UCSB LIBRARY \ V: DOMESTIC POULTRY: ffraxtkal Criatiae PREFERABLE BREEDS OF FARM-YARD POULTRY, THEIR HISTORY AND LEADING CHARACTERISTICS WITH COMPLETE INSTRUCTIONS FOR BREEDING AND PATTEN- ING, AND PREPARING FOR EXHIBITION AT POULTRY SHOWS, ETC., ETC. ; DERIVED FROM THE AUTHOR'S EXPERIENCE AND OBSERVATION BT SIMON M. SATINDERS. EDITION. NEW-YORK : ORANGE JUDD & CO., 41 PARK ROW. 1867. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the vear 1866, by ORANGE JUDD, in tne Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Southern District of New York. TO TJr. EJ B EJ N \V I GUI T, OF BOSTON, Corresponding Secretary of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society, Etc., Etc., THIS LITTLE WORK IS MOST RESPECTFULLY, AND BY PERMISSION, D E D I G A TED, IN RECOGNITION OF HIS SERVICES TO AMERICAN POULTBT FANCIESB. GJOL.I>EIV RULES. Never over feed. Never allow any food to lie about. Never feed from trough, pan, basin, or any vessel. Iked only while the birds will run after the feed, and not at all if they seem careless about it. Give adult fowls their liberty at daybreak. Never purchase eggs for hatching purposes until a hen is ready to sit. For seven or eight days before hatching, sprinkle the eggs with cold water while, the hen is off. This will prevent the frequent complaint that the chicken was dead in the shell INTRODUCTORY, The object of the present treatise is, to present a simple description of the various useful breeds of domestic poul- try, exhibiting plainly and practically the best methods of their management, and the determining the purity of the variety selected for rearing by the young poultry fancier. Most of the poultry books of the day are voluminous, valu- able chiefly to those acquainted with the subject. Their minute accounts of breeds of poultry seldom seen on this continent, tend to swell the pages of the book without the dissemination of practically useful knowledge. In this treatise, I have endeavored to avoid, as much as possible, such a superfluity. Yet I do not place myself before the public as a rival to the numerous writers on the subject. I pretend not to rival them the field (like the world) is wide enough for all. A few portions of the work must necessarily treat of the same subjects as theirs, although a good deal that is new, I trust, will be found. I have given, with my own experience, that of well known poultry fanciers and ^ hen-wives," among which will be found that of C. 1ST. Bement, Miss E. Watts, Mrs. Ferguson Blair, John Baily, M. Jacque, and Mariot Didieux. My aim is to fur- nish a brief but authentic and reliable work on poultry, without embarrassing the reader with useless theories and projects not feasible, and with the hope that my labors may not be found useless, I place my unpretending work before my readers. S. M. SAUNDERS. Port Richmond, Staten Island, JV. Y. (5) AUTHORS CITED. Allen, Hon. L. F., on Dorkings Bailey, John, on Brahmas .................................................. 35 Bailey, John, on Dorkings . ............................................... 45 Brent, B. P., on Dorkings .............................. .................... 42 Columella, on 5-toed Hens ................................. - .............. 43 Didieux, Mariot, on Dorkings .............................................. 46 Dixon, E. S., on Dorkings .................................................... 47 Douglas, John, on Roup and Gapes ...... .' .................................. 83 Fuller, Her. R. W., on Brahmas ............................................. 37 Geyelin, G. K., (in Appendix) ................................................ 107 Giles, John, on Aylesbury Ducks ........................................... 96 Jaque, Charles. , ............................................................. 71 Millett-Robinet, Madame, on Brahmas ...................... ....^ .......... 36 Smith, G. B., on Brahmas .................................................... 34 Thompson, J. C., on Brahmas ............................................... 38 White, H. G., on Brahmas .................................................. 40 Wight, Dr. Eben, on Brahmas .............................................. 38 Wight, Dr. Eben, on Dorkings .............................................. 40 CONTENTS. Dedication...... 3 Golden Rules 4 Introduction Authors Cited , 6 List of Illustrations.... . ... 8 Origin of our Domestic Fowls 9 Poultry Houses 10 Feeding of Poultry 15 Breeding and Management of Chickens 19 Fattening of Poultry 22 Diseases of Fowls 29 Brahma Pootra Fowls 34 Dorking Fowls 41 Spanish Fowls 49 Game Fowls 64 Malay Fowls 60 Cochin China Fowls 62 Hamburgh Fowls 66 Poland Fowls 68 Bantams 70 Leghorn Fowls 73 French Breeds of Fowls Crevecceur, Houdan, La Fleche 75 The Domestic Turkey 81 The Guinea Fowl 86 The Domestic Goose China, Bremen, Toulouse 89 Feeding and Management of Ducks 93 White Aylesbury Ducks 95 The Musk or Muscowy Duck 97 The Rouen Duck 100 Poultry for Exhibition 102 Appendix Mr. Geyelin's Visit to the Poultry Yards of France 107116 Terms and Technicalities 117 Index ...119 (7) LIST OP ILLUSTRATIONS. Brahma Pootra Fowls (Frontispiece) Boxes for Nests 12 Fowl House, 6X6 feet, Elevation and Plan 14 Hen Coops ..20 Coop for Fattening Fowls ..22 White Dorking Cock, Single Combed ,. 42 Foot of Dorking Cock 43 Foot of Dorking Pullet 43 Grey Dorking Cock and Hen, Rose Combed 44 Black Spanish Cock i. 50 Black Spanish Cock, Head of 51 Black Spanish Hen 52 Black-breasted Red Game Cock 55 Malay Cock 60 Cochin China Cock and Hen 63 Poland Fowls Silver Spangled and Black 69 Group of Bantam Fowls 72 Group of French Fowls 76 Head of Houclan Cock. 77 Crevecoeur Cock 78 Combs of Cre veccaur Cock 79 Comb of La Fleche 80 Bronze Turkey Gobbler 82 Bronze Hen Turkey 84 Toulouse Geese 89 Bremen or Embden Geese 91 Pair of Rouen Ducks 101 Illustration of Terms \\: DOMESTIC POULTRY; HOW TO REAR AND FATTEN. ORIGIN OP OUR DOMESTIC FOWLS. The common fowl is generally supposed to be of Indian origin, and nothing can be learned respecting their ances- try until within a comparatively recent epoch. Nobody really knows the earliest date of their domesticity. Some suppose it must have been coeval with the keeping of sheep by Abel, which view has a reasonable amount of probability, as the oldest son of Japhet was called Gomer, signifying a cock. Aristotle, 350 years before Christ, speaks of them familiarly as "household words." Among the Greeks and Romans the fowl early figured in the public shows. It was dedicated to Apollo, to Mercury, to ^Esculapius, and to Mars, and its courage and watch- fulness were well appreciated. The Rhodian fowls and those of Delos, Medea and Persia were celebrated for their superiority in fighting, and for the excellency and delicacy of their flesh. Cock-fighting was a diversion in consonance with the tastes of the Romans, and they were as much devoted to it as are the Malays of the present day, who frequently stake their all upon the issue of a single battle. "When the Romans, under Julius Cassar, invaded Britain, they found the fowl and goose domes- ticated, but these, as also the hare, were forbidden as food, 1* 10 DOMESTIC POULTET. They are, in fact, one of man's oldest, and most important acquisitions; passing from generation to generation for thousands of years, and branching out into so many varie- ties that every breeder will find a peculiarity in some of them to please his fancy. It is only on the most valued varieties I mean to dwell, giving brief and explanatory statements of their origin, their peculiarities of plumage, points and form, and, of the tests for purity of blood. POULTRY HOUSES. It is only of late years that poultry-houses have been much thought of. In large farmyards, where there are cart-houses, calf-pens, pig-styes, cattle-sheds, shelter under the eaves of barns, and numerous other roosting places, not omitting the trees in the immediate vicinity, I do not think they are required, for fowls will generally do better by choosing for themselves ; and it is, beyond a doubt, more healthy for them to be spread about in this manner than to be confined to one place. But a love of order on the one hand, and a dread of thieves, foxes, or skunks on the other, will usually make it desirable to have a pro- per poultry-house. The exterior is a matter of taste ; but internally, the comfort and well-doing of the poultry must be the only consideration, and the higher the house is, the less likeli- hood there is of disease or taint. Another advantage of having it lofty is, that the currents of air through the build- ing, being far above the fowls, purify the air without interfering with their comfort. They do not like a draught, and if, while they are perching, an opening is made admit- ting one, they will be seen to rouse up to alter their posi- tion, and at last to seek some other place to avoid it. POULTRY HOUSES. 11 The best guide in all these things is nature, and an ob- server will always find that poultry choose a sheltered spot. They also carefully avoid being exposed to cold winds. The poultry-house should not open to the North or East. The perches should 'not be more than twenty-four inches from the ground. None are better than fir or sassafras poles, about fourteen niches in circumference, sawn in half in the center. They should be supported on ledges, fast- , ened to each side of the house. This aifords every facility . for removing them for purposes of cleaning, at the same time that it is very simple. All perches should be on the same level, none higher than the other. My reason for being thus particular in my description of the perch is, that to mistakes in its construction and posi- tion many disorders in the feet of fowls may be attributed. For instance, it has been complained that large fowls be- came lame, and what we term bumble-footed, more especi- ally when carefully kept in poultry-houses. Now, the rea- son for it is obvious their perches are too high. In the morning the cock flies from the perch eight to twelve feet high ; the whole weight of his body, added to the impulse of his downward flight, brings him in contact with the ground. Often, from the violence of his fall, small stones are forced through the skin of the balls of the feet. They fester, and if that does not occur, they become so tender that the bird dare no longer perch: he roosts on the ground, and, for want of the necessary exercise, his legs swell, at the knees, and he becomes a sleepy, useless fowl. This will be avoided by having low perches. Some well- informed authorities deem high perches of no consequence, provided the fowls have a plank with cross-pieces reaching them from the ground. But I believe these are only used to ascend; the descent is generally done by flight. It is very necessary the house should be well ventilated ; it may be done either by an iron grating or an omissior 12 DOMESTIC POULTRY. of bricks in the building, but the ventilators should ho considerably above the perches, and in severe weather may be entirely closed. It is an improvement to have a ceiling to the house ; a very slight and common one will do, and it is not absolutely necessary. The house should be often cleaned out, and the walls whitewashed. The floor should be of earth, well rammed down and covered with loose gravel two inches deep. This is easily kept clean by draw- ing a broom lightly over it every morning, and if it is raked, it is kept even and fresh. There should be an open- ing towards the West or South for the fowls to go in and out ; and this should never be closed, as fowls are fond of rambling early in the morning, and picking up such food as is to be found at break of day. It should not be allowed that any poultry roost in the house but fowl no ducks, turkeys, geese, or any other sort. Neither may there be too many fow r ls, lest the house be- come tainted and the birds sickly. The poultry-house should have three compartments ; one, the largest, for roosting, another for laying, and another for sitting ; though, if it is desired to curtail the accommodations, two compartments might suffice that is, one for roosting and laying, and the other for hatching taking care, however, that the nests for laying are not in too close proximity to the roosting- poles. In both the laying and Fig. l. BOXES. sitting rooms, boxes (as in fig. 1) should be placed against the side of the house, on the floor ; all that is required is to fasten up boards against the wall, each being twenty inches high, the same length, and eighteen inches apart. This affords 1 the hen ah 1 the privacy she requires. About eighteen inches from the wah 1 a wooden head should be put, just high enough to preveut the eggs from rolling out. POULTRY HOUSES. 