THE WHITE LEGHORN 287 
not conceive a more graceful bird. She is small and neat, 
compact of body and all quality. 
But it is the Leghorn pullet as an egg machine that makes her 
the friend of man. She is a fail-me-never. Some writers who 
ought to know better say she lays a small egg. Indeed! My 
Leghorns lay a large egg. and if others get a small egg all I have 
to say is that they should introduce a new male bird. It is the 
cockerel that transmits size-of-the-egg, and there are plenty of 
excellent strains to be got that will yield the large egg. I find 
that a Leghorn lays as large an egg—by which I mean as heavy 
an egg—as a Rhode Island Red or an Orpington. It lays a 
larger egg than does the White Wyandotte or any other utility 
bird worth mentioning. No doubt poor feeding might influence 
the size of the egg, but given the right strain of male bird and 
decent feeding the Leghorn egg will turn the scale against any of 
the prolific-laying hens of the day. In her second year her eggs 
are far above the ordinary size of marketed eggs. In quality 
they are as delicate in flavour and as rich in taste as any of the 
much-advertised tinted-egg layers. To my mind nothing is more 
appetising than a large White Leghorn egg. It looks clean and 
fresh and wholesome, a dainty fit to set before a king. 
And as for prolificacy, what is there to compare with the Leghorn 
pullet ? A few special strains of Wyandotte begin to challenge 
her supremacy, but only a few. For consistency the Leghorn 
is unique. She is the world’s everlasting layer. Originally a 
Mediterranean bird, she now holds sway all the world over. In 
far Australia she sweeps everything before her in laying com- 
petitions as well as in private pens. In America she is the great 
commercial bird, the dollar-maker, the layer of the diurnal egg. 
In South Africa she is allotted pride of place, and indeed in all 
countries where fowls are cultivated the Leghorn as a layer reigns 
supreme. In England she is the bread-and-butter bird to the 
egg-farmer, and without her help he would find it difficult to exist. 
She is hardy, easy to hatch and easy to rear, a wonderful bird 
to mature. In five months, if you wish, she will begin her great 
laying act, and she will rarely disappoint during her career. Other 
