEF MONOGRAPH 
 
 / UPON THE 
 
 ] Orip, Varieties, Mdm anfl Maiapinent 
 
 ( OF THE 
 
 DORKING FOW^L. 
 
 By H. H. STODDARD, 
 
 EDITOR OF "the POULTRY WORLD," " THE AMERICAN POULTRY YARD," AND " THE CO- 
 OPERATIVE POULTRY POST." AUTHOR OF "aN EGG FARM," "POULTRY DISEASES," 
 "poultry ARCHITECTURE," "LIGHT BRAHMAS," " WHITE LEGHORNS," 
 
 "brown LEGHORNS," "PLYMOUTH ROCKS," " WYANDOTTES." / 
 
 ".THE BOOK OF THE GAMES," "tHE BOOK OF THE \ 
 
 BANTAMS," "domestic WATER FOWL," \ 
 
 "how to FEED FOWLS." " HOW TO WIN POULTRY PRIZES," " HOW TO PRESERVE EGGS,' ( 
 
 "incubation; natural and artificial," "how to raise PIGEONS," ETC. ( 
 
 PUBLISHER OF " HOW TO RAISE POULTRY ON A LARGE SCALE," / 
 
 "a POULTRY COMPENDIUM," ETC. ) 
 
 HARTFORD, CONN. 
 
 1886. 
 
I 
 
The Book of the Dorking, 
 
 A BRIEF MONOGRAPH 
 
 UPON THE 
 
 Grip, Varieties, Breefling aM ManapmeDt 
 
 OF THE 
 
 DORKINa FOAVL. 
 
 By H. H. STODDARD, 
 
 EDITOR OF "the POULTRY WORLD," " THE AMERICAN POULTRY YARD," AND " THE CO- 
 OPERATIVE POULTRY POST." AUTHOR OF "aN EGG FARM," "POULTRY DISEASES," 
 "poultry ARCHITECTURE," "LIGHT BRAHMAS," " WHITE LEGHORNS," 
 "brown leghorns," "PLYMOUTH ROCKS," " WYANDOTTES," 
 "the BOOK OF THE GAMES," " THE BOOK OF THE 
 BANTAMS," "domestic WATER FOWL," 
 '"How TO FEED FOWLS," " HOW TO WIN POULTRY PRIZES," " HOW TO PRESERVE EGGS," 
 "incubation; natural and artificial," "how to raise PIGEONS," ETC. 
 PUBLISHER OF " HOW TO RAISE POULTRY ON A LARGE SCALE," 
 "a POULTRY COMPENDIUM," ETC. 
 
 9dp. 
 
 HARTFORD, CONN. ^' 
 
 1886. 
 
5F4S? 
 .Vis 
 
 Copyright, i8S6, by J I. H. Stoddard, Hartford, Conn. 
 
THE BOOK OF THE DORKING. 
 
 HISTORICAL. 
 
 IN a picturesque valley twenty-nine miles south of Lon- 
 don by rail lies the market town of Dorking. It has 
 a population of about five thousand. The town is situ- 
 ated on a small brook, a tributary of the Mole, in a 
 sheltered vale near the base of Box Hill. It is well 
 built and clean. Among its noted buildings are the 
 Parish church of St. Martin's, a handsome edifice, and 
 St. Paul's district church, a building of some pretensions. 
 Several elegant mansions have been erected in the vicin- 
 ity of the town, notably that of Deepdeen, containing a 
 gallery of sculpture collected by the late Thomas Hope, 
 the author of Anastasius ; near by is also the Rookery 
 where Malthus, celebrated for his essay on population, 
 was born. Lime of exceptionally good quality is burnt 
 to a large extent in the neighborhood, and forms an 
 important article of trade ; it is derived from the Lower 
 Chalk formation. The old Roman road from the Sussex 
 coast to the Thames passed close to the town. Dorking 
 is celebrated throughout England for its romantic scenery, 
 and has long been famous for a finely flavored breed of 
 fowls, distinguished by their having five claws upon each 
 
6 THE BOOK OF THE DORKING. 
 
 foot. These fowls are in great demand in the T>ondon 
 markets, and are regarded as the best table fowls pro- 
 duced in the country. They are known by the name of 
 Dorkings, derived from the town which has so long bred 
 them in a high degree of perfection. 
 
