i50 
The Australasian Book of Poultry. 
" I have supplied birds of the breed to many Farmers on account of their extraordinary Autumn and 
AVinter laying capabilities, and have many letters acknowledging the justness of my contention on this head. 
As regards hatching and feeding, I have found the methods stated under the heading of my contribution on 
Plymouth Rocks, the best for Langshans also. Many persons, when Langshan chickens are first hatched, 
are surprised at the colour of the chicks, expecting them to hatch quite black. They, however, exhibit 
more white or straw colour than black. The first feathers are black, but the wings show a lot of white, 
which disappear before they get their adult plumage. The latter should be a beautiful, lustrous, greenish 
black. The chicks are as hardy as possible. Langshans do not belong to the class of ' high flyers,' as the 
adults birds can easily be confined within bounds by 4 or 5 feet wire netting." 
For the following additional notes on this highly characteristic breed we are indebted to Mr. G. M. 
Duncan, the Hon. Sec. of the Langshan Club of South Australia. Mr. Duncan writes : — 
" Perhaps no breed of late years has come before the Poultry Fancy with such leaps and bounds of 
popularity as the Langshan, and, unlike many other ' boomed ' breeds, which ' went up like a rocket and 
came down like a stick,' this noble bird has come to stay. Why ? Simply because of its inherent good 
qualities. It will be quite unnecessary for me to say anything as to the origin of the Langshan, so much has 
already been written on this subject. However, for the benefit of any readers who may imagine that this 
breed is a modern concoction produced as the Plymouth Rock, Wyandotte, Orpington, Indian Game, etc., 
by the skill of some enthusiastic Poultry Breeder, I will say that the Langshan is one of the oldest breeds 
extant, its ancestry dating back many centuries before the Roman Game Fowls were known. A native of 
Northern China, the ' Jop,' or sacred bird, was held in such reverence that its figures may still be seen hewn 
in the rocks of the great Chinese Wall. When the Langshan was first introduced into the domain of the 
British Fancy its reception was not of the kindliest order, for, instead of receiving the newcomer with open 
arms as a distinct acquisition to the Poultry World, many Fanciers openly avowed their antagonism to the 
breed. 
"At first, when shown as Langshans they were called 'Cochins,' and when exhibited in the Cochin 
classes they were jeered at as being poor specimens of that breed. However, ultimately, by its intrinsic 
merit the bird gradually made a name for itself. To Miss Croad the Langshan Fanciers of to-day have 
much to be thankful for. From its first importation into England by Major Croad, in 1872, this lady has 
been a doughty champion of the Langshan, and has striven her hardest to keep the breed in its purity. The 
breed was introduced into America about 1875 by direct importation from China, and the demand for them 
became so strong that spurious imitations were speedily manufactured, the crosses principally used being 
Black Javas and Black Cochins. 
" For this reason the breed was under a fog for a number of years, and the diversity of type was so great 
that Fanciers were in a dilemma as to which was the correct ideal to breed up to. Then the American 
Langshan Club was formed and Standards framed, the result being that the breed was at once placed on a 
proper footing, and at the present day the Langshan is one of America's favourites. 
" Turning to Australia in general, and South Australia in particular, we find that the first ' Langshans ' 
introduced into this Colony, some ten or twelve years ago, were a vastly different bird to the Langshan of 
to-day. Short-legged, coarse-boned, heavily-feathered birds, they showed the Cochin cross at every 
point, and, doubtless, had not the slightest strain of Langshan blood in them. It was not till 1892, when 
Messrs. Osborn and Stroud imported several birds from that well-known breeder Mr. A. E. M'Lennan, of 
Victoria, that an improvement was noticeable, and the spurious article had soon to give way to the true type 
of bird. Since then Messrs. D. H. Harrold, J. H. Kneebone, myself, and others have imported 
several lots of birds, and thus kept up the Standard of Langshans in this Colony. A few years ago the 
Exhibitors of this noble bird were so dissatisfied with the Judging at some of the Shows that a Club was 
formed to protect the interests of the breed. The Langshan Club of S.A. has done much to promote 
interest in the Langshan, by the publication and dissemination of the Standard all over the Colony. The 
Public have been educated as to the correct type of bird, and, by offering Special Prizes to Club members 
