34 MY POULTRY DAY BY DAY 
in the middle of a town it will always be able to retain practically 
its original colour. But you pay your money and take your 
choice. The colour—or, within limits, the sooty atmosphere— 
will not greatly affect the number of eggs laid. 
The Ancona is in nature and habits very like a Leghorn, and 
in colour is black with white spots. It is admirably suited for 
town life. 
The Campine is a small bird of varying shades of grey, and would 
do quite well in the midst of bricks and mortar. 
These are, of course, all pure breeds I have been dealing with. 
There are certain cross-breeds that would thrive and do well 
in the confinement of town life, but I do not specially recommend 
them. If, however, anyone fancies a cross-breed, there is no 
sufficient reason why they should not be kept. Some crosses, 
especially first crosses, do remarkably well. A first cross is, of 
course, a mating between two pure-bred fowls. I have tried 
two different first crosses that have yielded excellent results. 
One is a Leghorn Buff Orpington, the other a Leghorn Minorca. 
I have also seen remarkable results from Leghorn White 
Orpingtons and Leghorn Wyandottes. All these four first crosses 
are well tried and profitable. As a rule, a cross-breed is hardier 
and easier to rear, but it has not been proved to be a better egg- 
layer. One need not elaborate this part of the subject at present, 
as it will be dealt with fully later on. 
All that is necessary to say here, is that a first cross may make 
a most profitable fowl for the backyarders. Of all first crosses, 
the Leghorn should form one of the parents for intensive purposes. 
Perhaps the Leghorn Minorca is as good as any. It is a bird 
hardly larger than the average Leghorn and retains most of the 
characteristics of its male parent. It is sharp, active and a good 
forager. In colour, it is white picked out with black, and has the 
black legs of the mother bird. It is equally suitable for town or 
country. 
