Goldsboro weekly argus. [volume] (Goldsboro, N.C.) 1885-1909, 1901-11-28
A Standard Fowl

such and such a bird belongs to the
above class, or, as they put it, is
squire bred" full blooded," OF
Hclear"
There are now about 75 different
varieties listed in the American
Standard of Perfection" exclusive
of turkeys, ducks, geese and ban
tams, and Notwithstanding this null.
tipl1city of varieties, the major part
of many focks are made up with
specimens that would puzzle a Sol
oman of poultry lore to place in any
one class Or breed. A pair of any
one kind that will produce their like
in progeny when mated for breed
ing, are eligible to entry among the
standard varieties, yet are not book
ed as such until passed upon by the
@spowers that be-" and pronounced
acceptable for membership to the
fast growing list of recognized
breeds. As a guide, the book en-
titled the american Standard of
Perfection" should be in the hands
of all who aspire to excel with thor
oughbred fowls. "Where ignorance
is bliss, tbs folly to be wise," yet the
ignorance in this case will not play
any part in the distribution of
awards at a poultry show. The
Standard is the written law of the
American Poultry Association for
poultry judges at the shows, and the
nearer your birds come to the re-
qirements of it's descriptions of the
breeds, the more they will score. 1t
gives first the disaualifications of
the breed, any one of which is sniff
Gent alone to bar the specimen from
winning a prize, in fact disputes it's
purity, and makes the bird I'M
worthy of a score. Should it, how
ever. be free from these cuts or
blemishes, it would pass as standard
and if placed in competition at a
score card show, the Judge would
proceed to mark the cuts for each
defect which reduces it's value from
100 points. which is perfection. I
have yet to see any fowl that was SO
perfect it could not be improved up
on, did we have the making of it,
that is, outside appearances, Hence
/ have not seen "perfection," or a
100 pointer. The first section of the
scale is symntry, which can also be
defined as form. Yet symmetry means
more than the latter term. It is the
harmony of all parts of the fowl. It
means that a Plymouth Rock per-
feet in sympathy must be typical of
that variety, and those that approach
the Brahma. Cochin or other types
foreign to their own, shall be cut in
proportion for the same. A bird
passed perfect here, or marked only
one-half cut, is about as good as we
can get them. Length of leg, either
too short, or too long, size and shape
of comb and tail, often the
specimen further away from the
ideal, and causes a cat of 1 to i
points. The American and Asiatic
classes both have a section for
weight. and each discount at the rate
OF 2 points for deficiency in this
clause. Tn the american class the
comb is valued 8 s points. and %
rerfect che is found, perhaps, in a
thousand. Il is oftener defective, at
l. asst l.! per cent. and receives a cut
Of l ,n.at, II only 81 per cent, which
I Y The vav, il su awful good comb, J
poin ca5 ne come Wattles and
ear Iche vauad at 6 points; next
neck. valued g. 10 points. or shape 4,
color g.; usual cut 1 to q points.
Then follows back. valned at 8
points. 4 for shape and 4 for color;
breast 10, OF shape 5, color 5; body
and tufts 8, shape 5, color 8; wings
8, shape 4, color 4; tail s, shape 4,
color 4; legs and toes 8, or as before
stated. 100 points is the whole, and
each defect as we go along is de-
Quoted from this 100, the balance be.
ing the total valuation or score.
Hardly two birds will score alike in
each section, yet, often they score
the same amount. If considered per-
feet in any one section, this is passed
with q - to showi it was rec.
ognized and left uncut. Only a small
per cent. of an ordinary flock will &C
above go points each. especially
among the pa-ti-colored varieties.