IC-NRLF r -- 5- A ^^^y<<2^ REESE LIBRARY UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA. Actessimi* \ -4<^.. . Shel THE PEOPLE'S PEACTICAL POULTRY BOOK: A WORK ON THE BREEDS, BREEDING, REARING, AND GENERAL MANAGEMEffL-QJOOULTRY, UNIVERSITY WM. M. LEWIS. ILLUSTRATED WITH OVER ONE HUNDRED ENGRAVINGS. NEW YOKK: THE AMEBICAN NEWS COMPANY, 39 AND 41 CHAMBERS STREET. . Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1871, by D. D. T. MOORE, In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. Ri SSZLL BBOTHKBS, Printers, 17 to 23 Rose 8L ILLUSTRATIONS, PAGE. Artificial Hen 166 Mother, Graves' 167 Aylesbury Drake 80 Bantam Cock, Fertile Hen - feathered Game 169 Hen, Barren Full-feathered Sebright 168 Bantams, Black-breasted Red Game. ... 5? Duck-wing Game 5.7 Golden Sebright 68 Pekin or Cochin 67 Silver Sebright 67 Brahma Cock, Dark 30 Light 33 Hen, Dark 31 Capon Operating Table 146 Caponiziug Fowls Implements used . . 145 Position of Fowl on Operating Table 146,148 Chicken Coop and Wire Run 138 House, Exterior of Van Winkle's. . 127 Interior of Van Winkle's 128 Cochin Cock, Buff. 35 Hen, Buff. 36 Cochins, Pair of Partridge 37 Coop, A Close 130 Barrel 130 Pen 129 Pent or Lean-to 129 Rat-proof. 129 The Tent 129 Creve-Co3urs, Pair of. 62 Dominique Cock 66 Dorking Cock, White 43 Dorkings, Pair of Gray 44 Drake, Aylesbury 80 Rouen 81 Duck, Black Cayugn 85 Crested 83 House, Rustic 137 Tent-house 138 " Wood or Summer 85 Ducks, Feed Box for 136 Trio of Musk or Brazilian 83 Egg Carrier, Suspension 178 Case, Canvas-covered 178 Transportation Case 178 Eggs, Fertility of. 20 Farmer Fogy's Fowls 70 Feed Box for Ducks 136 Feeding Hopper, A Cheap 132 Double 133 Funnel and Cone of 132 Perfect 131 Scotch 131 Standard Self...... 132 Stool 132 Troughs (4 Illustrations) 134 Fountain, Barrel 135 Bottle 135 Ordinary 135 Fowl, Points of. 10 Vulture-hocks 15 Frizzled Fowls, Pair of. 41 Games, Black-Red 53 IV THE PEOPLE'S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK. Games, Duck-Wing 55 Earl Derby 52 Geese, Canada or American 89 Embden or Bremen 91 Toulouse 94 Goose, White Chinese 95 Guelders, Pair of 64 Hamburgs, Pair of Golden-Spangled. . . 46 Silver-Spangled 46 Hen-house, Mount's 118 Hennery for 200 to 250 fowls 121 Plan of Double 113 Houdans, Pair of. 61 Incubation Process illustrated 18, 19 Incubator, American 159 Brindley's 156 Geyelin's 154 Graves' 160, 161 Schroder's 157 Wortley's 158 La Fleche, Pair of. 63 Leghorns, Pair of 51 Malays, Pair of. 40 Nest, Turkey 139 Wicker-work 140 Wooden Box ; . 140 Poland Cock, Silver-Spangled 47 Hen, Silver-Spangled 48 Polands, Pair of Golden-Spangled 49 WMte Crested Black. . 50 Poultry Fountain, Ordinary 135 House and plan for 100 fowls 119 Virginia 114, 115 yards, Van Winkle's 110 Browne's 107, 108 Cheap 115, 120 Elevation, plan and yard 122 Fancy 125 Interior of Van Winkle's Ill Octagon 117 Octagonal (3 Illustrations) 123 Poor Man's 106 Rhode Island 114 Rustic 106 Mode of Packing 27 Rouen Drake 81 Shanghaes, Pair of White 39 Silky Fowls, Pair of. 69 Spanish Fowls, White and Black 59 Trap, Barrel 171 Skunk 173 Common Box 171 for Mink 172 Geyelin's Vermin 173 Miles' Vermin 174 Turkey, Bronze 74 Crested 77 Domestic 73 House and nest 139 Wild 75 [FOR GENERAL INDEX SEE PAGE 219.] OF THE UNIVERSITY PREFATORY AND INTRODUCTORY. IN presenting this volume, on the subject of the Breeding, Treatment and Management of Fowls to the public, we do so more for the purpose of supply- ing a need greatly felt by the American breeder and fancier, the amateur and beginner, and placing within the reach of all desiring a knowledge of poultry the breeds best for market purposes and as egg-producers a cheap and reliable guide. Not only shall we be able to present our own views and the results of our experience in poultry-rearing, diseases, their treatment, etc., in these pages, but the experiences of the most careful, scientific and reliable breeders and fanciers in this country, (as given from time to time, for the past twenty-one years, through the columns of the Agricultural Journals and other periodicals,) and place the same in juxta- position with each other, so that they will prove of the utmost value to the amateur breeder, as well as to the new beginner. We have often wondered why our rural population do not rear fowls more universally than they do. It has been demonstrated, beyond a perad- venture, that they can be reared with little expense by nearly every house- keeper, and can be made to pay an hundred fold on the investment. Not only can this be done by our rural population, but also by those living in cities and villages. Having had several years' experience in rearing fowls in a city, we can speak understandingly on the subject. Fowls can be bred in cities and villages equally as well as on the farm not on so large a scale, but with as much, if not more profit to the breeder. It requires but a small space to keep a dozen or twenty fowls in either of the localities mentioned; and then the pleasure it gives a person to know that with a little judicious management he will be able to supply his table with birds of his own