LEADING STANDARD VARIETIES 



April comes it enables him to sell the surplus at 25 to 30 cents per 

 pound for large, soft roasters. The present call for the breed 

 out of which to produce capons has quickened the demand for 

 Brahmas in a marked degree. Their large, dark-shelled eggs, 

 which are the heaviest of all eggs have enabled breeders to secure 

 a private trade at a price of 50 cents per dozen the year 'round 

 and such produced the celebrity of the breed. So much for 

 absolute, practical merit. 



For their beauty — ^a plumage in which is combined immacu- 

 late white and beautiful brilliant black, the white of the neck 

 striped down the center of each feather with blue black, a pure 

 white surface color of breast, body and wing; with a tail and 

 maintail and sickles a lustrous black; with coverts in the females 

 black edged with white and wing feathers black and white, the 

 black being the predominating color. In the male we have a 

 tail spread at an angle of the letter A, or inverted V, and fiUed 

 in imdemeath with each curling feather of white and black; the 



FIRST PRIZE LIGHT BRAHMA HEN, BOSTON, 1907 



The challenge cup Light Brahma hen at Boston, 1907. Bred andjg 

 owned by J. L. Kerr, Wilton, N. H. 



.shanks and feet clothed in a plumage of white or white mottled 

 with black, the latter preferred in the male. When the last 

 row of saddle-feathers are in character like the coverts, then 

 does the specimen become "the most striking in color combina- 

 tion and captivate the beholder of them at our fairs. In the 

 point of score whole flocks have averaged to score higher than 

 any other breed and 90 out of every 100 chickens raised have 

 sold at a higher average price than any other. We have before 

 now sold $2,230. worth of chickens raised from Cour de Leon 

 .and the 8 Pareppas for an average of S75.00 each. The highest 

 price I ever sold is thirteen specimens at $1300. The highest 



price for a hen $55. We have known of birds sold in exhibi- 

 tions, after having won, to be sold as high as $150. 



So much a lover of the breed am I that I would see all the 

 other breeds I am identified with annihilated before I would 

 consent to see the Light Brahmas become extinct; they are the 

 best breed on earth. I believe when they are fed right, bred 

 right and kept in the conditions under which they do their best, 

 they are the most profitable and for me the most beautiful of 

 all the fowls in our Standard of Perfection. 



(Standard-bred Light Brahmas are our heaviest breed, 

 adult males weighing 12 pounds, females 9i pounds. They have 

 rich yellow skin and yellow legs, meat is fine grained, tender, 

 juicy and of good flavor. They are exceptional winter layers 

 of large dark brown eggs. This variety is a favorite one with 

 growers of the famous South Shore Soft Roaster. They are very 

 hardy and not liable to be seriously affected by ordinary diseases. 

 Brahmas are rather slow to mature, pullets usually lay when nine 

 months old; cockerels are mature when eleven to twelve months 

 old. Brahma hens make fairly good sitters but are rather too 

 heavy and are clumsy mothers. — ^Ed.). 



BLACK LANGSHANS 



For those who hke a black bird it is hard to find a more 

 pleasing heavy weight variety. Adult males should weigh 10 

 poimds, females 7 pounds. The plumage is a beautiful glossy 

 metaUic black with a greenish lustre. They have white or flesh 

 colored skin and the legs are blueish black with soles of feet 

 whitish or pinkish-white. 



Langshans are fairly hardy, the flesh is soft meated and 

 of fine flavor. They are good winter layers of brown eggs and 

 are good sitters and fair mothers. In the show room they al- 

 ways attract attention through their beauty of form and plu- 

 mage. These handsome fowls are very docile and soon get on 

 friendly terms with their attendant. 



Birds of this variety have been shown that scored 94 to 96 

 points under a careful judge and many have been sold at "long" 

 prices. Although a "solid color" variety they require the use 

 of considerable skill in mating and breeding to bring them up 

 to fuU measure of Standard requirements, and the fancier will 

 find that they give him ample opportunity for study and the 

 exercise of his mental faculties. 



Langshan chicks are not usually soUd black when newly 

 hatched, they may be grayish or splashed with white. They 

 frequently show white in plumage untU fairly well grown or until 

 they put on adult plumage. Mature specimens to be used as 

 breeding birds should be solid black and breeders are sometimes 

 hard pressed to keep their birds from showing white feathers. 

 White to the extent of one half inch in any part of the plumage 

 except leg and toe feathers disqualifies the specimen and bars it 

 from competition in the show room. Beginners with this variety 

 should cull closely for this defect and should not breed from 

 birds sporting white feathers. Purple lustre or pmrplish bar- 

 ring is another serious defect and should be guarded against. 

 Undercolor should be either black or dark slate color. 



For town or city lot poultry keeping, Langshans wiU prove 

 excellent as they are easily confined and their black plumage does 

 not show the ill effects of the dust and dirt of town and city life. 

 As a fancy fowl or to supply the family table this variety 

 will always prove a source of pleasure and profit. As a market 

 variety it has never made much progress in this country owing 

 to the prejudice against white skin and black legs in fowls. 

 Why this notion should exist when the same buyers would eager- 

 ly take a turkey with white skin and black legs is difficult to 

 understand. Black pin feathers are another serious market 

 defect. However, the variety is very popular with some breeders 

 who cater to a special market that does not harbor these pre- 

 judices Some of the finest capons grown in western New York 



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