Mr
Frank Gary
Crosswicks
- N.J. - USA
15-10-1983
Dear
Mr Gary,
You
have perhaps wondered what had happened to me as it is quite some time since I
last wrote. I have had quite a busy time one way or another. Assisting my son
in his business interests has been one of the time takers and renovating my
home another. The days don’t seem long enough to get through all the jobs.
Hope
you and Mrs Gary have been keeping well. The cataract is continuing to grow
over my left eye but the doctor says it is still too soon to do anything with
it yet. He changed my glasses which was a great help. It was getting that way
I was having difficulty reading the newspaper. At the moment it is OK. He says
I will probably need another change of glasses before the cataract grows right
over. I am using TIMOPTOL drops twice a day which is holding the pressure and
he is quite pleased with that. I don’t have to see the Doctor again until
December. Apart from little arthritis in a couple of fingers I appear to be
quite OK.
I
am at present working on setting up a colour standard on behalf of the Pekin
Bantam Club of NSW for Color pattern for Black Red, Blue Red, Brown Red,
Birchen, Pile etc for the Pekin Bantam. A few of these colors are starting to
get about out here and some of our Club members from West Australia wrote and
asked the Club to provide some guidelines in these colors.
As
usual the British Standard isn’t a great deal of help, so I am working from
the old time Game breeder A.J.Compton (you may remember my references to him
in my book). In my opinion he was the greatest authority we have had in
Australia together with Mark Marshall who more or less set out the Australian Pit Game Standard. Their writings have stood the test of
time.
At
the moment I have some eggs in the incubator of Black Reds and Brown Reds sent
over from the West so we will see what they have come up with.
At
our Annual Pekin Show this year there were some birds shown as Brown Reds but
they were Crow wings, just a cross from Black and Buff. Not good enough.
I
think in these colours we must stick to the Old English Game Colors, because
after all they will have to be made from the OE. Would appreciate your opinion
on this matter.
Had
a visit the other day from the President of the newly formed Plymouth Rock
Club. They have to think of some standardisation and the Plymouth Rock color
situation is quite confused out here. They exhibit both Light and Dark
Barred. Anyway I loaned him
a couple of APA Standard and a ABA
Standard and gave him the same advice that you some years ago and that was
not to fiddle around and get too many involved. Just with his committee sum up
the situation and get on with it.
I
have begun work on my next book. It will cover the two Game breeds indigenous
to Australia i.e. Australian Game and Australian Pit Game and will be entitled
The Game Fowl of Australia. It involves quite a bit of work as I
have to copy out the material from the old Poultry
papers which I acquired dating back to 1922, it is really worthwhile
information. It will more or less a history of the breeds or a collection of
information on them. Then I want to do books on the Australorp and Langshan,
then finally one on the origin, evolution, history and the diffusion of the
domestic fowl. throughout the world. I have researched material for this
latter subject for quite a number of years and have a good lot of it to sort
out.
As
I am 62 years of age now I will have liven myself up if I want to get all
these things done.
My
apologies for not writing sooner but will endeavour to do better in the
future. All the best for now and how is your latest Standard coming along?
Sincerely
yours,
P.S.
If you are speaking to Fred Jeffrey would you mind telling him I will be
writing soon.