rearing, and his larder with fresh eggs the year round, can well be imagined. Nothing, in our opinion, looks more comfortable, home-like and rural, than to see strutting about the premises of a city or village resident, a few select and well-kept fowls. Thus we have city and country, as it were, com- bined. Undoubtedly some city people, or the male portion of them, will object to this theory, on the plea that it would take too much of their valuable time to look after the fowls. This objection is easily overcome by vi THE PEOPLE'S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK. leaving the care of them in the hands of the good housewife, who would esteem it a great pleasure to care for the chicks and teach the children how to rear them. What is there that the farmer produces of quicker sale than eggs and poultry ? The prices which he receives therefor are in the main remunera- tive, the labor incurred is light and agreeable, and can be performed by the junior members of the family. The poultry yard produces food which is highly palatable and nutritious at all seasons, and in this respect is hardly equaled by any other department of the farm. Is it not worth while, then, to bestow more care and skill in managing poultry ? Left to themselves, half their products are often wasted, and half the year they are non-layers. In winter they need simply warmth, light and sunshine, clean, roomy quarters, and plenty of food. Every day they will pay for this. In the summer they want range, fresh earth, shade, water, seclusion, and protection from vermin. An abundance of eggs and broods of plump chickens, either for market or the farmer's table, will result from this care. If it is not feasible to carry on the poultry business on a large scale, it should be done on a medium scale ; for every farmer should make a couple of hundred dollars' worth of their products yearly, independent of fertilizing properties the farm receives in the manure saved from the hennery. It is our object, however, to especially impress upon the minds of village and city residents the importance and advantages of rearing and keeping fowls. We take it for granted that large and small farmers know their own interests in this matter. In villages there can be no excuse whatever for not breeding fowls, suc- cessfully and profitably. In nearly all the small villages in Europe fowls are bred by tenants ; their children make pets of them. Wherever there is a cottager's family living on potatoes, or better fare, may be seen a little pent- house, with nests of straw or hay for the fowls to lay in, and a speculation in eggs and chickens sought. It is said Americans are shrewd ; then why do they not demonstrate their shrewdness in this matter. We know, from past experience, that there is no money lost in keeping and rearing a few fowls, and a great deal of pleasure and profit derived from it. Viewing the matter in this light, with the hope of inducing our city, village and rural population to enter more fully into the breeding and rearing of fowls, we present this volume, and submit it, without further introduction, to the inspection, and we trust, favorable consideration of the public. W. M. L. BROOKLYN, N. Y., 1871. FOWLS -THEIR GENERAL MANAGEMENT. THERE is a great diversity of opinion in regard to the management of fowls, the particular and desirable breeds for all purposes, &c. First of all, their PROPER CARE AND KEEPING is essential to success, for a person may have the best known breeds, and if they are not properly cared for they will, in nine cases out of ten, prove a failure. Therefore we wish to impress upon the mind of the breeder, in the outset, that this needs attention more than purity of breed or superiority of kind. As a friend of ours said, " there exists gross neglect of the poor birds generally." This neglect is not confined to persons who have no fancy for fine poultry, but extends even to many who have the reputation of being fowl fanciers. Still, as before stated, for poultry to be remunerative there must be good management. In STARTING OUT IN THE BUSINESS, plans should be well matured and digested before hand. A good, convenient poultry house should be properly constructed, sufficiently large to contain the number of birds one desires, warm and dry in the winter, well ven- tilated, and it should be kept scrupulously clean. The house should not be over-crowded, but just large enough. Nothing is made by over-crowding the hennery ; on the contrary, it will prove detrimental. The fowls must be fed regularly and at stated periods. They must have plenty of pure water at hand at all times this is of as much importance to the health of the brood as proper food. If possible, they should also be given, in addition, a plat of grass for a run. Place within the hennery a dust heap ; this may consist of wood or coal ashes, sand, or dust from the streets. It should be kept under cover, so that it will not become drenched with rain or snow, and to it the fowls should have access at all times, to dust, and thereby rid them- selves, in a great degree, of the numerous parasites which