UNIVERSITY or PITTSBURGH

D.

JM-emorial LtiDi

igton IViemoria

.,^t«® ''^^^ 1

LONDON:
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET.

FARMING FOR LADIES;

©r, a ffluiic to

THE POULTEY-YAED,
THE DAIEY AND PIGGEEY.

AUTHOR OF ' BRITISH HUSBANDRY.

LONDON:
JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET.

LATELY PUBLISHED,

Sixth Edition, with Woodcuts, Fcap. 8vo., 6s ,

GARDENING for LADIES. With Practical Directions
atid !i Calendar of Operations for every Month in the Year. By Mks.
LOUDON.

Also, by the same Author,
BOTANY for LADIES ; or, a Popular Introduction to the
Natural System and Classification ol Plants. With 150 Woodcuts, Fcap.
8vo., 8s.

Londou : — frnited by William Clowes and Sons, Stamford Street.

INTRODUCTION.

This little treatise is neither intended for
the mere cottager nor for persons of large
fortune, but for those ladies in the middle
ranks of life who study healthful domestic
economy either for the pleasure or the profit
which it affords ; though, in saying this, we
may justly add — that a cottage housewife
might gather useful hints from its contents,
and that a duchess would lose nothing by its
perusal. We, indeed, take pride in stating
that her Majesty — with that taste for do-
mestic pleasures which forms a distinguished
feature in feminine amiability — has caused
a poultry-yard and dairy to be erected for
the amusement of herself and the royal
children.

a 2

IV INTRODUCTION.

Occupation is the most solid basis of real
happiness, and the enjoyments of life — even
if accompanied with all the means of luxury
— are insipid vs^ithout it. In married life,
the husband, if he be not a man of inde-
pendence, has importunate cares to occupy
him in his trade or profession ; but the
domestic duties are exclusively confined to
the wife, and if she counts among the num-
ber an attention to a little rural economy,
she will find it not only add largely to the
comforts of her family, but derive from it
also a source of pleasure to herself, of which
no " town-lady" can form an idea.

" Our business in life is to be happy,"
and the true way of making it so is to be
contented with a moderate income ; but, in
acquiring this, it is not perhaps so much
the art of gaining it, as that of judiciously
spending it, that we have to learn, and it is
only in well regulated families, conducted

INTRODUCTION. V

by a careful housewife, that it is to be
known. She it is on whom rest the en-
joyments of home. It is on her manage-
ment that domestic comfort depends ; it is
by her cares that she draws around her
family circle those social pleasures which
endear it to the heart of every inmate of
good feeling ; and the man who does not
duly appreciate her efforts for that purpose,
assuredly does not merit the smiles with
which she cheers him on his return from the
anxieties of the day.

In contemplating a matrimonial engage-
ment, the parties dream of little else than
love : the gentleman is all gallantry, the
lady all smiles and good humour, and they
fly off on the wings of delight to spend the
honey-moon ; but ere it arrives to the full,
they find that love, to be sustained, must be
nourished by accompaniments of the solid
kind, and if these can be increased without

VI INTRODUCTION,

creating additional cost, every one must
admit the advantage that would be thus
gained.

In London, the common prices of poultry
are generally so high, that people of narrow
income, if living in town, can seldom afford
to put any on their table. Fortunately,
however, the taste is now growing general
among persons who are occupied in trades
and professions, of getting a box, or villa,
for their families in the outlets ; and if to
their gardens be added a paddock for the
feeding of a cow, with sheds for the accom-
modation of a pig and poultry, in the manner
of a little farmery, or even for only a few
cocks and hens, it is inconceivable how much
it would add to the luxuries of the table
without at all increasing the expense.

But, in order to be supplied with the deli-
cacies of fresh eggs from your poultry-yard,
along with pure cream and butter from your

INTRODUCTIOX. VU

dairy, without intrusting the care of provid-
ing them wholly to domestics, the mistress
must rise early, to superintend the feeding
of her chickens, the milking of her cow,
and the churning in her dairy.

The following suggestions — compiled dur-
ing a long life by one who has visited various
parts of the world — are founded not only
upon the experience of years, but on the
just and simple principle, — " That we pay
to nature the compliment of suffering her
to dictate to us; and then, so far as pos-
sible, of attending to her wise and simple
laws." But previously, a few plain obser-
vations on the best means of attaining that
object may, perhaps, not be found unac-
ceptable.

Active habits are the great means of
health ; and, among these, early rising is one
of the greatest. To a man of business it is
indispensable ; and to the mistress of a fa-

Vm INTRODUCTION.

mily it is equally important. Indepen-
dently of the health and consequent longe-
vity which it almost invariably ensures,
the contrary system, of indulgence in bed,
destroys that elastic vigour which should
brace the nerves to all the purposes of our
being.

Indolent habits are, it is true, not to be
easily surmounted ; but, if a determination
be made to conquer them, it may be done
without much exertion, by gradually rising
every day a short time earlier than usual :
then, when that has become habitual, in-
creasing the time; and, above all, making
it a rule, although it may cost an effort, to
spring out of bed the moment of awaking in
the morning.

Now, let us calculate the increase of pro-
fitable life, if two hours a day be thus added
to our existence. People very generally
devote nine or ten hours of the four and

INTRODUCTION. IX

twenty to their bed ; leaving fourteen to
occupations of business or pleasure. But,
supposing them to be reduced to seven or
eight, these two hours saved in each day —
being fourteen in every seven — are just an
entire day of additional occupation in the
week ; which, if summed up for a term of
threescore years, will amount to more than
eight years and a half of valuable time added
to our life !

We are all, more or less, the creatures
of habit ; but few persons are aware of its
value, nor how soon a sense of duty will
conduce to form that which may render
attention to the duties of life a pleasure
instead of a toil. When the plan, which is
here suggested, shall have been adopted
during a few consecutive weeks, — so as to
form a habit, — that which our readers may
at first start from as an uncalled for and
disagreeable innovation, will then, without

X INTRODUCTION.

reluctance, allow it to fall in with the re-
gular routine of their housekeeping avoca-
tions.

The most illustrious lady in the land —
The Queen — sets this example. Those
residents of Windsor who are in the habit
of taking an early morning walk, to enjoy
"the cool, the fragrant, and the silent hour,"
in the splendid demesne, proudly crowned
by its ancient castle, must have often seen
two persons in plain attire, tripping lightly
across that pleasant meadow called " Datchet
Mead," in order to visit a farm at the ex-
tremity of the Home-park. These persons are
Her Majesty and Prince Albert, pursuing
their way to the dairy and poultry -yard,
and in their progress sporting with their in-
fants, who are either mounted upon their
piebald ponies or driving their well-trained
goats in a phaeton. It is impossible to witness
the unaffected enjoyment of the royal couple

INTRODUCTION. XI

in this domestic excursion, unalloyed as it
is by any restraint of official etiquette, with-
out feelings of extreme pleasure ; as a bright
pattern to people of the highest rank, and,
if copied, would reflect credit upon those of
an humbler station.

Let those ladies whom we thus address
reflect upon this, even if they be in inde-
pendent circumstances, and that they look
only to personal enjoyment ; but, if they
are mothers, they will surely feel the neces-
sity of impressing on their youthful charge
the real value of time ; showing to them by
the force of their own example, that no por-
tion of it should be uselessly wasted.

In making this observation, however, it is
not meant to insist on the arduous employ-
ment of either mind or body. Recreation
should be afforded to both, and in this, per-
haps, the cultivation of the garden stands
foremost ; but the cares of the poultry-yard

XU INTRODUCTION.

and the rabbit-hutch should not be neglected.
The joyous chorus of delight opened by the
various fowls, which —

" Come trooping at the housewife's well-known call,"

cannot fail to inspire a certain degree of
pleasure, while they may be made an ample
source of interesting remark, as well as of
amusing employment.

Besides being an amusement, they also call
forth in the minds of children a sense of re-
flection in watching the progress of the young
things to maturity ; as well as a tenderness
to the animals committed to their care, for
the attention necessarily bestowed on them.
This engenders a kindly feeling towards the
whole creation : it springs up insensibly in
their youthful bosoms ; grows with their
growth, to the manifest improvement of their
disposition ; and thus increases all the heart-
felt joys of a beloved family.

( xiii )

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

Country-houses and offices — Poultiy-yards and hen-houses
— Those of the Earl of Chesterfield, Lord Penrhyn, and
Earl Spencer — The Queen's — Mode of arrangement on a
moderate scale — Shelter and smoke — Roofing with tiles
and thatch — Description of a Clergyman's fowl-houses —
Those of a farmer and of a cottager — Proposed mode of
erection — Fumigation — Pilferage p. 1

CHAPTER n.

Poultry — Tame and Wild Birds — Origin and Description of
domesti ' Fowls — Moulting — The Cock — The Hen — Anec-
dote of a Robin — Age of Fowls — Breeding — Valentine's
day — Selection of Cocks and Hens — Number of Mates
to one Cock .33

CHAPTER HI.

Different sorts of domestic fowls — The Game-breed — Cock-
fighting — Pugnacity of the cock — The Dorking fowl —
Capons and Poulardes — The Malay, or Chittagong breed,
origin and size of — Polish and Spanish breeds — Everlast-
ing layers — The Shack-back — The Crested — Hybrids and
fancy-breeds — The Bantam ; anecdote of — The Barn-
door fowl — The Dunghill cock — Observations . . 61

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER IV.

Fecundity of the hen— Breeding— Second broods— Ovary
—Desire of laying— Nests— Eggs— Hatching— Good and
bad sitters — Fecundation of the egg— Foetus of the chick,
and its progress to life — Incautious modes of acting. p. 85

CHAPTER V.

Management of Chickens — Cribs — Food and water — Crop
and Gizzard — Separation of the Hen and Chickens — Roost-
ing— Cost and Value of Chicks and Fowls . . .116

CHAPTER VI.

Feeding of Poultry— Store Fowls — Modes of Feeding — Po-
tatoes— Kitchen Offals — Insects — Yerminieres — Experi-
ments— Grain, Quantities and Species of — Buckwheat-
Indian Corn — Barley and Oats — Boiled Corn — Rice. 1 30

CHAPTER VII.

Spring Chickens, Cockrels, and Pullets — Fatting of grown
Fowls — Cooping — Modes of fatting in Sussex and Berk-
shire— Operation of Cramming — French Mode — Coqs-
vierges and Poulets a la Reine — Sucking Chickens — Old
Fowls — Pillaw — Observations on Cramming . . 160

CHAPTER VIII.

Economy and aliment of eggs — Composition, weight and
quality — Number laid by hens — Expense of maintaining
fowls — Comparative cost of poultry and butcher's meat —
New-laid and stale eggs — Experiments on the preserva-
tion of eggs — Winter laying — Cock's eggs . . . 1 73

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER IX.

Origin and appellation of (he turkey — Price in the sixteenth
century — Description — Battles and courtship of the cock
— Laying and hatching of the hen — Eggs — Nests — Period
of incubation — Chicks ; mode of management and food —
Poults; and their treatment — Rearing and buying —
Grown turkeys ; and French manner of feeding — Flesh of
the cock and hen — Weight and age — Cramming, p. 194

CHAPTER X.

Origin of the Guinea-bird — Introduction into this country —
Price — Description — Habits — Modes of keeping them out

of gardens — Difficulty of discovering their nests Eggs

— Flesh — Pheasants, and their domestication — Partridges
— Finding of a brood — Pea- fowls — Beauty of the cock —
Origin — Ancient use and mode of dressing — Value as
food — Italian saying 220

CHAPTER XI.

Aquatic birds — The swan : its beauty and habits — Domesti-
cation— Wild geese — The domestic goose; description and
terms of designation — Michaelmas-day — Choice of breed
— A lag — Laying ; nests ; and hatching — Gulls — Goslings
— Treatment — Fattening of green geese — Stubble and
Michaelmas geese 236

CHAPTER XII.

Feeding and fattening of full-grown geese — Cooping —
Weight— Cobbetfs plan — quality at diflerent stages of

XVI CONTENTS.

growth — Pate de foie gras — Mode of enlarging the liver —
Prejudices — Plucking of the feathers — Age and character
of the goose p. 249

CHAPTER XIII.

Wild ducks: their nature and habits — Decoys — The do-
mestic duck — Description and choice of breed — Muscovy
duck — Nests — Hatching — Eggs — Rearing and fattening of
ducklings — Feeding of store ducks — Cost of fatting —
Weight — Fish-ponds and pike — Anecdote respecting crows
— Oily glands 264

CHAPTER XIV.

Diseases : regimen and remedies — The roup, and its causes
— Notion of its being infectious — The pip and gapes:
symptoms and manner of treatment — Fever — Crop-sick,
and means of cure — Moulting — Old age and death —
Mode of killing — General treatment — Poultry-maid. 283

CHAPTER XV.

Breeds of pigeons — The stock- dove, the wood-pigeon, and
the cushat — Migratory flights — The turtle-dove — The car-
rier, and its speed — English species — The domestic dove-
house pigeon — Pairing and breeding — Nests and hatching
— Dove-cotes: building and arrangement of different
sorts — Her Majesty's — Flesh and flavour of the pigeon —
Food — Cost — Appetite for salt — Attachment to home —
Anecdote— Salt-cat— Diseases 294

CHAPTER XVI.

j^: Rabbits : propagation and produce of, in a wild and do-
mestic state — Breeds — Hutches — Warrens — Feeding —
Expense and profit — Long-eared breeds — Diseases . 322

CONTENTS. XVll

CHAPTER XVII.

The Goat : its mode of life and yield of milk — Goat's whey
— Flesh ; and delicacy of that of the kid — Habits : consti-
tution and disposition p. 340

CHAPTER XVIII.

Establishment of a dairy — Purchase and choice of cows —
Long and short homs — Ayrshires — Suffolk polled — Welsh
— Alderney, with portrait — Kerry cows and produce —
Stall-feeding, and general management .... 347

CHAPTER XIX.

Description of a milch-cow — The udder — Name at different
periods of life — Age, and mode of ascertaining it — Term
of gestation — Symptoms of pregnancy — Parturition —
Management at and after calving — Slinking — Beestings —
Diseases and means of cure — Reasons for rearing a calf —
Time and mode — Process of weaning — Hay-tea and lin-
seed jelly — Method of suckling by hand — Diseases . 364

CHAPTER XX.

Dairy buildings — Cow-stalls and sheds — Construction of the
cow-house — Stalling of cows — The Royal dairy at Wind-
sor— Construction of the dairy-house — Walls, roof, and
pavement — Temperature — Utensils 386

CHAPTER XXI.

Qualities of milk — Adulteration — The black cow — Matter
of which milk is composed — Cow's udder — Lactometer —
Milking syphon — Dairy-maids — Unruly cows, and hold-

b

Vlll CONTENTS.

iug of their milk — Operation of milking and skimming — ■
Cream steens — Implements — Operation of churning —
Upright and barrel churns — Metallic chum. . . p. 403

CHAPTER XXII.

Butter — Milking — Creaming — Churning — Dairy-house —
Making of butter from cream — Scotch and Dutch modes
— Epping mode, making from whole milk — Manner of
curing — Anderson's rules — Clouted cream — cream cheese,
and slip-coat — Product of a cow 423

CHAPTER XXIII.

Pigs and pork — Breeds of the hog — Denominations — Breed-
ing sows — Period of gestation — Farrowing — Produce —
Weaning — Rearing — Porkers and store-pigs — Feeding —
Weight at different ages — Cost and value . , . 450

CHAPTER XXIV.

Qualities of bacon — Pigs and pig-sties — Prince Albert's
piggery — Food of a breeding sow — Age of bacon — Hogs
Guimaraen hams — Rudgewick hogs — Ringing of pigs —
Fatting for bacon — Live and dead weight — Caging — Kill-
ing and curing — Wiltshire and other modes — Hambro'
pickle — Smoking — Diseases of pigs 471

FARMING FOR LADIES.

CHAPTER I.

Country-houses and ofSces — Poultrj'-yards and hen-houses
— Those of the Earl of Chesterfield, Lord Penrhyii, and
Earl Spencer — The Queen's — Mode of arrangement on a
moderate scale — Shelter and smoke — Roofing with tiles
and thatch — Description of a Clergyman's fowl-houses —
Those of a farmer and of a cottager — Proposed mode of
erection — Fumigation — Pilferage.

Country-houses differ so materially in ex-
tent and construction, that no rule can be
laid down for the arrangement of the out-
door offices, though, generally speaking, the
nearer they are placed to the dwellings of
persons of moderate fortune, the better ; nor
can they be entirely separated without pre-
cluding those means of inspection over the
servants of which no prudent mistress of a
family would ever choose to be deprived.

This, indeed, applies solely to those in-
tended to be erected. With regard, how-
ever, to those already built, some contain every
convenieace that can be required for a nu-

B

2 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap, i.

merous family, while others are wanting in
many points of importance ; but, whatever
may be their deficiencies, we can truly say
that, provided there be a yard, and a stable
or out-house of any kind attached to it, there
is not one, however small, in which poultry
may not be reared with advantage. The
common fowl is distinctively a domestic bird,
easily confined, and even if allowed to go
abroad, never straying far from its home.
If the yard in which the animals are placed
be separated from a garden merely by a tall
staked hedge, thus forming part, as it were,
of the pleasure-ground, this will be found
all that is necessary for their security during
the day ; while the presence of the chirping
broods will impart cheerfulness to the scene,
and give an air of domestic comfort and re-
spectability to the snug box of any person of
unostentatious habits, or even to the Ferme
orne of the more opulent.

In arranging your poultry-yard, you should
consider not only its size and convenience,
but also the number and species of fowls
whic h you intend to keep ; and this must, of
course, depend upon the number and style of

CHAP. I.] FARMING FOK LADIES. 3

life of your family, as well as the amount of
money which you mean to expend. In this
latter consideration, you need not, however,
be governed by any fear that these delicacies
will add to the common expenses of a frugal
table ; for it is a fact, which will plainly appear
upon attentively perusing the statements con-
tained in this treatise — that they can he obtained
at as little, if not less, cost than butcher s meat.
The hen-house should never be much larger
than sufficient to accommodate the number
of fowls to be lodged in it ; for, if larger, they
huddle together in a corner, and it has been
observed that hens produce eggs more abun-
dantly in a small, close cote, than in a more
spacious building. Both warmth and clean-
liness should however be particularly attended
to, and it should be rendered in every way
comfortable to the birds that inhabit it ; for
if that be not done, they will try to lay away
from home instead of in their nest, and if
they cannot succeed, they will assuredly pro-
duce fewer eggs than if their tastes were bet-
ter indulged ; but if they have a clean, quiet,
warm place to retire to, they will lay regularly,
and repay both the trouble and the expense.

b2

4 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. i.

Warmth is truly an essential point, as any
one will admit who has witnessed the swarms
of poultry which are reared in the smoky
cabins of the Irish peasantry. What che-
mists say about the "necessity of cool air,
and the prejudice which smoke occasions to
human health,^^ may be all very true, but, in
fsict, folds never thrive so well as in warmth
and smoke — the one being congenial to their
nature, the other a preventive against ver-
min ; and we well recollect having, when a
boy, been resident in an old manor-house, in
Kent, in the huge kitchen-chimney of which
several hens roosted upon the rafters and
projections of the walls, though exposed to
the heat and smoke of a wood fire, and many
of them layed eggs during the whole winter.
It is indeed no bad plan, in very cold weather,
to put in the fowl-house, at night, an iron pan
with hot embers, covered by damp straw or a
log of green wood, for the purpose of creating
smoke as well as warmth. We are far from
objecting to fresh air ; but those who recom-
mend poultry -houses to be " lofty buildings,
thoroughly ventilated," are mere theorists,
who know nothing practically about the matter.

CH.vr. I.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 5

Do not, therefore, follow such advice, however
plausible it may appear ; but, if any room or
shed which you may have to spare for the
purpose, should be more spacious than wanted
for the fowls which you maintain, then, par-
tition off a portion of it just suited to their
kind and number.

Having said thus much, we shall now
briefly describe some of those superior poul-
try-yards from which plans and improvements
may be drawn according to the taste and
intentions of those who mean to erect them,
more with a view to the amusement arising
from rearing the animals than to economy in
family expenditure.

Among the many poultry-courts fitted up
on a large scale at the mansions of people of
fortune, as well as for the convenience of
great dealers, those of the Earl of Chester-
field, at Bretby Park, in Derbyshire, and of
Lord Penrhyn, at Winnington, in Cheshire,
rank above all others in size and accommo-
dation. The latter, indeed, presents an ele-
gant colonnade, extending to nearly 150 feet
in length, bounded at each extremity by a
neat pavilion, and containing within the in-
terior all the appropriate roosting, feeding,

6 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. i.

and fatting-houses, furnished with flues to
preserve an equal temperature : the whole
fronting a large paddock in which the fowls
have the constant liberty of roaming between
the intervals of their meals. But it may be
truly said, that —

" 'Tis use alone that j ustifies expense,
For splendour borrows all her rays from sense ;"

and perhaps the best arranged for the com-
fort of the fowls, without needless outlay, is
that of Earl Spencer, at Althorp, of which the
following is a view of the cottage occupied by ,
the attendants — ■

CHAP. I.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 7

and the annexed is a plan of the buildings —

M.

a. Cottage.

b. Dairy.

c. Pantry.
cl. Cellar.

e. Duck-house.
/, 1 & 2. Turkey-houses.
a. Hens'-roost.

Scale.

h. Goose-house.
i. Coal-house.
k. Scullery.
/. Picking-house.
m. Feeding-house, with a flue
underneath.

Highland

In the " Transactions of the
Society," there is the description of a poultry-
yard, divided into separate wards, the ground

FARMING FOR LADIES.

[C

plan of two of which we subjoin, each fitted
up in a very complete manner for the lodging
of twenty-four hens, with yards attached of
about 15 feet long by 10 feet wide, and
sheds at either end ; one of which, if placed
across — as in this plan — would be sufficient.

c

c

c

c

— d —

— d —

I

h

e

^ .

a. a. Courts, with pond in the centre.

b. b. Hen-houses and doors of entrance.

c. c. c. c. Nests.

d. d. Perches for roosting.

e. e. Shed for shelter, and to contain lime and cinders,
5 a dry bath-house.

CHAP. I.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 9

Her Majesty's poultry-yard, at Windsor,
is situated in a small pleasure-garden just
opposite Frogmore, and being rather for the
amusement of rearing fancy fowls and pigeons
in the manner of an aviary, than for breeding
them for the table, is only, at present, upon a
moderate scale. The hen-house is erected at
the back of a high wall, and — as may be
seen in the frontispiece — is merely a simple,
though fancifully-decorated cottage, display-
ing considerable taste in the architect. Over
the roof is a well-stocked hexagonal erection
for pigeons of various race, which are so
familiar as to perch upon the person of her
Majesty, who feeds them from her hand ; in
the centre of the building is a small room
of entrance, on each side of which are the
several compartments for the poultry, with a
yard divided into separate courts by wire
fences, and no birds can have more snug
retreats for depositing and sitting upon their
eggs — the nests being tastefully formed of
moss, giving them the appearance of bowers ;
the whole warmed by a heated flue running
underneath, and communicating with each
cote by gratings.

10 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap, i.

Here may be seen a curious collection of
white Java Bantams, odd little birds, covered
with a sort of hairy feather, but laying, it is
said, the richest kind of egg ; which, how-
ever, are not a little difficult to be got, for
it seems that no sooner is one layed, than the
whole tribe, even the hen herself, begin
pecking at it until eaten up : yet in this, we
imagine, there must be some mistake, or it
would be impossible to rear a brood from the
parent hen. There are also some of Sir John
Sebright's celebrated bantams, with their
golden speckled feathers, and other small
breeds of a rare description. By way of con-
trast, there is an enormously large breed of
Cochin China fowls, the cock, although very
young, weighing upwards of ten pounds, and
the hens very prolific of eggs of superior
flavour ; which, although white when layed,
become soon afterwards speckled.

There are likewise various other sorts of
fancy breeds — both fowls and pigeons, of a
curious description — all under the care of a
man especially qualified for such a charge,
as perhaps there are few better acquainted
with the habits of the feathered tribes. He

CHAP, I.] FAKMING FOR LADIES. 11

has evidently passed much of his time in the
recesses of the woods and forests, trapping
birds for sale, and examining their modes
of life. He tames nightingales in an in-
credibly short period, and induces them
to resume their song soon after they have
been caged. He moreover teaches magpies,
jays, and jackdaws to talk ; breeds fancy
canaries, and doctors all the sick parrots of
the neighbourhood. He is, in fact, a sort of
" man of the woods :" a general favourite,
partly arising from a good-humoured, though
rather cunning, expression of his countenance,
as well as from his readiness to oblige, and it
is not surprising that, under such manage-
ment, the aviary, though still in its infancy,
should bid fair to become a pattern of per-
fection; though we frankly confess, that we
should much rather see it under the control
of one of that sex, the kindness of v*'hose na-
ture so befits her for the care and tenderness
of such helpless creatures. The shrubberies
in the garden afford shade enough from the
sun, but the fowls should also have shelter
from the rain, by a verandah extending along
the front from each side of the porch.

FARMIKG FOR LADIES.

The annexed is a ground plan of the house
and courts, which are however meant to be en-
larged, and we understand it to be the inten-
tion of her Majesty to establish a large
poultry-yard, for the supply of the royal
table, in the breeding and fattening of all
sorts of fowls — in the care of which her
Majesty takes especial interest ; nor can
there be a doubt that the introduction of
foreign breeds will thus — ^under the example
of her gracious patronage — in the course of
time, cause much improvement in the stock of
our native species.

r 7

a. a. The front porch with back entrance.

h. h. b. h. Compartments.

c.c.cc.c. Courts.

d. d. As intended aviaries.

CHAP. I.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 13

" The poultry-house," — according to the
late Arthur Young, who so long filled the
situation of secretary to the Board of Agricul-
ture,— " should contain an apartment for the
general stock to rest in ; another for sitting ;
a third for fattening ; and a fourth for food ;
with even a fifth for the plucking and keep-
ing of the feathers." All this, however, can
only be necessary where a large consumption
of poultry is contemplated ; in which case
they should be placed under the care of some
old woman, kept purposely to attend them,
and having her cottage on the spot. But
in those families of easy, though moderate
fortune, to which our observations are chiefly
addressed, and where fowls are only kept for
the supply of the table, such expense is un-
necessary, nor is any peculiar care requisite
beyond that of attention to their warmth and
protection from wet. Notwithstanding which,
we freely admit that when the different
species of poultry — whether common fowls,
turkeys, ducks, or geese — can be each ac-
commodated with a separate dwelling, it
would be so far desirable ; but this, in small
establishments, can very rarely be accom-

14 FARMING FOE LADIES. [chap. i.

plished. We, indeed, know of many families
in which they are all reared together ; and
Mr. Wakefield, of Liverpool — whose accomit
of management has been published — bred and
fattened immense numbers of all kinds pro-
miscuously in the same yard.

The whole arrangement for the support of
a moderate stock is very simple. The yard
should, if possible, have an open exposure to
the south, and be perfectly dry, as nothing is
more injurious, to all other than aquatic birds,
than stagnant water or moisture of any sort ;
and poultry suffer more from a wet winter,
even if mild, than from one that is intensely
cold, provided it be clear and dry. If the
ground is wet, the foundation should there-
fore be thoroughly drained, and the surface
hardened to render it sound, with a thick
stratum of well-rammed bricklayers' rubbish,
or broken limestone mixed with small sandy
gravel, over which pounded oyster-shells and
egg-shells, or bones coarsely powdered, should
be spread ; but never paved with either flags
or pantiles, as that would prevent the fowls
from scratching the ground, and picking up
those calcareous matters, such as shells,

CHAP. I.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 15

pebbles, and bones, which — as will be here-
after explained — are necessary to their health
and the formation of their eggs. It should
likewise be sloped, to carry off the rain ;
and it should contain an open covered shed
for occasional shelter to the fowls, which,
extraordinary as it may appear, seldom seek
their night abode during the day, except
for the purpose of laying. The shed is also
requisite for the keeping of dry sand, small
cinders, lime and ashes, either in little heaps
or pits, for the use of the common fowls in
scouring their feathers from the lice to which
they are subject : a process in which they
not only delight by rolling themselves in the
heaps — as in a sort of dry bath — but which is
essential to their health in freeing them from
those noxious vermin. If the shed covers the
litter removed from the horse-stable, it will
also be desirable, as the warmth which their
couching in it imparts to them, is not only
agreeable but healthfal ; and they likewise
thus pick up many grains of corn which would
be otherwise lost.

In thus alluding to the advantages of a dung-
hill, it should, however, be observed, that fowls

16 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. I.

require a considerable portion of food in addi-
tion to the grain which they may thus pick up.
Ducks and geese find their way to the ditches
and ponds, which abound with every de-
scription of garbage wherewith to fill their
stomachs ; whereas the common fowls are
usually confined to a poultry-yard, contain-
ing nothing but the bare earth. They must
therefore be supplied with everything, and
it is unnecessary to explain — that if stinted
in food, they will suffer in their growth, and
be deficient in the size, quality, and number
of their eggs.

Clean and pure water too is indispensable ;
for if foul, it generates disease, and at length
renders the poultry leprous. It is seldom
that a pond is found in the small space of a
poultry-yard ; nor is it desirable that there
should be one, for if the ducks have access
to a field with water in it, a pump with pro-
per troughs is better.

If the fowls be allowed to range over the
stable-yard and farmery — if there be one — or
if they have the use of any adjoining paddock,
a very small enclosure will be sufficient. The
latter is, indeed, a point of more importance

CHAP. I.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 17

than generally imagined ; and if you have an
opportunity of viewing them in a field, or
upon a common, you may perceive that they
not only employ themselves in searching for
earth-worms and all sorts of insects, but also
consume considerable quantities of grass.
Now, no animal is governed in its choice of
food by any other motive than that natural
instinct which teaches what is good for them,
and nature, it must be supposed, points out
grass as a food which is beneficial to their
health ; indeed, if only occasionally let out,
they may be seen running to feed upon it,
even when they have grain before them. It
is therefore our decided opinion, that store-
foivls — that is to say, fowls which are not
intended to be immediately fattened — should
never be debarred from the free use of it
before their being shut up for fatting.

Many people object to their being allowed
the use of a field, as the grass, if wet, is in-
jurious ; but the old birds will remain upon
it no longer when hurtful, and chickens may
be prevented from going upon it when in
that state. Others, on the contrary, recom-
mend considerable plots of wild clover, with

c

18 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. I;

a mixture of bumet, spurry, or star-grass, to
be sown within the enclosure of the yard ;
but, although the use of these grasses would
certainly be salubrious to the poultry, it must
yet be evident that it would require, in most
cases, a much larger space than can be con-
veniently afforded for the purpose, besides
partially depriving the yard of that shelter
which renders it attractive to the fowls.

So far as it can be properly attended to in
the management of all sorts of poultry, nature
should be followed as closely as possible, and
if they be not lodged conformably to their
habits, they will not be satisfied. Thus, if
different kinds be crowded together without
any regard to their modes of life — such as
having nests on the floor for the web-footed
duck tribes, with proper sized roosting perches
for the grasp of the clawed-feet common fowls
— they cannot repose in quiet ; and quietude,
together with warmth, is absolutely necessary
to the growth and good condition of all tender
white-meat poultry. It is, indeed, well known
that the chill of cold so benumbs fowls of that
description as to render them in some degree
torpid ; while too intense a heat is thought

CHAP. 1.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 19

to weaken them. In order, therefore, to com-
bine the advantages to be wished for in a
hen-house, it should neither be too cold in
winter nor too warm in summer ; its size
should also be proportioned to the number of
inhabitants, though rather smaller than too
large, and fitted up with such attention to
their habits as to make them fond of it.
Whatever may be its size, form, or situation,
it should therefore be dry and warm ; free
from exposure to strong currents of air ; and
with every facility for cleanliness, together
with perfect security from the introduction
of every kind of vermin.

The sheds usually adopted for that pur-
pose are commonly roofed with tiles, or slates ;
which, although affording shelter from the
weather, are yet, if not ceiled, extremely cold.
In that case, therefore, it is an excellent mode
to stow as many trusses of straw over the
rafters which connect the walls as will fill up
to the roof. The cost will be absolutely
nothing, as the straw is not thrown away ;
and, even if the rafters be not sufficient to
support the straw, any serving-man can fix
a few rough poles from wall to wall, to an-

c 2

20 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. i.

swer the purpose. The best covering for
the hovels of all poultry, or cattle of any
description, though now out of fashion, as
being thought dangerous, is decidedly thatch,
laid thickly on, with wide overhanging eaves,
to keep off both wind and rain ; for it is the
warmest in winter as well as the coolest in
summer, and thus maintains an equal tempe-
rature throughout the whole year. Cold is,
however, the great object to be guarded
against ; for although naturalists who have
written on the subject assert that " heat weak-
ens fowls," and have copied each other in put-
ting forward that opinion, yet we know from the
experience of a long residence both in Por-
tugal and the West Indies, that poultry thrive
in such multitudes in those countries, though
exposed without precaution to the ardour of
the sun, that they there form the chief portion
of animal food.

One great object in every dwelling, whether
for human beings or for poultry, is to obtain
a circulation of air which is warm as well as
fresh; and this it appears has been gained
by a very simple and inexpensive iron stove,
furnished with a small flue, which Sir Stewart

i

CHAP. I.] FARMING FOR LADIES, 21

Monteath has caused to be erected in his
agricultural cottages, and which could be
easily added to the chimney of any kitchen
having a poultry-shed at the back of it : but
those who recommend it to be put up ad-
joining the hen-house, forget that the fire
soon goes out, and the air becomes cold in-
stead of hot ; whereas an equal temperature
is always the best.

In an amusing publication lately written by
an Irish clergyman under an assumed name,
he states, in describing his poultry-yard, that,
" for the sake of warmth, the hen-house was
built against the back wall of the kitchen, the
upper gable of it being formed by a cross-
wall, which partly enclosed the paddock : it
was merely a shed, ten feet long by six wide,
covered in with coarse slab-boards, coated
with pitch, with a wide eave to throw off the
rain clearly, and high enough at the back wall
to allow persons to walk along it from end to
end without stooping. There was a door in the
other gable wall, which was four-inch brick-
work, with a little sliding shutter at the top,
through which the hens entered by a ladder
from below, when they wanted to lay or go to

22 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. i.

their roosts ; the uppermost of which was on a
level with that little opening,

"There were little sleeping-berths for ducks
at the bottom. The floor — of well-tempered
lime and clay — was raised about a foot above
the level of the yard, to have it perfectly dry
and easily cleaned out every day ; and the
walls, being very well plastered, were kept
free from cobwebs, insects, and dirt of every,
kind, by pretty constant whitewashing.

" To have plenty of thorough air — so need-
ful in warm weather — there was a glazed win-
dow on hinges in the far-side gable, opposite
the door, but well secured with an iron gra-
ting. There were roosting-sticks, one above
the other, but at different distances from the
wall, so that the fowls did not stand exactly
over each other.

" Some of the nests were square wooden
boxes, put into holes picked out of the back-
wall, and near the ground, for the hatching
hens to have the benefit of the warmth of the
kitchen-fire at their backs in the early spring
sitting, when such additional warmth agrees
with them. The other nests were of basket-
work, hooked to the walls in convenient places,

CHAP. I.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 23

to be reached by the hens from a ladder, and
with ledges for them to stand on, which pre-
vented them from suddenly springing into their
nests, and perhaps breaking the eggs that
might have lain there from the day before.
The basket-nest you can easily take dowTi and
wash ; and this will be a great comfort to the
hens, by preventing vermin from collecting.
For the same reason, the beds should be fre-
quently changed ; but the boarded nests are
to be preferred for hatching, as they are close
and warm.

" The length of the back-wall of the kitchen
and office- wall was so great that there were
other lodging-houses too, with coops, one for
fattening fowls, which should be always kept
apart from the others, and another for sick
ones, and a very high one for turkeys, not
closely enclosed, but with lattice-work in front,
to give them plenty of air, which they delight
in. There were also three little covered yards,
a few feet square, latticed in front, and with
partitions of lath (lattice-wise also) for the
newly-hatched chickens, with sleeping-rooms
inside them. As to the very few geese which
were kept, they were either lodged on the floor

24 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. i.

of the turkey-house, or in little rude pens in
one of the remote corners of the yard, which
allowed room for little enclosures, by move-
able hurdles, whenever any variety of broods
required this accommodation ; and the houses
being open by day, the turkeys and fowls
could take shelter from rain, or the rays of a
hot sun, as they pleased."

Although we do not admit that boarded
nests are to be preferred for hatching, we yet
agree in what the reverend gentleman further
says — " that a country carpenter, and a clever
contriving woman, can make out every conve-
nience she wants, with very little expense :"
as well as that, " something of the above plan
will answer for any family where expense and
show are not desired." We are, indeed, ac-
quainted with a family of that description who
keep a considerable number of fowls and
ducks, with a few turkeys sufficient for the
supply of a tolerably good table, all of which
are comfortably lodged in a spare stall of the
stable, from which it is merely divided by
laths, with a small door ; the nests being
placed in and under the manger, and the
perches fixed lengthwise from the side walls.

CHAP. I.] FARMIXG FOR LADIES. 25

The horses thus keep it warm ; it is sure to
be kept clean, opened and shut early ; and it
affords better security than mere sheds from
nightly tliieves.

We have also heard of a farmer who keeps
a large number of young cocks and pullets
during the winter in a cellar partly under-
ground, though in the upper part having aper-
tures sufficient to admit light and air. It is
under an outhouse, and not more than six feet
high ; the perches for roosting being fixed in
a sloping manner from the roof to within eigh-
teen inches of the ground-floor, and the nests
placed at the sides underneath. The fowls
are never let out, yet are in perfect health, and
being thus kept warmer than in any house,
the pullets lay eggs during the coldest wea-
ther, and the cockrells become fat enough for
the table without further trouble. Were a
hen-house erected with such a cellar under-
neath, containing divisions for the laying hens
and fatting fowls, it would have the benefits
of summer air and winter warmth ; or, as it
were, all the advantage of a town and country
residence ; the only objection being the in-
creased inconvenience of cleaning the floor,

26 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. i.

the dirt of which cannot be scraped out at
the door.

Cottages may, indeed, he constantly seen
surrounded with poultry, though containing
neither yard nor outhouse, but lodged inside
the cot, without any other outlet than the
road, and the author from whom we have
quoted mentions one, owned by an old woman,
who thus kept a cock and half a dozen hens
so safe and warm that she had eggs in the
depth of winter. " Having little or no family,
she wanted no sleeping-loft in her kitchen,
which was as high as the rafters and thatch ;
she contrived, therefore, to lay inside from the
front to the back wall, at the fire-place, as
much flooring as was sufficient for her fowls,
which perched upon the couples over head.
She had a ladder and a hatchway for going
up to clean the boards or take away the eggs
from the nests ; and the fowls themselves
went up and down from the outside through a
small sliding shutter in the gable, on a level
with the floor of the loft, by a ladder which
was removed at night."

We allude to this, rather to show what may
be done upon a very small and primitive scale,

CHAP. I.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 27

than to recommend its being copied ; but any
small outhouse may be snugly fitted up for
the reception of poultry, or even built be-
tween the angles of two walls, or as a lean-to
at the back of a kitchen, cow-house, or stable,
without any outlay worth mentioning. Being,
in all such matters, very attentive to snug-
ness of accommodation, the spot which we
should prefer for the hen-house, would be
adjoining the stable or cow-house ; or, still
better, between both, with an open space in
the upper part, but only lathed off to prevent
communication, and having a lattice, to open
and shut, at both back and front : for the
stable and cow-shed, being always warm dur-
ing a winter's night, imparts a comfortable
atmosphere to the fowl-house. The entrance
to this shed may be at the back of the stable,
to deprive the fowls of the power, if admitted,
of scratching into and soiling the beds, and
pecking the mangers when the horses are
absent ; but, if thus shut out, they should be
near enough to the kitchen for the cook to
have an eye upon them.

Even if erected without any such convenience
of situation, a fowl-house from 12 to 18 feet

28 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. i.

long by 8 or 9 feet wide will accommodate a
large number, and may still be constructed
at trifling cost, if made of rough timber and
warmly thatched. The walls need not be more
than 7 to 8 feet high from the ground, as
the slant of the roof will render it sufficiently
lofty in the centre for air and roosting. One
half of the length, in the centre, should be
appropriated as a roosting-house, and the re-
maining ends, divided off by slight boarding,
may be used — the one, with straw upon the
floor for tlie breeding of web-footed fowls or
turkeys, with nests placed over them, on
brackets, for the laying and hatching-hens of
the common poultry ; the other, both occa-
sionally for a fatting-house, or for the bring-
ing up of a brood of chickens.

The perches, for roosting, should be placed
in a slanting direction at different heights, a
few feet from the floor, nearly up to the roof,
and sufficiently wide apart to prevent the
fowls which may roost on the lower perches
from being soiled by the droppings of those
above them ; but, as they should be fixed in
grooves, to allow of their being occasionally
taken down and cleaned, their number and

CHAP. I.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 29

height from the ground may be either in-
creased or diminished according to the number
of fowls, which are of course continually vary-
ing, both when reared and killed. The perches,
too, should neither be quite round nor square,
but rather like the branch of a tree ; indeed
saplings, with the bark on, to suit the large
and small birds, are the best. A pole should
also be put in a slanting direction from the
floor to the perches, with slips of deal nailed
on it, in the manner of a ladder, at distances
of three inches, to act as steps. In order^
moreover, to facilitate the ascent of the
chickens when they have left their coops and
begin to roost, a small perch or two should
likewise be fixed at only a few inches from
the floor ; but, as they like to roost high, they
will soon join the full-grown fowls.

The floor should be sufficiently raised above
the ground to keep it as dry as possible, and
it should be paved with slate or indurated
asphalt ; either of which is better than brick.
It may, indeed, be remarked that all boarded
floors are improper for poultry-houses ; for,
although they may be thought warmer, they
yet imbibe a large quantity of water on each
time of their being washed, which renders

30 TAKMING FOR LADIES. [chap. i.

them cold and damp. They also retain a
stronger scent of impurity than either tiles or
slates ; besides being more subject to crevices
which admit of those lice with which fowls
are so frequently infested. It should also be
thickly sanded, or covered with saw-dust,
swept out every morning, and thoroughly
washed at least once every week, with water
mixed up with chamber-lie and quicklime.
The walls should likewise be occasionally
brushed down and whitewashed with lime.

In order to secure ventilation during the
day, there should be one or two small wired
lattices, in opposite directions, to secure a
draught of air, but with close shutters to
guard against the cold of a winter's night.
With regard to the burning of tobacco and
aromatic herbs, so much recommended — " for
the purpose of destroying bad odours in the
fowl-house" — if it be kept properly clean, it will
not be infected with any bad smell ; though the
practice can do no harm, and green sage is
much used for that purpose by the French. We
should however say, that a wisp of damp straw
set alight and allowed to smoulder during the
night on the floor of the fowl-house, or even
a few sheets of coarse brown paper, would

CHAP. I.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 31

have equal effect ; but if lice, or veraiin of
any kind, be found either on the walls and
perches, or burrowed under the shed, the most
effectual way of destroying them is to fumi-
gate the place with sulphur. The mode is —
to close the shutters of the lattices, and every
crevice from which any portion of smoke may
escape ; then place a pan of lighted charcoal
on the floor, and throw on it a handful of sul-
phur or a piece of brimstone : immediately
quit the room and shut the door. This must
not be opened for some hours, nor should any
one be allowed to enter the place without hav-
ing the lattices opened, until the vapour has
evaporated. The operation must thus be com-
menced early in the morning, and finished
in time to allow the fowls to go to roost.
If carefully performed, so as to exclude the
intermission of outward air, the smoke will
penetrate into every crevice, and destroy the
life of every creature in the building.

The door should be strong, and carefully
locked every evening, to prevent the depreda-
tions of those vagabonds who nightly frequent
the beer-house with the intent of gaining in-
formation and pilfering whatever they can lay

32 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. I.

their hands on ; and who, if not obstructed by
firmly fastened doors and windows, and, still
better, by the watchful barking of a cur-dog,
will, some night or other, assuredly plunder
your hen-roost. Many years ago our own,
though too firmly secured to be broken into,
was robbed by putting some very small child
into a door which was made only large enough
to admit of the turkeys. A small opening is
generally made in the lower part of the door
to allow of the fowls going out at the earliest
dawn of morning ; but it will be better to
keep this little door shut, both to prevent
the entrance of rats and such-like vermin,
and not allow the egress of the fowls until
some one is stirring, in order thus to guard
them under constant protection : a precaution,
it may be observed, which no prudent lady
who values her poultry should ever neglect ;
for there are frequently fellows prowling about
under the guise of beggars, who would not
hesitate, if unobserved, to wring the neck of a
stray pullet.

The Poultry- Yard being thus arranged,
let us now look to its inhabitants.

CHAP. II.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 33

CHAPTER II.

Poultry — Tame and Wild Birds — Origin and Description of
domestic Fowls — Moulting — The Cock — The Hen — Anec-
dote of a Robin-^Age of Fowls — Breeding — Valentine's
day — Selection of Cocks and Hens — Number of Mates
to one Cock.

In a general sense the term Poultry — which
has been evidently derived from the French
Poule, or Poulaille — includes all those classes,
whether geese and ducks, turkeys, guinea-
birds, or common fowls, which are usually
reared in this country for domestic use. The
gallinaceous species (the apparent pedantry of
which designation ladies will, it is hoped,
excuse) comprehends all those distinctively
called " fowls," the various races of which
constitute the subject of this and the following
chapter.

It has been remarked by Goldsmith, in his
Animated Nature, " that most of the domes-
tic birds of the poultry kind, which we retain
in our yards, are of foreign extraction ; and it
is remarkable enough, that while the tame

D

34 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap, ii.

species which we have imported from distant
countries have largely increased, those wild
birds of the poultry kind which are indigenous
to our climate have all diminished." Some,
indeed, appear to have been in our region
almost utterly destroyed : as, for instance, the
Bustard, the Capercailzie, or Capercali, known
also as the Cock of the Wood ; only a few of
the latter being occasionally found in some
unfrequented districts of the north, and never
seen in the more cultivated and populous
parts of the United Kingdom. We are, how-
ever, happy to learn that the cock of the wood
has been lately brought from Norway for the
purpose of being introduced into the demesne
of Taymouth Castle ; and as the same object
is, we understand, now being carried into effect
both by His Royal Highness Prince Albert,
by His Grace the Duke of Buckingham, and
the Earl of Orkney, we have every reason to
hope that, in process of time, this noble bird
will again be domesticated in our forests.

Fowls, although now so universally reared
in every civilized country of the world as to
be considered indigenous to each, were yet,
no doubt, originally brought from the more

CHAP. II.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 35

southern parts of India, in many districts of
which they are found wild in great abundance,
but at what period they were here introduced
and domesticated, is now unknown. It is, in-
deed, singular that no allusion to it has been
made in the remotest history of ages, though
their reduction to a domestic state for the use
of man could not, it may be supposed, have
been easily accomplished ; for, although not
light upon the wing, and, in fact, rather of
terrestrial than aerial habits, they are yet so
shy and averse to restraint, that, if originally
wild, it must have taken a long series of pa-
tient attempts to succeed in bringing them to
subjection. So light, wholesome, and agree-
able is, however, the food which they produce,
that we cannot wonder at the perseverance
employed for their subjection, the success of
which has been so universal that there is
scarcely a rural habitation around which may
not be found scores of cocks and hens.

The Cock of the Wood is by some physiolo-
gists supposed to have been the progenitor of
those gallinaceous tribes which are now do-
mesticated throughout Europe; while others
— under the authority of Bufion — attribute

d2

36 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. ii.

their origin to the Jungle Cock, which is a
native of the woody regions of the East.
Neither of those wild birds appears, however,
to have been the source of our tame breeds ;
for the cock of the wood, though still an in-
habitant of the mountainous forests of the
North, and formerly found abundantly in
many parts of Great Britain and Ireland, is
yet double the weight of our largest fowls, and
partakes nothing of their habits or theu' plu-
mage ; and the jungle cock, though in form
much resembling our tame fowls, has yet never
been domesticated in those countries where
they breed : which circumstance seems deci-
sively opposed to the supposition of his having
been the parent of the domestic race. But
the Java Cock — which is indigenous to that
island, and there partly domesticated — so
closely resembles the European breeds, with
which they also intermingle, that it is not im-
probable he was the main origin of our present
stock.

The inquiry, however, is a question, if not
of mere curiosity, yet of secondary importance,
possessing little interest to the object before us ;
though it is extraordinary that our efforts to

CHAP. 11.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 37

tame the pheasant, the partridge, and the
quail, have proved unavaihng, and a belief is
by many entertained " that the races of
domesticated animals were never wild :" on
which point observations have been so perti-
nently made, that we shall offer no apology
for transcribing them.

" In the first place, there is no evidence of
a greater number of kinds of domesticated
animals now in the world, than have been
from the earliest period of history ; and, in
the next place, there have always existed as
many kinds of domesticated animals as have
been useful to man in his most civilized state.
As the civilization of man increased, so have
the variety and quality of domesticated ani-
mals increased, but the number of their kinds
has not increased. There were horses, asses,
camels, dogs, cattle, sheep, and goats, in
the days of Abraham as well as now ; and
these constitute the largest proportion of our
domesticated animals.

" Many attempts have been successfully
made to tame single individuals of wild races,
but such animals, though tamed, are in quite
a different state from our domesticated ani-

38 FARMIXG FOE. LADIES. [chap. ir.

mals. Some wild animals exhibit a degree of
familiarity. The swallow builds her nest in
our windows, and the robin enters our dwell-
ings ; whilst the blackbird and sparrow are
constantly before us. This familiarity, how-
ever, does not amount even to tameness, far
less to domestication. It appears, indeed,
that wild animals are preserved unchanged
for the great purposes of Providence through-
out the globe, and that Nature has presented
to man only such animals as are obviously
most suitable to his wants. With these he
must be satisfied. What wild creature would
he desire to substitute for any one of our
animals ? Should we desire it, Nature has
placed such a barrier in our way, that it is
impossible for us to make a single wild crea-
ture available to our domestic purposes. We
may exercise our ingenuity, judgment, and
even caprice, in moulding the habits and qua-
lities of domesticated animals to our tastes,
wants, and conveniences. There the field of
experiment is open to us — not to an unlimited,
but to a great extent; but Nature will not
permit us to make a single predatory excur-
sion among her wild animals."

CHAP. 11.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 39

French naturalists enumerate no less than
sixty different species of fowls ; and although
English writers on the subject modestly
confine their description to little more than
one-third of that number, yet as the greater
part of these are chiefly bred for the satisfac-
tion of the curious, we shall only particularise
a few of those more prominent breeds which
are in general use ; leaving to amateurs the
amusement of producing new varieties by
crosses with some of the foreign kinds. Nor
is this to be looked upon as an idle waste of
time or money ; for, while it innocently em-
ploys the mind, should it be attended with
success in bringing forward a superior breed,
not only will a private, but also a national
advantage be thus obtained ; and we should
recollect, that to such experiments all our
improvements in the present native stock of
animals are due : it is not, therefore, destitute
of interest in the view of either domestic eco-
nomy or public benefit.

Although it may call forth a smile from
ladies who are initiated in the management of
poultry, to be told the names by which fowls
are described, yet it may not be uninteresting

40 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap, ii,

to those who are unacquainted with the details
to be informed, that the males and females
cease to be termed " chickens " when they
severally attain the age of about four months,
' at which time the male acquires the name of
« Cockling," or " Cockrell," and "Stag," which
he retains until he reaches nearly a twelve-
month, when he finally gains the rank and
title of " Cock ;" the female being called
" a Pullet " until she begins laying, and is
ultimately advanced to the maternal dignity
of a " Hen." She then produces chickens,
and her progeny, when collected together, are
designated as " a brood." When the word
" laying " is applied to poultry it means the
act of the hen in producing an egg ; and
" hatching," or " incubation," is that of her
sitting upon the eggs for the purpose of bring-
ing the embryo chickens to life.

In the course of the year after they have
been hatched they all " moult," or cast their
feathers, most usually late in the autumn or
the early part of winter, but not unfrequently
in the former ; though it sometimes happens
that those fowls which have been early hatched,
moult in the same year, or early in the spring

CHAP. II.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 41

following. During the period — which lasts
from one to two, and even three months — they
are unfit for the table, nor do the hens lay
eggs, for they are then sickly, and out of con-
dition ; but, when they recover, their plumage
looks fresh and beautiful, though sometimes so
changed in colour that it is difficult to recog-
nise them. In some instances, indeed, the
feathers have changed colours in every suc-
ceeding moulting. Reaumur mentions a hen
of his, of the ruddy colour, mixed with brown,
which during four years altered her feathers
at every succeeding moult, until she at length
became uniformly of a pure white ; while a
cock of the same original colour, which had
become in successive moults uniformly black
and then white, turned again to red and brown
when in its sixth year : so that it could not,
in this case, have been occasioned by old age,
which whitens the human hair.

During the moulting season the fowls should
be well fed and kept very warm. It should also
be observed that, if in a sickly condition, they
sometimes suffer a loss of the feathers, though
not occasioned by moult : in which case, as
in most others caused by any unhealthy state

42 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. ii.

of temperature, good diet, change of food,
pure air and water, warmth and cleanliness,
will generally be found effectual restoratives.

It should likewise be understood, that not ,
only does the hen cease laying at this time,
but the cock also loses so much of his vigour
as to become inattentive to his mates and use-
less to the purposes of the poultry-yard. In
which case, Moubray states it as his practice,
" to withdraw the cock to a separate walk and
substitute another, which is known and fami-
liar to the hens :" which would, no doubt, be
a good plan, were it not for the difficulty, in
small establishments, of finding room for thus
separating the birds ; but especially from the
circumstance, that the hens are themselves
usually moulting at the same season.

The Cock — when in his prime — should be
firm on his legs, which ought to be strong and
well furnished with substantial claws to rake
the ground, and sharp spurs for his defence.
His thighs should be large and sinewy ; his
breast broad, and his body round, compact,
and robust. His head should be small, with a
sparkling eye, and the crown decorated with
a crest, or scalloped " comb," of the brightest

CHAP. II.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 43

scarlet, together with fleshy "wattles" of the
same colour and consistence, pendent in an
oval form from his throat ; his beak should
be short but strong ; and the feathers, or
" hackles," of his neck should fall gracefully
down. The comb and wattles are, however,
neither flesh nor membrane, but a peculiar
substance, partaking of both, and highly valued
by epicures when brought to table as a fricas-
see. His wings should be short and firmly
feathered with plumage of the most variegated
but brilliant colours of the darkest brown and
red ; his tail rising in an arch, without a white
feather — which has passed into a proverbial
mark of cowardice : though we have seen good
cocks of all colours. He should stand firmly
erect, with an air of haughtiness, his head ele-
vated, and wearing a look of bold defiance.
His crow should proclaim the dawn with that
shrill tone of joyousness which has acquired
for him the name of " chanticleer," or, as
the poet styles him,

" The crested cock, whose clarion sounds

The silent hour;"

and every act of his should evince vigour and
animation. He is, indeed, generally viewed

44 FAKMING FOR LADIES. [chap. ii.

as the very prototype of all that we call gal-
lantry : courteously affectionate to his mates,
to whom, when surrounded by them, he is
vigilantly attentive, generously supplying their
wants by every means in his power, before
satisfying his own, and daringly courageous
as a champion in their defence. He is, how-
ever, jealous to excess of their attachment ;
demanding submissive obedience from the
companions of his love, and ruling them with
the sway of a bashaw : in fact —

" Le coq de ses soeurs estl'epoux et le roi,
Toujours marche a leur tete, et leur donne la loi,
II peut pour des aiinees les aimer, les conduire;
II est ne pour I'amour, il est ne pour Tempire ;"

and he reigns over the poultry-yard as a sul-
tan in his harem.

The Hen should partake, as far as possible,
of the form and plumage of the cock : short-
legged ; round and full in the body, but more
roomy behind, for the better production of
eggs, with wide-spreading, closely-feathered,
downy wings, to afford a warm shelter to her
chicks. If long-legged, with claws, or spurs,
at the back, she sits awkwardly on her eggs,
which she thus sometimes breaks, and if not
large, both in the body and the wing, she can

CHAP. II.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 45

neither cover a proper number of eggs, nor
can she impart sufficient warmth to her brood.
She should also be good-tempered ; for, as
bickerings and dissensions do occasionally
occur in the best regulated families, a shrew-
ish, termagant hen will now and then peck
violently at her lord, instead of passively
yielding to his wishes or commands ; though
he, acting with characteristic spirit, is never
known either to return the attack, or make
any defence, although strong enough to mas-
ter a dozen such rebels. Reaumur tells us of
two hens which he had shut up with a cock
— all three living together for some time in
the greatest harmony ; when, all on a sudden,
the hens both attacked him without any appa-
rent cause, yet with such fury that in the
course of five or six days they actually killed
him : though being then cooped, in order to
tame them, they afterwards received the ca-
resses of another without any reluctance. It
has, indeed, sometimes happened that the
whole covey of the cock's mates have jointly
flown upon him in anger for some offensive
neglect of which he had been guilty : in which
case — as we must suppose the punishment to

46 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. li.

be justly inflicted — the delinquent should be
immediately removed and replaced by a bird
of more amorous and gallant propensities.

It must however be confessed, that the cock
himself not unfrequently takes a dislike to one
or more of his hens — particularly if they are
advanced in years — and which he treats with
great cruelty : the only remedy for which is,
for peace sake, to separate them. He also
occasionally singles out one of his youngest
consorts, to which he pays more marked at-
tention than to any of the others : scratching
up food for her separately ; enticing her into
some corner in which he shakes up blades of
straw with the apparent intention of making a
nest for her exclusively ; perching on the nest
in which she lays, and continually loading her
with fondness, which she evidently returns
with the same partiality : yet as this — extra-
ordinary as it may appear to our fair readers
— never occasions jealousy among the others,
there is no occasion for depriving him of his
favourite.

Notwithstanding what we have already said
of the petulance of the hen, she is, generally
speaking, all gentleness and timidity. The

CHAP. II.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 47

affection for her brood, when become a mother,
and her courage in protecting them, seems to
change her very nature ; for instead of being
ravenous of food, and of singular cowardice,
she searches for and abstains from everything
which her chickens can eat, and, far from
being the timid bird of her former habits, she
boldly attacks any creature that attempts to
injure them. We have seen her fly at a cat
which had pounced from a wall upon one of
her nurslings, and drive hiin away by flutter-
ing and pecking at him, though sorely wounded
in the encounter; and many are those who
have witnessed the affecting solicitude with
which she shrouds her little progeny under
her wing when she sees a hawk hovering in
the air : fearless for herself, and only careful
of their safety. An instance of which affec-
tion in the feathered tribe is thus recorded in
the Natural History of Selborne : —

" A gentleman in the neighbourhood had
directed one of his waggons to be packed with
hampers and boxes, intending to send it to
Worthing, where he was going himself. For
some time his departure was deferred, and he
therefore ordered that the waggon should be

48 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap, li.

placed under a shed in the yard, packed as it
was, till it should be convenient for him to
send it off.

" \^T3ile it was in the shed, a pair of robins
built their nest among some straw in the wag-
gon, and had hatched their young just before
it was sent away. One of the old birds, in-
stead of being frightened away by the motion
of the waggon, only left its nest from time to
time for the purpose of flying to the nearest
hedge for food for its young ; and thus alter-
nately affording warmth and nourishment to
them, it arrived at Worthing. The affection
of this bird having been observed by the car-
ter, he took care in unloading not to disturb
the robin's nest, and the parent with its young
ones returned in safety to the place from which
they had set out : the distance the waggon
went in going and returning not having been
less than one hundred miles."

Well may we hail the divine influence of
maternal love ! inspired, as it is, by heaven
itself, whether in the bosom of beauteous
woman, or of any humbler creature, and truly
has the poet exclaimed —

•' Oh! holy Nature ! tbou dost never plead in vain."

CHAP. II,] FARMING FOR LADIES. 49

With respect to the age of fowls, a cock may
generally be considered fit for his marital du-
ties, or, it may be said, arrived at his majority,
when about six or eight months old, though
prudent breeders do not deem him in proper
order until he has moulted ; and, indeed,
an experienced writer on game-cocks advises
never to breed from " stags or pullets," and
insists that " no fowls can ever be possessed
of every necessary requisite to breed from,
until they have moulted twice.'''' Nature, how-
ever, dictates the contrary : though much
depends upon the climate and state of the
weather while he was rearing, and especially
upon the manner in which he was fed ; but if
he has already moulted, he may be introduced
to his mates early in the ensuing spring, or
about the customary pairing-time of other
birds. Valentine's Day is truly the com-
mencement of the season of love : the sun
then begins to shine forth in splendour, and
the plumage of the birds acquires a more
vivid hue, as if nature taught them to put
on their gayest attire to attract and woo
their future companions.* The cock is then

* VVlieii applying this, however, to f'alent'me s Day, il

E

50 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. ii.

in his prime, and usually retains his full
vigour until three years of age, after which
time he grows indolent, hecomes careless of
his office, and is at last usually consigned to
the cook ; though sometimes he is kept with
his hens for two, and even three, years longer :
not only to avoid the apparent cruelty of
dividing the fellow from its mates, but also
from the loss of gratification which it occasions
by depriving the creatures which are depend-
ent on us of any portion of their enjoyment.
Although fi-ankly admitting the propriety of
this delay, in the sense in which it is given,
it is yet considered by those breeders who look
more to profit than pleasure, as a very in-
judicious practice : and in this they are cor-
rect ; for, if it be continued * without crossing
with other breeds, it will lead to coupling
males and females of the same family ; which
mode of " breeding in-and-in " — as breeders
of all animals term it — has been invariably
found so to deteriorate the race, that in a
few generations they lose any superiority which

should be recollected, that in consequence of the alteration
in the calendar, it would occur, according to the old style,
twelve days later than as now stated in our almanacks.

