Mating for Color and Shape 



Proper Selection of Breeding Stock to Produce Exhibition Bait Leghorns. 

 Au«ua< D. Arnold 



PERHAPS no breed or variety of fowls ever had 

 so much opposition as had the Buff Leghorn 

 when first introduced to American fanciers, but 

 today they stand on an equality with their cousins, the 

 Whites and Browns, and score just as high in the show 

 room. The improvement made in this, variety since its 

 advent to this country has been phenomenal. No one has 

 noticed this more than the writer, who introduced the first 

 of the birds to the fanciers of America, and has bred and 

 exhibited them for nearly ten years. 



The first birds of the variety that ever set foot on 

 American soil were imported by the writer in the fall of 

 1890. They were put on exhibition for the first time at 

 the Hagerstown fair that fall, and later on at Madison 

 Square Garden, New York. Some fanciers took a fancy 

 to them and predicted a warm place for them in the 

 hearts of the American fanciers, while others saw fit to 

 say all manner of evil against them. Quite a number of 

 our leading fanciers, however, took them up, paying high 

 prices for stock and eggs, 'and were willin.2- tn accept what 



BUFF LEGHORN COCK, 1895 



One of the early type ot E-.ft Leghorr 

 heavy body and large comb of the Englisl 

 bred and exhibited by August D. Arnold. 

 Leghorns in the United States. 



males, excellent In color, but showing the 

 Leghorn. The bird illustrated above was 

 the pioneer importer and breeder of Buff 



was on hand as foundation blood. Most of the birds im- 

 ported at that time were of uneven color, and possessed 

 as much white in tails and wings as they did buff. Many 

 birds had blue, and others willow legs. By a few years' 

 breeding we succeeded in getting black in tails instead of 

 white, which was preferable at that stage of the breed, 

 and in a few more years a great improvement was no- 

 ticed in color of wings and tail, also in leg color. So that 

 today there are some specimens that come near perfec- 

 tion. Much work is still on hand, however, for the pro- 

 gressive fancier along the line of improvement. 



We find very few really good combs in this variety, 

 especially in males, while we find some strains that are off 

 in leg color. We have noticed this particularly where 

 undercolor is ignored. If you would keep the rich yel- 

 low leg and skin, watch the undercolor closely. Short 

 legs, squirrel tail, and under size, all must be kept out of 

 our flocks; yet as regards size, we do not believe in 

 breeding a Leghorn up to the size of a Minorca. A fair- 

 = i7ed Leghorn is what should be sought after. Great care 

 should be taken so that two light 

 birds may not be mated together; 

 and always keep in mind the "cot- 

 ton tails" which the BufI Leghorn 

 was so apt to sport when first in- 

 troduced to American fanciers. It 

 is much better to breed dark birds 

 together than light ones. Good re- 

 sults can be had from mating 

 medium colors together for a sea- 

 son or two, but it is safe to keep 

 on the dark side. As good a mat- 

 ing as we know of is a lot of fe- 

 males of a dark buff, with a male 

 one shade darker. When we say 

 dark buff" we do not mean red, 

 but a medium dark. 



The beginner should aim to 

 get his start in any variety from 

 an experienced breeder (one who 

 has made a study of a breed), 

 knowing that culls from such a 

 breeder are worth more to breed 

 trom than the best birds from the 

 \ards of a breeder who has had 

 \ ery little experience in the va- 

 riety he wishes to take up. He will 

 also need to learn that off-colored 

 chicks will come from the best 

 matings, no matter how much ex- 

 perience the breeder has had. This 

 is as it should be, for if every bird 

 raised should happen to be a per- 

 fect bird, the fancier's work would 

 soon be at an end. The scarcity of 

 the diamond has much to do with 

 its value. 



The shade of buff that is called 

 for by the Standard is what so few 

 can comprehend. Even judges 

 seem to differ on this point. In 

 our minds the shade of buff is not 