infest them. The habit of GIVING TOO MUCH FOOD, to poultry, in a short space of time, is a very bad one. If one notices their habits he will perceive that the process of picking up their food under ordi- 8 THE PEOPLE'S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK. nary, or what we may call the natural condition, is a very slow one. Grain by grain is the meal taken, and with the aggregate no small amount of sand, pebbles, and the like, all of which, passing into the crop, assist digestion greatly. But in the "hen-wife's" mode of feeding poultry, a great heap is thrown down, and the birds are allowed to " peg away " at such a rate that their crop is filled too rapidly, and the process of assimilation is slow, painful and incomplete. No wonder that so many cases of choked craw are met with under this treatment. Many other diseases which affect chickens might be prevented by breeders, were a little precaution taken in the simple matter of feeding. TO PRODUCE EGGS. More eggs can perhaps be obtained from hens by mixing breeds than by any other mode ; and it is generally conceded that crossing also promotes the health of fowls far more than the vile practice, as some are pleased to term it, of in-and-in breeding. Little trouble need be apprehended from roup, gapes, cholera, and other diseases in poultry, if that care is observed in breeding and crossing that is so essential to all well regulated poultry yards. POSITION OF THE HENNERY AND RUNWAYS. As we said before, the hennery should be placed in a warm, dry location (not in a damp, out-of-the-way place) with runways ample to allow of plenty of exercise. Above all, care should be taken that vermin do not get a foot- hold in the hennery; for if they once make their appearance, it is difficult to exterminate them, and before the breeder is aware of it, his flock is over-run with them. Let the hennery be thoroughly cleansed with lime, (whitewash put on hot,) as often as once a month. If any of the fowls show symptoms of disease which is frequently the case when in confinement see that they are removed at once from the flock. Give good, wholesome food, with plenty of clean water ; have the laying boxes cleaned and renewed frequently with straw, hay or shavings, and, with the help of the good housewife and children, there need be no fear of failure to profitably raise poultry. If one does not succeed in the first undertaking, he should not become disheartened, but persist in his endeavors to find out the cause of failure, and obviate it in the future. In this connection we give the reply of Mr. WARREN LELAND, Rye, N. Y., an experienced and extensive breeder of fowls, to inquiries from a gentle- man who desired to engage in the poultry business in his old age. Mr. LE- LAND says : " I have found that for every hundred fowls you must give up at least an acre. But rough land is as good as any. Hens naturally love the bush, and I lop young trees, but leave a shred by which they live a year or more. These form hiding places and retreats for them. In such places they prefer to lay. I have great success, and it depends on three or four rules, by observing which I believe a good living can be made by hens and turkeys. I THE PEOPLE'S PEACTICAL POULTRY BOOK. 9 give my fowls great range. Eighteen acres belong to them exclusively. Then the broods have the range of another big lot, and the turkeys go half a mile or more from the house. The eighteen acres of poultry-yard is rough land, of little use for tillage. It has a pond in it, and many rocks, and bushes, and weeds, and sandy places, and ash heaps, and lime, and bones, and grass, and a place which I plow up to give them worms. " When a hen has set, I take her box, throw out the straw and earth, let it be out in the sun and rain a few days, and give it a good coat of whitewash on both sides. In winter, when it is very cold, I have an old stove in their house, and keep the warmth above freezing. There is also an open fire-place where I build a fire in cool, wet days. They dry themselves, and when the fire goes out there is a bed of ashes for them to wallow in. Summer and winter my hens have all the lime, ashes and sand they want. Another reason why I have such luck is because my poultry yards receive all the scraps from the Metropolitan Hotel. Egg making is no easy work, and hens will not do much of it without high feed. They need just what a man who works re- quires wheat bread and meat. Even when wheat costs two dollars I believe in feeding it to hens. As to breeds, I prefer the Brahmas, light and dark. I change roosters every spring, and a man on the farm has no other duty than to take care of my poultry. I frequently turn off three thousand spring chickens in a single season." BREEDING AND MATING. Too many fanciers and farmers, otherwise earnest in their business, are very careless concerning their fowls. Interbreeding certainly -degenerates particularly when so promiscuously permitted in a flock of fowls as is com- mon. There are the same good reasons for MAKING CHOICE OF THE BEST BREEDS OF FOWLS as for making the same choice in other stocks. For while a prime breed is as easily reared, fed and housed as a poorer one, there is a decided difference in the returns in favor of the former. If properly cared for, we do not hesitate to say that fowls of superior order do yield the farmer, even, the largest interest for the outlay he makes of any other stock he keeps. 