CHAP, II.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 51

they may have previously attained. Thus,
Sir John Sebright, who has made many in-
teresting experiments on fowls, found that
when bred in that manner, " they became
long in the legs, small in the body, and bad
breeders." The better way is, indeed, to
change him every year, and place with the
hens a cock, not of a different breed, because,
if it be of any peculiar sort, that would destroy
its purity; butofadifferent/aw2'Zy. Thus cocks
of the same breed may be placed along with
hens of the same species ; but, in that case,
they should be interchanged with some neigh-
bour : so that the fowls, although of the same
kind, may not be of the same family. The
best plan is, however, to fatten off such cocks
at once ; for they will then be not only more
fit for the table, but, if left alive, they will
not easily accustom themselves to associate
with strange hens when separated from those
with which they have been brought up.

In making the choice of a cock, Parmentier,
the French naturalist, recommends the plan
of putting two cocks of equal size, breed, and
age, into the yard along with the hens which
he is to espouse : the immediate consequence

e2

52 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. ii.

of which will be a battle between the two
aspirants for their favour, and the conqueror
should be selected ; for, as M. Parmentier
justly remarks, " hens, like all females, ever
prefer the male who displays the most courage
and spirit." This, however, should be done
only in company with those hens to which the
victor is to be attached ; for if there be many
more, they will of course be accompanied by
a male, who, having already fought his way
to the vaunted honour of being " cock of the
walk," will suifer no rival within his domain,
and these young cocks will submit without a
struggle to his already acknowledged supe-
riority. It is, nevertheless, sometimes not easy
to decide between the combatants, and until
it is ascertained which has the palm of con-
quest, there will be no peace in the yard.
Wherefore, ungenerous as it may be to favour
the strong instead of the weak, the most pru-
dent mode of settling the quarrel is to take
part with the stoutest cock, by buffeting the
other with your glove, while struck by his
antagonist, until he yields the battle. The
new cock (whether the trial to which we have
alluded be made or not) should be admitted

CHAP. II.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 53

to his brides in the evening about feeding-
time, in some separate place with them alone,
but not allowed to remain with them when
they go to roost, unless they receive him with
distinguished cordiality. By pursuing this
plan for a day or two, they will become
more accustomed to his presence, and he may
be permitted to accompany them to the com-
mon yard, where the other poultry will then
commonly associate with him peaceably ; but
should they dislike him and ill-treat him, he
must be changed for another cock.

Some writers have stated that the life of a
hen only extends to four years; whereas ex-
perience proves, that they will lay for two
years longer, and that the older they grow,
the better nurses they become. They have,
indeed, been known to bring up a brood when
more than seven years old, and if allowed to
live, Buffon supposes that in a domestic state
fowls would reach their twentieth year ; but
they are rarely suffered to attain the period of
life assigned to them by nature. Their best
time both for sitting and laying is, however,
between the age of two and four years : but
they are, like human beings, of different dispo-

54 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. n.

sitions — some flighty and careless ; and others
looking attentively to the charge of their
young family, which they hring up with all
the care of a matron. The first, are the
fittest for the spit ; but the latter, should
always be kept so long as they are capable
of rearing chickens : with this observation —
that they should, in that case, be all of nearly
the same age ; for otherwise, the cock will
assuredly mark the difference between the
old and the young, and probably neglect or
ill treat the former.

After the selection of the cock, comes the
number of hens which he should be permitted
to entertain, and in this there is much differ-
ence of opinion : some persons recommending
twelve to fifteen ; others ten ; and many un-
gallantly limiting him to six or eight, from the
notion that " the fewer the mistresses in a fa-
mily, the greater will be its comfort ;" while
the French and Italian housewives insist that
he should be indulged with a seraglio of five-
and-twenty ! and in the " Transactions of the
Highland Society," a breeder in the north of
Scotland insists that "one cock is sufficient
for twenty-four or thirty hens."

i

CHAP. II.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 55

The decision of which may be the better
mode, is a question which must depend much
on the nature of the climate — for all the gal-
linaceous species thrive better in the warm
and dry air of the south, from which they
originally came, than in the cold and humid
regions of the north ; but still more upon the
nature and sufficiency of the food. We cer-
tainly have frequently seen, both in this
country and abroad, from fifteen to twenty
hens attended by only one cock, and we
freely admit that the fewer cocks are kept in
the yard, the better ; as they will be the less
likely to quarrel. But, judging from our own
experience, we should say that a dozen hens
are the utmost that should be allowed to one
cock, and perhaps a still less number would
be more advisable ; unless warmly kept in
one of our southern counties, and fed with
a good quantity of corn. Moubray, indeed,
goes so far as, in the winter, to advise " that
a cock should only have four wives :" which
is perhaps limiting him unnecessarily, but
the error, if it be one, is on the right side :
and in the breeding of game-fowls for the
cock -pit, this is the utmost number allowed.

56 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. ii.

Breeders of the game-breed, in rearing
chickens for the pit, also limit the loeight of
the cock to five pounds at the utmost ; but a
cock of any good ordinary breed should be
larger, and some of improved breeds are
sometimes of nearly double that weight.
But, supposing several cocks of the same
breed to be found equally well formed — then,
according to our experience, we should pre-
fer the largest ; ever looking carefully to its
health, muscularity, and compactness of shape.
We, indeed, cordially agree with the remark
put forward in the very judicious essay on
the breeding of cattle, lately published by
Mr. Wright, of Chesterfield, " that breeding
from delicate and effeminate males cannot
be too highly reprobated. It is from hence
arise delicate constitutions, and all their con-
comitants : peculiarities belonging to a race
that can neither bear cold, or wet weather,
or bad keeping, or produce any profit even
from good keeping." But it should be borne
in mind that this may be carried too far in
the females ; for hens, if unusually large, are
in general indifferent layers, and not very
steady sitters.

CHAP. II.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 57

It is, also, very important to ascertain, so
far as possible, whether both the cock and
the hens which are to become his mates, are
of sound constitution ; for if not, they will
breed clutches of weakly chickens, which will
die off ere they grow to maturity. Their
mode of feeding should, therefore, be closely
observed : if they eat corn enough to fill
their crops and digest it quickly, it is a sign
of health ; but if they eat but little, and
their digestion is slow or incomplete, they
will probably be found sickly, and equally
unfit for breeding, or their flesh from being
eaten. Sheep which have the rot are, indeed,
constantly eaten, without people being con-
scious of the fact, and their flesh, when suf-
ficiently fat, is by many persons thought su-
perior ; for in the early stages of the disease,
the fat and flesh increase with wonderful
rapidity. In like manner, it has been as-
serted in a treatise published some years ago
on the breeding of game-cocks, that, " if two
chickens of the same age be killed, letting
one be thriving and hardy and the other rather
weakly, and dressed exactly alike, when they
are brought to table the thriving chicken

58 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. n.

will look black and eat hard, the other tender
and delicately white." We leave this, how-
ever, to the epicurean palate of lovers of good
living ; one of whom we have seen eat a
grouse in such a state of decomposition as
to scrape oif the breast with a spoon.

Respecting both cocks and hens, remarks
have been long current among country-folks,
which, although looked upon by many per-
sons as being what they sneeringly call " old
women's sayings," yet as we entertain too
much respect for the sex to treat anything
which they may advance with want of cour-
tesy, and have besides not a little confidence
in " old saws and sayings," as being as com-
monly founded in experience as the axiom,
" Count not your chickens until they are
hatched," we shall enumerate a few ; without,
however, pledging ourself to their truth. As
for instance, — many people have an idea that
eggs are addled by thunder ; and that chickens
hatched during the full of the moon thrive
better than if brought to life during its less
advanced period, and therefore put the hen to
sit in the first quarter : but looking, as we do,
to these as vulgar prejudices, we do not think

CHAP, 11.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 59

them so much entitled to attention as the
following : —

The indications of health in fowls are the
florid colour of their combs ; bright eyes,
free from moisture ; glossy plumage ; and an
air of animation.

If old, their legs, feet, and combs, are rough :
the spurs become long, and are found on hens
as well as cocks ; and both are dull and list-
less.

The darker is the plumage, the hardier is
the bird.

If they have dark legs, covered with rough
scales, the flesh will be of less delicate colour
than that of those whose legs are white, or
pale coloured and smooth.

Cocks of the middle size of each breed —
neither too large nor too small — are the most
vigorous : provided always, that the body be
round and the limbs muscular.

A cock with a small, limber, and whitish-
coloured comb, is fit for nothing but the spit ;
and if he has a white feather in his tail, he is
nothing better than a dung-hill.

Fat, heavy hens, neither produce a large
number, nor a good size of eggs.

60 PAKMING FOR LADIES. [chap. ii.

Hens with large flaccid combs are thought
sickly ; but if the hen has a bright comb so
large as to hang down upon the head, it is a
sign of her being both a good layer, a good
sitter, and a good nurse.

A jet-black hen is an earlier sitter, and a
later, as well as a better moulter, than a white
one.

Should a hen crow like a cock, it is a bad
sign ; and there is an allusion comparatively
spiteful to them, to priests and blue-stocking
ladies, which our deference, both to the cloth
and the ladies pointed at, will not allow us
to repeat.

AVhen fowls roll more than usual upon the
ground, or in the sand, and the cock crows
in the evening, or at unusual hours, we may
generally infer the approach of rain : " loud
also quacks the duck ;" and geese, if the
weather threatens to be wet, stay on shore ;
but, if fine, go to the water.

CHAP. III.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 61

CHAPTER III.

Different sorts of domestic fowls — The Game-breed — Cock-
fighting — Pugnacity of the cock — The Dorking fowl —
Capons and Poulardes — The Malay, or Chittagong breed,
origin and size of — Polish and Spanish breeds — Everlast-
ing layers — The Shack-back — The Crested — Hybrids and
fancy- breeds — The Bantam ; anecdote of — The Barn-
door fowl — The Dunghill cock — Observations.

So great has recently been the rage for im-
provement in all sorts of live-stock, and more
particularly in those species of poultry called
"fancy-breeds," that what with foreign im-
portations from abroad, and crosses among
the different kinds at home, there is scarcely
a pure distinct race of any sort to be now met
with. The few which still bear that charac-
ter as known in this country, and to which
we shall confine our present description, are
the Game ; the Dorking ; the Malay, or
Chittagong; the Polish and the Spanish;
the Crested; the Bantam; and the Common
Domestic, or Dunghill.

The Game-cock is of a slender, graceful

62 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap, in-

form, with plumage so much more bright
and showy than the common breeds, that
there appears as much difference between
the one and the other as there is between a
lady's thorough-bred horse and a cob. When
in full plumage, he wears an appearance of
extraordinary animation : his small head,
adorned with a splendid comb and wattles,
his eyes sparkling with fire, and his whole
aspect bespeaking the daring courage of his
nature.

Even of the game-breed there are, how-
ever, many varieties, some of which are
more esteemed than others among those feed-
ers who rear them for the cock-pit. Sketchly,
who has written a treatise on the subject,
describes eight of a superior sort, among
which he particularly mentions the black-
breasted red. " The feather of which," he says,
" when true bred, should be of a clear, vivid,
dark -red, without any shade whatever of the
black, extending from the back to the ex-
tremities. The upper convex side of the
wing equally red and black ; the whole of
the tail-feathers black ; the tip of the wing
also, with black beak and black legs. The

CHAP, in.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 63

brood-hen for such a cock should be the dark
partridge-coloured, bright hackled above, black
beneath, clear brick-breasted, with black beak
and legs." No cocks exhibit a longer period
of unfaded health, and their reputation stands
high in the opinion of sportsmen.

Cock-fighting was anciently so much in
vogue that it was a common amusement among
the Greeks and Romans, and in this country it
was formerly so favourite a sport among the
nobility, that Henry VIII. erected a spacious
building for its enjoyment. Charles II. had
also an arena, probably on the same site,
in St. James's Park, which he is said to have
frequently honoured with his presence, and
which still retains the name of the "Royal
Cock-pit." The birds were selected with as
much attention to pedigree as a race-horse :
large sums were betted upon the issue of the
battles, and an anecdote has been related of
a man who, in the savage fury of his revenge
for having lost a wager, deliberately roasted
alive the poor bird which had been beaten ;
but it has been said that his cruelty was
avenged by the immediate loss of life, for he
was struck dead in a fit occasioned by the

64 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. hi.

excitement of the passion in which he had
indulged. In England it has now fallen much
into disuse, from the low-lived gambling with
which it was latterly attended ; but in China,
Sumatra, and other parts of the East Indies,
there is such a mania for it, that men have
been known not only to stake the whole of
their property, but even to sell their wives
and children into slavery in payment for the
loss of a battle. Among persons of refine-
ment, the "sport," as it is usually termed,
is viewed as barbarous and cruel : but, al-
though not meaning to uphold it as a pas-
time for polished society, we must yet observe,
that the birds apparently entertain a degree
of innate hatred for each other, which they
indulge with great ferocity without any
extraneous excitement ; and, comparatively
speaking, we cannot look upon it as so cruel as
hare-hunting, nor so barbarous as the Spanish
taste for bull-fighting, in witnessing which
ladies of the highest rank, and doubtless en-
dowed with feminine feelings of humanity,
seem to have great enjoyment. Nor should
it be forgotten, that fowls of every breed
require no other inducement to a battle than

CHAP. III.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 65

their own restless jealousy of disposition ;
for no sooner does a stranger cock appear
among hens which are already provided with
a male protector, than the latter instantly
attacks the intruder upon his rights of cap-
tainship. The rivals face each other with an
air of stern defiance : the neck stretched out,
the feathers ruffled, and the head bent down
in readiness to give a blow ; they scratch the
ground as if to sharpen their claws, and at
length dart upon each other with such despe-
rate fury, that both are soon severely wounded.
The strongest of course gains the victory ;
and if he can throw his antagonist down, or
fly upon him, strikes his spurs into the fallen
enemy with such force as sometimes to kill
him. The victorious hero then stands over
the body, clapping his wings, and crowing
with the exultation of his triumph ; while his
vanquished adversary, if still alive, slinks away
abashed by his defeat, without ever again
contesting the supremacy of his conqueror.

Such, indeed, is the untameable pugnacity
of the game-breed, that* even chickens are
constantly quarrelling and fighting among
each other with such fierceness as not unfi:'e-

66 rARMI>^G FOR LADIES. [chap. hi.

quently to peck each other's eyes out ; and
they are so troublesome to the other poultry,
that the race is now seldom used except for
crossing with fowls of a different breed :
neither are they esteemed either as good
layers or steady sitters ; nor is their carcass
very large. Still, however, the delicacy of
their flesh is so superior to all others, that
they are in high request for the table ; and
they are sometimes, therefore, bred in separate
courts. One gentleman with whom we are
acquainted, breeds no other sort, and makes
no complaint of their not rearing a fair aver-
age number of chickens, though a few of
them are blinded, and occasionally one or
two killed ; but, to an epicurean palate, the
flavour of their meat, when dressed, is cer-
tainly most excellent. The eggs are all more
high flavoured than those of common hens,
and by most persons preferred, though some
consider them wanting in delicacy.

In order to check the mettlesome dispo-
sition of these turbulent cocks, it has been
recommended by a' French writer, "to put
their foot through the middle of a bit of
leather in a round shape ; when," as it is

CHAP. HI.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 67

said, "they become as quiet as men who
are fettered at the feet, hands, and neck ;"
and old Mascall, an English author, who
formerly wrote largely on husbandry, de-
scribes the mode of operation to be thus :
" Ye shall slitte two pieces of thicke leather,
and put them on his legges, and those will
hang over his feete, which will slake that
heate of jealousie whiche is within him."
On this we have had no personal experience,
though we think it might not be found a bad
plan, and the trial can do no harm. Clip-
ping off the spurs, and afterwards singeing
the stumps with hot iron, when the chicks
are quite young, will also have a good effect ;
but perhaps the most effectual of all is to
convert those which are bred solely for the
table into capons, in the same manner as the
Dorkings.

Perhaps the most esteemed breed in com-
mon use throughout the southern counties of
England is the Dorking : so named from a
small town in Surrey, in which they were
probably either originally bred, or from which
they were brought into notice by their in-
troduction for the supply of the London mar-

f2

68 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. hi.

kets. Surrey, Sussex, and Berks are the
shires in which they are chiefly produced ;
and both Dorking, Horsham, and Oaking-
ham are the great marts for their weekly
sale.

They are distinguished by the singularity
of having fve claws on each foot instead of
four, which is the usual number grown on
all other fowls, and are thought by many to
be a bastard breed, which took its origin from
some very large fowls with this peculiarity ;
but, as the fact has been noticed by ancient
writers on the subject of both foreign and
English poultry, it may be considered an
original race. The additional claw is, how-
ever, nothing more than an imperfect spur of
neither utility nor inconvenience. They have
the merit of being very gentle and quiet in
their habits; but the main features in their
favour are their acknowledged superiority in
the important points of being both good layers
of fine eggs, and steady sitters when hatching
their chickens ; as well also, as their growing
to a larger size than the common domestic
fowl, and thus producing a more substan-
tial dish for the table. The flesh is certainly

CHAP. III.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 69

not SO high flavoured as that of the game
kind, but is succulent, white, and very deli-
cate. The breed is, indeed, in such general
esteem, that we think no one who is possessed
of it will feel inclined to change it for any
other.

In contradiction to the advice already given
"of choosing cocks and hens of the most
variegated and brilliant plumage," those of
the Dorking sort are generally preferred to
be white, both as producing better meat, and
as being no less distinctive of the purity of the
breed than is the supernumerary hind claw.
We know, indeed, some breeders who keep
cocks of the darkest brown and red, while
they yet wish their hens to be of the purest
white. It is perhaps matter of no great mo-
ment, when the fowls are to be fattened for
the table, whether they are grown of one or
more colours ; but if it be the intention of
an amateur to preserve any distinct species, he
should endeavour to retain those marks which
betoken its character; and it is evident that
if the cock is brown and the hen white, the
chickens will be of mottled plumage.

In consequence of their size and aptitude

70 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. hi.

to fatten, many of this breed, both male and
female, are deprived of their powers of pro-
creation, both to improve their weight and
flavour ; for having then nothing to do but
eat, drink, and sleep, they grow to a much
larger size, and their flesh becomes more
delicate, than when left in a state of nature.
So much, indeed, is their weight increased,
that a gentleman whom we could name, in
Surrey, lately made a bet that he would
bring a cock which had been thus treated —
and which was bred from a cross between a
Dorking and a Malay fowl — to the weight of
fifteen pounds ; and only lost it by a few
ounces. They have, however, been grown to
still greater weight ; and the practice is so old
as to be mentioned in some of the ancient
Roman authors ; but the average of the pure
Dorking, when thus operated upon, does not
exceed six or eight pounds.

When reduced to this condition, the emas-
culated cock is called a " Capon ;" and the
hen, being prevented from perfecting the germe
of those eggs which are found in her ovary, is
termed a " Poularder Throughout France
fowls are constantly caponed by the farmers'

CHAP. III.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 71

wives ; but, in this country, there is so pre-
valent an idea respecting the surgical skill
required in the operation, that the practice
is almost confined to the counties of Surrey,
Berks, and Sussex. It is however of a very
simple nature, and is usually performed for
a trifle by some peasant or old woman who
is an adept in effecting it ; for it should never
be attempted by any person who is not well
acquainted with the method. The best time
of the year is the months of May or June,
when the birds are eight or nine weeks old,
and before the weather becomes very hot — in
order to prevent the wound from becoming
inflamed, and coming to a mortification. It
may, however, be done with tolerable safety
at any age after the cock has been turned out
of the yard, or when the hen has done laying,
and, in both cases, renders them fat and ten-
der, but the bird should be cooped for a few
days in some cool place, and fed upon soft
nutritive food, until a cure is completed. It
usually takes nearly eight or nine months after
the operation to bring them to a proper size ;
but if hatched early, and well fed, they may
be brought into high condition by Christmas.

72 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. iit.

The operation, though more easily done on
the hen, is seldom performed upon her, as she
is the most useful hird of the two ; though it
has been said by some writers, that when hens
have been thus operated on, they still con-
tinue to lay eggs. This must, we however
imagine, be a mistake ; for, if effectually per-
formed, it deprives them of that function of
their nature, and they can no longer lay.
When restored to health, the hens appear un-
conscious of any effect arising from the
operation ; but not so the cock : he becomes
dull and melancholy, loses the strength and
shrillness of his crow,

" foregoes

His wonted strut,"

and becomes so hateful to the other fowls
that they will rarely allow him to roost with
them.

In some instances he is, however, trained
to act as a hen in rearing up chickens,
and, ridiculous as it may appear, is then
described as appearing at their head in the
poultry-yard, not as he was before— dull,
ashamed, and humbled — but proud, haughty,
and triumphant; and such is the influence

CHAP. III.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 73

of audaciousness, that this borrowed mien so
imposes upon the cocks and hens as not to
disturb him in the discharge of his duty.
He is taught by placing him in a deep covered
basket, from which he is removed twice a day
to a wicker cage, in which he is fed along
with some chickens, to accustom him to their
company, until he gradually leads out several
broods, and this allows the parent hens to
again continue laying.

This may doubtless be found very useful
in brinr/iin/ up turkeys, as the quietude of
the capon would guard the chicks from those
accidents and loss to which they are exposed,
from being dragged through the grass, in
the careless manner so commonly done by
the real parent ; but, as to common fowls,
we are persuaded that the hen herself is the
best nurse, and far preferable to any foster-
mother. In France we indeed learn, that ca-
pons have been taught to sit upon eggs and
hatch them ! But although stated as not
being even there a very common practice, yet
this has been repeated by English writers in
such a way as apparently to leave no doubt
of its being here customary. We must con-

74 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. hi.

fess, however, that we have not had any ex-
perience of the fact, nor can we hear of any
one who has actually witnessed it ; and if it
be true, as stated in a late essay on the sub-
ject, " that the bodily warmth of the capon is
only 65 °, while that of a hen, while hatching,
is nearly 80°," we do not think it likely that
such an experiment would be successful.

The Malay, or Chittagong, are natives
of the Isles of Java and Sumatra, from which
they have been introduced into this country,
where they are now common, and the largest
known breed of fowls ; standing so high upon
their legs as to be frequently able to peck at
anything from off a dining-table, and some-
what resembling the Cochin-China breed lately
presented to Her Majesty. They arrive, also,
to so great a weight that an acquaintance
of ours had one presented to him by a friend,
who brought it from the former island, which
weighed, when killed and stripped of its fea-
thers, no less than 9 lbs. ; and a pair of
pullets, bred from a cross between the cock
and a Dorking hen, weighed together, when
trussed for the table, exactly 11 lbs. ! But
although good layers of fine eggs, they are

CHAP. III.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 75

bad sitters ; and as the fibre of the flesh is
rather coarse and the colour dark, they are
not held in much esteem by the poulterer.
They are, however, not unfrequently used
with other fowls for crossing : which, by the
bye, is no bad plan, as the produce will be
thereby probably improved in flesh ; while
bad sitters and good layers, when coupled
together, will thus generally bring forth hens
actually good for both purposes. The prac-
tice is indeed so common, that fowls are
now constantly bred from these crosses, and
when partaking largely of the prominent
features of the Malay, are very gene-
rally called by that name. The plumage
of the hen breed is nearly black, streaked
with brown and yellow, and the crow of
the cock is more harsh than that of other
fowls.

Another very large breed, bearing a great
resemblance in appearance to the Malays,
but producing much finer flesh, is the Polish,
or Spanish ; which, although one might sup-
pose them as widely different in nature as
in country, are yet nearly similar in form
and habits. They are thought by many per-

76 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. hi.

sons to have been originally brought either from
Persia, or some other region of the East, and
have been described as such by foreign na-
turalists, though called by the names of
the " Paduan" and the " Jago Cock ;" but
from whatever race they may have descended,
they are certainly a very handsome and esti-
mable species ; the more valued as producing
such numbers of eggs as to be called " eve?--
lasting layers" Their plumage is nearly all
of shining black, with a few tail-feathers of
different colours ; their head surmounted by
a tufted crest, and the comb so large, par-
ticularly in the hen, as sometimes to hang
over on one side.

It is, indeed, not improbable that the far-
famed '■'■ Shack-bach " — introduced some years
ago by the late Duke of Leeds, which ob-
tained such high repute as to be considered
superior in every quality to any other sort
of fowl in England, and by many persons
looked upon as a good substitute for the
turkey, — was bred from a cross with either
the Polish or the Spanish, and some other
kind which is not known. It is yet not a
little extraordinary that, notwithstanding their

CHAP. III.

[.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 77

former estimation, they are now so much out
of fashion as to be scarcely ever heard of.

The Crested breed — so called in con-
sequence of their being distinguished by hav-
ing on the head a densely tufted crown of
feathers of different colours, along with the
comb, which is usually smaller than in other
breeds, and some totally deprived of it — are
thought to have been also bred from inter-
crosses between Polanders and Spanish, or
Paduan ; but, as they are common in Egypt,
they have probably derived their descent
more directly from the East, and are more
esteemed in proportion as their colour is more
rare, or as the tuft of the crest contrasts with
the rest of the plumage.

Of all these varieties, those preferred by
amateurs are the white ones with black
combs, and the black with white combs.
The breed fats easier than most others, and
the flesh is generally considered more de-
licate ; but however pleasing to the eye and
palate, they are not a profitable stock, for
they produce such few eggs as hardly to pay
for their keep, and the hens are not generally
bred from.

78 FARMING FOR LADIES. [cii-iP. in.

Of Hybrids, or fowls bred from crosses
which have been tried between our common
domestic breeds and other birds of nearly
similar species, the only experiment of the
kind which has in any way succeeded is that
between the hen and the pheasant ; which
are so naturally alike in their habits, that
besides being equally heavy on the wing,
they both feed upon grain and insects, roost
upon trees, lay the same number of eggs for
hatching, and build their nests upon the
ground. Although common hens have been
impregnated by cock pheasants which have
stealthily sought them, yet the broods thus
generated still retain much of their wild
nature. Their flesh, however, has so much
of the game-flavour of the pheasant, coupled
with the juiciness of the fowl, as to be greatly
prized by connoisseurs in good eating; and
therefore attempts are often made to pro-
pagate the breed by those who are careless
of trouble and expense.

The Bantam is a dwarf breed of such
a diminutive size as seldom to weigh much
more than a pound. They have been, indeed,
bred by the fanciers of so small a size as not to

CHAP. III.] FAKMING FOR LADIES. 79

be much larger than a lark ; while a breed
brought from Holland, though very short
upon the leg, is yet so round and fat in the
body as not to weigh much less than a game-
hen. They are of very graceful figure, and
both male and female feathered to their very
claws with showy plumage, though some few
fanciers prefer to have them with legs devoid
of feathers. They are, indeed, so generally
known as hardly to need description ; but
the essay which we have mentioned in al-
luding to the crested fowl states, " that the
full-bred Bantam-cock should have a rose
comb, a well-feathered tail, full hackles, and
a proud, lively carriage. The nankeen-co-
loured and the black are the greatest favour-
ites ; but if of the latter, the bird should have
no feathers of any other sort in his plumage.
The nankeen bird should have his feathers
edged with black, his wings barred with purple,
his tail-feathers black, his hackles slightly stud-
ded with purple, his breast black, with white
edges to the feathers, and the hens should
match in plumage with the cock ;" and in this
we so far agree, though in general the plumage
will be found varied with different colours.

80 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. hi.

The cock is indeed a gallant little fellow,
of such high courage that he will not shrink
from measuring his prowess with one of ano-
ther race though double his own size ; and we
have more than once seen him drive a dung-hill
bully from the court. He is also capable of
such attachment to his mate, that we remember
a Bantam cock and hen which were kept for
some years as favourites, without any others,
in the stable-yard of our father, and when at
length the hen died, the cock, seeing her
lifeless, but naturally unconscious of its being
a final separation, hovered round her, call-
ing to her, and pecking at her gently, as if to
awake her. Though corn was offered to him,
he refused to eat, or to roost at night, but
moped round the yard, vainly searching for
his old companion, when, not finding her, he
flew away, and was never after heard of

The breed, though so small, is in great
estimation for the superior delicacy of its
flesh, which is so high flavoured as to have been
dressed and passed off as partridge. The hens
also lay a profusion of eggs, of such excellent
quality, that, notwithstanding their diminutive-
ness, their effect in pastry is thought by many

CU.VP. 111.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 81

cooks to equal those of the Dorking. The
hen is likewise not only a steady sitter
when hatching, but so capital a nurse that
she commonly brings up a greater proportion
of her brood than any other hen whatever ;
arising, perhaps, not so much from her su-
perior care and tenderness, as from the short-
ness of her legs, which prevents her from
tiring the chicks by leading them over too
great an extent of ground. The hens of this
breed are, therefore, often put to hatch the
eggs of pheasants, and make admirable foster-
mothers.

There are many varieties of dwarf-breeds :
one of purely white plumage, and so small
as to be not larger than a middling-sized
pigeon ; and another, called the " Turkish-
cock," which has been considered as the
origin of our Bantam ; though on comparing
the description given of it two centuries ago
by Aldrovandi, the Italian naturalist, who at
the same time described the Bantam, it would
be seen that the idea is founded upon an
erroneous supposition. We, therefore, look
upon the Bantam as a distinctive breed of this

G

82 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. hi.

country ; but whether correct in the opmion
or not, is very immaterial.

It is somewhat amusing to see, among ac-
counts of different breeds of poultry, a dis-
tinct description of the Barn-door Fowl, as
if it were a peculiar species ; whereas the fact
is, that all fowls brought up in a farm-yard
where corn is thrashed, or having constant
access to it, are called "barn-door fowls,"
in consequence of their continually picking
up grain and insects, from which their flesh
is generally thought to acquire a superior
quality. The term, however, might be aptly
applied to the well-known Dung-hill Cock,
which is so familiar to common observation
that any description may appear almost super-
fluous, even if it could be given with any degree
of accuracy ; for, such is the variety of their
plumage, that with the exception of the pure
white and jet-black, scarcely any two are per-
fectly alike, and although formerly the most
ancient of our domesticated breeds, and then
formmg an exclusive race, they have since
been so crossed with other species as to be now
considered mongrels. Viewing them, how-

CHAP, in.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 83

ever, as an acknowledged breed, we shall
say, that the hardiest are of a middle size,
with short, white, silvery legs, and the cock
should be chosen of the darkest mottled
plumage, as nearly as possible like that of
the game-breed, and without any mixture
of white. The feebleness of constitution
which the white is supposed to denote in the
cock is not, however, a just objection to the
hen ; for chickens with white feathers are
generally considered more delicate in point
of flesh than those of darker plumage, and
we should not hesitate to breed from a hen
of good form, let her colour be what it might ;
for there are good and bad sitters of all
colours, which can be only known by ex-
perience.

Whether the breed is pure or mongrel,
indeed, matters not, for they are more hardy
than other fowls and less dainty in their
food, which they industriously search for in
the farm-yard, the dung-heap, and the field ;
they are also more easily supported, thousands
of them being fed and fattened in Ireland
without any other given food than potatoes.
They produce more eggs than most other

g2

84 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. hi.

breeds, are excellent mothers, and their flesh
is as firm and well flavoured as need be ;
besides which they may be found, at mode-
rate cost, in every village of the kingdom,
without seeking for superior breeds in dis-
tant markets, at considerable trouble and in-
creased expense ; which breeds too, if not
highly kept, will assuredly degenerate.

A treatise lately published on the subject in
the United States, indeed sensibly recommends,
as the better practice, in order to make a poul-
try yard profitable — "to select no particular
breed ; to commence with pullets and cocks of
the first year of all breeds ; and every year
exchange a nestful or two of eggs with such
of your neighbours as have good fowls : by
steadily pursuing which practice, you will
yearly infuse new blood into your stock, and
avoid the inconvenience of breeding in-and-
in." We, therefore, recommend them to the
attention of every housewife who looks more
to economy in the maintenance and abund-
ance of produce, than to the beauty or the
fancied delicacy on the table of her feathered-
stock.

CHAP. IV.] FARMI^STG FOR LADIES. 85

CHAPTER IV.

Fecundity of the lien — Breeding — Second broods — Ovary
— Desire of laying — Nests — Eggs — Hatching— Good and
bad sitters — Fecundation of the egg — Foetus of the chick,
and its progress to life — Incautious modes of acting.

The great value of the hen is her fecundity ;
for she lays more eggs than any known bird
except the Guinea-fowl ; and eggs forming
a main portion of the profit arising from a
poultry-yard, it should be stocked with those
species which yield not only the greatest
number, but also rear their chickens with
the greatest care, and produce fowls of the
greatest size and delicacy. These advan-
tages are blended in the common dung-hill
hen and the Dorking, and either one or the
other, if not both, should be chosen ; but if
only one is to be selected, and the Dorking
can be had without difficulty, it should be
preferred; or, at all events, a cock of that
species should be got to improve the common
breed. Hens of this latter kind may, it is

86 FA.RMING FOR LADIES. [chap. iv.

true, lay smaller eggs than some of the fancy
species, but they give a greater number ; and
although their chickens may be smaller, yet
if an account be kept of the corn which they
and an equal number of any other sort of
fowls consume, together with the weight and
value of the eggs and chickens, it will pro-
bably be found in a twelvemonth's experi-
ence, that they are a more profitable stock
than those which rank higher in general
estimation.

We hope we shall not be accused of too
often adverting to " old sayings," if we recall
to our readers that " the eye of the master fat-
tens the horse ;" and that in bringing that ax-
iom to the attention of ladies, ere we enter
upon the subject of breeding and management,
we remind them that servants, however trust-
worthy, are not always to be depended on for
the strict performance of a duty which in-
volves a certain degree of personal interest
in the poultry entrusted to their care, and
which none but the mistress can feel. We,
therefore, earnestly entreat her not only to
superintend the concerns of the yard with
vigilance, but, in ' giving orders,'' to see

CHAP. IV.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 87

' that they are executed.^ A moment's in-
spection will satisfy herself whether cleanli-
ness and ventilation have been properly at-
tended to ; but another essential point in
which servants are very apt to be negligent,
is regularity in the time of feeding. All do-
mestic animals expect their food at the hour
to which they have been accustomed ; they
know, as well as the clock, the moment it
approaches ; if disappointed, they become
restless and fretful, and this eventually
occasions them to fall off in condition. A
main point in both mistress and maid, is also
that of good temper, without which all will go
wrong; for if the fowls be quarrelsome and
unruly, it will be useless to beat or scold at
them, though with a little kind usage, ac-
companied by a few grains of corn, they may
be coaxed into quietude, and become fond of
their attendant.

Hens lay nearly all the year round, except
during the moulting season, and in the depth
of winter ; but their mode of laying is not
regular, for they sometimes lay a couple of
eggs in three days, though more frequently
every second day, and some lay more than

88 FARMING FOR LADIES. [cHAP. i\.

others. No exact calculation can, therefore,
be made of the number ; but, generally speak-
ing, at least ten to twelve, or fourteen dozen
of eggs a year may be counted upon ; be-
sides, if the hens be very prolific, their
each bringing up a brood, and sometimes
even two broods of chickens. The time of
their beginning to lay depends much on the
state of the weather, and seldom commences
in this country before the latter end of
February, though in the warmer regions of
the south of Europe it is earlier, and in the
torrid temperature of the East and West In-
dies there is no distinction of season : nature
providently teaching that were hens to hatch
chickens in the winter of this northern climate,
its cold would cause the brood to perish.

After the hen has layed from a dozen to
twenty, or perhaps thirty eggs, good sitters
show an inclination to commence hatching,
and while sitting on their eggs for that pur-
pose, their laying ceases ; but they recom-
mence during the summer when the chickens
have been reared ; and, if allowed, would
then hatch another brood. This, however,
should never be permitted later than the end

CHAP. IV.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 89

of August, and is even then a hazardous ex-
periment; for the chickens must be reared
entirely under shelter, and thus become so
tender that there is little chance of its ulti-
mate success. If you do not want them
as an early delicacy, you will, therefore,
save much plague and loss of chickens by
not adopting the plan. It is, however, not
uncommonly done by country breeders who
want to have pullets ready for the table
in the spring, or Christmas, and who bring
them up during the winter by the fire-side in
their cottages ; though we admit that some
private families adopt it without taking that
trouble, and we have known so many as
eleven reared out of fourteen which were
hatched on the 3rd day of September.

In allusion to these second broods, we must
not omit the mention of a fact which has
been called to our attention by an article in
the Quarterly Journal of Agriculture, re-
garding their being hatched during the heat
of summer ; the writer of which states that,
" having unaccountably suffered numerous
failures, he, after close observation, verified
the truth of the old saying.

90 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. iv.

' Between the sickle and the scythe,
What you rear will seldom thrive."

He then adds, " We had noticed that chick-
ens which were hatched in the month of July
were almost all attacked, about the time of
their first moulting, with a fatal disorder, the
symptoms of which were unvarying. They
appeared to collapse, and moved about with
difficulty, as if their joints were stiffened, or
rather as if the skin had become tight and
tender ; their feathers became rough, and
stood out ; their wings drooped and dragged
on the ground ; they refused sustenance ;
and becoming more and more weak and
torpid, they, in a day or two, died off in great
numbers. Every rational means was re-
sorted to in order to arrest, or even account
for the disorder ; until it was at length dis-
covered that they were in a state of high
fever, and that the extreme redness of the
skin was caused by the irritation of that mi-
nute pest the 'harvest-bug.' Some, very
few, were recovered by anointing them all
over with oil and vinegar" (which, it should
be known, is the best remedy for the annoy-
ance which country people so frequently ex-

CHAP. IV.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 91

perience from the same cause) ; " but the re-
cipe is too rough for little delicate creatures,
already enduring the pain attendant on the
season of moulting. It became obvious, that
the period during which harvest-bugs are
most numerous and tormenting, must be in-
imical to the rearing of chickens ; and that
if the hens were not allowed to sit in June
(so as thus to hatch in July), or rather, if
the chicks were either strong enough to cope
with the evil, or were not hatched until the
season for the pest had passed by, that the
destruction might be prevented: and so it
has proved." We certainly have experi-
enced the annoyance of this tormenting in-
sect— which is so small as to be scarcely
perceptible — in more ways than one, though
not to the extent or in the manner herein
stated ; but the circumstance is entitled to
consideration, and if the chicks should be
attacked, perhaps the early application of
sweet oil alone, without the addition of vine-
gar, might be found effectual ; though, if
delicately applied, and there be no laceration
of the skin, the vinegar will be found the
better portion of the remedy.

92 FARMIXG FOR LADIES. [chap. iv..

The hen has within her body a womb —
learnedly termed by anatomists " the ovary,"
or ovarium, from ova, the Latin for an egg —
in which, preparatory to her laying, are con-
tained clusters of little pellets of various sizes,
from that of a pin's head to a pea ; accord-
ing, it must be presumed, to the severax
stages of their growth after being generated.
These pellets constitute the germ, or bud, of
the future egg, which is gradually formed,
and, when nearly old enough to be layed, falls
into a kind of pipe, or funnel, called the
" Oviduct," where it is perfected within a few
hours, and from which it is finally expelled in
its perfect state.

^^^len the impulse of nature urges the hen
to laij, she evinces her desire by searching
into corners, scraping up straws, as if in-
tending to build a nest, and uttering a faint,
peculiar kind of cry, or chirp, something
like the well-known sound of " cluckint,,"
with which she calls her chickens. When
this is observed, a nest of straw should be
made in one of the boxes, and a hard-boiled
egg (in order to prevent its being broken)
should be laid in the nest, as an inducement

CHAP. IV.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 93

to her to make use of it. In order to leave
her without interruption, she should also be
shut up in the hen-house immediately after
her being fed in the morning, and then
usually lays her egg in the nest prepared for
her. In all probability she suffers little or
iiothing in the act of laying, for she never
utters a complaint; but when it is over she
utters screams of joy until let out. Her
exultation at the event, indeed, exceeds all
bounds ; she rushes forth with a clamorous
tone of triumph, and is joined by her com-
panions in the yard, all crowing and cackling
in a chorus of delight. The egg should then
be taken out, and if intended for hatching,
should be put aside in a cool place, unex-
posed to the sun, with the date marked upon
it ; as eggs more than a month old should
never be used for that purpose.

Within about a month's time, after the
co^nmencement of laying, " good sitters," as
we have already stated, will generally feel
an instinctive inclination to commence the
tedious process of hatching ; which lasts, within
a feW' - hours more or less, full one-and-
twenty days. Her comb and wattles, which

94 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. iv.

were brilliantly red on her beginning to lay,
now become of a pale, sickly colour ; she
is restless and uneasy, flutters about, and in-
timates her desire in much the same way as
that of the intention to lay. This is in some
shown in a more marked manner than in
others — by screaming when the cock comes
near with an intention to indulge his amor-
ous inclinations. While " bad sitters" some-
times lay scores of eggs without manifesting it,
and even when they do, not unfrequently leave
the eggs before the object of incubation has
been completed : a fault which is more com-
mon among pullets and young hens than in
those which are older, and is the strongest
reason for preferring the latter, as well as
retaining them so long as they may be of
use ; for all matrons will acknowledge, " that
young mothers are worse managers than those
to whom age has afforded experience."

When eggs are more in demand than
chickens, efforts are, however, sometimes made
to check this instinct, and prevent the hen
from sitting, by plunging her body frequently
into cold water, to allay the feverish heat
which her desire to hatch occasions in the

CHAP. IV.] FARMIiS^G FOR LADIES. 95

blood, or using other expedients which it is
unnecessary to detail, as they are not always
efficacious, and some not very humane. The
attempt, it may be well supposed, is seldom
made ; but, when intended, the most effectual
is to coop her for a few days in a cool place,
with plenty of water and a short allowance
of food. In mentioning this, we are, however,
far from recommending the practice ; for when
the hen entertains a desire to sit, or becomes
what is called " broody," she is no longer in
perfect health, as may be perceived by the
flaccidity of her comb ; and the eggs after-
wards layed by her will not then be so good
as the former. Nor, it may be observed,
should eggs layed by a hen after she has be-
come broody, be preserved for hatching ; for
it is not likely that the chickens will be so
good as those produced from eggs layed by
the hen when she is in full health.

The propensity to hatch is best ascertained
by placing the hen which has displayed such
an apparent wish, upon a few eggs ; upon which,
if she remains contentedly, a nest should be
carefully made in the same box or basket in
which she has already layed her eggs, and

96 FAEMING FOR LADIES. [chap. iv.

placed in the same spot in which it was de-
posited ; the propriety of attending to which
arises from the partiality which she enter-
tains for a nest to which she has been ac-
customed, and the dislike which she some-
times has to others, without any motive that
can be conjectured. Nature, however, teaches
her better than we can what is best for her
comfort, and when she shows a predilection
for anything not decidedly injurious, her
taste should always be indulged. The pro-
cess, although tedious, cannot be otherwise
than agreeable to the hen ; for, as Buffon
correctly observes, "Nature ever combines
pleasure with whatever relates to the multi-
plication of the species."

Most breeders have the nests made in
wooden boxes, about twelve to eighteen inches
square, and six to eight inches deep, accord-
ing to the size of the fowl, as being, in their
opinion, warmer than baskets : either will,
however, answer all the purposes if kept
clean, and clear from vermin ; and perhaps
a small flat sieve, like that used by gardeners,
is as good as any. We have frequently seen
these baskets in Germany, thickly lined with

CHAP. iv.J FARMING FOR LADIES. 97

double baize, with rounded bottoms ; but,
although thus better fitted to the form of the
hen, it has the inconvenience of packing the
eggs so close together as to impede her in
turning them ; and though very warm, they
are yet, if not closely looked into, very apt
to nourish lice, to the great annoyance of the
fowl which may be lodged in it.

On this, we confess that we much prefer
a round earthen pan, with shelving sides,
suflficiently large to make a warm nest of the
size of the hen's body, with depth enough
to ensure a soft bottom of whatever materials
the nest may be made, on which the eggs
are to be laid. It may be thought cold :
but it is not so ; as the heat of the hen's body
imparts and retains a warmth sufficient to
render her comfortable, and it has the great
advantage of being easily kept entirely free
from insects. It is, also, not amiss to have
one end of the pan, box, or basket, a little
scooped out — so as to allow the hen, when she
occasionally leaves her nest, to return to it
with such ease as not to incur the risk of
breaking her eggs by hopping upon them
from any height, however small — an accident

H

98 FARMING FOR LADIES. [cHAP. iv

which sometimes occurs, notwithstanding her
usual carefulness : nor should the nest be
attached to any part of the hen-house, as it
should be carefully cleaned out and aired
after each operation of hatching.

When in a state of nature the hen builds her
nest upon the ground, and it might, for many
reasons, be better if the same plan could be
conveniently continued ; but if placed a little
above it, she is secured fi-om the larger ver-
min and the intrusion of other fowls, while
space is then left underneath for those which
roost upon the earth. It should, therefore,
be placed upon a shelf, with a little ladder
of inclined steps, to allow of the hen easily
ascending to it. Perhaps the best plan is
that of placing a row of nests — divided merely
by laths from the roosting-house — on a shelf
two feet and a half broad, with partitions at
a foot and a half distance, and having a sepa-
rate entrance to each nest, to afford the hens
the advantage of that secrecy and quietude
of which they are so fond while in the act
of hatching; but although the partitions
may be fixed, and about fifteen inches
square, the nests should be loose. The shelf

CHAP. IV.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 99

should be covered with a top, or roof, of
separate slopmg lids, to prevent the other
fowls from roosting on it ; and large enough
to admit the nests : the partitions high enough
at the sides to avoid all communication with
those other hens which may also be hatching.
A double row of nests may, if necessary, be
formed one over the other, and there will be
room enough under the shelf for nests to
accommodate those fowls which roost upon
the ground ; as in the following sketch —

Hay is sometimes used as a stuffing for the

h2

100 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. iv.

nest, and most persons would imagine it to
be better than straw, in consequence of its
greater softness, warmth, and fi'agrance ; but,
in point of fact, its softness is soon counter-
acted by the pressure of the hen, the warmth
of whose body is sufficient for the purposes
of hatching, besides its soon imparting to
the hay a mawkish odour which destroys its
fragrance, and being also accused of generating
lice. We, therefore, recommend straw — as
being sufficiently warm, more elastic, and
finally freer from any unpleasant smell, or the
nuisance already mentioned ; and that of
wheat or barley as preferable to the oat ; but
it should be cut rather short, for if left of the
natural length, and a stem of it be caught
by a claw of the hen, she will unconsciously
drag it out of the nest when she on any oc-
casion leaves it, and may thus discompose
the arrangement of her eggs, or perhaps
break them. Fern, if it can be got, is still
better than straw. Some writers recommend
feathers to be strewn over the straw ; but as
they must, in that case, be laid under the
eggs, no increase of warmth would be thus
created.

CHAP. :v,j FARMING FOR LADIES. 101

With respect to the arrangement of nests, it
must however be remarked, that in whatever
mode you place them, or whatever care may
be taken to prevent hens from interfering with
each other, this cannot be always guarded
against. It is, indeed, extraordinary, that if
a hen slily builds her nest in a hedge,
although it will be known by every fowl
which is accustomed to go near the spot,
yet not one is ever found to trespass upon
it : thus showing that Nature, when left
to herself, regulates the actions of animals
better than when they are governed by man ;
and that, when a hen " steals a nest," as it is
called, she should not be removed from it.

As the hen cannot distinguish her own
eggs from those of others, she will sit upon
any that may be offered to her ; and it is not
unusual to make her sit upon the eggs of dif-
ferent sorts of fowls. In choosing those on
which she is intended to sit, care should
be taken to use those which have been the
most recently layed, and if there be any dif-
ference of size, the largest should be chosen ;
but always as nearly equal as possible. Care
should also be taken to ascertain whether

102 FARMIXG FOR LADIES. [chap. it.

each egg has been duly impregnated by the
cock — as otherwise, it would not produce a
chicken; and this precaution is more par-
ticularly necessary in using eggs which are
purchased for the purposes of hatching, as
you cannot be certain of the time when they
were layed, or of any of the circumstances
attending them.

With a little practice, it may be easily
known by holding the egg between you and
the light, and observing whether the yolk con-
tains in the upper part of its larger end a
small, whitish, filmy substance, which forms the
germe of the future chick, and without which
the egg should be rejected. The yolk also
has in the same end a small cavity, not much
larger than a pea, immediately under the
shell, and filled with air, for the use, no doubt,
of the chick when brought to life, as it ex-
pands in the process of hatching ; and on ap-
plying the eye in the same manner to the egg,
this " air-bag" will be found a tolerably good
test of its freshness : a small circle being con-
sidered a proof of its being newly layed, and
a large one of its being stale. Another proof
of its staleness is the appearance of the yolk

CHAP. IV.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 103

and white ; which if not quite distinctly sepa-
rate, and clear of any cloudiness in colour, the
egg is not fit for use. We have heard it said,
" that on putting the tongue to an unboiled egg,
its freshness may be ascertained by its inter-
nal warmth :" on which we may remark, that
such a test will be useless to any other than a
very sensitive palate, and that we have tried
It upon an egg of only two days old without
being able to discern any degree of heat
which could lead to such a conclusion. The
surest way is, however, to use none but eggs
layed by your own hens ; of the freshness of
which you can be sure, and of their fecunda-
tion there can be little doubt if the hens are
coupled with a healthy young cock, which has
not been allowed to have too many mates.

It has been long thought— though very little
reliance can be placed on its correctness —
that eggs of the more rounded form produce
hens, while those which are long and pointed
at the smaller end yield cocks. Parmentier,
however, considers the appearance of the air-
bag as a more certain sign — for if it be exactly
in the centre, a cock will be hatched, or, if a
little on one side, a hen ; and this being the

104 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. iy.

opinion of a scientific naturalist, may be sup-
posed founded on experience : but whether ac-
curate or not, is of very little importance, as
the greater part of all chickens, whether male
or female, are killed before they arrive at ma-
turity, and the cock being polygamous, fewer
males are produced than females.

When the eggs have been duly chosen, the
number to he placed under the hen should be
regulated, both according to the size of the
eggs and that of the hen, in regard to her
breadth of body and wings ; so as to be sure
of her being large enough to closely cover
them, and to afford sufficient warmth and
shelter to her chicks when hatched. Indeed, if
more than the proper number be used, the hen
will probably try to throw an egg or two out
of the nest, and if not successful, will not sit
easily.

A good sized hen, two years of age,
will generally cover from thirteen to fifteen
eggs, and pullets of the same breed — as not
having come to their full growth — fi-om nine
to eleven. Not according to the common no-
tion of there being " luck under an odd num-
ber," but from the observation that a hen, if

CHAP. IV.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 105

left to herself in the arrangement of her nest,
seldom makes use of even numbers ; always
placing one egg in the centre and the rest in
a compact circle around it. There can be
little doubt that the eggs will be hatched, per-
haps equally well, if equal numbers be put
under the hen, but it offers no advantage, and
whatever may be the number employed, they
should be deposited in the same manner as
in the nest. Care should also be taken not
to employ too many ; for if the eggs be not
completely covered, some will be imperfectly
hatched, and thus not produce chickens.

The more prudent way is, therefore, to use
a couple less than you think the hen capable of
covering : then place her gently upon the nest,
and leave her to repose without further inter-
ference ; for, if left to herself, she will sit pa-
tiently, during the whole period of incubation,
only occasionally going into the yard for a few
moments to feed. Some hens will, indeed, sit
for days together without removing from their
nest ; in which case most persons deem it neces-
sary to put corn and water by the hen's side,
and allow her to feed while sitting. It is, how-
ever, much better to lift her if necessary, once

106 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. it.

a-day from the nest, and feed her in the yard,
after the other fowls have heen fed, as the air
will purify both her and the nest, not only
without causing any danger to the hatching of
the eggs, but in reality benefiting the opera-
tion.

An absurd recommendation has been put
forward in some essays on the subject of
hatching, stating — " that it is advantageous
to put several hens to hatch at the same time,
so that if any accident happen to a sitter,
it may be remedied by giving up to another
those eggs which are then being hatched :"
though, as it is always the custom to put as
many eggs under each hen as she can cover, it
must be evident that she could not hatch any
additional number ; and, even should she make
the attempt, it would probably occasion every
egg in both batches to be addled.*

The hen frequently changes the position of
the eggs, in order to expose different sides to
the heat of her body ; and inexperienced peo-
ple— who often imagine themselves better qua-

* The term " addled" is applied to eggs upon which the
hen having sat without completing the object of hatcliing,
only some portion of the chick has been formed.

CHAP. IV.] FAKMIXG FOR LADIES. 107

lified than Nature to direct the creature's ope-
rations— officiously adopt the advice of old
Leonard Mascall, who says, " if the henne be
negligente to turne her egges, and doe not sitte
close or warme on them, it were goode some-
tymes, when she is gone abroade, gentlie to
turne them : " but she will herself turn them
when instinct tells her it is time to do so. The
least reflection will, indeed, show the folly of
interfering with her ; for all wild birds hatch
their young without any other care than their
own, and the domestic hen, though bred in
the poultry-yard, will, if not prevented, stray
away to some bush where she builds her nest
and hatches her brood, which she brings back
generally in better health than if attended by
a keeper. A striking instance of which is men-
tioned, in an essay which we have quoted, as
having occurred to the author — " a white hen,
belonging to whom, having stolen a nest, laid
sixteen eggs, and brought forth the whole
number of chickens, every one of which she
reared." Do not, therefore, meddle with her,
nor allow any one to disturb her : but, while
she is feeding, a look may be taken into
her nest, just to see that all her eggs are un-

108 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap, iv,

broken ; for casualties of that kind will some-
times happen, and, in such case, the broken
egg should be removed, along with any part
of the straw which may have been soiled. The
feathers of the hen should also be examined,
and sponged if necessary.

Such is the most prudent mode of proceed-
ing with regard to good sitters ; but there are
many hens, or rather pullets, of such capri-
cious disposition, that after having mani-
fested every indication of a wish to hatch,
and after having sat steadily for some days,
yet all at once desert their nest without any
apparent motive, and leave their eggs to be-
come addled, and unfit for use. Efforts
should then be immediately made to coax her
back to her duty, by replacing her upon her
nest and feeding her while there with some nice
food. One method which is stated to have
been pursued by a very experienced breeder
in order to effect this purpose, was — " to
give the hen about half a wine-glass of good
common gin, after which swing her round and
round until she becomes dizzy, when she will
appear sleepy, or as if almost dead ; then hav-
ing an iron pot ready, that has been set on

CHAP, n-.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 109

the fire with some straw in it, until rather
hot, put the eggs upon the straw, and cover
the pot, but so as to leave a space for air,
though so very small that the least light possi-
ble may be permitted to enter ; and in a day or
two the hen and the nest may be moved to any
convenient place, as she will then sit as closely
as if nature had directed her."* This has been
called " a barbarous practice ; " but there is,
in fact, nothing really cruel in it, though
ale, we imagine, would make her sufficiently
drowsy, without swinging, and she might then
be replaced in her nest without being put
into the pot. Either that, or something like
the means used by Madame Portebois — as
stated at the close of our account of artificial
hatching— should be adopted ; for no time is
to be lost, and it will seldom happen that you
will find another hen ready to sit and com-
plete the operation. If, therefore, you should
not be successful in prevailing upon her, you
must lose the eggs ; but even if by these
means you get them hatched, you should not
trust her to bring up another brood.

The fecundation of the egg — or the prin-

* ' Parkinson's Treatise on Live Stock,' vol. ii. p. 353.

no FARMING FOR LADIES. [cHAP, iv.

ciple of life imparted to it by the act of the
male — lies dormant until roused into action
by the hatching of the hen ; the gradual pro-
gress of which terminates in the development
of the chicken, and may be thus succinctly
stated from Haller, who has given a very par-
ticular account of the different changes in the
embryo during every twelve hours.

The formation of the fcetus of the chick
commences in the albumen, or white portion
of the substance of the egg, not many hours
after the hen has begun to sit : the yolk be-
ing that of its nutriment, and enveloped in a
separate membrane, distinct from the future
chick which it is to nourish. On the second
day, traces are perceptible of the head and
spine ; the day following, a faint pulsation may
be observed in the situation of the heart, which,
towards the end of the fourth day, is more
completely, though not yet perfectly formed ;
and, in the course of the sixth, it is so far
developed as to contain blood and partial mo-
tion. From this time forward, the different
parts of the body are successively brought,
day by day, into those forms which are to be
severally characterized in their organization,

CHAP. IV.] FARMING FOR LADIES. Ill

and are to constitute the future chick ; until,
at the close of the eighteenth, its first cry may
generally be heard. Up to this time, the yolk,
— which, as we have already stated, is en-
closed within a separate pellicle — appears an
inert substance in the formation of the animal;
but now it becomes the prominent means of
nourishment, by its whole contents passing
gradually into the abdomen through the um-
bilical chord, or navel, with which it has com-
munication ; and thus it increases the body so
much in size as to require more room for its
existence. Until this moment the little crea-
ture lies dormant ; but it then awakes from
its torpor, and feeling sufficient vital energy
to emerge from confinement, it taps for hours
with its beak against the shell of the egg,
which it at length breaks and rises into life
and liberty a full-formed, feathered chicken.

Dr. Truman indeed states — in his late in-
structive treatise on food, and its influence on
health and disease — that " the development
of the yolk and white presents some of the
most remarkable phenomena manifested by
the animal creation. Though both semi-fluid
substances, apparently very simple in their

112 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap. iv.

nature, they are gradually metamorphosed
into a living being provided with blood-ves-
sels, nerves, muscles, tendons, cartilages, liga-
ments, membranes, and bones. The yellow
yolk, and the transparent colourless albumen,
are changed into blood and muscles, which are
red ; into the liver, which is brown ; into gall,
which is green ; into white and opaque nervous
matter ; into the horny beak and claws ; into
feathers, offering every variety of hue ; and
into the hard and solid bones."

Both mistress and maid, no doubt, count
the days to the arrival of the twenty-first,
and then look anxiously for the appearance
of the chicks, which will be chirping and
hammering at the shell with their beaks, the
hen all the while intently watching for their
deliverance, in which she assists the little pri-
soners so far as in her power, and throws away
the shells when they are liberated. The
chicken has on the upper part of its bill a
horny appendage, placed there by nature with
the evident intent of enabling it to perforate
the shell and effect its emancipation, for it
falls off within a day or two after the bird is
hatched. Some chickens perform the opera-

CHAP. IV ] FARMING FOR LADIES. 113

tion with apparent ease, bursting from their
confinement within a few hours ; while others,
either from the greater hardness of some
shells, or from their own comparative weak-
ness, will unceasingly continue working during
a day and night without being able to effect
their object. When this happens, inexperi-
enced persons think it necessary to break the
shell, in order to assist the chick in coming
out ; but if it be unable to extricate itself, it
will be found so puny as to be seldom worth
preserving : and — as another reason for not
hastening its birth — if removed from the shell
before the whole of the yolk is absorbed into
the abdomen, the chick will assuredly die.

It may perhaps occasion surprise that the
hen does not herself break the shell : but
nature providently leaves her either unaware
of her power to do so, or makes her instinct-
tively cautious of using it ; lest the chick
should thus be immaturely brought to life be-
fore the whole of the yolk has been consumed.
If, however, means are tried, they should be
done by very gently cracking the shell with a
slight stroke of any hard substance, for tlie least
violence will kill the little thing in its then

114 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. iv.

weakly state, and the attempt should not he
made until the chick's trials have been con-
tinued for at least four and twenty hours.
Should it happen, as it frequently does, that
the feathers of the bird — which are as soft as
down when partly hatched — adhere to the shell
through the viscidity of the albumen which
sticks them to it, the shell must then be re-
moved by gently wetting the membrane with
the feathered end of a quill dipped in warm
water, to disengage it from the feathers ; but
the greatest caution and the most tender care
are required in the operation, which none but
the delicacy of a female hand can properly
perform.

The eggs are sometimes dipped in warm
water towards the time when the chicks may
be expected to come forth ; in the idea that
the shells will thus be rendered either softer
or more brittle, and that thus the hatching
will be rendered easier. It is, however, a very
foolish and objectionable practice, both as
interfering improperly with the hen, and in
not having the intended effect on the shell ;
and, therefore, can do no good, while it may,
for many reasons, do much harm. It also fre

CHAP. IV.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 115

[juently happens that some of the eggs are to
all appearance bad — to be certain of which
they are placed in warm water, in the presump-
tion that, if good, the chick will then pro-
bably begin to peck ; and as instances occa-
sionally occur of their coming to life and
thriving, this is often done : but more gene-
rally those eggs are addled, and only fit to be
thrown away. In like manner, it has been
asserted that the eggs should be immersed an
hour or two in cold water — in order to bring
their hatching to an equal period ; but it is an
ignorant prejudice.