13 It may not be out of place to mention, that, as no hen should be allowed to lay where the others are sitting and difficulty maybe experienced with some, from their almost unconquerable repugnance to sit anywhere but where they have been laying. It may be stopped in this way : move the hen and her eggs at night into the sitting-house, and cover her until morning, by hanging sacks, or old carpets, or matting over the boards forming her sitting-place, and she will remain quiet and satisfied. The door of the sitting-house should always be shut when hens are on their eggs, and it should, therefore, have a window, to open in the summer, but to shut quite close in the winter. When the window is, however, open, a wire frame or piece of lattice-work, should supply its place, to prevent laying hens from intruding. There is one addition to a poultry-yard so advantageous to chickens that those who have once tried it will never be without it. I mean a covered run for them, to be used in wet weather. Any sort of roof will do, and it should be in a sheltered spot, running the length of the yard, and projecting six to twelve feet from the wall or close fence against which it is placed. It should be exposed to the sun, and sheltered from cold winds. The floor should be raised above the level of the yard, and covered with sand and wood ashes, some inches deep. The hens with chickens may be put here under their coops, in wet or stormy weather, and it aifords at all times a favorite resort for poultry to bask and take their dust-bath, which is essential to their well-doing. The flooring should be higher at the back than the front. There is nothing better for the bottom of a nest than a eod of grass. On this should be placed straw. A nest so made is healthier for the hen and chickens, as it admits of sufficient ventilation, and is always free from vermin. It is essential both doors and windows of roosting- 14 DOMESTIC rOTTLTKY. places should be open during the day for the purpose of ventilation. The floor should slant every way towards the door, to facilitate the cleaning, and to avoid anything like wet. It should be well cleaned every day, and it should be raised above the lev- el of the surrounding ground ; it should have no artificial floor, such as boards, bricks, tiles,or stones of any kind, but should be of good hard earth and loose gravel not disposed to be muddy from its Fig. 2. FOWL HOUSE, 6x6. a, Door; b, Ventilators; c, Brackets; d, Entrance. occupants going in and out in wet weather. It should open on ground perfectly free for the poultry to run in ; and if a high dry spot on light soil can be chosen, so much the better. The roof should be quite air and water tight. It is not necessary to build expensive houses. I keep a cock and five hens in a wooden house. (See fig. 2.) It is seven feet high in the centre, six feet square in- side, and is planned as in fig. 3. Such a house will cost, being made of pine wood, about fifteen dollars, and will last many years. It is portable, by passing poles through the brackets, (c, c, Fig. 2) on each side. It has no floor. A coating 6*6 Fig. 3. PLAN. Door; b, Laying Boxes; c, Perch. of tar or paint will prevent the boards from splitting. FEEDING OF POULTBY. 15 FEEDING OF POULTRY. it is difficult to assign any portion of food as a sufficient jdantity for a given number of fowls, because so much de- pends on the nature of their run, and the quantity and quality of food to be found. For instance : in a farmyard where the barn-door is always open, and operations scat- tering grain and hay seed continually going on, adult birds require little or no feeding ; but if the supply be stopped, then they must be fed by hand. A good healthy growing fowl will consume, weekly, two-thirds of a gallon of corn or wheat ; and if the bird come from a yard where it has been but poorly fed, it will, for a time, eat more than this ; but after it has got up in flesh and condition, it gradually eats less, and two-thirds, or even half the quantity, will keep it in good condition. Again : the weather must be considered ; in mild, damp weather they prowl about and pick up many things as insects, worms, young herbage. These all assist ; but in frosty and, above all, in snowy weather they require generous feeding. Do not spare good food for chickens; they require plenty while they are growing, and they will make a good return in health and vigor, when arriving at maturity. Those who are obliged to keep fowls in confinement, should have large sods of grass cut, and let the earth be heavy enough to enable them to tear oif the grass, without being obliged to drag the sod about with them. Where there is a family, and consequent consumption, there are many auxiliaries, such as bread crumbs, groats that have been used for gruel, etc. But it must be borne in mind, that these are in the place of other food, and not in addition to 16 DOMESTIC POULTRY. it. When they can be had, other food should be dimin- ished. I am not an advocate for cooked vegetables, ex- cept potatoes. Boiled cabbage is worse than nothing. In fact, it must be borne in mind, corn, either whole or cracked, is the staple food, and the others are helps. Do not give fowls meat ; but always have the bones thrown out to them after dinner ; they enjoy picking them, and perform the operation perfectly. Do not feed on raw meat. It makes fowls quarrelsome, and gives them a pro- pensity to pick each other especially in moulting time, if the accustomed meat be withheld. Hundreds have pur- chased birds above all, Cochin Chinas on account of their great weight, which, being the result of meat-feeding, has proved a real disease, incapacitating them for breed- ing. When proper food is provided, all is not accom- plished ; it must be properly given. No plan is so extrav- agant, or so injurious, as to throw down heaps once or twice a day. They should have it scattered as far and wide as possible, that the birds may be long and healthily employed in finding it, and may not accomplish in a few minutes that which should occupy them for hours. For this reason, every sort of feeder or hopper is bad. It is the nature of fowls to take a grain at a time, and to pick grass and dirt with it, which assist digestion ; but if, con- trary to this, they are enabled to eat corn by mouthfuls, their crops are soon overfilled, and they seek relief in ex- cessive draughts of water. Nothing is more injurious than this ; and the inactivity that attends the discomfort caused by it, lays the foundation of many disorders. While speak- ing of food, it may be observed, that when, from traveling or other cause, a fowl has fasted a long time, say thirty or forty- eight hours, it should not have any hard food, neither should it have water at discretion. For the first three hours it should only have a small portion say a tea- cupful of sopped bread, very wet ; so much so, as to serve FEEDING OF POULTRY. 17 for food and drink. If the bird appear to suffer much from the journey, instead of bread and water, give bread and ale. Btit the food given them by hand is not all that is essen- tial. There is the natural food, sought out and divided by the hen to her progeny such as insects of all kinds, peculiar herbage, etc. And it is here well to remark, that where fowls are bred for exhibition or other special pur- poses as cocks for fighting a hen should not be allowed to rear more than six chickens, as she can not find this food for a greater number ; and if they are intended to be supe- rior to all others, they must have greater, or at least equal advantages with those they will have to compete against. In most poultry-yards more than half the food is wasted. The same quantity is thrown down day after day, without reference to the time of year, alteration of numbers, or va- riation of appetite ; and that which is not eaten, is trodden about, or taken by small birds. Many a poultry-yard is coated with corn and meal. As it is essential fowls should have fresh-mixed food, a careful poultry-feeder will always rather mix twice, than have any left ; and it is often bene- ficial for the birds to have a scanty meal. They can find numerous things wherewith to eke out, and things that are beneficial to them ; but if they are kept constantly full, they will not seek them. The advantage of scattering the food is, that all then get their share ; while if it is thrown only on a small spaee, the master-birds get the greater part, while the others wait around. Many have been discouraged, and some deterred from keeping fowls, by the expense of feeding. If they will themselves attend to the consumption for a week, and fol- low the method I have pointed out, they may arrive at a fair average ; and they will be surprised to find how much greater the cost has been than was necessary. It is most essential not to invent or to supply imaginary wants in fowls. They do not require coaxing to eat ; and wherever 18 DOMESTIC POULTBY. food can be seen lying on the ground in the yard, there is "waste and mismanagement. The economy is not in the food alone. They are large gainers in health, and> th* pleasure of keeping is much increased. The tendency 01 over-feeding is to make them squat about under sheds and cart-houses ; and instead of spreading over a meadow or stubble in little active parties, searching hedges and banks, and basking on their sides in the dust, with opened feathers and one wing raised to get all the glorious sun's heat they can they stand about, a listless, pampered group. To lay much better, to breed better chickens, and to last longer, are the results of diminished, not increased expense in feeding ; and all that is required is a little personal super- intendence at first, till the new system is understood and appreciated. In most yards the birds are overfed, and there is waste in nearly all. It is common with those who undertake to write upon poultry to be asked: What is the food to make fowls lay ? High feeding of any sort will do it, but par- ticularly with hemp seed, scrap-cake, liver, or any meat chopped fine. The scrap-cake, after chopping, should be put in a bucket, and covered with boiling water. The mouth of the bucket should be covered with a double sack, or other cloth, so completely, as to exclude air, and confine the steam till the greaves are thoroughly softened. When they are nearly cold they may be given. These will make them lay, but it is only for a time ; premature de- crepitude comes on, and disease in many forms appears. The most common is dropsy, and of an incurable charac- ter. The fowl that would have laid for years, in the com mon course of nature, being forced to produce in two that which should have been the work of several, loses all beauty and usefulness ; and yet it is often considered mat- ter of wonder that the most prolific hen in the yard should suddenly become barren. BREEDING AND MANAGEMENT OF CHICKENS. 