HISTORY OP ANCONAS 
63 
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Ancona Articles from Magazines 
^d* 
Southern Fancier-Farmer, Atlanta, 
Georgia: 
A breed of fowls may be forced into 
prominence, but they must win their 
way into popularity. 
The latter procedure is true of An- 
conas, as they were introduced into 
America in a very inconspicuous man¬ 
ner, in 1890, and were hardly given a 
boost worth recording for several years 
thereafter. However, through an occa- 
s'cnal friend made in the show room 
and personal recommends from one 
breeder to another, in the course of 
time quite a string of breeders became 
acquainted with this then new fowl in 
the States. 
Then it was that the Ancona Club of 
America was organized, and an earn¬ 
est, though somewhat circumscribed 
effort made to extend their breeding 
and make them more familiar to the 
poultry fraternity. As is ever the 
result of co-operation among enter¬ 
prising breeders, their organized effort 
accomplished great and lasting good. 
The breed was admitted to the Ameri¬ 
can Standard of Perfection (1895); 
the fowls were brought in larger num¬ 
ber to the show rooms; the demand 
was created for stock and eggs; litera¬ 
ture was asked for and distributed de¬ 
scribing the breed; and during the past 
five years Anconas have gradually won 
their way into the front ranks—both in 
the show rooms and in the coops of 
the practical breeders. 
Anconas are of the Mediterranean 
class, native of Italy. They derive 
their name from the province of An¬ 
cona, on the East coast of the penin 
sula, where they have been pure bred 
for so many generations that their 
origin is not discoverable. 
They are so different from any other 
breed, and breed so true without dou¬ 
ble mating, that the theory of their be¬ 
ing a “made” breed is so remote that 
it is not worthy of consideration. If 
the breed was crossed in any manner 
it was several ccntur cs ago, and there 
is no knowledge of when nor how. 
They are fundamentally an egg 
breed, and their eggs are white and 
large. It is claimed that they produce 
eggs at the least cost per dozen of any 
fowl known. 
In appearance the Ancona is a very 
pretty fowl. The plumage is black, 
with a beetle-green luster (quite pro¬ 
nounced in the male), and flecked ir¬ 
regularly with pure white on the tips 
of the feathers; comb and wattles 
bright red, skin yellow, ear lobes white 
legs yellow, sometimes mottled. . 
The hens weigh about six pounds 
and cocks a pound heavier. They are 
very quick to develop, and pullets of¬ 
ten begin laying when sixteen weeks 
old. They are extremely hardy, and 
are bred without difficulty in our most 
Northern States and in Canada. 
There is but one style of Anconas, 
just the mottled; no attempt is made 
to produce a variety of colors. Breed¬ 
ers can see no way to improve them 
pr. they are and have hern tor so ma" r 
years, and are therefore content to let 
well enough alone. 
Any breeder who wants profitable 
poultry should try a pen of Anconas 
and let results determine their decision. 
I can not too strongly urge beginners 
to start with Anconas, as they are 