 The English people are very conservative. The family 
 tree is regarded as the most important of all trees. 
 They really believe that it grew in the Garden of Eden. 
 A long lineage is something to boast of. It is told of 
 a certain noble family that in the portrait gallery there 
 is a picture representing one of their ancestors entering 
 the ark and bearing in his hand a roll containing the 
 family pedigree for centuries previous to the flood. The 
 truth of this story we do not vouch for, but it fittingly 
 represents the feeling of the people. They are fully in 
 harmony with the sentiment, "Old wood to burn! Old 
 wine to drink ! Old friends to trust ! Old authors to 
 read!" Like Goldsmith, each one says: "I love every- 
 thing that's old. Old friends, old times, old manners, 
 old books, old wine," and we may add, old varieties of 
 fowls. Unlike the American people, who resemble the 
 ancient Athenians in their rage for something new, age 
 gives, as it ought to, an added value to everything in 
 the eyes of the English. Age does add worth, for it in- 
 sures stability, and when excellence can boast of age, it 
 becomes even more excellent. It means in poultry that 
 the characteristics have become so fixed as to be uni- 
 formly transmitted that we can expect the chick to be 
 like its parents, for its parents are like a long line of 
 ancestors, every one of which possessed the same charac- 
 teristics. Nothing so tries the patience of the poultry 
 
THE BOOK OF THE DORKING. 7 
 
 breeder as to find that a fine looking pen of fowls pro- 
 duces a lot of chicks uneven in quality and uncertain in. 
 characteristics, resembling neither themselves nor their 
 progenitors. And this is the result to be expected from 
 new breeds. 
 
 The Dorking is the most popular fowl in England. 
 It boasts of a long lineage. It traces its origin to a 
 time when England was not a nation, when the inhabi- 
 tants of that now most highly civilized country were 
 painted savages. It antedates royalty. Before William the 
 Conqueror, the Dorking was; before the battle of Hast- 
 ings, the Dorking had conquered popularity. It takes us 
 back to the ancient city of Rome, "which sat upon her 
 seven hills and ruled the world; " it brings us to the 
 fountain of jurisprudence, to the foundations of order 
 and society. In comparison, other breeds are puny up- 
 starts without a pedigree, the noveau riche, the plebeian, 
 nobility, made and unmade by a royal word. It is the 
 most patrician of the patricians, the noblest of the nobles, 
 the most regal of the royal families. 
 
 It is supposed that the Dorkings were introduced into 
 Britain by the Romans. Along with the conquering co- 
 horts of Caesar, marched the equally victorious Dorking. 
 The walls that were built, the fortifications that were 
 erected and the roads that were made stiil bear witness 
 to the Roman invasion; and no less so does this cele- 
 brated breed of fowls. In very early Latin writings we 
 find a description of fowls, both white and colored, that 
 accurately represents this breed. Columella has thus 
 clearly described the modern Colored Dorking : " Let 
 them be of reddish or dark plumage, with black wings. 
 
8 THE BOOK OF THE DORKING. 
 
 * * * * * Let the breeding hens be of 
 
 robust body, square built, full breasted, large heads, with 
 upright and bright red combs. -st * * * * 
 
 Those are believed to be the best bred with five toes." 
 There has always been a dispute as to which was 
 the more ancient variety of Dorkings, the White or the 
 Colored. As both varieties are known to have existed, if 
 we may rely upon the ancient writers who have given a 
 description of a fowl which fits the Dorking, at so early 
 a date as to leave their origin in the mythical period 
 which precedes the dawn of history, no satisfactory set- 
 tlement of this dispute is likely to be arrived at. The 
 difficulty remains an insoluble one. The advocates of 
 the claims of the White to priority urge that the Colored 
 Dorking was produced by a cross of the White variety 
 upon the ancient Sussex fowl, and instance the fact 
 that some strains of Colored Dorkings were very uncer- 
 tain in the production of the fifth toe ; the advocates of 
 the Colored Dorking, on the other hand, claim that, as 
 the Colored surpasses the White variety in size, the White 
 is, therefore, but a degenerate descendant of the older 
 variety. Mr. Martin Doyle, the author of " The Illus- 
 trated Book of Domestic Poultry," makes the following 
 ingenious suggestion : " If we may venture to offer a 
 conjecture on this abstract point of physiology, we should 
 say that as in vegetable propagation, white flowers are 
 often found to -break or degenerate into colors, although 
 colored flowers do not become pure white, — so, by anal- 
 ogy, the white bird would degenerate into a colored one 
 though the converse would be unnatural." This explana- 
 tion we cannot, however, accept. Analogies aie always 
 
THE BOOK OF THE DOR'KING. 9 
 
 dangerous things to rely upon, especially when, as in this 
 case, they are drawn from different kingdoms of the 
 created world. We know that white birds are constantly 
 appearing as " sports " among colored ones, but never 
 knew of the converse. White crows, white blackbirds, 
 white sparrows, white Spanish, white Langshans, white 
 Javas, white Plymouth Rocks, white Wyandottes, have 
 frequently appeared, but who can cite a well authenti- 
 cated case where a colored domesticated bird appeared 
 among white ones, when it could not be shown to have 
 come from a cross or was the result of reversion ? 
 White feathers are easy to get and hard to get rid of. 
 If the Colored Dorking sprang from the White variety, 
 as some eminent authorities believe, it resufted from a 
 cross and not otherwise ; but the White Dorking might 
 have appeared as a ''sport." We are willing to allow 
 this question to remain unsettled, claihiir?g no superiority 
 of antiquity for either White or Colored Dorkings. 
 
