The herald., 1897-07-01

a fine Brahma cockerel leaves little to
be desired. The Brahmas are pre-em;-
nently the race of poultry that first
started the hen fever" to quote the
words of Mr.. Howard. Early known
as Brahma Bootras gray Shanghais.
Cochin Chinas, etc., they attracted at
tention and won admiration, though then
far from their present excellence. The
rich contrast of white and black in the
light Brahmas, their matchless carriage
and proportions, no less than the profit
gained in their keeping, make them the
pride of the fancier. 1t is difficult to i'm
agine anything more attractive than the
clear, white color of these fowls, with the
penciled white and black of the neck and
tail. The feathered legs and peacomb
are appropriate to this finest of fowls.
The similarity of the hen, cock, pullet
and cockerel makes the flock more uni
form and adds to its attractiveness.
believe no bird will prove more profitable
on the farm, as 1 doubt If any fowl
equals the light Brahma as a winter lay
er. The large size of the eggs-seven
to the pound-their rich brown color and
excellent flavor, and the fact that these
birds are such prolific layers, often aver
agiNg thirteen dozen a year for the en-
tire flock makes it necessary to handi-
cap them, to give any show to most
other fowls when brought into competi-
tion with them as producers. 1t is
sometimes objected that they mature
slower than the American breeds. Yet
even here, with proper care, they will
prove Exceedingly satisfactory. They
are par excellence the bird for the table.
and the hens are good sitters and moth
ers. The standard weight of light Brah-
ma is; Cock, II pounds; hen, 91a pounds;
cockerel, 10 pounls, and pullet, pounds.
The dark Brahmas are not so excellent
in any way as the light. They are light
er, not so good layers, and are difficult
to breed to feather.
The Langshans black and white, are
smaller varieties of the Asiatics, with
much to recommend them. They are
an old breed and are deservedly popular.
They are smaller than the Brahmas and
not as good layers. They are more ac-
tive and are hustlers, and so will care
for themselves when given goodrange.
Their skin and legs are too dark to at
! tract in the market, but they are superb
as sitters and mothers. These last quail
! tiles make them deservedly popular on
! many a ranch.
| The Cochins, Buff, Partridge, Black
and White, in order of their popularity
are much like the Brahmas in style and
habit, though inferior to themin beauty
size and profitableness. They are about
one pound lighter are not so excellent
as egg producers, and the Buff and
Partridge are difficult to breed to stand
ard. The Black and White are more
easily bred to feather and would be bet
ter suited to the farmer. Yet none of
these will give the profit or satisfaction
that will come with the light Brahma
or will satisfy as we'll for the farmer as
will the Langshan.
The following stanza shows that old
Grimes, before he died, had more than
a great blue coat:
"Old Grimes had an old black hen, an old
black hen had he,
She used to lay two eggs day, and Sun
day she laid three"
1t is to be regretted that tradition fails
to give the breed of old Grimes hen
The writer has no such record to report
but has had wonderful success with the
Light Brahmas and has actually known
a hen of this breed to lay two eggs in a
single day. After having kept a large
number of breeds, and studied the
habits and egg production of many
others, he believes that there are few
II any breeds of poultry that will give
more genuine satisfaction than the Lisht
Brahama. Their strongest point con-
slsts IN their excellence for table pur-
poses, and their Incompatible super
ior1ty as winter layers One winter In
Michigan, when the thermometer was
way down near the bottom, our Light
Brahma hens laid regularly and CON
tinuously. This was at o. time wher
eggs We're so scarce that they readily
sold FOR 30 cents dozen 1t is needless
to say that we are quite satisfied with
our Light Brahmas. in a succeeding
number we will continue this discussion
giving attention to the Mediterranean
and fancy breeds.