CHAPTER VIII 



Jud^in^ Leghorns 



How Judging is Done by the Score Card— Instruction in Scoring as Practiced by Judges in the Show Rooms 



D. E. Hale 



IN JUDGIXG Leghorns or any other breed one must 

 first familiarize himself with the score card. The 

 score card as shown below is a reproduction of the 

 oflicial score-card of the American Poultry Association, as 

 revised and adopted at their annual meeting held at Ni- 

 agara Falls, August, 1909. Some of the sections that were 

 on the old card were divided at this meeting, making 

 twenty sections, divided as follows; 



Annual Shovv' 

 POULTRY ASSOCIATION 



Jan. 10. '10 Date 



Official Score-Card .American Poultry Association 



Exhibit 

 Breed 



Juhn Doe 

 [Iroirh Lrij. 

 No. Band 



D. E. Hale 



BraUord 



Judge 



Secretary 



The last two sections, "Crest and Beard," and "Short- 

 ness of Feather," apply to crested breeds and Games and 

 Game Bantams only. 



In order to give some idea of what we are doing in 

 applying these valuations, etc., we must quote from the 



Revised Standard, the Scale of Points as applied to Leg- 

 horns. 



Scale of Points 



Symmetry 4 



Size 4 



Condition 4 



Comb 10 



Head: Shape, 2; Color, 4 6 



Eyes: Shape, 2; Color, 2 4 



Beak: Shape, 2; Color, 2 4 



Wattles and Ear-Lobes: Shape, 4; Color, 6.... 10 



Neck: Shape, 3; Color, 4 7 



Back: Shape, 5; Color, 4 9 



Breast: Shape, S ; Color, 4 9 



Body and Fluff: Shape, 2; Color, 3 5 



Wings: Shape, 4; Color, 4 8 



Tail: Shape, 6; Color, 4 10 



Legs and Toes: Shape, 3; Color, 3 6 



100 

 We note by the above "Scale of Points" that a per- 

 fect bird is lepresented by 100 points. In scoring a bird 

 we take each section, as a whole, and deduct from the 

 valuation of that section whatever per cent, we think it is 

 defecient. For example you will note on the score card 

 that symmetry is cut one point. As this section is valued 

 at four points the judge considered that it lacked twenty- 

 five per cent, of being a perfect specimen when judged 

 as a whole and thus cut it one point. When we speak of 

 "cuts," which we will do quite frequently, we mean deduct. 

 After examining the bird section by section and writ- 

 ing the cuts, or amount of deductions, on the score card 

 as shown in Fig. A., the total cuts are deducted from 100 

 giving us the score of the bird. 



The Leghorn Male 



Let us first study the proper shape of a Leghorn, 

 taking the male first. Note the drawings of the perfect 

 specimen as shown on page 28. then study your Stan- 

 ard and get the shape description firmly fixed in your 

 mind. The charts shown herewith are probably the best 

 drawings ever made of a Leghorn. The head is of mod- 

 erate length and fairly deep while the beak is nicely 

 curved and of moderate length. The eyes are of moderate 

 size and nearly full, while the face shows a well-rounded 

 appearance and smooth, matching well the wattles and ear- 

 lobes. Study the shape of these latter and you will note 

 that they show no folds or wrinkles. The comb is as it 

 should be; well proportioned, smooth and has the proper 

 number of points or serrations, the fourth, or next to the 

 rear one, is the highest. Note the distance from the beak 

 to the first point and also note the blade at the rear and 

 the distance from the head. You will also note, if you 

 look closely, that the fourth point is about the same length 

 as the base of the comb is deep, measuring from the 

 base line of the comb to the base line of the point. This 

 will give you an idea of proportion as applied to size of 

 serrations. The breast is full and well-rounded while the 

 neck shows the proper length and arch, joining the back 

 in a graceful curve, continuing the downward slope t-o- 

 center of back where it rises with a beautiful sweep to. 