A practice also prevails among some breed-
ers of putting those eggs which are intended
for hatching, into a tub of water, in order to
see whether they sink or swim, and rejecting
those which remain on the surface. But this,
however specious, may lead one into error, for
those which are so light as to swim on the
water may yet have been duly impregnated ;
whereas those which sink may not have had
any communication with a cock, and therefore
will not produce a chicken : but the heaviest
are the best.

i2

llfi

FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap.

CHAPTER V.

Management of Chickens — Cribs — Food and water — Crop
and Gizzard — Separation of the Hen and Chickens — Roost-
ing— Cost and Value of Chicks and Fowls.

Most writers on the management of chick-
ens recommend the takhig of the chicks from
the hen immediately after they come to life,
and placing them, one by one, in a basket
filled with wool, covered over with flannel, and
put near the fire, until the whole brood is
hatched : than which nothing can be more in-
judicious ; for no care is equal to that of the
mother. The instinct with which she is intui-
tively inspired, animates her with a desire to
perform her maternal duties ; she shrouds
them under the downy plumage of her wings,
which she folds around them ; dries their
clammy feathers in the warmth of her bosom ;
and, if left to herself, they will become strong
and healthy. The less handling, therefore,
the better: "leave well alone ; " and, above
all, do not allow young children to stroke
and fondle them.

CHAP, v.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 117

The chicken requires no food during the
day on which it has been hatched ; for it is
supposed that the. yolk which it has taken into
its body will sufficiently sustain it until the
next day. It is therefore unnecessary to place
anything before them; though many people
force crumbs of bread and peppercorns down
their little throats : not that an occasional
peppercorn, particularly in cold weather, if
given at a proper time, can do harm ; but, at
that moment, it only occasions pain, and should
be deferred to the next day. The morning
after, however, a few split groats with the yolk
of a hard-boiled egg, cut very small, may be
offered to them ; and if they show strength and
animation enough, they may then be taken from
the nest, and placed along with the hen, either
in a wicker basket about three feet square and
two high — as at No. 1, — having openings be-
tween the rods large enough to allow of the
chicks passing through them, with a door to
admit the hen, and having a loose cover over
it impervious to the rain ; or in a wooden crib
covered and closed at both sides, but lathed
at the ends, in the manner of No. 2.

No. 3 represents a coop, roofed with wood

118 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. v.

and moveable upon wheels, for the larger
sort of poultry, with a flap on one side, for
the passing to and fro of the chicks: all
slightly floored with board, on which clean
straw should be strewn to render them warm.

The basket is the lightest, and the crib the
warmest ; but whichever may be used should
be laid upon the floor of the hen-house,
and covered up with the hen and chickens
in it before the entrance of the other fowls,
nor be uncovered until after their egress :
in order to prevent those accidents which
they might occasion to the young brood.
This precaution is, however, unnecessary, if
there be any separate hatching-house or spare
shed, as both hen and chicks may there re-
main uncontrolled, and it is very desirable to
allow them that advantage, without restraint.
Or, if the weather be cold, and you have a
melon-frame not in immediate use, no better
plan can be than that of placing the hen and

CHAI-. v.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 119

her brood in it for a few days. The warmth
of the bed underneath, and of the glass over
head, is just what they want ; a sack over the
cover will shade it, if necessary, from the sun
if too hot in the day, and from dew at night ;
and air can be either admitted or shut out as
occasion may require, without allowing the
chick to go out, as the frame is always large
enough for them to range in while so young.

They may be thus left in the house for a
couple of days, and fed at least three times a
day, with the same food, to which curds may
be added ; but on the morrow, if the weather
be warm and dry, the basket should be carried
with the hen and chickens after feeding, and
after the dew is off in the morning, to some
sunny spot in the garden, and there left for a
few hours : the cover being so far taken off
as to allow the free passage of the chicks,
which should not yet be permitted to mix with
the poultry, and the hen being confined in the
basket, to prevent her from tiring her brood
by walking them over the ground. The spot
most usually chosen is the lawn, on which the
little group form an interesting spectacle be-
fore the windows of the breakfast-room ; but

120 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. v.

it should not be placed there, unless the grass
has been closely mown and is perfectly dry,
for damp is more injurious to such tender little
beings than cold, and it is better to leave them
in some dry part of the kitchen-garden, in
which they can do no essential mischief, and
where they will pick up insects, which are
highly nutritive, and of which they are very
fond. They will not stray far from the hen,
which will call them to the shelter of her wing
in the case of a sudden shower, or on the ap-
pearance of a hawk ; but an eye should be
kept upon the cat, for puss, though not re-
markably delicate in her appetite, has a great
relish for chicken, and, if not watched, will
often pounce stealthily on a brood and carry
one of them off.

While in the garden, a handful of barley
should be given to the hen, the greater part
of which she will break for the chickens, and
long before the sun has gone down, the
basket and its contents should be returned
to the house ; soon after which, towards the
close of evening, food should be again given
and the brood left to repose.

This plan may be pursued for a few days.

CHAP, v.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 121

according to circumstances as to the state of
the brood and weather. Indeed the hen is
not unfrequently kept thus confined for a fort-
night or more ; but when the chickens become
strong enough to move about, she ought
to be allowed the liberty of the garden, in
which she will industriously scratch up weeds
and worms for her chicks, and do more good
than harm to its cultivation: or, if thought
hurtful by the gardener, she should have the
range of a field, until they have acquired
strength enough to be taken into the common
poultry-yard, where they are fed along with
the other fowls. While thus rearing them, it
should however be observed, that pure water
should always be left with them, and fre-
quently changed, for if left until it becomes
foul it will be likely to occasion disease ; but
it should be given in a way to prevent them
from dabbling their feathers.

In poijit of feeding, curds — which may be
made by putting a bit of alum in a little
boiling milk — chopped small, are an excel-
lent addition to their food, but the milk
should be thoroughly squeezed out, or it
may make them scour ; in which case some

122 FARMING FOP. LADIES. [chAP. v.

toasted bread sopped in ale, or broth, is
a good remedy. Barley-meal mixed up with
a little milk should be frequently given ;
but all watery food — even meal, if mixed
up with much milk, like gruel — should be
avoided ; for, if continued, it will subject
them to the scour. At six weeks old they
may be fed on whole corn, to which boiled
potatoes of a floury kind, given hot, may be
added, along with any scraps from the table,
in the same manner as to store-fowls : but,
if intended to be fattened immediately, they
cannot be too highly kept, and should get no-
thing but barley-meal and corn, together with
a little meat, either raw or dressed, and shred
very fine ; for it may be observed that animal
food is congenial to young chickens, not
only on account of its great nutriment, but as
requiring little effort of the powers of diges-
tion ; and it is inconceivable with what relish
they will eat it, either alone or mixed up with
meal. On the subject o^ fattening we, how-
ever, beg leave to refer our readers to
Chapter VII.

The coarse sand which they pick up in the
garden will be sufficient to aid their diges-

CHAP, v.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 123

tion ; but when a little older, and that an
egg is boiled for them, the shell should be
pounded and left for their use. The stomach
of a newly-hatched chicken is so inconceivably
small as scarcely to contain more food than
the size of a pea ; it however, of course, gra-
dually grows larger, according to the growth
of the bird, and increases so rapidly that in a
couple of months their crop will hold nearly
as much as that of a common-sized pullet, and
the power of the stomach is so effectually
aided by their gizzard that it will digest the
hardest species of corn.

The crop is a species of bag into which the
food descends after being swallowed, and is
capable of very considerable distension. From
thence the food passes through the gizzard,
which grinds it with such force as to reduce
the hardest substance to the consistence of
powder before its being received into the
stomach ; acting, in fact, in much the same
manner as teeth in mastication. Such, indeed,
is the providence of nature in furnishing every
creature with those organs best suited to their
habits and means of life, that while granivor-
ous fowls are thus enabled to reduce corn to a

124 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. t.

state of pulp, carnivorous birds, whose food
is more digestible, are not supplied with that
intestine.

There is no general rule for the period of
separation between the hen and her chickens,
though it usually takes place when the latter
are six to eight weeks old. She does not,
however, desert them until they are well
feathered and strong enough to take care of
themselves ; but when that time arrives, her
solicitude for them ceases, and she feels again
inclined to lay. She therefore then begins to
roost and leave them ; but they commonly fol-
low her example ; their connexion is forgotten ;
ajid they know each other no longer.

When they want to go to roost, let the
perches be covered with coarse woollen cloth,
to give them a firm hold ; but round, and not
more thick than they can gripe with ease, to
preventtheir either becoming "crooked breast-
ed " or " duck-footed:" the former of which
is occasioned by permitting them to roost,
while growing, upon anything sharp, and the
latter, by letting them roost, when young, upon
anything flat. The uppermost perch should,
also, not be placed higher than, at the most,

CHAP, v.] FARMING FOR LADIES, 125

three feet from the ground until the chickens
are full three months old ; and, if possible, the
chickens should either be separated from the
hens, or the perches of the latter should be
lowered ; for the hens will roost upon the
highest perches, and, as the chickens will en-
deavour to follow them, their wings or claws
may be broken in the attempt.

We are quite aware that in moderate esta-
blishments where only a few fowls are kept,
there is seldom more than a small court-yard,
with, perhaps, only a little shed for a hen-house,
without any separate convenience for hatching,
which is often carried on in, or under, the
manger of a spare stall in the stable ; that, also,
being the sole accommodation for the whole of
the poultry. We also constantly see broods of
cottage fowls by the road side, and we know
that they are generally strong and healthy.
It may, therefore, be thought that much of
the care here recommended is superfluous;
but, although it may be in some degree dis-
pensed with, it is yet the most effectual mode
with which we are acquainted to bring up a
brood without loss. No one, however, who
has not the means of carrying it completely

126 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. v.

into effect, should be deterred from keeping
as many fowls as can be conveniently managed
in a more ordinary way ; for, if only common
care be shown them, they will be sure to repay
the trouble.

Having stated thus much on the breeding
and management of chickens, we must further
trespass upon the indulgence of our fair
readers to the following judicious remarks on
feeding, made by an experienced country
gentleman, on their value in point of economy,
and inserted in Middleton's View of the
Agriculture of Middlesex : —

" A chicken, while its weight varies from
half a pound to three pounds, does not require,
on the highest estimate, more than one ounce,
or, in the latter period of its growth, one ounce
and a quarter of daily food ; for it will be
found that the food every day requisite for the
sustenance of such an animal cannot exceed
one thirty-sixth part of its own weight. Meal
of oats or barley diluted with water, dough
of any of the common sorts of meal or flour,
pottage of oatmeal, potatoes boiled and
bruised, the pith of the boiled cabbage-
stem, &c., with a sufiicient quantity of water,

CHAP, v.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 127

of which they may occasionally drink, affords
the hest food that can be desired for your
infant brood of chickens.

"As they grow older, they may be occasion-
ally fed with boiled grains of barley or shelled
oats. Within seventy days a chicken will be
in a fit condition to be carried to market.
During five weeks of this time, it will be able
to pick up part of its own food, without trouble
or cost to you. I have in fact found that
three pounds of meal, flour, or grain, of such
a sort as does not cost more than a penny a
pound — 'Or to the farmer or cottager each not
so much — with water, and with what other
fare the little creature can find for itself, will
feed and fatten a chicken suiBciently, from
the time of its bursting the shell till that of
its being at a growth and in a condition
suitable for its being carried to market. An-
other penny is a sufficient allowance for the
attention and labour its rearing requires. The
prime cost of the egg might be one halfpenny.
Thus, even in the vicinity of any great town,
a chicken which shall bring 2d. or rather Is.
in the market, and is, in comparison with
other things, worth as much for the use of

128 FA.RMING FOR LADIES. [cha¥. v.

your own table, whether you be a rich or a
poor man, may be produced and reared at
the expense of fotirpence halfpenny !^^

Although we do not wholly agree in many
of his observations on management, yet, as
they may, by some people, be thought im-
portant, we here also insert them : —

" Care should be taken that young chickens
may not swallow snails or slugs, as this food
has a tendency to make them sickly. While
you rear your chickens for the market, do
not confine them in coops if you can possibly
manage them otherwise. Any animal whose
flesh we are to use for food should be in
perfect health when it is killed, if we wish
that food to be, in its kind, assuredly whole-
some ; but all animals fattened for killing, in
a state of confinement and rest, are actually
at least in incipient disease at the time when
they are killed as sufficiently fat ; and, if
such, the flesh can never possess the fine
flavour of the carcass of an animal killed in
perfect health, nor prove such salutary food.
If circumstances shall, however, oblige you to
fatten your chickens in coops, be sure to put
a little brickdust into the water you set before

CHAP, v.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 129

them, for this is necessary to assist their di-
gestion. While they run about they can pick
up what will serve the same end for them-
selves. I am inclined to think that a little
salt given with their food, or occasionally with
their water, would both assist their digestion
and make them fatten more quickly.

" I have hitherto spoken only of chickens ;
but older fowls are not less profitable. Any
hen, even though fed with food for which
money proportionate to its first market value
must be actually paid, v.'ill by her eggs pay
annually at least three times the cost of her
subsistence. The very dung of these crea-
tures is sufficient almost to pay for their
whole food. In your garden you will find it
the richest and most exciting of manures for
your beds of leeks, onions, &c. About every
house in the country there is a certain pro-
portion of farinaceous food which goes daily
to waste if there be not domestic fowls to feed
upon it ; and would every family throughout
these kingdoms keep constantly just as many
fowls as it might thus feed without expense,
we should never want abundance of poultry
at reasonable cheapness."

130 FARMING FOR LADIES. Tchap. vi.

CHAPTER VI.

Feeding of Poultry — Store Fowls — Modes of Feeding — Po-
tatoes— Kitchen OtTals — Insects — Verminieres — Experi-
ments— Grain, Quantities and Species of — Buckwheat —
Indian Corn — Barley and Oats — Boiled Corn — Rice.

The best general rule for the feeding of all
kinds of poultry, and indeed of every animal
which is intended to be kept in good condi-
tion, is to give them plenty of the food suit-
able to their habits ; for if that be not done,
they will, instead of improving, probably fall
off in their condition, and it will in the end be
found "false economy."

In their wild state fowls live upon berries,
upon the seeds and leaves of plants, and upon
insects of various kinds ; but, as these cannot
be easily obtained in populous places, we
mostly feed them, when domesticated, upon
the different sorts of grain usually found in
our markets, and there can be no doubt that
if fed only upon one species of corn, they
would still thrive ; for many people -who only
keep a few fowls in a stable-yard, never give

CHAP. YI.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 131

them anything but oats, and yet have eggs
regularly on their table. The sort of food
should, however, be occasionally changed, as
they are fond of variety ; and there are many
different modes of feeding which may be ad-
vantageously employed in conjunction with
corn, both as regards the fattening quality of*
the food and its economy.

The feeding of store foivls — that is to say,
of those kept for the sole purpose of producing
eggs and chicks, without then meaning to
fatten them — should be twice in the day : as
early as convenient in the morning, and at
night about an hour or two before sunset ;
but both should be, as nearly as the seasons
will permit, at the same hour, or the fowls
will become restless and indisposed to lay.
The place of feeding should also be always
the same, and sheltered as far as possible from
wind and rain, instead of being — as usually
done during both summer and winter — in the
middle of the open court-yard : although
there can be no objection to occasionally scat-
tering there a handful of either corn or any-
thing else that may be given them, provided
that both the ground and the weather be dry;

k2

132 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. \i.

for we repeat, that nothing is more preju-
dicial to the health of fowls than damp of any
kind, and they will suffer extreme cold far
better than wet.

Some persons are equally anxious to guard
them against the glare of mid-day sun, and
this, we admit, may in a few cases be inju-
rious to very young chickens; yet, so far as
regards grown foiols, we venture to assert,
that although they may seek the shade for
repose when not in search of food, its rays are
anything but prejudicial, for the fowl is in-
digenous to a warm climate : they thrive
throughout the south of Europe, and they
swarm upon every estate in the West Indies,
though unsheltered from the heat of the
weather.

If they have the range of a field or two, or
of a farm-yard, they may forage for them-
selves during the day ; but, if deprived of
these means, some food should be given to
them about noon, for their craw will then be
empty, and should be replenished. If this be
neglected, and that an ample sufficiency of
food be not regularly given, they will be found
to fall off in condition, if not in health, and

CHAP. Yi.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 133

neither lay so many eggs, nor will those eggs
be either of the same weight or richness as if
they had had an abundance.

We have already seen the extensive use of
boiled potatoes as the sole food for the feeding
of poultry in Ireland. They are, indeed, largely
used in many parts of this country ; and we
learn that Mr. Wakefield, of Liverpool — who
is a great feeder — has SLCtuaWy fattened many
hundreds in coops on steamed potatoes given
three or four times a day. The potatoes are
always given warm — that being considered in-
dispensable to success — and we know that in
Ireland they are always given in that state by
the cottagers. They doubtless form a cheap
and substantial food for store fowls; but those
thus fafted — if, indeed, the term can be in that
case applied — would certainly be neither equal
in flavour to those fed on corn, nor would they
fatten so fast : indeed, we know from many
persons that those which are generally brought
to table in Dublin, although delicately white
and tender, are yet very deficient in the fla-
vour and firmness of the flesh ; tasting, in fact,
more like spring chicken than that of a well-
fed fowl.

CHAP,

134 FARMING FOR LADIES. [c

Fowls like diversity of food, and every sort
of meat or vegetable that may be cast from the
kitchen, and which would otherwise be throvvn
away as refuse, will afford some portion of
nutriment. If trouble be thought of, they
may be given raw ; and, indeed, old radishes,
lettuce, and onions chopped small, are best in
that state ; but the better mode for other
roots, is to chop and warm them up in the
washings of the dishes and pot-liquor, or in a
little of what the cooks call " kitchen-stuff,"
together with waste pieces of bread, or any
offal of the table. The pot-liquor arising from
salted meat or fish should not, however, be
given, and there is much doubt whether pure
salt, in its natural state, is not objectionable.
If to this be added some scraps of meat, or a
portion of liver, or sheep's-pluck, either boiled
or raw, and minced very small, it will greatly
improve the mess, which will be greedily de-
voured by the fowls, and nothing can be more
nutritious, or more economical as a substi-
tute for corn; when convenient, it should,
however, always be given warm. Baker's
raspings, and broken ship-biscuit — if full of
weevil all the better — are also excellent, and

135

so is coarsely pounded oil-cake ; but, if the
fowls are meant to be kept in good condition,
some hard grain should be given night and
morning, and if not thrown in the yard, some
pounded brick and mortar, or lime-stone
gravel, should be mixed with it.

Some ladies will, no doubt, be shocked at
the bare idea of using the washings of plates
and dishes, and the offals of the kitchen, for
the purpose of feeding fowls which are after-
wards to be brought to their own table ; but
a thrifty housewife, who lets nothing be wasted,
and who knows that " what won't poison will
fatten," will only smile at such delicacy.

In stating that " if fowls had the range of
a field or a farm-yard, they might forage for
themselves," we should have added, that, be-
sides the grass which they eat, there is no-
thing of which they are more fond than worms
of every description ; and, as nature does no-
thing in vain, we may be assured that in
teaching them a partiality for this species of
food, the use of it will be beneficial to their
nourishment. You may see them dart with
the eye of a hawk upon any winged insect
that comes within their reach, or if you watch

136 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. ti.

them in a paddock you will there find them
searching eagerly for the larvae of insects
imperceptihle to our view, and if an earth-
worm rises to the surface they seize upon
it with avidity, fighting with each other for
the prey. The quantities of earth-worms
alone which are found in our meadows after
a shower of rain would, perhaps, appear in-
credible, if stated according to the calcula-
tion of some naturalists ; but, if we consider
the vast number of birds which live upon these
and other insects, we must be convinced that
they swarm in multitudes beyond conception ;
and if nature provides such food for the wild
tribes of the air, there surely can be no reason
why they should not be shared by our do-
mestic poultry. M. Reaumur, indeed, tried
the effect of giving earth-worms, without any
other kind of food, to a cooped hen during
fifteen days, and found that, although she at
first ate them rather sparingly, she gradually
increased her consumption so much that she
grew fat, and was all the time in perfect
health. The success of this and similar ex-
periments led to long published details of the
means and profit to be derived from collecting

CHAP. Ti.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 137

these worms by lamp-light, and storing them
up for future use ; but we have never heard
of this silly project having been carried into
effect, and we., think it best to let the hen
search for the worms herself.

The dunghill, however, furnishes a more
plentiful and a richer repast ; for myriads of
worms of all kinds are there generated, and
it is well known that maggots found in putrid
flesh are more fattening to poultry than any
other sort of food : the fowls even preferring
them to grain. Hogsheads full of them are
constantly sent from the large Abattoir, or
knackery for the slaughter of horses, at Paris,
to the different poultry-dealers in the suburbs,
who use them largely in the fattening of their
fowls, the flesh of which is remarkable for its
delicacy. Indeed, if any one in the summer
hangs a piece of raw flesh, or entrails of any
kind, upon the branch of a tree standing in
the poultry-yard, it is amusing to see how
continually the chickens will be on the watch
to catch any maggot that may fall. Nor is
there anything in this mode of using them
that should disgust persons of the most fas-
tidious nicety ; for, although generated from

138 FARMI]!^G FOR LADIES. [chap. vi.

putrid matter, they are utterly tasteless, and
devoid of any scent whatever. We have, in-
deed, heard that the Chinese — who are known
to be great epicures — bring them to market for
sale, and sell them at a high price ; not for
the feeding of fowls, but for the making of
ragouts !

Where there is no stable, and consequently
where a dunghill cannot be had, it has been
suggested by Olivier de Serres — the most
ancient writer on French husbandry — to form
pits, or " verminieres" in a corner of the
poultry -yard, into which layers of light earth
and a cart-load of fresh horse-litter are to be
placed, together with the intestines of any
animal, and this, if well covered with the
warm litter, will, in the course of a few days,
furnish a large supply ; or, if that be incon-
venient, it may be done in any old tub : and,
treating this subject solely with a view to
the nutrition of the fowls, without regard to
squeamish prejudice, we would advise its
adoption.

It is thus evident that in pursuing any of
the foregoing modes of feeding, a great saving
will be made of corn ; and although this may

CHAP. VI.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 139

not appear deserving of consideration where
only a few fowls are kept, yet if numbers suf-
ficient for the abundant supply of a numerous
family are to be maintained, it will cost no
trifle. The following statement will show
pretty nearly the average quantity of any
grain that a common fowl will require during
twelve months, if fed solely on corn : the pfice
will of course vary according to quality, and
the difference of time and place, but any one
who is capable of counting up a few shillings
can be at no loss in ascertaining the exact
amount.

Like all other animals, some, even of the
same breed, will eat more than others without
gaining any greater proportion of flesh. The
larger the fowl, also the more food will it con-
sume ; but not in exact proportion to its size.
An old hen will unquestionably eat something
more than a young pullet ; and it has been
said, " that a Malay will consume from one-
fourth to one-third more than a Dorking or
a dunghill cock, and double as much as a
bantam;" but we may justly doubt the cor-
rectness of a supposition unaccompanied, as
in that assertion, by experimental proof; and

140 FARMING FOR LADIES. [ciiAP. VI.

we know that a bantam and a game cock
will each eat the same quantity of corn ;
indeed, Mr. Parkinson states that he put a
large white Poland cock to some bantam
hens, in lieu of a bantam cock which he re-
moved ; and that " although the Polish cock
at first consumed a little more barley, he
soon ate only the very same quantity as the
bantam."* It should, however, be borne in
mind, — that the better the hens are fed, the
larger and the finer will he their eggs.

Moubray says, that, in an experiment made
by himself in July, 1806, " a measured peck
of good barley kept a stock consisting of a
cock and three hens," (which it may be pre-
sumed were the common breed,) " together
with fifteen full-grown chickens, in a high
style of condition during eight clear days,
and one feed over ; though having no other
provision." According to another trial in the
winter season, he also states, " that a cock and
two hens kept by themselves during seven clear
days consumed a quarter of a peck of the best
barley, having no other food, and having

* On Live Stock, vol. ii. p. 352.

CHAP. VI.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 141

as much as they chose to eat; but the
same being tried at their liberty, and peck-
ing about, with cabbage-leaves occasionally
thrown to them, did not eat so much barley
in the week, although allowed all they de-
sired."

Now, in this there would seem to be some
discrepancy ; for, supposing the fifteen chick-
ens, which were two, three, and four months
old, to be equal to the consumption of ten
hens, these, together with the cock and three
other hens, may be considered as amounting
to fourteen fowls, and, though " kept in high
condition," only ate a quart of corn per day ;
while the cock and two hens appear to have
eaten two quarts in a week : or at the pro-
portionate rate of four to three more than the
larger stock.

A farmer in North America states, that he
has confined in a room and separately fed
sixty fowls of eight to nine months old, dur-
ing the winter, solely on corn, without allow-
ing them to go out to seek any other kind of
food, and that the daily consumption was six
quarts of grain — Indian com, oats, and buck-
wheat ; which, calculating the average price

142 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. ti.

at 4s. per bushel, which is higher than they
usually cost in the London market, would be
nine-pence per day. They will in this man-
ner, however, be in the highest condition ; the
cocks growing fat, and the hens laying eggs
enough to pay for the corn in the winter,
and "re-paying it four-fold in the spring."
The mode in which the fowls were provided,
was by putting the grain in separate com-
partments, holding about half a bushel each,
which were kept always supplied. And the
farmer adds this important remark — "that
if allowed to help themselves to what they
want, they eat less than if fed in the usual
way ; for, in the latter case, each tries to get
as much as it can, and thus burdens itself;
but finding, in the former case, that they have
abundance, they eat less, and that generally
in the morning early, and in the evening on
going to roost. Of the three kinds of grain,
they took in the proportion of twice as much
Indian corn as buckwheat or oats."

There is much truth in this remark, so far
as regards fowls in a high state of feeding
for being fattened on corn ; but it evidently
would not do for those stores which are to

CHAP. VI.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 143

take the run of the kitchen, as we rather
imagine they would more fi-equently apply to
those stores of grain than to the scraps which
we have recommended. There is also another
objection, arising from the difficulty of avoid-
ing waste if they are allowed to take the
seeds from open boxes : to prevent which, an
ingenious machine, as a feeding hopper, has
been invented — the description of which we
copy from the ' Prize Essays ' of the Highland
Society — that, when once filled, requires no
more trouble, as the grain falls down into
the receiver below, as the fowls pick it away.
It is, indeed, astonishing with what facility
they learn to leap upon the perch, and
open the cover of the receiver which contains
the grain, and which is raised by a spring
acted upon by the weight of the lead.

144 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. vi.

It must, however, be too expensive for any
but amateurs, and we recommend, in pre-
ference, a long trough with wires across, just
wide enough apart to admit the head of a
fowl, and containing a drawer for the reception
of the corn, in precisely the same manner as a
common bird-cage.

The French authors have written more
largely, and more scientifically, than any
others upon poultry ; and no one more prac-
tically than M. de Reaumur, who, having
usually kept a regular stock of 300 head of
all sorts for the supply of his table, had the
means of making constant experiments, which
he continued for several years, and commu-
nicated the details to the public with great
accuracy. They have, indeed, been trans-
lated into English, and so copied and re-
copied by all our writers on the subject, as
to be more or less known to every one who
has read anything about it : we shall, there-
fore, content ourselves with making only a
few extracts from the information which they
contain.

In order to ascertain the average consump-
tion of the common species of fowls, M. Re'au-

CHAP. Yi.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 145

mur placed several in single coops ; others
together ; and some in the yard ; the corn
being, in each case, secured in boxes, which,
while allowing them to peck as much as
they wanted, yet prevented the loss of a
grain : so that no doubt could be entertained
of the exact amount of nourishment re-
quired, when fed solely upon corn with-
out any other kind of food. Different sorts
of corn were also distributed in separate
compartments, and it is somewhat singular
that the quantities consumed of each were
nearly the same, though it is evident that they
must have been of different weight and quality,
and there can be no doubt that, if the fowls
were put up to be fattened, the object would
be the soonest attained by using that corn
which contained the greatest portion of nutri-
tive substance.

The fowls seemed at first to relish wheat
the most, as they fell upon it with greater
voracity than upon other corn, and one might
therefore imagine that they would consume a
greater quantity ; but they did not, in fact,
at last eat more than about three-fourths
of the same amount of barley or oats. The

L

146 FARMING FOE, LADIES. [cHAP. Yi.

weight, however, is different ; the average of
that of wheat being about 601bs., of barley
501bs., and of feed-oats 401bs. per bushel.
Of rye — although only somewhat lighter than
wheat — but half the quantity was eaten ; and
of both buckwheat and Indian corn, about
four-fifths of wheat.

In following up those experiments upon
cocks and hens of a large size, and reducing
the calculations into English measure, it was
ascertained that each fowl consumed daily —

Of oats or barley .

, J of a pint.

— buckwheat .

. -/^nds. do.

— wheat

. Ands. do.

— Indian corn .

. ^V"ds. do.

-rye ... .

. Tj3_nds. do.

And that a pint of these different sorts of
grain weighed when taken from the granary,
without counting fractional parts, as follows : —

Wheat . . 15 oz. Buckwheat . 13 oz.

Rye . . . 14 „ Barley . . 12 „

Indian corn . 14 „ Oats . . . 10 „

It is thus clearly proved that although buck-
wheat is much heavier than either barley or
oats, yet hunger will not be satisfied unless

CHAP. VI.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 147

the fowl eats as much of the former as of the
latter. Whether this arises from partiality
for it engaging the animal to eat more than
nature seems to require, M, Reaumur could
not ascertain ; for although wheat appears to
flatter the appetite more than any other grain,
yet on putting up three hens and a cock, and
giving them an equal quantity of hoth wheat
and rye, more than sufficient for their daily
consumption, they nearly finished both toge-
ther ; thus not evincing any real preference,
though in other experiments upon wheat and
rye separately, they were satisfied with little
more than half the weight of wheat. There
appeared, indeed, to be as great difference of
taste among the fowls as among ourselves ;
for Indian corn, buckwheat, and barley hav-
ing been indiscriminately placed for many days
before several fowls, some preferred one spe-
cies, others a different sort, and many did
not show any particular preference ; the greater
part, however, seemed to prefer Indian corn
and buckwheat, and to have a less likins for
rye than for any other kind of corn.

Buchvheat, or hrank, is said by Moubray
to be "an unsubstantial food;" but in the

L 2

148 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. vi.

South of France, where much of it is grown,
it is very generally used for the feeding of
poultry, and finer fowls can nowhere he seen.
Their flavour, which is superior, may be not
unjustly ascribed to some peculiar quality in
the corn — which is the favourite food of phea-
sants— ^but their weight and the mellowness of
their flesh can only be attributed to the larger
quantity of nutriment contained in the same
measure of grain ; and if buckwheat, as we
have shown, is in a very large proportion
greater in oats and barley, it must un-
questionably be the better kind of corn both
for fattening and in point of economy. In-
deed a very intelligent French lady, who has
within these few years published a sensible
treatise on rural economy, decidedly prefers
buckwheat to barley, both for the fattening of
poultry and for inducing the hens to lay eggs
early in the spring, so as to produce two
broods in the season.

Although irrelevant to the subject in ques-
tion, we must take the liberty of acquainting
those ladies who may employ buckwheat for
this purpose, that if they order some of it to
be occasionally made into cakes, in the Ame-

CHAP. Yi.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 149

rican fashion, they will find it a great break-
fast delicacy. They are simply made of a
batter formed of the flour and milk, which is
poured, to the thickness of a crumpet, on a
flat piece of iron, well known in Ireland as
"the griddle," which is placed upon the fire,
and in a few minutes each cake is hot, and
eaten with butter.

Indian corn is, as we have seen, heavier
than buckwheat, and is known to be very
nutritive, though, not being grown in this
country, and only to be generally found at
our great sea-ports, it is seldom to be had in
the towns of the interior ; but it is an error to
suppose it to be " dear ;" for, although heavier
than barley, its average price is nearly the
same. As to ivheaf, notwithstanding its supe-
riority in weight, its price will ever prevent
its being generally used as food for poultry ;
and the dislike manifested by fowls is a suffi-
cient objection to rye.

Now harley and oats being the corn most
commonly employed in this country for the
feeding of fowls, it follows that, when kept as
stores, merely for the purpose of producing
eggs and chickens, without regard to their

150 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. ti.

being fattened, the oat is by most people
thought preferable, as being the cheapest ; but
the difference of price is made up in weight,
as barley is one-fourth heavier than oats, and
contains much less husk. Countrywomen in-
deed say, "that when fowls are fed solely
upon oats, the eggs are neither so large nor
so well flavoured ; and that when the hens are
being fattened, they require more time to
render them fit for the table than if fed on
barley." In both which assertions they are cor-
rect ; but Moubray asserts " that oats scour
them, and the chickens are generally tired of
them after a while." This, however, we beg
leave to contradict, as, in our own experience,
we have formerly fed large numbers from our
stable, upon oats only, both in this country
and in Germany, without observing any such
effect. We, however, have no doubt that
were the fowls supplied with other grain, they
would be pleased as well as benefited by the
change ; as a horse, though fed constantly
upon oats, likes a feed of beans or barley
when he can get it.

As a constant food, we much prefer barley,
as being not only heavier, but as containing

CHAP. VI.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 151

more meal and saccharine matter than oats.
But we must observe that the advice given by
all our writers to give the best barley to our
poultry is ill-judged ; for the " best barley,"
being used for malting, always bears a high
price, whereas that which is discoloured, and
unfit for malt, is far cheaper, although con-
taining an equal quantity of nutriment.

Supposing barley to be the food, we have
seen, according to the experiments of M. de
Reaumur, that a full-grown fowl, of the
largest ordinary size, will not eat daily more
than a quarter of a pint of any sort of corn.
In fact, his whole stock, consisting of 300
head of every sort — fowls, turkeys, ducks, and
geese, were only allowed at that rate per day ;
and he states that if confined to fowls only,
that quantity would have been fully sufficient
for 360. Indeed Mr. Holland, of Aberdeen,
whose poultry-yard we have described, esti-
mates the quantity of corn for the annual
supply of 130 fowls at only 15 quarters of
oats, which is not quite a bushel each ; and
we know, from other sources, that it is consi-
dered an ample allowance, if accompanied with
the run of a stable-yard and a paddock.

152 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap, vi.

Looking, however, to the annual support of
a couple of cocks, each with a dozen of hens
and pullets of any good breed for the supply
of a family, and meaning them to be abun-
dantly fed with corn, without the advantage of
a stable, their consumption would, in round
numbers, amount to three quarters of barley,
or three quarters and a half to four of oats,
or at that rate, per year ; but if furnished with
the kitchen scraps, and having the use of a
paddock and stable, nearly haj^ that quantity
may be saved.

This saving would not indeed amount, at
the present price of either species of grain, to
more than about forty shillings, and we are
aware that there may be ladies who deem such
a paltry economy as not worthy of notice. But
to these we respectfully beg leave to intimate,
that if not a matter for consideration in point
of frugality of expenditure, it is of importance
as a principle of conduct in the management
of a household ; for there, as in the business
of life, it ought to be an axiom that nothing
should he thrown away. The carelessness of
a mistress begets that of her servants, and
leads them to become pilferers, if not to the

CHAP. VI.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 153

commission of greater acts of dishonesty ;
and it would be well if " Waste not, want
not," were inscribed over the chimney of
every kitchen or servants' hall, and strictly
enforced by the example of the lady of the
mansion.

In regard to the savings of corn, it should,
however, never be forgotten that the loss
which the fowls will thus suffer in point of nou-
rishment must be made up to them by a suffi-
cient quantity of some other kind of food, and as
that will seldom be found equally nutritious,
it will only support them in the state of stores.
The " scraps and offal," to which we have
alluded, will, indeed, in a great degree, sup-
ply that deficiency, and maintain them in good
condition ; for, if kept too high, they will fall
off in their work, as layers ; and if kept too low,
their eggs will lose in weight and richness.
A medium should therefore be observed : keep
them well— that is to say, in that apparent
health which is denoted by the spirit of their
movements, the brilliancy of their eyes, and the
glossiness of their plumage ; but, if you mean
to keep them as laying hens, do not let them
be too fat. If, however, you intend them to be

154 FARMING FOE LADIES. [cHAP. Ti.

fattened, the most usual modes are those
stated in the following chapter.

Many persons imagine that the hoiling of
corn is not only an economical mode of feed-
ing poultry, but also a superior method of
fattening them — upon the principle that, as
measure is the guide in filling the stomach,
so should it satisfy the bird ; and as the grain
swells in the boiling, hulk should be the guide
in nourishing it. M. Reaumur, therefore,
made several experiments upon that subject,
of which the following is an abstract : —

Different species of corn having been
boiled until the grain burst, then taken out
of the water and cooled, it was found that
four measures of each had swelled to such a
degree as severally to have increased to the
following amounts : namely —

Oats . .

to 7 measures.

Barley . .

. . 10 ditto.

Wheat . .

. . 10 ditto.

Indian corn .

. . 13 ditto.

Buckwheat .

. . 14 ditto.

Rye . . .

. . 15 ditto.

from which we should naturally suppose that
the volume being so prodigiously enlarged.

CHAP. VI.] FARMING FOR LADIES. ] 55

the quantity of grain consumed would be
considerably diminished. The experiments
were not confined to a few trials, but were
repeated in various ways upon a great num-
ber of fowls, in order to ascertain the exact
difference of food which they would consume
when the corn was boiled ; and as the quan-
tity of hard corn was — as we have seen —
already known, the fact could be easily
proved. The result, however, showed that,
instead of the consumption of corn being less-
ened by the boiling, it was in one instance
increased, and in most others there was no
difference. Fowls which ate daily a certain
quantity of raio oats, afterwards consumed
precisely the same amount of the boiled;
and buckwheat — although the four measures
raw made fourteen when boiled — was con-
sumed in exactly the same time. The in-
stance to which we have alluded was that of
rye ; for notwithstanding the larger bulk oc-
casioned by its being boiled, a cock and seven
hens which daily consumed three-fourths of
a measure in its raw state, were found to eat
as much of the boiled as amounted to four-
ffths of a measure when raw.

156 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. yi.

Both barley and wheat, although the latter
in its crude state weighs one-fifth more than
the former, and costs half as much again, yet
appear, when boiled, to have filled exactly the
same measure, and the same number of fowls
consumed precisely the same quantity of both
when boiled. No profit was, therefore, ob-
tained from the boiling, in point of economy ;
but there might be some advantage in regard
to fattening ; for, although the fowls could
not be induced to eat more of the wheat, it
would yet aflbrd them greater nourishment.

Barley, it however appears, can be pro-
fitably boiled ; for the fowls which daily ate
tioo measures of it when raw, only consumed
three measures when boiled : so that, as four
measures, of any size, when raw, produce ten
measures when boiled, there is an evident
saving of two-fifths in the consumption of the
grain. Those fowls, however, which ate three
measures a day of boiled barley, only ate the
same quantity of boiled Indian corn, which
being heavier, though not dearer, than barley,
is therefore the cheaper of the two. The
trouble is nothing, for there is always a fire
in the kitchen, and the grain may be heated

CHAP. Ti.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 157

when no other work is going on ; but a doubt
may arise respecting its effect on the flesh,
which it might not improbably render flabby.

Boiled rice is an excellent food, as being
not only very nutritious, but as improving
the delicacy of the flesh — particularly if it be
boiled with skim-milk ; and as the common
sorts of East- India rice may now be had at
from 10s. to 125. the cwt. — that is to say,
for less than three half-pence the pound, al-
though grocers charge three pence, — it is
nearly as cheap as barley. In saying "boiled,"
we, however, only mean that the grain should
be saturated with either water or milk, so as
to occasion it to swell without retaining much
of the fluid ; but boiling is unnecessary to
digestion, as the gizzard will crush any
species of corn, however hard it may be.

For the purpose of testing this by experi-
ment, we lately put up a couple of young
Dorking fowls, of the same brood — one a
pullet and the other a cock — of about five
months old. They were put into separate
roomy coops, placed in an airy but rather
dark cellar : the cock being fed solely upon
barley, and the pullet upon rice partly scalded

158 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. vi.

with milk and partly raw, and both were al-
lowed to eat what they liked, as the troughs
attached to the coops were always left full,
and the only addition to their food was an
occasional handful, between them, of baker's
raspings and cinders to aid their digestion.

They were thus fed during exactly four
weeks, and roasted two days after being
killed. They were both fine fowls, though
not so fat as people might imagine, and the
cock weighed six ounces more than the pullet ;
he was, however, when alive, the larger of the
two. The object was, however, rather to
ascertain any difference that might be occa-
sioned by the mode of feeding in the quality
and flavour of the flesh ; and every one of a
small party who tasted of the birds, gave their
decided opinion in favour of the pullet. Al-
though, as we have already said, the meat of
both was fine, yet that of the pullet was not
only whiter, but had also a delicate richness of
flavour which rendered it much superior.
This superiority may, however, have arisen
from the difference of sex, the flesh of the
female being in most cases more delicate than
that of the male : and we must admit that the

CHAP. Yi.] FARMING FOR LADIES, 159

experiment would have been more correct if
made only upon either cocks or pullets.

The difference in point of expense was next
to nothing : the quantity of barley being four
quarts and a half, and the rice four pounds,
of which much was wasted in consequence of
the milk becoming sour in the hot weather.
The cost of the rice, at the wholesale price,
was sixpence, and of the barley sixpence three
farthings — no account having been taken of the
milk, though, if purchased, it might have cost
twopence when skimmed. The baker's raspings
cost one penny; so that the entire fatting of
the pair, during four weeks, only amounted to
fifteen pence three farthings.

In feeding, although the pullet had the rice
given to her both raw and boiled, she was
observed to eat far more of the latter ; and
we understand that in China, and throughout
a great part of the East Indies, where rice is
commonly used for the fatting of poultry,
it is always boiled: the better way is, how-
ever, in our opinion, to give both barley and
rice — the one raw, and the other boiled.

160 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. vii.

CHAPTER VII.

Spring Chickens, Cockrels, and Pullets — Fatting of grown
Fowls — Cooping — Modes of fatting in Sussex and Berk-
shire— Operation of Cramming — French Mode — Coqs-
vierges and Poulets k la Reine — Sucking Chickens — Old
Fowls — Pillaw — Observations on Cramming.

Fowls are fattened by the dealers at all ages,
both as young chickens, pullets, and groicn cocks
and hens, and very nearly the same methods
are in all places employed ; but as there are
occasionally some differences in the modes of
management, we shall succinctly state what
information we have gained from our own ex-
perience, as well as from personal communi-
cation with other persons, and collected from
the various publications on the subject.

Supposing the brood, on their separation
from the hen, to be from eight to ten weeks
old, and, as we have stated in a former chap-
ter, " to have been well fed and in good con-
dition," they will be grown enough to be fat-
tened within a short time as spring chickens,

CHAP. VII.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 161

cockrells, and pullets ; or as full growTi fowls
when they arrive at the age of five to six
months, according to the state of their growth :
this, however, depends much on the suffi-
ciency and nature of the food on which they
have been fed, and the care with which they
have been treated. As young fowls do not
moult in the year in which they are hatched,
they will generally be ready at that period
either for being fatted off before Christmas,
or, if they be hatched late or there be a second
brood, in the early part of the following spring,
at which time they fat much better than in
the autumn. The better way is, however, first
to fatten the cocks, and retain the pullets to
give eggs during the winter ; after which they
may be fattened when the store hens of last
year's growth are beginning to lay : in both
which cases, any of the following modes of
feeding may be safely adopted.

Mr. Elliot, farm bailiff" of Earl Spencer,
states, by the direction of his Lordship, " that
the method of fattening fowls for the family
at Althorp is, to shred mutton-suet very fine,
mix it with milk and sugar, and with this mix

M

162 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. tii.

ground oats to the consistence of batter. They
should be kept in the dark, very quiet, and
warm in the winter ; and will, in this manner,
be ready within about three weeks."

In Russell's "Improved System of Agri-
culture," the mode of feeding, practised for
many years with success by one of the first
higglers, is stated to be, "in the first place, to
keep the fowls intended for fattening without
food for twenty-four hours, after which ground
oats, scalded and mixed with water to a mo-
derate consistence, must be given them, when
sufficiently cooled, in troughs three times a
day. On the fourth day it will be necessary
to add to the oats a little fresh milk ; and,
within a fortnight from the taking up, the
fowls will be sufficiently fat."

According to our own experience, however,
we should say, that if only one species of food
be used, we should prefer barley to oats ; and
that it would be difficult to fatten a fowl upon
the latter within the stated time. We know
also that higglers, poulterers, and breeders
for sale use chandler's greaves and kitchen-
stuff' mixed up with barley or oatmeal, as well

iCHAP. Til.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 163

as milk, and cram them with this paste in
darkened coops ; by which means they are
very speedily fattened.

The chief objection to this mode arises from
its so quickly fatting the poultry, as to
render the flesh rather wanting in firmness ;
the sole object of the practice being to bring
the fowls to market as speedily and as fat as
possible, for the plain reason that it is the
cheapest and most expeditious mode. It
should, however, be observed, that a fowl thus
fed, must, when completely fat, be killed
without delay, or it will daily fall off in health,
and the flesh become red from the feverish-
ness occasioned by over-feeding.

Those persons, therefore, who wish to have
fowls constantly fat, without having any fixed
time for using them, should never cram them,
but should always keep some of them in coops,
in which their flesh will increase, and they
will remain for a great length of time in per-
fect health, as indeed may be witnessed in
long sea voyages, where they are always cooped,
and ever ready for the table. An eminent
innkeeper, indeed, whose house we sometimes
visit, and who always has remarkably fine

m2

164 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. vii.

fowls, tells US that he coops all his white-meat
poultry, which he sometimes keeps for weeks
together, feeding them night and morning
upon milk boiled in rice, which is removed
after their being fed, and in the middle of
the day a few grains of barley and gravel, or
a powdered bone or egg-shell, are left in the
trough. The coops are cleaned out as occa-
sion requires, and if the fowls appear uneasy,
they are let out for a few moments into a
small closet, upon the floor of which ashes are
spread, upon which they roll themselves.

The coop, being moveable, may be placed
in any dark, quiet, warm corner, and made for
any number of fowls. It should have partitions
just large enough to contain a fowl within
each, without allowing it to turn round : the
front having bars to admit the head and neck
of the fowl, with a trough underneath to con-
tain grain and water ; the back being merely
railed across with rods, which may be drawn
out when a fowl is to be put in or taken
out, as well as for its more easy cleansing;
and if the floor of the back part of the coop
be made in a slanting form, it will catch the
dropping of the bird without retaining it.

FARMING FOR LADIES. 165

To this we must add, that a friend of our's
fattens his fowls without cramming ; and that
chiefly on the seed of the sun-Jloicer, which
most ladies have in their gardens, and which,
as Moore elegantly says —

'• turns to her god, when he sets,
The same look that she turned when he rose."

Its properties are not only highly fattening,
but are thought to impart to the flesh some-
what of the flavour of the pheasant ; this, how-
ever, having been denied in a recent publica-
tion,* and we also conceiving that the seed
would render it oily, he lately sent up a pair
for our use from his residence in Surrey.
They were fine fowls— roasted, of course, and
served up with bread-sauce to a large party,
who all tasted of them, and admitted that
they were highly flavoured, without any ap-
pearance of oiliness, but devoid of the pecu-
har haut-gout of game, though very fat : yet

" Quarterly Journal of Agriculture, No. xl., p. 519.

166 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. vii.

we have little doubt that the game breed, if
fed upon buckwheat and fattened upon this
seed, would deceive the palate of many an
epicure.

In the Agricultural Report of Sussex the
mode of feeding, in the neighbourhood of
Horsham, where they are largely grown and
famous for their size, is stated to be, " Ground
oats made into gruel, mixed with hog's lard,
brown sugar, pot-liquor, and milk ; or ground
oats, treacle, and suet, together with finely-
chopped sheep's-pluck : the pot-liquor, mixed
up with a handful of oatmeal, being boiled
up, and when taken off the fire made into a
paste, and divided into rolls of a sufficient
size for cramming, which is done every morn-
ing and night. Fowls, thus fattened, and
cooped two or three days before beginning to
cram them, will in a fortnight average full
five pounds, some frequently seven, and others
(probably of a superior breed) arriving to ten
pounds' weight !"

Should it be the intention to fatten a brood,
whether of the first or second hatching, for
either winter or spring use, then the following
method is used, as being that practised in

CHAP. Yii.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 167

and around Wokingham, in Berkshire, where
it is as well, if not perhaps better understood
than in any other part of England, and an
account of which we have lately received from
an eminent breeder in that neighbourhood.

" As chicks, they should be kept in good
condition, and the earlier they can be put up,
when about two months old, or when separated
from the hen, the better will they go on in
fattening. To do it speedily they should be
separately cooped and warmly covered, but,
as that may be inconvenient, they should be
placed in a small, dark chamber, which in
cold weather should be kept very warm, and
they should be never allowed to go out. In-
deed, their being left loose, even in a small
room, materially impedes their fatting, and it
is far better to coop them ; keeping them, at
the same time, undisturbed by the noise of
other fowls, or by the cleaning out of the coop
more than once, or at the most twice, in each
week. Each coop should be only large
enough to contain a single bird ; or parti-
tions may be made to that size in a large one,
and the chicks may see each other from the
bars. The front should have a trough for

168 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. \'ii.

grain and water, and the bottom of tlie back
part be either left open or railed to allow of
the excrement falling through it. The floor
is often left without any covering, but a good
bed should be made of straw or hay.

"Their food for the first few days, or a
week, until ^ they become reconciled to con-
finement, should be bruised barley and bar-
ley meal mixed into a paste with new milk
and treacle ; and this, if not left to them at
discretion, should be given to them at least
three or four times a day : a little coarse sand
or fine gravel being left in the trough for
them to take at pleasure. At the expiration
of this time they should be crammed morning
and evening — at about seven o'clock each
time — with the paste, already described, to
which is added melted mutton-suet, though
any fresh fat may do nearly as well ; the drink
being milk and treacle.

" The operation of cramming consists in
rolling this paste into sausage-shaped pieces
of about the size of the little finger, and hav-
ing dipped it into the liquor mentioned, the
fowl is held firmly between the knees on the
lap of the feeder, the mouth of the fowl being

CHAP, vii.j FARMING FOR LADIES. 169

held open with the left hand, while with the
right hand the cram is adroitly thrust down
the throat. After this, a spoonful or two of
the liquor is given, and this is repeated until
the crop is full, or as much as it is supposed
they can digest ; which object must be care-
fully attended to, or they will not. empty them-
selves ; it should not, therefore, be repeated
more than twice within the twenty-four hours.
The fowls soon submit to the operation without
struggling, and also easily reconcile them-
selves to being cooped ; and this mode of feed-
ing will attain the object of fatting any fowl,
of whatever age, probably within a fortnight,
and certainly with complete effect : the general
cost varying from ninepence to a shilling
each."

In France a small tin funnel is sometimes
used for the purpose of cramming ; the food
being placed in a bended mouth-piece, which
is put into the bill of the bird with one hand
of the feeder, while he holds the fowl with the
other ; and it has been described by many of
our writers as being a more expeditious and
cleanly mode than that commonly practised in
this country. We should imagine, however,

1 70 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. vii.

that those persons have never seen it in use,
for there is nothing uncleanly in cramming a
fowl vi^ith the finger, and it is a far better
mode, both as to ease and expedition, than by
the funnel. The coqs vierges de Normandie
are fattened in that manner at Caen, with a
paste made chiefly of buckwheat flour, ground
rice, and the raspings of bread, mixed up with
curds, and well moistened with milk, into
which there is also put a little salt : the quan-
tity of paste being at first moderate, but gra-
dually increased until it fills the crop, and
time enough allowed between each feeding
to secure digestion.

These young birds are in such high esteem
at Paris, that — as we learn from Madame
Gacon Dufour and the ' Manuel du Zoophile^
— their usual price there is twelve francs each.
Chicks are also fattened in the same way for
the Paris market at six weeks old, and sent
there, in the month of April, plucked, trussed,
and separately wrapped in paper as poidets a la
reine. They are sent as far as twenty to twenty-
five post leagues, by carts used to convey
poultry, and travelling by relays of horses in
the same manner as the post. Such, indeed,

CHAP. VII.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 171

is considered their delicacy at that season,
that it is not uncommon in London to pay as
much for them as fifteen shillings the couple :
in Ireland, too, they are in great request at
the tables of the gentry, and are there, not
imaptly, called " sucking chickens."

As to fowls " of a certain age," — as ladies
say — no teeth can face them. Indeed Cobbett,
whose palate appears to have been rather
more nice than we should have expected,
insists " that they are never good for any-
thing when they have attained their full
growth, unless they he capons or poulardes.
If the pullets be old enough to have little
eggs in them, they are not worth a farthing ;
and as to cocks of the same age, they are fit
for nothing but to make soup for soldiers on
a march." Although there may be some
truth in the remark, when they are roasted or
boiled, we yet do not wholly agree with it, as
we know that even an old hen, after having
for years sedulously done her duty in the
abundant production of eggs, and rearing
broods of chickens, may then close her useful
life with some eclat in the shape of a well
dressed jnllaw a la Rundell; or even in a much

172 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. vii.

less elaborate manner, by stewing her until the
flesh becomes easily separated from the bones ;
then mincing it small with a few green chilis,
a tomato, and some chili vinegar, or any
sharp sauce, to add to the flavour. Or, if
made into broth, it will be better than that
made from any young fowl or chicken.

Objections are frequently made to cTam-
ming, "as making the flesh unwholesome,"
but this we look upon as very unfounded, for
although we prefer the flesh of what is called
a barn-door fowl, in consequence of its firm-
ness— notwithstanding Cobbett's callino; them
"nasty things" — yet, in point oi delicacy, the
crammed fowl is perhaps superior ; and as to
there being anything in the operation injurious
to health, it may be considered as totally
devoid of proof

CHAP. Yiii.l FARMING FOR LADIES. 173

CHAPTER VIII.

Economy and aliment of eggs — Composition, weight and
quality — Number laid by hens — Expense of maintaining
fowls — Comparative cost of poultry and butcher's meat —
New-laid and stale eggs — Experiments on the preserva-
tion of eggs — Winter laying — Cock's eggs.

Eggs are the main annual income of the
poultry-yard ; for it is chiefly by their pro-
duction that the maintenance of the fowls is
paid until the birds are put upon the table.
The smallness of their cost renders them pro-
fitable in point of economy ; and as an ali-
ment, nothing perhaps but bread can be
found more generally useful. They can be
dressed in a greater variety of ways than any
other animal food, and their qualities are
known to be so superior as to be considered
a universal delicacy, whether on the table of
the peasant or the prince. Some species are
indeed more delicate than others, but of what-
ever description they may be, they are all
equally nutritive. Those commonly called

174 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap, vin,

"hen's eggs" are, however, the only sort in
daily use, because hens are of all fowls the
most prolific, and the most generally reared.
Indeed, it has been truly said, that " of all
sorts of animal food, the fowl, the chicken,
and the hen-egg are most salutary to child-
ren, to women of tender health, to the
sedentary, and to the sick,"

The egg is composed of three different
substances. The outward covering, or shell,
is formed of calcareous, chalky matter, in the
proportion of ninety-five parts in a hundred of
carbonate and phosphate of lime ; and, look-
ing to the rapidity of the formation of the
egg, this shows the necessity of supplying the
fowls with those materials of which the shell
partakes. When " soft eggs," as they are
called (which are eggs surrounded by a film,
instead of a perfect shell), are layed, it is
evidently because the hen has either not had
or has not eaten suflacient chalky matter. It
has indeed been frequently remarked, that
fowls reared upon calcareous soils are gene-
rally finer in their flesh and more healthy
than those bred on clayey land : therefore
pounded bones, egg and oyster shells, and

CHAP, viii.] farmijVG for ladies. 175

lime-stone gravel should be occasionally
strewed in the yard. The interior forms the
yelk, or " yolk" — as it is commonly called —
surrounded by a white, glairy substance, or
albumen, both so well known as to need no
further description than that already given
of the foetus : but it should be observed, that
the idea very generally entertained respecting
the albumen not being a nutritious substance
is founded in prejudice.

The weight, number, and quality of eggs
vary both according to the age, the breed,
and constitution of the hens, and the nature
of the food on which they have been nurtured.
Those of young pullets are never so heavy
during the first year of their laying as when
they become hens ; and those of the larger
breeds are generally thought to be not so
well flavoured as those of a more medium
size. Hens of a robust constitution will lay
more and better eggs than those which are
feeble ; and, above all, the nature and suf-
ficiency of the food will, in a great measure,
determine the weight and quality of the egg :
for if the hens are ill fed, the eggs will be
light and the yolk insipid ; but if put into a

17b FAKMING FOR LADIES. [cuAr. viii.

good condition, the hen will lay more and
larger eggs of a better flavour.

The weight varies from If to 2i- ounces,
and the eggs of Malay fowls and their crosses
with Dorkings are not unfrequently found to
weigh full three ounces. We, however, re-
cently weighed several eggs produced by the
ordinary breeds and fed in the usual way, the
largest and the smallest of which were seve-
rally as follows : —

ozs. grs. ozs. grs.

Weight of the largest.. 2 105 of the smallest .. 2 35

„ yolk...O 338 „ yolk 0 336

„ white ..1 157 , white 1 94

„ shell ...0 90 „ shell 0 85

The eggs were weighed before being
boiled, and the difference in weight, after
being boiled, only amounted in the one in-
stance to 14 and in the other to 5 grains ;
which, as there are 480 in an ounce, is
scarcely perceptible : but, although the weight
of one was 70 grains greater than the other,
there only appears to have been two grains
difference in the weight of the yolk, and this,
whether arising from constitution or mode of
feeding, could not be ascertained.

As to quality — although eggs vary consi-

CHAP. VIII.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 177

derably in flavour, yet, if they be but fresh,
and of the same kind, people seldom think
there is any difference in the taste of one egg
and that of another, and they are all eaten
alike, whether produced by hens fed upon
garbage or upon substantial corn. There is,
however, a very material distinction in the
richness ; and if this be not discovered by the
palate, it may be known by the colour of the
yolk, which, if pale, always denotes a want of
flavour, but if of a deep orange, is ever rich
and nutritious ; though it must be confessed
that some persons consider them on that
account wanting in delicacy. Some of those
insects and grasses which abound during the
summer, and of which hens are very fond,
will also sometimes make the eggs disagree-
able to a sensitive palate ; but this may be
corrected by giving them a greater abund-
ance of grain. Some species of food will
even taint the flavour of the eggs : thus
chandlers' greaves and kitchen stuflT, which
are sometimes made up into a paste with
bran, or much of any rancid, greasy matter,
if given to the hens, will make the eggs rank.
Garlick and mint, although good for them

N

178 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. \iii.

in winter, will in a short time impart some-
what of its scent ; and the fir tops found in
plantations are said to give them an odour
of turpentine. Grain of any sort, particularly
harley — in consequence probably of its sac-
charine property — renders them very rich
and delicate ; but peas, it should be observed,
will have the effect of imparting an unpleasant
flavour to the egg, though not to the flesh.

Respecting number — we have already stated
that from ten to twelve, and in some instances
even fourteen, dozen of eggs are produced by
hens of the common breeds ; but so various
are the numbers layed by different fowls and
under different circumstances, both as to their
period of moulting and the time of their be-
ginning and ending their laying, that — as the
following account will show — no certain cal-
culation can be made of their average annual
amount. Thus, in one of the publications of
the Labourers' Friend Society, the produce of
three hens (two of them more correctly pul-
lets) from May to November was 343 eggs,
and that of three Polish pullets, hatched in
June, is stated to have been during two
consecutive years 524 and 456 eggs ; the

CHAP. VIII.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 179

weight of those of the first year being 521bs.,
and of the second 571bs.

It will be thus seen that the pullets layed
more eggs within the year than when they
had become hens ; but it appears that those
of the first year's production weighed, upon
an average, only ten to the pound, whereas
those of the second year weighed eight to
the pound, and yielded 51bs. more than the
former. The fowls were fed entirely on corn ;
having each a bushel of barley with about
61bs. of boiled rice, and a little barley meal ;
but they did not, in either case, bring up a
brood, or ever evince any desire to sit : while
another pullet, after laying 56 eggs within
12 weeks, commenced hatching.

This produce may appear large ; but it
seems that, with a different breed, 212 eggs
have been obtained, within three months, from
three hens. Mr. England, of Aberdeen, in-
deed mentions in one of the prize essays of
the Highland Society, as a fact within his
own knowledge — " that of late there has been
brought from Russia a very productive kind
of fowls which do not sit : the produce of
four hens of which breed and a common cock

n2

180 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap. viii.

has each been at an average 220 eggs an-
nually for three years; and the hens of a
farmer to whom the mode of crossing was
communicated, have each, when young, pro-
duced 312 eggs annually ! "

Other instances might be mentioned —
though certainly not equalling the latter ;
but, in our own experience, we have seldom
known more than twelve dozen of eggs to
be got within twelve months from any hen
that had hatched a brood of chicks.