10 THE PEOPLE S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK. In giving our own, and the opinions of others on the general principles of breeding and mating fowls, it will not be out of place to give here an illus- tration and description of THE DIFFERENT POINTS OF A FOWL, go that the reader may be able to name them, and judge therefrom, in his selection of stock for breeding purposes : A, Neck-hackle ; B, Saddle - hackle ; C, Tail; D, Breast; E, Upper Wing Cov- erts ; F, Lower Wing Coverts ; G, Primary Quills ; H, Thighs ; I, Legs ; K, Comb ; L, Wattles ; M, Ear Lobe. SELECTION OF COCKS AND HENS FOR BREEDING PURPOSES. A desirable thing in breeding is the selection of the cock. This, as all should understand, is a very important matter to be looked after ; another is the proper pro- portion of hens to be given to the cock. To breed a good fowl of any kind requires thought, skill, observation and study. The cock in all cases should be of good size, perfectly healthy and vigorous ; carry his head high, and have a quick, animated look, a strong and shrill voice; the bill thick and short, the comb of a fire red, bright color ; a membraneous wattle of a large size, and in color resembling the comb. He should be broad-breasted, with strong wings ; the plumage dark, the thighs muscular, and spry and trim on his legs ; free in his motions ; crow often, and scratch the earth with constancy in search of worms, not so much for himself as his mates ; when he is brisk, spirited, ardent and clever in caressing them, quick in defending them, attentive in soliciting them to eat, in keeping them together in the day, and assembling them at night, he will prove as a general thing, just the bird to breed from. The good qualities of hens, whether intended for laying or breeding, are of no less importance than those of the cock. The hen is deservedly the acknowledged pattern of maternal love. When her passion of philoprogenitiveness is disappointed by the failure or separation of her own brood, she will either go on sitting, till her natural powers fail, or she will violently kidnap the young of another fowl, and insist upon adopting them. But all hens are not alike. They have their little whims and fancies, likes and dislikes, as capricious and unaccountable as those of other females. Some are gentle in their manners and disposition, others are sanguinary ; some are lazy, others energetic almost to insanity. To succeed in the matter 11 of the selection of hens for mating and breeding purposes requires care, study and a considerable degree of patience. THE NUMBER OF HENS TO A COCK, ETC. We have no hesitancy in recommending to breeders the following ratio of hens to a cock of the breed named : Houdans, twenty hens to two cocks ; Creve-Cceurs, eight hens to one cock; Buff Cochins, twenty-four hens to two cocks ; Gray Dorkings, ten hens to one cock ; White Leghorns, four- teen hens to one cock ; Spanish, twelve hens to one cock ; Brahmas, twelve hens to one cock ; Hamburgs, fourteen hens to one cock ; Polands, twelve hens to one cock ; Game, ten hens to one cock. With this proportion of hens to a cock the vitality of the eggs will prove good, and at least eleven out of twelve eggs set will produce " chicks." For breeding purposes, we inclose in a yard ten or fifteen hens of each variety we desire to propagate, and with them one cock ; if we have two or more cocks whose qualities are equal, we think it preferable to change every two days, leaving only one cock with the hens at a time. Two weeks are necessary to procure full bloods, and we -prefer the eggs the third rather than the second week. We are told by a breeder of some considerable experience with fowls that to determine the exact proportion of cocks and hens to be allowed to run together for breeding purposes is not an easy problem. He says : " While with some varieties, as the Cochins, three or four, or even two, are ample, (though we have seen cocks of that variety that would serve ten or a dozen ;) in others, twelve to fifteen are not too many. It is impossible to give any definite number for a rule. We have had pairs that did well, the eggs hatched well, and the hen did not suffer from the over-attention of the cock ; and again, we have been obliged to put in one, two, three, four and even more additional hens of common stock, with a trio of pure-bred fowls, to keep the blooded hens from being injured. Especially is this the case with the Houdans and Creve-Cceurs ; the cocks of both these breeds seem to be very vigorous, and require not less than four or six hens to run with them. The Dark Brahmas also need not less than four hens with the cock when he is young and vigorous. It was a favorite theory of ours, some years since, that poultry should be bred in pairs or trios. Because in the wild