19 BREEDING AND MANAGEMENT OP CHICKENS. However reluctant those concerned with poultry may be to acknowledge the fact, it is not the less true that most old women who live in cottages know better how to rear chickens than any other persons ; they are more suc- cessful, and it may be traced to the fact thai they keep out few fowls, that these fowls are allowed to run freely in the house, to roll in the ashes, to approach the fire, and to pick up any crumbs or eatable morsels they find on the ground, and are nursed with the greatest care and indul- gence. The first consideration is the breeding-stock, and I would advise, in an ordinary farm-yard, to begin with twelve hens and two cocks ; the latter should agree well together. Too much pains cannot be taken in selecting the breed- ing-fowls ; the presence of all the characteristics of the various breeds, as described in the following chapters, should be insisted on in the purchasing of stock. Having the stock, the next point will be breeding. I am a great advocate for choosing young birds for this pur- pose, and with that view would advise that perfect early pullets be selected every year for stock the following sea- son, and put with two-year-old cocks : for instance, pullets hatched in May attain their growth and become perfect in shape, size and health before the chills of winter. They should be put with cocks of two years old, when they will lay on the first appearance of mild weather, and their pro- duce has the same advantage as these have had before them. I do not advocate having young stock-fowl so much on account of their laying early, as I do for the superiority 20 DOMESTIC POULTRY. of their breeding. Neither is it desirable to breed from fowls of all the same age. If it can be done, it is better to put a two-year-old cock with pullets, and vice versa. It is well to introduce fresh cocks of pure breed into the yard every second year ; this prevents degeneracy, and for the same reason no cock should be kept more than three seasons, nor hen more than four, if it is intended to keep them in the highest possible perfection and efficiency. Of hatching I will say but very little, as the hen will do that naturally, and consequently well. An ordinary sized hen will cover thirteen eggs. All nests should be on the ground. Eggs for hatching should not be purchased till a hen is ready to sit. For seven or eight days before hatch- ing, the eggs should be sprinkled with cold water while the hen is off. This will prevent the frequent complaint that the chicken was dead in the shell. I give, herewith, (Fig. 4,) a sketch of the best coop I have yet found for hen and chickens. Its dimensions should be twenty-four inches high in front, eighteen wide in front, and twenty-four in depth. It should be close every- where but in the front. That should be made of bars, and the three centre Fi =- 4 - QES. COOP. ones should lift up bV means of cross pieces. It must not have a bottom. The hen should be kept in the coop, or rath- er under it, at least six weeks, and in the winter the longer * O she is under the better. The coops should be often mov- ed, as it prevents the ground from becoming tainted. It is too often presumed that little care is required as to the feeding of poultry from the time they leave the coop until the time they are put up for fattening. They are BREEDING AND MANAGEMENT OF CHICKENS. 21 allowed the run of the yard, without considering what a precarious subsistence this affords. There may be abun- dance of food at some periods, and little or none at others. They should be fed regularly, and care should be taken that each of them (for they are all brought up either for the table or stock) shall have a fair share. For chickens, I would recommend for the first week after hatching, a hard-boiled egg to be given, chopped fine at least twice a day, wheat steeped in milk, and coarse Indian meal, bread-crumbs, canary and millet seed, etc., etc. A change of food is not only advantageous, but necessary, and I would advise that twice per week the food be changed, substituting cracked corn for wheat. They must also have constant opportunities of picking among grass and other herbs. They should only be fed so long as they will run after their food ; as soon as they are careless about it, they have enough. Fowls in confinement will pine to death with heaps of corn around them, unless they have these opportunities. As the chickens get older they will require feeding less often, but they must never be allowed to fall off in condi- tion, and after from ten or twelve weeks in the summer, or from fourteen to eighteen in the winter, they will be ready to fatten, if required. Next, as to water. It is too njuch the idea that any description will do, and that provided there be some within their reach, though it have been standing a week, nothing more is required. This is a mistake. Water for fowls and chickens should be very clean ; the vessel con- taining it should be well rinsed out every morning ; it is a good plan to put a little gravel at the bottom, and it should be changed twice a day. I am aware, many will be disposed to think this unnecessary ; but I will ask any one who has the opportunity to try whether, where there is a stream of water running through a yard, they can 22 DOMESTIC POULTBY. cause the poultry to forsake it by placing water nearer to their haunts ; it will always be found they prefer going to the stream, to drinking out of the pan or tub. There is little doubt many of the diseases of poultry arise from the filthy water they are often obliged to drink from ponds full of decayed vegetable matter, and tainted by the fall of leaves in autumn from overhanging trees FATTENING QF POULTRY. There are two methods of fattening ; one is by feeding in troughs, alother by cramming. When merely a good useful fowl is required, the first process will suffice ; but, when it is wish- ed to make a fowl of extra- ordinary fat- ness, such a coop or pen as I shall endeavor to describe will be required. It is represented in the accompany- ing sketch. COOP FOB FATTENING FOWLS. A coop for twelve fowls should be twenty-four inches high, three feet long, and twenty-two inches deep; it should stand about two feet from the ground, the front FATTENING OP POULTRY. 23 made of bars about three inches apart, the bottom also made of bars about an inch and a half apart, to insure cleanliness, and made to run the length of the coop, so that the fowl constantly stands, when feeding or resting, in the positition of perching. The sides, back and top, indeed the whole of the coop should be made of bars, as in the sketch. The bars of which it is made should be an inch and a half wide. Some people make them round, and I am not sure they are not preferable to flat ones. Fatten- ing fowls do not require much 'room. Exercise is not favorable to the process, and it is, therefore, important that the room given to each bird should be only so much as will enable it to stand up or sit in tolerable comfort. For this reason there are two slides to the coop. These not only make the task of catching the fowls much easier, but they are very useful when the coop is wanted for a smaller number of birds. If only four are required, and they have the same space allowed to them as to twelve, they will make little ' progress. It is therefore necessary to have a board or division made, which, by passing be- tween the bars from front to back, will make a coop of the size required. There should be a trough made in front of the coop, and I much prefer it wedge-shaped to the square ones generally in use. It is much easier to clean. The coop only requires in addition a flat board running along in front, having a groove cut in it to receive the bottom of the trough, and an upright piece at the edge to support it. The trough must be easily movable, which is necessary, as it must be scalded once every day to keep it sweet. This trough must be filled three times a day with food, the quantity being regulated by the number of fowls fat- tening ; the food should be coarse meal, mixed slack, but not quite liquid, the consistence being such that if some of it were placed on the flat board in front of the coop, although it would spread, it would not run off. It may be 24 DOMESTIC POULTBY. mixed with water, but milk is much better ; in fact, it should always be borne in mind the food cannot be too good or too clean. It is also essentially necessary that sound discretion be used in the quantity of food given. "No more should be given than is eaten up clean at a time, and at every meal it should be fresh-mixed food. When' the time arrives for the mid-day feed, if there remains any uneaten in the trough from the morning, it is proof either that too much was given before, or that the fowls are sick. If the first, let them fast" till evening ; if the second, alter the character of the food, by mixing it either slacker or stiffer ; but in both cases the food which has been left must be taken away, or it will turn sour, and the fowls will take a distaste for it, which will prevent their fattening. There should be pans continually before them containing fresh, clean water ; and when the troughs are removed for scald- ing,' and while / they are drying, there should be gravel spread on the ledge before them; they will pick out the small stones to assist digestion, which greatly promotes their health. Another excellent thing is to cut a lot of grass and place it occasionally before them. No better proof will be re- quired of this being good for them, than the avidity with which it-will be eaten. All these things assist health, and for a fowl to be good on the table, it must be healthy when alive. By this process, a fowl put up in good flesh and condition will be fat enough for ordinary purposes in about ten or ftmrteen days. It will be observed, I inculcate the greatest cleanliness throughout. Cleanliness is one essential ; another, that the fowls be fed early in the morning, as soon as the sun rises, for they will be then waiting for their food. If the first meal of a fowl is deferred till seven or eight o'clock on a summer's day, the bird has been hungry, restless, and dis- satisfied four hours, and in that time the progress made in OF POULTRY. 25 fattening the previous day has been fretted away. This remark applies both to picking and the succeeding method of fattening. The next process is cramming. The coop must be pre- cisely similar to that used for pickers, with troughs. The number of these coops must depend on the supply of fowls that is required, as they should not always be in use, lest they become tainted. They are so inexpensive and easily made, it is not worth while to incur any risk of this sort; and after one has been in use for a month, it is always well that it should be washed, exposed to the air for as long time as it can be spared, and if lime-whited (white- washed), so much the better. The fowls for cramming are put in this coop, and if wanted very fat in a short time, the best of those fed by the former process may be selected, and in a week they will be very good ; but if not in a hurry, then good fleshy young fowls should be put up, and fed as follows : but (in this and the former method) care must be taken to put up fowls that have been accustomed to be together. If strange fowls are put in the same coop they will fight, and if so, they will not fatten ; nor is that all, from the continual ex- citement they will become hard. It will sometimes happen that even a pullet is quarrelsome ; if so, she must be takers from the coop and kept separate, or she will interfere with the well-doing of the lot. If fowls are to thrive, they must be warm. The heat and steam of the birds should be per- ceptible to the hand when it is put in. For this purpose they must be closie to each other, and the coop should be covered up with old sacks, carpet, matting, or anything of that sort. The food is the same as before, viz., coai-se meal mixed with milk, the only difference being, it is mixed stiffer. and it must now retain the form given to it ; if it is wished to make the fowls very fat, a little mutton-suet may be 2 26 DOMESTIC POULTRY. boiled in the milk with which the meal is slaked. A " cram" should be about the size