Evening Republican, Volume 19, Number 35, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 10 February 1915 — WHITE LEGHORNS VERY POPULAR [ARTICLE]

WHITE LEGHORNS VERY POPULAR

Small Birds an Hard to Breed to Standard tort They are Profitable Fowls. There is no let-cp in the popularity of the White Leghorn, and there will not be. the White Leghorn in popular because it deserves to be popular. It is beautiful, and it is as useful as it is beautiful. White Leghorns outnumber all other varieties combined on the large egg farms of the country, though a few other varieties are doubtless as good layers. There has been a great development in the Leghorns, especially in the White Leghorns, within the past few years. The old idea of the* Leghorn was that it looked more “stylish” if its tall stood straight up. Now such a bird has no chance whatever of winning at a poultry show. Long backs and low tails are the fashion, and surely they are more beautiful than the previous styles. There isn’t anything more beautiful in poultry than a White Leghorn, male or female, with a fine five-point comb, full well rounded breast, long back, sloping slightly downward, with the tail large, well spread and carried quite low, the bird set upon a pair-of good strong legs of good length. The color is as beautiful as the shape. The plumage is of course snow white in the ideal bird, and a bird with creaminess or brassiness in plumage has little chance pf winning. The red of the comb and wattles and the white of the wattles are features of the beauty of this variety, as well as the yellow legs and toes. The comb is an important section in the Leghorn. On account of its size, which is quite large, a Leghorn comb which approaches perfection is qnite rare, so that a cut in a showroom of one point on comb is a light cut. If a Leghorn has a poor comb it can scarcely expect to win in strong competition. According to the Standard, the value of the comb is one-tenth of the whole bird. Bright yellow legs are most desirable, but not easy to obtain, especially in combination with snow-white plumage. The coloring matter that makes the legs yellow is likely to put creaminess into the plumage, while lack of creaminess in the plumage may mean paleness of legs. The white plumage and the yellow legs are rather contradictory characteristics, but we want this combination. In other words, while it is not so difficult to breed White Leghorns true to color as in the case of barred rocks, still there are plenty of difficult problems, and a bird that combines excellencies In all the points named above is not often seen in this variety.

Leghorns are kept chiefly for laying purposes. Eggs are the foundation of the poultry business, and the production of eggs is the most profitable branch of poultry keeping. But Leghorns are not the inferior table folws many suppose them to be, especially when young. They are not large, but they mature quickly and they reach a weight of a pound and a half to two pounds almost as early as any of the larger varieties, and at this size they are fine as broilers or frys. At any age, If properly fattened, they are not inferior table fowls, though not equal, to be sure, to some of the larger varieties. There is a great deal of current discussion among Leghorn breeders as to size. There has been no standard weight for Leghorns, hut there probably will be after 1915. The demand Is for larger Leghorns than we have been accustomed to, and already the judges are giving the preference, other things being equal, to birds that are larger than the average Legohrn. Few fanciers admire a very small Leghorn, but they do not want to see the Leghorn become a coarse bird like the English Leghorn. A weight of three and one-half pounds in a pulelt to five and one-half in a cock is surely sufficient.