CHAPTER IV 



White Leghorns 



Changes in Shape That Have Transformed the Modern White Leghorn Into a Type Distinct From the Original. 



History of Noted Fashionable Strains. Breeders, Kxhibitors, Judges and Artists Responsible For 



the Low Carriage Tail Fad. Standard Requirements of Fortyfive Degrees For Carriage 



of Tail Often Ignored in Placing Awards. Illustrations Showing the 



Changes in Carriage of Tail in the Past Forty Yemrs. 



J. H. DrevensteiK 



IT was C. H. Wyckoff, who, fifteen or more years ago 

 coined the phrase, "America's business hen," and 

 apphed it to his strain of White Leghorns. Being 

 a shrewd and persistent advertiser in the poultry and 

 farm journals, the phrase successfully appealed to the 

 buying poultry patrons of the latter. It proved a happy 

 choice for C. H. Wyckofi and the White Leghorns as 

 well. Mr. Wyckof! prior to his embarking in the Leg- 

 horn bijsiness was a successful farmer in Western New 

 York located not many miles from Knapp Bros., who in 

 the early 90's were the kings of the White Leghorn fancy. 

 The Knapps were successful in the showroom, meeting 

 and beating all comers for a number of years. They bred 

 and raised beautiful White Leghorns for exhibition and 

 also kept a large flock for laying purposes, selling the 

 eggs at an advance over market quotations to first-class 

 hotels in New York. 



White Leghorn Eggs For the New York Market 

 The demand for Leghorn eggs in the metropolis of 

 .\merica was growing greater than the supply, which led 

 observing poultry farmers to look around and see what 

 breed would meet the requirements best. Mr. Wyckofif 

 was both observing and shrewd, for he observed what the 



I860 



Knapps had accomplished with White Leghorns and he 

 wisely planned to build up a strain of the latter for 

 laying purposes only, and advertised the fact broadcast. 

 To this the boom of the Leghorns owes much, not only in 

 a commercial sense, but from a fancier's standpoint as 

 well. Mr. Wyckoflf's "America's business hen" proved a 

 winner ever since, as the hundreds of large and small 

 commercial Leghorn farms were successfully operated in 

 New Jersey, New York, and the Pacific Coast, with a grad- 

 ually broadening out to other sections of the country, 

 practical poultry raisers of the West and South taking to 

 Leghorns as a duck takes to water. The chalk white eggs, 

 so popular in New York City, are finding new and grow- 

 ing demands by consumers in other cities. "White Leg- 

 horn Eggs" is a trademark of the highest value, one that 

 will never be superseded by any other. It is the fixed 

 standard of value in the best markets. It makes no differ- 

 ence whether the eggs are laid by White, Brown, BufT, 

 Black, Pyle or Duckwing Leghorns, Minorcas, Anda- 

 lusians, Houdans and Anconas as long as the shells are 

 white. But the trade mark "White Leghorn Eggs" helped 

 the variety bearing the popular name White Leghorn 

 most in a general way, the majority of poultry farmers 



K^4 C 





The evoluUon of the back and tail outlines of the Leghorn males from 1869 to 1911 is clearly illustrated In the 

 above chart. The sketches are made from illustrations of first prize winners in the years noted, except those ot 1869 and 

 1905, the former being taken from an old print and the latter from the 1905 Standard ideal. The remainder were taken from 

 Mr. Sewell's illustrations of New York winning cockerels. The extreme upright carriage of the tail in the 1869 sketon in 

 comparison with the standard ideal of 1905 seems just as ridiculous as the abnormal low carriage of the tall In the 1911 



