158 
The Australasian Book of Poultr3'. 
crossing the Black and White varieties, and that they do not contain a drop of Blue Andalusian or Blue 
Jersey blood. 
" There are two sorts of Langshans in America, as far as I can judge— the true Langshan, and the 
American manufactured article. The latter are evidently Black Cochins, and appear to have been hit 
violently in the rear with the flat of a spade, like the sleep-walker in the Ingoldsby Legends. I fail to see 
where the economic points of birds of this shape can be, unless, of course, the breeder of them is prepared 
to run a feather pillow factory as an adjunct. It must have been of this breed that Mr. H. G. Keesling, in 
an American paper, the Poultry Monthly, speaking of a Langshan's head, says : — 'The Standard says : Of 
medium size, and rather broad." I would prefer a different wording, for the reason that " rather broad " is 
not positive enough to express the fact that the skull of a Langshan should be broad, and not narrow. It 
is astonishing what a difference a narrow or broad skull makes in the appearance of Langshans, and when 
the narrow skull is coupled with a long, deep face the effect is anything but pleasing. 
'• The heads of Langshans are by no means uniform in shape, and as yet little or no attention has been 
given to them in that particular. The comb, wattles, and ear-lobes that adorn the head receive the greater 
part of the attention devoted to that part of the birds. The tendency seems to be to breed smaller combs, 
and I think that it is a mistake. The Langshan is not a compact bird either in feather or body, although 
some of the later engravings would make them appear almost as hard-feathered and compact as a Game. 
The comb and wattles should be rather large, to accord with the long shanks and tail and loose feathering 
of the pure Langshan. The Langshan is not a dude in any sense, and to belittle his comb, contract his 
brains, and make him appear ill at ease in a close-fitting coat, is an insult to his dignity and freedom of 
action. The eyes are not over large, but bright, and full of expression. While the Standard calls for the 
most attractive colours in eyes, " dark brown, or hazel," there is still a great variance in the purest stock. 
With me, the black variety has the best eyes, as most of the whites have light coloured eyes. The head 
should not be so large as to appear coarse, nor yet so small as to appear out of place on so large a bird. 
Although the Langshan is a rangy bird, it is not coarse in any part of its make-up, although some would 
make it appear so. The carriage of the head is peculiar to the breed, and is not as upright as most 
engravings would have it appear. The breast does not appear prominent, for the reason that a vertical line 
from the point of the beak to the ground will rarely touch the breast. The Langshan has a style and 
carriage of its own, and there is no reason for trying to breed theni in imitation of any other breed." 
" What a mixture of right and wrong ! In the first place, what authority ever demanded a narrow head, 
or a coarse head, or any other but a small head for the size of the bird, full over the eye, and free from 
coarseness. He is wrong in saying the head itself has had little attention paid to it. It is a most important 
and well-recognised point. As regards combs, we do not want Langshans with combs as long as Minorcas. 
We want medium size, button no account flat. As regards the colour of the eyes, he must be optimistic if 
he expects to breed every bird with perfect eyes. Any tendency to coarseness has always met with strong 
disapproval from competent judges. As regards the carriage of the head, I maintain it is upright, and the 
breast of a good bird should have a full, prominent appearance. I think the attitude of alert attention is 
preferable to any other when depicting this breed, although no one, except the writer of the above, apparently 
thinks that is the one attitude the bird can assume. As regards the chickens, my experience is that 
when very young they are extremely hardy, and stand cold weather very well. As they grow older they 
do not take to it kindly if bred very late in the season, but a little attention soon rectifies this. When 
first hatched, they present a most charming appearance, the black and difTerent shades of canary being 
especially attractive. Mine are always hatched in an incubator, and they take to food at once. They are 
capital foragers, and will go anywhere in search of food. It is advisable to keep the sizes separate, 
as a three months' old Langshan chick stepping on a small one spreads him out like the celebrated ' 
twins under Diogenes' tub. The stilty chicks have an ungainly appearance, and, I should say, would be a 
long time maturing. I am glad to state I have had no practical experience of them, and hope I never shall. 
As to layers, the Langshan occupies a very high place, the pullets often starting to lay when five naonths old. 