 VARIETIES. 
 
 In this country three varieties of Dorkings are recog- 
 nized by the Standard, the White, the Silver Gray, and 
 the Colored. In size the White is the smallest of the 
 three, the Colored the largest, and the Silver Gray inter- 
 mediate between the two. The White is bred with a 
 rose comb only, the other two varieties with either rose 
 or single combs, although the greater number of Colored 
 and Silver Gray Dorkings, both in this country and in 
 England, their native home, are bred with single combs. 
 
 All three varieties, with the above exceptions and 
 with the added one of color and marking, possess the 
 
lO THE BOOK OF THE DORKING. 
 
 same characteristics. They all have white or flesh colored 
 legs, five toes upon each foot, white skins, long bodies, 
 full breasts, heavy thighs, small bones and are wonder- 
 fully compact and meaty in their mak^-up. As an old 
 writer describes them, " These fowles have very short 
 legges, and are small boned throughout, and the offal is 
 very light, consequently the proportion of flesh is very 
 large." 
 
 Mr. Baily, an eminent London poultry judge, says 
 that " There is no breed to be compared with the Dork- 
 ing, which unites in itself, more than any other, all the 
 properties requisite for supplying the table ; that the 
 hens are good sitters and good mothers, and that there 
 is a natural tendency in the breed to fatten, so that 
 the young ones are made to attain to eight or nine 
 pounds' weight, and at table they surpass all others in 
 symmetry of shape, and whiteness, and delicacy of flesh." 
 
 The Rev. E. S. Dixon writes : " For those who wish 
 to stock their poultry-yard with fowls of the most de- 
 sirable shape and size, clothed in rich and variegated 
 plumage, and not expecting perfection, the speckled (/. e.y 
 Colored^ Dorkings are the breed to be at once selected. 
 The hens, in addition to their gay colors, have a large 
 vertically flat comb, which, when they are in high health, 
 adds very much to their brilliant appearance, particularly 
 if seen in bright sunshine. The cocks are magnificent ; 
 the most gorgeous hues are frequently lavished upon 
 them, which their great size and peculiarly square-built 
 form display to the greatest advantage. The breeder, and 
 the farmer's wife, behold with delight their broad breast, 
 the small proportion of offal, and the large quantity of 
 
12 THE BOOK OF THE DORKING. 
 
 profitable flesh. The cockerels may be brought to con- 
 siderable weights, and the flavour and appearance of the 
 meat are inferior to none. The eggs are produced in 
 reasonable abundance, and though not equal in size to 
 those of Spanish hens, may fairly be called large. They 
 are not everlasting layers, but at due and convenient in- 
 tervals manifest the desire of sitting. In this respect 
 they are steady, and good mothers when the little ones 
 appear." 
 
 Another writer says of them, that '' of all domestic 
 fowls with which he was acquainted, the Dorkings must 
 carry off the palm for their good size and lofty carriage, 
 for the beauty and variety of their plumage, and, lastly, 
 for their exceptional table qualities." 
 
 Mr. L. Wright, an eminent poultry author, thus de- 
 scribes the Dorking : " The body should be deep and 
 full, the breast being protuberant and plump, especially 
 in the cock, whose breast, as viewed sideways, ought to 
 form a right angle with the lower part of his body. 
 Both back and breast must be broad, the latter showing 
 no approach to hollowness, and the entire general make 
 full and plump, but neat and compact. Hence a good 
 bird should weigh more than it appears to do." 
 
 These descriptions ought to bring before the reader's 
 imagination a fowl in which solidity is a pre-eminent 
 quality, whose peculiar figure fits it for the table. No 
 better shape could be devised for this purpose, as it 
 provides for little waste in comparison with the amount 
 of flesh. 
 
 May we not, in view of the mania of our people for 
 new varieties, echo the sentiment of the editor of the 
 
14 THE BOOK OF THE DORKING. 
 
 Agricultural Gazette, who said of Mr. Baily, that " he 
 should be encouraged in his endeavor to bring us back 
 to Dorkings and common sense ?" 
 
 THE WHITE DORKING. 
 