of a woman's finger, and an inch and a half long. Six or eight are given morning and even- ing ; that is enough to fill the fowl's crop. The crams should be rolled up as dry as possible, and in order to make the swallowing easy, previous to being given they should be dipped in milk. Women perform this operation better than men : the fowl is placed in the lap, the head is held up, and the beak kept open with the thumb and finger, the cram is introduced into the gullet, the beak is then closed, and the cram is gently assisted down till it reaches the crop; care must be taken not to pinch the throat, as ulceration would follow, and the fowl would be spoiled. If at mid-day the fowls appear restless and dis- satisfied, a very little food may be given to them in the same way as to those fed by troughs. They must also be well supplied with water and gravel. It will sometimes happen that when the time arrives for the evening meal, that of the morning has not digested. Therefore, before the second feed is given, the crop should be lightly felt to see if it be empty ; if it is not, there is evidence of something wrong. The fowl must be taken out immediately, and the beak being held open as if for cramming, some warm water or gruel should be poured down the throat, and the beak closed. The bird will swal- low it, and it will soften the food ; but if more food were forced into the crop on that already hardening there, the fowl would become " crop-bound " ; that is, the food would become solid and indigestible, and the fowl would be to- tally spoiled for the table, if it did not die. By the fore- going process, a fowl may be made perfectly fat and good in fourteen to sixteen days. There is no necessity to feed longer, unless large size be desired, when feeding may be continued three weeks. I prefer the former period, be- cause the fowl then is fat enough and in perfect health ; FATTENING OF POULTRY, 27 but frequently afterwards, although it will get fatter and apparently larger, it will lose both weight and flesh. The latter becomes red and dry ; the internal fat impedes the exercise of the functions of digestion ; and the fowl be- comes diseased. This is what poulterers call " clung," and arises from disease of the liver, caused by excessive feed There is no possible method by which a fowl may be kept fatting and in perfect health after it has reached the acme of fatness. It must then be killed, or it will become worth- less. When put up either for trough-feeding or cramming, the birds must be in some sort of building, and completely sheltered from cold and draughts. When the weather is chilly, they should be covered with sacks or matting, as warmth is very essential in causing them to thrive. Atten- tion to these explicit details will remedy one of the com- plaints urged against country poultry, viz., that it is too lean. Another objection urged is, that the flesh is hard. For this complaint there are two causes ; first, the poultry is too old ; next, it is eaten too fresh. Fowls should be put up to fatten at from twelve to fourteen weeks old in the summer, and from sixteen to twenty in the winter. The difference is caused by the fact that in warm weather they arrive at maturity much sooner than in cold ; and when a fowl has arrived at maturity it is too old for the table. It is a mistake to keep a fowl until it is too old for the sake of having it large. It is true it looks handsome on the table, but it is useless there. Perhaps part of the breast may be eaten, but the legs are far too hard to furnish any delicate food. Still, size is much to be desired, and it can be attained by following the rule laid down for feed- ing chickens well from the first, and the increase in size and weight during the fortnight's systematic fattening is almost incredible to those who have never observed it. But to be tender, the fowl must be young. There is no process by which an old one can be made good for the 28 DOMESTIC POULTRY. table, and surely, though it may be a little smaller, it is better to have a good juicy fowl, which all will eat with relish, than a larger one, which, from its hardness, cannot be enjoyed. Another complaint often made is that, although a good fowl is to be had sometimes, there is no certainty. This arises from the fact that the fowls are improperly selected ; that if six fowls are wanted, they will perhaps be taken from six different broods. This is very wrong ; the oldest brood should be cleared off before the next is taken. It may be said there is only a difference of three weeks or a month between them ; but in summer and autumn a month turns the pullet into a hen, and so unfits her for the table. The next cause for their being hard is, they are eaten too fresh. I use the term fresh in a qualified sense. A really young fowl does not require keeping to become tender, because it is naturally so ; but, if eaten the day it is killed, it must be stringy, as every member of the body is still rigid. Forty-eight hours will be quite long enough to keep such a fowl. But in spite of all care, there will sometimes be fowls beyond the age I have specified, as the proper time for killing ; and then, by keeping them some days, they will become more tender. An other very important point. If a fowl be caught up out of a farm-yard, or taken out of coop, full of food, and killed directly, as is too much the custom, the food in the body and crop ferments, and at last corrupts the flesh ; but if the bird be fasted that is, kept entirely without food or water from twelve to fifteen hours before it is kil- led it will be found quite empty, and, in moderate weather, will keep from four to six days, during which period it becomes tender. In the winter it may kept much longer. DISEASES OF FOWLS. 29 DISEASES OF FOWLS. Among the disease of fowls, nothing is so fatal to the bird, or so vexatious to the fancier, as the Roup. Very close observation and experience have taught me the first pre- monitory symptom is a peculiar breathing. The fowl ap- pears in perfect health for the time, but it will be seen that the skin hanging from the lower beak, and to which the wattle is attached, is inflated and emptied at every breath such a bird should always be removed. The disease may be caused, first, by cold damp weather and easterly winds, when fowls of weakly habit and bad constitution will often sicken, but healthy, strong birds will not. Again, if by any accidental cause they are long with- out food and water, and then have an unlimited quantity of drink and whole corn given to them, they gorge them- selves, and ill health is the consequence ; but confinement is the chief cause, and above all being shut up in tainted coops. Nothing is so difficult as to keep fowls healthy in confinement in large cities ; two days will often suflice to change the bright, bold cock into the spiritless, drooping, roupy fowl, carrying contagion wherever he goes. But all roup does not come from cities ; often in the spring of the year the cocks fight, and it is necessary to take one away ; search is made for something to put h'im in, and a rabbit-hutch or open basket is found, wherein he is confined, and often irregularly supplied with food, til? pity for his altered condition causes him to be let out; but he has become roupy, and the whole yard suffers. I dwell at length on this, because of all disorders it is the worst, and because, although a cure may seem to be effected, yet at moulting, or any time when out of condition, the fowl 30 DOMESTIC POUXTBY. will be more or less affected with it again. Ono tiling is here deserving of notice. The result of the attention paid to poultry of late years has been to improve the health and constitution of the birds. Roup is not nearly so common as it was, nor is it so difficult of cure. It went on unnoticed formerly, till it had become chronic, and it would not be difficult to name yards that have now a good reputation, but which, a few years since, never had a healthy fowl. It is now treated at the outset, if seen, but the improved man- agement in most places renders it of rare occurence. The cold which precedes it may often be cured by feeding twice a day with stale crusts of bread soaked in strong ale, there must be provided, warm dry housing, cleanliness, nutritive and somewhat stimulating food and medicine. In my own case I generally give as medicine some tincture of iron in the water pans and some stimulants. The suspected fowl should be removed directly, and if there be plenty without it, and if it be not of any breed that makes its preservation a matter of moment, it should be killed. There is very little doubt of a cure if taken in the first stage. But, if the eyelids be swollen, the nostrils closed, the breathing difficult, and the discharge foetid and continual, it wih 1 be a long time before the bird is well. In this stage it may be termed the consumption of fowls, -and with them, as in human beings, most cases are beyond cure. However I may differ from some eminent and talented amateurs, I do not hesitate to say it is contagious in a high degree. Where fowls are wasting without any apparent disorder, a tea- spoonful of cod-liver oil per day will often be found a most efficacious remedy. I will next mention a disease common to chickens at an early age I mean the gapes. These are caused by numerous small worms in the throat. The best way I know of getting rid of them, is to take a hen's tail-feather, strip it to within an inch of the end, put it down the DISEASES OP FOWLS. 31 chicken's windpipe, twist it sharply round several times, and draw it quickly out: the worms will be found entangled in the feathers. When this is not effectual in removing them, if the tip of the feather be dipped in turpentine, it will kill them, but it must be put down the windpipe, not the gullet. I have always thought these are got from im- pure water, and I have been informed by a gentleman who inquires closely into those things, that having placed some of the worms taken from the throat of a chicken, and some from the bottom of a water-butt, where rain-water had stood a long time, under a microscope, he found them iden- tical. I have never met with gapes where fowls had a running stream to drink at. Camphor is perhaps the best cure for gapes, and if some is constantly kept in the water they drink, they take it readily. This has been most successful. There is also another description of gapes, arising probably from internal fever ; I have found meal mixed with milk and salts a good remedy. They are some- times caused by a hard substance at the tip of the tongue ; in this case, remove it sharply with the thumb-nail, and let it bleed freely. A gentleman mentioned this to me who had met with it in an old French writing on poultry. Sometimes a fowl will droop suddenly, after being in perfect health ; if caught directly, it will be found it has eaten something that has hardened in the crop ; pour plenty of warm water down the throat, and loosen the food till it is soft, then give a tablespoonful of castor-oil, or about as much jalap as will lie on a ten cent piece, mixed in butter ; make a pill of it and slide it into the crop ; the fowl will be well in the morning. Cayenne pepper or chalk, or both mixed with meal, are convenient and good remedies for scouring. When fowls are restless, dissatisfied, and continually scratching, it is often caused by lice ; these can be got rid of by supplying their houses or haunts with plenty of 32 DOMESTIC POULTRY. ashes, especially wood ashes, in which they may dust themselves, and the dust-bath is rendered more effectual by adding some sulphur to the dust. It must be borne in mind, all birds must have the bath ; some use water, some dust ; but both from the same instinctive knowledge of its necessity. Where a shallow stream of water runs across a gravel road, it will be found full of small birds washing ; wheie a bank is dry, and well exposed to the sun, birds of ah kinds will be found burying themselves in the dust. Sometimes fowls appear cramped, they have difficulty in standing upright, and rest on their knees ; in large young birds, especially cocks, this is merely the effect of weak- ness from fast growth, and the difficulty their long weak legs have in carrying their bodies. But if it lasts after they are getting age, then it must be seen to. If their roosting-place has a wooden, stone, or brick floor, this is probably the cause ; if this is not so, stimulating food, such as I have described for other diseases, must be given. Fowls, like human beings, are subject to atmospherical influence; and if healthy fowls seem suddenly attacked with illness that cannot be explained, a copious meal of bread steeped in ale will often prove a speedy and effectual remedy. For adults, nothing will restore strength sooner than eggs boiled hard, and chopped fine. If these remedies are not successful, then the constitution is at fault, and good healthy cocks must be sought to replace those whose progeny is faulty. " Prevention is better than cure." The cause of many diseases is to be found in enfeebled and bad constitutions ; and these are the consequences of in-and-in breeding. The introduction of fresh blood is absolutely necessary every second year, and even every year is better. Many fanciers who breed for feather fear to do so lest false colors should appear, but they should recollect that one of the first symptoms of degeneracy is a foul feather ; for in- DISEASES OF FOWLS. 