/o8 Profitable Poultry Keeping. 



principally from Northern Italy, where it is the common 

 breed of the country, and is known all over the continent as 

 the "Italian" fowl. Leghorns were brought some years 

 ago to the United States, and their intrinsic merits soon 

 made them one of the most popular breeds in this country 

 for those poultry breeders who regard utility as of equal, if 

 not greater, importance than fancy points. It was from 

 America that Leghorns were originally taken to England ; 

 and although at first they were met with a great amount of 

 prejudice, they have gradually overcome it, and are now very 

 popular indeed. Originally there were but two varieties, the 

 white and the brown, but now there are two others, the black 

 and the cuckoo. 



The chief characteristics of Leghorns are^— a somewhat 

 large-sized single comb, with deeply cut serrations, and the 

 comb itself extending down over the back of the head ; long 

 pendant wattles, red face, with white ear lobes, yellow bill, 

 and clean legs of the same colour, the hackles full, and a 

 sweeping tail in the cocks. The body is smallish, but close 

 and compact, and the whole appearance sprightly and pleasing. 

 The comb of the hen is large, and falls over on to one side, 

 in a single fold. So far as colour is concerned, in the whites 

 it is that self colour throughout the plumage ; but in the 

 browns the markings are very like brown-red game, though 

 not quite so bright. In the cock, the hackles are golden bay, 

 striped with black ; the back red, each feather having a stripe 

 of brighter bay ; the breast rich black, standing out full in 

 front ; the wings large, of a dark red, striped across with bars 

 of bay and green-black ; the sickles long, green and black in ' 

 colour; and the legs yellow, as we have already stated. In 

 the hen the breast is a light salmon brown ; the neck hackle 

 yellow, striped with brown ; the back brown, with slight pen- 

 cilling thereon ; and the action sprightly and graceful. The 

 blacks are self colour, and the cuckoos, black and white mixed. 