We shall, however, here quote one more
instance from a statement recorded in
Baxter's " Library of Agricultural Know-
ledge," as derived from a most respectable
source, the correctness of which may be de-
pended on, and which clearly shows what may
be obtained from the keep of a small number
of fowls by judicious feeding and proper ma-
nagement. " The individual from whom the
information was got keeps only five fowls, of
which one is a cock, and are a variety of the
so-called ' Everlasting Breed.' They are fed
twice a day ; having barley in the morning,
and wet food at night — such as sharps, bran,
and pollard, mixed up with barley-water and

CHAP. YIII

] FARMING FOR LADIES. 181

given to them cold. They are also occasion-
ally supplied with pulverised oyster-shells,
and sometimes a small portion of gravel is
given to them in their food. The expense of
keeping, with the produce in eggs for two
separate years, was as follows :" — it is ad-
mitted "that they pick up a portion of their
own living by their own efforts during the
day."

First Year. ^ j

4 Bushels of barley . . 16 6

2 Ditto sharps . . 5 1

i Ditto pollard . . 0 1

i Ditto bran . • 0 54

£1 2 U

No. of eggs 710.

Second Year,

d.

2i Bushels of barley . . 110

9^ Gallons of sharps . . 3 6^

7 Ditto pollard . . 0 9

4 Ditto bran . . 0 6

15 ^
No. of eggs 594.

Now, on looking to this difference in the

cost of feeding — -which is rather more than

it would be at present — and to the number

of eggs, one cannot but be persuaded that

the falling off in the produce of the second

year was occasioned by the diminution of

182 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap. Yin.

the corn : for, although bran and pollard
are useful in making up a mess of paste,
and will doubtless fill the craw, they yet
contain very little nourishment; and, al-
though the profit is stated to have been nearly
alike in both years, yet, had the weight and
quality of the eggs been ascertained, we have
no doubt that those of the second would have
been found inferior to those of the first year.
But, supposing the quality to have been the
same, as the maintenance of the hens cost
during two years only 11. 18s. 6d. — the eggs
were had for little more than a farthing each :
and this may be worth consideration to a
prudent housekeeper, for, in London, a good
egg can never be got for less than a penny at
any time of the year ; and, during winter, we
have when in ill-health, regularly paid four-
pence daily for a new-lay ed egg.

Early in this humble essay we pledged our-
selves that the cost of poultry, if economically
managed, would be less than that of butcher's
meat. Nor can this be wondered at if we
look to the fact that the consumers in all large
towns buy their eggs and fowls from dealers
who have, among them, no less than three or

CHAP. VIII.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 183

four separate profits : first, the breeder has
his on the rearing ; after him, the higgler who
travels the country, as a purchaser to supply
the city, has his also, on the sale to the dealer
or poulterer ; who, lastly, sells them for full
double their original cost.

Having here shown the yearly maintenance
of fowls of a large breed, when corn was
higher than at present, to be Ss. lOd. each,
while the annual average number of eggs
layed by each hen was 163, we now beg
leave to call attention both to that statement,
and to the following estimate : —

Su})posing the five fowls last-mentioned to
have been purchased when full-grown chickens,
and to be worth only the same price when old
fowls — we have seen that the weight of good
sized eggs is from 2 ounces to 2^ ounces ;
that the shell weighs only a few grains ; and
that the eggs lose nothing worth naming in
their weight on being boiled. But, supposing
the pullets' eggs to weigh only If ounce,
and those of the hen 2i ounces, their joint
weight would be —

710 Pullet's eggs, at If oz., 1242^ oz. = 771bs. 10 oz.
594 Hen's eggs, at 2^ oz., 1188 oz. = 831bs. 8 oz.

161 lbs. 2 oz.

184 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap. tiii.

Which, calculating the expense of food, as al-
ready stated, at 1/. 18^. bd., shows the cost to
be under threej)ence per pound.

On the consumption of this food, and of
the flesh of poultry, it should also be recol-
lected, that eggs lose nothing in weight on
being dressed, while roasted beef or mutton
loses one-third, and a fowl is picked to the
bone without the loss of a fraction of meat.
We, indeed, tried this experiment by dining
one day, tete-a-tete, with a friend upon a roast
fowl, and the next upon as much loin of mutton
as the fowl cost. The broiled remains of the
fowl were amply sufficient for the breakfast of
two persons of moderate appetite ; but that
of the mutton was not worth bringing to table.

Further, it may be remarked, that poul-
terers never throw away the offal of fowls ;
and, in point of strict household economy, the
heads and neck, the greater part of the en-
trails and the feet, if put into a Papins di-
gester (which no housekeeper should be with-
out), will make strong jelly. The very feathers
are saleable ; or may assist in stuffing cushions
or servants' beds.

As few eatables are more delicate at a
breakfast-table than a new-layed egg, so, no-

CHAP. VIII.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 185

tiling is more nauseous than one that is quite
stale ; and as hens generally cease laying in
the month of October, it is of great import-
ance in housekeeping to preserve them in a
state of freshness during the continuance of
the winter. It is generally thought that the
cold of winter is what prevents hens from lay-
ing, and there can be no doubt that it checks
their disposition to lay ; but they recommence
in February, in which month, and that of
March, the weather is often more severe than
in October, when they usually cease. It is,
therefore, more probably occasioned by their
having already layed all those eggs of which
the germs were contained in the ovary, and
that they require time to renovate them, or to
recover from the effects of moulting. However
that may be, perhaps no means can be devised
for keeping them so perfectly fi-esh as to retain
the taste of those which are new-layed, al-
though there are writers who pretend that they
may be kept for months in a milky state with-
out any loss of flavour. They certainly can
be preserved without taint, and in a fit state
for family use, until the commencement of the
spring season for laying ; but we cannot admit

186 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap. viii.

that they retain anything like " the milkiness
of those neicly layed^

The object of those trials which have been
made for that purpose, has been either to ex-
clude the air effectually from the egg ; to
close the pores of the shell ; or, to maintain
the yolk in the centre of the white, in order
to prevent it from coming into contact with
the shell. The exclusion of the air is effected
by burying the egg in bran, fine salt, saw-
dust, or dry sand, placed in a box covered up
and deposited in a wine-cellar, or some room
where the temperature of the air will not be
exposed to frost. The closing of the pores is
done either by greasing the shells with melted
suet, or lard (for if butter be used it will be-
come rancid), or, to immerse the eggs for a
minute or two in boiling water, so as to co-
agulate the fdm which surrounds the interior
of the shell ; and the prevention of all contact
between the shell and yolk is achieved either
by placing the eggs in rows with one end
downwards, or, by turning them every day.

We have carefully tried all these experi-
ments when preparing this little treatise for
publication, but we must observe that, what-

CHAP, vm.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 187

ever plan may be employed, should be done
as nearly as possible on the very day on which
the eggs were layed ; and that it is useless
to commence the process until some time in
the end of August, or the beginning of Sep-
tember, for, if begun sooner, the period which
must elapse before the end of January might,
probably, occasion the failure of the attempt.
May and June are, indeed, the months which
produce the greatest quantity of eggs, but
these should be either consumed in the family,
or disposed of to a neighbouring cheesemonger
in exchange for other articles, as it would be
too soon to put them by for winter use. We
commenced our operations in September,
upon eggs taken daily, warm from the hen ;
closed our trials on the 26th of the same
month, and tested them in the presence of a
lady, by boiling the eggs, on the 26th of
January — thus affording four clear months
for each experiment. The result being — that
neither those shut from the air by being
placed in bran, saw-dust, sand, or salt, nor
those immersed during periods in water, had
acquired any taint of either smell or taste to
prevent them from being used in cookery ;

188 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap. viii.

but neither these, nor those smeared with oil
and suet — though much the best — were with-
out an indescribable flavour of staleness, or
what cooks term " shop-eggs," which deprived
them of all title to what we should call " new-
layed:" and of those continually turned, some
once a day, and others two and three times a
week, and put in a cool place, none were fit for
use. We, therefore, decidedly prefer the
mode of greasing, as being both the easiest
and the best. We know it, also, to be the
plan most commonly practised throughout
France, where the use and management of
eggs and poultry are more general and better
understood than in this, or, perhaps, any other
country ; but, whatever may be the mode here
adopted, the eggs should always be placed
upright, with the small end downwards.

Should you have a dairy, you probably in the
summer season salt some of the butter for win-
ter use ; and it has been suggested to us that, in
doing so, it would be an excellent plan to fix
the eggs in layers, either in a jar, or a small
barrel of salted butter : for, in this manner,
as both the butter would be made and the
eggs layed simultaneously, both would be pre-

CHAP. VIII.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 189

served and used together, and the contact of
the egg could not in any way injure the
butter. The first layed eggs should, however,
also be the first consumed ; and, as they would
be in the bottom layer, they would thus be
the last to be eaten : but this can be easily
obviated, by putting the layers of eggs with
the larger ends downwards ; and when the jar
or barrel is full, then turning it upside down.
The only objection, as already stated, is — that
if the operation be commenced in June, it
may fail in January ; but from the fresh
appearance of the eggs put into butter in
September and dressed in January, we are
of opinion that there could be little risk in
the trial.

The advantage of thus preserving eggs on
sea voyages, where salt butter must neces-
sarily be used, is obvious ; and, where milk
cannot be had, a small portion of the yolk of
a raw egg mixed quickly up with either tea
or coffee, will give (particularly to the latter)
much of the flavour of cream.

With whatever care eggs may be preserved,
they, however, never equal the delicacy of those
which are really new-layed ; and as many per-

190 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. viii.

sons use eggs daily at breakfast, it is really a
matter of some im.portance to those ladies
who keep hens to take means for inducing
them to lay during the winter. The main point
in doing this, is to choose them young, and
of a strong constitution ; pullets of an early
brood, which show a disposition to lay, or
those hens which have not begun to lay early
in the season, being the best. Then, above
all, to keep them warm, only allowing them
to go out in the middle of dry, sun-shiny
days ; and to feed them abundantly, but
without cramming or trying to fat them with
exciting food. Of this the chief foundation
should be barley ; but in addition to this,
occasional feeds should be given of either
malt, hemp-seed, mustard, or coriander ; and,
indeed, if a handful of pimento, or black-
pepper, be thrown among them, they will
greedily devour every grain of it : never, at
the same time, forgetting that well-known and
approved nostrum, "toast and ale."

In fine, look to those which you think likely
to answer your expectations, and if they do
not, fatten them off at once for the table, which
will be in great part already done through

CHAP. VIII.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 191

the mode in which they have been fed. Those
which lay during the autumn and winter, will
cease during the summer, and when they fall
off in laying at the latter end of the spring,
they will then be in prime age and order for
being fattened ; and thus, having pullets and
hens of different age and temperament, both
eggs and fowls may constantly be kept in
succession.

In putting up hens with the intent of getting
them to lay during the winter, most people
have them accompanied by a cock ; which,
although for some reasons, perhaps advisable,
is not absolutely necessary, for it is well
known to naturalists that hens will lay eggs
which are brought to perfection without any
connection with the male ; in proof of which,
they have been separately shut up for two
years together without any diminution of the
number of eggs which are usually produced
by those hens which are accompanied by a
cock, nor was there the least perceptible dif-
ference in the quality.* They will not, in-
deed, produce chickens ; but when the object

* See Olivier de Serres, "Theatre d'Agriculture," 2nd
edit. vol. ii. p. 156.

192 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. tiii.

is only to produce eggs, it can be attained
without the company of the cock.

If eggs be held up to the light, there will
be seen in the yolk of those which have been
impregnated, a small cord of whitish film,
which is the germ of life, and which, if not
prevented by all contact with the air, after
a short time dies, and occasions putrefaction ;
but those eggs which have not been impreg-
nated do not contain that film, and are called
" clear." They are therefore generally con-
sidered as being less subject to decay, and
are, by many persons, thought to be more
delicate. There are, however, others who
scout the idea of either earlier decay or
greater delicacy ; though certainly, the film,
small as it may be, is not an agreeable
appendage to the yolk. Those who prefer
clear eggs, should, therefore, separate the hens
from the cock at least a couple of months
previous to any intention of preserving the
eggs during the winter.

It would be unpardonable to close this
chapter without adverting to the singular
notion still entertained by many village gos-
sips, that cocks sometimes lay eggs ; and that

CHAV. VIII.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 193

if one of these be deposited in a dung-hill,
it will produce a basilisk or winged serpent !
prognosticating all sorts of misfortunes to
the owner, and looking upon the unfortunate
cock as an evil spirit, which they are however
afraid to kill. It arose in consequence of
eggs, of a very diminutive size, being known
to have been layed by hens wearing all the
appearance of being cocks, by a change
of plumage when they became old ; instances
of which have been recorded by many au-
thors in the Annaks des Sciences, and re-
cently by White, of Selborne, who relates
several anecdotes in proof of the fact.* We
must not, therefore, feel astonished that tales
of these "freaks of nature," accompanied
with comments of the ignorant and credulous,
have given rise to the fable of the cock-
atrice.

* See his Natural History of that village, Letter xxxv.

194 i'ARMING FOR LADIES.

CHAPTER IX

Origin and appellation of (he turkey — Price in the sixteenth
century — Description — Battles and courtship of the cock
— Laying and hatching of the hen — Eggs — Nests — Period
of incubation — Chicks ; mode of management and food —
Poults; and their treatment — Rearing and buying —
Grown turkeys ; and French manner of feeding — Flesh of
the cock and hen — Weight and age — Cramming.

Our English appellation of turkey has
been improperly applied to this bird : but,
about the period of its first introduction into
Europe, it was customary to designate by
that name many foreign articles of luxury
or rarity which came through the Levant
from the East; as for instance, coffee, of
which, although not a grain of it is grown
in that country, yet the term is constantly
applied to the berry by grocers who want to
recommend it as superior. When first known,
the bird was indeed frequently confounded
with the Guinea-fowl, which it somewhat re-

CHAP. IX.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 19o

sembles ; and in France it is called " Din-
don" and "d'Inde," no doubt in consequence
of a supposition that it came from India ; but
it is distinctly ascertained to be a native of
North America. It is, indeed, somewhat re-
markable that, although the tenderest of all
our poultry, it is yet found wild in large flocks
throughout the whole range of that continent,
even so far as the Canadian forests, and was
not brought into Europe until after the dis-
covery of that quarter of the globe by the
Spaniards. It was then gradually carried
from Spain to Italy, and other parts of the
south, but did not reach England until some
time in the reign of Henry VIII., its arrival
being recorded in the well-known distich of
* Baker's Chronicles :' —

" Turkies, hoppes, pickerell, and beere,
Came into Englande all in one yeare.''

The breed however spread so rapidly, that
in a feast given in the Inner Temple Hall, on
the 18tli of October, 1555, turkey chicks
were bought in the market at the price of
four shillings each ; which, although a large
sum at that time, was not so extraordinary
as to be thought extravagant, as, on the same

o2

196 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. ix.

occasion, capons, which were plentiful, cost
two shillings and sixpence ; and the price of
a bustard, which was not then a very rare
bird in this country, was ten shillings. In-
deed, Tusser, — who soon after published his
' Five Hundred Pointes of Goode Husban-
drie,' — thus mentions them as commonly
used in the homely Christmas fare of our
farmers : —

" Goode breade and goode drinke, a goode fire in the hall,
Brawne, Pudding and souse, and goode mustarde withal;
Beefe, mutton, and porke, shiedde-j^es of the best,
Pigge, veale, goose, and capon, and turkey well diest,
Cheese, apples, and nuts, jnllie" carrols to heave,
As then in the countrie is counted goode cheere."

Although their domestication has not en-
tirely destroyed their instinctive habits of
wildness, and they have not only constant
opportunities of straying from home, but have
in many instances been turned loose by gen-
tlemen having extensive forests upon their
estates, yet they are, in this country, never
found to propagate except in preserves; or
if they by any chance bring up a brood in
the woods, they return with their chicks to
the home from which they had been ejected.

The turkey is so well known as to need
little description. The male is a majestic

CHAP. IX.] FAHMING FOR LADIES. 197

looking bird, armed with spurs, and having
the power of expanding his large tail in the
manner of a peacock. His head is sur-
mounted by a small, red, fleshy protuberance
growing over the upper bill, v/hich muscle,
either in love or anger, becomes of a bright
scarlet, and is extended so far as to mnke
it fall two or three inches below the bill ;
underneath which, there is also a red mem-
brane, hanging down to about a third part
of the neck, and a tuft of black hair five or
six inches long pendent from the breast.
The hen-turkey is much smaller than the
male ; her head being in proportion to her
body, and, like the upper part of her neck,
naked of feathers, but covered with little
pimples of a palish red colour ; she wants
the pendulous wattles of the cock, and is in-
capable of erecting the tail.

Unlike the various breeds which compose
the tribe of gallinaceous fowls, the turkey
shows no difference but in the colour of its
plumage, which is either pure black or white ;
those of the cinnamon, or copper colour, which
were formerly much esteemed, having now
generally disappeared — in consequence, as it

198 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. ix.

is said, of their tenderness ; although the plu-
mage of the wild species is precisely of that
appearance, and the qualities of the bird,
both in constitution, size, and flavour of the
flesh, are nearly the same. The black species
is, however, generally preferred, from being
thought whiter in the skin and firmer in the
grain of the flesh than the white, and the
chickens are supposed easier to rear. We,
however, imagine this to be a prejudice which
has arisen more from the great numbers of
that colour fed in Norfolk, and sent as pre-
sents all over the kingdom, than from any
other cause ; for we could never discover any
difference of flavour between the black and
the white, which we have indiscriminately
bred, and vast quantities of both colours are
reared in France.

The cock-turkey, when not excited, is a
stupid bird : so much so, indeed, that any
silly fellow whom in England people would be
apt to call " a goose," is in France always
termed " un dindonr When not aroused by
that passion to which no being is insensible,
he is also a mere bully, for although he will
bluster over the common fowls if unopposed,

CHAP. IX.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 199

yet if a stand be made against him he will
run away ; but should another cock intrude
upon his rights as constituted lord and master
of his mates, the antagonists fight for the
hen as desperately as do those of any other
fowl. They spread out and erect their tail,
strutting pompously back and forward with
their head drawn back to the shoulders, and
uttering a succession of puffs from the lungs.
Having thus for some time alternately sur-
veyed each other, with their feathers ruffled,
the struggle then commences by striking each
other violeatly with their spurs and wings
until one is brought to the ground ; and, if
not separated, will not improbably be killed
by his opponent. The cock has also a great
antipathy to the colour of scarlet, and will
undauntedly commence an attack upon any
person wearing it, with a gobbling note of
preparation for battle.

In courtship, his movements as well as
those of the hen are yet equally studied with
seeming affectation. They move around each
other with an amusing air of dignity, which
has been not unaptly compared to the ancient
formal mode of a couple dancing a minuet :

200 FARMING FOE LADIES. [chap. ix.

the cock amorously calling the hen with his
"glou-glou" note of love, and she coyly
responding with her " pur" of reciprocal af-
fection ; both making occasional leaps in tes-
timony of their mutual satisfaction.

He is usually allowed to have four or
five mates, but if confined to two, it will be
found that the hens will generally hatch a
larger number of chicks, and, what is of still
greater importance, produce them stronger,
and consequently more likely to live, than
if he were indulged with a larger number.
Neither is it necessary that he should be
in constant dalliance with his dames ; in con-
sequence of which it is by no means uncom-
mon among cottagers to maintain only one
cock, which they lend to each other for a
visit of a few days. Should this plan not be
adopted, and that a cock is kept for attend-
ance on the hens, we should say, that when-
ever they commence hatching, the sooner he
is fattened and killed, or sold off", the better,
for he will then be not only useless, but
troublesome to the hens, and dangerous to
their future chicks.

Turkeys are in their prime for the table

CHAP. IX.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 201

when from seven to eight or ten months old,
after which they go out of season, and are
afterwards only used for breeding. They
may be fed in the same manner as common
fowls, and maize, or Indian corn, will be
found very fattening ; but neither tares, peas,
nor pulse of any kind should be given to
them. They are such gluttons that if fed
wholly upon corn, and kept until twenty
months old, they would hardly repay the
expense. The trouble too of rearing them
is such, that in small families where not
many are wanted, it is better to purchase
the requisite number from travelling higglers,
who bring them about the country for sale
when they are feathered. They may always
be purchased at prices which will pay well
for fatting, and thus will be saved the main-
tenance of a cock and his hens.

As the turkeys grow fat, they become
disinclined to the exertion of roosting, and
as they thus rest upon the floor, it should
be covered with straw, which should be fre-
quently removed ; but if only kept for laying,
it is better to let them have an airy shed less
warm than that of the fowl-house, and with

202 FARMING FOE LADIES. [chap. ix.

lofty perches, as, if allowed, they would in-
stinctively roost upon trees even during the
depth of winter : to which, however, there are
so many prudential objections that we have
never heard of its having been permitted ex-
cept at Bagshot Park, a seat of His Royal
Highness the late Duke of Gloucester, in the
poultry-yard of which there stood a mag-
nificent tree for their accommodation.

Turliey-hens are better mothers when two
years of age than when only a twelvemonth ;
producing larger eggs and more of them.
They are, therefore, not uncommonly kept
until four or five years old ; but, if not killed
when quite young, the most usual way is to
fat them off" after they have reared a first
brood. They commence laying rather earlier
than those of the common fowl, usually pro-
ducing an egg every second morning until
they have brought forth from fifteen to twenty,
at which time they are generally ready to
sit ; but they recommence the operation in
the course of the summer, and sometimes also
in the autumn, though they do not, on either
of those occasions, lay perhaps more than a
dozen to fifteen. The eggs, which are larger

CHAr. IX.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 203

than those of the common hen, are there-
fore seldom seen on our tables, as during
the spring they are wanted for hatching,
and in the summer season they, as well as
those of the common hen, acquire a flavour
approaching to rankness ; which is a loss to
the epicure, for they are more delicate than
those of any other fowl, and highly prized
by cooks for their superior quality.

When in their wild state, instinct induces
the hen to secrete her eggs ; and so much of
that desire exists when domesticated, that, if
allowed the use of a field and shrubbery, she
will endeavour to lay in some unfrequented
spot. A nest should therefore be made for
her either under the resting-shelf of the fowl-
house, or, still better, in a corner of any
quiet, unoccupied shed, as quietude is con-
genial to the state of incubation. It should
be placed upon the floor, and made either
of matted straw, or of a piece of thick hempen
door-mat, cut into a nearly circular form,
about eighteen inches to two feet in diameter,
according to the size of the bird, and bound
round with a twisted rope of straw, to prevent
the eggs from rolling out : some loose, short-

204 FAKMING FOR LADIES. [chap. ix.

cut straw may also be thrown upon the nest,
more for the sake of cleanliness than warmth,
for they not unfrequently lay upon the floor
of the shed in which they roost.

The time of their laying is most usually in
the morning of every second day, though some
will lay every day ; and, if there be any ap-
pearance of an egg being ready to come forth,
the hen should be kept in the house until it is
layed. She will go to the nest (in which, of
course, a false egg has been laid as an in-
ducement) without repugnance, and by doing
so two or three times she will not desert it ;
but if she has already secretly made a nest,
which you have discovered, then do not re-
move it, unless it should be exposed to the
incursions of polecats, rats, or foxes ; for
frequent instances have been known of turkeys
straying from their home into a forest, and
having long afterwards come back, followed
by a healthy progeny.

The period of their incubation lasts from
twenty-nine to two-and-thirty days ; but its
close may be calculated as commonly occur-
ring on the thirtieth, and they are such
patient sitters that they will sometimes remain

CHAP. IX.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 205

for days together without stirring. This in-
duces some persons to place food and water
before them ; but, as we have already stated
respecting fowls, it is an injudicious practice ;
for nature teaches the bird to go out once a
day for the search of food, and if that be sup-
plied to her without moving, she will foul her
nest. It should not, therefore, be put within
her reach, but may be placed within her sight
so as to induce her to seek it : the better
way is, however, to feed her in the yard. As
in the case of common fowls, care should also
be taken never to turn, or in any way meddle
with the eggs, for the hen will herself do all
that is necessary at the proper times. Nor
should any one be allowed to go into the room
in which she is sitting, except the person who
has the management of the poultry ; for she
is (iasily frightened by the appearance of a
stranger, and if disturbed or scared from her
nest, she may, perhaps, not return to it until
her eggs are so chilled as to become addled.
The cock should also be prevented from
coming near her when sitting, for if he finds
her on her nest he will drive her away, and
probably break her eggs : but there is no ob-

206 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. ix.

jection to placing more nests than one on the
same floor, for the hens will not interfere with
each other, however closely they may be
placed, and without any partitions to divide
them ; indeed Audubon mentions in his " Or-
nithological Biography," that he once dis-
covered in America three wild turkeys sitting
together in the same nest on forty-two eggs.

The number of eggs put under the hen
should never be more than fifteen, whatever
may be her size, and if she be not large, a
smaller number will be sufficient ; so as to
secure her completely covering them with her
body. The laying of fifteen eggs will, how-
ever, occupy at least a month, and it is well
worth observation that new-layed eggs pro-
duce stronger chickens than those which have
been long kept. It is, therefore, the constant
practice in America, when the turkey has
layed six or eight eggs, to put them under
a common hen ; and, when the turkey-hen
is ready to sit, her number may be made up
either with guinea-fowl eggs, which take the
same time in hatching, or, in a few days after-
wards, with eggs of any other fowl. It has
also the further advantage of producing the

CHAP. IX.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 207

first brood a fortnight earlier than if all the
eggs were kept for the same hatching.

Notwithstanding the increased length of
time thus required by common hens when
employed to hatch turkey eggs, they yet
sit patiently till the full period of its com-
pletion. They are, indeed, found to be more
careful mothers than the real parent, as
treating the chicks with greater tenderness,
not exposing them to wet, and teaching them
more quiet habits than those of their wild
nature. Turkey hens are also sometimes em-
ployed to hatch the chicks of common poul-
try, of which they will cover full one-and-
twenty eggs ; but such experiments, though
occasionally vaunted by theorists, are seldom
successful, and Nature, when not controlled
by circumstances, should be left to herself.

The advice given in respect to the manage-
ment of hatching the chickens of fowls will
apply in every particular to those of turkeys ;
the mother helps them from the shell, and,
when brought forth, shelters them closely
under the warm coverture of her wings, to
which they instinctively repair in equal divi-
sions. Should they be unusually feeble on

208 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. ix.

coming out of the shell, a few drops of warm
ale, or wine, may be given them, by having
the liquid in one's mouth and putting their
bill into it, if they have not strength enough
to swallow the drink ; but the greatest gen-
tleness must be used in handling them, for
they are even more tender than the chicks of
common fowls, and may be killed by roughly
forcing anything down their throat, as fre-
quently done with pepper-corns. Nothing, in-
deed, should be given to them to eat until they
are at least a day old, and then it- should be
presented to them in the palm of the hand,
when the hen may have for a short time
left them ; nor, in doing so, should they be
taken out of the nest.

The chicks, when hatched, are covered with
a soft, hairy down, of extreme delicacy, and
continue very feeble for a few days — of which
the third is always thought critically danger-
ous— during which time they should be kept
in the house,' and only carried into the air for
a short time in the middle of the day in very
fine weather : the hen being all the time con-
fined in a wicker hutch, having bars wide
enough to allow of the chicks' egress and

CHAP. IX.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 209

ingress ; or in a hen-coop raised a few inches
from the ground to permit the chickens pass-
ing under it for shelter. Not only, indeed,
should they be guarded from the cold, but
also from the glare of a mid-day sun if it
should be very hot; though that can seldom
happen until summer, at which time they will
be strong enough to support any inconvenience
which it may occasion, and they can run into
a shade if necessary. The greatest danger,
however, arises from rain ; for, if exposed to a
shower which completely wets their plumage
in its then downy state, the chill may kill the
bird if it be not dried : great care should
therefore be taken to avoid their exposure,
and, should such an accident occur, every
means should be tried to remedy it, by drying
them gently with warm flannel, putting them
near the fire, and giving them a little toast
and ale ; but returning them as soon as pos-
sible to the congenial warmth of the mother's
breast."

The food of the turket/ -chicks should be much
the same as that given to those of the fowl,
though at first still more delicate, confining it
for a few days to hard-boiled egg and curds

p

210 FAKMIXG FOR LADIES. [chap. ix.

of milk, with crumbs of toasted bread, which
may be soaked in a little strong ale or wine
if the chicks appear weak, but, if not, milk ;
to which may be added a little chopped pars-
ley, mustard, nettle-tops, and fennel, or any
tonic herbs, and a young chive, together with
ants and their eggs if they can be got, or if
not, a few gentles will act nearly as well ;
but all sloppy food should be avoided. Any
of these things may be given three times a
day, sparingly at first and gradually increas-
ing the quantity as the chicks grow stronger.
Nothing can be better for them than curds,
but it should be made fresh every day, and
never allowed to be given to them if at all
sour. When allowed to peck for a short
time daily about the garden, or on a grass-
plat, coarsely-ground barley or oatmeal may
be mixed with the above, or made — as some
people do — into a paste with milk, and put
before them to peck at ; but, if not frequently
changed, the milk will turn acid, and the
paste will cause the chicks to scour: plain
water is, therefore, perhaps better. As the
weather grows warmer, and they are allowed
more liberty, they collect sufficient food from

CHAP. IS.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 211

insects and seeds to satisfy their hunger during
the day, and then it will be sufficient to feed
them morning and evening ; but they should
never be allowed to become poor in flesh.

They should have a constant supply of the
purest water given to them in some vessel
which will not allow them to wet themselves :
they should not, therefore, be permitted to
approach any spot where that could happen ;
neither should they be allowed to go out in
rainy weather ; nor until the dew is off the
grass in the morning.

They are subject, when two or three weeks
old, to a dangerous disease called the " Pip."*
They will also continue delicate until well
feathered, and require great care during the
first two or three months of their existence ;
yet if attentively managed, and more espe-
cially if sedulously guarded from wet, they
will, probably, get through their chicken-
hood with very little loss, until they throw
out those granulated pips, or nipples, with
which their head and neck are covered, which
then become of a scarlet colour — provincially
termed " shooting the red" — and is the most

* See Chap. XIV.

p2

212 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. ix.

critical period of their life ; but, that once
passed, they become as hardy as any other
fowl, roosting along with the hens, and then
acquire the name of " Poults."

On the approach of winter, there appears
on the breast of the young cocks a sort of
tumour which produces the tuft of hair al-
ready described, which in the second year
grows to the length of near four inches, and
still longer in the third, at which time the
bird arrives at his full growth, and becomes
" a Stag," the hens not being in their prime
until the age of four.

The poults are thought great delicacies
when fattened for the table ; but it is not easy
to bring them into that state unless they are
crammed, as well as cooped. No one should
think of fattening them as groicn turkeys
until they are full six months old ; but when
large enough to be brought into condition by
Christmas, either when poults or at any later
age, they must be shut up during a full
month or six weeks before the time, if in-
tended to be crammed ; and, if not, a couple
of months earlier will be necessary, during
the whole of which they must be abundantly

CHAP. IX.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 213

fed on barley, or other grain, with only a
moderate quantity of hot potatoes, which,
during the last fortnight, must be omitted,
and the paste of meal and mutton-suet mixed
up with new milk substituted.

This will, of course, occasion a greater con-
sumption of corn, but it will cause less trouble
than that of cramming, and will have the
advantage of their increasing in weight ; they
will also continue fit for use, and indeed im-
proving, during the winter, and therefore may
be killed at any time when wanted, whereas a
crammed turkey — as we have remarked in
regard to fowls — should be dressed when
brought to the point of being fat. When
intended for family consumption, it is, there-
fore, far better to feed them in the common
mode, and indeed we have fattened old birds
to great weights even without cooping. They
should, however, in that case, be shut up to-
gether in a rather darkened room, and only
allowed to go out for about an hour in each
day to air themselves and have their chamber
cleaned and ventilated.

The xceiglit to which they may be grown
depends partly upon their age, but more on

214 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. ix.

the mode of feeding, and the female is much
smaller than the male. A cock turkey hatched
in March, may be brought to the weight of
ten or a dozen pounds when skewered by
the poulterer, within eight months, if amply
fed during the whole time previously upon
corn, with only a small quantity of any other
food. If kept for a year longer, he will
probably reach four pounds more ; and, at
three years of age, he may arrive to the weight
of 20 lbs. when divested of his feathers : the
difference between live and trussed weight
being about one-third in favour of the former.
They are, indeed, sometimes brought to near
that weight when little more than a year and
a half old ; and we, last Christmas, saw one
of that age, at a poulterer's in Oxford Street,
which, when alive, weighed 351bs. !

The late Countess Spencer, with that kindly
consideration for the welfare of the yeo-
manry for which the family has ever been
distinguished, some years ago offered pre-
miums for the rearing and fattening of poul-
try, without cramming, at the Earl's seat, in
Northamptonshire, and the following were the
average weights alive : —

CHAP. IX.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 215

Turkey, 20 lbs. 4 oz. Pullet, 6 lbs. SJ oz.

Capon, 7 lbs. 14 oz. Goose, 18 lbs. 2^ oz.

Couple of Ducks, 15 lbs. 10 oz.

But SO many attempts were made to deceive
the judges by various infringements on the
regulations by which the prizes were to be
adjudged — even by cramming the fowls with
shot on the day of the award, for the purpose
of increasing their weight — that her ladyship
was reluctantly compelled to abandon the
project.

The superior flavour of the Norfolk turkey
is attributed, perhaps justly, to the great dry-
ness of the soil and extensiveness of the range
on which they are allowed to roam.

In common fowls there is very little dis-
tinction between the fiesh of the cock and the
hen; nor is there, indeed, much perceptible
difference in that of the turkey when young ;
but when they reach the age of a year or of
a year and a half to two years old, that of the
hen is far the most delicate, while that of the
cock possesses greater flavour. It was form-
erly, indeed, much the custom to mix up ani-
seed or other aromatics in the paste used for
cramming turkeys, in order to render the flesh

216 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. ix.

more savoury ; but, although this proved to
be only a fanciful experiment, yet, in fattening
them for the table, attention should be paid
to heighten these separate qualities. The
cock should therefore have, now and then,
along with his corn, a clove of garlick chop-
ped, with a small quantity of either raw or
dressed meat given daily, until within a fort-
night of the time when he is to be killed ;
during which time he should have nothing
but grain — chiefly barley -meal made into
paste with ale and molasses, or strong broth.

In the feeding of the hen, meat and garlick
should however be omitted; while rice and
sago — both or either — should be boiled in
milk until thick, and given warm : the drink
should also be milk. The hen should be
cooped a fortnight before she is to be used ;
and both she and the cock should occasionally
have a few grains of whole pepper, or mus-
tard-seed, thrown to them at discretion: to
which also should be added a little fine gravel,
or a pounded bone, or oyster-shell.

It is not however very usual, either in this
country or on the continent, to make any dis-
tinction in the mode of feeding the cock and

CHAP. IX.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 217

hen, although there can be no doubt that, if
the former be much more than a year old,
there ought to be considerable difference made
in the manner of their being fatted. In
France the common mode employed for both
one and the other is, to keep them separately
in the manner we have stated, and to feed
them for a full month with a paste formed of
bran and boiled corn, together with tonic
herbs of any sort minced up and all mixed
together with melted fat. This is left to them
at discretion, to peck at as they please during
the day, and if any part should be left at night,
it is given to the pigs. Along with this, how-
ever, quantities of potatoes are also given ;
and at the end of the month, or perhaps a
little more, they are crammed every night
with as many balls of barley-meal as they can
swallow : by which means, it is said, they
are so well fattened in the course of ten days
or a fortnight, that the cocks weigh from 20 to
25 pounds; and, when stuffed with truffles,
are sometimes sold in London for five guineas
each.

After all that has been said and written
about the " unnatural cruelty" of cramming.

218 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. ix.

and of its being " a disgrace to our enlightened
times ! " we confess that we can see nothing in
it that more justly merits those reproaches than
many of the modes in common use for fattening
other animals. Oxen are stall-fed in heated
stables, although, if left to nature, they would,
never enter the shelter of a roof London and
most of our great towns are entirely supplied
with milk from cows which are confined all
the year round ; their calves are taken from
them when less than a week old, then fattened
in darkened pens, and bled occasionally by
the butcher to make their flesh white.

It is somewhat amusing to see in Martin
Doyle's ' Practical Husbandry,' the act called
" criminal in the eye of humanity ; and
persons guilty of knowingly consuming cram-
med fowls, accomplices after the fact I " For
although we have not the honour of per-
sonal acquaintance with that gentleman, we
yet know him to be a person moving in good
society, and therefore, we doubt not, often
guilty of the fact. We can, indeed, ourself
vouch for its not rendering the flesh "unwhole-
some," as we have made many a hearty meal
off" crammed fowl and turkey without finding

CHAP. IX.] FARMING FOK LADIES. 219

our health unpleasantly affected ; nor have
we ever yet heard of either man or woman
who made the least objection to partaking of
them because of their having been crammed ;
neither, we believe, do ladies, when they give
orders to their poulterer, ever make inquiries
regarding the manner in which the birds have
been fed. There is, in fact, no cruelty in
the operation, for the bird soon loses its
desire for liberty, and easily reconciles it-
self to the pleasing sense of plenty. We
look, therefore, upon such displays of hu-
manity as arising, if not from affectation,
at least out of maudlin sensibility : much
like those exclamations which we constantly
hear respecting the "barbarity" of driving
stage-coach horses at the rate of ten miles
an hour ; though no animals in the kingdom
are better fed or taken care of, and many
a poor fellow would gladly work harder if
equally well supported.

220 FARMING FOR LADIES. [cH.i

CHAPTER X.

Origin of the Guinea-bird — Introduction into this counti-y —
Price — Description — Habits — Modes of keeping them out
of gardens — Difficulty of discovering their nests — Eggs
— Flesh — Pheasants, and their domestication — Partridges
— Finding of a brood — Pea- fowls — Beauty of the cock —
Origin — Ancient use and mode of dressing — Value as
food — Italian saying.

The Pintado, or Guinea-fowl, is a native
of Afi'ica, where it is found in large flocks,
both in a wild and domesticated state, and
has been difiused over the greater part of the
habitable world. It was, indeed, very early
introduced into Europe, where it formed a
prominent delicacy at the expensive enter-
tainments of the ancient Romans, and soon
spread over all the southern states ; but, as
being indigenous to a warm climate, it only
slowly made its appearance in the north, in
many parts of which it is even now unknown.
Although brought to this country at so early
a period that an author, who wrote in the
sixteenth century, gives directions respecting

CHAP. X.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 221

their sheds in a manner which would suppose
them to be familiar to the yeomanry, yet
it is only comparatively of late years that
they have been in anything like what we
should call general use, and even at this day
they are scarce in both Ireland and Scotland.
We well recollect that, forty years ago, their
regular price at all London poulterers was
half-a-guinea each, whereas now they can be
bought for five or six shillings : a diminution
certainly not arising from any objection to
them on the part of purchasers, but from the
dealers having overcome the unfounded preju-
dice regarding their supposed tenderness, and
consequently rearing them more largely. We
indeed doubt not that, were it not for the
difficulty of conquering the wildness of their
nature, and the trouble which it occasions,
they would be as plentiful in our markets
as any other species of our poultry ; for, so
far from their being constitutionally delicate,
they will roost throughout the winter upon
the highest trees, and are in fact, when full
grown, more hardy than the common fowl.
When very young, they are, indeed, rather
tender ; but the assertions made by a late

222 TAKMIKG FOR LADIES. [chap. x.

writer "that they are bred more from curi-
osity than profit," is contradicted by the fact
which he admits, " that they are largely fed
for the London markets."

The Guinea-birds are handsome fowls ;
their back is arched, with the tail bending
downwards, and, as they stand high upon
their legs, being also nearly two feet in
length, they appear larger than they really
are ; for, when plucked, they seldom exceed
the size of a good Dorking fowl. Both
cock and hen are nearly of the same size,
and so much alike in appearance that it is
difficult to distinguish the one from the other.
Their plumage is dark, uniformly speckled
with white spots, and their note of call
is very disagreeable. They congregate to-
gether quietly and amicably, but if put
along with other fowls, they are quarrelsome
and cruel ; attacking them relentlessly in
the cowardly manner of a body opposed to
one, which they will surround and peck at
with fury, but if stoutly opposed they run
away. Although partly domesticated, their
habits still partake of the wildness of their
nature, and it has been hitherto found im-

CHAP. X.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 223

possible to completely tame them : nor can
they be put up to fatten ; for if confined, they
immediately begin to pine away. It is, there-
fore, customary to let them have the range
of some fields, over which they will roam
during the whole day, picking up insects,
and only returning at night to seek their
evening meal ; after which they will fly up
into any trees surrounding the house, where
they roost and keep watch, for if any one
approaches after dark, they immediately give
warning by a joint scream of alarm.

Now in this there can be no harm, for
a watch around a country-house is no bad
protection to the inmates, and we defy any
one to steal the birds, for it is no easy matter
to catch them even when in the poultry-yard,
and if they would only descend from their
roost in the same modest quietude in which
they ascend to it, all would be well ; but, un-
fortunately, no sooner does day-break dawn,
than, should there be any fruit or vegetables
in the garden, they pounce upon it until their
craws are filled, and they besides commit
great destruction of the young roots and
seeds.

CHAP,

224 FARMING FOE, LADIES. [c

They are in truth insufferable pests in a
garden, for they fly so high that no wall can
stop them; and they commit extraordinary
depredations on peas, beans, and bushes bear-
ing any kind of fruit, for, should it be above
their reach, they spring up to it with a bound,
and pull down the pods and bunches ; nor
are ripe strawberries safe from their attacks.
We have shot at them repeatedly, with
powder, to frighten them, and though they
have flown away, yet no sooner was our back
turned than they sprang over the fence, and
recommenced their havoc. A terrier dog,
if taught to hunt them, and kennelled, with-
out being chained, in the garden, will indeed
have a good effect in keeping them off; but he
must be constantly kept there during the whole
time of there being either pod or berry grow-
ing. A plan has, indeed, been recommended
as likely to answer the purpose — which is to
closely clip one wing of each chicken, when
too young to fly, which, thus destroying
their balance when they attempt it, will pre-
vent them from rising in the air. This, how-
ever, has the inconvenience of depriving the
hen of the power of sheltering the whole of

CHAP, s.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 225

her brood, the greater part of which would
thus perish; to avoid which, and still to
have the same effect, one pinion of the chick
has been dislocated — as not uncommonly done
by the breeders of tame pheasants. We
have not done it ourself, nor do we offer any
opinion upon it; but we have heard that
although the operation might be thought
cruel, yet the pain is in fact very slight and
only momentary, though it will partly deface
the appearance of the bird.

Of this, however, let ladies be assured —
that, if they have any regard to their gar-
dens, they must either adopt one or other
of these modes, or not attempt to keep
Guinea-fowls. That of the dog is perhaps
the best, as not infringing upon the feelings,
and if he be sharp, he will drive them from
your own garden ; but they will then most
likely go to that of a neighbour, who being
naturally annoyed by such marauders, may
not improbably assume the right of shooting
them — not with powder for the mere purpose
of frightening them, but with good round
shot, to kill them as trespassers. Supposing,
however, this not to happen : still, if they have

Q

226 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. x.

the use of their wings, no fence can hold
them ; they will stray over the adjoining fields,
and the hen will seek some sequestered hedge
or briar where she may lay her eggs in
secret ; which she manages with such in-
conceivable cunning that broods have been
brought home without any one knowing
where they had been reared.

We some years ago resided upon a large
farm where there were several pintadas, but al-
though most of their eggs were discovered, we
could never prevail upon any of them to sit upon
nests prepared in a house, and some of those
which did sit in the bushes never produced a
single chick. This, however, we presume to
have been rather occasioned by the pilferage
of the peasantry, or the destruction of the
chicks by rats or other vermin, than by any
fault of the hens.

Although troublesome in the poultry-yard
and garden, they are yet so much esteemed
upon the table as to be always a desirable
addition to the stock of fowls. It is, there-
fore, a good mode to put the eggs under a
common hen — which will cover fifteen — and
when the chicks are strong enough to be

CHAP. X.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 227

handled, then dislocate the pinion joint. The
eggs are always to be found in the markets,
and thus the plague may be avoided of keep-
ing a set of the old birds.

If reared, a good mode of keeping them
near home, and inducing them to lay there, is
occasionally to throw any chopped root or ve-
getable, which they will watch for ; and to
place within side the hedge, or shrubbery,
some furze bushes, or heather, and a little
straw, in a manner so apparently concealed
that they may imagine it cannot be dis-
covered. These you of course examine every
day or two when they are not present, and
if you find an egg, take it away, leaving a
false one in its stead.

In this manner you may collect scores of
eggs, for the pintadas are profuse layers,
though it is singular that they never cluck, or
give any indication like that of a common hen,
of their intention ; and this adds materially to
the difficulty of discovering their nests. Should
they sit, it may be well to let them take their
chance of bringing up a brood ; but some of the
eggs should also be placed under a hen of any
breed known to be a steady sitter, as the chicks
q2

228 FARMING FOR LADIES. [cHAr. x. !

cannot be hatched in less than thirty days. I

The eggs are smaller than those of any breed i

but the bantam, and she is the best foster- i

mother, for she will be content to remain j

quietly in the yard without draggmg the !
young things through the grass. They may

be brought up precisely in the same manner '\

as turkey chicks ; and if an ant's-nest should ]

be found, and a shovelful of it tossed to )!

them by the gardener, it will be a most desir- I
able addition to their food.

Notwithstanding what we have said of the

injury which they commit in gardens, we must i

admit that if allowed to go into them when {

the fruit is gathered, they also destroy great |

quantities of insects ; and, as the little chicks !

when very young are incapable of doing mis- \

chief, it may be as well to permit their entry '

for an hour or two each dry, sunshiny day. i

The eggs are speckled, and are considered i

so rich as to be preferred by many for the !

greater relish of their flavour. The flesh !

also partakes somewhat of the flavour of the j

pheasant, with more of that succulence in |
which the latter is deficient ; the bird is there-
fore highly prized as an excellent dish at the

CHAP. X.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 229

best dinners — more particularly as it comes
into high season just as game is going out.
Its usual weight may be taken at about five
pounds for the cock and a trifle less for the
hen, which is rather the more delicate of the
two. They are both invariably roasted : which
is no doubt proper, so far as regards the re-
lish of the pheasant, for boiling it would
destroy the game flavour ; but the pintada
does not possess so much of that as should
prevent her from being dressed in the same
manner as a hen-turkey.

We fear that no plan which may be adopted
for the purpose of rearing these birds, and
endeavouring to retain them within the pre-
cincts of the poultry-yard, will be eflfectual ;
but, if tried, no directions can be more ap-
propriate than those of the ancient author to
whom we have alluded, and which we here-
with quote in his own quaint language —
" They require greate attendaunce, and yee
muste make theire courte somewhatte hye ;
sette alsoe wythe hordes agaynte the walles,
round about the courte, in length, and theire
pearche made soe to sitte where the sunne
may shine ; and closed all above and before

230 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap, x.

wythe lathes verie hie togetherre, about the
height of a pole from the earthe, well covered
alle over :" for it must be observed that they
cannot bear the close air of a warm fowl-
house. That in which they are to be kept
should be fronted with open laths, instead of
close boarding, and, as they roost high, they
should have lofty perches ; but the nests must
be placed in the manner already stated.

Attempts have been repeatedly made to
domesticate the Pheasant by putting their
eggs under a common hen, and, as their
habits are very similar, it was imagined that
the trials would succeed ; but although the
chickens, when hatched, throve along with the
other poultry, yet, when arrived at a more
mature age, their natural propensity ever so
strongly leads them to seek their native woods,
that it has been found necessary to cover the
yard with a net to prevent them from escaping.
Notwithstanding which, a much read publica-
tion, when stating it, seriously goes on to say
— "that several acres of ground are required
to permit the birds a proper extent of range !"
As this, however, is too absurd to be acted
upon, the contrivance has been adopted of

CHAr. X.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 231

either disjointing one pinion of the bird, to
prevent it from flying, or of cutting the fea-
thers of the wing, and repeating the operation
when they grow.

Efforts for the same purpose are indeed
continually made by fanciers and dealers ;
but the flesh is far inferior to that of the wild
bird, and we should think that unless a gen-
tleman wishes to replenish his coverts, or
stock a plantation, it is hardly worth the
trouble. The eggs may, however, always
be purchased in London about the month of
April ; the hen usually laying from a dozen
to fifteen, and many more when tamed : in-
deed an instance has been mentioned by
Moubray, of a domesticated pheasant having
during the season layed the unusual number
of seventy-four eggs. She sits rather irregu-
larly, and a few days longer than the common
hen.

The chicks may be fed in the same manner
as those of the turkey and guinea-hen ; but,
when full feathered, if the wings be not clip-
ped, they will daily stray from their foster-
mother, and finally desert her for the neigh-
bouring thickets. They will not, however,

232 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. x.

entirely abandon their former home, their
haunts being always around the house, and,
in hard weather, they will approach it with
the confidence of receiving food. They crow
like a cock, and their life is supposed not to
extend beyond six or seven years : this, how-
ever, they seldom reach ; the hen may, indeed,
sometimes complete the term of her existence,
for no true sportsman will shoot her, but the
cock seldom escapes the fate described in
Pope's Windsor Forest —

" See ! from the brate the whirring Pheasant springs,
And mounts exulting on triumphant wings ;
Short is his joy, he feels the fiery wound.
Flutters in blood, and panting, paints the ground."

The eggs of the Partridge are also some-
times put under a bantam-hen, as the nests
are frequently found in the fields, and one was
once discovered in our presence by the mowers
of a meadow, containing the extraordinary
number of twenty-two chicks. The mother —
with that hallowed instinct which teaches her
to protect her offspring at the risk of life —
actually clung to them while the work was
going on around her, until by a stroke of the
scythe, her head was severed from her body.

CHAP. X.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 233

and we shall never forget the manly feeling of
regret evinced by the honest fellow who caused
the accident. The chicks were carried to the
house, and every care bestowed upon them ;
but they had been only lately hatched, and it
soon became apparent that no tenderness,
however delicately administered, can equal
that of the parent bird, for they gradually
drooped, some daily dying, and in the course
of a week not one of them was left.

We name the Pea-fowl rather as an orna-
mental appendage to the lawns of some villas,
than as being of any real use in the poultry-
yard, into which, if they be admitted, they
peck at and destroy the chickens of the other
fowls. Nor is it of value in any other sense
than the beauty of its variegated plumage :
the peacock being, indeed, a splendid crea-
ture, which every one must admire when he
displays the gorgeous brilliancy of his mag-
nificent tail.

The bird came originally from the East,
and was at a very remote period brought from
Asia Minor into Greece, from whence it was
transplanted to Rome towards the fall of the
Republic, and afterwards found its way to every

234 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. x.

other part of Europe. It was celebrated by the
troubadours as the food of heroes and of lovers,
and was frequently served at the sumptuous
repasts of the great nobles. On the celebration
of the nuptial feast, given in 1468, on the mar-
riage of the Duke of Burgundy and Queen
Margaret of England, it has indeed been re-
corded, that no less than one hundred peacocks
were served up every day during a week !
They were skinned with their feathers on,
and, when roasted, the skin and plumage were
replaced, so as to appear as if still alive.
Great numbers were fattened by the poul-
terers of Paris, nor were they at all unusual
at the tables of the rich in England, though
old Gervase Markham describes them as —
" verie unwholesome, and used in greate ban-
quets more for rarenesse than nouryshment ;
for it is most certaine that roste a peacocke
or peahenne never so drie, then sette it uppe
and looke on it nexte dale, and it will be
bloode-rawe, as if it had not beene rosted
at all."

This may indeed be somewhat exaggerated,
and was probably dictated by dislike at the
expensive profusion of such entertainments ;

CHAP. X.] FARMING FOR LADIES, 235

but, unless when the bird is very young, the
flesh is coarse and stringy ; and although we
sometimes hear of a pea-chick, or a young
pea-hen being brought to table, it is yet more
for the indulgence of curiosity than appetite.
It is, indeed, so very inferior to that of the
turkey, that its use has been entirely super-
seded by the latter.

The peacock, although seldom indulged
with more than one mate, would yet be better
pleased with half a dozen. The hens sit on
their eggs the same time as turkeys ; their
chicks are also equally tender ; and they may
be reared in the same manner. When full
grown, they are however quite as hardy,
braving all kinds of weather, roosting on the
trees around the house, and keeping strict
watch on the nightly intrusion of strangers,
which they announce, like the guinea-fowl,
with a very disagreeable shriek. Like them
also, they are sad depredators on the kitchen -
garden ; and there is a saying in Italy, that
" the peacock has the plumage of an angel,
the voice of the devil, and the guts of a
thief."

236 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. xi.

CHAPTER XI.

Aquatic birds — The swan : its beauty and habits — Domesti-
cation— Wild geese — The domestic goose ; description and
terms of designation — Michaelmas-day — Choice of breed
— A lag — Laying ; nests ; and hatching — Gulls — Goslings
— Treatment — Fattening of green geese — Stubble and
Michaelmas geese.

The web-footed, aquatic birds, which have
been domesticated, are the Swan, the Goose,
and the Duck, which, although each of a
separate race, yet bear a much nearer affinity
to each other than any other kinds of poultry.
The two latter are, however, the only species
now used as food in England; though for-
merly the swan was, on great occasions,
brought forward as a luxury, and in such high
esteem, that in the record of a splendid enter-
tainment given on the marriage of one of the
Nevilles in the time of Henry VHL, they were
charged at two shillings each, or eight times
the value of the goose. Originally natives
of the north, they all breed in the uninhabited

CHAP. XI.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 237

fens and swamps of that climate ; but, being
of migratory habits, they, on the approach of
winter, regularly quit those cold regions for
more southern countries, in flights of several
hundreds.

Of the Swan, in its loild state, we know but
little, for it has ever been a scarce bird ; and
even the tame breed, though very anciently
domesticated, would probably have been long
since destroyed were the race not protected by
enactments of the legislature, and preserved as
ornamental appendages to pleasure-grounds.
Its plumage is of the purest white, and no
bird can exceed the swan in gracefulness of
motion, as —

" with arched neck

Behveen her white wings mantling proudly,"

she sails upon her favourite element.

The pair pass their lives together in the
peaceful enjoyment of mutual love— that
" Heaven's best gift !" which sheds happiness
upon every creature which tastes it. They
live chiefly upon those herbs and their seeds
which grow spontaneously about the water ;
and build their nest, of sticks and rushes,
upon some islet in the stream, or in any re-

238 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap, xi.

tired spot upon its bank ; the male diligently
assisting in its formation. The female lays
only once a year fi-om five to seven or eight
eggs, which she sits upon during six weeks for
hatching ; and the old birds may often be seen
carrying their young family — or " cygnets,"
as they are termed — on their backs, by raising
up their wings in the manner of an arch, and
thus forming a sort of cradle.

The birds are known to have lived to more
than a century, and it has even been asserted
— though without any proof which can be relied
on — that their existence sometimes extends to
even three hundred years ! An idea was long
entertained that before death they sing la-
mentably, and poets have alluded to —

•' The swan-like dirges of a dying man ;"

but it is almost unnecessary to state that the
supposition is unfounded ; for although Byron
calls the strain —

" Sweet as the swan's last requiem ere she dies,"

yet he, also, we may presume to have made
use of the usual poetic license.

Flocks of Wild Geese — or " grey-lags," as
they are sometimes called from the colour of
their feathers — were formerly not uncommon

CHAP. XI.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 239

in many parts of the kingdom, and sometimes
remained to breed in the fenny districts of the
eastern counties ; yet, since the drainage and
cultivation of those marshes, they are now
rarely seen. They fly together in angular
lines, at a vast height, led on by one bird
heading the columns, which meet to a point,
and when they alight for food and rest, sen-
tinels are stationed among them to guard
the flock from surprise. Naturalists describe
more than twenty varieties, but the difference
is generally so slight as to be, in most in-
stances, more fanciful than real, and the only
species which are commonly looked upon as
being distinct are the " Gannet," or " Solan-
Goose," the " Barnacle," and the " Brent."

The Domestic Goose diflfers nothing, except
slightly in its plumage, from the wild breed ;
the belly of which is white, but the rest of the
feathers of a dingy, ash-coloured grey, while
those of the tame breed are generally quite
white, though some are grey, and the females,
even of the white breed, have commonly a few
grey feathers intermixed. It may excite sur-
prise that such a trivial point as white or grey
should occasion any difference of opinion ; yet

240 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. xi.

it is matter of dispute among breeders as to
which colour should have the preference. Mr.
Parkinson, who farmed largely in both Eng-
land, Ireland, and America, and is the author
of an esteemed work on the breeding of live
stock, prefers females of the dark grey colour,
and the male, or " gander," of the large white
kind ; having found that, " although the dark-
grey geese are rather smaller, they are of a
much hardier nature than the white." He
therefore advises a cross between a gander of
the white, and a goose of the grey breed ;
with which he has raised, from one of the geese,
as many as eighteen goslings in one brood :
thirteen being hatched by the goose, and five
by a hen. He indeed says, " that he has, for
years together, had from the produce of two
geese and a gander, twenty eight : the geese,
when fattened, weighing from 11 to 13 lbs.,
and the ganders from 15 to 18 lbs. when
drawn and ready for the spit."

Parmentier agrees in recommending this
cross, while others condemn it. For our own
part, we think it immaterial ; though, were
we to make a choice, we should prefer the
larger breed of either, without caring for

CHAP. XI.] FARMING FOR LADIES. ^ 241

the colour : only looking to their being well
feathered, full sized and round in the body,
short legged, and broad footed, with a head
carried high, a lively eye, and a general ap-
pearance of health. The breed just described
is the one most commonly reared in this coun-
try ; though a few varieties, such as the Emh-
den, the Spanish, and the Canadian species,
are bred by a few persons, and esteemed either
for their real or supposed superiority.

Geese are, when just hatched, called
" gulls ;" then, immediately afterwards, and
until they become feathered, " goslings/' and
" green geese" when a few weeks old, and fit
for the table. After harvest, farmers usually
turn them upon those fields fi'om which corn
has been reaped, after which they acquire the
name of " stubble-geese ;" and about the
month of October, at which time they are full
grown, they are termed "Michaelmas-geese:"
inconsequence, as it is said, of Queen Elizabeth
having, on her way to Tilbury Fort, dined on
the 29th of September, 1589, at the ancient
seat of Sir N. Umfreville, near the place, and
was, it seems, eating heartily of roasted goose,
when a messenger arrived with the intelligence

R

242 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. xi.

of the destruction of the Spanish Armada;
upon which her majesty called for a bumper of
Burgundy to aid the digestion of the goose,
and to hail the good news. The commemora-
tion of the event has, in the lapse of time,
been buried in oblivion ; but due honours
are still unconsciously paid to it on every
Michaelmas-day, by the destruction of many
a goose on its anniversary.

A gander and five geese are technically
called " a Lag," being the number most
usually bred together ; though the gander will
be contented with one mate, and, if allowed,
will remain constant to her through life.
French breeders, indeed, not uncommonly
allot as many as eight, and even ten, geese
to a gander; with a view, of course, to in-
crease the number of young stock ; in which,
however, they frequently fail, for it has been
found that although the geese may lay and
sit upon their eggs, yet many of these do not
bring forth young. We would not, indeed,
in any instance, recommend more than five ;
though two or three would, we imagine, in
most cases, rear up as many goslings as any
moderate private family would require. It

CHAP. XI.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 243

is a much better plan to keep the breedhig
geese for the whole of their natural lives,
than to kill them ; as they will become better
layers and sitters, as well as more careful
nurses, as they grow older.

The goose usually lays from twelve to ff teen
or eighteen eggs, at two or three times in the
season : thus producing altogether about fifty
in the course of the year ; and instances have
occurred of a goose having layed upwards of
one hundred eggs within the year : but that
rarely happens. The eggs are very large, and
seldom eaten alone, in their natural state ; but
we have tasted them at the breakfast-table,
and when quite fresh, have not found them so
strong in flavour as people generally imagine :
we believe they are even highly approved of
by cooks.

Geese never lay during the winter, and do
not commence in the spring until some time
in the month of March, or, if the spring be
mild, in the latter end of February — earlier
or later, according to the weather, and the
mode in which they are managed ; for, if well
fed and sheltered, the sooner will they begin.
Breeders for the market, therefore, commonly

r2

244 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. xr.

give them such exciting food as hemp-seed,
and barley-meal mixed up with good strong
ale ; and ladies who wish- to have green geese
early on their tables, should feed them in the
same manner.

When a goose feels an impulse to lay, she
evinces the desire by carrying straws in her
bill ; and when this is observed, a temporary
nest of straw should be laid for her. She
should be confined in the shed until she has
layed one egg ; after which she will continue to
lay her intended number in the same place.
Only one is, however, usually left with her,
the rest being regularly removed and kept in
a cool place, until the period for incubation,
which will not arrive for more than a month,
as the bird only lays an egg on every second
day. Most housewives are, indeed, careful to
keep the eggs of each goose separately, from a
prevalent idea that the bird can distinguish
her own, and will not pay due attention to
those of another : it is, however, an unfounded
prejudice.

During the process of hatching she must not
be divided from the gander ; as he, unlike
the turkey, will visit her frequently, during

CHAP. XI.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 245

the whole time, with all the devoted attention
of a lover ; sometimes taking her place, where
as Goldsmith says, "he sits with great state
and composure :" and if another goose should
be hatching at the same time, their nests
may be placed adjoining to each other.

Incubation lasts only fi-om four weeks to
thirty days : which we must particularly
notice, as no less than three treatises have
been recently published, each stating "the
period of incubation to be tico months ; which,
if relied upon as a fact, might lead inex-
perienced breeders into error. The mistake,
however — if such it can be called— has been
taken from a prolix work translated some
years ago from the French, and from which
large extracts have been unhesitatingly
copied, even without acknowledgment, by
the writers to whom we have alluded ; though
the adoption of so gross a blunder evidently
proves them to be practically ignorant of
the subject.