33 stance, the Scb right bantam loses lacing, and becomes patched, the Spanish fowls throw white feathers, and pigeons practise numberless freaks. An experiment was once tried which will illustrate this. A pair of black pigeons was put in a large loft, and allowed to breed with- out any introduction of fresh blood. They were well and carefully fed. At the end of two years an account of them was taken. They had greatly multiplied, but only one third of the number were black, and the others had become spotted with white, then patched, and then quite white ; while the latter had not only lost the characteristics of the breed from which they descended, but were weak and de- formed in every possible way. The introduction of fresh blood prevents all this ; and the breeder for prizes, or who- ever wishes to have the best of the sort he keeps, should never let a fowl escape him if it possesses the qualities he seeks. Such are not always to be had when wanted, and the best strains we have, of every sort, have been got up by this plan. There is one thing worthy of remark : none of our fowls imported from warmer climates are subject to roup, as Spanish, Cochins, Brahmas, and Malays. But those from a damp country, like Holland, seem to have seeds of it always in them. The following tonic is highly recommended by Mr. John Douglas of the Wolseley Aviaries, England, to prevent roup and gapes in chickens and old fowls: "One pound of sulphate of iron, one ounce of sulphuric acid dissolved in a jug with hot water, then let it stand twenty-four hours, and add one gallon of spring water ; when fit for use, one teaspoonful to a pint of water given every other day to chickens and once a week to old fowls, will make roup and gapes entirely a stranger to your yards. ' This may be true if perfect cleanliness is maintained and the fowls are in other respects well treated. 2* 34 DOMESTIC POULTRY. BRAHMA-POOTRA FOWLS. (SEE FBONTISPIECE.) The origin-of the Brahma fowls has been a subject of much contradiction, but has been assigned to the banks of the Brahma-putra, a river that discharges its waters into the Bay of Bengal. Their first appearance, was in the city of New York, in the year 1850, when three pairs were in the possession of a sailor, who sold them to a mechanic in that city, who again sold them or their progeny. By some writers it has been contended that they are nothing but gray Shanghais ; this can only be attributed to a desire on the part of the Shanghai and Cochin breeders to put a stop to the rapid advance to favor made by the Brahmas. Butf it is useless, for they have everything to recommend them, and their lovers and admirers must be content with the good quali- ties which by universal consent are awarded to them, and though they appeared at a time when people were suffer- ing from the effect of the decline of the Cochin mania, they held their own, and have succeeded in formaig numerous and attractive classes. The Brahma is a large, heavy bird, symmetrical, prolific, and hardy ; living wliere Shanghais would starve, growing in frost and snow when hatched in winter months. In speaking of various breeds of fowl, Mr. G. B. Smith says: "As regards Brahmas and giay Shanghai fowl, I think there is a great difference between the two. I have raised them for several years, and great- ly prefer the Brahmas. They lay a third larger egg than BRAHMA-POOTRA FOWLS. 35 the Shanghai, and are the best fowl for any bne desiring eggs in the winter. Their eggs sometimes weigh from three to four and a quarter ounces each, whereas those of the Shanghai seldom reach over two or two and a half ounces. The Brahmas, I think, will lay a greater weight of eggs in a year than any other fowls I am acquainted with. I have bred fowls for over twenty years, and there are none I like better than these." That the Brahmas are a distinct breed I have not the , Least deubt, but whether they come from China or India I will not stop to discuss. It is enough that they come from the East from Asia. The deficiency of tail is the characteristic of all these fowls, Cochins, Brahmas, Malays. Even the Jungle fowl (the hyaana for wildness of all Gallinacea?, and one that can well be called untamable,) although the most favored of his country in the way of tail, carries it drooping. That the eggs are alike in color cannot weigh, because all our Asiatic birds lay cream or chocolate colo'red eggs. If feathered legs are to prove their identity with Cochins, then from that I would deduce proof of their distinctness. Out of large numbers I have bred, I have never had a clean-legged chicken. Mr. John Baily, purveyor to the Queen of England, says : " I have imported and bred these fowls for two years ; I have watched them narrowly, and find they differ in many points from the Cochin, with which they are sought to be identified. They wander from home, and they will get their own living ; they never throw a clean-legged chicken] they have deep breasts; they lay larger eggs, and they are hardier. I have hatched them in snow, and have reared them out of doors without any other shelter than a piece of mat or carpet thrown over the coop at night. " From any birds that I have kept, I have never had an nntrue chicken, all being more or less gray. They are 36 DOMESTIC POULTRY. hatched almost black or yellow, and the dark get lighter and the light darker. I have never had a clean-legged chicken from them." This breed is much esteemed in England, as also in France, where it was introduced in the year 1853. Mad- ame Millett Kobinet, authoress of Basse-Cour, writes in the following flattering terms of the Brahmas : " The cock is full of pluck and pride ; he is still more developed than ihe Cochin China ; his feathers are also richer and more brilliant. The Brahma Pootra cock, which obtained the first prize at the Universal Exhibition in Paris, in 1856, weighed 10^- pounds, and was sold for 2,500 francs ($500). Brahmas are good layers, good mothers, flesh very abun- dant, and of a good quality." Mariot Didieux, in writing of Brahma Pootras, says: " This race came from India about the year 1850, but, as with all beautiful races, speculation has taken hold of them. A couple of the pure race we know was sold at the enor- mous price of seventeen hundred francs, (equivalent to $340)." The Brahma Pootra is divided into two varieties, the dark and light ; pea, and single combed ; the selection of color must be entirely a matter of taste. The cocks of the dark variety have a black breast speckled with white; thighs black ; hackle * and saddle f light ; tail black and spreading at the end ; yellow legs, very well feathered ; deep breast, very full hackle. The hens of this variety have bodies pencilled all over ; silver hackle that is, pencilled like the silver pheasant deep body : yellow legs, well feathered ; pea or single combed. The cocks and hens of the light variety are much alike in plumage, but * HA.CKLE The feathers growing from the neck and covering the shoulders and part of the back. t SADDLE FEATHEKS Those feathers growing from the end of the sack and falling over the Bide. BRAHMA-POOTRA FOWLS. 37 the cock frequently less marked than the hen ; entirely white plumage, save the tail, and flight* feathers, which should be black, and the hackle, which should be black striped. These should also have well-feathered yellow l~gs, and either pea or single combed ; the under feathers of these birds should be dark. The Brahmas are the only fowls that are pea-combed The pea-comb has the appearance of three combs pressed closely together, that in the centre being higher than the others. Another thing worthy of remark is, that in many of the single combs, close observation will show on either side the plain impression of another, the evident remains of that which had been a pea-comb, and by in-breeding had disappeared. The Brahma Pootras eat much less than the Cochins, and are amongst the best winter-layers we have ; they rank among the very prolific producers of eggs throughout the year ; they seem to be as hardy as it is possible for fowls to be, are good sitters and mothers, and good for the table. The Rev. R. W. Fuller, of Massachusetts, says in a let- ter to W. N". Andrews, Esq., of New Hampshire: "I have a pair of Brahma Pootra fowls, and I consider them de- cidedly the most splendid and beautiful fowls ever imported. Their color is white, inclining on the back to a rich crealn color, the hackles on the neck slightly streaked with black. The legs are yellow, heavily feathered with white, and shorter than the Chittagong or Shanghai, giving the fowls a more beautiful proportion. They are very gentle and peaceable in their disposition, and have a stately and grace- ful gait. Take them altogether, they are just the fowls for an amateur to fall in love with, and such as an owner with one spark of vanity would^esire to keep in the front yard, that all passers-by might Tehold and admire them." * FLIGHT FEATHERS The last five feathers of the wing. 38 DOMESTIC POULTRY. An English writer says : " So much has been said about the Brahma fowl, and such a variety of opinions given as to whether they are a distinct breed or not, that I will venture to say a little respecting them. That they are a distinct breed there is not the least doubt, for long before they were imported into this countiy, a brother of mine, who has been much in India, informed me of them, and pointed out most particularly the advantages they posses- sed over the Cochins. I have now several of these birds in my possession, both the dark and the light variety. Some months since my brother visited me, and on being shown the birds, at once pronounced them to be the same as those he had seen in India." Dr. Eben Wight, of Boston, in a letter speaking of the Brahma Pootra fowls, remarks: "A man in Connecticut says he has a pair, the same stock as Hatches, which he has weighed : cock thirteen pounds ; hen nine pounds six ounces ; but he refuses to sell them. That is a fine breed of fowds and must beat all others." Mr. J. C. Thomson, of Staten Island, in writing on Brahmas, says : " As the Brahmas had the reputation of being very hardy and good winter-layers, I determined to try them. In fact, the person in Massachusetts who fur- nished me with the trio, said he had a hen, in February, hatching a brood in a cold wood-house, when the thermo- meter was six below zero. So, to try it fairly, I put the old trio in an ash-house, on the shady