state, they ran in pairs, so also, should they do in the domesticated state. It is needless to say that our theory would not work when carried into practice. Perhaps, were a pair of fowls given a range of ten, twenty or more acres, and left to forage for themselves, one or two hens would be all the cock could attend ; but confined to an acre or less, and fed on stimulating food, the bird's nature becomes, as it were, changed, and he feels himself qualified for greater deeds. We have seen a hen's back and sides all cut open by the cock's spurs, and the owner was complaining that the hen did not lay. If he had given her three or four companions his cause of complaint would have ceased. The only mode of deciding the question is by watching the fowls. We have 12 THE PEOPLE'S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK. known instances, though rare, of a cock serving twenty to twenty^nVe hens, and the eggs being very fertile. Again, a cock was cooped up with four hens, and it was found that when penned with two the eggs hatched twenty- five per cent, better than with the four. We think the latter case is of rare * occurrence ; a safe average is four to six hens to a cock. A few days' ob- servation will enable one to tell whether more or less hens are needed. A young cock that has had a dozen or twenty hens to run with the first year is rarely fit for more than three or four the second. But if well cared for the first, and allowed not more than six hens, he is usually good for three or four years' service. We know many are prejudiced against using old cocks, and usually their prejudice is founded on experience like the above. A young cock with old hens is our preference for breeding stock, though many reverse it and put an old cock with young pullets. We know the hen lays a larger egg than the pullet, and a large egg must certainly bring out a larger chick than a small one ; and, as a rule, (to which there are many exceptions,) a young cock is more vigorous than an old one. Therefore we think this selec- tion preferable. Some, we are aware, contend that the cock has more in- fluence on the progeny than the hen, and that an old cock, being more mature and developed, will throw better chicks. Such has not been our experience, however, after a close observation of several years' duration." PREMIUM BIRDS DO NOT PRODUCE THE BEST CHICKENS. For the purpose of more fully carrying out our idea of breeding fowls to perfection and pointing out their imperfections, we have selected the Brahma as an example, (the principle will apply to any other breed,) and in this connection give, from Moore's Rural New-Yorker, the experience and advice of a gentleman who makes the breeding of fowls a science. He says: " Premium birds do not always produce the best chickens. Good results may often be obtained from moderate stock, provided that they be so selected that the defects of the cock may be counteracted by those of the hens. Size in the Brahma is not of so mueh importance as most people give to it. Fine, large chickens may be reared from small parents by proper care and attention, and good, regular and judicious feeding. INFLUENCE UPON THE FANCY POINTS. " The cock has the most influence upon the fancy points, while the hen has most upon the form and size. If more attention were paid to the shape and straightness of the comb of the cock, we should see less of those grave defects which so frequently mar whole pens. I have seen magnificent birds with such crooked and fungus-like combs as would almost disqualify them in my opinion. Judges have been too liberal with these defects. It is quite time such liberality was stopped. Crooked combs should be bred out and not tolerated. The comb is one of the most prominent characteristics of the bird, and almost the first object which meets the eye. It touches our sense of the beautiful immediately to see a small head and straight comb, 13 and docile look. And the head of a Brahma fowl should possess these quali- fications ; too much importance should not be given to breeding for weight or largeness of carcass, over other qualifications. I admire in the Brahma fowl a large frame, of symmetrical proportions and corresponding weight; but a fattened fowl is only fit for the table. I should rather breed from a small cock with a perfect comb than a large one with a crooked comb. A lively cock, mated with large hens, is preferable to a sluggish cock and small hens. Length of legs in a cock is of less importance than in a hen ; and in order to get size and proportion you must have due length of legs ; and even in a hen, it maybe counteracted by judicious mating. A narrow cock and a very wide hen are more likely to breed well than the reverse. It is to the male bird the breeder must look for perfection or defects in the comb, the beautiful yellow color of the legs, and all the fine points of the Brahma. " As to the penciling, I am convinced, by considerable experience, that the two sexes bear a proportionate influence to each other, although I should not hesitate to say that there is more probability of breeding good chickens from a perfectly