No other care is necessary for the pre-
servation of the young gulls than that of the
treatment already explained concerning the
chickens of hens and turkeys, for although

246 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. xi.

most authors advise their being taken from
their mother, and kept warm until the hatch-
ing of the whole brood is complete, yet
we say, "leave nature to herself;" instinct
teaches the parent to do what is right, and
she neither needs nor cares for our assist-
ance : so far from it, indeed, that she will
resist any attempt of the kind.

The goslings should, at first, have a little
paste of any kind of coarse meal or the rasp-
ings of bread, mixed up with curds and milk ;
then grits may be added, and within a few
days, bruised boiled potatoes may be substi-
tuted for the curds and milk, and chopped
lettuce and nettle-tops may be given to them.
Like all young things, they should, in short,
be allowed as much nutritious food as their
nature requires ; but care should be taken
to prevent its being of such a kind as to
occasion diarrhoea, and they should be care-
fully guarded from cold, as well as wet ; for
they are extremely tender during the first
month of their existence, or until the soft
down with which they are covered acquires
strength enough to protect them. They
should, therefore, never be exposed to the

CHAP. XI.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 247

rain ; and, although aquatic hirds, they should
not be permitted to frequent any pond, or to
more than dabble a little in a pan of water,
until they have reached that age at which
they may be left wholly to the care of the
goose and gander. Though naturally fond
of the water, they may, indeed, be reared
to maturity without having any access to a
pond or stream ; which, although useful as
well as pleasant to them, when kept as stores,
yet, when they are intended to he fattened,
rather impedes the process.

They grow with great rapidity, and are
fattened at a very few weeks old by the
dealers, who sell them throughout the sum-
mer as green geese, at very high prices, being
generally considered seasonable delicacies.
They, however, occasion considerable trouble
in their fatting at that early age, as they
must be crammed in the same manner as
young turkeys ; and when this is regularly
done by professional breeders, it will occupy
an expert woman full an hour to perform it
on ten geese. Though, indeed, an instru-
ment was lately put into our hand, the in-
ventor of which professes to enable any one

248 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. xi.

to cram with it one hundred fowls in an hour !
besides a great saving of food, and fatting
the bird completely within ten days or a
fortnight. To all which assertions we pay not
the least credit ; for a fowl cannot be pro-
perly crammed in little more than half a
minute, and any saving of food will neces-
sarily delay, instead of anticipating, its fat-
ting.

When turned out along with the goose, at
a month old, and not intended to be fattened
for the table as green geese, they require no
particular species of food, and many are
killed, after harvest, as stubble-geese; some
of which, if they happen to have picked up
a good quantity of corn, and thus to have
become partly fat, may merit the esteem
in which they are by many persons held ;
but, generally speaking, we view them of
very ordinary quality, as being neither firm
in flesh, nor having the rich flavour of the
full-grown well-fed bird. Farmers are, how-
ever, evidently the only persons who can have
stubble-geese, and a Michaelmas goose is
not worth eating if it be not quite fat; which
cannot be done without plenty of corn.

CHAP. XII.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 249

CHAPTER XII.

Feeding and fattening of full-grown geese — Cooping —
Weight — Cobbett's plan — quality at different stages of
growth — Pate de foie gras — Mode of enlarging the liver —
Prejudices — Plucking of the feathers — Age £ind character
of the goose.

Geese, although very voracious, are yet,
in point of economy, the most valuable birds
in our poultry-yards ; for, if turned upon a
common, or into a field, either with or without
a pond, they will graze upon the pasture like
sheep, wanting nothing more for nourishment
than the herbage and what food they may find
in the pools and surrounding ditches. They
cannot, however, be fattened upon such food ;
but should have chopped roots, or garden-
stuff with boiled potatoes and some corn,
every night, in order to attach them to
their home, and induce them to return to
it regularly. Were an abundant feed given
to them also in the morning, it would
not be thrown away ; for if not kept in

250 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. xii.

good condition, they will neither grow to a
large size nor be easily rendered fat. There
are, however, not many persons who have
the advantage of a common ; and even those
who have paddocks attached to their houses
are frequently deterred from feeding geese,
under a very universally entertained appre-
hension that the ordure of the bird is so
offensive as to prevent cows from eating any
grass which is near it. Though certainly
their droppings will not be found to injure
the future crop of hay, and all objection may
be avoided by merely hurdling off a portion
of a field for the use of the geese.

In the process of fatting, barley and oats
are both generally employed, partly in meal,
made into paste either with milk, or more
frequently with pot-liquor, to which most
breeders add a little suet, and some a good
quantity of chandlers' greaves. This, al-
though it will fatten them quickly, yet, if
much grease be used, renders the flesh rather
oily ; and the better mode, if you wish to
have it of firm texture and good flavour, is
to feed them solely upon oats in the natural
state, of which a bushel will usually be more

i

CHAP. XII.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 251

than sufficient ; though one feed of warm
potatoes, mixed up with a little fat and pot-
liquor, every day until the last week, will
assist the process, which commonly occupies
a month or six weeks, if they he left at large.
This, indeed, saves trouble ; yet, both from
that motive, as well as from a prejudice
entertained by many people who consider it
cruel to confine a bird, it is only customary
among professional breeders. The geese,
however, should not have more liberty than
the use of a small yard ; for if permitted
to roam about, their flesh will become tough,
even if allowed corn at discretion : indeed, a
far better mode is to put two or three in a
small, quiet, dark room, littered with straw,
and furnished with a tub of water and an-
other of oats, to use as they please. Ob-
serving that if you adopt this plan, you should
take, of the three, the fattest and the leanest
which you have, so as to fatten them in suc-
cession ; and when one is killed, then add
another of the leanest, to make up the number.
When put up to be fattened in the way
usually practised by professional breeders,
they should be closely cooped in a dark-

252 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap. xii.

ened place ; for although they may be sulky
for a day or two, yet, being great glut-
tons, they will soon reconcile themselves to
confinement if supplied with plenty of food.
The plan is also accompanied with the ad-
vantage of putting up a single goose at a
time ; so that any number may be brought
into high order in succession as wanted ;
whereas if a goose be put up alojie, without
being cooped, she will be restless, and pine
away for want of society. Cooping is, there-
fore, the most expeditious as well as the
most economical manner of feeding, though
we admit that it is the most troublesome, and
the bird must, when thoroughly fatted, be
killed immediately ; for, if kept much longer,
their fat will drip away in roasting, and the
flesh acquire a disagreeable flavour.

The following experiments upon three geese,
cooped and fed by Parkinson upon oats and
water, will show the effects of that mode of
management. One, a gander, weighed 11 lbs.
when put up : weight on the eighth day fol-
lowing, 13 lbs. 2 oz. ; after the lapse of
seven days weighed again, weight 14 lbs.
2 oz. ; the next seventh day, 141bs. 12 oz. ;

CHAP, xii.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 253

then killed, the weight divided being as
under : —

Carcase

. 8 lbs.

12 oz

Giblets

• 3 „

9 „

Feathers

• 1 „

0 „

Blood

. 0 „

9 „

Waste

. 0 „

14 „

Another, a gander and a goose, of the
following weights, when trussed, were —

Carcase . . . 7 lbs.

Ooz.

6 lbs.

10 oz

Giblets . . • 3 „

0 ,,

2„

11 „

Blood and feathers 1 „

12 „

1,>

4 „

Waste . . . . 0 „

4 „

o„

5 „

From which it would appear that there is
little advantage in keeping them in confine-
ment longer than about three weeks or a
month.

Having thus shown the advantages and
disadvantages of cooping, we shall now state,
for the information of those who object to
the trouble attendant on that mode of feed-
ing, the plan adopted by the late Mr. Cob-
bett ; which avoids all care of breeding, and,
in our opinion, should be followed by every
one who wishes to feed geese without having
either a common or a paddock on which to
graze them ; it is thus : —

254 FARMIA^G FOR LADIES, [chap, xii,

" I buy them off the common late in June,
or very early in July. They have cost me
from 2s. to 35. each, first purchase. I bring
the flock home, and put them in a pen, about
20 feet square, where I keep them well lit-
tered with straw, so as for them not to get
filthy. They have one trough in which I
give them dried oats, and they have another
trough where they have constantly clean
water. Besides these, we give them, two
or three times a day, a parcel of lettuces
out of the garden. We give them such as
are going to seed generally, but the better
the lettuces are, the better the geese. If
we have no lettuces to spare, we give them
cabbages, either loaved or not loaved, though
observe, the white cabbage, as well as the
white lettuce, that is to say the loaved cab-
bage and lettuce, are a great deal better than
those that are not loaved. This is the food
of my geese : they thrive exceedingly upon
this food. After we have had the flock about
ten days we begin to kill, and we proceed
once or twice a week till about the middle of
October, sometimes later. A great number
of persons who have eaten of these geese

CHAP. XII.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 255

have all declared that they did not imagine
a goose could be brought to be so good a
bird. These geese are altogether different
from the hard, strong things that come out
of the stubble-fields, and equally different
from the flabby thing called a green goose.
I should think that the cabbages or lettuces
perform half the work of keeping and fatting
my geese, and these are things that really
cost nothing. I should think that the geese
upon an average do not consume more than
a shilling's worth of oats each ; so that we
have these beautiful geese for about 4^:.
each. No money will buy me such a goose
in London, but the thing that I can get
nearest to it will cost me seven shillings,

"Every gentleman has a garden. That
garden has in the month of July a waggon-
load, at least, of cabbages and lettuces to throw
away. Nothing is attended with so little
trouble as these geese ; there is hardly any-
body near London that has not room for
the purposes here mentioned. The reader
may be apt to exclaim, as my friends very
often do, ' Cobbett's geese are all swans I '

256 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. xii.

Well, better that way than not be pleased
with what one has. However, let gentlemen
try this method of fatting geese. It saves
money, mind, at the same time. Let them
try it ; and if any one who shall try it, shall
find the effect not to be that which I say it
is, let him reproach me publicly with being a
deceiver."*

On this, however, we object to the use of
cabbages, or much use of any green food, as
tending to reduce the firmness of fibre in the
flesh, and would substitute potatoes ; which
Cobbett would, we doubt not, have himself
recommended, were it not for the whimsical
prejudice which he entertained against them.
In point of fatting, nothing is, in fact, equal
to corn. We have fed poultry of all sorts,
and on all kinds of grain, for our own use,
both in this country and abroad, without
either cooping or cramming, and without any
other especial care than cleanliness, dryness,
and full feeding, and have always found
them of excellent quality.

It is amusing to see the variety of opinions
* Cottage Economy, p. 129.

CHAP. XII.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 257

entertained in different publications on poul-
try, respecting the quality of geese, at the
different stages of their growth. Cobbett calls
green geese " tasteless squabs, loose flabby
things," and insists that "stubble-geese are
hard and strong ;" while Moubray and Mar-
tin Doyle prefer a goose fattened entirely on
the stubbles. Dr. Kitchener — who ought, one
should suppose, to know something of the
matter — looks upon a Michaelmas-goose as
rank ; yet it is evident that Parkinson could
not have killed those geese which he so praises
until late in December ; and a writer in the
Quarterly Journal of Agriculture declares
that "nothing is more delicate than a well-
fed goose from September till January ; and
it is quite a mistake to suppose that a Christ-
mas-goose must be coarse and strong."

Tastes differ : what one considers delicate,
another dislikes as wanting richness of flavour.
Chickens, green geese, and ducklings, are
esteemed by most people as dainties, but it is
certain that the flesh of all full-grown animals
is more nutritive than that of those which are
killed when very young. In Dr. Stark's ex-
periments on diet, it appears that, when fed on.

258 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap. xii.

roasted goose, he was more vigorous both in
body and mind, than with any other kind of
food ; but much both of flavour and nutriment
must depend on the mode in which the crea-
ture has been nurtured. In some parts of
Germany and France geese are fattened to
great weights, chiefly for the purpose of en-
larging their livers, which are made into pates
defoie gras, and sent all over Europe for the
tables of the rich. Toulouse and Strasbourg
are celebrated for them, and one of a moderate
size, fatted and seasoned as they are in those
towns, is not to be had in London for less
than ten to fifteen shillings, or a guinea.
They are, indeed, considered as epicurean de-
licacies of the highest order ; though we must
frankly confess that there are persons so want-
ing in taste as to consider them —

" Too clear to buy, too fat to eat."

The mode there usually adopted is to con-
fine the goose in a dark coop of such narrow
dimensions that she can neither turn round,
nor stand up quite upright ; and being thus
both deprived of light and motion, and abun-
dantly fed, she is necessarily induced to sleep,
which is considered a main point in the pro-

CHAP. XII.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 259

duction of fat ; the want of motion also en-
larging the liver. The bottom of the coop is
warmly bedded with straw, but the back part
is made with a grating to allow for the passage
of the excrement, and in the fore-part a hole
is left for the head to communicate with
troughs, one of which is always kept full of
grain, and the other of water, in which char-
coal is usually left to steep.

The food is chiefly Indian corn, of which a
bushel is generally necessary to complete the
process. The daily portion is steeped over-
night durino; the first week, and the corn is left
for the goose to use at her discretion; but,
after that, it is made into a paste mixed with
a little poppy-oil, which is known to be both
sedative and very fattening, and with this
the bird is crammed, in the same manner as
fowls, both night and morning. Within about
three weeks more, she finds a difficulty of
breathing, occasioned by the increase of the
liver; a lump of fat is also found growing
under each wing, and she must then be killed,
or she would die of suffocation. The liver
then generally weighs from one to sometimes
nearly two pounds, and the carcase yields, in

s2

260 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap. xii.

roasting, from three to five pounds of fat,
which is used in cooking, as being superior
for that purpose to either lard or butter.

One would imagine that this process of en-
larging the liver would render the goose so
diseased as to make her lean, and injure the
flavour of the flesh ; but this is so far from the
fact, that both fat and flesh increase with
wonderful rapidity, and are of first-rate quality.
We can speak of this from our own know-
ledge ; for having been some years ago on a
visit to a relation at Toulouse, we have there
eaten of geese fattened in that manner, and
certainly finer meat, of that description, we
never tasted. The practice is so old, that it
was, ages ago, common to the ancient Romans,
who prized the livers as highly as any modern
civic alderman ; but all that has been said
and written respecting its cruelty only betrays
a want of practical acquaintance with the
subject, for the animal very soon submits con-
tentedly to a plan that gorges it with food
which it loves.

Another absurd prejudice regarding the
treatment of geese is the idea so generally
entertained of the cruelty of plucking their

CHAP, xii.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 261

feathers when alive ; whereas they naturally
shed their feathers about three times in the
year, and the quills twice, and if not plucked,
they drop them. In the fens of Lincolnshire,
and in Pomerania, vast numbers are therefore
reared merely for that purpose, and there the
breeders generally pluck them Jive, and even
six times, between Lady-day and Martinmas,
which is a practice that cannot be too much
reprobated, as not unfrequently exposing the
poor creatures to death, from cold, in an in-
clement season; but those who feed them
merely for their flesh should never neglect to
pluck them at proper times, as the feathers
are valuable, and if allowed to drop, would
become pure waste.

The feathers are worth saving ; and as we
make it a maxim, in household economy, that
" nothing should be thrown away,." they should
be put aside in any box or bag until sufficient
are collected to have them properly dried :
which is done by putting them, at two or three
different times, for a few hours in the oven,
after baking ; for, if the quill part of the
feathers be not completely dried of its sap, it
will be decomposed* and become putrid.

262 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap. xii.

The goose is supposed to be as long-lived
as the swan, and numberless instances have
been recorded of their having outlived the age
of man. Moubray, indeed, mentions, as an
authenticated fact, that there was, in 1824,
a goose living in the possession of a Mr.
Hewson, of Glenham, in Lincolnshire, which
was then upwards of a century old. It
had been throughout that term, in the
constant possession of Mr. Hewson's fore-
fathers and himself; and, on quitting his
farm, he, with a feeling which does him
credit, would not suffer it to be sold with his
other stock, but made a present of it to the
incoming tenant — "that the venerable fowl
might terminate its career on the spot where
its useful life had been spent such a length of
days."

Though stigmatised as being silly and
stupid, the reproach is unmerited. We once
had four for our own use, which were con-
stantly turned upon a neighbouring common,
at the distance of full a quarter of a mile, to
which they regularly walked through the vil-
lage, headed by the gander, calling at every
house, fi-om which the servants sometimes

CHAP. XII.] FARMING FOR LADIES, 263

threw them bread, and returning at the usual
hour in the evening. Though also accused
of dirty habits, because they grope for food in
any pond or ditch to which they may have
access, yet no bird is more careful of its
plumage, or fonder of a clean and dry bed.
They are very capable of attachment to those
who treat them with kindness ; extremely
quiet in their habits, and peaceable towards
all the other poultry, but courageous in defence
of their young, and the hiss of the gander in
their protection is full of menace. When
riding some time ago, rather sharply, across a
common, our mare unheedingly trod upon a
gosling ; when instantaneously both goose and
gander flew upon her with such violence that
it was difficult to either restrain her from
running away, or to beat them off; and for a
long time afterwards the mare, upon seeing
a flock of geese, snorted and started off" with
afiright. Nor should we —

" Rob Rome's ancient geese of all their glories,"

by forgetfulness of their use as watchful
nightly guards to a lonesome country-dwelling.

264 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap, xiii.

CHAPTER XIII.

Wild ducks: their nature and liabits— Decoys— The do-
mestic duck — Description and choice of breed — Muscovy
duck— Nests— Hatching— Eggs— Rearing and fattening of
ducklings — Feeding of store ducks — Cost of fatting —
Weight — Fish-ponds and pike — Anecdote respecting crows
— Oily glands.

Although the name of Wild Duck is ap-
plied as a generic term to the whole species
of this bird, yet the tribes are more numerous
than any other kind of water-fowl, for natu-
ralists enumerate more than fifty different
breeds, among which are included the widgeon
and the teal, which are common on our tables ;
the eider-duck, so valuable for its down ; and
the canvas-bag-duck, so highly prized in the
United States of America, as a luxury sur-
passing in richness of flavour any known bird
of the species. Indeed the flesh of the whole
race, when not fishy, is more highly esteemed
than that of the domesticated sort ; but its
quality depends much on the nature of the
food on which they find support.

CHAF. xiii.] FARMING FOE, LADIES. 2G5

Though gregarious in their general habits,
and migrating in large flocks from the coun-
tries in which they are bred, to those to which
they resort for food during the winter, yet,
when breeding-time arrives, the " mallard " —
as the male is called- — pairs with a single
duck, and wing their way to some lonely
spot, where they dwell apart, until they again
assemble for migration. They breed but once
a year, forming their nest on the ground in
brakes of fern, or tufts of reeds and rushes,
lining it with the warm down of their bosoms ;
the mallard all the while keeping watch when
the duck is occasionally absent from their
charge in search of food. When the hatch-
ing is completed, and the ducklings have
broken their shell, they are within a few
hours carried by the old birds to the water,
where they at once begin to feed and swim,
the parent-bird sheltering them under her
wing when gathered on the land, or crouch-
ing around her for warmth, as they do not
return to the nest ; and, when feathered, they
float the whole night long upon the water.
In three months, they are able to fly ; and,
in three months more, their growth and

266 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. xiii.

plumage are perfect. When quite young,
sportsmen call them " flappers ;" and a brood,
when flying, is termed " a team."

When fledged, and grouped together for
migration, they fly very high, and may he
known by the inclined triangular lines in
which their flight is conducted ; and when
they alight, they cautiously make several
circuits over the spot which they have chosen,
as if to ascertain its security from an enemy.
They repose on the water, but are always
guarded by some of the flock to watch for
their safety, and give an alarm when danger
is approaching. They are, indeed, at all
times so shy, that a shot is very difficult to
be got at them ; wild-duck shooting, there-
fore, demands as much patience as any other
sport, and, as they are much sought after
for the table, means have been adopted on
many parts of our coasts — more with a view
to pecuniary profit than amusement — for tak-
ing them in large snares, or " decoys," where
great numbers are annually killed for our
markets.

The domestic duck, though evidently a
descendant of the wild stock from which it

CHAP. XIII.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 267

sprung, is yet essentially different in the
flavour of its flesh when brought to the tamed
state. It is, however, still governed by
nearly the same natural propensities ; except
that in one particular — we blush to say — the
" drake " — as the male is termed when tame
— forgetful of those connubial ties which bind
the mallard to his mate, bestows his libertine
caresses on half a dozen at a time.

The plumage of the mallard is usually of
a brownish, or rather dingy black colour, with
a broad white patch on the wings ; that of
the " duck " — as the females of both the
wild and tame breeds are distinctively called
— ^being of a more clouded hue, and the bird
is of a smaller size, whilst those of the com-
mon domestic kind are of every variety of
colour. When dark coloured, they are, how-
ever, thought better flavoured than the white ;
but the latter — or " Aylesbury ducks " —
grow to a larger size, and, being also found
to be rather easier fattened, they are gene-
rally preferred by dealers who wish to bring
them early to market. The sexual distinc-
tion of voice is remarkable ; for, while the
quack of the female is loud and sonorous,

268 • FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap. xm.

that of the drake is inward, harsh, and
feeble.

Although naturalists enumerate so many
different families of the wild duck, yet the
domestic breeds commonly reared in our
poultry-yards seldom exceed two or three ; of
which one is a fine dark species, frequently
imported from Rouen and the coasts of Nor-
mandy, and vulgarly known in this country
as the " Rhone duck." The grey duck and
the Rouen drake are, in our opinion, the
best sort to breed from, as they will produce
the finest flesh ; or, if a drake of that kind
cannot be had, then, that of the darkest
plumage should be chosen.

The " Muscovy duck " is a distinct species.
Although not long introduced into this coun-
try, it was, however, known on the continent
in the sixteenth century ; but with its origin
we are not acquainted, for it is called in
some places by different names ; and in France
it is universally termed the " Barbary duck."
It is larger than our common duck, and,
though it fattens easily, requires more food :
neither is its flesh in quite so much esteem ;
but its size renders it valuable, and therefore

CHAP. XIII.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 269

crosses are frequently made between them.
The cross is, however, a hybrid, or mongrel
breed, which are incapable of breeding with
each other ; though, if paired with any of
the common species, they will produce a good
stock.

The domesticated duck sits during the
same time as that of the wild species, but
is not so assiduous a nurse as the goose.
She, however, lays more eggs ; though it
must be admitted that they are of only half
the size, and equally strong in flavour ; but
they are held in good repute for pastry ; and
we can aver, that their mixture with those
of the hen improves the flavour and lightness
of that homely, though delicate dish — an
omelet. The eggs, it may be observed, are
not always of the same colour ; for although
generally of a blueish tinge, some ducks lay
them speckled ; and it is said that if different
sorts are put into the same nest, the duck
will throw out those which do not belong to
her. Although we doubt the fact, yet it may
be as well to keep them separate.

The duck is very careless in the lay-
ing of her eggs, which she deposits, when

270 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap, xiii,

nature calls, in any spot whatever — even
in the water — without reference to the nest
which may have been prepared for her ;
though there can be little doubt that, were
she not confined, she would make a nest for
herself, and hatch her ducklings. We have
indeed witnessed a stray duck, with a brood
of twelve only recently hatched, which came
sailing down a small rivulet which bounded
our late father's garden, and, being probably
attracted by the cries of the poultry in the
stable-yard, very composedly landed with her
young family, and there took up her future
residence ; nor, although inquiries were made,
could her owner be discovered. She, however,
usually lays during the night, or very early in
the morning of every second day ; and, by
not allowing her to go out until she has
layed her egg, these accidents may be guarded
against. A nest should, however, be made
for her in the same manner as for the goose ;
and, if any shed be appropriated to her use,
and that of her companions, it should be well
littered with straw, which should be weekly
removed to the dung-heap.

If the weather be fine, she naturally begins

CHAP. XIII.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 271

to lay early in February. Many of the
breeders about Oakingham, Aylesbury, and
other parts of Berks and Buckinghamshire,
who fat young ducklings for the London
market, bring the old ones to lay sooner, by
keeping them in their cottages, and feeding
them chiefly upon raw flesh : then getting
the eggs hatched by hens or turkeys, which
must also have similar food to stimulate
them for incubation. These ducklings, when
hatched, are kept warm, w ithout any mother,
by the fire-side, or under the bed of the
peasant who breeds them, and fed at first
upon the flour of malt, mixed up with new
milk and curds, but afterwards upon barley-
meal and mutton suet made into a paste
with broth or treacle, with which they are
crammed in the same manner as chickens ;
some also give them minced meat, and it is
astonishing to what weight and fatness they
are brought at six weeks old. It may, in-
deed, be imagined that it occasions not a
little trouble, and that the odour of the room
in which they are reared is not very agree-
able ; but the birds are sold at large prices,
which pay well for the inconvenience.

272 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap, xiii.

When the duck, herself, sits upon her eggs,
and the ducklings are hatched, they should be
kept in the house until ten days or a fort-
night old, or more, according to the weather,
and only allowed to go out for two or three
hours, about noontide, along with the mother,
upon some dry piece of sward, unconnected
with any water to which they might have
access ; for, although they may have a shal-
low pan to dabble in, they should not be
permitted to approach any pond or rivulet
until they acquire a warmer plumage than
the down with which they are covered, and
they should be guarded from rain and cold
in the most careful manner. The duck would
no doubt take her brood to the water — as
the wild duck does — as soon as they are
bom ; and theorists reason from this — " that
nature teaches her the duty of a mother, and,
as the species are the same, we should not
debar the tame duck from managing her
brood in the manner dictated to her by in-
stinct." We admit the justice of this re-
mark, and should not recommend any inter-
ference, were the birds not rendered delicate
by domestication ; but experienced breeders

CHAP. XIII.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 273

kuow that, if governed by that advice, they
would frequently lose more than half their
ducklings. These may be fed, until about
a month old, with the same food as any other
young chicks ; after which they should be
committed entirely to the mother, and brought
up as store fowls until they are to be fat-
tened.

We have already seen that ducklings, for
very early use, are generally hatched hy hens
— although it compels them to sit ten days
longer than for the production of their own
chicks — and it has long been the practice to
adopt that plan at a more advanced season ;
both because the hen will cover as many as
twenty eggs — while the duck covers only
twelve to fourteen — and that she is a more
careful nurse. It is, however, not a little
singular, that writers, who vehemently pro-
test against the " barbarity " — as they term
it — of plucking and cramming geese and
turkeys, are so inconsistent as not only to
see nothing cruel in employing a hen in a
way that is opposed to her instinct, but even
uphold the practice by sneering at " the folly
of pitying a hen, when she sees her brood

T

274 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap, xiii,

of ducklings plunge into the water ;" though
it is pitiable to perceive the agony with which
she witnesses an act which, in her apprehen-
sion, exposes them to instant death. But,
putting aside all question of feeliyig, and
merely viewing it as a matter of manage-
ment, we deem it injudicious ; for the duck-
lings pay no attention to the signals of the
poor hen, which in vain calls them from the
brink of the pond, and frequently continue
swimming until they become cramped with
cold, whereas the real mother draws them
from the water whenever nature tells her that
a longer stay would be injurious. Hens
should not, therefore, in our opinion, be used,
unless when the ducks are to be brought up
without having the advantage of a stream or
pond ; and — to use the appropriate language
of a recent anonymous writer on the subject
— " we cannot help thinking it more in unison
with God's intentions that each species should
be nursed by a mother of its own kind."

In White's ' History of Selborne,' a hen is,
however, told of, which had, for three succes-
sive seasons, been occupied in rearing broods
of ducks, and became so habituated to their

CHiP. XIII.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 275

taking the water, that she would fly to a
large stone which lay in the middle of a pond
to which the ducklings resorted, and patiently
await the brood, as they swam around it.
On the fourth year, she sat on her own eggs ;
and, expecting her chickens to take to the
water, as on former occasions, she flew to the
stone in the middle of the pond, and called
them to her with much earnestness ; but they,
as may be supposed, did not feel inclined to
follow her dictates.

Ducks may, indeed, be grown and fattened
in a yard, without either pond or rivulet :
but their element is water ; nature prompts
them to indulge in it, and we may rest as-
sured that both the habit thus dictated to
them, and the kind of food which they obtain
there and in the ditches, are essential to their
health, while it aflPords a great portion of that
nourishment which they most love. When
grown to the age of being feathered, they
should, therefore, have free access to a stream
or pond, and to the fields and ditches sur-
rounding the house ; for, although they may
be raised without it, they will be fattened
with more difficulty, and their flesh will be

T 2

276 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap, xm,

found less savoury. Cobbett, indeed, who
fed them in a pen, in the same manner as
his geese, says that — " his ducks are, in con-
sequence of this, a great deal more fine and
delicate than any others ;" but that " deli-
cacy," which is prized in the white-meated
poultry, is not so much wanted in the dark
flesh of ducks and geese — which are usually
roasted — as that savouriness of flavour which
gives a relish to the palate, and which is much
lessened by over-nicety of feeding. In this
we must, however, admit, that if the duck be
boiled with onion-sauce (which is a common
dish in Ireland), the whiteness of the flesh is
then rather an improvement than an objection.
Some over-delicate folks object to the ducks
being fed upon the slugs and garbage which
they fish up from the mire : but those fasti-
dious persons should recollect, that what-
ever goes into the stomach is converted into
wholesome flesh ; and, so greedy are the
ducks, that, were they not allowed to seek
for a maintenance, they would, when full
grown, consume so much corn before being
ready for the table, as to be rendered far
from profitable. They should not, however.

CHAP, xiii.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 277

be left entirely to their own efforts ; but —
while stores — should always have a full
morning meal of chopped lettuces, half-ripe
buckwheat, with any garden-stuff, or kitchen-
offal, and at night, boiled potatoes with some
corn; for, if their flesh is intended to be
firm and well flavoured, care should be taken
to keep them always in good condition.

At a more advanced season, acorns are
very fattening, and impart a high flavour to
the flesh. They have, indeed, been recom-
mended to be given in a pounded state to
ducklings : those persons forgetting, at the
same time, that acorns are not then ripe, nor
perhaps until six months afterwards ; but
when groiun ducks are to he fattened, both the
morning and evening meal should, during a
fortnight or three weeks, consist of oats; for
barley — which some people recommend, in
consequence of its being more nutritive —
renders the flesh insipid, or what the poulterers
term " chickeny," and should never be used
in the fatting of either geese or ducks.

In giving oats, it is a good plan to put
them, whole and unbroken, into a shallow pan
of clear water ; as, this being their natural

278 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap. xiii.

mode of feeding, they will in this manner
eagerly seek for the food, which the forma-
tion of their bill allows them to retain, while
the water passes through its edges ; and also
enables them to sift the mud from any prey
which they may find when groping in the
pools and ditches. Or else, a small tub of
oats may be given to them to use at discre-
tion ; but if you see no dislike to the use or
trouble of also giving them some raw minced
meat, it will be found to improve both the
weight and flavour of the flesh. Indeed, we
have no hesitation in saying, that the guts
of any animals, either raw or boiled, and
minced — though better raw — are even supe-
rior for the purpose, to corn alone, and should
ever be used in the process of fatting, as
being more suited to their natural taste and
habits. Mr. Patterson tried it upon several
ducks, fed upon what butchers call " middle
guts," — which are the small guts of sheep,
— along with oats and barley, of which they
seldom ate when gut was offered to them.

On making experiments on feeding, that
gentleman found that fourteen ducks ate half
a peck of oats a day ; which, supposing them

CHAP. XIII.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 279

to be fed solely upon oats worth 305. per
quarter, would, within three weeks, bring
their cost of fatting to about ninepence each.
He then fed two other ducks on the middle
guts boiled, with a very little barley meal
put into the water, to form a sort of paste.
This they ate very greedily, and each in-
creased in weight at the rate of more than
half a pound a week : the cost being one
penny each. When killed, at the end of four-
teen days, their live and dead weight was —

Live weight when put up. Do. before killed.

lbs. oz. lbs. oz.

Drake ....30.. ..42

Duck .... 2 10 .... 3 13

Dead weight. lbs. oz.

Drake 2 10

Duck 2 1

Giblets 19

Blood, feathers, and waste . . . . Ill

The entire of the bone in the pair was to-
gether 10^ oz. : which bears nearly the same
proportion with other fowls when made mode-
rately fat.

As general observations, it may be truly
said that both geese and ducks are the most
profitable sorts of poultry, as well as the
least troublesome in point of management,

280 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap. sin.

for their maintenance costs very little to those
who have a garden and a .field, and they
seek for support with little care or attend-
ance. Ducks may indeed be justly entitled
" omnivorous," for no edible substance, of
whatever nature, whether animal or vege-
table, comes amiss to them: fish, flesh, and
roots, frogs, tadpoles, and worms of all sorts,
are eagerly devoured, and a few of them
will, in a short time, clear a garden of slugs.

The objections to the use of a pond are,
that, if it be stored with fish, the ducks will
commit great havoc on the larvae and small
fry of the finny inhabitants ; and, if the water
contains any large pike, one of them will
sometimes drag down a duckling to feast
upon it. The old ones are also powerless in
defence of their young; and when attacked
by an enemy, the mother, instead of acting
as a dung-hill fowl would, uselessly shoots
through water, while her ducklings are being
carried off" not only by hawks, but occasion-
ally even by crows.

Of this Mr. Waterton relates — as a trial
of the fact — his having put an old duck,
with a brood of ten ducklings of a fortnight

CHAP, siii,] FARMING FOR LADIES. 281

old, into a pond, nearly three hundred yards
from a high fir-tree, in which a carrion crow
had huilt her nest, containing five young
ones almost fledged. He took his station,
unobserved, at about a hundred yards from
the tree, and nine times the parent crows
flew to the pond, each time bringing back a
duckling to their young.

Aquatic birds have a gland adjoining that
part which uncourteous people sneeringly
term " the parson's nose," in which there is
supposed to be secreted an oil, or mucus,
which can be pressed out by the bill, and
used for the purpose of anointing their
plumage, to guard it from the wet. When-
ever, therefore, the feathers are either ruf-
fled or exposed to rain, the bird turns its
head backwards, catches hold of the gland
with its bill, and forces out the oil, with
which it replaces them in due order. Thom-
son alludes to it in the ' Seasons,' as if were
a settled fact —

" Hush'd, in sbort suspense,
The plumy people streak their wings with oil.
To throw the lucid moisture trickling off :"

and the act is common to constant observa-
tion. All fowls are indeed possessed of a

282 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap. siii.

similar gland, except that species ludicrously
called " the rumpkin," which is entirely de-
ficient of both tail and rump ; yet, both the
substance which it contains, and the object
to which it is applied, are disputed, and it
is somewhat singular that naturalists have
not been able to set the point at rest.

Both geese and ducks are indeed peculi-
arly valuable to the farmer, and profitable
to the cottager, or to any person living by
the side of a common, as well as desirable
to all country families, both for their excel-
lence when brought to table, and for their
hardihood of constitution, and the ease with
which they may be maintained. They are
also more easily managed than chickens and
fowls ; for they are less quarrelsome, and
unless the garden be well fenced ofi" from
the poultry-yard, either by a very close
hedge or by high paling, the fowls will
assuredly effect an entrance, and commit
great injury by scratching up the beds in
search of seeds and insects ; while, if ducks
be admitted, they will only seek for those
slugs and worms which are to be found above
ground.

CHAP. XIV.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 283

CHAPTER XIV.

Diseases : regimen and remedies — The roup, and its causes
— Notion of its being infectious — The pip and gapes :
symptoms and manner of treatment — Fever — Crop-sick,,
and means of cure — Moulting — Old age and death —
Mode of killing — General treatment — Poultry-maid.

Poultry are liable to various diseases, and
were we to enumerate all the farrago of ail-
ments, including even asthma, gout, and
rheumatism, and their remedies plausibly
detailed in publications on the subject, we
should have to copy a list which would deter
any one from keeping them. We can how-
ever safely affirm, that if proper care be taken,
health may be easily maintained among them ;
and we agree with a sensible writer in the
' Quarterly Journal of Agriculture,' that
" those who listen to the advice of the igno-
rant and prejudiced, nay they who seek from
books remedies for disorders which may ap-
pear among their live-stock, will have to
contend with monstrous absurdities, excessive
ignorance, and barbarous cruelty in the quack-

284 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap. xiv.

eries recommended ; and nature will generally
effect a cure if her efforts are seconded by
simple means on our own part."

Disease is most frequently the effect of
some error in diet or management, and may
generally be cured by immediately adopt-
ing a different course of regimen : as to
remedies^ they are within your own power ;
for if the few rational rules of strict atten-
tion to cleanliness, dryness, warmth, and good
feeding, be acted upon, fowls will very rarely
become sick ; nor is there anything more
simple than the successful rearing of all
sorts of poultry. We shall therefore only
give a succinct account of the chief maladies
to which they are exposed; of which the
roup, the pip, and fever, are the most pro-
minent ; for moulting, as being natural to the
constitution, cannot properly be called " dis-
ease," and accidents cannot be guarded
against. As to any chronic disease, the
surest remedy is to wring their neck.

The roup, although commonly applied to
several of those ailments which sometimes
attack every species of fowl, in consequence
of improper management, may be more justly

CHAP. XIV.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 285

described as an influenza, caused in most
cases by the effect of cold and moisture,
arising either from the dampness of the yard
and poultry-house, to which they are of course
more exposed during their moulting than at
any other season, though frequently caused
by a humid change in the temperature.

The roup is so generally considered to be
infectious, that when fowls are attacked by
it, they are almost always removed from the
poultry-yard to prevent contagion ; but the
disease is so far from being infectious, that
the fowls may roost with others in perfect
health without exposing them to danger :
the idea of contagion arises no doubt from
the disorder spreading among the stock in
consequence of the want of warmth and pro-
per food, which, if removed, the malady will
cease. Its most usual symptom is difficulty
of breathing, which occasions the fowls to
gape, and the eyes become swollen, accom-
panied by a watery running. The plumage
is ruffled, and deprived of that pearly gloss
which it usually bears, and the bird sits
moping in much apparent pain. It affects
fowls of all ages, and when neglected, has

286 FARMIIfG FOR LADIES, [chap, xit,

been known to become a chronic complaint.
The remedies usually indicated are nostrums
compounded of calomel, sulphur, and drugs
which we do not deem it necessary to tran-
scribe, for the malady is nothing more than
a catarrh, which may be cured by warm
lodging and nourishing food ; but if so seri-
ous as to occasion a purulent discharge from
the eyes and nostrils, the poultry -maid should,
every morning and night, gently wipe the
head with a towel wetted with warm water.

The p?/>, also called the f/apes, in conse-
quence of the creature's appearing to yawn —
is a disease which chiefly afflicts the chickens
of fowls and turkeys, although all domestic
fowls are liable to it, and is of so dangerous
a nature as to frequently carry off whole
broods. The origin of its cause is unknown ;
but it forms itself in a thickened covering
of the tongue, which shows itself when the
chicken is about three or four weeks old, by
its scratching at the roots of the bill, as well
as by raising up its head and gaping, as if for
want of breath, and increases in size until the
windpipe becomes so completely filled up as
finally to suffocate the chick, which, if not

CHAP. xiT.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 287

promptly attended to, dies in the course of a
week or ten days : the common remedy being
to peel off the membrane with the nails of the
forefinger and thumb, and afterwards rub the
tongue with butter and honey.

Upon dissection, after death, there have
however been found in the windpipe several
small red worms, varying in size ; some half
an inch and more in length : but they can
be removed with safety and facility in the
following manner : —

Let some one take the chicken, holding it in one hand and
placing the other over its back, so as to hold it firm ; and
then let the operator take a small but firm feather from a
hen or pigeon, and strip it from the stem, excepting about
an inch and a half from the tip end, according to the size of
the chicken; wetting it a little, except at the extreme point.
The operator should then take the head of the chicken in the
left hand, placing his thumb and forefinger on each side of
the bill, in such a manner as to hold the mouth open, the
neck being gently but firmly drawn out in a straight line.
Then observe the opening back in the tongue ; place the
feather as near to it as possible, and when the chicken
breathes, the windpipe will be open ; at which moment,
enter the feather quickly, and push it down gently, but
not in a hurry, from two to three inches ; then draw
it out, and in doing so, turn the feather round, by which
means some of the worms will adhere to the feather,
and others will be so loosened that the chicken will sneeze
them up, and throw them from its mouth. As many as
eleven have been got out at one haul, and it is not advisable

288 FARMING FOB, LADIES, [chap. xiv.

to do it more than twice at the same time ; but if the chicken
gapes the day after, you may be sure there are some still
remaining, and the operation must be repeated.

We have thus copied the minutiae of these
details from the gentleman who frirnished
them, as he states that the operation is a sure
cure for this fatal disorder ; he having the
last year had the greatest part of his chickens
— more than a hundred in number — very
severely attacked, and having only lost one ;
while the rest, after having been treated in
this manner, recovered to perfect health.

We should also add, that if a lump of salt
butter be mixed with some soft-soap, or strong
Scotch snuff, and pushed gently down the
throat, it is said by many persons to have the
effect of destroying the worms ; but we ima-
gine that, even in this case, it is necessary
to strip the thickened membrane from the
tongue.

Fever is a common attendant upon this
malady, and, in such young creatures, admits
of no peculiar remedy, for they cannot be re-
moved from the fostering care of the parent
hen ; but, when older fowls are thus afflicted,
the better way is to remove the patient to a

CHAP. XIV,] FARMING TOR LADIES. 289

cooler place than the fowl-house — an open-
railed basket, left under cover in the poultry-
yard, being as good as any — and feed it upon
chopped lettuce, parsley, sorrel, or any green
vegetable, with a very small supply of corn.
This mode of management will sufficiently
relieve the degree of costiveness with which
the disease is generally accompanied, and
the opposite malady may be remedied by
pursuing the contrary system of warmth and
nourishing food.

Among those accidents to which poultry
are subject, we shall only mention that occa-
sioned by their sometimes gorging themselves
either with too much food, or of some indiges-
tible kind, which remains in their craw, or first
stomach, in the same state in which it was
when eaten, and causes them, when this hap-
pens, to become crop-sick. It more frequently
occurs to chickens than to older fowls, and
pigeons are peculiarly exposed to it, from the
eagerness with which they devour their fa-
vourite beans.

Should time not afford the bird ease, me-
dicine cannot, and an endeavour should be
made by the poultry-maid to relieve it of its

290 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chaf. xit.

burden, by keeping it fast between her knees,
holding up the head with one hand, and
stroking the throat with the other from the
crop upwards; by continuing which process
for a considerable time, the greater part of
the food will, probably, be discharged ; but,
if not, the only effectual remedy is then to
make a longitudinal incision in the throat near i
to the crop, and pick out from it the objec-
tionable matter. This can be done with a
sharp penknife at one cut, if the fowl be
firmly held and the operator have a steady
hand, and if the wound be neatly sown up, and i
covered with adhesive plaster, it will soon be
healed. The fowl should, however, be kept
quiet for a few days, and fed either upon
boiled bread and milk, or other soft food.

Of moulting, we have already said all that
is necessary, and the plague of hen-lice can be
prevented by proper attention to cleanliness.
We shall, therefore, conclude this chapter by
alluding to that universal malady, if indeed
it can be so called — old age — which admits
of no other cure than death ; and is the only
remedy to be recommended, in every case of
serious accident or troublesome disease.

CHAP. XIV.] FARMING TOR LADIES. 291

The common mode of killing foiols is to
cut the throat across, and hold the bird by its
legs — thus allowing it to bleed to death, from
an idea that if the blood be not discharged, it
will discolour the flesh, and render it less easy
to keep in warm weather. We must admit
that there may be much truth in this notion ;
but others assert that the discharge of the
blood occasions the meat to become dry, and
partly deprive it of flavour ; and the poulterer
— who ought, we imagine, to be the best
judge — performs the operation by holding the
bird, with the left hand, by the legs and
wings, whilst with the right, he, with a stroke
or two, breaks the neck, and then hangs it up
by the legs, loithout cutting it. This mode is
certainly the most humane, as well as the
easiest, of the two, and is founded upon the
principle — as stated by the poulterer — that
the blood descends to the head without in-
juring the meat, while partly preserving its
juiciness ; but, although we have frequently
eaten of fowls when killed in both ways, we
could never perceive any difference in the
flavour of either : as a medium between the
two, we should, therefore, recommend that

u2

292 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. siv.

the neck should always be broken to deprive i
the animal of life ; and then, the throat may i
either be cut or not. Turkeys, pea-hens, '
pigeons, and ducklings, are all killed in the I
poulterer's manner, but grown ducks and
geese in the common mode of cutting the
throat.

Although fowls are frequently left in their
feathers for days together, yet the better
mode is to strip them while yet warm ; singe
and truss them immediately ; and place a
board with a weight upon the breast-bone, to
add to its appearance of plumpness ; or this
may be better done by putting a doubled
napkin upon the bone and striking it with one
blow of a wooden mallet to break it ; but the
blow must not be repeated, or it may break
the skin. If the bird is to be dressed imme-
diately— as in urgent cases it is sometimes
necessary — it is thought that by opening the
bill and pourino; a table-spoonful of vinegar
down its throat the meat will not be tough.
The better mode to make the fowl tender is
we imagine to put it to the fire before it be-
comes cold : for we have often noticed, when
travellincf in Portugal — where fowls are never

CHAP. XIV.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 293

killed by the innkeepers until the arrival of
a passenger — that, although pulled from their
perch and put upon the table within an hour,
they are never tough. Poulterers always dust
the fowl with flour when it is trussed, in order
to make it appear more delicate ; and although
a mere trick of the trade, yet, if the bird is
to be roasted* it rather improves its appear-
ance when brought to table.

One word on the essential point of treat-
ment. If the poultry-maid be a kindly-
hearted, quiet creature, it is inconceivable
how soon the fowls will acquire confidence in
her : they will come to her at her call, if that
be done in a tone of good-nature, but, if not,
they will cower from its harshness. The dis-
position of the servant is, indeed, in every case
in which animals are put under their care, of
far greater consequence than the master or
mistress may always imagine ; and, if more
carefully inquired into on being hired, there
would, perhaps, be fewer changes than we at
present see in most families : but we must
admit that there may be faults on both sides.

294 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. xv.

CHAPTER XV.

Breeds of pigeons — The stock-dove, the wood-pigeon, and
the cushat — Migratory flights — The turtle-dove — The car-
rier, and its speed — English species — The domestic dove-
house pigeon — Pairing and breeding — Nests and hatching
— Dove-cotes: building and arrangement of different
sorts — Her Majesty's — Flesh and flavour of the pigeon —
Food — Cost — Appetite for salt — Attachment to home —
Anecdote — Salt-cat — D iseases.

Pigeons are of various orders — croppers, car-
riers, powters, runts, and tumblers, of the do-
mestic sort; but these, as well as the wild
tribes of the wood-pigeon — known as the ring-
dove, the turtle-dove, the rock, and the stock-
dove— are all of the same species, and too
well-known to need particular description,
though, of the two latter, which are very
nearly allied, the ring-dove is much larger
than any of the others. Naturalists, indeed,
enumerate more than thirty different kinds ;
which, although nearly resembling each other
in graceful elegance of appearance, yet differ

CHAP. XV.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 295

! essentially in some of their habits. This may,
! however, in some cases, be attributed to
the regions of which they are indigenous, or
generated by crosses with some foreign race,
which, among all animals, we constantly see
created with such strange deviation from rule,
as to seem a new kind of being : the tumbler,
for instance, exercising itself continually while
in the air, by rolling over and over without in-
termission ; while the powter, on the contrary,
remains stationary, contenting itself with puff-
ing out its crop to a ridiculous extent; and
the runt has the advantage of a larger size ;
but, although all this may have been occa-
sioned by accidental causes, or by the efforts
of breeders to improve their stock, the extra-
ordinary instinct of the carrier-pigeon can
only be ascribed to nature.

Buffon views the whole of our domestic
race as arising from the common origin of the
stock-dove ; but this is disputed by many,
who rather suppose it to have originated from
the blue rock-pigeon, or " rockier," which is
a native inhabitant of this country. The
stock-dove is of a deep bluish ash-colour;
the breast dashed with a fine changeable

296 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. xv.

green and purple, and the sides of the neck
with strong copper-colour ; the wings are
marked with two black bars over the quill
feathers, and the tail is also barred with black
near its end, but the back is generally white.
From this, the art of man has, however, created
such numerous varieties, by coupling the dif-
ferent sorts, that it would be a vain attempt
to describe their peculiarities : it is, however,
— like most such inquiries — a mere matter of
curiosity, and only interesting to the scientific
physiologist.

The wood-jiigeon — which is also in Scot-
land called the "cushat" — is much larger
than the tame species, and cannot be domes-
ticated ; for, although many persons have been
at great pains to attain that object, all their
efforts have been unsuccessful. The eggs
have been frequently placed under the tame
pigeon, but the young birds, when able to fly
and feed themselves, invariably go off to their
natural haunts, and are seen no more. Nei-
ther do they breed in confinement : for al-
though they have been bred in the aviary of
the Earl of Derby, at Knowsley, and a few
summers ago a pair of them built a nest in

CHAP. XV.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 297

the dove-cote of the Zoological Gardens, in
the Regent's Park ; yet these are unusual in-
stances, and the eggs were broken by other
birds of the same species which were inha-
biting it.

They are birds of passage, of different size
and plumage, found in almost every part of
the known world, except the more northern
latitudes, and the multitudes which inhabit
the forests of North America are so extraor-
dinary that a flight of them which was wit-
nessed by Audubon, the naturalist, when they
were migrating from one district to another
in search of food, was such as literally to fill
the whole air, for leagues together, with so
dense a mass of pigeons, that the light of
noonday was obscured as by an eclipse. In
their roosting-places, they settle down upon
the trees in such vast numbers that, although
not large in size, the branches break down
under their weight ; and not only do wolves,
foxes, and birds of prey follow them, but
farmers fatten hogs upon their flesh.

The turtle-dove is also a migratory bird,
usually arriving in this country some time in
the month of April, and leaving it in the

298 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chav. xy.

close of autumn. Poets, when describing those
haunts —

" Where love-sick turtles breathe their amorous pain,"

celebrate the music of their melancholy coo-
ing ; but, although persons of sensibility may
find a charm in the notes of a few, yet when
many of them inhabit the woods surrounding
a mansion — as multitudes do in back groves —
their harmony is not very agreeable.

The property of the carrier-pigeon, in find-
ing its way home from places far distant irom
that in which it was bred, has always ex-
cited much interest, and lately more than
ever, in consequence of the use which has
been made of them in conveying particular
intelligence from any given spot with much
greater speed than if sent by post : from
which it has been thought to be more the
effect of training than real instinct. The
mode of teaching them for that purpose, is to
breed them in the loft of some elevated build-
ing from whence they learn to distinguish the
roof: they are then carried in a bag to a
short distance, and turned loose ; daily in-
creasing the distance, until at length they are
brought out of sight of their habitation. But,

CHAP, XV.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 299

when there, it can be instinct alone which
makes them turn to the point of their dwell-
ing, and their education we imagine to be only
of use in ascertaining those birds which are
the most active and discriminating.

The manner in which the pigeon is em-
ployed, is to carry it to the spot from which
information is to be sent to that where it was
bred — being all the time kept in the dark,
and sparingly fed for several hours previous
to its being dispatched. The news to be
forwarded is inscribed upon a slip of parch-
ment, fastened round the neck, or under a
wing ; and the bird, when let loose, makes
a spiral flight of observation to a consi-
derable height, after which it darts off in
the direction of its home, which it generally
reaches with incredible swiftness. Numerous
instances have been recorded of their tra-
velling hundreds of miles at the rate of
ninety miles an hour. Among which a flight,
consisting of three hundred birds, was des-
patched, on the 12th of July, 1842, from
Birmingham, to decide a bet among parties
at Antwerp, where they all arrived in safety,
the first bird having reached its destination

ciiAr. XV.

300 FARMING FOR LADIES, [c

in three hours and a half; the distance, in
a straight Hne, being estimated at three
hundred miles. The power thus possessed
by the pigeon, has, by an interchange of
birds, been made available in secret cor-
respondence both in war and commercial
speculation ; as well, it may be supposed, as
between anxious lovers who wish to waft their
sighs " from Indus to the Pole :" an em-
ployment more in character with so gentle
a messenger.

It has, indeed, been asserted that they are
also known to make daily marauding ex-
cursions, in harvest time, from the Nether-
lands to the opposite coast of Norfolk, there
to feed on what they can pick up : re-
turning within a few hours, although the
distance is not less than forty leagues.

The real English dove-cote pigeon breeds
but twice a year, generally in the months
of April or May, which is called their
" spring-flight ;" and again in September or
October, as their " harvest-flight ;" when
they pick up such plenty of food in the fields
as to become independent of that which they
ought to receive at home. They are a hardy

CHAP: XV.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 301

species, and, when young ones are wanted
to increase a stock, those of the harvest-flight
should be preferred ; for, being usually of
a stronger nature than those hatched in the
spring, and having the advantage of a long
winter before them ere they begin to breed,
their age fits them better for their parental
duties than the younger birds. They are
known to live twenty years ; but ten or
twelve are more common, and they are sel-
dom prolific after five years of age.

The tame, domestic, blue dove-house jngeon,
commonly bred in our dove-cotes, is supposed
to have either originated from a cross for-
merly made between our native species and
birds introduced from France, or, more pro-
bably, the French breed was gradually adopted,
and finally perpetuated in this country as a
new or indigenous race ; for, as they lay
nearly every month, they are far more pro-
fitable than the old stock. Of whatever
species, however — whether tame or wild —
pigeons produce only two birds at a time ;
but, if well supplied with corn during the
winter and spring, it has been calculated
that from the progeny of a single pair breed-

302 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap, xv, I

ing at this rate, without accident, there would,
in the space of four years, be produced up-
wards of fourteen thousand birds ! Eight or
nine broods of this race may be counted upon
in the course of the year.

Such frequent changes are made by pigeon
fanciers in the plumage, size, and apparent
species, that, as we have already remarked,
it would be an endless task to enter upon a
description of the different sorts ; for there
are various clubs established, both in Eng- "^
land and on the continent, of persons as-^
sociated for the purpose of improving the
present breeds, and large sums, so much as
five to five-and-twenty guineas, are some-
times given for pairs of those of a new or
superior appearance. We however consider
the ordinary kind to be the best, both as
breeders and nurses ; and in the purchase of
a stock, we should recommend this class of
constant breeders, whether hybrids or of
a pure race, of a good sort, but without
paying any large price for the fancy. j

In making the purchase you must, how- I
ever, be careful to buy only squabs before
they are fledged ; for if they have been once

CHAP. XT.] EARMIISIG FOR LADIES. 303

abroad upon the wing, they will assuredly
return to their original home. We, ourself,
indeed, many years ago, lost a considerable
number of young pigeons, which we incau-
tiously bought of a poulterer in Leadenhall
Market, for the purpose of stocking a dove-
cote at a farm in Surrey, about thirty miles
from London. They were sent down in a
closely covered cart ; kept for several days
within the cote, and fed upon all sorts of
dainties, until they were presumed to be
reconciled to the change ; yet no sooner
were they let out, than they, one and all,
flew off : no doubt to their breeder ; but the
poulterer either knew not, or would not tell his
residence ; and of the birds we heard no more.
They are gentle little creatures, of very en-
gaging manners, doing no mischief in a garden,
either by scratching it or eating the fruit, and
are models of mutual affection ; for when
paired, they pass the remainder of their harm-
less lives in aiding each other to bring up their
offspring. " Constancy" is, indeed, the prover-
bial motto of the dove : and, as Addison says —

" Chaste are their instincts, faithful is their fire ;
No foreign beauty tempts to false desire."

304 F/VllMING FOR LADIES. [chap. x\.

It is therefore cruel to separate them ; and
when this happens, either through accident
or design, should the cock be deprived of his
mate, he forsakes the cote in despair for her
loss ; but truth compels us to acknowledge that
the widowed hen soon seeks a paramour to
console her, and adopts him as the future
companion of her nest.

Both cock and hen are so much alike, that
it is difficult to distinguish the sex : the cock
is however somewhat larger, has a bolder
strut, and altogether a more masculine air
and appearance ; and his " coo" is both longer
and louder than that of the hen. They feel
an inclination to mate when from six to nine
months old, according to the season, and the
means which they have had for support.

When old enomjh to breed, it has been
thought better to match the pair than to
allow them to choose their own mate, as
you will thus be enabled to cross them
according to your fancy ; and if shut up
together in any quiet place for a couple
of days, the object will generally be ac-
complished. Sometimes, however, this occa-
sions a quarrel, which ends in irreconcileable

CHAP. XV.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 305

hatred, for the cock, however attentive to his
mate, yet expects her to yield to his au-
thority, and perhaps the most prudent way
of pairing them is to place them in separate
coops, adjoining each other, when by leaving
them alone, and feeding them with hemp-
seed, they will soon display an inclination
for each other ; but unless you have an ob-
ject in view beyond the mere fancy of the
cross, the better way is to leave the birds to
act for themselves as dictated by nature.
If left to seek abroad, the courtship is com-
menced by the attractive " cooing" of the
dove, which calls the male in her softest tone
of love to the spot where she lies hid. He
then assumes a pompous strut, his head ele-
vated and his throat swelled ; he every now
and then rises on the wing, hovering in cir-
cles around her, until at length he approaches
her, and they caress each other by crossing
their beaks, in " billing :" which prelimi-
naries being soon adjusted to mutual satis-
faction, they immediately commence domestic
operations.

In building their nests, the female is the
architect : the male gallantly performing the

306 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. xv.

laborious work of collecting and carrying to
the spot all the materials of which it is com-
posed ; consisting chiefly of dry twigs and
straws crossed together. The task is, indeed,
not very burdensome ; being commenced at
sun-rise and completed in the evening, and
an egg is laid on the following day. In the
tame, domestic state, nests are however fre-
quently provided for them, either in small
wicker baskets, or in shallow, sloping, earthen
pans, partly filled with hay ; or, indeed, hay
alone, with a small ledge to prevent the eggs
from rolling on the floor, will answer the
purpose.

The pan is the easiest cleaned, and the
least subject to the shelter of insects ; but
baskets are the most usual, and may be found,
together with feeding- boxes and water-bottles,
at most of the makers, of sizes appropriate
to the breed which you may have in your
possession, and with compartments for the
different purposes of carriage and putting up
to fatten : or, if left to themselves, with room
enough for their habitation, they will bring
up their little family without requiring any
further care ; and, except for the use of those

CHAP, XV.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 307

who are nicely curious in such matters, the
cost may be spared.

The eggs are only two in number, of a
small elliptical form, and of pure white.
During incubation the male supplies the
female with food ; and both the male and
female afterwards feed their young brood for
some days after they are hatched from a
secretion of a whitish, milky, fluid nature,
extracted from their food and contained in
their crop, which they disgorge and inject
with their bills into those of their young,
until, by degrees, they give them grain : a
circumstance which has perhaps given rise
to the common solecism of " pigeons' milk."

The process of hatching lasts from eighteen
to twenty days from the laying of the first
to the last egg, and neither during the pro-
cess, nor at its completion, should either the
old or young birds be meddled with, or the
eggs be handled. So tenderly attentive, in-
deed, are the old ones to their little brood,
that it requires no other care. They divide,
nearly equally, between each other, the te-
dious solicitude of incubation, each alternately
sitting upon the eggs by turns, regulated

x2

308 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap. xv.

with great punctuality : from three or four
o'clock in the evening till nine the next day,
the female continues to sit, and is then re-
lieved by the male, while she is seeking her
food abroad ; but should she not return at the
appointed time, the cock seeks her out and
drives her to the nest; she also retaliating
in like manner upon him, if guilty of similar
neglect. When the nestlings are about a
fortnight or three weeks old, the female not
unfrequently begins to sit again ; leaving her
"squabs"— as those young things are then
called — to the care of her mate, who provides
them with food until able to leave their nest
and feed themselves, when they are termed
" squeakers ;" which name they retain until
they begin to coo, soon after which they
are strong enough to fly, and begin to breed
when about six months old.

Dove-cotes were anciently attached as a
manorial right to the dwellings of great
landed proprietors, and cotes large enough to
contain several hundred pigeons may still be
seen adjoining many of the old mansions of
country gentlemen. Even now, a cote can only
be erected by a freeholder, or by permission

CHAP. XV.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 309

of the lord of the manor; but those upon
a large scale have, of late years, been much
disused ; and for our present purpose, those
of a smaller size will be found sufficient. *

Presuming, as we have already said, that
eight or nine broods, of two each, will be an-
nually produced, and feeling assured that, if
the birds are properly fed and taken care of,
at least that number will be bred, it must be
apparent that a very few couples of old pigeons
will be sufficient to supply a moderate family.
We, therefore, deem it unnecessary to enter
upon the details of the erection and manage-
ment of a spacious dove-cote ; for any space
partitioned from the loft of a stable ; a box of
sufficient size nailed against the wall of a
house ; or even a few shelves placed in an
out-house, or cow-shed, will answer every
necessary purpose. Indeed, the cote so com-
monly to be seen erected upon a high pole in

* By act of parliament, any person unlawfully killing,
wounding, or taking alive, any house-dove, or pigeon,
being convicted thereof before a justice of the peace, is
liable to forfeit forty shillings, besides the value of the
bird: but holders of land, whether tenants or landlords,
may lawfully kill pigeons, when found destroying corn.
7 & 8 Geo. iv. cap, 29, sect. 33.

