Anconas have never been exploited, which cannot be said of any made- 

 up breed. And why? For the very reason that new breeds are created on 

 purpose to exploit, and unless they are exploited there is little reason to 

 create them. But a breed that already IS will grow into the knowledge 

 of the poultry craft of its own accord in time, and its position there must 

 depend upon its intrinsic merit. 



And this is exactly the case of the Ancona. The name "Ancona" 

 signifies nothing in the matter of introducing and popularizing the breed; 

 in fact the name was rather a hindrance. As I previously stated, the 

 breed would have been so much more quickly and more easily introduced 

 under a Leghorn name. But an Ancona is an Ancona, and nothing but 

 an Ancona, and therefore there could be no other name applied. 



Ed. Weber, a university man, practical poultry breeder, and an 

 authority on poultry matters, during one of his several European tours 

 made a trip to Ancona, Italy, on purpose to study Ancona fowls; — their 

 origin, history, condition, type, etc.. He traversed the province of Ancona, 

 and neighboring territory, on foot and personally looked up the archives 

 in the Lyceum at Ancona city. Mr. Weber speaks Italian fluently, and 

 was therefore able to get the facts first-hand. He wrote me that he could 

 find no printed history about the origin of Ancona fowls; their early his- 

 tory is lost in the mist of antiquity. His every source of information was 

 to the effect that Anconas have been bred in that Italian province for sev- 

 eral centuries. 



Mr. Weber's testimony is corroborated by the Hon. Chapman Cole- 

 man, the American Consul at Rome, to whom I wrote in 1910, and an 

 extract from his reply is printed in the opening chapter of this book. 



There is not the least doubt about Anconas being one of the oldest 

 known breeds, descended from the original Jungle fowl, and all the evi- 

 dence obtainable from whatever source goes to show that Anconas have 

 been "monkied with" as little as any breed. Their characteristics are so 

 pronounced that they breed very true, and the Ancona of today is the 

 Ancona of centuries ago in breed, name, characteristics and type, improved 

 only in uniformity of color and greater egg production. 