 The White Dorking, by some regarded as the oldest 
 of all varieties of Dorkings, has the gener^ characteris- 
 tics of all the varieties. In plumage it is pure white, 
 although there is more or less tendency in cocks to be- 
 come somewhat yellow upon the back, hackle and saddle. 
 This is a characteristic of all white fowls. It is bred 
 only with a rose comb, which should be square in front, 
 fit firmly and evenly upon the head, be comparatively 
 flat upon the top and evenly covered with small points, 
 and terminate in a large spike or projection behind, 
 which should curve slightly upwards. The carriage should 
 be elegant and stately. An old writer upon the subject 
 of Dorkings, as quoted by Mr. George T. Goodwin, an 
 enthusiastic and eminent breeder of Dorkings, says : 
 " This variety seldom attains the large size of the darker 
 shades, but this does not prove any inferiority. For 
 general use we do not advise this variety, unless the lo- 
 cation should be on a dry and sandy soil, as success in 
 breeding would require constant attention to prevent any 
 discoloration of feather. This disadvantage is no greater 
 than in other pure white varieties, and the fowls have 
 also the great advantage of the small bones and tender 
 flesh so peculiar to this breed, in all its varieties." 
 
 Upon a lawn a white fowl shows off to great advan- 
 tage, and the goodly size, even though less than that of 
 the other varieties, the plump, compact figure, the bright 
 
l6 THE BOOK OF THE DORKING. 
 
 red comb and wattles contrasting with the pure white 
 plumage, make the White Dorking a fine appearing fowl 
 where it can have a good grass run. 
 
 THE SILVER GRAY DORKING. 
 
 The Silver Gray Dorking originated without doubt 
 from the Colored variety. In a brood of Colored Dork- 
 ing chicks there frequently appears one or more that are 
 much lighter in color than the others. The selection of 
 these lighter chicks as breeding stock in time produced 
 this variety. 
 
 Although descended from the Colored variety they are 
 hardly as large as that variety, but larger than the 
 White. 
 
 The Silver Gray cock has the head, neck, and back 
 clad in a plumage of silvery whiteness. The wing-bows 
 are also silvery white. The breast is a rich, glossy black ; 
 the wing-coverts are a metallic black with a green- 
 ish lustre, and form a wide bar across the wing ; the 
 tail is large and full, and of a rich black color, the 
 sickle-feathers having a green lustre ; the tail-coverts are 
 of a glossy black, the lesser coverts having an edging 
 of white. The under parts of the body and the thighs 
 are also black. 
 
 The Silver Gray hen has a silvery white neck, silvery 
 or slaty gray back, salmon-red breast shading off to gray 
 towards the sides, silvery or slaty gray body, dark gray 
 tail, and ashy gray thighs. 
 
 Both cock and hen are clad in a handsome plumage, 
 and the appearance of the cock is especially striking. 
 
l8 THE BOOK OF THE DORKING. 
 
 THE COLORED DORKING. 
 
 The Colored Dorking cock closely resembles the Silver 
 Gray in plumage, and the one is easily mistaken for the 
 other by the casual observer. The hackle of the Colored 
 cock displays a broad black stripe down the center of 
 each feather; the breast is sometimes splashed with white, 
 although a solid black breast is preferred; the wing-bows 
 are white or sometimes mixed with black; the back is 
 black and white; but in all other respects the plumage 
 of the Colored Dorking cock is like that of the Silver 
 Gray. 
 
 The Colored hen has a black or nearly black head, 
 the feathers of the neck black edged with gray, the back 
 dark gray marked with black, the breast dark salmon 
 marked with black, body dark brown, tail dark brown or 
 gray on the outside, black on the inside, and the thighs 
 dark gray or brown. She is darker throughout in her 
 plumage than her Silver Gray sister. 
 
 The Standard fixes no weights for the White and 
 Silver Gray varieties, but for the Colored it gives the 
 following : 
 
 Cock, 9^ lbs. Hen, 7^ lbs. 
 
 Cockerel, 8 lbs. Pullet, 6 lbs. 
 
 These weights are rather high, although occasional 
 specimens are found to exceed them. A cock which 
 weighs 8 lbs. and a hen which weighs 6 lbs. may be 
 regarded as good birds. Cocks have been known to reach 
 12 lbs. in weight and hens 9 lbs., but such instances are 
 rare, and the great weight was due to excessive fatness. 
 
THE BOOK OF THE DORKING, 
 
 19 
 
 THE DORKING AS AN EGG PRODUCER. 
 
 The Dorking lays a good-sized, white egg with a 
 slight creamy tint, not pronounced enough to be called 
 a colored egg. The eggs are of a good flavor and ex- 
 cellent for culinary purposes. But they are not produced 
 in so great abundance as one could wish. The fowl's 
 chief claim is for its admirable table qualities. It has 
 been bred for this purpose for centuries, and it would 
 be nothing surprising if prolificacy should have been over- 
 looked. And yet among Dorkings some hens will be 
 found that are prolific layers. There is a record of a 
 Dorking hen which laid one hundred and eighteen eggs 
 in one hundred and twenty-one days, a record not easily 
 broken even by the Leghorns or Hamburgs. 
 
 Mr. Martin Doyle, in his "Illustrated Book of Domes- 
 tic Poultry," furnishes a series of interesting tables show- 
 ing the comparative merit of four breeds of fowls as 
 producers of eggs. From this series we make the fol- 
 lowing table. 
 
