Durant weekly news. (Durant, Choctaw Nation, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 190?-1944, 1917-10-12

ence with many breeds. and the fin
est table fowl, l believe, there is.
In color the Speckleds are beauti-
ful--each feather being of brown
for the main portion, with a small
white tip, and narrow bar of black
separating this white tip from the
principal. OF surface, color of brown.
The undercolor should be of mouse
color, preferable shading to light |
salmon color next to the root of the
quill, though the mouse color may
continue to the skin without this.
Taking it all in all. even at this |
early date, a goodly number of exhi
bitiOn fowls are produced from a |
good mating-almOst II not quite as |
many birds OF exhibition quality as |
are produced from matings of many |
older varieties. To the casual obser |
yer, however, seeing his first flock |
of Speckleds, he will wonder why so
many of them are Off color. or not
exhibition specimens. The reason
| for this is that the "culls' of this vt
riety are more noticeable than are
the culls in flock OF any other sort.
and yet there may really be no more.
| vast ihoJoiNs VI Suho wv wv
dark or too light-shOwing too much
white OF too large white tip, which
is almost instead spangle: or the
black bar is too wide and the white
almost entirely wanting. In both of
these instances the bird will show
very little of the brown or surface
color, although perfect color confor-
nation may be found on many indi
vidual feathers il they are ruffled
backward. or plucked and examined.
Culls or Utility" birds of the Sus-
sex are just what culls or utility
birds of any other breed are. 1t is
possible that with an extra good
male bird mated with them there
may some fairly well-marked chicks
result. but of course they will be the
exception However culls or utility
birds good physically and in type,
for general purpose use are just as
excellent in all the excellent qualities
of this great fowl.
Breeders" are that class of culls
from the best birds which are not
deemed of good enough quality for
exhibition purposes or for the breed
ing OF exhibition fowls OF the quality
which fancier may have set for his
ideal. In many cases the defects are
not apparent to the uninitiated, and
really are almost as good as the man
who raised them used to wish for.
The chief aim OF the Sussex breed
er is to produce a fowl with absolute
Standard markings-the brown sur
face color being without speck or
smut OF black, the white tip being
small, and the black bar narrow on
EACH Feather. Needless to say, as
in other varieties to which many
years have been devoted, this is be-
ing done in small proportion of the
birds raised II Is an end we are all
striving for-and the first move in
that direction is the breeding Of both
sexes without the almost solid black
feathers in breast and hackle. 1t Is
only the very highest priced birds of
the Speckleds that come near to this
qualification, and yet we are getting
nearer to II every seasOn-almOst as
near to 1t with single mating as are
Barred Rock breeders with their
double mating-a practice which the
Speckled Sussex breeder does not ex-
pect to ever have to resort to.
It is the confident prediction of
some OF the best poultry judges and
experienced practical poultry raisers
OF the country that within q few
years the Speckled Sussex will be the
most popular exhibition fowl in the
world, and second to none ia any 9TH
er respect. They are now in good de-
mand, and eggs and birds Of extra
good quality command high prices.
The Speckled Sussex are about the
weight OF Rocks and Wyandottes;
they are excellent foragers; make a
very rapid growth, and when proper
( ly fed and cared for will lay at six