side of the dwelling, so open that daylight could be seen through all the joints of the boards on the north side, with the upper part of the west side open lattice work. It was the coldest building I had, as no sun shone on it through the winter. A small yard on the west side of the l^ise gave them an oppor- tunity to occasionally bask in the sun, on the lee side of a board fence. Ample food and drink, with a little cabbage, was daily given grain always within their reach. One BRAHMA-POOTRA FOWLS. laid right on through the coldest weather, the eggs fre- quently freezing in the nest. The other was evidently a very old bird, from the fact that she moulted in midwinter. "The ten pullets had better quarters, and grew finely; in March they began to lay, and laid steadily all through the summer. My stock consisted of the three old birds, one spring pullet, and ten September- hatched pullets. Finding they were giving me an unusual number of eggs, especially in June, when I frequently got eight, nine, ten, and eleven, and sometimes twelve eggs a day, I w r as in- duced to keep an account for July and August, when I find they have averaged six eggs per day equal to 2,000 eggs per year. This month I have allowed six of them to sit, the last brood hatching to-day. The experience of last autumn satisfies me that they can be grown with success in the autumn and winter months, as I am able to give them the entire range of the garden ; they coming in as early layers in the spring, to take the place of early-sitting hens. The weight of the cocks runs from ten to twelve pounds, and pullets from seven to nine pounds. My year- old (this September) pullets weigh seven and a half pounds, and will, no doubt, during the coming winter run up to eight or nine pounds. " They are not large eaters, considering their size ; after repeated trials, when closed in a small yard, without grass, I find the fourteen head would only eat three pints of grain per day, or a fraction over a bushel each per year, and with a good range a bushel of grain per head would be an ample supply. " Their very quiet habits are greatly in their favor. A four-foot wire, picket, or lath fence, they seldom get over. If they should, then shorten the feathers on one wing, and there is no more trouble. " As mothers, they are excellent sitters and nurses rather heavy when hatching. Chicks should be removed 40 DOMESTIC POULTRY. almost as fast as they are hatched, and kept warm till all are out. "When with their chicks, they move about ag carefully and gracefully as a turkey-hen. Being large and full-fledged, they will, in warm weather, care well for two dozen chicks in the cooler seasons a dozen will be ample. "They are more disposed to sit than many other kinds. By shutting them up a few days, giving plenty of food and water,.Jhey soon give up and go to laying again. " As a market-bird, their fine size and plumpness make very desirable table-birds their flesh, in my estimation, being quiet equal to the very best : in fact, when we take into consideration their winter-laying qualities, with all their other good qualities, they are just the birds for the million. Being fully feathered, even to their toes, protects them against the vicissitudes of our ever-changing climate. " As a lawn-bird, none excel them in beauty. A flock, viewed from a short distance, gracefully moving about, or quietly sitting in groups, are frequently mistaken for a flock of lambs. " For crossing, or bringing up the ordinary stock of the country to full fifty or seventy-five per cent, hi value, my advice to poultry-growers is, to procure good male birds, remove all others." Mr. H. G. White, in the Albany Country Gentleman, of August 4, 1864, says : " After several years' experience I find this variety well adapted to the general purposes for which fowls are kept. " They possess size, beauty and hardiness in a great de- gree, and are very prolific. Their eggs, which are large, surpass all others in richness ; and, like most fowls with light plumage and yellow legs, their flesh is of good quality. I have obtained from fifty-five fowls, in the month of March, ninety-two and a half dozen of eggs. They excel all others as winter-layers. I have raised the present season a hun- dred and twenty-five chickens with quite ordinary care," DORKING FOWLS. 41 To form a just opinion of these fowl, it is necessary to study their habits and to breed them. Enough is seen in their shape to justify us in holding them distinct from the Cochin, but still more do we find it in their habits and produce. As a useful and hardy fowl it is unsurpassed. They are excellent layers of good-sized eggs, good foragers, when they can have their liberty, and good sitters and mothers. The chickens fledge more kindly than the Co- chins, grow fast and are exceedingly hardy ; old and young take good care of themselves, and by fasting, when absti- nence is beneficial, often recover from ailments which would carry off any of a less hardy sort in fact, I know no other chickens which are so hardy as they, and reared with so little trouble and loss, and I have no hesitation in pro- nouncing them the most useful fowls for the American farm-yard. THE DORKING FOWLS. This breed of fowl was described by Pliny, by Colurn- ella, and by Aldrovandus ; and has long been known to naturalists as the Gallus pentadactylus, or five-toed fowl. The breed is of great antiquity ; possibly the " couple of short-legged hens " which Justice Shallow, of Gloucester- shire, ordered for the entertainment of Sir John Falstaif, may have at least been closely related to it. Some sup- pose it "to have been introduced by the Romans, as they esteemed a breed of fowls characterized by five toes ; and a five-toed variety existed in ancient Greece, for such is noticed by Aristotle. The name Dorking originated from a town of that name in Sussex, England ; but why, cannot be readily answered, for when Camden wrote his Brittania, in 1610, Dorking 42 DOMESTIC POULTRY. was so inconsiderable as not even to be mentioned by him, and in his map of Surrey it is marked a mere village. The fame of Dorking poultry was established in England about 125 years ago ; and from that time the greatest care and attention have been paid to their breeding. The first Dorkings brought into the United States were introduced in about the year 1840, by Hon. L. F. Allen, of Black Rock, New York. "WHITK DORKING COCK. Of the Dorkings there are three varieties ; the white, gray, and speckled. The white has been supposed to be the Dorking of old fanciers. B. P. Brent says : "The old Dorking, the pure Dorking, the only Dorking, is the white Dorking ;" and that the speckled or gray Dorking is a recent and improved cross, by which the size was much increased, between the original white breed and the DORKING FOWLS. 43 FOOT OF DORKING COCK. Malay, or some other large fowls ; but I cannot assent to such a proposition. Columella's favorite sort of hen could not differ much from the speckled Dorkings as they at present ex A ist. He says : " Let them be of a reddish or dark plumage, and with black wings. Let the breeding hens, therefore, be of a choice color, a robust body, square built, full - breasted, with large heads, with up- right and bright red combs ; those are believed to be the best breed which have five toes." Columella had the white sort, but he rejected them, for he advises : " Let the white ones be avoided, for they are generally both tender and less viva- cious, and also are^uot found to be proli- fic ; " and such seems to be the prevail- ing opinion of many poultry-fanciers in the nineteenth century. The gray and speckled Dorkings above referred to have of late been prodigious favor- ites at all the poultry shows in England and Scotland; and are bred to great size and beauty ; in fact, they are larger and heavier birds than the white. When exhibited, rose and single-comb- ed fowls compete together, but it is im- perative that all their combs in one pen FOOT OF PULI ' ET - shall be alike. In plumage, also, the birds in a pen should match, although almost any variety as to color is tolerat- (44* DOBKIKG FOWLS. 45 ed. The gray Dorking is a large, plump, compact, square-made fowl, with short legs and ample furnishing. The fifth toe must be well developed, and quite distinct pointing upwards and not a mere branch of the fourth. The accompanying illustrations will more lucidly explain the development of the fifth toe. The following is from the pen of Mr. John Bailey, considered the best judge ot these fowls in the world: "One of the most popular colors for hens in the present day is that known as Lord Hill's. The body of these birds is of a light slate color, the quill of each feather being white ; the hackle is that known as silver, being black and white striped ; the breast is slightly tinged with salmon color. The next class is a larger one the grays. These may be of any color, provided they are not brown ; ash cobweb with dark hackle ; semi- white with dark sp.ots ; light gray, pen- ciled with darker shades of the same color. With all these the most desirable match for a cock is one with light hackle and saddle, dark breast and tail ; I advisedly say dark in preference to black, because I think servile ad- herence to any given color too often necessitated the sacri- fice of more valuable qualities. I look on a fine Dorking cock with no less admiration if his breast be speckled and his tail composed of a mixture of bluck and white feath- ers ; and such a bird is a fit and proper mate for any gray hens but the gray must not be confounded with the speckle; these have a brown ground with white spots. One of the best judges I know of a Dorking fowl, proper- ly describes them as brown hens covered with flakes of snow. These speckled hens are of two distinct colors, the first is known as Sir John Cathcart's color ; the pullets are of a rich chocolate, splashed or spotted with white ; the cocks are either black-breasted reds without mixture, or spotted like the hens on the breast and partially on the body; it is no objection if the tail is partially colored 46 DORKING FOWLS. another speckle is of a grayish-brown spotted with white ; these hens should have a cock with dark hackle and sad- dle, and the wings and back should show some red or chestnut feathers. These last are not essential, but a light cock will not match speckled hens. Next we have brown hens ; these should have a black-breasted red cock, but a speckled one will pass muster." In the silver gray, the cock should have black breast and tail, and white hackle on neck and saddle. The hen should have a white hackle streaked with black, light gray body, with light shafts to the feathers and a robin breast. In size, the Dorking ranks next to the large Asiatic tribe. It is short-legged and large bodied, and readily accumulates flesh, which is of a very good quality. Mow- bray, when he wrote, ranked them in size in the third de- gree of the largest of fowls. The weight of the Dorking at maturity varies from five to eight pounds, and full grown Capons have been known to weigh from ten to twelve. The Dorking hen is rarely a layer of more than twenty eggs, when she becomes broody. The eggs are usually of a clear white, but sometimes of an ashy-gray color, rather larger in size, weighing from 2| to 3 ounces each ; round- ed at both ends andof a rich flavor. They are excellent sitters and good mothers. JVIariot Didieux, in his " Prac- tical Guide for the Rearing of Poultry " writes : " The Dorking is so highly prized by the English people because they know their flesh is good for the table. In fact, by the color of its skin, their form, and the fineness of their bones, they show a great aptitude to fatten, the fat they acquire spreads itself well, and covers all parts of the body fattened, they resemble an oval shaped ball of grease, very white, almost like Mother of Pearl from the fineness of the skin." Dr. Eben Wight, of Boston, says : " So far as my ex DORKING FOWLS. 