 Hatched 
 April loth, 1851. 
 
 
 
 P. 
 
 It. 
 
 1^ 
 
 Number of eggs 
 
 laid from April loth, 
 
 1852, to April 
 
 loth, 1853. 
 
 Total number of 
 
 eggs laid during 
 
 two ye^rs from date 
 
 of hatching. 
 
 
 
 — V 
 
 rt 
 
 
 4 Shanghais, 
 4 Spanish, 
 4 Dorkings, 
 4 Polish, 
 
 Oct. 19, 
 Dec. 7, 
 Dec. I, 
 Nov. 26, 
 
 709 
 452 
 471 
 512 
 
 1059 
 
 928 
 969 
 
 885 
 
 1768 
 1380 
 1440 
 1397 
 
 oz. 
 3569 
 
 3456 
 
 3004 
 
 2961 
 
20 THE BOOK OF THE DORKING. . 
 
 An examination of this table shows that from the date 
 of hatching until the fowls were two years old four 
 Dorking hens laid 1,440 eggs or an average of 360 eggs 
 each, which would be 180 eggs per year, but if we 
 reckon the laying from the time when they began to lay, 
 viz., December ist, we shall have as the actual laying time 
 but one year, four months and ten days, or at the rate 
 of over 249 eggs each per year, a rate which even the 
 best strains of Leghorns seldom equal. 
 
 In our own experience we have found Colored Dork- 
 ing hens that were exceptionally good layers, but as a 
 rule Dorkings are not the best of layers. By selecting 
 from these extra layers eggs for hatching and continuing 
 to follow this practice for a number of years, a strain 
 of Dorking hens possessing extraordinary prolificacy might 
 be established. There is' good material to build on, and 
 we can see no reason why success might not crown the 
 wisely directed efforts of any breeder who has persistency 
 as one of his endowments. 
 
 AS A TABLE FOWL 
 
 the Dorking acknowledges no superior. The flesh is dis- 
 posed just where it is most wanted; it is juicy, tender, 
 and of delicious flavor. As Mr. Goodwin says : ".No 
 man knows better than an English Squire that when he 
 has a bird of this breed properly cooked and served on 
 his board, he has .the best that the kingdom affords." 
 Mr. L. Wright, than whom there is no better authority, 
 says : " The great merit of Dorkings has already been 
 hinted at, and consists in their unrivalled excellence as 
 table fowls. In this respect we never expect to see them 
 
:€> 
 
22 THE BOOK OF THE DORKING. 
 
 surpassed. The meat is not only abundant and of 
 good quality, surpassing any other English breed except 
 Game, but is produced in the greatest quantity in the 
 choicest parts — breast, merry-thought and wings. Add to 
 this, that no breed is so easily got into good condition 
 for the table, and enough has been said to justify the 
 popularity of this beautiful English fowl." 
 
 We might multiply quotations to the same effect for 
 many pages, but enough already has been said to point 
 out the simple fact that for the table the Dorking stands 
 without a rival. 
 
 CAPONS. 
 
 Caponizing a fowl is the same thing as castrating a 
 calf. We shall not attempt a description of the process, 
 as no one would undertake it without procuring a suita- 
 'ble set of instruments, and with each set of instruments 
 complete printed instructions are sent. The operation is 
 not a difficult one to perform, and a little practice would 
 enable one to become quite skillful in it. It is surpris- 
 ing that more capons are not made, for there can be no 
 more profitable way of disposing of the extra cockerels 
 that are annually reared and not wanted for breeding 
 purposes. No variety of fowl is better suited for this 
 purpose than the Dorking, especially the Colored Dorking. 
 Delicious capons of great size could be reared that in 
 the city markets would command a very high price. We 
 think the time is not far distant when this branch of 
 the poultry industry will be better understood, and when 
 capons will be more abundant than they now are. . As 
 our population more and more centers in the cities, the 
 
THE BOOK OF THE DORKING. 23 
 
 demand for '' a good fat capon " will be increased ; and 
 as the merits of the Colored Dorking for this purpose 
 become better known the demand for them will become 
 still greater. 
 
 CROSSING. 
 
 We do not believe in keeping cross-bred fowls, and 
 yet it cannot be denied that great advantages arise to 
 the market poulterer from crossing. By the purchase of 
 a single cock the value of his year's produce may be 
 greatly increased. For market purposes a Dorking cock 
 can be confidently recommended. The farmer may keep 
 for instance a flock of Leghorn hens to supply him with 
 an abundance of eggs. With these he can allow a Dork- 
 ing cock to run, and while the supply of eggs is not 
 diminished the value of his chicks, for market, both on 
 account of the greater size and the improved quality, is 
 very appreciably increased. The Dorking crossed with 
 any of the large breeds, the Brahmas and Cochins, pro- 
 duces an admirable table-fowl, the Dorking blood improv- 
 ing greatly the quality of the flesh, and rendering the 
 fowl more easily fattened for the table. The rearing of 
 market poultry has not received that attention in this 
 country which its importance demands, and which it is 
 destined to receive in the near future. When that time 
 comes, as come it must, we shall find many cross-bred 
 fowls which owe their excellence as table-fowls to the 
 blood of the Dorking. 
 