310 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. xt. '

a circular shape, divided into three floors for
separate nests, and which may be conve-
niently made out of a beer-hogshead, is as
good as any for a small number ; besides of-
fering a pleasing object from the garden, and
an excellent poirit-de-vue for the pigeons : or
those erected over the Queen's poultry-house
at Windsor, and the rabbitry at Swanscombe,
as depicted in the following Chapter. We,
however, prefer them to be somewhat more
roomy, as affording more convenience for
cleaning them : the pigeons, though dislik-
ing foul air, being yet far from cleanly in
their nfests. We are, indeed, aware that
many of those small pigeon-houses which do
not admit of personal inspection, are only
occasionally cleaned, perhaps once in three
months, by having the floor scraped with a
hoe which is thrust through the hole, and that
nests are in these seldom provided, and yet
that the birds are there generally healthy.

In putting up the dove-cot, it should be
observed that, if of a square form, the south-
west aspect is the best front ; but, whether
round or square, it should have a pent-house
roof, to guard it fi-om the rain, and a broad

CHAP. XV.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 311

ledge, or a platform at the bottom, for the
pigeons to alight and walk upon. A perching-
rod projecting from each hole will be likewise
convenient. The outside should also be painted
white, both as the pigeons are very fond of
that colour, and that it forms a mark for
them when roaming at a distance from home ;
and the inside lime-washed. If built over a
stable, or against a house, care should be
taken to prevent the access of cats, as well as
rats, weasels, or such vermin ; all of which
are destructive to the broods.

That inauspicious foreteller of domestic
calamity —

" The hateful messenger of heavy things,
Of death and dolour telling — "

the owl, although chiefly living upon field-
mice, will also sometimes get into the cote at
night and carry off a nestling, and this cannot
be guarded against without shutting up the
cote every evening ; which is not only incon-
venient, but would prevent the pigeons from
going out as they otherwise would, at the
break of day.

If a dove-cote be fixed over a stable, it has
the advantage of being partitioned off" the loft

312 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. xv.

of whatever size you please, at the mere ex-
pense of putting up the boarding, and may
be provided with a door, communicating with
the loft, for the convenience of cleansing ;
which is of such importance that whole coveys
have deserted their cotes where that has been
neglected. This can also be more easily at-
tended to when thus placed, than in any
small cote which can only be reached by a
ladder. If large and lofty enough, it is a
good plan to place a sort of table in the
centre of the cote for the young squeakers
to fly upon ; and underneath, on both sides,
nests may be made of laths, allowing room
enough for the stock to run about : the nests
being in every case large enough to admit of
two rooms — one for the young squabs, and
the other for the old hen ; as she makes pre-
paration for a new brood before the last are
fledged.

The loft may also be provided with a small
trap — moved by a pivot to open and shut at
will — in the roof of the cote, over which an
enclosure may be made with laths for airing
the squeakers before they are properly able
to fly, as well as for confining pigeons which

CHAP. XV.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 313

cannot be trusted abroad, and for catching
them when wanted : for, if you have not the
convenience of such a cage, you will find it
difficult to catch the squeakers when they
begin to fly. The pigeons may thus either
enjoy a healthful recreation or retire to their
cote at pleasure ; and, as the space can be
enclosed with very little cost, some of these
"dormers," as they are technically termed,
are made of very large dimensions. The
larger and the more lofty the cote, the better
indeed w^ill the stock prosper, and the finer
will be the flavour of the flesh.

With respect to the Jlesh — that of an old
pigeon has been decried as " tough, bitter,
and unwholesome," Now, without being an
epicure, we deem the flavour of all our food
as being well worthy of attention, and, al-
though " tastes differ," we yet imagine that
no person, according to their palate, is indif-
ferent to what they eat. We also readily
admit, that any bird, if very old, will be very
tough ; but, with reference to the present in-
stance, the " bitterness," as it is called, of a
full-grown pigeon, we consider as an im-
provement of flavour. Although the food

314 FARMING FOR LjSDIES. [chap. xv.

may be found somewhat heating if often used,
we yet insist that it is anything but " un-
wholesome," if indeed it be not, to many
stomachs, more healthfully nutritive, and far
preferable to those young squabs which we so
frequently see upon the table; fattened, by
the dealers, with peas, blown by the mouth
through a pipe into their bills. A squeaker
of three months old may be eatable, but much
better at four, and not in prime order until
two or three months older.

The meat of dark-fleshed birds, if also of
dark plumage, is browner than that of those
which are white, and the latter are preferred
by many persons, as being more delicate ; but
those who appreciate the savour of game will
ever esteem the former to be superior; and
that of the wood-pigeon is far preferable to
any of the tame species.

In regard to food, the pigeon is so thoroughly
granivorous, as to feed entirely upon grain,
when it can be got, or on the seeds of any
kind of grass or weeds which it can pick up —
though tares, hemp, rape, and canary, or those
of any common spice, are its favourites ; but
no sort of corn comes amiss, and when fed at

CHAP. XV.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 315

home, the stock get little else than barley and
oats, along with the fowls in the poultry-
yard, with perhaps a few tares, — of which
they are very fond — or those small beans
which are sold in the markets as " pigeon-
beans." Squabs are fed by the old birds ; but
squeakers, when about the period of being
able to feed themselves, should have some
coarse meal, or small seeds, thrown to them
at night and morning.

If thus regularly fed at home, and kept
until they become old, they consume so much
as probably to cost more than they are worth.
Dealers, however, who keep pigeons for sale,
make them profitable, by maintaining them
chiefly at the public expense, through the
depredations which they commit on the corn
of the farmers during harvest and seed time :
for they roam far and wide for their liveli-
hood ; and, when pressed by hunger, they
unhesitatingly attack the growing turnips,
which they bore with their bills, and also root
up the sets that are planted for potatoes.
They are not, therefore, usually in very
high esteem among the neighbours ; for, not-
withstanding all the care which persons of

316 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. xv.

proper consideration take in feeding them,
they will necessarily pick up something from
the surrounding grounds of those who are not
their owners.

They are, indeed, great devourers of grain :
though not to the extent of the statement in the
survey of Devon, and copied by many of the
writers on poultry, in which it is said, " that,
with what they carry home to their young,
each pair will daily consume one pint of corn ;
and, as it is supposed there are in England
and Wales 20,000 dove-houses, averaging-
each 100 pair of old pigeons, these — taking
the estimate at only 1,125,000 pair, and
assuming them only to subsist upon corn
for 140 days in the year — will amount to
157,500,000 pints, or 4,921,875 Winchester
bushels : equal, at the price of six shillings
per bushel, to 1,476,562/. 10s., which would
bring the cost of each pair for their feeding
during twenty weeks, to no less than tioenty-
six shillings and sixpence !

Now, Moubray, who first copied this ab-
surd account, ought to have known better ;
for he states, in his memoranda, " that 15
pairs of old pigeons, and 140 squeakers,

CHAP. XV.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 317

of all sizes, regularly fed by himself, con-
sumed, in one week, five pecks of the smallest
beans and ten quarts of seeds ; the old stock
consuming about half the quantity :" which
shows the consumption of a pair to be only
the ninth part of a pint ; and the cost of
feeding, for the time and at the price of corn
above stated, to be not more than one shilling
and five pence. It is, indeed, not a little sin-
gular as displaying the incaution of Moubray
and his copiers : for Vancouver, the author
of the ' Devon Survey,' has actually doubled
the amount of his estimate ; but this, although
evidently an error in calculation, they have
transcribed without examination. We should
not, however, have alluded to the subject,
were it not proper to disabuse the public
respecting a prejudice against these birds
which has been put forth without contradic-
tion, and very generally adopted.

We must, however, confess that, were pi-
geons to be kept the whole year round upon
grain, let its price be what it may, they cer-
tainly would not pay for their keep, for they
may be generally bought in the markets of
London at from 9c?. to IM. according to the

318 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. xv.

season, and for even less in most parts of the
country ; but they are commonly killed when
not more, or indeed much less, than six
months old : squabs and squeakers are there-
fore the only sorts that pay for their breed-
ing.

So extraordinary is their appetite for salt,
that if it be spread upon land, they will seek
it, or if even sown in drills, they will pick it
out ; and if a lump of saltpetre be placed in
the pigeon-house, they will be constantly
pecking at it. They are also very fond of
dried mortar, with which if not supplied, or
with some such sort of rubbish, they will
commit considerable damage to roofs of
houses, by picking it from between the tiles.
Another of their inclinations is for the odour
of strong aromatics ; among which asafoetida
stands so prominently, that if smeared both
inside and outside, it will not only retain
the inhabitants, but attract many strangers.

The practice of giving salt and mortar to
pigeons is indeed so common, that it is by no
means unusual to make up a substance con-
sisting of some of the rubbish of an old wall,
mixed up with equal quantities of carraway

CHAP. XV.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 319

and cummin-seed, allspice, and bay-salt,
moistened with stale chamber-ley : which thus
hardening into a cake, is placed either in the
pigeon-house with a board over it, to guard
it from being soiled by dung, or left within
their reach outside the house, and put into a
corked jar perforated with holes large enough
to allow the beaks of the pigeon to enter.
The mixture is well known under the title of
" salt-cat," and is not unfrequently employed
as a decoy to entrap pigeons by dishonest
persons who gain their livelihood by such
petty frauds. It is, indeed, not improbable
that, although not used with any improper
intent, it may have the effect of attracting the
pigeons of the neighbours ; but, as they are
not, in that case, detained, they will in all
likelihood return to their home, or, if not, we
must rest contented under the assurance that
our own stock will be occasionally retaliated
upon by the shot of a farmer who finds them
pilfering his crops.

Pigeons are so attached to their home, that
those of the wild species, which live in the
woods, will breed for years in the same tree ;

320 FAKMING FOR LADIES. [chap. xv.

and even the migratory sorts which annually
quit this country have been marked, and
found on their return to inhabit their old nest.
Our domestic breeds will, therefore, never
desert their cote, unless driven away by want
of common attention to its cleanliness'; and
when many are kept together, this should be
carefully minded; for, if neglected, it will
sometimes happen that a squab dies in the
nest, and if not speedily removed, the old
ones will be unable to endure the filth and
stench of their dead offspring. The hen will
thus be obliged to leave the eggs on which
she may be again sitting, or, perhaps, to quit
the cote altogether ; and, in some cases, the
whole stock has flown off in search of another
residence.

Pigeons live so much on the wing with pure
air and exercise that they are less subject to
disease than any of the domestic poultry ;
and, if furnished with a little salt-cat, or
saltpetre and lime, or mortar, which pro-
bably acts as a preventive, there will rarely
be any occasion for restoratives ; we there-
fore omit all detail of their diseases.

CHAP. XV.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 321

They are, indeed, sometimes afflicted with
a disease somewhat similar to that by which
fowls are attacked by over-gorging their craw.
It is occasioned by the pigeons losing their
chicks when very young, and not being able
to get rid of the substance which they have
collected in the crop for their subsistence;
but, if left alone, time will cure it. Some
writers, indeed, absurdly recommend that in
such case, the old bird should be relieved
by being furnished with other young ones ;
as if those who were thus deprived of their
chicks would not be equally inconvenienced.

There is, in fine, nothing either in point
of trouble or expense to prevent a few pi-
geons being kept by any one who has the
least out-door convenience : they are, to be
sure, not very profitable, but neither are
they costly ; and whether broiled, stewed, or
roasted, and either hot or cold, when made
into a pie, they form very nice entremets.

322 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. xvt.

CHAPTER XVI. I

I

Rabbits : propagation and produce of, in a wild and do- I
mestic state — Breeds — Hutches — Warrens — Feeding — i
Expense and profit — Long-eared breeds — Diseases. ,

Rabbits are not only kept in a domestic state i
for the consumption of the table, but are also <;
largely bred wild, as live-stock, in some ex-
tensive warrens, which are still maintained j
in those sandy districts of comparatively '
worthless land which run through some of
our counties ; the chief value of the animal ,
being there its fur, which is extensively used '
in the manufacture of hats, and if white, for i
the lining of cloaks. j

Whether wild or tame, they are at six !
months old fit to propagate, and will con- '
tinue to breed for seven or eight years ;
being also so prolific, that the "doe" — as the
female is called — will breed as many as
five or six times in the year, and produce
from five to eight young ones at each birth.
Six is, however, as many as she can pro

CHAP. XVI.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 323

perly rear and fatten; and unless she is
particularly strong, the weakest, above that
number, should be taken away. She goes
with young thirty or thirty-one days, and
when near the time of "kindling" — ^as partu-
rition is technically termed — she makes her
nest of hay (if to be had), of straw, or any
kind of haulm, which she bites into the re-
quisite lengths, and covers the interior with
hair, which she plucks from her breast.

The symptoms of kindling may be known
by her biting any litter which she may have,
in preparation for the event; and she ought
always, at that time, to be kept separate from
the other rabbits. She is said to be always
ready to receive the buck immediately after
kindling ; but he is seldom admitted to her
until after her young ones have been re-
moved. The buck should also be always kept
alone, except when occasionally allowed for
two or three days to visit the doe ; but the
stores, and those intended for fatting, may
be put up together when weaned, at six weeks
old.

If loild, she builds this nest under ground,
burrowing into it a long and narrow passage,
y2

324 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap, xti

at the end of which she forms a chamber for
her brood, which she tends and suckles with
true parental care, never leaving them, unless
for the search of food, during six weeks ; at 1
the expiration of which, she usually weans i
them. When she quits the nest, even for only \
a momentary absence, she always stops up its '
outer hole with earth, to prevent the entrance
of the " buck," or male : which, obeying, as it
would seem, an instinct of his nature, would,
if admitted, destroy a considerable portion ■!
of the young progeny at that helpless age ; j
though, when older, he will fondle and caress r!
them.

Their form, and many of their habits, so
much resemble those of the hare, that they
might be supposed to be of the same species,
and attempts have been made, by rearing
them together, to procure a breed of hybrids ;
but these trials have not succeeded, for the
animals appear to entertain an antipathy to
each other, and a rabbit will live upon more
friendly terms with a cat than a hare. The
failure is, however, not to be regretted, for
the cross could not have much improved
either stock ; and even if it had, as mules

CHAP, xvi.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 325

are incapable of procreation, it could not
have been carried largely into extent.

Of breeds, the wild rabbit is smaller than
any variety of the tame species, but the flesh
has more of the game flavour than that of
the domestic kind, though the latter is whiter
and more delicate, as well as more juicy.
There are several varieties of fancy rabbits,
two or three of which have been brought to
the weight of more than a dozen pounds ;
some being lop-eared — of which anon — and
one of a brown colour, like that of a hare
in both skin and flesh. Among these, Mou-
bray says, " the large white, and yellow and
white species, have so much whiter and more
delicate flesh, that, if cooked in the same
way, it will rival the turkey :" from which we
however beg leave to differ, as no species of
sauce, whether celery or oyster, or dressing,
can render them similar in flavour. For
common use we believe the large grey rab-
bit to be the best, though the black and
white seem to be favourites among amateur
breeders ; but any sort will do for the hutches,
provided they be healthy, of good size, short-
legged, and broad in the loin.

326 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. xvi.

They are very playful and amusing to
children, but so very mischievous, that when
in the domestic state, they are generally kept
in wooden huts, or "hutches," of a nearly
square form and of different sizes, when in-
tended either for breeding or for the care
of those reared for fatting. The breeding
hutch, as being the lodging of the doe, is
always the larger, and contains a double
apartment — one for the nest, and the other
for the feeding room of the brood when
old enough to come into it. The best size
is about four feet long by two and a half
wide, and eighteen inches to two feet high ;
but they are often made smaller, and those
not meant for breeding are seldom of more
than two-thirds that size. They are latticed
with wire in the front of each, as, if made
of laths, the rabbits would gnaw them ; but
the division parted off for the reception of
the breeding-nest, is closed both at the front
and sides, leaving only a small door in the
interior for the entrance of the doe : indeed,
an inner division with a sliding-door is useful
for confining the rabbits while the outer part
is cleaned. There should also be a moveable

CHAP. XVI.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 327

feeding-trough, which should be regularly-
taken away after every meal ; for rabbits, like
horses, if allowed to blow upon their food,
will not afterwards eat it, unless pressed by
serious hunger. The troughs should be made
of tin or iron, to allow of their being easily
cleaned ; and should have separate compart-
ments, of not more than four inches long,
both for different sorts of food, as well as to
prevent the rabbits from getting their feet
into the trough, and throwing out their corn.
Some persons even add a small rack at one
end of the hutch, for the purpose of con-
taining the hay on which they feed ; but the
small quantity usually given is more com-
monly left upon the floor. The trough should
be either inserted as a drawer, or if placed
outside the hutch, should be covered by a
hinged flap to shut and open, in either the
front, or one end. The floor is commonly
pierced with holes to allow the escape of the
urine ; but, as the greatest attention is ne-
cessary to be observed in the cleansing, it
is a good plan to have a false bottom, which
may be drawn out like that of a bird-cage,
for the removal of the excrement, and ought

328 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap. xvi.

to be every morning scraped and strewed
with a little sand, or, in cold weather, covered
slightly with refuse hay ; for rabbits will never
thrive unless kept dry and clean.

Hutches of this description, well made, and
of good material, should not cost more than
from eight to ten or twelve shillings, accord-
ing to their size. Any carpenter or joiner
can make them with these directions, and we
have lately seen one of the largest size, in
every respect well fitted for breeding, the
price of which was half a guinea.

The hutches, if numerous, may be placed
over each other, and are sometimes ranged
round an out-house kept for that purpose ;
but that is seldom necessary in small families,
and the better way is to put them upon a
stand in the open air against some sheltered
wall, for a too confined temperature is not
natural to them, and if kept in a close room,
they emit a faint, unpleasant odour. The
hutch should, however, be covered at night,
as cold will prevent them from breeding in
the depth of winter.

Rabbits are, however, sometimes, though
very rarely, kept in open enclosures, in the

CHAP. XVI.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 329

manner of a warren, as we lately witnessed
when on a visit to a friend at Swanscorabe, in
Kent, who has, in a paddock adjoining his
house, arranged a small rabbitry and pigeon-

I

Rabbit Jiar>en.

house solely for his family use and amusement,
and enclosed it with post and chain to prevent
the access of his horses. Of which the annexed
view was drawn upon the spot.

The enclosure is only about twelve feet in
diameter, covering a pit of six feet in depth,
in which the rabbits are confined, and through

330 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. xvi.

the sandy sides of which they burrow to the ex-
tent of ten to fourteen feet to make their nest.
Mr. Young, the proprietor, however intends to
fill up three feet of the depth, as he thinks
the rabbits should be brought nearer to the
air. Those kept in an enclosure of the Zoolo-
gical Gardens, in the Regent's Park, are,
indeed, all maintained upon the surface, and
within is a low circular building in a pictu-
resque form, which most of our readers must
have seen, both covering their burrows, and
forming a nestling place for the young ; but,
as the species there kept are only for curiosity,
they are so few as not to occasion the damage
to which the fences would be exposed if many
were bred. The mode of catching those in
the pit is with a long stick, forked at the end,
which is hooked upon their neck when they
come out to feed ; or they may be snared
with a bit of wire fastened at the end of the
stick.

In point of food the rabbit is far from deli-
cate, and consumes, perhaps, more in propor-
tion to its size than most other animals. The
feeding should, therefore, be abundant, and
regularly given three times a day ; for, if

CHAP. XVI.] FAEMING FOR LADIES. 331

scanty, both weight and succulence of flesh
will suffer, and not unfrequently end in dis-
ease and death.

There can be no doubt that in the feeding
of all animals " the better the food, the greater
will be the weight, and the better the quality ;"
but, if fed solely upon corn and oatmeal, or
only once a day with corn, and at the other times
with vegetable food, although the rabbit will
become sooner fat upon the former, yet this
mode of feeding will not occasion any dif-
ference in the flavour of the flesh. Variety
of food is, however, very desirable. Many
breeders feed their rabbits four times a day
upon pollard, grains, and various kinds of
greens, and Cobbett recommends, along with
carrots and other roots, " all sorts of grasses,
strawberry-leaves, ivy, dandelion, and the hog-
weed, or wild parsnip, in root, stem, or leaves ;"
though he admits that oats should be given
once a day, as too much green food will occa-
sion rot : but Moubray says, " that having
left a favourite stock of rabbits under the care
of a servant, he found them at the end of a
fortnight a " parcel of pot-bellyed and scour-
ing creatures, which had lost all the fine solid

332 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap. xvi.

flesh put upon them by former high keeping ;
and on demanding the cause of this unfavour-
able change, discovered it to be in the quan-
tity of 'hog- weed' with which they had been
daily supplied in his absence; and, on this
being discontinued, they soon recovered their
pristine condition."

Mr. Young, however, thinks that carrots
and parsley are what the rabbits are most
fond of; but that oats and hay should always
be given along with as much green food as
they can reasonably consume. The hay is
suspended in a rack placed in the centre of
his little warren; and, in this manner, he
brings them, at five or six months old, to the
weight of a full sized hare : or from four to
six or seven pounds ! We know, however,
that those dealers who in London wish to
bring them promptly forward, feed them solely
upon oats, fine middlings, or meal of wheat
and pollard made into paste with chandler's
greaves.

Moubray having stated that " he killed a
buck, which weighed three pounds, fit for the
spit ; was put up in good case, and was only
one month in feeding ; consuming not quite

CHAP. XVI.] FAKMING FOR LADIES. 333

four quarts of oats, with hay, cabbage, lu-
cerne, and chicory;" and having heard that
a full grown rabbit of four or five months
old will eat a quart of oats in eight days,
we resolved on trying the experiment. We,
therefore, purchased a fine buck of that age
and had him fed entirely upon oats, with only
a little green vegetables, just to improve his
appetite, and found that in six weeks he ate
six quarts of good oats, weighing at least
40 lbs. per bushel. He was then killed, and
dressed in the manner of a brown fricassee ;
but, though of remarkably fine flavour, he
only weighed when trussed 3 lbs. 2 oz.

Now, coming to the expense of feeding, and
assuming that a rabbit is to be fed with both
garden stuflf and corn after being weaned,
little more than the half of the above quantity
of oats will be sufficient ; and if continued at
that rate for four months from his being
weaned, the quantity of oats which he will
consume will, perhaps, not exceed ten pounds,
the cost of which, if bought at 3^. 6c?. the
bushel, will be only Is. Id. ; and, as the
garden stuff will be merely refuse, the only
additional expense will be a trifle for hay : so

334 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. xvi.

that the whole amount may probably be about
Is. 4cf. ; and a well-fed rabbit will generally
weigh from 2 to 3 lbs. when trussed for the
table, for which the poulterer will charge at
least 2^., besides keeping the skin, which, if
in season — that is to say, in winter — is usu-
ally worth a few pence. This, to be sure, is
the perquisite of the cook ; but that must not
be considered as thrown away, for cooks love
perquisites of office so much as to pocket them
with even more zest than their wages : nor
ought the mistress to begrudge the gains of
that one in her service, as it will tend to
render the servant more careful of the
broods.

Resjjecting their value, notwithstanding their
fruitfalness, we do not instance them as a
very profitable stock, unless when killed very
young, for we well recollect having, many
years ago, kept several for the amusement of
our boys, but whether through the misma-
nagement of the urchins, or the nature of the
animal, so many died that those brought to
table used to cost at least double what they
might have been bought for. They are, how-
ever, very convenient in a lone country-house ;

CHAP. XVI.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 335

as they may, on any emergency, be killed,
dressed, and served up in little more than half
an hour ; and that without being tough.

Although rabbits may be grown after a few
months' good fatting to the weight which we
stated, they are yet usually killed at a month
or five weeks old, while sucking at the teat,
though not weighing more than a pound or a
pound and a half. They are, however, at
that age extremely delicate, either for boiling,
or in a curry : which latter an eminent phy-
sician looks upon, " when moderately sea-
soned, as one of the most useful dishes for
dyspeptic stomachs with which we are ac-
quainted;"* and is therefore equally desirable
for the invalid as for those in health.

It should however be observed, that the
rabbit, if not killed immediately after being
taken from the teat, will, even in the course of
a few hours, lose a portion of its fat, and the
flesh will become stringy ; in consequence, it is
supposed, of the fright thus occasioned. If

* " The spices contained in curries communicate a most
beneficial stimulus to the digestive organs, which frequently
causes them to perform their functions in a healthy manner
when nothing else will." — Truman, on Food and its Influ-
ence on Health and Disease, p. 71.

336 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap. xvi.

weaned, it will also pine after separation, and
fall off so much in condition, as to be hardly
eatable until recovered by a few weeks' good
feeding.

Adverting to fancy breeds, we lately at-
tended an evening exhibition of rabbits, all
under six months old, instituted for prizes
given by several amateur breeders, who have
formed themselves into an association under
the high-sounding title of Metropolitan
Fancy Rabbit Club ; of whom perhaps fifty
or sixty members were present.

The president, in an able speech warmly
eulogistic of the importance of the institution
— which he insisted was to outrival the far-
famed Smithfield Club, and which, indeed, he
looked upon with no little contempt — launched
forth in praise of the committee and the
efforts of the breeders, as evidenced by the
superiority of the stock to be exhibited ; and,
after proposing the health of the founder,
which was drunk by acclamation, with the
barbaric honours of " three times three !" the
animals were placed upon the table, with a
handsome silver goblet for the first prize.

Many rabbits of large size, and spoken of

CHAP. XVI.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 337

in admiration of their form and colour, were
then produced ; but, to our astonishment, the
only point to which attention was called was
the length of the ears ! which were in most
cases so long as to trail upon the ground,
and being measured across the head, from
the tip of one ear to the outer edge of the
other, that which gained the prize was 20j
inches. Nothing was, however, said of weight;
and being ourself — as an old member of
the Smithfield Club, as well as somewhat of
a gourmand — rather more interested in the
size of the carcass than the length of the ears,
we ventured to ask how much it weighed ; but
was met by the indignant reply, that " brute
weight formed no consideration with the club."
On pointing out, however, in their regulations
an offer of prizes for weight, it was found
that a doe — of course alive — of six months
old, weighed just nine pounds ; and in the
former show there was a prize-doe weighing
10 lb. 14 oz. They have, indeed, been brought,
at a year or two old, to the weight of twelve
and even twenty pounds. Bucks, it should,
however, be observed, always weigh heavier
than does.

338 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap. xvi.

Looking, as we ever do, in estimating com- 1
parative value, to the cost of producing any
thing, we then inquired of a gentleman who
exhibited some fine specimens, what might be
their value ; and learned that he had, the day
before, sold a very young pair to a fi-iend, as
a favour, for five pounds ; but, on expressing
our surprise, he introduced the gainer of the
prize, who, it seems, purchased the rabbit,
some time before, at the price of eighteen
guineas ! It has been said of the Smithfield
Club, that the beasts there exhibited cost
more in the feeding than they are worth,
and we think the observation may, with at
least equal truth, be applied to the breeds of
long-eared rabbits. I

The rabbit is liable to very few diseases
except the dropsy and rot of the liver ; both j
not improbably occasioned by too much
watery green food, in which case they be-
come pot-bellied, and can seldom be cured ;
though the malady may be remedied if taken
in time, or altogether prevented by giving the
creature plenty of hay, corn, boiled potatoes,
or substantial dry food. The animal is, how-
ever, of too little value to be worth the trouble

CHAP. XVI.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 339

of a regular cure ; and, if seriously attacked,
should be knocked on the head.

The most usual mode of killing it — as being
the most sudden and the least painful — is by
a blow upon the neck ; which, thus breaking
it, deprives it of life, and the throat is imme-
diately deeply cut with a pen-knife, either
across the throat, or upwards to the jaws :
though some persons omit the blow, as it in
a slight degree checks the free discharge of
blood.

If not instantly dressed, it should be hung
up by the fore feet ; and not, as commonly
done, by the hind legs, which — as stated in
Chapter XIV. — drains the flesh of its juice :
an observation which may also be applied to
the hare.

[ z 2

340 FARMING FOR LADIES, [ch;

CHAPTER XVII.

The Goat : its mode of life and yield of milk — Goat's whey
— Flesh : and delicacy of that of the kid — Habits : consti-
tution and disposition.

Goldsmith has observed, in his ' Natural
History,' that " there are some domestic ani-
mals which seem as auxiliaries to the more
useful sorts ; and that, by ceasing to be the
first, are considered as nothing. We have
seen the services of the ass slighted, because
inferior to those of the horse ; and, in the
same manner, those of the goat are held
cheap, because the sheep so far exceeds it.
Were the horse or the sheep removed from
nature, the inferior kinds would then be in-
valuable ; and the same arts would, probably,
be bestowed in perfecting their kinds, that
the higher order of animals have experienced.
But, in their present neglected state, they
vary but little from the wild animals of the
same kind. Man has left them their primitive
habits and forms, and the less they owe to

CHAP. XVII.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 341

his assiduity, the more they receive from
nature."

The GOAT seems to be the connecting link
between the sheep and the deer ; but although
more accordant in habits with the latter, yet,
in form and internal structure, it differs so
little from the sheep, that hybrids have been
produced between them: the continuance of
which, to form a mule breed, nature has,
however, wisely interdicted. There are se-
veral different foreign species of the goat,
but all nearly resembling the sort commonly
bred in this country. It is formed by nature
to be the inhabitant of a mountainous dis-
trict, for it climbs with ease the steepest pre-
cipices, and clings without difficulty to the
sharpest pinnacles of rock. It browses also
upon heath, wild herbs, and shrubs, and is,
therefore, better adapted to a hilly than to a
lowland country; but it readily accustoms
itself to the plains, and feeds there upon
thistles, whins, and plants, rejected by other
animals, or upon the very refuse of the
garden. To those, therefore, who, either from
locality, or want of means to keep a cow, are
deprived of milk, a goat may be found a real

342 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap. xni.

treasure, as cheaply furnishing a sufficiency
of the best quality for the supply of a small
family ; for the female will yield on an ave-
rage from three pints to two quarts, for at
least six months after parturition, and half
that quantity for nearly the remainder of the
entire year, even if fed upon a common. The
milk, or "goat's whey," as it is in many
places called, is, indeed, eminently light, rich,
and nutritive, with the peculiar quality of
not curdling upon the stomach, as does that
of the cow, and is, therefore, much sought
for by persons of weak digestion or consump-
tive habits ; though in taste, or appearance,
it would be difficult to discover any differ-
ence. In Lisbon, where we resided during
some years, it is almost the only milk in use ;
and we have had a goat, at sea, which,
during a long voyage, gave full two quarts
a day, though fed more upon broken, and
frequently mouldy, biscuits, and the remains
of pea-soup, than upon any fresh vegetable
food, except perhaps the peelings of potatoes :
but she was of the Portuguese breed, and
they are remarkably fine.

The goat is rather longer lived than the

CHAP. XVII.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 343

sheep, which lose their teeth when about six
years old, and, of course, die soon after ; but
the " buck" — which is the name given to the
male — continues in health for two or three
years longer, and the female, or " she-goat,"
and "nanny-goat" — by which she is commonly
designated, — is capable of bearing young for
full seven years, and even longer, after giving
birth to her first progeny, which she generally
produces soon after twelve months old. She
usually brings forth two, and sometimes,
though very rarely, three " kids." She goes
with young about eighteen weeks, and her
usual time of breeding is from the beginning
of February to the end of May.

The flesh of the goat so much resembles
that of the sheep, that, although much in-
ferior, it is not uncommonly sold as mutton,
and the legs are, in Wales, often salted, and
used as ham. That of the kid is, however,
far superior to lamb : so much so, that it is
astonishing it has not been brought to the
London market ; for we are persuaded that it
would be there considered a great delicacy,
and as much difference found between the
two as between mutton and venison. The

344 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap. xvii.

skin is also valuable for gloves and ladies'
shoes, and that of the old goat for the manu-
facture of Morocco leather and soldiers' knap-
sacks. Even the very hair is of use, for it
makes excellent linsey ; and Martin Doyle
vows, in his ' Hints to Small Holders,' that
" if he ever puts on a wig, it must be made of
it, as being the whitest and most comfortable
thatch for the head."

The animal, although thus useful, is, how-
ever, not a little mischievous, since — such is
its activity and reluctance to restraint — no
fence of common height can confine it ; and
if it gains access to a shrubbery, it will gnaw
the plants and bark the trees with gTeat
avidity. It should, therefore, be tethered with
a light chain, attached to a collar fastened
round the neck : the chain being hooked to a
swivel, fixed in the head of an iron spike,
which is driven into the ground by a mallet,
and is removable at pleasure, affords the goat
a circular range of pasture, without allowing
it to do injury to the pleasure-ground. If,
however, allowed to have the range of a
common, it will not stray far from home, and
will regularly return for its evening meal.

CHAP. XVII.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 345

An objection to its being kept about a house
arises from a strong and disagreeable smell
which comes from its body, but which is said
not to be without its use ; for, if kept in a
stable of horses, it is supposed to be an effec-
tual preventive of the staggers : in which —
as remarked by a writer on the subject —
" there may be some truth, as the disorder is
nervous, and strong odours are known to
operate in many cases beneficially upon the
human nerves."

Regarding the nature of the goat, it is
of very hardy constitution, and extremely
healthy, thriving upon the poorest food,
patient of both heat and cold, and re-
quiring but little care or shelter ; though
it loves a dry, warm corner, with a com-
fortable bed. In point of disposition, though
not wanting in courage when angered, and
butting forcibly with its head, the animal
is mild and friendly both to each other and
to man. Domestic as a dog, it will stand and
watch for a crust of bread, which it will eat
out of the hand, and it gives no trouble in
milking. It is, indeed, a pleasing creature,
and the graceful playfulness of the kid is very

346 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. xvii.

amusing. It forms, therefore, an interesting
pet for children, who should be early taught
to practise tenderness towards every domestic
animal ; and to a cottage, or any one having
a residence adjoining a common, it will be a
source of both comfort and profit.

From the pleasure of rearing all these do-
mestic inmates, there is, however, the draw-
back to every feeling of a sensitive mind,
arising from the necessity imposed on us by
nature of killing them for our sustenance ; to
the pain of which the heart can only be re-
conciled by the recollection that the little
being is unconscious of its approaching fate ;
as beautifully expressed in the well known
lines of Pope —

" The lamb thy riot dooms to bleed to-day,
Had he thy reason, would he skip and play ?
Pleased to the last he crops the flow'ry food,
And licks the hand just raised to shed his blood.''

CHAP, xviii.l FARMING FOR LADLES. 347

CHAPTER XVIII.

Establishment of a dairy — Purchase and choice of cows —
Long and short horns — Ayrshires — Suft'olk polled — Welsh
— Alderney, with portrait — Kerry cows and produce —
Stall-feeding, and general management.

Although the dairy may not afford so much
amusement to a lady and her children as the
poultry-yard, it will yet not yield to it in
point of profit, nor be found deficient in that
pleasure which a sensible woman must ever
derive from having around her the homely
essentials of family comforts; amongst which
the produce of a dairy may perhaps rank as
high as most, for no one can be insensible to
the value of pure milk and cream, with deli-
cately made fresh butter ; and if to these be
added comparative cheapness, it can hardly
be denied that, where there is pasture and
convenience for a cow, so useful an animal
should ever be made part of the domestic
establishment.

This little treatise, being solely intended

348 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap, xviii.

for the use of private families, is confined to
those small dairies where butter only is made,
without adverting to those of a larger descrip-
tion employed for the manufacture of cheese.
Whether for one or more cows, the chief
considerations in the formation of a dairy
are —

First, To be provided with a good sort of
cow ; in choosing which the quality of
the cream produced from the milk in a
given time, ought rather to be regarded,
than the quantity of the milk itself.
Secondly, To possess an airy and conve-
nient building for the purpose, and fur-
nished with a sufficiency of proper ira- '
plements.
Thirdly, Either to have a good dairy-maid,
or to be yourself so well acquainted with
the management as to be able to direct
her.
One great point in the purchase of a coiv is
the breed fi*om which she has sprung ; for,
extraordinary as it may appear, the various
breeds, although of the same age and fed
upon the same pasture, will not yield the
same quality of milk : thus affording different

CHAP, xviii.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 349

quantities of butter from the same number
of quarts.

The cows kept for the supply of the Me-
tropoUs are mostly of the Yorkshire short-
horns, or Teeswater and Holderness, which
have the double advantage of affording a
large quantity of milk and of being easily
fattened for the butcher. The latter object
cannot, however, be of any moment in a pri-
vate family, by whom such a source of profit
is not contemplated, and with whom quality
is generally of more consequence than quan-
tity of milk ; while that of the cow to which
we have alluded is not of the richest nature.

The long-liorns of Lancashire are also of a
large size, rare milkers, of more hardy con-
stitution than the short-horns, and, if the land
be wet or the situation cold, are preferred by
many farmers. Gentlemen, who only want a
cow or two, find it, however, usually more
convenient, if living far from the metropolis,
to take them from a neighbour, of the sort
commonly bred in the county ; or, if resident
near London, as they seldom have much land
belonging to their villas, and that frequently
of a poor kind, both they and their ladies

350 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap, xviii.

mostly prefer having in their paddocks some
smaller breed — either the Ayrshire, Welsh,
Suffolk, or Alderney ; of which the latter is in
the highest estimation.

The largest cows, if of a proper make, ge-
nerally give the most milk ; but the quantity
which they yield varies greatly, not only in
their breeds, but in their constitution, treat-
ment, and the nature of the land on which
they are fed. It is also generally admitted
that great milkers seldom produce milk of
such fine quality as cows which give only a
moderate quantity. Although the Yorkshire
sort are not, for the reason already stated, to
be recommended, and those fi'om Lancashire
are rarely brought to London, yet the Ayr-
shires are frequently to be met with, and are
celebrated milkers. Though not nearly so
large as the Teeswater, they are heavier than
either the Welsh or Alderney, but their size
varies considerably, as necessarily also does
their price, which at present is, in Smithfield
market, from 15/. to 18/., when not more than
four years old, and ready to calve. Their
colours are red and white, like the short-
horns, though not so rich, and mixed in some

CHAP. XVIII.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 351

instances with black ; they are tame, and quiet
feeders, of peaceable habits and hardy consti-
tution ; they also combine the essential qualities
of both fattening readily when intended for the
shambles, and, more especially, of yielding
copious draughts of milk. It is, indeed, not
uncommon in Scotland to hear that " they are
the best milkers in the kingdom :" but, al-
though this may be doubted, we are inclined
to think that, taking into consideration all
things comparatively, both as to quality and
quantity of milk, there is no cow superior to
her for a small dairy ; and, if kept upon good
pasture during the summer, and well fed
during the winter, may be fairly calculated to
produce from 700 to 800 gallons of milk in
the course of the year.

The Suffolk-dun, or "polled cow" — as being
hornless — is supposed to have been originally
produced from a cross with the polled breed
of Galloway ; and their being without horns
may be so far considered an advantage as de-
priving them of the means — so common among
many cows — of goring each other. They are
mostly of one colour, between a faint yellow
and a mouse-grey, from which the name of

352 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap, xviii.

" dun " is taken ; are of moderate size, with
big bellies, prominent hip-bones, and alto-
gether of a form that cannot be called hand-
some ; but of such good constitution, and
such excellent milkers, that an instance is
mentioned, in the County Agricultural Sur-
vey, of one of a small size having, in the
height of the season, given the extraordi-
nary quantity of four gallons of milk at each
"meal" (or milking), twice a-day ; and ten
quarts are not uncommon. The butter is also
of superior quality ; but the cheese is pro-
verbially so bad — probably from bad manage-
ment in the making — that its having been
furnished to the navy was one of the com-
plaints made by the mutineers at the Nore,
who are said to have made tobacco-stopples
out of it for their pipes.

The Welsh, of the black breed, are thought
more valuable for the dairy than those which
are brown and white ; and many of those bred
in both North and South Wales are good
milkers, though those of Pembroke and Gla-
morganshire bear the highest character. They
are small in size, the great majority being
entirely black, a few only having white faces

CHAP, xviii.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 353

with a little white about the tail or udder ;
and, being chiefly bred in the mountains, on
land much exposed to the weather, they be-
come so hardy as to be distinctively called
" the poor man's cow," and, therefore, suitable
to any one having either poor land or inferior
accommodation. Respecting their colour, it
is remarkable that there is in this country a
strong prejudice against it, and in favour of
the red ; while in France there is an equal
prejudice in favour of the black ; and we re-
member having, many years ago, had a small
Welch cow of that colour — a docile little
creature — which was as admirable a milker
as any of her size.

The Alderney and Jersey breeds are very
small, mostly of a light brownish red, mixed
sometimes with dun and white ; their hair
short and smooth, and their skin very thin.
Their horns are short, and they are small
boned, but the animal is anything but what
we should call " well-formed ;" neither are
they hardy, nor are they, therefore, fit for
any exposed situation ; but they are very
gentle, and give both milk and butter of ex-
traordinary richness : so rich indeed in some,

2a

354 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap, xviii.

as to seem like what would in London be
called cream, when compared with any of
the cows bred in England ; thus rendering
them peculiarly adapted to the situation in
which they are in this country usually found.
Mr. Malcolm indeed mentions, — in his
' Compendium of Modern Husbandry,' —
" that he kept an Alderney and a Suffolk
cow — the latter the best of the kind he ever
saw ; while the Alderney, which had dropped
her first calf, was purchased out of a drove in
a miserable condition. During seven years —
the milk and butter being always kept sepa-
rate— ^it was found, year after year, that the
value of the Alderney exceeded that of the
Suffolk, though the latter gave double the
quantity of milk at each meal." He then
adds, " that he at that time had a dairy of
twelve cows —

Two Devons, — Two Wiltshire long horned,
One Derby, — Two Holderness,
One Lincoln, — One Suflblk, and
Two Sussex, — One Alderney,

and she bore the palm clean away."

Notwithstanding what we have said of the
form of the Alderneys not being generally

CHAP. XYiii.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 355

good, it has yet been much improved by pre-
miums awarded by the Jersey Agricultural
Society, and the present portrait of "Beauty"
— bred by that very distinguished amateur
agriculturist. Col. Le Couteur, of Belle Vue —
will enable most persons to judge how far the
appearance of the present breed is entitled to
commendation. Of her more essential quali-
ties, the Colonel informs us, " that she is four

years old, having obtained a prize when a
two-year old heifer ; and that she has pro-
duced eleven pounds Jersey — or 11 lbs. 13 oz.
imperial — of rich yellow butter, weekly, in
May, from nineteen quarts of milk daily :"
being, as nearly as possible, eleven quarts to
the pound. To which he adds, " that he has,
from four cows, produced weekly, during the

2a2

356 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap. xvui.

month of May and part of June, fifty-one
pounds imperial, of similar quality : some of
the best cows having given even so much as
twenty- six quarts daily ; producing weekly
fourteen pounds of butter. " The colour of
the milk" — he also observes — "denotes the
richness of the butter ; and the richest milk
and cream are produced by cows whose ears
have a yellow or orange colour within."

Notwithstanding the mild temperature of
the Channel islands during the winter months,
the cows are commonly housed at night ; and
each fed daily with a certain portion of straw,
fi-om ten to twenty pounds of hay, with about
ten to twenty pounds of parsnips, white car-
rots, turnips, or mangold-wiirzel, and what
small portion of grass they may pick up when
turned out in fine weather, for a few hours,
upon their pasture.

In the summer, they are also usually taken
into the house for a few hours during the heat
of the day, as the flies would leave them no
repose for the chewing of the cud : but this
occasions a diminution of milk, and therefore,
unless when called for by the state of the
weather, should be avoided.

CHAP, xviii.] FARMING FOR LA.DIES. 357

Although small in size, the Alderneys
however require good pasture, and it will be
seen from the following statement, furnished
by Mr. W. Blane, of West Brixton, and
Mr. Fowler, of Little Bushy, near Stanmore
— both eminent dealers in that stock, and to
whose information we refer with confidence,
as being practical dairy-men of considerable
experience — that, "in England, they in winter
consume upon an average as much food as
most cows of a larger breed : say about half
a truss each daily of hay, with a bushel of
carrots, which are preferable to either man-
gold-wiirzel or to potatoes (unless they are
boiled), and far better than grains ; and both
turnips and cabbages impart an unpleasant
flavour to the milk and butter.

"They should be regularly fed three or
four times a day, and the food should be
at each time varied as much as possible ; hay
being always given at night, but not so much
as to allow them to blow upon it ; and should
any food be left in their cribs or troughs, it
should be immediately removed.

" Some of the breed, when in full milk,
give as much as four gallons per day ; but,

358 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap, xtiii.

generally speaking, a good cow, with her
third calf, will yield from ten to twelve
quarts daily, and weekly about eight to ten
pounds of butter. It should also be observed,
that they frequently produce nine or ten
calves, and are not considered in their prime
until they have had four or five, at which
time most other cows are considered old.
Their price, of course, varies according to
their age and beauty : a heifer, with her
first calf, may be had, in London, for twelve
to fourteen guineas ; whereas a prime cow
is worth from eighteen to twenty pounds, de-
liverable within twenty miles of town." We
indeed, know, that a prime cow can seldom
be got, even in Jersey, for that money ; for
prize cows are sometimes sold in the island so
high as thirty pounds : but perhaps heifers
of the best kind are, in the end, the cheapest
to purchase.

There is, however, an Irish coiv, bred in
the mountains of Kerry, from which it takes
its name, and is but little known in this
country, though well meriting the attention
of persons who like the smaller breeds, as
being generally, if not more docile than those

CHAP, xviii.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 359

of a large kind, yet more convenient and more
easily manageable in a small establishment,
as well as more appropriate to become the
pets of ladies and children. They are very
diminutive, even much smaller, and far
cheaper than the Alderneys ; yet giving
such very rich milk, and in such superior
quantity in proportion to their size, that in
a comparative experiment tried a few years
ago, by order of government, on the King
William's town estate, between ten heifers
bred from a cross between the ordinary long-
horns and a Kerry bull, and ten of the
pure Ayrshire breed, the produce of the
Kerries, both in milk and butter^ proved
superior : the Kerries having produced with-
in twelve months 13,084, and the Ayrshires
only 12,645, quarts of milk; and a pound of
salt butter being the average produced from
8j^ quarts of milk of the Kerries, while of
the Ayrshires 9 J quarts were required.*

In reference to the smallness of the quan-
tity of milk — the ground upon which the cows
were fed, it should be observed, is mountain

* ' Journal of the Royal Society of Agriculture in
England:' vol. i., p. 443. The quantity of salt used in
the curing of the butter was one-eleventh of the weight.

360 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap, xviil.

land of the poorest description ; and, if the
breed were introduced into England, we are
convinced that many of them would be found
in the paddocks of gentlemen, as well as in
the allotments of the cottager.

Respecting general management — it is, in
this country, thought better to allow the cows
the run of a paddock with an open shed in it,
than to keep them housed.

The gi'ass made into hay for the use of all
milch-cows should not be allowed to stand
till the seedling stems rise, but should be
mown three or four weeks sooner than if in-
tended for the support of horses ; as they like
it to be of a soft, grassy quality, and indeed
"rowen-hay" — as the second cut is called —
is very generally given to them by the cow-
keepers. This, however, occasions no loss;
for, although lessening the product of hay,
it will increase the value of the pasture when
the cows are put to feed upon the after-grass.

Green tares, which are so frequently car-
ried for sale around London, are thought to
make the milk ropy ; but it improves its rich-
ness, and, if used in moderation, a few bun-
dles given occasionally can do no harm. All

CHAP. XVIII.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 361

the artificial grasses — such as lucerne, sain-
foin, and clover — also enrich the milk, if
used green, but are not so desirable as mea-
dow-grass when made into hay.

With regard to what has been stated re-
specting the winter-feeding of the Alderneys,
we should say, that if roots — always except-
ing cabbages and turnips — can be procured,
they should be given along with hay ; but
gentlemen seldom have sufficient garden-
ground to grow as much as a cow will eat.
She is, therefore, generally left to hay alone,
and this dry food lessens the quantity of the
milk : the quality is however good ; but if
carrots and parsnips can be added, both
quantity and quality will be improved. As
they can, however, be only rarely got from
the green grocers at any reasonable price, we
should recommend giving every day a copious
bran mash, into which should be put a quart
of bean or pea meal, or about three pounds of
bruised linseed oil-cake, together with a small
handful of salt. There is, indeed, a preju-
dice very generally entertained against the
fatting of oxen upon oil-cake, and we admit,
that if carried too far it may injure the flavour

362 FAEMING FOR LADIES, [chap, xviii.

of the meat ; but if used for cows, in the
small quantity stated, it will much improve
the milk.

To this we must add — that, in Holland,
it is very customary to mix oatmeal in the
water given to cows during the winter, and
this drink is found, not only to keep them
better in health than when fed upon hay
alone, but also to improve the quality and
increase the quantity of the milk. Molasses,
mixed in their water, is likewise very nutri-
tive : it is, in the West Indies, often thus
given to horses, and soon improves the ap-
pearance of their coat and condition. It is
also frequently given, twice a day, to work-
ing oxen and cows, mixed up with any sort
of coarsely-ground grain, yams, or roots of
any kind, in the proportion of about a pint
to a gallon of corn which has been made
into a mash with warm water. The negroes
call it " Coocoo," and it is eaten by the cattle
with great avidity ; nor can there be any
doubt of its nutritive property.

In short, stall-fed cows should be kept in a
cool temperature, but quite dry, perfectly
clean, and thoroughly well-fed : on which

CUAr. XYiii.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 363

latter point minute attention should be paid
to the appetite of the animal, and no more
food should be given than she will eat with a
relish. Cows should, indeed, never be sur-
feited with food at any one meal, and it is
better to feed them often, with a little at a
time : but if more be given than they can eat
at once, then let the remainder be imme-
diately taken away; as, if allowed to blow
upon it, nothing but sheer hunger will after-
wards induce them to consume it. When
done feeding they should be left undisturbed,
for the purpose of chewing the cud in quie-
tude. They should be maintained in good
condition, but not be permitted to become
fat, for as they get into flesh their milk begins
to fail.

364 FAKMING FOR LADIES, [chap. xix.

CHAPTER XIX.

Description of a milch-cow — The udder — Name at different
periods of life — Age, and mode of ascertaining it — Term
of gestation — Symptoms of pregnancy — Parturition —
Management at and after calving — Slinking — Beestings —
Diseases and means of cure — Reasons for rearing a calf —
Time and mode — Process of weaning — Hay-tea and lin-
seed jelly — Method of suckling by hand — Diseases.

We have only casually adverted to the few
breeds of cows usually recommended for the
dah'ies of private families, for we well know
that few persons will be at the trouble of
seeking out any particular sort, or know how
to choose them if found, and thus purchase
any which may be offered to them, if vaunted
as being of a good kind. Although thus, in
most instances, without the choice of any pe-
culiar breed, care should, however, be taken
to select A GOOD milker ; for there is a wide
difference betwixt a cow that is of a form
which fits her for fatting and one that is better
adapted for the dairy ; the aptitude to fatten-
ing soon making the former decline in milk,
although she may be the handsomer of the two.

CHAP. XIX.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 365

Both Parkinson and Youatt nearly agree
that a good milch-cow should have a long and
rather small head, with thin chaps ; the horns
should also be small ; and the eyes should be
bright, but denoting quietude of disposition.
She should be what is termed "ewe-necked" —
that is, very thin, low, and hollow, till it ap-
proaches the shoulder ; narrow in the breast,
as well as at the top of the shoulder, and al-
together light in the fore-quarter, but with a
good girth behind the shoulder. The ribs
should be spread out wide, so as to give as
globular a form as possible to the carcase,
and each should project farther than the pre-
ceding one, to the very loins ; the hips should
also be wide, and the rump long, but she
should not be in any part much inclined to
flesh. She should be thin in the thigh, and
what is called " sickle-hammed" — or the hind-
legs having a slight tendency to crookedness.
Her hide should be fine and mellow, with very
little coarse hair, her tail small, with very
little hair upon it, and the less coarse hair on
any part the better.

The following doggrel lines, descriptive of
a cow, though of old date, may perhaps not

366 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. xix.

be unacceptable, as being, so far as they go,
strictly correct, and probably not unamusing
to young people, nor unassisting to their me-
mory : —

" If long ill the head, and bright in the eye ;
Short in the leg, and thin in the thigh ;
Broad in the hips, and full in the chine ;
Light in the shoulder, and neck rather fine;
Round in the carcase, and wide in the pin ;
Fine in the bone, and silky of skin ;
Deep in the bosom, and small in her tail ;
She "11 ne'er be deficient in filling the pail."

It is, however, possible that a cow thus
formed may yet not be a good milker, if the
following properties be not attended to in the
size and state of that important member — the
udder. It should hang well down ; and,
although appearing sufficiently capacious to
hold a good quantity of milk, it should yet
not be remarkably large, lest the skin be
thickened with fat, instead of being, as it
ought to be, very thin, and free of lumps. It
should, therefore, be felt all over, and every
part should feel alike. It should also be,
both before and behind, as nearly as possible
of equal size ; or, should there be any differ-
ence, the fore-part should be the largest, as
showing the milk-veins to be full and strong.

CHAP. XIX.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 367

The "teats," or "paps," which are four in
number, should stand every way at equal
distances from each other : they should be of
moderate size, nor much larger near the ud-
der than at the end — they being then termed
" bell-papped" — but nearly of the same sub-
stance throughout, being only at the end
brought to a small point ; for if the teats be
broad at the extremity, the orifice is some-
times so wide that the cow cannot always re-
tain her milk when the udder begins to fill.

Neat-cattle, or black cattle — as the breeds of
oxen are generally called — attain their matu-
rity at about two years old, and if allowed to
live, will commonly arrive at the age of fifteen
to twenty years ; or, in many cases, so much
longer, that Youatt mentions, in his ' History
of Cattle,' a healthy cow-calf having been
presented to a friend of his, whose dam was
in her thirty-second year ; and instances are
not uncommon of cows having every year
given a calf until full twenty years old. Ac-
cording to usual acceptation, without referring
to provincial terms, the calf, if a female, is,
while sucking its dam, or until a year old,
named a " cow-calf," then a " yearling," and

XIX.

368 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap.

the next and following years, a two and
three year old " heifer," until she is four
years old, when she becomes a " cow ;" after
which her age may be generally known, until
she is six or seven years old, by the rings or
scores upon her horns, one of which is formed
at the root when she is four years old, and
another every year afterwards.

The more certain mode of ascertaining the
age, is, however, by an inspection of the teeth,
as we are always subject to imposition by
false marks being made on the horns, or
those of nature being filed off,; and even if this
be not practised, the rings become indistinct
when the cow is old. Oxen have no teeth
in the front of the upper jaw. The teeth of
the calf are shed at two years old, but re-
placed, two at a time, until they are five years
of age, and at six, they may be considered
quite " full-mouthed." The grinders are a
sure indication of age, but they are rather
difficult to be got at, and we are sure that
neither would ladies inspect the teeth if they
could, nor would they read a prolix account
of their growth ; therefore, should any doubt
arise respecting the animal's age, the better

CHAP. XIX.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 369

way is to apply to some neighbouring farmer
for information,

A heifer should not be bred from until she
is from two to three years old ; yet, such is
the anxiety of many persons to increase their
stock, that it is by no means uncommon to see
one heavy in calf before she has completed
her second year.

The coio commonly goes nine calendar
months with calf, but this is not always to be
exactly counted upon ; for, according to the
details of Mons. Teissier — as recorded in the
Academie Royale cles Sciences — at Paris, it
was found that, of 1131 cows which he had
the opportunity of observing, the shortest pe-
riod of gestation was 240 days^ and the long-
est 331 ; and in a more recent account, given
by Earl Spencer to the Royal Agricultural
Society of England, it appears, from a series
of observations made during several years
upon his Lordship's stock, that of 764 cows,
respecting the gestation of which notes have
been taken, the shortest and the longest pe-
riods have been from 220 to 313 days. These
were, however, only single instances, while by
far the greater number — to the amount of

2b

r

370 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap. six.

600— were between the 279th and the 291st
days.

Symptoms of pregnancy are, in its early
stage, very unsatisfactory, and it is not until
an enlargement of the belly takes place, be-
tween the third and fourth month after con-
ception, that any common observer can be
certain of the fact ; but if the calf be come to
life, it can be ascertained by pressing with
the hand upon the off flank, and the foetus
will strike against it. When it has occurred,
no alteration need be made in the manage-
ment of the animal until a month or two
before she may be expected to drop her calf.
When the time of parturition approaches, it
would, however, be well, if she be then in high
condition, to have her bled, and slightly phy-
sicked with a moderate dose of salts, to pre-
vent febrile excitement ; and, two or three
days before the time arrives, she should be
placed alone, either in a roomy well-littered
shed, if the weather be cold, or, if it be sum-
mer, in a separate paddock.

The indications of labour being about to
take place, are accurately described by Youatt
to consist in " the springing of the udder," or

CHAP. XIX.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 371

rapid enlargement of it from the renewed
secretion of milk, and the evident dropping
of the belly, with a degree of uneasiness and
fidgetiness ; moaning occasionally, and acce-
lerated respiration ; all announcing that the
time of calving is not far off. Her uneasi-
ness will rapidly increase ; she will be con-
tinually getting up and lying down ; her
tail will become elevated, and the com-
mencement of the labour-pains will soon be
evident.

When parturition is about to commence, its
progress should not be interfered with ; the
cow should be frequently looked at, but not
disturbed. Nor can it be too deeply im-
pressed on the mind of the attendant that the
common practice of driving the poor animal
about, to bring on the act of calving, is both
unnatural and cruel ; for, if left to herself,
" as soon as the hours of calving come on,
she immediately retires to some corner of the
field, or under a hedge, in order to prevent
the other cows, or anything else, coming near
that may disturb her in bringing forth her
young ; she confines herself to a lying posture,
and in this posture she is delivered of her

2b2

372 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. xix.

calf."* " While the throes continue tolerably
strong, the attendant should have patience
until nature accomplishes her object ; but if
the pains are evidently diminishing, and hour
after hour has passed without any appearance
of the calf, a pint of sound ale, warmed,
should be given in an equal quantity of gruel ;
warm gruel should also be frequently admi-
nistered, or at least put within the animal's
reach, and all access to cold water should be
carefully prevented. To this, should the
difficulty increase, an addition has been re-
commended by the eminent practitioner just
quoted, of a quarter of an ounce of the " er-
got of rye," finely powdered, and this to be
repeated every hour until the pains are repro-
duced in their former strength.! Although
not attended with danger, we know, however,
of several Instances in which it has failed, and
we should advise the immediate assistance of
the cow-doctor ; or, if danger be apprehended,
of an able veterinary surgeon.

Whether from fright, or from ill treatment,
or from being teased by other animals, the

* Skellet on ' The Parturition of the Cow,' p. 113.
t Youatt on ' Cattle,' ji. 535.

CHAP. XIX.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 373

COW is, more than any other creature, subject
to abortion, which takes place at various pe-
riods of her pregnancy, and is technically
termed " slinking her calf." When this acci-
dent approaches, she begins to moan, with all
the symptoms of labour-pains ; and the same
means should then be resorted to as if it were
a natural labour.

When the cow has calved, she immediately
begins to lick the calf, and should be al-
lowed to do so at her leisure, without any
interruption. It is, indeed, so dictated to her
by nature, that it might be thought unneces-
sary to give that caution, were it not that
ignorant people adopt the practice of taking
the calf away without allowing the cow
to cleanse it, or to swallow the placenta,
or "after-birth," which follows parturition.
This, besides its being disgusting, arises
from an idea that it would be seriously in-
jurious to her health : whereas, the slime of
the calf, as well as the after-birth of the cow,
probably form the best physic that could be
given to her; for cows eat the excrement
with avidity, and nature seems to have in-
tended it for them as a medicme, nor has

374 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap, xix,

it ever been known to injure the health.
The calf is also invigorated by the cordial
warmth imparted to it by the act of licking.

When the calf is so far enlivened by the
licking of its dam as to begin sucking, the
navel-string should be examined ; and, should
it continue to bleed, a ligature should be
tied round it at a little distance from the
belly. Should the spot where the division of
the cord took place be found unusually sore,
in that case Mr. Youatt recommends a pled-
get of tow, well wetted with Friar's Balsam,
to be placed over it, confined with a bandage,
which should be changed every morning and
night : " but the caustic applications that are
so frequently resorted to, should be avoided,"

The calf, even if intended to be taken from
her, should be allowed to suck her for at least
two or three days, or even a week or fortnight,
so as to draw off all that thick, mucous, species
of milk — or "beestings" — which is produced
on calving, and seems as if intended for the
first aliment of the newly-born creature ; as
well, also, as to prevent any tendency to in-
flammation in the udder, which is much di-
minished by the frequent sucking of the calf.

CHAP. XIX.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 375

Its striking against the udder with its head,
in the act of sucking, has Hkewise a ma-
terial effect in reducing any hardness or
lumps in it. The cow is, besides, not un-
frequently feverish after calving, " and no-
thing"— it has been well observed — " soothes
or quiets her so much as the presence of her
little one."

