Langs ha ns. 
2 37 
Langsiians. — Cockerels : I, 2, and Medal, H. M. Orme ; 3 > S. Millard; vhc, C. T. Roe; he, Oliver Nunn, Rev. 
A. C. Davies, C. T. Roe. Pullets', i, 2, and Medal, H. M. Orme; 3, Rev. A. C. Davies; vhc, C. T. Roe; he, A. C. 
Croad (2), Reeves and Silk, W. Street. 
It may be remarked that the judge was the late Mr. Teebay, the very same judge who 
had “disqualified” as Cochins Mr. Leys’ birds at Dorchester as above related. The “ Langshan 
authority ” who reported on the above,* and whose identity we are ignorant of further than 
being informed that it was a Langshan authority, condemned the first-prize bird as “ of a decided 
Cochin type, very cushiony, but large — it had a Cochin head and tail,” and said the second 
was not according to the standard; the third was the best. In pullets, again, the first was “a 
decided Cochin type, short-legged, and if more prolific in feathers might have stood for a Black 
Cochin ; second pretty much of the same style,” third “ also Cochiny.” A few days later, f Mrs 
Freeman published a letter stating that “ the first four prizes were given to birds of so decided 
a Cochin type, that nobody but the merest tyro could have doubted that there has been at 
one time a large quantity of Cochin blood in that yard.” Considering what had been written 
ad nauseam about the “fraud” of that kind of thing, this was rather strong. And a little 
later, ^ Mr. Harrison Weir wrote that the winning cockerel “had none of the Langshan character- 
istics,” and “ would have passed muster in a Black Cochin class,” adding that “ Miss Croad'’ s two 
unnoticed pullets were the best.” Mr. Davies had been obliged to prove the perfect purity of his 
yard, as he did, by other attacks besides this ; but Mr. Orme’s case was peculiar. As he proved 
in answer, his yard was absolutely and entirely of the Croad strain, crossed solely by the purchase 
of the 1882 Birmingham cup cockerel of Mr. Bush, the very gentleman concerning whom we had 
been attacked for not stating the fact (unknown to us) that his birds were hatched from eggs 
received from Miss Croad ! Both the gentlemen whose birds were attacked are members of the 
Committee of the Langshan Society ! Their exhibits were of the type here described. 
The question is now practically settled, as shown by the plate illustrating this chapter. It is 
drawn from birds bred by the Honorary Secretary of the Langshan Society; and after all that 
has passed, we are very glad to be able to say that it has his “ entire approval in every respect.’’ 
The cock is of pure Croad strain (to secure which, if possible, we made a special point in our 
correspondence with Captain Terry, in face of the insinuations referred to above), being the son 
of a very well-known bird which had been previously illustrated in the columns of Poultry, and 
was hatched by Mr. R. F. Housman, from eggs received direct from Miss Croad, and which, being 
of precisely the type we desired, led us to apply to Captain Terry to help us in the matter. This 
latter, after breeding magnificent specimens for Captain Terry, including the one here pourtrayed, 
was purchased by Mrs. Dent. The hen, Captain Terry informs us, is of his own strain. If any- 
thing, these birds are a little more tall on the leg and upright in the tail than we most admire 
personally ; but that, too, may render them more acceptable representatives. On the other hand, 
the tail-piece to this chapter is an engraving which was prepared for and used by Miss Croad 
herself in 1888 to illustrate the advertisements of her stock in the Fancier s Gazette. This small 
engraving represents, we may say, our own ideal more precisely than Captain Terry’s, and is of the 
exact style we first saw exhibited at Birmingham by Mr. Thomson in 1877. The fine bird figured 
in Poultry may be said to lie between these two, both in leg and carriage of tail, and something 
or other between the two is the type which all the best judges unmistakably prefer. 
It may well be asked, How was it such a fowl could ever be confounded with the Cochin, 
or fail of almost instant recognition ? The answer is simply, that this type ivas not seen ; this is 
not the bird which judges had before them, but is of another type entirely in many respects. The 
* Live Stock Journal, Oct. io, 18S4. + Fid,, Oct. 24, 1884. t Ibid., Nov. 7, 1884. 