 THE DORKING AS AN INCUBATOR AND BROODER. 
 
 There is no better sitter than a quiet Dorking hen. 
 Objection has been made to the fifth toe as more liable 
 
24 1'HE BOOK OF THE DORKING. 
 
 to break the eggs or tread upon the chickens, but ex- 
 perience proves this objection utterly unfounded. In a 
 season when other hens brought off broods of five and 
 six chickens, we have hatched under a Colored Dorking 
 hen every egg. As mothers they are exemplary. They 
 run with their chickens longer than many varieties, and 
 take excellent care of them. As incubators and brooders 
 we can recommend them as " equalled by few and sur- 
 passed by none." 
 
 TAMENESS. 
 
 We have found the Dorking a fowl that can be 
 easily rendered tame. This is a quality frequently over- 
 looked in making the choice of a breed, but one which 
 counts for much in the satisfaction to be derived from 
 keeping fowls. Some varieties are naturally shy, and al- 
 though subjected to the kindest treatment, the sudden 
 appearance of the owner will set them wildly flying in 
 every direction. But Dorkings are unlike this. They 
 welcome the presence of -their attendant and crowd 
 around him whenever he appears. They are frequently 
 very amusing in their ways. We had a Colored Dorking 
 hen that would come running up to us, and would pick 
 at the buttons on our shoes until we took her up and 
 petted her, and then she would seem contented, as if 
 she had gained the attention that she felt she deserved. 
 One soon becomes very much attached to a flock of 
 tame fowls, and would not willingly part with them. 
 And there is something more than sentiment in this 
 quality. It is a very great convenience. It is often 
 necessary to examine a fowl closely, and it is very try- 
 
26 THE BOOK OF THE DORKING. 
 
 ing to the patience and temper to be obliged to spend 
 a quarter of an hour in the pursuit of a bird, and then 
 perhaps not succeed in catching it. When one has tried 
 this he quickly wishes that he owned a flock with a 
 different disposition, and he is quite likely to feel the 
 necessity of making a change in the breed kept. We 
 have never known any one, for this reason, to wish to 
 change his Dorkings for any other variety. 
 
 MATING. ' 
 
 In mating White Dorkings, it is necessary to select 
 birds having a pure white plumage, with no colored feath- 
 ers, a good comb, not too large, and setting squarely 
 upon the head, and birds of the largest size obtainable. 
 The smaller size of this variety has been one of the 
 greatest obstacles to its achieving the popularity that it 
 really deserves. We believe that the size might be im- 
 proved by mating with a White cock some of the light- 
 est colored hens of the Silver Gray variety. From such 
 a mating some pure white chicks would be obtained, and 
 a cockerel from these could be bred back to White hens. 
 A few colored feathers might appear in the second gen- 
 eration, but by selecting only pure white specimens of this 
 generation to breed from, and mating them again with 
 White birds, in the third generation colored feathers 
 would probably not appear, and the breeder would be 
 amply repaid in the increased size of the fowls. 
 
 In Silver Grays it is essential not only that the cock 
 and hens should be of the standard colors and mark- 
 ings, but should be bred from Silver Grays themselves. 
 In a flock of Colored Dorkings, Silver Gray chicks oc- 
 
THE BOOK OF THE DORKING. 2/ 
 
 casionally appear, but they cannot be relied upon for 
 the breeduig of Silver Grays. Many of the chicks from 
 such a pen, from the operation of the law of -reversion, 
 will throw back to their grandparents, and will resem- 
 ble the Colored Dorking in color and marking. The 
 cock should have a pure silvery white hackle, free from 
 any black stripe, saddle, wing-bows and back of the 
 same character, and a solid black breast. The hens 
 should be of large size, and of standard color. In all 
 matings of Dorkings the size of the hens is an impor- 
 tant matter. Upon the hen, more than upon the cock, 
 depends the size of the chicks. 
 
 In mating Colored Dorkings the black stripe in the 
 hackle and saddle-feathers is to be insisted upon, and a 
 plentiful admixture of black upon the back and wing- 
 bows is essential. If the hackle has the broad black 
 stripe, the back and the wing-bows will be of the de- 
 sired character. We prefer that the cock should have a 
 solid black breast, other things being equal, but a good 
 bird otherwise is not to be rejected because the breast 
 is slightly mottled. The hens should be well broken in 
 feather, the black markings being clearly discernible, and 
 they should be of good size, and of standard color. 
 
