THE BOOK OF POULTRY. 



now that they were really Cuckoo Leghorns or 

 Anconas. They were at all events then called 

 Anconas ; and ten years or so later, we several 

 times saw birds of the same type and called 

 by the same name, but mottled or splashed 

 with black and white like Houdans, instead of 

 blue-barred — in fact like the present Anconas. 

 In the light of these simple facts, few as they 

 are, but which are within our personal know- 

 ledge, it seems clear that in the neighbourhood 

 of Ancona there has been a general mixture — 

 probably without any definite attempt at cross- 

 ing — of a black Leghorn with white or light 

 colours of the same family, whose results both 

 in blue-barred and mottled plumage* have 

 been so marked as to be given the local name. 

 Should this be so, the extreme wildness of 

 the Black Leghorn, noticed above, w^ould 

 account for the same characteristic in Anconas, 

 and the Black Leghorn must be regarded as 

 the real ancestor of this variety. 



To such mixed ancestry may probably be 

 attributed the extreme hardiness and pro- 

 lificacy which distinguished the Ancona when 

 first really taken up in this country. As a 

 layer it was almost without a rival, quite a 

 number of breeders reporting 200 eggs per 

 annum ; and its remarkable hardiness in 

 regard to anything except foul air, or tainted 

 ground, or extreme w'et, was also soon ob- 

 served. The breed at that time might be 

 described as a Leghorn with plumage like that 

 of a Houdan, or a rather irregular mottle of 

 black and white in about equal quantities, and 

 with black spots amongst the yellow of the 

 shanks. A great many birds had coloured 

 feathers here and there, but such feathers were 

 gradually bred out. 



This kind of bird is still bred by many on 

 account of its laying qualities, under the name 

 of the "old style" Ancona. For breeding it, 

 all that is necessary, if the birds are of pure 

 original Ancona strain, is to select a cockerel 

 rather dark for exhibition and with dark 

 under-fluff, and mate him with hens also 

 rather dark, or not lighter than medium colour, 

 by which is meant black and white in nearly 

 equal proportions. The black in both sexes 

 must be a glossy beetle-green black, and the 

 black spots on the yellow of the shanks should 

 be decided : head-points and ear-lobes must be 

 selected as in other varieties. The following 

 notes upon the character and qualities of this 

 type of Ancona were kindly furnished by Mrs. 

 Constance Bourlay, of Frankley Rectory, Bir- 



* It is highly probable that search in the fame neighbourhood 

 wonld discover blue-dun fowls, the other usual result of such mix- 

 ture of colour. 



mingham, one of the earliest and largest 

 breeders of the fowl, and who was largely 

 instrumental in making its merits known in 

 England. 



" For many years we kept a few fowls after 

 the usual fashion of ignorant people. The 

 birds were expected to eat up house scraps, to 

 lay a few eggs, and occasionally to appear at 

 table. They often died ; and no eggs were 

 even hoped for in winter. Then we awoke 

 to a sense of our own stupidity, and began to 

 do better: but very early were obliged to 

 recognise the impor^^ance of climatic condi- 

 tions, and how much they were against us. 

 Living on the top of a hill, 740 feet above the 

 sea, exposed to every wdnd, particularly the 

 north and east, with a heavy clay soil, which 

 held all moisture, and winters that begin early 

 and end late, one breed after another failed. 

 Then by chance we bought a sitting of 

 Anconas. They hatched well, grew wonder- 

 fully fast, and when winter came seemed 

 indifferent to soil and climate, and laid eggs 

 with the ground covered deeply vvith snow, 

 and the thermometer far below freezing-point. 

 At last we had found the right breed, and 

 have never kept any others since. 



" Light of weight, quick and very active, 

 the Ancona is always on the move. If at 

 liberty, they forage largely for themselves, 

 ranging fields and the hedgerows from morn- 

 ing till evening, and keeping themselves warm 

 with constant exercise. They do not sit about 

 in corners, shivering in a north-east wind, but 

 always seem busy and happy ; and on many 

 a winter day, with snow lying thickly on 

 the ground, little paths have been swept for 

 them to outlying manure-heaps in the fields, 

 along which they scuttle with outspread wings 

 and cheerful clucks, to spend hours in scratch- 

 ing, and then going back to their houses to 

 lay, and returning in single file through the 

 snow. 



" They need to be kept dry, and should 

 not be let out of their shelters in wet weather ; 

 but dry cold does not hurt them. The sleeping 

 places should be very well ventilated, though 

 free from draughts, and the birds should 

 always breathe pure air, however cold the 

 weather. This is very important to their 

 health, and a stuffy, ill-ventilated house will 

 soon produce roup and kindred diseases. 

 Anconas need no coddling, and are far better 

 without it. Fresh air day and night, good but 

 moderate feeding, and protection from wet, is 

 all they require ; and with these they will lay 

 steadily through the winter. 



" A peculiar trait of the breed, and it must 