47 perience has gone, the Dorkings are decidedly the best breed for laying ; the eggs come abundantly, and are of the largest size, except when they have been bred in-and- in too much." In fact, this breed of fowl can not be bred in-and-in like other breeds, and such is the greatest drawback to breed- ing them in this country, unless a fresh-imported cock be introduced almost yearly amongst the hens. Many breed- ers of Dorkings, fearing almost total ruin in their chicken department, introduced a game cock ; but though he may replenish the yard with a robust stock of chickens, I am averse to any method, adopting which destroys the purity of a breed of fowls so excellent as these, and therefore can only advise this breed of poultry to be selected by those who either have the means or facilities of obtaining an imported cock at least every second year. For this rea- son Mr. Dixon says, after speaking of their good qualities : " With all these merits they are not found to be a profita- ble stock, if kept thorough-bred and unmixed. Their pow- ers seem to fail at an early age. They are also apt to pine away and die just at the point of reaching maturity, par- ticularly the fairest specimens that is, the most thorough- bred, are .destroyed by this malady." The following is an extract from the Derby and Chester- field Reporter : " The common sense of the public has brought back the Dorking fowl to its wonted pre-eminence. At the sale after the Metropolitan Show, and also at the Birmingham Exhibition of 1854, the Dorking fowl met with a readier sale at larger prices than any other kind. The public voice has recognized it as the bird for the Eng- lish farm-yard ; it is altogether the pet of John Bull, as possessing great and good qualities without ostentation and clamor. The history of our county-town records no less than three poultry sales by public auction ; and, at each of those, the Dorking fowl obtained the highest bidding 48 . DOMESTIC POULTRY. good hens selling for as much as thirty shillings (seven dollars and fifty cents) each ; and further, the most success- ful breeders of Dorking fowls, are, at this moment, selling their eggs readily at three guineas (fifteen dollars) per dozen." It must be borne in mind that at the time of the writing of the above, the Brahma Pootra was but little known, and though the Dorking has many fine points (especially the delicacy and flavor of its flesh and handsome appearance when presented to the gourmand), there is one fatal objection to its being reared with success by the American former, and which I have described above. Mr. Trotter, who received a prize from the Royal Agri- cultural Society of England, for the best " Essay on Poul-. try," devoted only eighteen lines to the Dorking fowl and said, " this breed degenerates when removed from its na- tive place." And as I can not believe he meant a removal from its native town to other parts of England, I must con- clude he meant a removal by exportation, because he might as well attempt to declare that an Alderney cow would degenerate by a removal from the island of that name in the English Channel to the wealds of Sussex, our- rey, or Kent. I have already stated I believe the gray or speckled Dorking to be better than the white ; and as the first con- sideration is the breeding-stock, I would advise, in an or- dinary farm-yard, to begin with twelve hens and two cocks, the latter should agree well together. Too much pains can not be taken in selecting the breed- ing-fowls. They should not only be of the best breed, but the best of the breed. I should choose them with small neads, taper necks, broad shoulders, square bodies, white legs, and well-defined, five claws. It may be well here for me to state why the speckled or gray are to be preferred to the white Dorking. They are larger, hardier, and fat- SPANISH FOWLS. 49 ten more readily ; and although it may appear anomalous, it is not less true, that white-feathered poultry has a ten- denoy to yellowness in the flesh and fat. THE SPANISH FOWL. It is easy to describe this beautiful and noble race of fowls, as no variety of color is admissible. These birds must be black throughout, richly shaded with a metallic green lustre. A purely white face is imperatively neces- sary to constitute a perfect specimen. Care must be taken not to mistake the ear-lobe for the face, as in the very worst samples of the bird the former will be found quite white. In a first-class bird this color must be unmixed with red spots, and extend from the insertion of the comb to the gill, and from the ear-lobe to the beak. The ear- lobe must be large, pendant, thick, and quite free from any color. This part of the face is more developed in the cock than the hen ; in fact, he has it much larger than any other fowl. It is composed of a double skin forming a sort of bag. .The cock should have a large upright comb reaching the nostril. His wattle should be very large and long, his breast round and protuberant, his tail ample, his carriage noble and very upright. The combs of the hens should fall over, and, when in good condition, be large enough to hide one side of the face. Their breasts are prominent, but not so much as in the cocks ; their faces very long, thin, and skinny. The points both sexes have in common, are taper blue legs, and deviating from the required line of perfection in most other fowls, they should be long. 3 50 DOMESTIC POULTRY. In shape, the body should slant downwards from the neck to the tail, and narrow from the shoulders till at the ned it approaches a point. In walking they carry themselves very upright. The following precise description of this beautiful and popular variety of fowl will be appreciated by amateurs : BLACK SPANISH COCK. COCKS. Bill Strong, slightly curved, and dark-color- ed. Eye Large dark and flashing, surrounded with a naked white skin, extending from the base of the comb around the ears and cheeks, meeting like a cravat under the throat and terminating in the ear-lobes, which are ex- SPANISH FOWLS. 51 ceedingly long and pendulous. If this white face is very large and well developed, it proves high, breeding ; the texture of the skin cannot be too fine and smooth, and. if it is blushed or spotted with red, it is considered faulty. Comb Single and large, beginning over the nostril, and extending backwards, should stand very erect, be regular- ly serrated, fine in the grain and of a rich vermilion color. Wattles Very large, vermilion colored, hanging a good way down the neck, which is longer in this than in any other breeds. The body should be as deep as possible, the legs being naturally long, and depth in body from the back to the breast bone gives a better proportion to the shape, which would otherwise look scraggy. The legs are clean and of a dark-blue color. Plumage A brilliant jet black, hackles and saddle feathers long. Tail Full, rising perpendicularly from the back, and the numerous sickle feathers falling very grace- fully. Carriage Bold and majestic ; this is of great im- HEAD OF BLACK SPANISH COCK. portance in rendering these fowls handsome and attractive. HENS. White face not so large as that of the cock. Comb Large and hanging over, it lessens very much during the moulting or non-laying season, and is much affected by cold. Plumage perfectly black and glossy. They are invaluable layers, because, although they are only moderate feeders, their eggs are larger than those of any other fowl. I have seen them four^and a half ounces each. They are valuable for culinary purposes, three of them being equal to five of many other breeds. They do not sit. The best time to rear them is between April and 52 DOMESTIC POULTRY. June ; and although not perhaps to be considered very deli- cate chickens, so far as growth is concerned, yet it is cer- tain they do not bear a check so well as many other breeds, and it is, therefore, well to watch them, that stimulants may be given hi time. They are very naked, when hatch- ed, and are often a long time before they feather. They may be seen running about with black feathers in their wings, and scarcely any other on their bodies. BLACK SPANISH HEN. At this period they require to be covered warmly every night. The great mortality among chickens of this breed is between two and four weeks old. Poultry-fanciers in England strongly recommend the use of bread and ale at least twice every .day, and also cooked fresh meat chopped fine. These fowls are rather more difficult to rear than any other, but they repay for the labor. In winter they SPANISH FOWLS. 53 should be protected from severe exposure and freezing, which is very apt to destroy their combs and wattles, and of course their chief beauty. I have never known any of this breed to suffer from roup, but they are subject to a peculiar kind of swelled face, which comes first by the appearance of a small knob under the skin; it in- creases till it has run over one side of the face, and I know of no cure for it. The sex of a Spanish fowl is easily dis tinguished, as the cocks show their combs plainly at a month old. At this age we always look for growth in Spanish chickens, and all faulty cocks at about seven or eight weeks old should be killed. One of the greatest faults they can have, and the only one that is plainly developed at an early age, is a drooping comb. The greatest merit a Spanish fowl can have is a perfect- ly white face ; but if a cock had the best and most fault- less ever seen, it would neither excuse nor palliate a droop- ing comb. The chickens, and the best of them, commonly, indeed almost always, have white in the flight feathers of the wings ; and if they appear when hatched with white breasts it need cause no apprehension, as it is a common thing, and they will become black. Lovers of these fowls have called them, says Bailey, " the Aristocracy of poultry." Fine specimens realize high prices in England. I have known one hundred dol- lars to be ineffectually offered for a cock and two hens. Our best Spanish fowl were formerly got from Holland, but the great demand for them, both here and in England, has nearly exhausted the market there. In the habits of the Spanish fowl there is nothing pecu- liar to require notice. They are not, it is true, so quiet and disinclined to roaming as the Cochin, but if well fed at home, they will not be found to stray far from their walk. To those who desire to eat eggs, but are obliged 54 DOMESTIC POULTRY. to class chickens amongst unattainable luxuries, I would advise to adopt Spanish, as they are " orerlasting layers," but "non-sitters." THE GAME FOWL. Among the Greeks and Romans, the pugnacious pro- pensities and indomitable courage of animals, whether quadrupeds or birds, never failed to attract attention. The Romans, indeed, whose passion for the combats of the amphitheatre was notorious, collected not only the fe- rocious tenants of the Libyan desert for the gratification of their blood-thirsty disposition, but bred up dogs for the arena, and even sent authorized officers into Britain for the purpose of securing those terrible mastiffs for which the island was so celebrated, and it cannot be sup- posed that the combativeness of the game-cock would be overlooked. Cock-fighting was as much in vogue in Greece and Italy in ancient days, as it was during the last century in Great Britain, and is at present in India, China, Malacca, and the adjacent islands of Sumatra and Java, etc. The Greeks produced several renowned breeds of game-fowls, and Media and Persia produced others of first-rate excellence. On Caesar's arrival in England he found the fowl domesticated ; but these, as well as the hare, were forbidden as food, as it was not deemed law- ful to eat them, and were only bred for the sake of fancy and pleasure. But it is probable we owe the game-fowl to the Romans, for when Britain was a Roman colony, it is not to be supposed that the Romans resident on that island would give up