 In mating both Silver Grays and Colored Dorkings, 
 the cocks and hens should have the same kind of comb, 
 rose combs being mated to rose combs, and single combs 
 with single combs. 
 
 In all varieties of Dorkings the peculiar shape of the 
 body, a well defined parallelogram, the characteristic fifth 
 toe, and the white or flesh-colored leg, are matters not 
 to be overlooked. 
 
28 THE BOOK OF THE DORKING. 
 
 Such matings will produce chicks that will show a 
 good percentage of birds, when matured, that are fit for 
 the exhibition room or the breeding pen. 
 
 NUMBER OF HENS TO COCK. 
 
 The number of hens to cock will vary somewhat ac- 
 cording to the activity of the cock. An active cockerel, 
 about one year old, w^ill answer for about ten hens. An 
 old cock ought not to be allowed more than five or six. 
 We prefer a cockerel mated to hens two or three years 
 old, allowing him eight or ten. If pullets are used, we 
 should prefer to mate them with a good two year old 
 cock. Avoid, so far as possible, mating young birds 
 together, /. e. pullets with a cockerel. The very best 
 mating is of a cockerel about one year old with large 
 two or three year old hens. The chicks from an old 
 hen's eggs are larger and stronger when first hatched, 
 and this advantage they maintain at all stages of growth. 
 Chicks from the eggs of pullets never overtake those 
 from the eggs of hens, and the losses in rearing are 
 much larger. This is a matter the importance of which 
 is to a great extent overlooked, but the breeder cannot 
 afford to neglect it. Each year the most promising pul- 
 lets should be saved and kept among the laying stock, 
 and the next year from them the breeding stock should 
 be selected. 
 
 INBREEDING. 
 
 Avoid inbreeding. No fowls deteriorate more rapidly 
 when inbred than the Dorkings. Fresh blood is indis- 
 pensable, if size and hardiness is to be kept up. The 
 breeder of Dorkings should either keep enough pens of 
 
THE BOOK OF THE DORKING. 29 
 
 breeding stock to insure the introduction of fresh blood 
 annually, or should each year purchase a good male bird 
 from the yards of some responsible breeder. It will pay 
 hmi to do so. He will get more and better chicks by 
 so domg. If we were to condense the subject of the 
 successful breedmg of Dorkings into three principles, we 
 should name them as follows : 
 
 First. Fresh blood! 
 Second. Fresh blood ! ! 
 Third. FRESH BLOOD!!! 
 
 Nothing is of greater importance than this, and too 
 much stress cannot be laid upon it. 
 
 THE CHICK. 
 
 The White Dorking chick is, of course, white in 
 color when first hatched. The Silver Gray and Colored 
 Dorking chicks are of brownish gray color, with well de- 
 fined stripes on their backs, like the chipmunks of New 
 England. They are " sleek, line-backed, five-toed beau- 
 ties." The wing-feathers appear at a very early age and 
 show the characteristic gray color. All Dorking chicks, 
 from the earliest age, display the characteristic Dorking 
 shape. 
 
 As chicks they are somewhat delicate to rear, although 
 hardy as fowls, and should not be hatched either too 
 early or too late in the season. We have met with the 
 best success in May and June hatched chicks, prefer- 
 ring these months to all others for this purpose. Hatched 
 at this time they thrive, and but few die. They grow 
 rapidly and mature quite early, and are fit for the spit 
 
30 THE BOOK OF THE DORKING. 
 
 at almost any age. They make the best of broilers, be- 
 cause of their meaty qualities. They can be . used for 
 this purpose at the age of about eight weeks, and from 
 that time on are ready for market at any period of 
 their growth. 
 
 Dry feeding is the best. Our plan of feeding is as 
 follows : The chicks are left undisturbed until about 
 twenty-four hours old. They are then removed with their 
 mother to a suitable coop, and are fed for four or five 
 days upon hard boiled eggs, chopped very fine and 
 mixed with bread crumbs. Fresh water is kept con- 
 stantly before them. At the expiration of four or five 
 days we give them steam-cooked oatmeal dry, such as is 
 purchased for family use, and in the state that it is ob- 
 tained from the grocer, alternating with fine cracked 
 corn. As soon as they are old enough to eat it, we 
 vary this diet with whole wheat. Cracked bone and 
 oyster shells are kept constantly before them. Ground 
 beef scraps are fed about every other day. Milk, sweet 
 or sour, is given them for drink when we have it. We 
 should like to keep it constantly before them. In case 
 the chicks appear to droop, we give them an occasional 
 boiled egg, chopped fine, with a little Indian meal wet 
 up thick with boiling water and seasoned slightly with 
 cayenne pepper, but we find this very seldom necessary. 
 
 For the first two or three weeks we feed our chicks 
 five times a day, in the morning, in the middle of the 
 forenoon, at noon, in the middle of the afternoon, and 
 at night. After that we feed three times a day until 
 well grown. 
 
