https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt...rt=1;sz=10;page=root;num=48;size=100;orient=0
The Croad Langshan ("Beauty based upon utility") Embracing
... Hancock, Sardius, ed.
Published by Feathered World (1920?) 93 pages.
Excerpt from Page 48:
"Mr.
Oscar Smart, in his "The Inheritance of Fecundity in
Fowls," gives eight points as characteristic of a superior layer,
insisting that the combination of these points, and not the possession
of some of them, is the important thing.
1. Fine comb, long snaky head, and narrow skull.
2. A very red and prominent eye: the more the eye " stands
out " from the head the better.
3. A long body, sloping very gradually towards the tail; the
tail itself being carried almost, but not quite, erect.
4. The breast-bone very short, and the abdomen (which
should be covered with the softest possible down) well
developed.
5. Legs rather above than below the average in length (but
not too long); very fine and extremely pale in colour.
The legs should be set wide apart.
6. Toe-nails extremely short.
7. Pelvis bones wide apart, not less than 2} inches.
8. Cartilage soft.
Mr. Tom Newman's ideas on what characteristics are found in
a good layer are taken from an article of his on " How to Select the
Break, Page 49:
The Croad Langshan Mainly from the Utility Side 49
Best Layers without the Trap-nest," published in the S.P.B.A.
Annual Register of 1919.
"Our first thought must be stamina. . . .
"All coarse-looking and undersized birds should be rejected.
"The good layer is generally of medium size. The eye is
bold and prominent. The comb is fine in texture, of medium
size; avoid a " beefy" comb. The neck short and rather thin.
Beak short, legs short, toe-nails short, breast bone short—the
shorter the better.
"In a poor layer you will not get the width of two fingers
between the pelvic bones and the breast bone.
"In a really first-class layer you will get the width of four
fingers between the pelvic bones and the breast bone.
"A good layer is wide across the cushion and between the
legs. The pelvic bones should be straight, thin and well apart.
The back should be long and wide across the wings, the tail
carried high and the bird tight in feather.
"Most good layers are late moulters and big feeders."
(Some other remarks are added which apply only to yellow-
skinned breeds.)
In the same volume Mr. Joe Edmondson describes the
*' Standard Hen" as having a 9 in. length of back, a 5 in. width of
back, and a 4 in. length of breast-bone, or a proportionate measure-
ment. He goes on to describe the type he favours:
"A long and broad back, wide cushion, the legs well set
apart and not too long, short breast-bone with a good distance
between the breast-bone and pelvic bones, the pelvic bones
should be straight and thin, and very pliable, sharp, bright eye,
the head not too narrow, nor too small, neither must it be coarse,
a strong, short beak, the comb of fine texture and not too large,
the tail carried fairly high, the texture of the bones must be
fine and the size of bird medium—4 lbs. for light breeds and
5 lbs. for the heavier breeds."
On first reading the foregoing the reader will most likely be
struck with the differences from our Standard, but when they are
studied closely, and allowance is made for the fact that they describe
the "laying" type, and for differences due to what we may call
special breed characteristics, there remains little that is not found
in the Croad Langshan Standard, or, for that matter, in the Langshan
Standard of 1877." end quote.
