320 
The Australasian Book of Poultry. 
at the base, and narrowing towards the point. The Breast^ Thighs, and Under-parts are a rich glossy black, 
with a slightly greenish hue, free from white or brow'n splashes ; but almost all cocks have just a few brown 
splashes under the tail. Youn;^ cockerels will have nearly all brown breasts, splashed with black ; but this, 
in the first moult, will give place to the metallic black of the adult. The Tail is of a rich greenish-black, 
free from white, or partially white, feathers. The base of the tail is always surrounded by grey fluff, which is 
quite permissible. The Tail Coverts are black, edged with brown. The Legs. — Long and slender, of a 
brilliant yellow. 
THE HEN. 
The Comb should rise up straight for a short distance, and then fall gracefully over to one side. The 
Wattles. — Smaller and rounder than in the cock, of fine texture, and free from wrinkles or folds. The 
Lobes. — Fitting pretty close to the face, smooth, and as large as possible. The Hackle is of a very rich 
yellow, or golden tint, each feather distinctly striped with black. The black stripe should be tolerably broad, 
but the yellow or golden colour should predominate. The Breast is of salmon-red. The feathers which are 
close to the head and round the throat are of a very much deeper red ; but this latter colour is graduated in 
tint till it mingles with the salmon-red of the breast, which colour, in turn becomes lighter under the lower 
end of the breast till it assumes an ashy grey hue under the stern, and round the thighs. The Bodv Colour 
is of a light brown, finely pencilled with black, resembling the markings of a Partridge. The 
tendency of late years is to have the body colour of a dark brown, almost approaching black, with the shafts 
of each feather showing ; but it is a mistake, as, with this dark brown, much, if not all of the beautiful fine 
pencilling is lost. The Wings are of the same colour when the wing is closed ; but when open, the 
secondaries have the inner web black, the same as in the cock. It very often occurs that this inner web is 
partially white, sometimes all white, and it is as well, if possible, not to breed from a hen having this fault. 
It frequently happens that the hen is good in all other points save this, and one is tempted to use her for 
breeding ; but this fault has been proved to be hereditary, and, consequently, it should be avoided. The 
wing, also, will often have patches of a deep brown red on it. This is called " rust." Though it is in a certain 
degree a defect, yet hens with this rusty, foxy, or ruddy colour, will breed good cockerels, hut not pullets. 
The Tail should be carried almost upright (be it understood, not squirrel fashion), but at a very slight angle. 
It should be more of a fan-shaped than whipped — that is, one feather right over the other. The latter kind 
of tail is too much like that of a Game hen, and makes a Leghorn look mean and deficient. The Tail 
feathers are black, some being pencilled with light brown, or having a light brown edge running up one side. 
The Legs and Feet. — Bright yellow or orange, free from dark scales or spots. 
Standard bv which the breeder can judge the value of defects in Brown Leghorns. 
A bird perfect in shape, style, and colour to count in points loo. 
Defects to be Deducted in 
THE COCK. 
Too large or too small a comb 
6 
Badly-shaped, thumb-marked, or side sprig ... 
6 
Ear-lobe folded or wrinkled ... 
5 
Red stains on lobe 
lO 
Wrinkled or puckered wattles 
4 
Want of hackle 
6 
Brown feathers on breast 
8 
Sooty legs and feet 
ID 
Want of Condition 
15 
,, ,, Symmetry 
15 
„ „ Size ... 
15 
TOO 
