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To simplify the story of the Allen Roundheads for those who haven't heard it before. ™

Will Allen of Mississippi obtained a Boston Roundhead gamecock from Dr. Fred Saunders and crossed him over some hens that a blend of Redquill and Grist Grady. The Gradys' were originated seemingly as a succession of battle crosses by Col Grist of GA. Some of the breeds making up the Gradys were Claiborne, Shawl neck (Southern USA Whitehackles) and Warhorse, plus a bit of Spanish blue stock.

Since all these breeds are straight comb, it would seem that Boston cock had very strong pea comb genes to give that characteristic to his offspring and descendants for generations to come to this day- after 100 yrs. or so.

I have owned many, many "Roundhead" fowl over the past long yrs. I have been in the sport. I put the name in quotes because it refers (in the USA) to most any pea comb fowl that happens to be black breasted reds with white or yellow legs and that do not show too much of their Oriental lineage.

However there are also Black Roundheads and Negro Roundheads and on and on. So now it is used more as a generic term for pea comb fowl than as the name of a specific breed. However, generally the name refers to the Allen and Shelton Roundheads (Shelton was Allen's brother-in-law and they owned the fowl together). But another" however" the Allen Roundheads were breed and to a great extent developed by another old man-R.E. Walt. In fact in my younger days, most of the Roundhead gamefowl around OK. were referred to as RE Walt Roundheads instead of Allens.

You might ask about the Boston Roundheads that made the Allens. They arrived in the USA from Ireland without an ID tag. According to my sources, these fowl were known to be Irish Whitehackles-bred just like the more common English Whitehackles such as the North Britons, Earl of Derbies, and so on but many of the Irish had pea combs. The original Kearney (and Duryea) Irish Whitehackles had a % of pea combs as well as the Irish Whitehackles bred by my Irish friend John Tynan. I think he called them Queen Anne Whitehackles but I have forgotten for sure.

Remember after England colonized India, the English breeders had access to the best Oriental fowl such as Asil and even Japanese. These Oriental bloodlines were then added to the early English fowl of 500 yrs. or so ago that weighed only around 4 lbs.-about like the small Spanish cocks today. The Oriental crosses increased the size to around 5 lbs. or bigger, which most American cocks are today.

Over the years, the English breeders bred out the pea comb but since it didn't bother the Irish, they continued to breed both straight comb and pea comb Whitehackles. Of course the name Whitehackles comes from the old English custom of trimming the neck hackles close to the skin so that the cocks with a white under feather in the neck would be a whitehackle. There are also breeds called Blackhackle. There are jillions of Oriental/American crosses that come peacomb and are called Roundheads that contain not a drop of the original Allen bloodline. As is true for all other strains-some Roundheads are awfully good while others are awfully bad but most are somewhat in the middle. The pea comb Kelso fowl owe much of their good qualities to the George Smith Roundhead (same stock as Lundy Roundheads) that was blended with Claret to make the McClanahans that Walter Kelso used in his initial cross.

You are in the bookstore and this cute girl stands next to you, browsing at magazines. After a few moments, she strikes up a conversation and you aren't sure if she is flirting or just being friendly. How can you tell if she's interested?

1. 1) Does she make eye contact with you? It's an added bonus if she looks you in the eye and smiles!

1. 2) Has she touched your arm or brushed against you at all. If she is trying to get into your space, this could be a possible signal. If you return the gesture and she leans into you, it is a pretty safe bet that she is thinking what you are thinking.

1. 3) Does she have any tattoos that might give her away? A lot of lesbians will have some sort of 'pride' tattoo or other symbol that may give them away. Take a close look, it might be very subtle or it could be a great big rainbow, but you won't know unless you take a close look.

1. 4) Does she have any jewelry that might give her away at all? A rainbow ring, necklace, a labrys is an older symbol of empowerment for women and could be a clue as to her sexuality. A ring on the thumb has been known to be an indicator of bisexuality and a ring on the middle finger of the left hand is sometimes worn by lesbians in a committed relationship. Not the traditional wedding ring finger, but the longest digit of the hand is the one to look for.

1. 5) Does she play with her hair when she talks and smiles at you? This is often the way a very femme woman will flirt. Look for the subtle changes in her face, her expressions and her eyes. The hair research-portal.org flipping, in conjunction with all the above is almost a sure bet that you are being flirted with.

1. 6) Casually mention your "last girlfriend" and wait for her response. If there is no look of shock, no obvious change in her demeanor and she still seems to be flirting with you, then she most likely is.

1. 7) Mention the name of a local gay club or bar and ask if she has ever been there. If she is familiar and says she has been there, then you are as good as gold, my friend. Ask her out!

1. 8) If you are the daring sort, and you are somewhere near a coffee shop or drink stand, ask her if she'd like something to drink and offer to get it. If she readily accepts your invitation, sits and talks with you, then most likely she is interested in you as much as you are in her!

1. 9) During your conversation, place your hand on the small of her back, very casually and direct her towards a door, a chair, anywhere. If she readily moves with you, it is her subconscious allowing you to take control of the situation and points to her desire for you to do so. At that point, you should be confident to ask her for her number so that you can "give her a call sometime".

1. 10) Just come right out and ask her if all else fails. She seems interested and you just aren't sure. The only way you will know is to just come right out and ask. Perhaps you say something sweet like "I really don't mean to offend you so please, take it as a compliment, but I would love to meet a girl like you and get to know her. Any chance you might give me your phone number and do lunch sometime?" You are giving her a compliment and giving her an out all at the same time. She will tell you if she's interested by accepting or declining. She might even come right out and say "I thought you'd NEVER ask!"

Good luck with your dating. It isn't easy to meet quality people, especially out in public. More and more people are turning to online dating, but it certainly is more fun to have that initial spark from across the room and find an excuse to move closer and strike up a conversation. Maybe you will exchange glances and both play hard to get? The relationship dance is a fun one, if you allow yourself to enjoy it. Don't let your anxiety keep you from having a little fun. Flirting is good for the soul...even if the girl turns out to be straight.