 We keep a sharp outlook for lice. Nothing so saps 
 
THE BOOK OF THE DORKING. 3I 
 
 the vitality of a chick as the presence of lice. They 
 are generally to be found upon the head, burrowing into 
 the skull. If the chick is not very closely examined, 
 their presence will not be detected. When a chick be- 
 gins to droop, even if an examination does not disclose 
 any lice, it is perfectly safe to grease the head thoroughly 
 with lard. For lice we use lard, sulphur, or Persian In- 
 sect Powder, each separately, but never in combination. 
 Sulphur and lard combined we regard as deadly to 
 chicks, an opinion reached by the experience of the loss 
 of two whole broods which we had annointed with the 
 mixture. Dry sulphur thoroughly sprinkled through the 
 down, or Persian Insect Powder so used, will cause the 
 vermin to disappear. Greasing the head alone we have 
 found very effectual. 
 
 With this kind of care we have succeeded in rearing 
 whole broods without the loss of a single chick. Other 
 methods of feeding and care may be equally good, but 
 we are satisfied from actual trial that this is good 
 enough. We have tried other methods but none that 
 gave us better satisfaction. 
 
 EXHIBITING DORKINGS. 
 
 In matching Dorkings for exhibition great care is 
 essential. It is necessary in the White variety that the 
 plumage should be pure white, free from colored feathers, 
 and from all stains. It is justifiable and necessary some- 
 times to wash the birds before exhibiting them. They 
 should be carefully dried and kept warm, so that no cold 
 will be taken after the washing. Size is very important, 
 and the largest birds of the best shape should be selected. 
 
32 THE BOUK OF THE DORKING. 
 
 The combs should be rose, and those of the hens 
 should be as nearly of one size as possible, and of both 
 cock and hens such as are described in the Standard. 
 The legs of both cock and hens should be of the same 
 shade of color, and the characteristic fifth toe should be 
 found on all the fowls. ' 
 
 In Silver Grays, the cock should show no black in 
 hackle, back, saddle or wing-bows. His breast and under 
 parts should be solid black. The hens should match in 
 color and size. The combs may be either rose or single, 
 but should be the same upon both cock and hens ; they 
 all should have rose combs or single combs. 
 
 In Colored Dorkings, the cock should weigh 9^ lbs. 
 or more, the hen 7^ lbs., and in chicks the cockerel 
 should weigh 8 lbs. and the pullet 6 lbs. These are the 
 standard weights, and it is well to have exhibition birds 
 full on weight, especially as this point counts twelve in 
 the score. The cock may have a mottled breast, but a 
 solid black one is preferred and stands a better chance 
 of winning. The hackle should have a broad black stripe 
 down the center ; many Colored Dorking cocks fail in 
 this, but as this is one of the distinctions between the 
 Colored and Silver Gray, it is well to insist upon it. 
 The markings and colors should be according to the re- 
 quirements of the Standard. The hens should match in 
 color and size, and both cock and hens should match in 
 combs, all having either single or rose combs. 
 
 In judging Dorkings, special attention is given to Sym- 
 metry, Size, Comb, Breast and Body, forty-two points 
 out of a possible hundred being allowed for these parts. 
 While other parts are not to be neglected in selecting 
 
THE BOOK OF THE DORKING. ^^ 
 
 exhibition birds, it is well to select those that are as 
 nearly perfect as possible in these parts. After these, 
 be careful for Back, Wings and Tail Condition is also 
 another point to be specially regarded, and the birds 
 should be in perfect health and full plumage. 
 
 THE SUPERIORITY OF THE COLORED OVER OTHER VA- 
 RIETIES OF DORKINGS. 
 
 While we admire all varieties of Dorkings, we place 
 first in our estimation the Colored variety. We do so 
 for the following reasons : 
 
 I St. They are the largest variety. The Dorking being 
 first of all bred for its flesh, size is the most important 
 of all the qualities. Too much breeding to feather has 
 somewhat reduced the size of the Silver Gray, although 
 it originated from the Colored Dorking. It is still a 
 noble bird, and of good size, but seldom attains the 
 great weight that is reached by the finest specimens of 
 the Colored variety. 
 
 2d. They are the hardiest. Too much inbreeding, 
 to fix the color of the Silver Gray, has not only re- 
 duced its size, but has diminished its hardiness. This 
 has not been the case with the Colored Dorking. Greater 
 latitude in feathering has been allowed, and breeders 
 have selected the largest and hardiest specimens for their 
 breeding pens. 
 
 3d. We think the plumage of the Colored superior 
 to that of the Silver Gray or White. The hackle of 
 cocks especially is very handsome, the broad black stripe 
 adding much to the beauty of the feathering. 
 
 4th. We believe the Colored the most prolific variety. 
 The causes which have operated to reduce the hardiness 
 
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