the sports to which they were so passionately addicted ; and as they sent British fighting- dogs to Rome, so from Rome might they import their GAME FOWL. 55 ELACK-miEASTED RED GAME COCK. 56 DOMESTIC POULTRY. fighting-cocks of Greek or Persian lineage. Many of us have a sort of liking for a game-cock, although we may abhor cock-fighting, and hundreds who dread their com- bats still cling to the breed. There are two sets of ama- teurs : one looks only to beauty of plumage ; the other, careless of feather, scans closely those points that will tell in a fight. If fowls were not wanted for the table, and if perfect symmetry, beautiful color, hardihood, and daring were all that was required of them, the amateur might possess duckwings, (pied), or black-breasted reds, or any other of the numerous varieties of this breed, and rest content. He would, indeed, be obliged to limit the number of his pets, because the males will not agree ; and unless the young cocks are looked upon with pride as those that are to figure in a main, there is always sad- ness in seeing sprightly ones growing up, because it is certain they must be got rid of in some way, or they will fight among themselves till but two or three remain. Nor is this propensity confined to cocks ; high-bred hens are quite as pugnacious, and fatal contests between them are things of common occurrence. The game-cock is of bold carriage ; his comb is single, bright red, and upright ; his face and wattle of a beauti ful red color ; the expression of countenance fearless, but without the cruelty of the Malay ; ihe eye very full and bright ; the beak strong, curved, well fixed hi the head, and very stout at the roots. The breast should be full, perfectly straight; the body round in hand, broad be- tween the shoulders, and tapering to the tail, having the shape of a flat-iron, or approaching heart-shaped ; the thighs hard, short, and round ; the leg stout ; the foot flat and strong, and the spur not high on the leg. The wings are so placed on the body as to be available for sudden and rapid springs. The feathers should be hard, very strong in quills, and like the Malay it should seem as GAME FOWL. 57 though all their feathers were glued together till they feel like one. "A game-cock should be what fanciers call " clever." Every proportion should be in perfect harmony ; and the bird, placed on his breast in the palm of the hand, should exactly balance. This is another breed of fowl where any deviation from perfection is fatal. It has been well said, " a perfect one is not too good, and therefore an imperfect one is not good enough." Abundant plumage, long soft hackles and sad- dles, too much tail or a tail carried squirrel-fashion over the back, the least deviation from straightness of the breast-bone, long thighs, in-knees, weak beaks, or coarse heads, are all faults, and should be avoided. These birds are generally " dubbed " Tbefore they are shown at fairs or exhibitions. This should be neatly performed ; every su- perfluous piece of skin and flesh being removed, so that the head should stand out of the hackle as though it were shaven. The plumage should also be so scanty that the shape of the bird, especially the tapering of the back and the roundness of the body, may be seen. Every feather should feel as if made of whalebone, and, if raised with the finger, should fall into its original place. It should be almost impossible to ruffle the plumage of a game- cock. The tail should be rather small than otherwise, and be carried somewhat drooping. The plumage of these birds is trimmed before they fight. This is called " cut- ting out," and the less there is to remove in the way of feather the better for the bird. They are in every respect fighting birds, and every one who sees a set-to between two of them must look on with pleasure, if it occurs as they pass through a yard. The hens should be like the cocks, allowing for diflei'ence of sex; the necks and heads fine, legs taper, plumage hard, and combs small, upright and serrated. Hens should not be chosen with large or loose 3* 58 DOMESTIC POULTRY. combs, and they should handle as hard as the cocks. A word or two may not be out of place as to the table- properties of this beautiful breed. It is true they are in no way fit for the fattening-coop ; they cannot bear the extra food without excitement, and that is not favorable to obesity. Nevertheless, they have their merits. If they are allowed to run semi-wild in the woods, to frequent sunny banks and dry ditches, they will grow full of meat, though with little fat. They must be eaten young, and a game-pullet four or five months old, caught up wild in this way and killed two days before she is eaten, is, perhaps, the most delicious chicken there is in point of flavor. The classes into which the game fowls are divided are: black-breasted red, brown-red, duckwings, and other grays and blues, white and pieds, and black, and brassy- winged, and shawl-necks, or what are sometimes called Irish grays, which are of the largest class. Among all the varieties of the game-fowls, the prece- dence must be given to that variety known as "Lord Derby's breed," which have been kept and bred with great care for upwards of one hundred years, at Knowls- ley, and still maintain their high reputation. The follow- ing is a description of the cock of that breed : he is of a good round shape, well put together ; has a fine long head ; long and strong neck ; wings large and well quilled ; back short ; belly round and black ; tail black and sickled, be- ing well tufted at the root ; legs rather long, with white feet and nails ; plumage, deep, rich red and maroon ; and breast and thighs black. The Derby red hens possess lit- tie of their consort's brilliancy of feather ; their body is brown, each feather-shaft being light; the breast and hackle being also light. The Duckwings are among the most beautiful of all game-fowls. The cocks vary in the color of their hackle, saddle and breast feathers ; the hackle-feathers of some GAME FOWL. 59 strains being nearly white, in others yellow ; while with some again, the breasts are black, with some streaky, and with some gray. To breed fancy, streak-breasted brown red cockerels, mate a streaky-breasted hen to a black-red cock ; nine times out of ten the cockerels will resemble the hen in color. To breed pullets to match, the cock must be streaky-breasted, and the hen black-breasted red ; these will be brown-breasted reds.' To obtain Duckwings, breed from a light gray-backed and winged hen, with silver hackle and salmon breast, and a black-breasted red cock ; the hen should not have the slightest shade of red on the wing ; this is fatal. To obtain similar pullets, the cock must be Duckwing and the hen black-red. Pieds are bred from a white cock and black-red hen. The color of the eggs of the game-hen varies from a dull white to a fawn.' They are good layers, as many as twenty-four eggs being constantly laid by them, before they manifest a desire to sit. As sitters, game-hens have no superiors. Quiet on their eggs, regular in the hours of coming off and returning to their charge, and confident, from their fearless disposition, of repressing the incursions of any intruder, they rarely fail to bring off good broods. Hatching accomplished, their merits appear in a still more conspicuous light. Ever on their guard, not even the shadow of a bird overhead, or the approach of man or beast, but finds them ready to do battle for their offspring; and instances have been known where rats and other vermin have thus fallen be- fore them. 60 DOMESTIC POULTRY. MALAY COCK. THE MALAY FOWL. This is another of the Asiatic breed, supposed to come from the islands of Sumatra or Java, and, though former- ly much fancied and sought after, has of late years been suffered to decline. It has fallen before the spirit of utili- ty ; it was not useful, and it has lost ground. It is a long MALAY FOWL. 61 rather than a large bird, standing remarkably upright, falling in an almost uninterrupted slope from the head to the insertion of the tail, which is small and drooping, having very beautiful but short sickle-feathers. It has a hard, cruel expression of face, a bold eye, pearled around the edge of the lids, a hard, small comb, scarcely so long as the head, having much the appearance of a double comb trimmed very small and then flattened ; a red, skinny face, very strong curved beak, and the space for an inch below it on the throat destitute of feathers. It has long yellow legs, quite clean ; it is remarkable for very hard plumage, and the hinder-parts of the cock look like those of a game-cock trimmed for fighting. The hen is of course smaller than the cock. She has the same expression of face, the same curious comb ; and in both sexes the plum- age should be so hard that when handled it should feel as though one feather covered the body. From this cause the wings of the hen are more prominent than in other fowls, projecting something like those of a carrier-pigeon, though in a less degree. It is a beauty in the birds if the projection or knobs of flesh at the crop, on the end wing joint, and at the top of the breast are naked and red. They are good layers and sitters ; their eggs have a dark shell, and are said to be superior in flavor to any other. The chickens feather slowly, on which account no brood should be hatched after July ; otherwise the cold and va- riable weather of autumn comes upon them before they are half grown, and the increase of their bodies has so far outstripped that of their feathers, that they are half naked about the neck and shoulders, which renders them ex- tremely susceptible of wet and cold. The chickens are not difficult to rear ; but are gawky, long-legged creatures until they have attained their full growth, and then fill out. The original colors were, cocks of a bright, rich rod, 62 DOMESTIC POULTRY. with black breast ; and hens of a bright chocolate or cin- namon color, generally one entire shade, but in some in- stances the hackles were darker than the rest of the plum- age. Some beautiful white specimens have lately been in- troduced, and a few years ago there was a handsome breed of them colored like pied games. The Malays have one great virtue ; they will li ve any- where ; they will inhabit a back yard of small dimen- sions ; they will scratch in the dust-pit and roost in a coal- hole, and yet lay well and show in good condition when requisite. The Malays are inveterate fighters, and this is the quali- ty for which they are chiefly prized in their native country, where cock-fighting is carried to the extent of excessive gambling. Men and boys may be frequently met, each carrying his favorite bird under his arm, ready to set to work the moment the opportunity shall offer. The general character of these birds is vindictive, cruel, and tyrannical. THE COCHIN-CHINA FOWL. The record of the Cochin-China Fowls will always form an important chapter in the history of poultry. They were introduced in the year 1845, and were first possessed by Queen Victoria, and soon after became known and pop- ular. They were scarce, and this made people anxious to possess them. Men became frantic after Cochin-China fowls, and this went on at an increasing ratio until -the prices paid became ridiculous ; a hundred good Cochins would purchase a small farm, and a cock and two hens, from favorite strains, were thought cheap if bought for less than two hundred and fifty dollars. They have, however, COCHIN CHINA FOWL. 63 after fluctuating in value more than anything except rail- road shares, fallen in price, for prices were unnaturally enhanced. They are now within the reach of all, and favorites with the public. COCHIN CHINA COCK AND HEN. The Cochin-China Cock is a bold, upright bird, with erect, indented single comb rising from the beak over the 'nostril, projecting over the neck, and then slanting away underneath to allow the root to be fixed on the top of the