The cow produces the greatest quantity of
milk for a few months after calving, when it
gradually falls off, and at the end of about
ten months, or little more than six weeks
previous to her next calving, it ceases. She
is then technically said to " run dry ;" but
if she be not again in calf, she will continue
to give milk for a much longer time. When
dry, it is, however, neither necessary, nor
prudent, to feed her so highly as when she
is milked ; for less nutritious food, of a some-
what opening nature, will facilitate her future
calving. The hay on which she is chiefly
fed at the season when she usually becomes
dry, may therefore, during that time, be
diminished, and turnips, brewers'-grains, and
bran mashes substituted. It is, indeed, the
common custom of dairy-men to then feed
their cows only upon straw and Swedish tur-

376 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap, xrx.

nips ; but when calved, the customary food
should be again resorted to, after the beest-
ings have been drawn off.

If the cows be very flush of milk just before
calving, there is danger of their being attacked
with milk-fever^ which sometimes occasions
them to fall after parturition as if they had lost
the use of their limbs; in some cases within
a few hours, and in others, some days after.
When this happens, surgical assistance should
be called for ; but, should this not be at hand,
profuse bleeding and purging should be re-
sorted to.

It should be observed, that cows in high
condition are more subject to this accident
than those which are in a lean state ; and that
when once it occurs, the animal appears to
acquire a constitutional tendency to its repe-
tition after future calving. To guard against
its recurrence, we therefore recommend her
being sold immediately after recovery, or, at
the latest, before dropping another calf.

The udder should also be looked to, for
sore teats are very common after calving ;
and if gentle friction, with warm water, does
not relieve the complaint, the teats should
be dressed with the foiiowing ointment : —

CHAP. XIX.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 377

" Take an ounce of yellow wax, and three of lard ; melt
them together, and when they begin to get cool, well rub
in a quarter of an ounce of sugar of lead and a drachm of
alum, finely powdered."*

Although the diseases to ichich the cow is
constitutionally subject are but few, yet a dis-
sertation upon them would lead too far for
this little treatise, nor would our fair readers
feel interested in its details ; but we should
be indiscreet were we not to caution them
against any inattention to the very common
occurrence of " a cold," as being the foun-
dation of almost all chronic disorders, and
if not speedily heeded with watchful care,
may eventually become a confirmed catarrh,
or, as country people term it, "the hoose,"
which frequently runs on to a fatal malady.
So soon, therefore, as the cow is observed
to cough frequently, and continue to do so
for a day or two, no time should be lost in
adopting measures for her recovery ; and if
this be promptly done, no further danger
need be apprehended.

If she be kept abroad, a few nights' housing,
with warm mashes and a little gruel, will

* Youatt ' On Cattle,' p. 552.

378 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. xix.

probably set all right : but if, on examination,
she be found to fall off in her feeding ; that
her muzzle is dry ; that the root of her horn is
hot ; and that she heaves at the flank ; she
should be bled, and have a dose of a few ounces
(according to her size) of Epsom salts, with
half an ounce of ginger, to prevent griping
and to promote perspiration ; to which should
be added warmth, warm drinks, and gruels ;
but none of the hot, stimulating drinks of the
cow-leech should be administered ; nor, in-
deed, need he be called in, for any country
servant can bleed the animal.

Aperients, bleeding and soporifics are the
basis of all remedies, and may in most com-
mon cases be applied to the animal by any
intelligent person ; but, in serious diseases,
their application should be confided to an
experienced veterinary surgeon.

It is undoubtedly an unnatural and a some-
what cruel practice to deprive the cow of her
young one ; for she pines with parental affec-
tion for her loss, and the only excuse which
can be made for it arises from the selfish con-
venience of using the milk for ourselves, in-
stead of giving it to the calf. This, however.

CHAP. XIX.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 379

is of too much weight to allow of its being
altered by those who keep but one cow ; but
to those who keep two, of a good breed, and
who have spare ground enough around their
house for pasture, we strenuously recom-
mend the retention of a cow-calf, for the
continuance of the stock. It is, indeed, al-
ways desirable to have a cow bred upon the
land on which she is to be maintained; for,
independently of the pleasure of nurturing
the little animal as a pet, and bringing it
up as a sort of playfellow, it is inconceiv-
able how much better she will thrive on the
soil on which she was bom than upon land of
a different nature, and how much more do-
cile she will become and attached to those
who are kind to her, than if placed among
strangers.

The rearing of a calf is an easy matter ;
and, if properly managed, will not long de-
prive the family of its owner of the cow's
milk. " The cow should calve down by the
middle of the month of March or April at
the farthest ; as a late calf will not be suffi-
ciently grown to hardily stand the winter, and
the earlier it is dropped in the spring, the
better will it be able to meet the inclemency

380 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap. xix.

of the season. Those, however, which are
dropped in the autumn or winter, and housed
during the cold weather, will thrive sur-
prisingly by being turned into the succu-
lent pastures of the ensuing spring. There
are two modes of rearing them : the one, to
allow them to run at large during a year,
with their dams ; the other, to wean them
after a few days old. Of these, when there
is sufficient pasture, the first is unquestionably
not only the least troublesome, but is ge-
nerally found to be productive of the best
cattle; it is, however, in frequent instances,
more convenient to reserve the milk for the
dairy, and then the calf must, of course, be
weaned."

" The process of xoeaning is variously ma-
naged ; but whatever may be the plan adopted,
the object of bringing the animal to perfec-
tion should never be lost sight of: — which
can only be done by affording it ample sus-
tenance while it is young. It should be re-
collected that the cow's milk, which is intended
by nature for its support, contains a large
quantity of the richest nutriment, and if the
calf be deprived of that, it should have an
equal amount of other nourishment; for, if

CHAP. XIX.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 381

stinted, it will assuredly grow up gaunt and
ill-thriven."

" When not let to run with the cow, the
most advisable mode — as it regards the calf
— is to place it loose in a crib, and to suckle
it by hand with the mother's new milk, of
which it will consume, for some time, not more
than about four quarts a day; the quantity,
however, must then be gradually increased,
as it will, in the course of a few weeks, re-
quire as much as three gallons. If the wea-
ther be fine, it should be, within a fortnight
or three weeks, turned out daily in the orchard,
or some well-sheltered inclosure of sweet
herbage ; and as it will, in the course of ten or
twelve weeks, have acquired some relish for
the pasture, it may be regularly weaned by
gradually diminishing the quantity of milk,
and then substituting the skimmed for the
new. The calf may, however, be reared with
skimmed milk and meal, without any portion
of new milk, except the few days of beestings ;
and many persons give them nothing but
water-gruel, or pot-liquor and hay-tea, within
a fortnight after they have been removed from
the cow. This, however, is poor diet ; but
hay-tea and linseed jelly are very nutritious,

382 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. xix.

and calves may be weaned on them without
any other food."*

Various schemes have indeed been tried
with success for the saving of milk, many of
which will be found recorded in the ' History
of British Husbandry,' from which the fore-
going extracts have been taken ; but it should
be observed, that whatever plan may be
adopted, great regularity should be attended
to in the feeding of the weaned calf before
it may be old enough to feed itself on grass
and hay. The common practice is, to give
the food only twice a day, morning and even-
ing, and then to allow as much as will sati-
ate the appetite ; thus filling the stomach
with such a quantity as must in some degree
impede digestion. Now, in every case, the
closer we adhere to nature, the better will

* " Linseed jelly is made by putting one quart of seed to
six quarts of water, and allowing it to boil during ten minutes.
Hay-lea is made by infusing such a portion of fine sweet
hay as will fill an earthen vessel on being slightly pressed
with the hand, and boiling water being poured upon it ; the
vessel is then closed, and in a couple of hours a strong liquor
produced, which will keep good for a couple of days : it
should be used lukewarm, and, if given without linseed,
should be mixed during the first few days! with three parts
milk, to be afterwards reduced to one-fourth." — Bath Papers,
vol. V. p. 465.

CHAP. XIX.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 383

the animal thrive, and, if allowed to remain
with the cow, the calf will be seen to suck
her frequently ; it should, therefore, be fed
at least three times a day, at stated hours,
by which means, and being allowed room for
exercise, it will be greatly improved in health
and condition. Many people house the calf
during the winter, only allowing it to go out
during the day in fine weather : but unless
the animal be very delicate, or dropped late
in the year, the better plan is to leave it
constantly in the open air, only allowing a
well-littered shed for it to run under ; for, if
housed, the creature will become tender, and,
if not well looked after, run lousy ; whereas
if left in a snug paddock, or in a yard with a
hay-rick to nibble at, there will be no want
of health or strength. The litter should also
be frequently removed, as cleanliness should
ever be attended to ; and the calf itself, if
soiled, should be washed.

As weaning calves, whether fed upon milk,
hay-tea, or pot-liquor, must be suckled hy
hand, we should state that the mode in which
it is performed is this : — the first and second
fingers of either hand, being well washed.

384 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap. xix.

are presented to the animal's mouth, and of
these it readily takes hold, and sucks as
greedily as if they were teats. In the mean
time a vessel containing the liquid is placed
under the calf's mouth, and while it is suck-
ing, the hand is gradually sunk a little way
down into the liquor, so that it may lap with-
out stopping its nostrils. The hand must,
therefore, be kept steadily in the liquid ; for
if too suddenly plunged into it, the calf's
nose being also immersed, it will immedi-
ately withdraw its head from want of air ;
and, as the attempt must be repeatedly re-
newed until the animal is satisfied, it requires
much time and patience.

With respect to suckling by hand for the
purpose of fattening calves for the market,
the mode is so far different from that of rear-
ing them for stock, as to require the animal
to be, in that case, closely housed, while
in this they are left in the air; and is, be-
sides, a business in itself, which cannot in-
terest our readers ; but should any, from a
motive of curiosity, wish for information on
the subject, ample details may be found in
the work from which we have already quoted.

CHAP. XIX.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 385

The diseases to which calves are com-
monly subject are merely those of costiveness
and scouring. The former, if they be fed
during the winter on hay, can be easily re-
moved by bran mashes, with an ounce or
two of Epsom salts, or an ounce of castor
oil, repeated until the cause be removed, or
even by giving them green food if that be not,
as it ought to be, always allowed ; and the
latter, by the well-known " calves' cordial,"
accompanied by the frequent use of warm
gruel, and small feeds of boiled milk, in which
a raw egg together with some starch or arrow-
root has been beaten up. A lump of chalk
should also be always left in the shed for the
calf to lick at — not to make the flesh white ;
but as being a great corrective of acidity

2c

386 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap, xx.

CHAPTER XX.

Dairy buildings — Cow-stalls and sheds — Construction of the
cow-house— Stalling of cows — The Royal dairy at Wind-
sor— Construction of the dairy-house — Walls, roof, and
pavement — Temperature — Utensils.

With regard to the buildings which are ap-
propriate to the dairy ^ the accommodation of
the cow is, of course, a primary considera-
tion ; and, although two or three of them may
be more easily lodged than a single horse,
yet some account will necessarily be required,
by those who are commencing a country life,
of the manner in which it should be done.

There is much difference of opinion among
farmers and dairy-men respecting the expe-
diency of keeping cows during the winter in
the stalls of a cow-house, or in open sheds
placed in any sheltered spot, with a small
court attached, to give the cow the liberty of
going in and out as she pleases. There is no
doubt a greater degree of warmth and neatness
about the cow-house ; and we admit, that if
the cow be allowed to go out during the day.

CHAP. XX.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 387

and only housed at night during the winter,
and during the day in the heat of summer,
she may probably give more milk, and keep it
somewhat longer before coming dry ; but, so
far as regards her health, and perhaps also
the quality of her milk, we much prefer the
pure air of the open shed, if it be dry, warmly
littered, and kept clean. It may indeed be
observed, that, if thus left to herself, she will
be frequently found to lie out under the snow,
in preference to the cover of a roof, though
making use of the shed, for the advantage of
shade, in the summer ; or if there be a shal-
low pond, she will stand in it for hours toge-
ther. Indeed, some persons keep them out
all the year round, and the large number kept
in the home-park, at Windsor, for the supply
of the Royal Family, are never housed, nor
fed upon anything but pure grass and hay,
yet are singularly healthy ; though, according
to our humble opinion, if occasionally sup-
plied with raw carrots and parsnips, or a little
of oil-cake, their milk would probably be in-
creased, without any deterioration, if not im-
provement, in its quality.

A small shed will accommodate two or
2c 2

388 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. xx.

three cows, and should be either erected in
a snug corner partly surrounded by other
buildings, or, if in a paddock, closed on three
sides ; very low, and roofed with thatch ; a
rack for hay, and manger for roots or mashes,
being placed in the further end, and a trough
in the court for water.

In the construction of a cow-house, the chief
points are, that it should be dry ; for, al- -
though a certain degree of warmth is desir- ■
able, yet cows, if kept dry, are not very sus- ■
ceptible of cold, and fresh air should never
be excluded. If the house be closed, the
roof should, therefore, in that case, be lofty ;
but whether stalls or sheds be adopted, we
ever uphold the roofing with thatch, as being
far more comfortable to the cattle than either
slates or tiles. Lattices of wood, in the form
of Venetian blinds, to admit or exclude the
wind, should also be fixed in the sides next
the heads, or in front of the cows, but their
hinder parts should be screened as much as
possible from the wind.

Cows are very generally placed two toge-
ther in double stalls, about nine feet in
width, or a foot, or more, less, if the breed

CHAP. XX.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 389

be small ; but, if there be room sufficient,
single stalls of five or six feet wide are pre-
ferable : a couple of quiet Alderneys may,
however, be very conveniently lodged in the
former space, or even smaller. Many peo-
ple, indeed, prefer the double stalls, under
an idea that the cows feed better when put
together, from their exciting each other to
eat ; but even were this an acknowledged
fact, still the advantage of keeping the cow
alone, and thus having the power of regulat-
ing her food, and allowing her to lie down at
pleasure without any interference by her com-
panion, is too manifest to need explanation.

If well arranged, a passage should be left
between the wall and the heads of the cows,
for the purpose of feeding them without going
into their stalls ; and the cribs which contain
their hay, as well as the manger and trough
for other food and water, should be placed so
near the ground as to prevent the animals
from getting their horns under them when
they lie down. The floor should be paved
with clinkers, and is usually made slanting to
a gutter behind them, about eighteen inches
wide by nine deep, communicating with a sink

390 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. sx.

at one end of the building for the reception
of their excrements, which should be fre-
quently swept away, and the gutter sluiced
with water, in order to secure the great object
of cleanliness. So far, indeed, is this carried
in Holland, where the dairy forms so promi-
nent an object, that the cow-house is regu-
larly swept and sanded to a state of the most
extreme neatness ; and the animals are not
only wisped and curried like horses, but their
tails slung up in pulleys, in the same manner
as those of horses after they have been
nicked : and this solely to prevent their soil-
ing themselves.

The Dutch have, indeed, some minor ar-
rangements in their cow-houses, which might,
we think, be copied in this country with ad-
vantage. As, for instance : the sweeping is
done chiefly by a square board, the exact size
of the gutter, down which the dung is pushed
by the cow-herd into the reservoir at its end,
and when sluiced with w^ater from the pump,
the drain is completely cleansed. The floor,
instead of being made slanting to the gutter,
is set rather higher under the hind than the
fore-feet : both to enable the cow to reach her

CHAP. XX.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 391

meat more easily, and likewise to eject her
dung in a more cleanly manner. Under the
standing of both the fore and hind feet a
broad fir-plank— a foot to a foot and a half
wide — is placed ; as any harder substance
might cause her to founder ; and the interme-
diate space in the floor is filled up with sand
which is gradually depressed towards the
middle, to receive the belly of the cow.

Cow-keepers, for the sake of economy and
looking solely to profit, never allow straw
for the bedding of the cows, which are left to
rest either upon the bare earth, or upon
boards, which soon acquire an unpleasant
odour ; but those persons who only keep one
or two for family use, and cannot, it must be
supposed, be actuated by that motive, will no
doubt see the propriety of allowing a suf-
ficiency of litter to allow of the animal being
made comfortable ; for we may rest assured
that she is not insensible to the enjoyment of
a dry and soft resting place, the more par-
ticularly as she lies down frequently, for the
purpose of chewing the cud : though there is
no necessity for bedding her up so warmly as
a horse.

392 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap, xx.

In this way it may be seen by the following
plan that a shed of about twelve feet by fif-
teen may be converted into a very convenient
dwelling for a couple of cows ; —

c

e

d

/

\

— > b

J

a

a. Yard and offices.
h. Entrance.

d. Cow-stalls.

e. Cribs.
f. Gutter and sink.

but the passage for the conveyance of food
may be saved, as that can be not very incon-
veniently given in the stalls ; and in this
manner a snug cow-house, on the same plan
as that above, answering all the purposes of

CHAP. XX.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 393

comfort, need not be larger than nine feet by
twelve.

There are various modes of fastening the
cows in their stalls. In some, a chain, hooked
to the horns, is fastened to an upright iron
rod, which is fixed in each side of the stall
by a ring which slides up and down as the
animal moves its head ; and, as the chain is
short, it prevents the cows, when stalled to-
gether, from interfering with each other though
giving them sufficient liberty : as thus —

Others, however, still continue the primi-
tive mode of having a couple of posts in each
stall, one of which is moveable to admit the
cow's head : thus allowing her to move it up
and down at pleasure —

394

FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. xs.

There is, also, a collar much used on the
Continent, which is slung between two posts,
as here represented ; but _

many farmers use the
simpler mode of using
nothing more than a halter
buckled round the cow's
neck, and hooked to a
chain which is mortised into the manger, and
is long enough to give her liberty to rub and
lick herself, and move about in her stall.

The next point is the dairy-house, of which
many florid descriptions have been given of

CHAP. XX.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 395

some upon an expensive scale ; which, al-
though ill-suited to the views of the general-
ity of our readers, may yet afford a correct
idea of the mode in which those of an hum-
bler class should be constructed. Among the
former that of the Duke of Northumberland,
at Alnwick, is very elegantly arranged ; but,
perhaps, the most accurate published account
is that of the great Harleian public dairy at
Glasgow — to which we refer. That erected
at Windsor, in the reign of George IV., for
a large number of cows — and of which we
have here the honour to present a view of the

-^r.t^^/^ f^^^:

garden fi-ont — is thatched, in the cottage style,
with bed-rooms overhead, and will convey a

396 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap. xx.

just notion of the manner in which a dairy
of the highest, as well as the most modest
pretensions, may be constructed : the small
octagon building being merely a fanciful ad-
dition to the milk-room.

The plan is also very simple : constructed on
two opposite sides of a court, into which the
windows look, and built in this manner —

—■1:

a. The court. d. Dairy-maids' kitchen and

b. b. b. Rooms for churning, sitting-room,
keepingandwasliing utensils, e. Milk-room.

c. Verandah. /. Garden verandah.

This, it may be imagined, is completely
adapted to the purpose ; and it has been justly

CHAP. XX.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 397

said, that, " on the proper construction of the
dairy-house materially depends the perfect
manufacture of cheese and butter." But pri-
vate families do not make cheese ; and, re-
specting butter, we well know that a large
proportion of the best kind is made in the
cabins of the Irish cotter. In farm-houses of
even the better description, the churning is
not unfrequently carried on in the kitchen,
and milk, cream, and butter kept either in
an adjoining pantry, or in an under-ground
cellar ; and we have ourself — when many
years ago residing in Surrey — had as fine
butter as ever was tasted made in that way
in our own house. Wherefore, let no one
who has an acre of ground, or a right of
common, be deterred from keeping a cow,
in consequence of not having a regularly
built dairy and cow-house ; but if they have
any shed in an out-house for the cow, with
only the kitchen for a dairy, let them con-
trive to have for themselves the healthful
comfort of pure milk and butter.

However, as it may, in many gentlemen's
houses, be difficult to arrange the proper con-
veniences within the family dwelling, we shall

398 FAKMING FOR LADIES, [chap. xx.

describe a separate building which will an-
swer every prudent object, and may be
erected at very reasonable cost.

The apartments which are particularly ap-
plicable to the business of the dairy, are —
one for milk, cream, and butter ; another for
churning, and a third for implements and
their washing ; but the churning and imple-
ment rooms may be very properly com-
bined, and the subjoined plan may be either
upon a small or enlarged scale.

The building, though placed near to the
house, yet should be apart from an imme-
diate contact with any odour from the stable,
or other impurity, as well as from any pond
of stagnant water ; as nothing more readily
acquires an unpleasant taste or smell than
milk and cream. A uniform temperature
is also of extreme importance ; for al-
though the most experienced dairy-women
disagree on the degree of heat most suitable
to the production of cream and butter, yet
they all admit that the house cannot be kept
too cool in the summer : hence the main
aspect should be open to the north and east ;
and the building should, if possible, be shaded

CHAP. XX.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 399

either by walls, or by high trees, from the
south and west. The roof should be of a
high conical form, rising from the centre, and
projecting broadly over the sides, so as to
shade the body of the house, which, if it con-
sist of only two small rooms conveniently
arranged, will be found sufficient for every
necessary purpose, although three are here
marked in the annexed plan —

1

J

A. is a wash-house, with a pump and cauldron for the
cleansing and care of the implements ; or it may be used
for the joint purposes of that and B. if there be only one
apartment : it is, however, better to keep them separate, and
to divide the room into two. Here is also the entrance, with
a staircase in one corner, leading to a garret ; and under the
verandah formed by the projection of the roof, are stands
for drying all the utensils which have been washed.

400 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap, xx.

B. is the churning-house, with a boiler in the corner,
with shelves and large vessels for holding the skim-milk.

C. is the milk-house, with broad shelves all around for
the vessels which contain the milk and cream ; and in the
middle is a table for the preparation of butter. The
windows, which, if possible, should be three in number,
are to be closed with lattices covered with gauze-wire, to
prevent the entry of flies, and shutters of wood to guard
against the cold in winter; for if glazed they are subject
to duty.

With respect to the mode and materials
of the building, the walls should be very thick,
to render it cool in summer and warm in
winter ; but they may be made either of com-
mon rubble, or even with dried clay. The
roof, having the same object as we have al-
ready said, should also be of straw, or rushes ;
but, if of slates, they should be of sufficient
thickness ; for as to tiles, they, if used, will
be found in both cases inefficient, in conse-
quence of their want of warmth in the winter,
and of coolness in the summer. The floor
should be raised a few inches above the level
of the outer ground, and made rather slant-
ing, with gutters to carry off the water used
in washing ; for if any particle of milk that
happens to be spilled upon the pavement be
left there, it will soon become sour, and im-
part an unpleasant flavour to the cream and

CHAP, XX.] FARMING FOB, LADIES. 401

butter. The floor should then be well dried,
as damp is very prejudicial to the operations
of the dairy.

The floors of most dairies are paved either
with bricks or tiles, neither of which can be
recommended ; for brick is rarely laid so
level, or so closely cemented, as not to ad-
mit of crannies in which the spilled milk
remains without a possibility of removing it,
and tiles, unless they be glazed, also absorb
a great proportion of any moisture to which
they may be exposed. Slates are therefore
much preferable, as they have been found, on
comparative experiments made by the late
Bishop of Llandaff*, to imbibe only the two-
hundredth part of their weight, while tiles
absorbed one-seventh ; and slates, when after-
wards exposed to 60° of heat, became dry in
a quarter of an hour, while tiles retained some
portion of damp during six days.

The temperature of the room in which the
milk is kept, when left to stand for cream, is
a point of great importance, and should be
maintained, as nearly as possible, at 60° of
Fahrenheit : air should therefore be admitted
in every way during the summer and ex-

2d

402 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap. sx.

eluded in winter ; indeed, during the latter
season, an under-ground cellar will be found
no bad substitute.

The utensils of the dairy comprise milk-
pails, pans, and cooling dishes for holding,
and sieves for straining, the milk when taken
from the cow ; with dishes for skimming the
cream, and churns for the making of butter ;
besides scales, prints, and boards, for weigh-
ing, measuring, and ornamenting it ; all which
we shall describe in the following chapter,
though so familiar to every dairy-maid as
hardly to need description, and requiring no
other instruction for their use than a strict
injunction to attend to the most scrupulous
cleanliness, not only with regard to her own
person, but to the cows, the dairy-house, and
the implements.

FARMING FOR LADIES. 403

CHAPTER XXL

Qualities of milk — Adulteration — The black cow — Matter
of which milk is composed — Cow's udder — Lactometer —
Milking syphon — Dairy-maids — Unruly cows, and hold-
ing of their milk — Operation of milking and skimming —
Cream steens — Implements — Operation of churning —
Upright and barrel churns — Metallic churn.

Milk, whether it be that of the cow, or of those
other creatures that produce it, is universally
admitted to be one of the most nutritive ar-
ticles of diet, for it is composed of materials
containing the most valuable properties of
alimentary matter ; which, although varying
in their several proportions, according to the
nature of the being from which it is obtained,
yet exist in the milk of all. It is not only
formed into the substantial articles of butter
and cheese, but is capable of being con-
verted into innumerable delicacies as food ;
and, indeed, the care which our beneficent
Creator has taken to provide this delicious
nourishment for young creatures during their

2d2

404 FAKMING FOR LADIES. [chap. xxi.

helpless period of existence, alone stamps it
as an aliment of superior quality. It is, there-
fore, essential to have it pure : which can only
be done when a cow is kept for the use of the
family ; for such are the scandalous frauds
practised by the retailers who supply it to
the citizens, that in no instance is it sold by
them in an unadulterated state.

The cow-keeper, indeed, furnishes the dealer
with it in its genuine purity ; but the retail
dealers — not satisfied with the large profit
granted to them by the great difference of
measure — instead of carrying it directly to
their customers, first take it home, and there
" set it" for a few hours, until the cream is
taken from it ; after which it is sold as " new
milk." Nor is this all ; for a considerable
quantity of water is invariably added to it by
these gentry from the pump which stands in
the cow-yard, and is significantly known
among them as the "black cow," Then
pounded chalk, or flour, with some glutinous
substance, are mixed with it, both to improve
its colour, and to impart to it some appear-
ance of richness in quality.

But, even should a dealer be found honest

CHAP. XXI.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 405

enough to avoid these impositions, the cows
are constantly kept in close, unhealthy sheds,
of the dirtiest description, and fed almost en-
tirely on brewers' grains, Swedish turnips, and
mangold- wiirzel, which give a great flow of
milk of the poorest quality : so that, even if
the cow be brought — as in some few instances
— to your door, and there milked, the milk
will be very little better ; as may be seen by
the small quantity of cream which it will throw
up, if set over-night and skimmed in the
morning. Besides, even should the cow be
fed in the best manner, the milk which she
will give if she be kept in the house, will
never be so good as when pastured in the
field. You will, perhaps, not perceive any
want of richness in either the milk or cream
if she be " soiled"— as feeding in the house
is called — but, turn her into your paddock,
then convert the cream into butter, and you
will soon find a marked superiority in the
delicacy and flavour of the latter.

Although the milk of the goat and ass is —
in consequence of its superior lightness — the
most congenial to the stomach of those dys-
peptic persons who sufier from indigestion,

406 FARMING FOR LADIES. fcHAP. xxi.

yet that of the cow is, perhaps, the most nu-
tritious, and is, at all events, in this country,
the only sort in universal use. An analysis
of its chemical elements would be of little
interest to the generality of readers, but every
one should know that its joint properties con-
sist of three distinct substances — scientifically
distinguished as the " butyraceous," or oily
body, producing cream and butter ; the " ca-
seous," cheesy matter, or " casein," of which
cheese is formed; and the "serous" com-
pound, or " serum," known as whey : —

Cream, forming . . 4. 5 1

Cheesy matter, forming 3.5 l parts of 100.

Whey, forming . . 92 J

which, however, can only convey a general
idea of the component parts, as they must
necessarily differ according to the quality of
the milk, which varies with the breed of the
cow, the food on which she has been fed, the
time which has elapsed since her calving, and
the state of the season ; but it has been ascer-
tained that in warm weather the milk con-
tains more butter, and more cheese when it is
cold.*

* Johnston's Elements of Agricultural Chemistry, p. 227.

CHA.P. XXI.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 407

A mathematical instrument called a " lac-
tometer" has indeed been invented to ascer-
tain the richness of milk, and is so far curious
as to determine any difference of quality
which may exist between particular cows ;
but does not show whether the caseous or the
butyraceous matter predominates.

With the form of the udder every one is
acquainted ; but though only presenting in
its outward appearance a tough species of
smooth, glossy skin, its interior structure is
composed of innumerable glands, closely in-
terwoven with each other, which secrete the
milk from the blood, and communicate with
the milk-veins which convey it to the bag ;
the four "teats," which are pendent from it,
and through which it flows, having at each ex-
treme point a very small orifice which is
closed and held fast by the natural elasticity
of the membrane, in the manner of a sphincter
muscle.

In the making of butter — as Mrs. Glasse
would say — " first milk your cow :" but this,
simple as it may appear, is a matter of no
small importance ; for if not well done, by a
good-tempered dairy-maid, who will use the

408 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. xxi.

COW kindly, and coax her to yield her milk,
the animal will withhold a large portion of
it, and acquire a habit of doing so, until it
at last becomes gradually dried up. Good
temper, it may be truly said, is the foun-
dation of happiness to us all ; and in no
servant, out of the nursery, is it more neces-
sary than a dairy -maid ; for as to a ma7i
milking a cow, the fellow should be put in
petticoats, and, in Ireland, would be hooted
by every woman in the village.

There is perhaps no animal more suscep-
tible of kindness, nor more pointedly resent-
ful of ill-treatment, than a cow ; for if beaten
and driven hastily, or even if spoken to
harshly, or scolded at, she will take a dislike
to that person, and withhold her milk ; though
yielding it freely to another who uses her
gently, and speaks to her softly. We are
unacquainted with the impulse which enables
the cow to "hold her milk;" but that she
has the power of retaining it, is well known
to every one accustomed to the dairy.

If the cow be unruly while being milked,
it must be done in the house, for the purpose
of having her head secured, and even her

CHAP. XXI.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 409

hind legs "hobbled," with a strap twisted
round each foot just above the hoof, and
buckled together ; but if quietly disposed,
she may be milked in the field ; though the
hobble is not a bad precaution, as she some-
times, if teased by a fly or instigated by a
freak, will kick down the pail, or put her
foot into it : but even should this happen, she
should neither be beaten, nor harshly spoken
to. Patience and gentleness will overcome
the most perverse disposition: the dairy-
maid should therefore give the cow a name,
and mildly call her by it ; pat her, and
caress her when about to milk her. Her
udder, if at all soiled, or apparently . sore,
should be gently bathed with lukewarm
water, and she should be furnished with
some nice hay, or any root or vegetable that
may be grateful to her. It is a singular
fact, that she is evidently pleased with the
melody of music ; for, should the dairy-maid
sing a ballad while milking, the animal will
listen attentively, and yield her milk without
reluctance.

In milking, considerable strength and
steadiness of hand is required to express the

410 FARMING FOE. LADIES, [chap. xxi.

milk gradually and regularly through the
teat, and force it from the orifice ; but with a
little practice that is easily learned. A me-
tallic syphon was a few years ago invented
by a Mr. Blurton, of Uttoxeter, for the pur-
pose of facilitating the process of milking by
inserting it in the orifice of the teat, and
might — if practically effectual — be useful in
large dairies ; but a good milker can extract
every drop from the udder of a cow within
ten to twenty minutes, according to the quan-
tity of milk which it may contain : in small
establishments very little time could, there-
fore, be saved ; and we have not lately heard
anything of the implement.

The method of milking is too well known
to need any very detailed description, but
we may just remark, that the dairy-maid
must take a lesson from the calf, if she means
to perform it correctly. The teat is a mem-
brane of great elasticity, somewhat resem-
bling a funnel both in shape and office, which
she presses between her fingers and thumb
until she unloads the udder : most commonly
pulling the teats with great force towards the
close of the operation, for the purpose of

CHAP. XXI.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 411

drawing the whole of the milk, and thus often
causing them to become painfully sore. Now,
when the dairy-maid begins to milk on one
side of the udder, she should continue to
draw those teats until they are emptied, with-
out alternately milking those of the other
side ; and although without improper haste,
she should also milk as fast as her strength
of hand will allow her, but the pressure of her
fingers should yet be equal, and the motion
regular. After she has obtained all she can
by this mode, she should then press the body
of the udder upwards, moderately, but firmly,
with the left hand (as the calf may be seen
to strike at it when sucking), at the same
time squeezing the teats one by one with the
right, so as to force down any portion of milk
which may still remain in the glands : these
"afterings," as they are called, being the
richest portion of the milk, and should be
extracted, if possible, to the last drop ; not
alone for their value, but to prevent the cow
from acquiring the habit of holding her milk.
It should, however, be very carefully done,
without any coarse tugging at the teats,
though with pressure sufficient on the udder —

412 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap. xxi.

as in the sucking of the calf — to cause the
cow to yield her milk.

The operation of milking is generally per-
formed twice a day ; at the earliest hours of
the morning, and in the evening about ten
or twelve hours afterwards. If, however, the
cow be put into very rich pasture, and, having
recently calved, should have a superabundant
flow of milk, it may be advisable to milk
her thrice a day, so long as that flow lasts ;
dividing the time as equally as the light
will admit. If carried on in the field, the
cow should be driven, as quietly as possible,
rather near to the dairy ; for the carrying
of the milk any great length of way occa-
sions it to ferment, and proves injurious to its
quality.

In Holland, the pails into which the cows
are milked are almost always of brass, as be-
ing easier cleaned than those of wood, which,
if not repeatedly rinsed, scalded in boiling wa-
ter, and then placed in the open air to sweeten,
will infallibly impart a sourness to the milk,
which will spoil the butter. The pails gene-
rally used in this country are mostly made of
maple, but they should be strongly coated

CHAP. XXI.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 413

with paint and also varnished inside, to pre-
vent any absorption of moisture.

The milk, when taken to the dairy, should
be poured, warm from the cow, through a
strainer of hair or gauze-wire, or simply of
strong gauze, as being easier cleaned by
removal and washing, as it can be tied over
a large round space left vacant in the bottom
of a wooden bowl.

Mr. Arkwright, of Sutton Hall, near Ches-
terfield, has indeed lately brought forward a
very simple implement, which at one opera-
tion combines the measurement of the milk
with straining it into the churn. The vessel,
which is of tin, as here described, contains

half-a-dozen gallons— each mark denoting two
quarts — and being placed over the mouth of

414 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. xxi.

the chum, the milk is put into it : when mea-
sured, the plug in the centre, which closes
the strainer, is drawn out, allowing the milk
to run through an orifice in the bottom to
the strainer. Not being patented, it only
costs 4s. 6c?., and may be made to any size
by a common tinman.

After straining, to divest it of any impurity,
the milk should be left to " set," — for the
purpose of raising the cream — in hroad, shal-
loio pans, which are by some called " Cool-
ers," and by others " Keelers" — formed at
one end with a lip, for the more easy pouring
out of the milk, and not more than 3^ inches
deep ; for more cream will be gathered from
these pans than from those which are deeper :
though, in the cold of winter, pans of double
that depth will throw up a greater propor-
tionate quantity than those which are shal-
low. If in summer, a little of cold, and in
winter of warm water, be put in the bottom
of the pan, and the milk poured upon it, the
cream will rise quicker than if the milk were^
put in alone. We much prefer the common
pans of earthenware, or, where expense is
no object, white wedgewood ware ; but many

CHAP, sxi.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 415

people use those of lead, as being less sub-
ject to breakage, and thought to be cooler,
as well as to throw up more cream. The only
real advantage, however, which they seem to
possess, is their being sometimes made with a
plug in the bottom, by means of which the
milk can be gradually drawn off into a ves-
sel underneath, without disturbing the cream,
which should be removed with as little milk
in it as possible ; for, if any portion be left, it
is apt to render the butter rancid. An expe-
rienced dairy-maid can however skim the milk
with her finger, and there are also skimmers
of wood for the same purpose, though it is
often done with a common spoon.

The milk-pans may be placed either upon
the floor or on the shelves of the milk-house,
according to either being cooler or warmer in
summer or winter ; but if placed upon the
floor, it should be dry, and if placed upon the
shelves, they should not be put opposite to a
window; for, though a perfect circulation of
air is desirable throughout the room, yet the
immediate action of wind upon the surface of
the milk is objectionable, as impeding the due
rising of the cream, and rendering it rather

416 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap. xxi.

tough or stringy. The " steens" in which the
cream is kept until churned, are, indeed, not
unfrequently exposed to its current, as these
vessels are seldom filled, and are too deep to
allow the wind to act more than partially up-
on the surface ; but it is better not to expose
it to the risk, for, if it renders the cream hard,
it will injure the butter.

The steen contains from two to four gallons,
narrower at the bottom than at the top, and
about 12 inches deep. These steens are fre-
quently made of different kinds of metal, but
complaints are often made of their imparting
an unpleasant flavour to the butter, and we
still hold to the use of earthenware, as being
easier cleaned and consequently sweeter.

The churn is a closed vessel, into which
either the cream, or the whole milk, is put ;
and the vessel being furnished either with a
piston, or a revolving fan turned by a wheel,
and regularly moved either up or down, or
by turning — according to its form — sepa-
rates from the whey those oily particles of
which the butter is to be formed. It is ge-
nerally made of the best oak, and of various
sizes, according to the quantity of milk or

CHAP. XXI.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 417

cream to be churned : the common upright,
and barrel churns — as here described — being

usually worked by hand, though in some large
dairies it is wrought by the aid of machinery.
The upright churn, also known as the
^ plunge churn, is that most an-
ciently and commonly in use : it
acts by means of a long handle
passing through a moveable lid,
and furnished at the lower end
with a circular flat bottom, termed
the " dash " or " dasher — of this
form — which is perforated and
worked up and down by the dairy-
maid. The churn, as may be perceived, is
broader at the bottom than at top; and, as

2e

418 FARMING FOR LADIES. [cHAr. xxi.

the dash must be forced with every stroke to
the surface of the milk or cream, it must evi-
dently be less in circumference than the form
of the churn. It must also be evident that
the more the churn is filled, and the richer
or thicker the cream, the greater will be the
difficulty of working the dash with equal re-
gularity. The churn should, therefore, never
be quite full, nor should more be put into it
than the dasher can work with ease. The
operation, when well performed, is perfectly
efficient, but when there is a large quantity
to be acted upon, the work is both tedious
and laborious.

The barrel- churn has therefore been adopted
in consequence of the superior ease with which
it can be worked ; the internal machinery
being simply that of an axle and fans —
like these — fixed horizontally
in the barrel, and made to re-
volve by the action of a toothed
wheel at one end, which is
worked by another large fly-
wheel, turned by the handle fixed on one
of its spokes. It can be worked with much
greater ease than an upright plunge-chum,

CHAP. XXI,] FARMING FOR LADIES. 419

and the work may be done more steadily, as
requiring less strength ; for the operation ge-
nerally requires a full hour, and must be
carried on during the whole time without any
stoppage or irregularity, as any carelessness
in its performance will, to a certain extent,
spoil the butter. Experiments have, however,
been tried between the upright and barrel
churns, with equal quantities of cream, and
the results are said to have proved " that the
upright churn gave the most butter, being
also better in quality, and sooner obtained."*
There is also a much greater difficulty in
keeping the barrel-churn clean ; and the up-
right form has, also, in our mind, another
advantage in the fine exercise which it affiards
to any healthy young person, whether male
or female.

An upright barrel -churn was invented with
similar machinery, but to be worked by a
person standing on levers, or treadle-boards,
who, pressing alternately, first by one foot
and then by the other, sets in motion the
line connected with the churn-staff, and turns
the axle and fans backwards and forwards.

* Parkinson on Live-stock, vol. i., p. 44.

2e2

420 FARMING FOR LADIES. [oHAr. xxi.

We have not seen it at work, but it evi-
dently cannot be conveniently managed by a
woman ; nor, from what we have heard of it,
can we speak of it with favour.

If any faith can be placed in the represent-
ation of the seller of an article, a metallic
churn has been invented by manufacturers at
Lewes, which, " if a brisk, regular, and con-
tinuous motion be kept up," promises to en-
sure the butter " coming" in ten or twelve
minutes, at all seasons of the year ! whereas,
in summer, it usually takes an hour, and in
winter an hour and a half We however,
entertaining strong doubts of such extraordi-
nary efficacy, applied to a friend who uses it,
and who says, that the operation can be actu-
ally performed, with very little trouble, in half
an hour to three-quarters, according to the
temperature of the weather. It is formed en-
tirely of block-tin, of various sizes, the small-
est containing about a couple of gallons of
cream ; and, as it acts upon half that quan-
tity, may make half a dozen pounds of butter
at a time. It should be immersed, in sum-
mer, in the accompanying pan of cold, and in
winter of warm water ; and may be had — as

CHAP. XXI,] FARMING FOE. LADIES. 421

here described— in London, of various sizes,
for about thirty shillings, at Wright's Manu-
factory, Arthur-street, near the Monument,
and Benham's in Wigmore-street.

The small tube in the lid is for the escape
of air, and there is another at the bottom
with a stopple for removing the buttermilk.
The interior machinery consists of a spindle
and flyer, worked by the handle ; and, as the
end of the vessel may be unscrewed, it can
be taken out, for the more complete cleans-
ing of the utensil. It is certainly in a very
portable compass, and if, on further experi-
ment, it succeeds in making the butter as well
and quicker than the churns now in use, there
can be little doubt that it will be found useful
in small dairies ; but most dairy-women never
consider the butter so good as it should be,

422 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. xxi.

if the churning be finished in less than an
hour ; and, if it exceed an hour by twenty
to thirty minutes, they think it improved both
in quantity and quality.

We have also seen another patent churn,
which has only just appeared, made also of
metal, and so exactly alike, both in form and
machinery, to that which we have just de-
scribed, that it might be taken for the same ;
the only difference being that the pan in which
it works is enclosed from the air, and thus
more effectually retains the heat of any warm
water which may be necessary to increase the
temperature.

We should, however, observe, that those
persons who keep more than one or two cows,
ought always to have two churns, of different
sizes, for the different quantities of milk pro-
duced in summer and winter.

CHAP, xxii.j FARMING FOR LADIES. 423

CHAPTER XXII.

Butter — Milking — Creaming — Churning — Dairy-house —
Making of butter from cream — Scotch and Dutch modes
— Epping mode, making from whole milk — Manner of
curing — Anderson's rules — Clouted cream — Cream cheese,
and slip-coat — Product of a cow.

There is hardly an article of family con-
sumption more in common use, or more de-
sirable to be of good quality, than Butter,
nor is there any that can be more easily made,
provided it be managed with due care and
attention: the main points being extreme
purity in all the vessels employed in its form-
ation, and in the place in which it is made, as
well as of the person who makes it up after
churning.

The milk is left, according to the season,
for various periods without skimming, and if
perfectly sweet, no harm will arise, but should
never be so left until it gets sour ; nor should
cream be suffered to remain so long upon the
milk as to become acid, for it will then be
also liable to acquire a bitter taint. Al-

424 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap, xxii.

though the cream may be left upon the milk,
while sweet, without injury to the butter, yet
if sooner skimmed, and the milk continues
to throw up cream, that cream, when skim-
med, will not make good butter, nor can
it be kept for any length of time, even if
salted. Cream of that description should
not, therefore, be mixed with that of the first
skimming.

"V^Tien strained and deposited in the shal-
low pans of the milk-room, the cream rises
within a few hours, according to the tempera-
ture of the air. Those who are particularly
fastidious either in the consumption of the raw
cream, or for the making of it into butter,
skim the milk, at all seasons, every twelve
hours, and make the whole of the cream into
butter on the same morning. In doing this,
they, however, skim the milk a second time ;
but, although it will throw up a small portion
of cream after each skimming, until it be-
comes curdled, it will yet possess but little
richness, and, if fine butter be wanted, should
only be used in its raw state.

Inexperienced people, indeed, too generally
imagine that, "to make good butter, the

CHAP, xxn.] FAHMING FOK LADIES. 425

cream should be churned immediately upon
its being skimmed." That, however, is a
mistake : for although, if thus made, it will
certainly be delicate and creamy, or what
may be properly called "nice butter," it will
not be so rich as that made from cream that
has been kept a few days — even until it
becomes slightly acid ; but it should not be
allowed to become quite sour, nor should
sweet cream be poured into the same steen
over that which has become acid.

The more proper plan, if the weather be
cool, is, therefore, to leave the milk unskim-
med, while it remains sweet, and to let the
cream stand in the steen until it becomes
slightly acid : and we repeat, that although
the butter made immediately will be " deli-
cate and creamy," yet that made in the latter
\nanner will have a flavour of superior rich-
ness ; for, in fact, it is not until the cream has
stood long enough to attain a slight degree of
acidity, that it acquires that quahty which is
necessary to the formation of really good
butter. This acidity should, however, never
be carried so far as to occasion any degree
of taint or unpleasant taste of any kind, as it

426 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. xxii.

will be communicated to the butter, which it
will, to a certain degree, injure.

The time which the cream should be kept
before it acquires the proper degree of acidity,
must of course depend more upon the season
and the state of the weather than upon any
fixed rule ; but, generally speaking, it may be
assumed that, in the heat of summer, this
will take place in a day or two, and perhaps
Mdthin three or four days during the spring
and autumn ; or, in the heart of winter, it
may be left an entire week. The cream
should not, however, be allowed to stand on
the milk when that has become sour.

There is vast difference of practice among
dairy-maids respecting the mode of keeping
the cream until the churning: the greater
number stirring it frequently during the day,
or at least every time any cream is added;
while others never allow it to be moved, and
even when addition is to be made to the
cream already in the steen, it is poured
upon it gently without breaking the crust
of that contained in it. In those dairies which
have many cows, it is, indeed, usual to keep
the cream of each milking apart from that

CHAP. XXII.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 427

which is becoming sour, without mixing the
different sorts until the moment of churning ;
and if this can be conveniently done, it is in
our opinion the better practice. Much must,
however, depend upon the state of the cream,
for, if disposed to become too thick or lumpy,
a little stirring may not be improper, as it
can do very little, if any, harm; and at all
events, if the dairy-maid be not a simpleton,
she may, after a few experiments, decide upon
which is best.

The operation of churning, though very
simple, yet demands great steadiness and
regularity of motion, and should be continued
without intermission until the mass of butter
is formed ; for if the strokes of the churn be
not uniform, and at a proper rate, the butter
will not be well made. If too quickly done,
it will over-heat ; and if too slowly, will not
" come," or form into butter, in due time. It
should not, therefore, be committed to any
one who cannot be depended upon for carry-
ing it through without stopping.

In large dairies the churning requires so
much strength, and occasions so much labour
if done steadily, that the cow-herd is fre-

428 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. xxii.

quently employed to perform it, though, more
commonly, the dairy-maid, if she be a stout
girl, goes through the entire work of milking,
churning, and making the butter. On this
latter point, it is, however, essential that her
hand be perfectly cool ; for, if heated by an
hour's hard work, it will become too warm
to make up the butter with due nicety : she
should therefore take time to cool herself, and
bathe her hands in luke-warm water, after-
wards washing them in the refuse milk. In
small dairies, however, the work — although it
must be carried on without intermission — is
so slight, and the exercise so healthful, that
any lady, however delicate, may perform it
with advantage to her constitution ; indeed,
any child, if steady, may with ease work one
of the metallic churns which we have de-
scribed.

In the neighbourhood of Epping, and the
surrounding districts, which have been so long
celebrated for the excellence of their butter,
only the first skimmings are used for that of
the finest quality. The manner there pur-
sued is as follows : — The milk, after standing
twenty-four hours, is then skimmed, or, as

CHAP. XXII.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 429

they term it, "fleeted." The skimmed milk
is then drawn off from the coolers, and placed
in deep pans, where it is left from twelve to
twenty-four hours, during which it is again
fleeted two or three times : this being called
" doubling ;" after which it is again put into
deeper pans, where it is "threbled," or put
into tubs, where it is repeatedly skimmed, so
long as any appearance of cream is found to
form on the surface : after which it is given
to the pigs. In Cheshire the milk is allowed
to stand until the cream becomes clotted,
or as it is there termed " carved" to a proper
degree of acidity, which is forwarded in the
winter by putting it near the fire ; and in
other parts of the north the milk is put into
pans which are placed in warm water, to make
the cream rise.

The mode of procuring the clouted cream,
which is so highly prized in the western
counties for its richness, is simply thus : —

"The milk while warm from the cow is strained into
either large shallow brass pans, well tinned, or into earthen
ones, holding from two to five gallons, to which is added a
small quantity of cold water ; as being thought to separate
the cream more completely, and throw it to the top.

" The morning meil of milk stands till about the middle

430 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap. xxn.

of the day ; the evening meal till the next morning. The
pans are now placed over a clear slow fire, and the heat
should be so managed as not to suffer the milk to boil — or,
as they provincially term it, "to heave," as that would in-
jure the cream. The criterion of its being sufficiently scalded
is, however, a very nice point, requiring much experience,
and there is much difference of opinion regarding the several
merit of narrow or broad bottomed pans. In summer, it
must be observed, the process of scalding ought to be quicker
than in winter; as in very hot weather, if the milk be kept
over too slow a fire, it would be apt to run or curdle.

" This process being finished, the pans are carefully re-
turned to the dairy ; and should it be the summer season,
they are placed in the coolest situation ; but, should it be
in winter, the lieat should rather be retained, by putting a
slight covering over the pans, as cooling too suddenly causes
the cream to be thin, and, consequently, to yield less butter :
the mode of making which is this : — The cream should, in
hot weather, be made into butter the next day; but, in
winter, it is better to let it remain one day longer on the
milk. The cream, being collected from the pans, is put into
wooden-bowls, and briskly stirred round one way, with a
nicely cleaned hand, and being thus agitated, quickly as-
sumes the consistence of butter. The milky part now readily
separates, and being poured off, the butter is well pressed
upon a wooden trencher, after which it is washed in several
cold waters : a little salt being added to season it, before its
being formed into prints for the market."*

This mode of management occasions the
cream to rise in such abundance, that the
dairy-maids there say the milk produces one-
fourth more than in the common way ; but,

* Survey of Cornwall, p. 141.

CHAP. XXII.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 431

although sometimes so thick upon the surface
as to be cut into squares with a knife, and
very richly flavoured when made into butter,
or when used with fruit, or in coffee, it is too
oily to be agreeable in tea. It is, indeed,
customary with many persons in various parts
of the country, to put the milk-pans into
vessels filled with warm water, which thus
occasions the creamy surface to rise. The
remaining milk, however, contains little else
than the loatery particles of its original com-
position, and thus loses in value for house
consumption, or the feeding of pigs, nearly
as much as it gains in the increase of cream.
Vessels made of zinc are also, it appears,
sometimes used ; and, in an article published
in the ' Quarterly Journal of Agriculture,' *
it is said that, " 4 gallons of milk " — as there
stated — " produced in 24 hours, 4f pints of
pure clotted cream, which, after churning 12
to 15 minutes, gave 40 ounces of butter.
Four gallons of milk, treated in the common
manner, with earthenware pans and standing
48 hours, produced 4 pints of thin cream,
which after churning from an hour to an

* New Series, vol. iv. p. 422.

432 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap. xxii.

hour and a half gave 32^ ounces of butter."
The increase in quantity of cream and butter,
is therefore rather more than one-fifth ; but
the milk, when subjected to this process,
seems to be more or less impregnated with
the soluble salts of zinc ; and, as these salts
communicate an astringent and partly eme-
tic quality, the use of that metal, in dairy
implements, should, we think, be avoided.

These different modes, it will be observed,
apply solely to the making of butter from
cream alone ; but in many parts of the north
of England and Scotland, and throughout the
greater part of Ireland, it is made of the
ichole milk unskimmed, without any separation
of the milk and cream : but although such
different modes of manufacture might seem
to cause very different results, they have
very little perceptible effect on the quantity
or quality, the process of which in the best
dairies around Glasgow, in which the con-
sumption of butter-milk is very great, is thus
described in Alton's ' Dairy Husbandry :' —

" The milk, when drawu from the cow, is placed in the
coolers on the floor of a clean, cool, and well-aired milk-house
from twelve to twenty-four hours, till it has cooled to the
temperature of the milk-house, and the cream has risen to the

CHAP, xxii.J FARMING FOR LADIES. 433

surface. These coolers are next emptied, while the milk is
yet free from acidity, into a clean, well-scalded vat, of size
to contain the whole milking, or two milkings if both are
sufficiently cooled, where it remains till churned. If
another milking, or meal of milk, be ready before that
which has begun to become sour, that second meal may be
put into the same vat ; but if the first has soured, or is ap-
proaching to acidity, before the second quantity has com-
pletely cooled, any further admixture would lead to fermen-
tation, and injure the milk. It is necessary that the whole
milk become sour before it be churned ; but the whole of it
must become so of its own accord, and by no means forced
into acidity by any mixture of sour milk with that which is
sweet. The utmost care should, however, be taken not to
allow the coagulum, or curd, of the milk in the stand-vat
to be broken till the milk is about to be churned. If it be
not agitated, or the " lapper" (as it is termed in dairy lan-
guage) broken, till it is turned into the churn, it may stand
from a day to a week without injury.

" If these rules be attended to, the butter will be rich,
sound, and well-flavoured, and the butter-milk will have a
pleasant, palatable, acid taste : but wherever fermentation
has been excited, or the lapper broken, and the milk run
into curds and whey, the fermentation so begun will con-
tinue in the butter-milk after that operation, and will be-
come acrid and unwholesome. When duly prepared and
manufactured, the milk will be the better with a fifth or a
fourth part of water mixed into it, than milk (hat has been
fermented before being churned would be without a drop of
water mixed with it."

"Whether the butter be made of cream or
whole milk, the churning is done in the same
manner : but the latter, from being the so
much larger quantity, is of course so much

2f

434 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. xxii.

more laborious. The whole milk, besides, re-
quires more time than that of cream to com-
plete the process; — from two to three hours
being considered by Mr. Alton as necessary
to effect it with due deliberation, while that
of cream is generally finished within less than
an hour and a half. "The operation" — as
he states — " should, in warm weather, be very
slow ; for if it be done too hastily, the butter
will be soft and white ; the churn should,
therefore, be cooled by being previously filled
with cold water ; but in winter it should, on
the contrary, be performed quickly, and the
chum should be warmed. The motion of the
churn should, however, be, in each case, re-
gular, and whatever may be the degree of
velocity, the stroke of the fan or piston ought
always to be the same, until the butter is
formed, or said " to come." The air which
is generated in the churn should also be occa-
sionally allowed to escape, or it will create
froth, which impedes the process; and the
whole milk, as well as cream, when churned
separately, should become partially sour be-
fore it is churned.

In Holland vast quantities of butter are

CHAP. XXII.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 435

made from the whole milk. The following
is the usual process : —

"Having milked the cow, the milk is not put into the
pans until it is quite cold ; it is then stirred two or three
times a-day, with a wooden spoon, to prevent the cream from
separating from the milk, and if it can be stirred till the
spoon will almost stand in it, they deem it so much the
better ; when it is found to be sufficiently thick it is put into
the churn and beat for an hour. When the butter begins to
form, a pint, or more, of cold water, according to the quantity
of milk, is poured in to separate the butter from the milk ;
when the butter is taken out of the churn, it is washed and
kneaded till the last water is perfectly clear of milk. By
this method a greater quantity of butter is made from an
equal quantity of milk ; the butter is firmer and sweeter ; it
will keep longer than that which is made in the ordinary
mode ; and the butter-milk is thought preferable.''

On this latter observation it should, how-
ever, be observed, that although some Eng-
lish writers have described butter-milk as
being only fit for hogs, it yet forms a very
material portion of the food of the labouring
classes in Scotland and Ireland, being there
thought far more palatable, and, whether for
pigs or men, more nutritive than skim-milk.

The temperature of the air in the milk-
house is of great importance both in the for-
mation of cream and in the operation of churn-
ing ; for, if too warm, the butter will " come"

2f2

436 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap. xxii.

— as its formation is technically called — too
soon ; and, if intensely cold, it sometimes will
not come at all. In cold weather the churn
should, therefore, be always scalded with hot
water, and in summer rinsed with that which
is cold. It is also, in many cases, requisite
to add cold or boiling water — as the case may
be — either to check, or to facilitate the coming
of the butter ; but if not absolutely requisite,
the churning will be better executed without
any mixture of either hot or cold water. The
degree of heat at which butter can be made,
ranges from about 45 to 76 degrees of Fah-
renheit, but it has been found by experience
that the best quality is procured at about
51 degrees, and the greatest quantity at 56
degrees, as the process of churning will, in
the course of an hour, raise it four or five
degrees higher. The temperature in the dairy
should, therefore, be kept as nearly as possible
to, at first, 50 degrees of Fahrenheit, and not
be allowed to go higher than 55 degrees ; for,
if the churning be begun at the lower degree,
it will in all probability arrive at the higher
before the operation can be completed : but
the better mode, both as to quantity and qua-

CHAP. XXII.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 437

lity, is to take a medium heat between the
two degrees. In summer, the early part of
the morning should be chosen ; and, in the
winter, the forenoon.

A thermometer should be kept in every
dairy to regulate the heat ; yet we believe
the fact to be, that not in one dairy out of
ten is there such an instrument to be found.
We, indeed, not long ago, having expressed
our surprise to an experienced dairy-wife at
her want of it, and pointed out the advantage
of its use, received for answer — "that it
might be all mighty fine, but, for her part,
she found her thumb-ometer answer every
purpose." On this, there can be little doubt
that practice and attention will go far to
supply the want of scientific information, but
can never arrive to that perfection which may
be reached when guided by the accurate prin-
ciples of science.

After an hour, or more, of churning, small
globules of butter begin to appear, which,
being gathered together by the working of the
machine, a lump of solid butter is formed.
This, on its being taken from the churn.

438 FARMING POR LADIES, [chap. xxil.

should be placed in a colander, and firmly,
though gently, pressed until every drop of
butter-milk is drained from it : in doing
which, it must, of course, be kneaded by the
hand. However, as the butter must, in this
operation, pass repeatedly through the fingers
of the dairy-woman, some ladies object to that
mode of effecting it, and prefer its being done
with an instrument like the present, which is
merely a roller of about the size of a common
rolling-pin, but worked with a handle.

The butter is then usually washed in cold
water until the water comes from it perfectly
pure; for, if any portion of the milk be allowed
to remain, it will soon occasion the butter to
become sour and rancid. On this subject there
is, however, so much difference of opinion,
that many persons consider the rich flavour of
the butter to be wasted by its being washed;
and in many large dairies it has been relin-
quished. We know, indeed, that in one upon a

CHAP, xxn.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 439

very large scale, conducted with superior ma-
nagement, it is never done; for "it is found
by long experience that the butter retains its
sweetness much longer when no water is used
in making it up. When it is taken from the
churn, it is well worked with the hand, which
presses out most of the milk ; it is then beaten
with a cloth, or rather a cloth is repeatedly
pressed down upon it to absorb all the re-
maining milk." A soft cloth will, of course,
absorb much of the moisture, and its use is
certainly an improvement; but the less the
butter is beaten, or worked, the better ; for
the more it is kneaded, the more tough and
gluey it will become, and the moment the
milk is extracted, it should be discontinued.
If the weather be very hot, we, however, see
no objection to its being placed, for a short
time, in a large pan of cold water, to harden
it; though, if laid upon a marble-slab, in
some very cool spot exposed to the air, that
vdll probably effect the purpose.

The quality of the butter depends mainly on
the care and nicety of management in the
making; for if that be not well performed,
you may look in vain to have it of fine fla-

440 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap. xxii.

vour ; but fortunately the process is so simple
as to require little more than great attention
to cleanliness and common observation. Much
also depends on the pasture of the cow
during the summer, and her feeding in the
winter. The grass, whether poor or rich,
you cannot alter ; but if you cut it for hay,
see that it be mown when in flower, without
waiting for the seeds to form ; and let nothing
induce you to follow the advice of those eco-
nomists who would tell you about the saving
of soiling the cow upon cut grass in the
house during the summer. If you must pur-
chase hay, buy it of the very greenest upland
meadow ; for if you have it coarse and rushy,
what you may save in price you will assuredly
lose in the value and probably the quantity
of the butter. In short, if you wish it to be
good, let the cow be well fed.

Rich milk throws up rather less cream than
that which is thinner, and if a small quantity
of water be added to it, the cream will be
increased ; but it will be, at the same time,
proportionably deficient in richness. In win-
ter, as well as in consequence of any poor
mode of feeding, it will also be less rich, and

CHAP, xxii.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 441

the butter whitish, with comparative want of
flavour; both colour and taste may, however,
be much improved if the outer coat of an Al-
teringham carrot be scraped off and the pulp
boiled in a little milk, which is then to be
strained off, and mixed with that in the churn.

In making up the butter, if a very small
quantity of finely powdered salt be slightly
sprinkled through it, it will improve the
flavour; but it should be so small and fine
as not to allow the taste of salt to be percep-
tible. Some dairy-maids, therefore, merely
dissolve a little salt in the water in which
the butter is washed ; and others are content
either to put the salt only into the water in
which the butter is placed after being made
up ; while many omit it altogether. We prefer
putting the salt, or rather saltpetre, to the
cream, when skimmed, as tending to pre-
serve it and rendering the butter firmer : the
quantity to be not less than a quarter, nor
more than half an ounce, to each quart.