and darkly penciled pullet or hen and an inferior cook than from a badly colored or marked hen and a cock of superior blood. A hen with a bad comb, mated with a cock whose comb is small and fine, will throw some very fine chickens. A cock with a drooping back and saddle should be mated with a hen very high towards the tail ; and if his hackle be short or scanty, that of the hen should be unusually sweeping and full. If any white stain should appear in the ear lobes, it is very apt to perpetuate itself, and particular care should be taken that the other sex has no sign of it, through several degrees. In shape, style and carriage, the Dark and Light varieties of the Brahma fowl should be precisely similar. In the Light, I think the breeders of this country have surpassed the English. The Light now stands almost on equality with the Dark in size, shape, and in general popularity. The comb of this fowl especially must be more closely looked after. A defective comb tells wofully against the bird. You must breed them even, low and straight. You cannot, I know, get this point to perfection in the cock until a strain has been bred for years. No pure strain ought to breed a comb in which the peculiar triple character is not perfectly distinct. SHAPE OF THE COMB AND HEAD. " There is a diversity of opinion as to the shape of the comb. It should not exceed half an inch in hight, and instead of rising from the front towards the back and ending in a peak, I should prefer to see it, after arising for half or two-thirds of its length, decrease again towards the back, forming a kind of arch. This kind of comb not only looks well and symmetrical, but according to experience, is likely to breed far more true than any other. The head of the Brahma cannot be too small in proportion to the body. There is no point in this fowl that so truly indicates the high breeding or the blood of the strain as the smallness of the head, and you will find that a small head is accompanied by fineness of flesh, a point never to be lost sight of in this 14 THE PEOPLE'S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK. class. I placed a dark hen of this variety in a coop by itself on exhibition at our poultry show merely to give those interested in the matter those points in perfection which I claim we must reach before we can say we have finished pur labors in this respect. THE GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS. "In all the original Brahmas the deaf -ears fell below the wattles; and this point was mentioned by Dr. BENNET as a characteristic of the breed ; and the perpetuation of this should be carefully looked after. The neck- hackle should start well out just below the head, making a full sweep, and marking the point of juncture between the head and neck very distinctly by an apparent hollow or depression. The hackles can hardly be too full, and should descend low enough to flow over the back and shoulders. The more perfect you can get this, the nobler the carriage and appearance of the bird. A short or scanty hackle is a very great blemish. The hocks should be well covered with soft curling feathers. A cock with hocks a little out should not be deprecated, and as sometimes is, by the inexperienced, discarded. This class of hock, when properly mated with fine built hens, scantily feathered on the legs and toes, throw very fine full-booted birds. While I should con- demn all vulture-hocked fowls to the gridiron, there are exceptions where I have bred from a very large, finely-formed hen, with handsomely and dis- tinctly marked pencilings, with great success, by mating them with a clean shanked cock with the proper marking; and have thrown four good birds to one hocked. No bird of this species should, when full grown, be considered fit for exhibition, unless the cock weighs twelve pounds, and hens from eight to nine pounds ; and if a cockerel does not weigh eight pounds at six or eight months, he will rarely prove a show bird. BREEDING AND MATING FOR SIZE, ETC. " Iii breeding for size, select a short, compact, deep-bodied cockerel, which need not be large, and mate him with long backed hens, even if their legs are longer than usual. Although length of back is a decided fault, such a cross will generally breed well ; the hen supplying the form, while the cock fills out to the proper proportion. Long, dangy, large-boned cocks may be mated with compact, short-legged hens, with the same result ; but the first mentioned cross will produce better results. Fine chickens may be reared from the eggs of pullets ; but the best chickens, as a rule, are got by mating either a two-year-old cock or a cockerel, with hens in their second season ; their chickens fledge more quickly, and attain maturity sooner. Hens mated with cockerels turn out more male birds, while cocks mated with pullets, will produce a goodly proportion of pullets. I should not hesitate mating cock- erels with pullets, if they be fine, strong-boned birds, hatched in March or the early part of April. A great many birds are spoiled by breeding from a cock of one strain and hens of different strains, and