232 How THE FARM PAYS. 



Of the non-brooding fowls the Leghorns are the most popular. 

 They produce more eggs than any other breed under equal condi- 

 tions, but rear very few chickens. They are small and light, and of 

 course not so profitable for the poultry rearer as the larger fowls, ex- 

 cepting for the production of eggs in the winter season. They are 

 not hardy and require careful treatment, and the chickens cannot be 

 reared safely until the warm weather. The White Leghorn is the 

 most popular of this class of fowls. It is very neat and handsome, 

 and has the large comb common to all the fowls of this class. 



When poultry are kept solely for eggs the Leghorns are the most 

 satisfactory of all fowls. Their eggs are large, clear white in color, 

 well shaped and are quite salable. These are the only fresh eggs in 

 the market at the times when they sell at the highest price, and of 

 course a fowl that fills the basket then is the one that produces the 

 most profit. The greatest objection to them is their tenderness and 

 the danger of freezing the combs, unless warmly housed. But this 



WHITK LEGHORNS. 



warm housing is indispensable for all fowls which are kept for profit, 

 as hens will not lay eggs when exposed to cold, and not even the 

 Leghorns. Before eggs are produced the fowls must be fully nour- 

 ished, and a large portion of the food is consumed in maintaining the 

 warmth of an animal of any kind. Leghorns, as all the smaller 

 breeds of fowls, consume much less food than the larger breeds, 

 probably not more than half as much, and although their eggs are 

 smaller, yet so long as they are sold by count and not by weight, the 

 smaller breeds will always be popular for the production of eggs. 



The Brown Leghorn has a plumage of a bright golden bay, with 

 black and brown intermixed, and has some resemblance in color to 

 the Brown Ked Games. Some hens of this breed have been known to 



