396 Journal of Agriculture, Victoria. [10 July, 1919. 



Pelvic Bones. — Thin, pliable, fairly long, and straight, set at consider- 

 able distance from point of breast bone. 

 Skin. — Texture of skin of abdomen to be of thinnest and finest quality, 



very elastic when in full lay. 

 Legs. — Flat in bone, not higli, and &?t veiT wide apart. 

 Tail. — Full and flowing, net set at too high an angle, wltli long sickle 



and hackle feathers. 

 Featiieks. — Profuse, but close and flat on the bird. 

 "Weight. — .Six months pullets. White Leghorn-. :!- lbs.; (5 months 

 pullets. Black Orpington, 5 lbs.; and others in proportion. 

 To conden,se the foregoing points it may be stated that the bird 

 should appear bright and alert, show strong constitution with a deep 

 body and well-sprung ribs, flat bone in the leg, fine texture in comb 

 and wattles; she should be light in feather, and last, but by no means 

 least, should have round, bright, jjrominent eyes. 



The method of moult is instructive. Most of the be^t layers will 

 moult slowly, featlier by feather, the new feathers Avorking through the 

 old, the bird thus maintaining her lay throughout. For two reasons 

 the full-moult bird cannot be expected to lay during the moulting 

 season. One is that a greatly increased quantity of the food consumoa 

 is required to maintain the body temperature through lack of feathers, 

 and the other reason is the drain on the .system to renew the entire 

 feather supply all at the one time. Consequently in a flock the bare 

 red-headed birds that moult late and slowly should always be distinc- 

 tively leg-banded. They are invariably hard in feather, and may 

 retain one or two of the Aving-flight feathers for a long time. The 

 necessity for space from the breast bone to the pelvic bones in full lay 

 Ls to denote abdominal capacity. If this capacity is lacking there is 

 not room for a number of yolks to be developing at the same time to 

 maintain an almost daily output of eggs. Crooked breast bones usually 

 denote constitutional weakness, and any bird with such a defect should 

 be discarded, umless the breeder is quite confident that the dent is the 

 result of the bird's perching when too young. The foregoing hints for 

 selecting good layers and breeders of layers apply to all breeds, and the 

 general public should bear in mind that the question of breed is, after 

 all, of far less importance than laying strain. 



It so happens that great attention has been paid to White Leghorns, 

 and more recently to Black Orpingtons, hut the breed is not the xvhole 

 reason for the high scores these varieties have made iu competitions. 

 Certainly six white Leghorn pullets have yielded 1,699 eggs in one year 

 at Burnley competition, and a Black Orpington pullet has laid 335 eggs 

 in the same j^eriod, but if breeders will pay as much attention to careful 

 selection in other light or heavy breeds, there is no real reason why 

 the records of the W^liite Leghorns and the Black Orpingtons should 

 not be equalled or excelled. The ability to lay large numbers of egg.s 

 is mot confined to two breeds, and that is why the Department of Agri- 

 culture offers inducements at the competitions in the shape of addi- 

 tional sections to encourage the development of the laying capabilities 

 in other strains. At an unofficial competition a Buft" Orpington has 

 laid over 300, and a Faverolle 29S, and this latter breed is a most 

 useful farmers' fowl, being .strong, hardy, and quick growing. 



