The Bossier banner., 1894-12-27

The proper color of Plymouth Rocks
has been the subject of much discus
sion, some claiming that the bars
should be pure black and white, and
others that the darker bars should be
more of blue color. This breed
sprung from two distinct sources and
these two branches were somewhat
different in color and shape, but they
have now been SO thoroughly amalga-
mated that they have become COM
posite of the two families, and the ex-
ceptlons to the regular shape are
those which have bred back to remote
ancestry. have bred Plymouth Rocks
| for some years and my preference
! is for the blush tint, for l think
1t easier to breed males and fe
males to uniform color if this tint is
sought. Birds of this color will grad
ually come to have lemon-colored
| Shanks, and no color looks better than
| this. Darker birds will almost always
have orange-colored shanks, with a
tendency to show distinctly red in the
sides and black scales here and there,
though now good many can be found
with pure orange shanks. A Plymouth
Rock hen with a pure yellow beak is
about the rarest bird that can be
sought for, but at the Ohio state fair I
saw one or two specimens of this kind.
This is what breeders have been after
for some time, and it is to be hoped
they will succeed in getting them, for
when that is done the breeding of
| Plymouth Rocks will have reached per-
lection.
Black Langshans.- ns.-Although Black
Langshans are among the most recent
acquisitions in the Asiatic class, they
have become quite popular in this
country, and much more so in England,
where they are bred to the greatest
perfection. The high prices which
they brought when first introduced led
a good many tricky American breeders
to cross them with the Black Cochins
in order to multiply them rapidly and
get the advantage of the good price
the great demand made possible, and
this. has led to an incorrect ideal being
formed in the minds of good many
who have not all the facts to draw from.
The Cochin shape is entirely distinct
from the true Langshan shape, and the
two will never be mistaken for each
other when one has seen and studied
the true Langshan as he is bred in En-
gland by those who were among the
first tolimport the breed from the hills
of northern China. The true Langshan
has an exceedingly short back and high
head and drawing straight line to
| Fxarn nf hn
to the highest point of the tail and
qacll to the head and an almost perfect
triangle will inclose the bird. Some
one has called Lanshans the ''three
cornered breed on account of this
triangular boundary line. The line
down the back of the neck across the
back and up along the tail is very
nearly the shape of the letter Z.
As fowl for profit. the Lang
shan has proven itself the best
of all the Asiatics. They are
of a brilliant greenish black, and their
feathers have metallic reflection that
shows the colOrs of the rainbow when
the sun is reflected from them. Their
flesh is white and juicy, and they are
the very best of the class for table use.
The bottom of their feet are pink, and
this is the final test of purity, for any
infusion of Black Cochin blood can be
told by the yellow bottoms of the feet
of cross-bred birds.-American Farmer.
The Brown Leghorn Fowl.-In shape
the Leghorn is characterized by a trim
ness and sprightliness that few fowls
possess The carriage is very upright,
and the large and gaily-carried
tail of the cock increases his ap-
parent size and adds greatly to
his beauty. The red, darkly-striped
hackles of the male and his solid black
breast make very attractive combi-
nation in colors, and the warm brown
of the females possesses a quiet beauty
scarcely less attractive in its way than
the richest colors of the male
Brown Leghorns mature very early,
pullets having been known to lay when
four to five months old. This early
maturity makes the Leghorns a very
profitable fowl for the farm. Long be-
fore the heavier fowls think of laying
the Leghorn pullets have begun and if
hatched early viii frequently pay in
eggs for their raising before winter
sets in. Broiler raisers frequently use
a cross of a Leghorn male on some
heavier breed to increase the growth
of the chickens in the first two
months of their lives. Brown Leg
horns are reasonably hardy, but
do best when they can have liberty
They are excellent foragers, and will
on farm during the summer months
pick up a good share of their living.
In winter they need good, warm
house, to prevent the freezing of their
combs, and if provided with such a
house will lay quite well even in very
cold weather. But it is during the
warm days of spring and the hot days
of summer that they produce the
greatest number of eggs. The eggs of
the Leghorn are a pearl white, all, or
nearly all, of the same shade, giving
them a very uniform appearance. Once
in a great while there will be Leg
horn hen that will lay an egg with a
slight buff tint, but SO rarely does this
happen that one is almost safe in de-
claring that their eggs are always pure
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