different styles of pen- cilings. If my presumption may be excused, I should advise the different THE PEOPLE'S PRACTICAL POULTKY BOOK. 15 breeders of this country to make up their minds respectively, as to the style and markings of the birds they deem most desirable to breed, and breed them uniformly and closely t9 the standard they have adopted. The popular taste will soon settle the question. You can always have fresh blood, if you keep two or three pens, and you can go on for years without crossing your breeds, and running the risk of bad blood or a motley brood, with no uniformity of shape or markings. BKEEDING IN-AND-IN. " Do not feel too much anxiety about breeding in-and-in. Parent and offspring, and even brother and sister, may be bred from with safety and suc- cess for several years with this class of fowls. No breed has such stamina aa the Brahma, and if any mishap does occur, it will not be so aggravated as it would be by the concentration of bad blood ; therefore, it stands you in hand to be very careful what strain you purchase, and to know if the party has bred from distinct strains or indiscriminately. It is a work of time to breed fine strains, and considerable patience is requisite. It is in this respect that parties make a great mistake in going about from yard to yard, selecting here and there a bird from one, and cock, &c., from another, to gratify their vanity, with the hope of winning a few prizes, to the great detriment of the stock and disappointment of purchasers of the same, if they should breed from them. In the Light Brahma it is very necessary to secure a sufficient amount of color in the cock. The tendency of all poultry is to get lighter if indiscriminately bred ; therefore, you should select cocks of the proper dark- ness for breeding stock. The saddle should only be lightly striped, for if it contains too much black or the neck-hackle too dark, you will produce spotted backs. I will set down two rules, either of which can be applied to suit the wants of the breeder : 1 . Very heavy penciled cocks must be used to get heavy penciled (chicks) cocks. 2. Very dark hackled hens and light pen- ciled hackled cocks will get nice hackled pullets." VULTURE HOCKED FOWLS. Vulture hocked birds are a disqualification to any brood of fowls, with few exceptions, and should be eschewed in all breeding stock. The vulture hock is the projec- tion of feathers behind the knee, and inclining towards the ground, as shown in the accompany- ing illustration. The feathers of a fowl's leg usually should be close round the knee, and the leg clean below it. The breeds in which the vulture hock is necessary are Serai -ta-ooks, Booted Bantams, and Ptarmigan fowls. Where the vulture hock makes its appearance, unwished for, and where its presence is considered a grave fault, is among Cochins and Brahmas- The fault will sometimes appear in the progeny, but in fowls, as 16 in everything else, the perfect birds form the exception, and as Dr. BENNETT gays, " to have many of them it is only necessary to breed well and kill well. By this process you will get rid of the vulture hock." CROSSING THE BEEED. As we have said elsewhere, to insure successful and beneficial crossing of distinct breeds, in order to produce a new and what may be considered a valuable variety, the breeder should be well versed in the laws of procreation, and the varied influences of parents upon their offspring. It is avered that all fowls bred in this country are crosses or made breeds, either by design or accident. Therefore crossing does not necessarily produce a breed ; but on the other hand, it always produces a variety, and that variety becomes a dis- tinctive breed only where there is a sufficiency of stamina to make a dis- tinctive race, and continue a progeny with the uniform or leading character- istics of its progenitors. In crossing one breed with another we should say put a light cock with dark hens or vice versa, as in this case there is more liability of producing not only a new variety, but also some fine birds in the brood. Care is required in this matter, as in all others, (in mating for cross- breeding,) and patience is indispensable to success. All disqualified birds should be taken from the pen at the earliest moment, and sent to the table, leaving the best selections to breed from. We have made a fine cross by placing a dark Brahma hen with a white Dorking cock, and, on another occa- sion, made a good cross by placing a White-faced Black Spanish cock with a white Dorking pullet. There is no question but that good and valuable breeds of fowls, of beautiful plumage, may be thrown by these crosses. SETTING HENS AND INCUBATION. THE NUMBER OP EGGS TO PUT UNDER A HEN. ONE of the most important points to be observed in setting eggs for hatching, is to correctly proportion the number, taking into consideration their size, and the size of the hen about to sit upon them. The state of the weather should also be a guide ; for a hen capable of setting upon and hatch- ing thirteen eggs in June ought not to have more than ten in January. The great error of setting a hen upon