78 



THE ASIATICS. 



to claret shaded with bronze. We had rather see this than 

 a dirty, rusty black, for this evil creeps into the nice col- 

 ored specimens and seems to grow out of excessive lustre or 

 metallic shading; yet it should be watched and such males 

 chosen as the mates for females that seem to lack in lustre. 

 The fact that pullets dull in shading show a marked im- 

 provement in the plumage of their progeny by such males 

 leads us to make the assertion that the evil grows out of 

 excessively high color, for dull black specimens are never 

 thus marked. These males and females having the pure 

 black with green reflection free from the barring alluded to 

 should be able to prove that "like begets like" to a greater 

 degree than in any other breed extant. Such should liter- 

 ally reproduce themselves — and being in health and fur- 

 nished with a generous supply of grain, meat and vegetable 

 food, with shade that they can retire to at will, they will 

 do all this. A dull, sooty black Langshan, no matter what 

 its type, is a cull, and no judge is doing justice to the best 

 specimens who in judging gives a Langshan the benefit of 

 a doubt in color. This should be the rule with any solid 

 colored bird, if we would secure a just color discrimination 

 between breeds. . 



The neck of a Langshan is longer and slimmer than the 

 Brahma or Cochin, therefore is less arched. The term well 

 arched is not a good one— it being rather longer than 

 medium. We should say more than medium length, slightly 

 yet neatly curved, with hackle long and flowing. Breast 

 while full, has a long oval sweep from throat to thighs, 

 which while equally full, shows less prominence than in the 

 Brahma. This is due to the longer neck and long tail plum- 

 age, which accompanies it. The back is exceedingly short 

 and flat, and therefore looks very wide when hackle is lifted, 

 the saddle being more of an inclined plane than a concave 

 sweep. The first description ever given, we think the best; 

 "gently rising from the back to high upon the tail, while 

 the tail is carried in an upright position, but short of being 

 a squirrel tail." This high carriage is necessary to secure 

 the fountain tail, so called, the long sickles, lesser sickles 

 and side hangers gracefully falling in long trails over and 

 about the tail proper, almost completely hiding the same in 

 the males. (See dotted lines to rear of male and female.) 

 Instead of saying the sickles extending beyond the tail 

 proper six inches, the term falling in trails six inches long 

 at the rear of the tail proper would express it literally. The 

 wing like that of the Brahma is larger than that of the 

 Cochin. Artists make a mistake when they portray them 

 with small wings, for they lift themselves in the air very 

 readily when frightened. The side hangers on lower part 

 of tail take a half turn as they lop about the rear of the 

 tail and viewed from the rear show flat to the gaze of the 

 inspector. 



Now, the females of this type should all show this char- 

 acteristic, and those that do are the dams of our winning 

 males. They show at the surface only about four at the 

 most of the upper stiff tail feathers which give a slightly 

 thicker set appearance to body, and in fact a larger look 

 to body proper. It is for the club to vote what the correct 

 type for the breed shall be; that the type that I uphold here 

 is the original one not a breeder who has followed the breed 

 since 1883 can deny. 



Whatever cut the club adopts it must be a natural one; 

 if not upheld by nature, then its use as a rule of form and 

 shape will subject nature to a cut for being perfect. The 

 Langshan breast was never seen so prominent as to reach 

 within one inch of a drop line from beak to ground at its 

 most prominent point, just above the point of keel bone. 

 Its breast seems farther to the rear because of its longer, 

 slimmer, le3s arched neck than any other Asiatic. We are 



aware that all pictures are not exact measurements in pro- 

 portion with the original. We have to portray them as they 

 look on flat surface; could we em<boss the picture, we could 

 adhere to exact proportions, but on a flat surface a pure pro- 

 file presents the fowl in the nearest proportion and measure- 

 ment. To get fullness and width of breast, we cannot, how- 

 ever, take more license than to even the curve of breast up 

 to this drop line; If we do we are forced to add fictitious 

 length and depth to fluff and rear of tail, to balance the 

 picture which is thrown all outside of nature's lines. We 

 have taken this license in our cut, but know, as herein 

 stated, a live Langshan never yet snowed a breast in normal 

 shape that protruded to meet this line described. But no 

 breeder can deny that we find these types in nature and that 

 they are desirable. It is folly to tinker with nature's best. 

 We can only entice nature to be prolific with her best; this 

 we do and secure in greater degree by furnishing all the 

 year round, so far as we can artificially, the foods and condi- 

 tions of nature's breeding and most prolific months, which 

 are April and May for the Middle and New England states. 

 It is absolutely necessary for a club to agree upon a fixed 

 type and standard description for color, and to revise the 

 weights to, cocks ten pounds, cockerels eight and one-half 

 pounds, hens eight pounds, pullets six and one-half pounds. 

 Then declare the standard final and unalterable. 



They should return to the original description of shank 

 and foot feathering, to-wit: Shank and outer toe well feath- 

 ered, to a degree that the outer toe be covered from sight. 

 The disqualifications should be: Shanks not feathered down 

 outside, outer toe neither feathered to the end nor well cov- 

 ered by the shank plumage. 



It is the height of folly to declare a first-class specimen 

 a cull by disqualifying it because no feather grows on the 

 toe itself when the toe is completely covered by a profusion 

 of the shank plumage, for the effect and looks are the same 

 as when the shank plumage is extended by the feathers 

 growing to the tip of the toe. 



The breeder should watch out for medium sized, evenly 

 serrated combs, green sheen to plumage, full fountain tail, 

 well feathered shanks and feet, close profiled hocks that 

 give the specimen an "up and up," smart appearance as the 

 English express It, all excellence being backed by the fitness 

 of things. 



We class it as one of the most productive layers of the 

 Asiatic class, its prolific egg production in winter and color 

 of shell being in conformity with the other Asiatics, but 

 the shells are the darkest shade of all. Aside from this it 

 presents an independent character: Long in its joints, long 

 in comb, neck, wings, tail, thighs and shanks, thus giving it 

 a character all its own, while its green sheen over black pre- 

 cludes the thought of any other breed in the beholder. But 

 as to texture and close adhesion of its plumage, it is akin 

 to the whalebone texture of the original Brahmas. Not- 

 withstanding many of the oppositions to its white skin, its 

 friends and breeders are multiplying in the west and south- 

 west, and why should they not? It came to us a thorough- 

 bred, it has passed through no transition, has reproduced 

 itself ever since, and our care of it has only enabled us to 

 produce a large per cent to scores above ninety-two points. 



Nature's best in 1883 were and are the equal of the best 

 in 1903, and though we saw them once almost rejected, we 

 now see them one of the principal Asiatics to-day; as a 

 purely utility breed, the equal of the best in its class, while 

 as a fad and exhibition variety we have seen them popular, 

 so shall we again see their classes large in our large exhibi- 

 tions. Their merit has placed them with us to stay in our 

 American lists of thoroughbred fowls. It is a fact that no 

 breed stands long in public favor as a fad of fashion that 



