290 



THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 



texture of the meat, if given time to come to 

 maturity, is unsurpassable. 



" To come now to Club matters. The old 

 Langshan Fanciers' Association, itself a suc- 

 cessor to the original Variety Langshan Society, 

 has, since the date of the last edition of this 

 work, been dissolved, the Whites being taken 

 over by the Langshan Society ; and a new 

 club, called the Blue Langshan Club, of which 

 I have the honour to be secretary, was formed 

 to look after the interests of the Blues, tlie 

 standard adopted being that of the Poultry 

 Club, which is practically the same as the 

 Langshan Society's standard. There is thus 

 every inducement for breeders to take up the 

 variety, which, for the sake of its improve- 

 ment, I trust they will do." 



Buff " Langshans " have been advertised, 

 but only by individuals who advertise buffs of 

 all possible descriptions. Whatever differences 

 have existed amongst Langshan breeders, all 

 would agree that black and white were the sole 

 components of the fowl, with any legitimate 

 product of these alone ; and any buff colour 

 must denote a mere mongrel of quite recent 

 making. The only other colours that could 

 occur amongst the pure race might be cuckoo 

 or barred plumage, or white mottling on black ; 

 both of which might possibly occur, arising also 

 occasionally from breeding black and white 

 together. Such colours do not, however, seem 

 to " hit " well with the general make of this 

 fowl, and need not be discussed. 



The following is the Standard of Perfection 

 of the Poultry Club, being adopted (except in 

 being rendered into the general pattern adopted 

 for all its Standards by that Club) as that of 

 the Langshan Society. 



LANGSHANS (SITTERS) 

 GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS 



Head. — Skull : Fine. Beak : Fairly long and 

 sUghtly curved. Eyes : Large. Comb : Single, 

 medium size, straight and upright, of good sub- 

 stance and fine te.xture. and evenly serrated (five 

 or six spikes). Face .- Of fine texture, and smooth. 

 Ear-lobes : Of medium size, pendant, and inchned 

 to fold. Wattles : Of medium size and fine texture, 

 neatly rounded. 



Neck.— Fairly long, broad at base, and covered 

 with full hackle. 



Body. — Full and deep breast ; long and broad 

 back, horizontal when in normal attitude (the saddle 

 abundantly furnished with hackle, close fitting, and 

 not too long) ; broad shoulders ; and large, closely car- 

 ried wings, though not ' cHpped up " or " pinched in." 



Tail. — Full and flowing, spread at the base, 

 fairly high, but with no approach to " squirrel " 

 carriage, furnished with abundant side-hangers and 

 two long sickles, each tapering to a point. 



Legs and Feet. — Legs : Thighs not too long, but 

 well developed and wide apart, and covered with 

 closely fitting feathers, especially round the hocks ; 

 shanks rather long, strong, but not coarse boned, 

 and having an even fringe of feathers (not too heavy) 

 on the outer sides. Toes : Four on each foot, long, 

 straight, and well spread, the outer toe (and that 

 alone) being slightly feathered. 



Carriage. — Graceful, upright, and alert, strong 

 legged, and with the bearing of an activ-e bird. 



Weight. — lo lb. ; cockerel, 8 lb. 



Plumage. — Close and smooth, but not so hard 

 as in the Game fowl, and with \-ery little fluff until 

 after the first moult. 



With the exception that the Tail is not carried 

 so high the general characteristics of the hen are 

 similar to those of the cock, allowing for the natural 

 sexual differences. It might be added that the hen's 

 shape should be " free from lumpy or squat appear- 

 ance," and that her back should be devoid of cushion, 

 or fullness at saddle. 



COLOUR 



THE BL.\CK 



Beak : Dark horn to black. Eyes : Dark brown 

 to black — the darker the better. Comb, Face, 

 Wattles, and Ear-lobes : Brilliant red. Legs and 

 Feet : Dark grey, with black scales in front and 

 down the toes (losing their density after the first 

 moult), showing pink between the scales and on 

 the skin between the toes, especially down the outer 

 sides of the shanks. Toe-nails : White. Under- 

 foot : Pink-white. Skin : Of body and thighs, white 

 and transparent. 



Plumage. — Black, with brilliant beetle-green sheen. 



THE BLUE 



Beak : Medium to dark horn. Eyes : Dark hazel 

 to black — the darker the better. Comb, Face, 

 Wattles, Ear-lobes, Legs and Feet, Toe-nails, Under- 

 foot, and Skin : As in the Black. 



Plumage of the Cock. — Hackles, Back, Tail, 

 Sickles, Side Hangers, and Wijig-bow : Rich deep 

 slate, the darker the better, with brilhant purple 

 sheen. Remainder of Plumage : Clear slate blue, 

 each feather distinctly laced (edged) with the same 

 dark shade as the back, the contrast between the 

 delicate ground and the dark lacing to be well 

 defined. 



Plumage of the Hen. — Clear slate blue ground, 

 each feather (except on the head and upper part 

 of the neck) distinctly laced (edged) with dark 

 slate, the contrast between the ground and lacing 

 to be well defined. The small feathers on the head 

 and upper part of the neck, a rich dark slate. 



THE WHITE 



Beak : White, with a pink shade near the lower 

 edges. Eyes, Comb, Face, Wattles, Ear-lobes, Toe- 

 nails, Under-joot, and Skin : As in the Black. Legs 