more eggs than she can cover is a cause of very general disappointment. We have frequently seen cross-bred game and other small hens set upon thirteen eggs, when it was perfectly clear to us that it would be impossible for them all to receive a proper and equal share of heat from her body. It is absolutely certain, also, that a hen cannot hatch out chickens from those eggs which she cannot draw close up to her body and give to them the natural warmth they require in the process of in- cubation. This has been very clearly demonstrated to us ; for upon one occasion we placed fifteen eggs under a hen, when we ought not at any sea- son to have given more than twelve, or, at the most, thirteen, and while out at feeding time, we examined the nest and found only thirteen eggs left. We at first thought the hen might havo eaten them ; but, after one or two exami nations, we found sometimes thirteen and at others fourteen eggs present. We determined upon catching the hen one morning while off to feed, after finding there were only thirteen eggs in the nest. We cautiously laid hold of her, when she unfortunately dropped one egg and broke it ; upon a further examination we found the other missing egg under her wing. We replaced the egg in the nest and found that she regularly removed one or two of them ; thus it was apparent that she had more eggs under her than the surface of her body could possibly cover by contact. This marvelous fact proved the existence, first, of the beautiful principle we term instinct, and the ardent natural desire for carrying out to the fullest extent the remarkable operation we understand as incubation. THE PROPER HENS TO SET. A half-breed game or other small hen should be chosen for a natural in- cubator (they have always, with us, proved the best breed) and nine of her own eggs should be the extent ; if a Dorking or a large size mongrel hen be selected, eleven are sufficient ; a Cochin hen of some of the strains we 2 18 THE PEOPLE'S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK. have seen, will even cover fifteen of her own or eggs of similar size ; but even in this instance, it is best to err on the safe side, and give her but thir- teen eggs. Cochins and Brahmas have a large width of breast and a large amount of fluff and feather, both features being highly conducive to success- ful hatching, by assisting to retain the heat of the body of the birds and of the eggs also. CLOSE-SETTING HENS. There are some hens over-anxious about the chicks within the shells, whose cry for deliverance they can distinctly hear ; and they do not rise from off the eggs during the process of clipping. This is an operation we have continually observed with hens that are very successful in hatching, while those which sit too closely at the last stages are those whose excess of kind- ness has produced the non, or limited, success in hatching out good broods. The only good arising from any sprinkling of the eggs with water results from their having received an increased and life-saving supply of air during such process, without which, in many instances, the chicks would either have been suffocated or glued to the shell. THE PROCESS OF INCUBATION of the chicken is a subject not only curious but very interesting to the student of nature. It generally takes twenty-one days to hatch a brood of chickens, although a close-setting hen will sometimes hatch in eighteen days, if the weather is favorable. The expiration of the time should be carefully watched for ; not that the chicken requires any assistance, but, on the contrary, interference is much more likely to prove an injury than a benefit. A healthy chick will perform all that is required to free it from the shell. It is wonder- ful the power they possess while rolled up in so apparently helpless a mass ; the head, however, that makes the most exertion to free itself, is placed so as to leave room for reaction, and to turn round, and thus to peck a circle, (as shown in the ac- companying engraving,) and breaks around the large end of the shell, ad- mitting the air by degrees, until it becomes gradually prepared to extricate itself. A rash attempt to help them by breaking the shell, more particularly in a downward direction, toward the smaller end, is frequently followed by a loss of blood, which can ill be spared, and death ensues. We place the nest in a warm, sheltered place, and have fresh food and water near at hand so that the hen can help herself whenever oho io so in- clined. Should the nest become dirty, change it, or even wash the eggs in tepid water. As fast as the chickens break the shell, place them in a basket of cotton-wool by the fire, to avoid the danger of the mother's crushing them while they are helpless. "When all have hatched, they may be returned to the hen. The yolk of a hard boiled egg should constitute their food dur- THE PEOPLE'S PRACTICAL POULTRY BOOK. 19 ing the first week ; after which coarser food may be given. When fully fledged, give them their liberty in the heat of the day, and house them be- fore sunset. Never permit them to wander in the grass when the dew is on,