The herald., 1897-07-08
Breeds of Poultry


The American breeds of poultry and
the Asiatic races have already been dis
cussed and an account of the Mediter-
ranean breeds follows. The most popu-
lar and best known of the Mediterranean n
fowls are the various varieties or strains
of the Leghorn. These were SO named
because the original stock was supposed
to have come from Leghorn, Italy. They
are pre-eminently an producing
breed and have gained very great pop
ularity among the leading poultry fanci-
ers as well as with the farmers of the
United States They are very different
from the Asiatics. The latter are very
quiet and tractable. The shorthorns, as
have styled them, among fowls; while
the Leghorns are full OF spirit, hard to
confine, impossible to drive and may be
styled the Jerseys of the poultry yard.
The writer for several years kept the
finest strains he could get of Brown Leg
horns close beside the best strains avail
able of the Light Brahma. Therefore
he had excellent opportunity to compare
these two breeds of chickens, not only
for the table, but also for profit as egg
producers. While nearly every one who
has had long experience with poultry
grants the Leghorns to be the most pro-
life egg-producers we have, my own eX
perience was not in accord with the gen.
eral verdict. While 1 could get more
Leghorn eggs during the year, my Brah-
mas eclipsed the Leghorns during the
cold of winter when the price of eggs was
greatly in excess of that of any other
season.
Mr.. Howard III his report to the de-
partment of agriculture already referred
to, voices the probability that the Leg
horns were imported from Italy over
sixty years ago. OF the several sub
strains of the Leghorn fowls the Brown
Leghorn is perhaps the most popular.
The White Leghorn, however, is found
very generally in our country and is
certainly a close competitor in popular
favor with the more common Brown
Leghorn. The Black Leghorn is quite
popular in some localities, though it is
far less common. than either of the
Others As suggested above the Leg
horn fowls have restless temperament.
and in my judgment they are not at all
comparable for table purposes with
either the American or Asiatic breeds
/ have known, however the special
immoderately as table fowl. Whatever
may be said, they are certainly too
small to ever give the best results for
table use. The good points urged for the
Leghorns is, as already stated, their lay
ing qualities and also the fact that they
are almost entirely non-sitters They
are among the very best foragers, ard
if given a chance will pick up their liv
ing with but very little to supplement
what they get in their ranging over gar
den and field. Indeed, it is hard to keep
them from ranging. as they are perhaps
the hardest fowls to confine that we
have. While a five foot picket fence
will restrain the Asiatics without diff
culty-I think I might have said a three
foot fence-a siX-foot fence will not al
ways restrain the Brown Leg.horns, as
the writer has had good reason to know.
1t may also be said in favor of the Brown
Leghorn that they mature very quickly.
They will commence laying at four or
five months of age, while the Brahma
takes much longer than this. They are
reported to lay sixteen or seventeen doZ
en- eggs a year, and I believe are among
the very best of layers if we simply take
the number of eggs into consideration.
The eggs, however, are lighter than
those of the Brahma, as it takes ten to
weigh a pound. 1 think too, that the
eggs are not so favorable in color as the
Brahma egg. They are pure white. True,
some prefer this color but I much prefer
the richer brown of the Brahma. 1t IS
often stated that it does not cost more
than half as much to keep the Leghorn
as it does to keep the Brahma. Much IS
to be said in favor of the Leghorn be-
cause of beauty They are trim, COM
pact form, beautiful plumage, single, |
straight, erect comb, curving back and
up, white ear lobes, together with their
graceful plumes, make the Leghorn an
exceedingly beautiful fowl. The yellow
leg makes this bird more desirable for
table use. I have already said that the
Brown Ieghorn is perhaps the most de-
sirable strain of this race of fowls.
There is however, one objection TO
these; they are hard to breed true TO
feather l think there is no question but
what the Brown Leghorp will long take
precedence with those fanciers who pre-
fer a nervous sprightly bird, as will the
Plymouth Rock with those Who prefer
general purpose fowl, and the Light
Brahma with those who wish a profita-
BILE egg producer and al the same time a
fowl that always will grace the table
and give the fullest satisfaction.