In curing the butter for winter consumption,
the quality of the salt to be used should be
carefully looked to ; for if it be of the coarse
sort usually sold in the country oil-shops, it

442 FARMING FOE, LADIES, [chap. xsii.

will seriously injure the flavour. In this,
indeed, the Dutch dairy-men — who are per-
haps the best in Europe — are so guardedly
cautious, that they refine all the salt which they
import. Indeed, so curious are they in dis-
criminating its properties, that they actually
employ a different sort for cheese and butter ;
and it is much to be deplored that similar
attention is not paid to it in the dairies of
this country. The finest of our basket-salt
should, however, be always used ; and if salt-
petre and lump-sugar be also employed, they
should be pounded together in a mortar, until
they become like powder. The quantity must
be regulated by the length of time which may
probably elapse ere the butter is to be eaten ;
but from ten to twelve ounces may generally
be considered sufficient for a dozen pounds.
In the latter case, an excellent combination of
materials consists of eight ounces of salt, two
of saltpetre, and two of sugar ; but many vary
the quantities, and double those of the sugar
and saltpetre.

The curing is usually done by spreading
the butter very thin, when taken from the
churn, and sprinkling over it very regularly

CHAP, xxii.] FAHMING rOR LADIES. 443

some of the powdered materials, which are
then worked into the whole hody. In some
places, however, a sort of brine is formed by
dissolving the materials in a small quantity
of water, and working it into the butter, with
which it incorporates more readily, and in a
more cleanly manner ; for, if not carefully
done, whole grains of salt will sometimes be
found sticking in the butter, as frequently
may be seen in that made in Ireland.

Some persons prefer honey to sugar ; but,
although an excellent preservative, its mix-
ture with the butter imparts, in our opinion,
a somewhat mawkish taste, and we much pre-
fer the loaf-sugar : honey is, however, an ex-
cellent thing to lay over the butter instead of
salt, when a jar is filled.

Glazed jars are the best for preserving the
butter ; and those containing about a dozen
pounds are the most convenient. If new,
they should be well sweetened by being im-
mersed in hot water, and afterwards exposed
to the air before being used. A layer of the
materials used in salting should then be put
on the bottom, and the butter pressed firmly
over it, so as to fill the jar completely, and

444 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. xxil.

not allow the minutest spot to be unoccupied;
for, if any vacuum be left, the confined air
contained in it will occasion the surround-
ing portion of the butter to become rancid.
Another layer, either of the materials men-
tioned, or of honey, should then be put over
the butter, and the top covered over with
double oil-skin, to exclude the air. If salt or
pickle be used, a linen cloth should be placed
between it and the butter ; but with honey it
is unnecessary. It should, however, be re-
marked, that if the cows be soiled in the
house, instead of being grass-fed, each jar
should have a little more salt, or about an
ounce or two more of the materials.

When the hutter is used fresh for home con-
sumption, it is very commonly put, during
warm weather, into pans of cold water, to
keep it cool and firm, and is, in the same
view, not unfrequently brought to the break-
fast-table in a glass bason. The better mode
is, however, to use only a porous, unglazed,
earthen bason, which should be immersed in
cold water, and if allowed to stand in it
during the night, it will imbibe so much of
the liquid as to render the inside of the

CHAP, xxii.] FAKMING FOR LADIES. 445

bason much colder than the temperature of
the air or water ; the butter should there-
fore be put into it in a dry state, without
touching water. The less handling, also,
the better : for, although the butter looks
very pretty when made up into pats with
ornamental devices on the top, it yet will not
improve the flavour.

To these observations on the manufacture
of butter, we beg leave to add the following
remarks, drawn from the late Dr. Anderson,
as a summary of its management : —

1. " Of the milk that is drawn from any cow at any one
time, that which comes off at the first is always thinner,
and of a worse quality, than that which comes afterwards :
the richness going on continually increasing to tlie very last
drop that can be drawn from the udder at that time."

2. " If milk be put in a dish and allowed to stand till it
throws up cream, that portion of cream which rises first to
the surface is richer in quality and greater in quantity than
that which rises in a second equal portion of time ; the cream
that rises in the second interval of time is greater in quantity
and richer in quality than that which rises in a third equal
space of time ; and that of the third than the fourth, and so on :
the cream that rises decreasing in quantity, and declining
continually in quality, so long as any rises to the surface."

3. " Thick milk always throws up a smaller proportion
of tlie cream it actually contains to the surface than milk
which is thinner; but that cream is of a richer quality. If
water be added to that thick milk, it will also aiford a con-
siderably greater quantity of cream than it would have

446 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap. xxii.

done if allowed to remain pure ; but its quality is at the
same time greatly debased."

4. "Milk which is put into a bucket or other proper
vessel, and carried to any considerable distance, so as to be
much agitated and in jjart cold before it is put into the
milk-pans to settle for cream, never throws up so much nor
so rich cream as if the same milk had been put into the pans
directly after it was milked."

5. " If it be intended to make butter of a very superior
quality, it will be in such case advisable to separate the
milk that is first drawn from that which comes last; and
the quality will be improved in proportion to the smalliiess
of the last drawn milk that is obtained. The first skimmed
cream should also be used, as it is always richer than that
which rises last."

Respecting Cheese — as distinctively so
called — we have already observed that it is
never made in private families, as it cannot be
done without so many cows as to render it the
business of a farmer ; but those who keep only
a couple of cows may occasionally, when the
animals are flush of milk, make a little " cream-
cheese," to which they may add some " slip-
coat."

The cream-cheese is, in fact, little else than
thick, sweet cream, dried by being put into a
small circular vat, of not more than an inch
and a half in depth, perforated with small
holes in the bottom, to allow any portion of
milk which may be mixed with it to escape. It

CHAP. XXII.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 447

is usually covered with rushes or vine-leaves,
to guard it from being handled, and should be
only gently pressed by the hand between linen
cloths. It is thus kept in some rather warm
situation to sweat and ripen ; for if once
chilled by cold, its mellow richness will be
irrecoverably lost. The extreme of heat
should, however, be equally guarded against,
or it will become rank. Some judgment is
therefore requisite in bringing it to perfection,
and good judges never think it worth eating
until it is quite ripe : the time required depends,
of course, upon the season ; but, in our opi-
nion, should never be less than a fortnight.

The slip-coat, or as some call it, "new
cheese," is formed entirely of new milk, with
a small quantity of water added when the
rennet, without which the cheese cannot be
made, is added- Rennet may always be found
ready-made in country oil-shops, and a small
quantity will serve the purpose of turning the
milk into curd. The whey is then gently
poured off, and the curd carefully kept entire
until put into a round vat of not more than
about an inch deep, where it is very gently
pressed for a few hours ; and when removed,

448 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap. xxii.

covered with a cloth which is frequently
changed. In a few days, or as soon as the
skin is formed, it is fit for use.

Regarding the product of a cow — in the
' Agricultural Survey of Suffolk ' four gallons
and a half of the milk of grass-fed cows are
thought by most farmers to produce, on an
average, a quart of cream, which, when made
into butter, weighs 1 f lbs. : though in most
cases a dozen quarts of milk are thought re-
quisite for the making of a pound of butter.
In the same report, the average quantity of
butter made by a cow is calculated at 4 lbs.
per week during the summer season, and 156
lbs. during the year, besides the nourishment
of three little pigs. This, however, can only
be looked upon as a mere average, for the
actual produce must, of course, depend on
the breed of the cow, as well as the value
of her pasture and winter nourishment ; and
if both be of fine quality, it will — as seen in the
Alderneys — be considerably more. Speaking
generally, a good cow of most of the small
breeds, if well fed, may fairly be supposed to
give, after her second calf, 12 quarts of milk a
day during three months ; 9 to 10 for two

CHAr. XXII.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 449

months longer ; and after that, a diminution of
perhaps a couple of quarts during each two
following, and a quart in each of the remain-
ing three, until she runs dry : or, in round
numbers: —

3 Months, or 90 days, at 12 quarts, 1080

2 Ditto, or 60 ditto, at 9 ditto, 540

2 Ditto, or 60 ditto, at 7 ditto, 420

1 Ditto, or 30 ditto, at 6 ditto, 180

1 Ditto, or 30 ditto, at 5 ditto, 150

1 Ditto, or 40 ditto, at 4 ditto, 160

thus yielding a yearly product of 2530 quarts,
upon which, according to most calculations,
230 lbs. of butter should be made ; but, as-
suming the product to be somewhat less, and
a good portion of the cream to be consumed
by the family in its raw state, still a couple
of such cows would, all the year round, give
a pound of butter a day.

2g

450 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap, xxiii.

CHAPTER XXIII.

Pigs and pork^ Breeds of the hog — Denominations — Breed-
ing sows — Period of gestation — Farrowing — Produce —
Weaning — Rearing — Porkers and store-pigs — Feeding —
Weight at different ages — Cost and value.

It is worthy of remark that Divine Provi-
dence has taken especial care in the creation
of animals, that those which are the most
necessary to supply the wants of man, are
not only the most easy to rear, but the best
for constant consumption ; and it is, indeed,
a gratifying reflection, that if we look around
we shall see that those articles of food which
are most easily obtainable, and which the poor
consume in common with the rich, are far
preferable to those which are termed deli-
cacies. Among the former, perhaps no ani-
mal furnishes us with more food, or of a
better quality, than the hog, for he supplies
not only the long list of niceties for the rich,
enumerated by our friend Sturgeon, in his
'Essays on Good Living,' but also plain,

CHAP. XXIII.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 451

substantial pork and bacon for the suste-
nance of the hearty working man : nor should
his value be forgotten, in household economy,
as a consumer of those offals of the kitchen
and the garden, which would otherwise be
wasted.

Pork, both in its fresh and salted state, is,
indeed, an article of universal consumption
over the whole Christian world ; and the hog
is such a profitable consumer of every eatable
species of garbage, that pigs are reared not
only by every farmer, but by every cottager
who can find means to feed him ; for there is
no animal which yields so great a quantity of
flesh, nor of so nutritious a quality, in re-
turn for the food which it consumes. This,
together with the fecundity of the sow, which
generally produces from seven to ten young
ones at a birth, and that not unfrequently
twice within the year, tends, notwithstanding
the demand, to keep down the price at mar-
ket to such a rate as would leave but little
profit were the hog reared upon purchased
food ; but, as he will eat every refuse of
either animal or vegetable substance, and is
attended with very little trouble, he is fed

2g2

452 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap, xxiii.

at comparatively trifling expense during his
growth, and when, at a maturer age, fattened
upon corn, to become bacon and ham, he well
repays the cost.

The various breeds of this useful animal
that are reared in almost every district of the
United Kingdom, arising from the crosses
which are continually taking place, are so
numerous that any detailed description of I
them would fill a volume ; we shall there- "
fore confine ourselves to a very succinct ac-
count of a few of those which are still con-
sidered pure in race, and more generally
bred throughout this country : as for in-
stance the " Berkshire and Hampshire" — the
"Suffolk and Norfolk"— the "Essex and
Hertford" — the " Dishleys" — the "Chinese"
— and the " Neapolitan."

Of the Berkshire, which is almost the only
breed reared throughout that county and the
several surrounding shires, there are two kinds
— the " lop-eared" and the " prick-eared ;"
the one having very large, long ears, coming
so forward as sometimes to hang over the
eyes ; while those of the other are short,
small, and stand upright. In other re-

CHAP. XXIII.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 453

spects they are, however, nearly alike : their
colour of a reddish brown with black spots ;
their form close, round, and thick, with short
legs ; small boned, and having the distinctive
mark of being without bristles ; or rather a
rough, curly coat, wearing the outward ap-
pearance of coarseness; but nothing can be
finer than the bacon, and some of the pure
breed have reached the weight of more than
100 stone ; the size and weight, as stated in
Wilson's account of the hog, being —

Height, 4 ft. 9^ in. Live weight, 12 cwt. 2 qrs.
Length, 9 „ 8 „ Dead do. 10 „ 3 „

but from 40 to 50, when completely fattened
as bacon hogs, is the more general average ;
and even half that weight, or 18 to 25 stone,
still more common. The breed is, indeed,
so general a favourite among those who wish
to improve their stock, that they have been
dispersed all over the country, and are now
common even in America.

The Hampshire hog, though bred in the
adjoining county, is, however, of a white
colour, and though far from handsome, has
been long celebrated for its fine bacon ; but

454 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap, xxiti.

its character has been, perhaps, more ac-
quired from its being fed, when young, upon
beech-mast and acorns in the New Forest,
and from the mode of curing it, than from
any inherent degree of excellence.

The Suffolk and Norfolk, together with
those breeds of the same sort, reared under
different denominations in the midland coun-
ties, though rather small in size, have been
long in repute for their hardihood of consti-
tution and fruitfulness.

Thus the Essex half-blacks, which were in-
troduced some years ago by the late Lord
Western, as descendants from a cross with
the Berkshires, are now justly considered a
very superior stock. They are described in
the Survey of that county, as "black and
white, short-haired, fine-skinned, with smaller
heads and ears than the Berkshires, but fea-
thered with inside hair, which is a distinctive
mark of both ; have short, snubby noses, very
fine bone, broad and deep in the belly, full in
the hind quarters, but light in the bone and
offal. They feed remarkably quick, grow
fast, and are of an excellent quality of meat :
the sows are good breeders, and bring litters

CHAP, xxiii.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 455

of from eight to twelve, but they have the
character of being bad nurses."

A breed partaking of the Essex blood, and
generally known as the Essex and Hertford,
was also, about the same time, brought into
notice by a then celebrated breeder — Mr.
Dodd, of Chenies, in Buckinghamshire —who
frequently exhibited them at the Smithfield
Cattle Show, where they were greatly ad-
mired.

The Dishleys, which are descendants of
the Berkshires from some cross made by the
late Mr. Bakewell, are remarkably fine-boned,
and as handsome as most others of his well-
known stock. They are also said to lay on
a larger quantity of flesh in proportion to offal
than any other known breed, but they are
slow of growth, and neither very prolific nor
very good nurses, besides requiring more
food than usual when being fattened ; which
objections ought to prevent buyers from choos-
ing them, however caught by the appearance
of their beauty — unless, indeed, they be care-
less of profit : for it must be admitted that
lightness of bone always indicates delicacy of
flesh ; and although this breed will not ar-

456 FAKMING FOR LADIES, [chap, xxiil.

rive to such heavy weights as those of coarser
bone, yet its meat will be finer.

The Chinese — which, as the name imports,
was introduced into this country from the
Indies — is, however, the favourite breed for
household use, as they fatten kindly and the
flesh is extremely delicate ; but they are
small, and so deficient in the size of the
hind quarters, that the hams are of very
little weight ; neither does the flesh produce
that firmness of quality which is so much
admired in bacon. They are, therefore, usu-
ally killed at an early age for roasting and
pickled pork ; and where one or two can be
fattened as porkers upon the milk of a cow,
they should always be chosen for those pri-
vate families who do not feed pigs for bacon :
if not of the pure breed, yet some of those
crosses which retain its best qualities — among
which, those between the Berkshire and the
Chinese are the most generally preferred.

Of the pure, original breed, there are two
distinct species, the white and the black;
the former better shaped than the latter, but
less hardy and prolific. Both are, however,
round in the carcase, small-limbed, with fine

CHAP, xxin.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 457

ears, and head so embedded in the neck that,
when quite fat, the end of the snout only can
be seen ; but they are, for the most part, so
much smaller than the common run of Eu-
ropean pigs, and the flesh so much more
tender, that they are very seldom kept more
than a few months old. Indeed, if much
longer fed, their flesh runs too much to fat ;
but, when killed young, the meat is much
esteemed for its delicacy.

Another moderately sized breed has also
been lately brought from Italy, by Lord
Western, and is coming into frequent use,
under the title of the Neapolitan, as possess-
ing, in many points, very superior qualities
for gentlemen's families : being both light of
bone and delicate of flesh.

In describing these several breeds, our
object was more to guide amateurs in mak-
ing their choice, than with any idea that those
persons who are neither dealers nor breeders,
can have the opportunity of making any se-
lection ; for we well know that they must, in
nine cases out of ten, take what they can get
fi-om some neighbouring farmer. Nor is it a
matter of much importance in the purchase of

458 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap, xxiil.

young pigs which are to be killed as porkers,
or kept as mere stores for the consumption
of garbage ; but, if a breeding sow is to be
maintained, then one of the best kind should
be chosen ; and we should recommend one
of a cross with either the Berkshire, the
Essex, or the Suffolk, and a Chinese or Nea-
politan : the first with the last of these being,
perhaps, the best.

In speaking of them collectively, they
are called either swine, pigs, or hogs; but
when distinctively named, the male — when
not castrated — is styled a " boar," and the
female a " sow." Their whole progeny when
just born, is called a "litter," or a "far-
row;" but are singly — while very young —
termed " sucking pigs," or " roasters ;" when
a little more advanced, " porkers ;" then
" stores ;" and finally, when put up to be
fattened, " bacon-hogs."

Both male and female show a desire for
coition at eight or nine months old ; but if
this propensity be not indulged until each
have completed a year, the sow will gene-
rally produce a better litter. The term of
gestation is usually calculated at four calen-

CHAP. XXIII.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 459

dar months, from the time when the sow takes
the boar until she farrows, but should be
looked for soon after the expiration of six-
teen weeks ; at which time she should be put
up in a sty kept for her alone, with clean
straw for her bed, which she will carefully
arrange after her own fashion. Too much
litter should not, however, be given to her, as
the young pigs are fond of nestling under it,
and are sometimes overlaid by the sow and
smothered. It is, indeed, a good plan to take
them, one by one, from her while farrowing,
and put them by the fire-side in a basket of
wool, or wrapped up in an old blanket ; giving
them at the same time a few spoonsful of new
milk warmed and slightly sweetened. This
will guard against such accidents, and pre-
vent the sow from indulging in an unnatural
propensity, which she sometimes evinces, of
devouring her own progeny. When done
farrowing, the pigs should be taken to her,
and those which appear strong may be left
with her, but those which are weak may be
kept in the same manner for a day or two ;
being taken early and late, night and morn-
ing, as well as two or three times in the

460 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap. Xxiii.

course of the day, to the sow for sucking.
The product is so extremely various that no
certain expectation can be formed of the
number which may be farrowed : fifteen to
twenty are not uncommon ; in one instance
even thirty-seven have been littered at a
birth ! and the readers of Dryden and Virgil
may call to their recollection the omen offered
to JEneas on the foundation of Rome : —

" Wond'rous to tell ! she lay along the ground :
Her well-fed offspring at her udders hung ;
She white herself, and white her thirty young!"
ViRG. yEN. b. viii.

From seven to ten are, however, a fair aver-
age ; but a moderate litter is the best, as
when a great number are born, several will
be found weak and under-sized. Singular as
it may appear, the sow is not always furnished
with the same number of teats, and only one
pig can be supported on each, which they
appropriate to themselves separately and re-
tain possession until weaned. Within about
eight weeks, or rather less, the sow's milk
begins to fail, and her young ones, if left
with her, will fall off in condition; they
should therefore be weaned before that time :

CHAP. XXIII.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 461

but, as she will be ready to receive the boar
within a few days afterwards, she will farrow
twice within the twelvemonth, and will con-
tinue so long, that instances have been known
of their continuing to breed till near fifteen
years of age.

Pigs are easier reared in a litter than when
brought up alone ; they should therefore be
kept together after being weaned until killed
as porkers, or turned out to be kept as stores,
and a couple of cows, of any ordinary breed,
will bring up a litter without any other as-
sistance than the usual allowance of meal.
We have, indeed, seen porkers reared to a
complete state of fatness, and producing very
fine meat, when fed upon boiled roots of all
kinds, mixed with pollard, and made up into
a mash with only a very small quantity of
skim-milk.

On the subject of rearing, it is a bad plan
to be too covetous in bringing up a great
number of the pigs of each farrow ; for they
cannot be weaned until six or seven weeks
old, and if the sow has during that time
many of her young to nourish, she must
either be uncommonly well supported, and

462 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap, xxiii.

herself of strong constitution, or her brood
will become weakly. It should also be borne
in mind, that if very young animals are suf-
fered to fall off for want of sustenance, no
future superiority of feeding will ever make
them regain what they have lost. Supposing,
therefore, a litter to consist of nine, we should
recommend three to be killed at about two
or three weeks as roasters ; and of the re-
maining six, four to be killed as porkers, one
at three, and the others successively at the
distance of a month or six weeks each, while
two may be kept as stores, and finally fat-
tened for bacon. In short, never bring up
more than six or seven of any brood ; and in
this way, if a sow farrows twice a-year, or
even three times in the course of two years,
she will amply supply any moderate family
with both fresh and salted pork.

There is, however, such a popular preju-
dice against the use of fresh pork in any of the
summer months, that the times of farrowing
should be so arranged as to occur in the
months of May and September, so as to bring
the pork into season from the beginning or
middle of September to that of December;

CHAP. XXIII.] FARMING FOE, LADIES. 463

at which times the pigs will be about three to
four months old, and continue in fine order if
gradually killed at different stated periods
during three or four months longer, according
to the consumption of the family.

As the pigs are to be consumed at different
ages, the litter should not, however, be all
fattened together, although they may be fed
at the same time, and should be gradually
brought to a state of proper fatness by giving
more meal to those intended to be first killed.
The food must therefore be separately given ;
but this is a rather troublesome operation,
and, in order to lessen it, a good plan is to
make divisions in the trough from which they
are fed, with holes sufficiently large to admit
a pig's head, as here described : —

Each compartment of the trough may be
filled with the same quantity of food, and to
this, when the pigs thrust their snouts into

464 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap, xxill.

the trough, the attendant may add any in-
creased quantity of milk or flour to the ani-
mals to be first fattened. If not used for that
purpose, it is notwithstanding a good con-
trivance for thus forcing each to eat sepa-
rately, without allowing them to fight with
each other, and smear themselves by putting
their feet into the trough. Pigs are indeed
so greedy, that the strongest will drive the
weak ones from their food, in consequence of
which they become so stunted as not to be
worth rearing ; but with separate snout-holes
these master-pigs are deprived of their supe-
riority. It is therefore no bad plan to make
similar holes for their heads in the paling of
their yard, and place the common trough out-
side. The holes may be covered by a swing
door, to screen the trough, and the food thus
presented to them at pleasui-e.

CHAP. XXIII.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 465

The following observations, which we know
to be practically correct, are those of an
ancient dairy-man and farmer who breeds
pigs largely, for home use, as well as for the
market, and may afford a just notion of the
feeding, flesh, weight, and value of porkers.

When weaned from the sow, at towards
six weeks old, until they reach the age of
about three months older, they each require,
for the first month, about two quarts of milk
per day, or, in fact, as much as they can
consume ; but, as this is always skim-milk,
and that of the sow is very glutinous, a little
meal should be added to enrich it. Of this
barley-meal is the sort most usually given ;
but it is, at that early age, rather too coarse,
and either what the corn-chandlers call " fine
toppings," or the finest " wheaten pollard" —
of which they will consume half a bushel in
the month — is better : after which, however,
barley-meal should be the only kind used ;
unless, indeed, such a thing as the flour of
Indian-corn, or maize, can be got.

Rice has been also tried; but it must be
either ground or boiled, and being thus more
troublesome, and fully as dear, without af-

2h

466 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap, xxiii.

fording any very superior improvement in
either the quality of the meat or the fattening
of the pig, it is seldom used ; though, so far
as we are acquainted with its effects, we think
it well worth a trial when the same weight is
to be had for the price of barley- meal.

The pig will eat, in the second month, half
as much again of both milk and meal as in
the first ; and in the third, as much again as
in the second. At three to four months old
he is fit to kill, and will, at the former age,
eat as tender as chicken, and may weigh about
30 lbs. ; at the latter, he ought to weigh from
five to six stone of 8 lbs. each, but the flesh
will still be extremely delicate ; and the car-
case is generally worth in the market at
least 5*. M. per stone. If kept for two or three
months longer, although the meat will con-
tinue fine, it will yet have acquired so much
more strength of fibre as to destroy some
portion of its delicacy, and it loses perhaps
a penny a pound of its value ; it may, there-
fore, be doubtful whether the increase of
weight more than repays the additional cost
of food.

On this, however, we shall trespass on our

CHAP. XXIII.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 467

readers the account of some pigs fed last
year by a near relative, who occasionally
feeds them at his country residence for the
consumption of his family. Of two prick-
eared Berkshire pigs, bought out of the same
litter, one, killed at six months old, weighed
71 lbs. ; the cost altogether, in its purchase
and feeding upon milk and barley-meal, being
345. ; and finer pork we have seldom tasted.
The other, being kept a month longer, weighed
97 lbs. ; but was not, as we learned, nearly so
nice, being far too fat and rich.

Another pair, of the same breed, pur-
chased young, and killed when about eight
months old, each weighed 140 lbs., exclusive
of offal. " These were fed," as the owner
states, "at first entirely on skim-milk and
house-wash, and for about six weeks on peas,
barley-meal, and skim-milk, as well as wash.
They also had about a bushel of acorns, ga-
thered in my own fields, before I put them
regularly up to fatten: when I began with
giving them about a quart of peas a-day be-
tween them, and lastly added barley-meal.
Of peas they consumed one sack — that is four
bushels — and of meal five bushels ; so that
2h2

468 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap, xxiii,

together with their cost price, and the skim-
milk of a couple of small cows, they stand
me, in all, at about hd. per lb."

This our relation calls " no great bargain;"
though he had four capital flitches of bacon,
and admits that a butcher offered him 11. for
the pair, and that he probably could not buy
such meat for less than ^d. a pound. To
which should be added, the value of the head,
feet, and entrails, of which country people
make so many homely delicacies ; besides the
pleasure of having pork of one's own feeding.
On which, should any one cast a sneer, let it
be known that home-fed pork forms a frequent
and prominent dish at the Royal Table.

On the subject of bacon we shall speak
hereafter : but where a sow is not kept, and
that pigs are fed and killed young, as deli-
cacies for the table, they can only be reared
for that purpose, when taken from the sow,
upon milk and meal alone ; which is the
mode always employed in producing real
"dairy-fed pork;" and if any coarser food
be given, it will injure the flesh. In proof of
this we, as an experiment, some years ago,
took two young pigs of equal weight from the

CHAP. XXIII.] FAKMING FOR LADIES. 469

same brood, when weaned, and fed one upon
skim-milk, and the other upon kitchen pot-
liquor, in each of which pollard and barley-
meal were equally mixed. They were both
killed when four months old, being then quite
fat, and weighing, when dead, about 40 lbs.
each ; that fed upon the wash being rather the
heavier of the two. Joints of each were then
roasted, and the remainder pickled ; but the
flesh of the latter had, in both cases, a taste
of grease which rendered it unpleasant, while
that fed upon milk was extremely delicate.

We mention this for the double purpose of
cautioning housewives against the too profuse
use of any coarse garbage in feeding young
pigs for the table ; and, at the same time, to
remind them, that if it be not used, the offal
of the kitchen and the garden will both be
thrown away. The most prudent mode is,
therefore, always to keep a store-pig, of any
breed except the Chinese, which you may
buy at any age, for the purpose of consuming
those offals, on which he may be supported
until old enough to be fattened ; it being quite
immaterial upon what he is fed as a store,
provided it be abundant. On this latter

470 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap, xxiii.

point we must, however, warn the owner that
the animal should be kept in good condition ;
and, should there not be enough of substan-
tial kitchen and garden refuse, a plentiful
meal of some sort, such as bran or pollard
boiled up in the pot-liquor, should be given
to him every night before shutting him into
his sty ; for you may be assured that a half-
starved pig will cost more than he is worth
in corn to bring him into order for making
good bacon.

tAP. XXIV.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 471

CHAPTER XXIV.

Qualities of bacon — Pigs and pig-sties — Prince Albert's
piggery — Food of a breeding sow — Age of bacon — Hogs —
Guimaraen hams — Rudgewick hogs — Ringing of pigs —
Fatting for bacon — Live and dead weight — Caging —
Killing and curing — Wiltshire and other modes — Hambro'
pickle — Smoking — Diseases of pigs.

In regard to the flesh of the hog, and more
particularly to bacon, the fat differs from that
of every other animal, both in its quality and
in its mode of distribution over the body.
Thus it has been remarked by Buffon, " that
the fat of man, and of those animals which
have no suet — such, for instance, as the dog
and the horse — is pretty equally mixed with
the flesh ; while the suet of the sheep, the
goat, and deer, is found only at the extre-
mities of the flesh : but the fat of the hog
is neither mixed with the flesh nor collected
at its extremities, but covers the animal all
over, and forms a thick, distinct, and conti-
nued layer between the flesh and the skin."
The substance of the fat is also more dense
and transparent than that of other quadrupeds ;
nor is it soft and oily, like that of grease.

472 FAKMING FOR LADIES, [chap. xxiv.

Thus, if the hog be kept to a proper age,
well-fed, and made into bacon, the flesh is not
only as firm as that of beef or mutton, but so
much more nutritive, that ten ounces of it will
go further than a pound of any other meat in
the support of a working man : to which may
be added the united testimony of medical
men as to its wholesomeness, and its almost
constant use at breakfast by persons of the
most delicate appetite.

Before touching on the process of making
bacon, we must, however, describe the sties
in which the swine ought to be housed. We
say "ought to be," for, not uncommonly, they
are literally pigged under any kind of shed
fixed in some filthy corner of a yard; and
that, not only from inattention to their health
and comfort, but also from a very prevalent
idea that " they love to wallow in the dirt,"
than which nothing can be more fallacious ;
for, when wild, they naturally breed in marshy
places, and seek the mire rather for the cool-
ing of their skin than for the sake of the mud.
No animal is better pleased at being well
scrubbed with soap and water — which ought
frequently to be done for him — nor more

CHAT. XXIV.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 473

enjoys a dry and warm bed, which, if not
confined, he never soils ; the sow, indeed, ar-
ranges with peculiar care the litter furnished
to her for the occasion of farrowing, and both
young pigs and grown hogs nestle in the straw
with great complacency.

The sties should, therefore, be frequently
swept out and sluiced with water, to keep
them as clean as possible ; the pigs being, at
that time, turned out into another yard, until
that which they occupy becomes perfectly dry.
The sties, although well ventilated, should
also, if possible, have a warm aspect, and be
at the same time furnished with sufficient
shade to guard them from too much exposure
to the sun ; for young pigs, particularly of
the white, thin-skinned breeds, thus some-
times have their backs scorched and blistered,
to the great hindrance of their improvement.
Their nearness to the kitchen may be desir-
able for the opportunity of throwing out refuse
vegetables and wash to the sow and store-pigs
without encroaching on the servant's time ;
but should not approach too near the dairy,
the air of which should never be contaminated
with any foul odour.

474

FARMING FOR LADIES. fcHAP. xxiv.

The sty, if only intended for the feeding
of young pigs, may be proportionally small,
and conveniently put in a corner of the cow-
yard ; but if meant for the accommodation of
a breeding-sow, should be constructed some-
what in this manner —

The drawing was taken from one end of the
range of sties contained in the extensive pig-
gery erected at Prince Albert's farm in the
Home-park, at Windsor, and represents a
double court-yard, the interior of which is
covered and separated into two divisions ; one
for the dwelling of a sow with her brood, and
the other for those young pigs which may be
kept either for stores or fatting. Bacon-hogs
should, however, be kept separately, and this
would occasion an addition to the tenement ;
but, with a little contrivance, it may be very

CHAP. XXIV.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 475

easily managed ; a fatting-hog, being always
shut up for fattening, requires no yard, nor
any building larger than itself.

The covered sties necessary for a sow and
her brood, together with a few porkers, and
a bacon-hog, may be conveniently arranged
under a roof of twelve feet square, one half
of which should be allotted to the sow, and
the remainder to the hog and porkers. The
enclosure should be nearly breast high, so as
to guard the pigs from wind, and the roof
should be low at the eaves, to secure them
from rain ; but air should never be excluded.
It is very customary to leave one side of the
sty open, in order to allow the pigs the free use
of both it and the yard ; and this, when the sty
is completely roofed, may not be wholly ob-
jectionable. A better mode, however, is to
board up that side nearly to the roof, leaving
a door hung with hinges upon a cross-joist,
instead of an upright frame, so as to allow it
to swing backwards and forwards ; by which
means the pig — which soon learns the way —
opens and shuts the door at pleasure, by
merely pushing its snout. The uncovered
part, which forms the yard, may be of any

476 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap. XXIV.

convenient size, and bounded by a low pal-
ing. The whole building may be constructed
of timber at very trifling cost, but both the
yard and the sty should be floored with tiles
or slates, with a little declination to carry
ofT the water.

On the feeding of stores and porkers we
have said all that we deem necessary ; and
respecting the sow, we have only to add — that
besides the food given to stores, she should,
during the whole period of nursing her brood,
have an abundant supply of the kitchen and
dairy wash, mixed up with pollard or the
coarsely ground meal of any kind of grain or
pulse ; and, in the course of the day, a sub-
stantial feed of boiled or steamed potatoes,
given dry and warm, together with any sort of
refuse roots found in the garden. Such offals
will, indeed, go far towards the support of a
sow of any small-sized breed with a moderate
quantity of meal ; as, although having enough
of food, she is not intended to be made fat :
but it is a very great, though common, mis-
take, to suppose that she should be sparingly
fed, for she has a heavy drain to supply for
the nurture of her little ones, and if that be

CHAP. XXIV.] FARMING FOK LADIES. 477

not sufficiently furnished, they will assuredly
suffer in growth.

With respect to the fatting of a liog for
bacon, many people (as we have seen in the
last chapter) put them up for that purpose
when less than a twelvemonth old ; but, al-
though we admit that what is commonly called
"nice streaky bacon" may be thus made, we
yet insist that it will be deficient in that trans-
parent firmness by which bacon of prime qua-
lity should be distinguished ; nor can the hams
have the real flavour of those made from a
pig of eighteen months to two years of age :
in fact, nothing can be finer than the meat of
a spayed sow after she has produced four or
five litters, after yielding the profit of their
production ; and the pigs of Westphalia, Spain,
and Portugal, which furnish hams of such
superior quality, are never killed earlier.

Although fresh pork is not eaten in the
summer, yet ham and bacon are more in de-
mand at that season than in winter : where-
fore, without adverting to the age at which
the animal is to be killed, and supposing
two to be slaughtered every year, it should
be done at the separate distance of six months

478 FARMING FOR LADIES. [citAr. xxiv.

— in March and October — for tlic consump-
tion of the winter and the summer ; the one
kiHed in March to be eaten during the fol-
lowing winter, and the other in the ensuing
summer, so as to leave the meat full that
time to mature its flav(mr. It should, indeed,
never be consumed earlier, if the pigs have
been killed at the proper age ; but, if slaugh-
tered younger, they partake more of ])ickled
])ork than bacon, and should be eaten sooner,
for if kept much longer it will rather dete-
riorate than improve. For instance, the hams
sliip})ed from Europe to the East and West
Indies can seldom be brought to table in those
countries until near twelve months old, and
we can speak with experience to their being
generally finer flavoured than in England.
We recollect also a present having, some
y(!ars ago, been sent to us from the north
of Portugal, of a dozen of the celebrated
Guimaracn hams, which arrived some time in
the autumn ; and after distributing some to
our friends, only one remained when our
family went to the country in the following
sunnner. It was hung up during all that
tinu! in the kitchen, and when we returned.

niAP. XXIV.] K,\U1\HN(; I'OR I.ADIl.S. I7f)

l.ilc ill tlic vvinlcr, ji)»|)(';ii-('(l so dried ii|) .'iiid
.•i|>|i;ii-('iilly iiKiiddy lliai tlu; cook did not dcciii
it, woi'tli dressing. Her mistress, liowever,
tlioiitrlit otherwise; .iiid linviiig ordered it to
In: dn>ssed in the Sp.inish I'nshion - first,
{feiilly " parhoiled," ;is eoolis eall it, with
w.'itei" haviiifi; in it .'i. I;irge h;indl"ul ot" .'iro-
ni.itie herhs with a lull |)onnd of eojirse hrowu
siig;ir, ;ind IIkmi h.-iked in tin; (tveii ;i nion^
delieioiisly lluvoured h.'ini luiver w;is e;iteii : ;ill
lh;it wei'e sent were line, hut this, .•ilthoiigh
not ;i|)|»;ir(!ntly th(^ finest of tli(> lot, wjis far
sn|)eri<)r to th(! n^st, and must liav(^ h(M'n, at
the le.Msl, iie;irly tw(» ye;i,rs old.

I',irniei-s who {'(hhI |)ij4S loi" the s;ike of
|(r(»lit .ilways prefer the \:u-<^v. I)re(>(ls, which
c.iii he re;ire(l l,o a fjjreat Hizi^ and hiMroiru?
eiioniiously fat. Of tht^Wi the Jtuf/f/fwir/is,
whleli ar(! iiativoa of th(! horders of Siii'n^y
and Suss(>x, nro. pc!rha])H tlie Iai'{j;est, as they
coiiiiiKiiily arrive without any peculiar cai-e to
the wei;.;lit of 70 stdiie at two years old. In-
(hs'd, souk; of them are mentioned in tlu;
(!oiiiity Kc^ports as havinf.;; Ix^en led at that
ii<^v. from ()() to HO scon; |»ounds ; and one; Ih
Htated l(t have reached the immense; weijj,lit

480 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap. xxit.

of 182 stone ! We have ourselves frequently
had at our own table, in Germany, West-
phalia hams of 40 to 50 pounds, which were
very mellow and fine flavoured ; and we recol-
lect having once seen a ham, at a cheesemon-
ger's in London, which weighed 76 lbs., with
all the appearance of being very fine meat.
There can therefore be no solid objection
against rearing a bacon-hog of any breed,
and feeding him to any size ; but for the use
of a moderate family we think one of 20 to
25 stone dead weight— which gives from 160
to 200 lbs. of meat — will be found sufficiently
large.

Of whatever size or age they may be when
shut up to be fattened, they are, when stores,
usually allowed either the range of the road-
side or of the common, instead of keeping
them constantly confined in the yard ; and,
in order to prevent them from doing mischief
by grubbing up the ground with their snouts
in search of roots, it is customary to "ring
them," when two or three months old, by
inserting a small circular piece of iron into
the gristle of the nose, which prevents their
using it for that purpose. Sometimes, how-

CHAP. XXIV.

FARMING FOR LADIES. 481

ever, the cartilage gives way, and the ope-
ration must be performed again ; in conse-
quence of which either the gristle of the
snout is pared, or the two strong tendons
which it contains are severed, and this, it has
been affirmed, without occasioning the animal
any pain ; on which, however, a writer in the
'Encyclopaedia Britannica' gravely remarks,
" that so far as he can credit the testimony
of the pig, it seems to think otherwise, and
seldom refrains from expressing its dissent in
a very unequivocal manner."

It is, as we have already said, quite imma-
terial upon what pigs may have been fed as
stores, provided they have been kept in good
plight; but when put up to he fattened for ba-
con they must then be fed upon a better sort of
food than that already usually given to them :
this being for the purpose of hardening the
fat and rendering the flesh of that mellow
firmness and flavour which constitute the es-
sential properties of fine hams and bacon.
Potatoes, therefore, though largely used in
Ireland for the sustenance of stores, and fre-
quently employed, when steamed, by farmers
in conjunction with tail barley and oats, or

2i

482 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap, xxiv,

other unmarketable corn, yet should be only
used in the commencement of the fatting ; the
process of which should be completed solely
with hard grain, together with skim-milk, if
it can be spared.

There are various modes of effecting this
object, according to the fancy, judgment, or
means of the party pursuing it ; but experi-
ence shows, that whatever may be the food
on which the pig is to be fattened, it should
be given regularly, at stated periods, com-
mencing with that of the most inferior qua-
lity, and gradually increasing it in nutriment,
though not in quantity, as the animal in-
creases in flesh ; for not only is change of
food desirable, but, as the want of exercise
palls the appetite, the most nutritious sort
should then be given. Thus, besides steamed
potatoes, brewers' grains, bran and pollard,
made into mashes with wash, and mixed with
increasing quantities of ground oats, tail
wheat or barley, and, lastly, barley-meal with
bruised beans and peas, are the most com-
mon modes. One bushel of peas to four of
oats and barley, or three or four bushels
of potatoes with two bushels of ground oats

CHAP. XXIV.] FAEMING FOR LADIES. 483

and barley, steamed, are also considered good
mixtures ; but although these mashes pro-
mote the animal's fatting, they yet do not
improve the firmness and consistency of the
bacon fat. In fact, nothing can be superior
to skim-milk thickened with barley-meal, and
white peas ; the peas being given whole, and,
finally, during a fortnight or three weeks'
time, quite dry, with pure water, and omit-
ting the meal.

It is a commonly received opinion "that any
granivorous animal may be fattened upon any
species of corn or pulse ;" and this may be
true with regard to the amount of flesh, but
not so as to its flavour. Thus geese are
more properly fed upon oats, and turkeys on
barley, while bacon-hogs should ever have
peas ; for, as to beans, it has been long ob-
served that although they powerfully assist in
fattening any animal, they are yet found to
harden the flesh, while the pea renders the
fat of the bacon firm even to transparency,
without causing the lean to become tough.
So well known is this to experienced breeders,
that they, indeed, make a distinction in favour
of the white pea, as the grey sort, in their
2i2

484 FA.-RMING FOR LADIES. [chap, xxiv,

opinion, approaches too nearly to the nature
of the bean.

The ti7ne requisite for fattening must, of
course, depend on the breed, age, and con-
dition of the animal when put up ; but it is
generally thought that a bushel of barley-
meal will produce a stone weight of flesh, and
that a stone weight (of 14 lbs. live weight) of
increase may be obtained in a week, if the
pig be fed upon skim-milk, peas, and barley.
Nor should this be looked upon as extraor-
dinary : for ten pounds per week have been
frequently gained, and in several of the
' County Reports,' and other publications,
there are instances recorded, without any
surprise, of still greater products. Supposing,
therefore, a pig of any of the moderately
sized breeds, and of a proper age, to be put
up when of a dozen or fourteen stone weight,
it may within three months be brought, with
eight or ten bushels of barley-meal and peas,
to from 20 to 25 stone dead weight ; the
utmost cost being —

6 Bushels of barley-meal at Ax. 6d. . £1 7s.
4 Ditto peas 5s. Gd. . 12

And also supposing the feeding of the animal,

CHAP. XXIV.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 485

while a store, to have cost thirty shillings,
the whole amount will be not quite four
pounds — or under five-pence per pound at
the dead weight of 25 stone ; while the meat
will be of superior quality, besides leaving
the chaps, feet, and entrails, without any
charge.

The difference between live and dead
weights of all animals is six pounds ; the
former being 14 and the latter only 8, ex-
cluding the offal and kidney lard, which are
never calculated in the weight of the slaugh-
tered carcass. If, however, the pig be weighed
alive, the fourteen pounds will usually yield
about eleven or twelve pounds of solid flesh,
according to the mode in which the animal
has been fed ; the fattest giving the most.

In the fatting of hogs it is by many persons
thought a thriftless plan to allow them to
run about — " as thus wasting by exercise that
flesh which a state of rest would increase and
make a return for food and attendance." Act-
ing upon that principle, several breeders have
indeed adopted a mode of shutting them in a
sort of cage just large enough to permit them
to lie down, without allowing them to go into

486 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap. xxiv.

the yard ; some even carrying it so far as not
to leave them room to turn about. The sty
is built of planks, either for an indefinite
number, in separate divisions, or for one pig,
having a feeding trough at the head, and
doors or sliders at foot to enclose the ani-
mals. No litter of any kind is permitted,
as the stalls are placed upon an inclined plane
and swept out every day ; and the chewing of
the litter is thought to impede their thriving.
A front view of the compartments we have
already shown, and this cut shows a back
range of sties of that description for several
pigs.

They are indeed found to fatten more
speedily and upon less food when caged in

CHAP. XXIV.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 487

this manner, than when allowed the use of a
yard; as quietude certainly much promotes
the increase of flesh. It has been stated in
a Report, published by the Board of Agri-
culture, respecting the husbandry of Essex
— " that hogs half fat, weighing 70 lbs., may
be brought to double their weight within
twenty-eight days ; and have been known,
when fed upon barley-meal and water, to in-
crease at the rate of 15 lbs. per week."

Had not this been told upon such respectable
authority, the statement might be exposed to
some doubt ; but, according to a comparative
experiment recorded in the ' Sussex Report '
as having been made by the late Lord Egre-
mont — a porker of 11 stone 11 lbs., which was
caged in that manner on the 4th of March,
was slaughtered on the loth of April, at which
time he weighed 18 stone 3 lbs., thus having
in forty days gained 90 lbs. " He was sulky
for the first two days, and would eat nothing ;
but he then came to his appetite and con-
sumed two bushels of barley-meal with eight
bushels of potatoes. When slaughtered his
dead weight was 184 lbs., while that of some
porkers of the same breed and live weight

488 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap. xxiv.

was only 170 lbs. ; thus showing that the su-
periority of the caged pig could only have
arisen from the mode of feeding."

We have said so much against the feeding
of young pigs for making bacon, that we need
now only caution our readers against the prac-
tice of killing them at any age ere they be
completely fat ; for the more peas and bar-
ley-meal a hog consumes, the better will be
the hams and bacon, and nothing will pay
better, for the fatter he becomes, the less will
he eat. It is well known that nothing is more
indigestible than lean bacon; while, if the ani-
mal be well fed and thoroughly fattened, the
fat is not only one of the most nutritious and
easily-digested meats we possess, but aids
materially in promoting the digestion of other
food. Do not, therefore, give way to the
disgust sometimes expressed by over-delicate
people at very fat hogs and bacon : if you
purchase the meat, never buy it if it is lean ;
and if you fatten the hog, never kill him until
he can no longer walk.

When intended to be killed, the animal
should be left fasting for full twenty-four
hours, and lohen killed, there are two modes

CHAP. XXIV.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 489

of treating the carcass : either by taking the
bristles out with scalding water, or burning
them off with straw. The former may, per-
haps, be the best for preparing navy and
pickled pork ; but when the meat is to be
cured for bacon, the singeing of the bristles
is decidedly the best. The first method,
by softening the skin, renders it loose and
flabby, and injures the consistence of the fat ;
while the latter contracts and strengthens it,
thereby increasing and guarding the firmness
of the fat and imparting a flavour to the meat
very far superior to that of the scalded hog.
It is, indeed, partly to this method that the
Hampshire bacon has acquired its reputation
for excellence, which is thus performed : —

The hog being killed, the first process is to
" swale" him, or singe off" the bristles ; which
is done by laying the dead animal on one
side and covering it thinly with straw, to be
lighted on the windward side, and renewed
as it burns away — taking care, however, not
to scorch the skin. The other side is then
turned, and when the process of singeing is
completed, the bristles are scraped off" dry.

The carcass is then hung up all night to

490 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. xxiv.

drain off the blood, and is the next morning
cut up by the butcher in either of two different
modes, when intended — as young pigs usu-
ally are — for pickled pork ; or, as grown hogs,
for bacon : the former being done in the man-
ner here represented in the portrait of a Berk-
shire hog ; while in the latter the 'whole side
of the parts there designated, from the head
to the ham, is cut into one, and, with the
bones taken out, constitutes " the flitch."

1. The head and jowl. 4. The fore-loin.

2. The spare-rib. 5. The hind-loin.

3. The hand, or shoulder. 6. The belly, or spring.

7. The ham.

The head, being divided in two, is again se-
parated at the jaw ; the upper part being
called " the face," or " cheek," and the under

CHAP. XXIV.] FAKMING FOR LADIES. 491

part " the chap," or "jowl" — whence, proba-
bly, has arisen the common phrase of " cheek
by jowl" — while the joints of the neck-bone,
when cut into chops, are termed " griskins ;"
a " chine" is two necks, and the " spare-rib"
is so called when the fat and tlesh are cut off
for salting.

When cured for bacon, the flitches are laid,
with the rind undermost, either upon a tray
with a gutter round the edges, or upon an
inclined board, to allow the brine to run from
them. Both the flitches and the hams should
first be slightly powdered with saltpetre, which
will open the pores of the flesh to receive the
salt, and impart both a good colour and a
pleasant flavour to the meat ; and then the
flitches should be well rubbed on the fleshy
side with bay-salt, and laid one over the
other. The firmer the pork, the better will be
the bacon. " The flesh should be of a bright
red colour, and the fat also of a reddish tinge ;
for meat of this description, when made into
bacon, is not so liable to rust as that which
is pale and of a soft porous nature." In
curing it, much however depends, both as to

492 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap. xxit.

colour and sweetness, on the manner of rub-
bing in the saltpetre ; which should be thrust
with the fingers amonf]^ the sinews and about
the thick part of the haras, and under the
shoulders : in short, in and upon any bone
or opening which may admit it.

In performing this operation, the person so
employed should be furnished with a strong
glove having a piece of rough wood fastened
to the palm, for the more effectually rubbing
the salt into the grain of the flesh. Many
people, indeed, cure it solely vdth pickle, but
dry salt, or rather a pounded mixture of salt,
saltpetre, and loaf-sugar, rubbed in dry, is
much better ; for there is great truth in a
remark made by Cobbett — " that to have
sweet and fine bacon, the flitches must not lie
sopping in brine, which gives it that sort of
taste which barrel-pork and sea-junk have :
the flavour of dry salt and that in a dissolved
state being very different — the one savoury,
and the other nauseous." Therefore, change
the salt often ; at least about once a week ;
first rubbing the flitches dry, and then putting
that at bottom which was first at top.

The time requisite for the salting depends

CHAP. XXIV.] FAKMIXG FOR LADIES. 493

upon various circumstances : the size of the
flitch ; the manner of curing ; the state of the
weather ; and that of the place in which the
process is carried on. It will be sooner done
in moist air and in a damp cellar than when
both are dry ; but will not be so good, as
damp air will taint meat even sooner than
sunshine. The flitches of a hog of 20 stone
will, however, take from a month to six weeks ;
too much is better than too little ; and if the
animal has been well fattened, a cjood saltino;
will do no injury.

There are so many various modes of j;icA-
ling and curing hams and bacon, that we must
in a great measure refer to the receipts of
Mrs. Rundell, in her well-known and highly
approved ' Domestic Cookery ;' merely add-
ing a few of those which come within our
knowledge : of which the following is recom-
mended by Patterson, as being sufficient for
a ham of twenty pounds weight. "Take
three ounces of saltpetre, and rub it over
the ham ; letting it lie till the next day.
Then take half a pound of bay-salt, the same
quantity of common salt, a pint of beer- vine-
gar, and a pint of old ale ; boil all these

494 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap. xxiv.

together, and pour the mixture, boiling hot,
upon the ham : turn it twice a day for three
weeks, basting it at the same time with the
pickle. Finally, rub it over with barley-meal,
and either hang it up to dry or smoke it.

In Spain and Portugal, where the haras are
remarkably fine, sugar is very commonly used
in the proportion of about one pound to three
of salt and two ounces of saltpetre : this is
most frequently rubbed in dry, the hams being
at the same time exposed to the air; but if
pickle be used, the brine is made with the
common wine of the country, instead of water.

In Westphalia, where the hams also bear a
high character, the process is much the same ;
though juniper-berries are commonly added,
and the use of sugar is sometimes omitted.
The pickle is also made with strong beer
instead of wine. The peculiar flavour of
the hams is generally thought to arise from
the mode of drying, which is always done by
smoking them in the large chimneys of the
farm-houses, where oak wood is the only fuel
used ; while in this country fir, or any sort
of timber, and even charcoal, is not uncom-
monly employed.

CHAP. XXIV.] FARMI^^G FOR LADIES. 495

In the curing of the hams of Bayonne and
Strasbourg, which are so deservedly cele-
brated, not only is sugar largely used, but
garlic, allspice, cloves, and other spices are
also used in different quantities to add to their
flavour : nor would English curers do amiss
in following the example. Sugar much assists
both in preserving the meat and rendering it
mellow, as it corrects the pungency which is
often occasioned by the too free use of salt,
and a slight taste of spice could do no harm.
There is indeed, in this country, so strong
a prejudice against the use of garlic, that it
might not be easily overcome, but there are
few condiments which, if delicately employed,
will imperceptibly impart such high flavour.

All this, however, merely applies to the
curing of haras ; for as to bacon, the foreign-
ers know very little about our English modes,
though they in many parts have the very best
means of feeding and curing. For instance,
in Portugal and Spain the pigs are let to run
in droves for one or two seasons in the chest-
nut woods, where they thrive in flesh, and are
then fattened off on maize, they being then
nearly two years old ; but when made into

496 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap. xxiv.

bacon, the fat alone is cured, or rather salted,
and cut off to within an inch of the lean,
which is always eaten fresh, and is certainly
the finest pork we have ever tasted — white,
firm, and having that mellow flavour which
belongs to the flesh of all full-grown animals.

The Wiltshire bacon, which is in such high
repute, is most generally prepared in that and
the adjoining districts from dairy-fed pork,
and is cured in the following manner : — The
flitches are laid in large wooden troughs, and
sprinkled over with bay-salt, after which they
are left for twenty-four hours ; then wiped
thoroughly dry, and some fresh bay-salt, pre-
viously heated by the fire, is rubbed into the
flesh until it has absorbed a considerable
quantity. This process is continued for four
or five successive days, during which the
flitches are turned every day ; and if the hog
be large, they should be kept in strong brine
for five weeks, turning them every day until
they are hung up to dry.

The following receipt has been handed to
us by a farmer's wife, in Surrey, for the pick-
ling of a pig weighing 18 stone of 14 lbs. : —
" A pound and a half of saltpetre pounded,

CHAP. XXIV.] FARMING FOR LADIES. 497

divided into equal portions, and rubbed on the
flesh sides of each of the hams, shoulders,
and flitches, first laying them into the pickling-
tub. Then add a good thickness of coarse salt
all over the meat ; let it lie three or four days,
and then change the flitches from the top to
the bottom ; add a little more salt, repeated
two or three times, and let it remain in pickle
about three or four weeks ; after which it may
be hung up in a dry cool place where there
is a thorough draft of air, and in about six
weeks the bacon will be fit for use : but the
hams will be better if kept for two or three
months longer." In neither of these modes is
sugar mentioned ; but were molasses used in
the pickling, it would no doubt improve the
flavour.

The celebrated Hambro' pickle — which
we got from a hon vivant of the first order —
is equally applicable to beef, pork, tongues,
&c., and is as follows : — " To each gallon of
water put one pound and a half of common
salt, a quarter of a pound of coarse brown
sugar, and one ounce of saltpetre ; boiled, and
to be carefully scummed. After standing in
a proper vessel until quite cold, the meat may

2k

498 FARMING FOR LADIES, [chap. xxiv.

be immersed, and will be fit for use in ten
days, and improve for months ; but it must
be carefully kept pressed down by means of a
cover and a clean heavy stone. The pickle
must be watched, and when any scum begins
to rise, the meat must be taken out and the
liquor reboiled, and scummed, and cooled,
as before ; at the same time half a pound
more salt must be added, but no raw salt is
to be applied at any time. The meat to be
returned when the pickle is quite cold, say
after ten or twelve hours. Tongues will re-
quire a month at least, and are improved by
the addition of an ounce of bay-salt added
to the above.

" None of these meats require to be pickled
separately, but had be better cut into such
pieces at first as may be required. One clove
of garlic, half an ounce of allspice, and as
much whole pepper, boiled with the ingre-
dients, much improves it."

Many of these articles are dried, as we
have seen, in the open air, but with hams
and bacon it is more frequently done by the
aid of a slow fire : formerly in the huge
chimneys of our old fashioned farm-houses

CHAP. XXIV.] FARMIXG FOR LADIES. 499

where oak was burned, but latterly in smoke-
houses, which are common throughout most
parts of the country, and are kept for the
purpose by persons who make a livelihood by
hanging the joints up to dry. These are in
general mere huts, only a few feet high and
closed on all sides, so as only to allow the
smoke to ascend by a small hole in the roof.
The fire is commonly made of sawdust, spread
to the depth of five or six inches over the
earthen floor, and, when kindled, smoulders
without creating flame ; but little attention is
ever paid to the sort of timber from which
the sawdust is taken, though it is a matter
of extreme importance to the flavour of the
meat, and oak is by far the best.

The loose salt should be wiped from the
hams and flitches, and they should be rubbed
over with bran, after which they are hung
from the joists of the roof, or from timbers
fixed across the walls : the flitches are hung
with the neck downwards, and the hams sus-
pended by the shank. The flitches will usu-
ally be ready in a fortnight, without much
loss of weight, but hams require much longer :
if thoroughly smoked — the flavour of which

2k2

500 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. xxiv.

many people prefer — three months will not be
too much, and it cannot in any case he per-
fectly done in less than six weeks ; nor will
the loss be much less than from one-sixth to
one-fifth of the weight, according to the time
which has been taken in the process.

Both bacon and ham, when cured and laid
by for use, are subject, if exposed to the air,
to attacks from flies, which deposit their eggs
in the meat, and thus create maggots which
spoil it. To avoid this inconvenience it is
not uncommon to put the flitches into chests
filled with bran, which, as it will keep them
from becoming rusty, as well as guard them
from the insects, is an excellent plan; and
with regard to hams, nothing can be better
than either to cover them closely with strong
paper, or, still more effectually, to sew them
up in a coarse linen bag, and wash it over
thickly with lime-water.

Pigs are not very subject to disease : the
most common aj-e surfeit, occasioned by allow-
ing them to gorge themselves ; and eruptions
of the skin, called mange, which is generally
caused by want of air and cleanliness in the
sties, though sometimes by food of a heat-

CHAP. XXIV.] FARMING FOE, LADIES. 501

ing nature, and not unfrequently by starva-
tion. The first can easily be cured by ab-
stinence, or a little soap-suds given with
their food will operate as physic ; and as to
the second, soap and water will have great
effect if both pigs and the sties be well
scrubbed with it, A few doses of an ounce
of saltpetre, mixed daily in a mash, with a
little nitre, will also soon remove it ; but if
not, an ointment made of equal parts of sul-
phur, mutton suet, and tar, rubbed about their
neck and ears, where it is most prevalent, will
soon effect a cure.

The measles is not usually observed to
render the pigs sick, nor is it commonly dis-
covered until they are killed ; when it may
be seen in the grain of the meat, which is
punctured, as it were, with small whitish
pustules in the flesh. An appearance of
languor and failure of appetite, however,
generally denote a commencement of the
malady, which, it is thought, may be much
mitigated, if not removed, by giving small
quantities of levigated antimony in their
food.

502 FARMING FOR LADIES. [chap. xxiv.

Generally speaking, if the sties in which
the pigs are be kept clean, and the animals
themselves be occasionally well washed with
soap-suds, and small doses of sulphur and
nitre sometimes given to them in their wash,
disease will seldom take place, and very
rarely prove fatal.

Index.

INDEX.

Introduction and Table of Contents

Page

POULTRY,

Yards and offices ...... 1

Hen-houses ....... 3

Lord Spencer's poultry-yards at Altliorp, with plan

and elevation ...... 6

Plan of a court-yard in Scotland ... 8

Her Majesty's poultry-house at Windsor . . 9

Arthur Young's plan . . . . . 13

Arrangement for the support of a moderate stock . 14

Construction of sheds . . . . . 19

Poultry-yard of an Irish clergyman ... 21

Size of a fowl-house ..... 27

Perches, floors, and doors .... 28

Origin of the term " Poultry" .... 33

Fowf.s.

"Wild and tame birds ..... 35

Cock of the Wood 37

Domesticated and wild animals ... ib.
Domestic fowls, and names by wliich tliey are

known ....... 39

Moulting ....... 40

The cock 42

The hen 44

Anecdote of a Robin ..... 47

Age of fowls ...... 49

Valentine's-day ...... ib.

504

Breeding

Choice of a cock .

Life of a hen

Number of hens to a cock

Old women's sayings

Sorts of common fowls :

the game-cock, and cock-fighting

the Dorking .

capons and poulardes

the Malays, Polish, and Spanis

the shack-back

the crested

hybrids

bantams

barn-door fowls and dung-hill cocks
Fecundity of the hen
First and second broods
Servants
Laying of eggs
Process of hatching
Nests .
Roosting
Sitting

Impregnation of the egg
Number of eggs to be placed un
Good and bad sitters
Production of the chicks
Management of chickens
Cribs .

Crop and gizzard
Separation of the hen and chicken
Cost and value of chickens and grown fowls
Feeding of grown fowls .

of stores ....

Earth-woi-ms and maggots
Parisian Abattoir and Ferminieres
Quantity of food consumed by fowls .

ler a hen

505

Buck-wheat • . . .

Indian corn .......

Barley and oats ......

Barley .......

High and low keep . . . . .

Boiled corn .......

Rice

Fatting of fowls ......

Cooping .......

Sun-flower seed ......

Horsham and Wokingham modes of fatting
Operation of cramming . . . . .

Coqsvierges de Normandie, and Poulets a la Reirie
Pillaw, a la Rundell . . . . .

Eggs of Fowls.
Their composition, weight, number, and

Page
147
149
ib.
151
153
154
157
160
163
165
66,167
168
170
171

quality
Value and expense
Experiments on preserving eggs
Winter-laying

Clear eggs ....
Cock's eggs ....

173, 171, 176
181
185
190
192
ib.

Turkey:

Origin and appellation

Description .

The cock turkey and his

Rearing and feeding

Turkey-hens

Nests .

Period of incubation

Number of eggs

Management of hatching

Chicks and their food

The pip

Poults

194

197
198, 199
200
202
203
204
2C6
207
208, 209
211
212

506

Fatting and weight of grown turkeys
Prizes given by the late Countess Spencer
Flesh of the cock and hen
Stuffing with truffles
Cramming ....

Page
213
214
215
217
ib.

Guinea. Fowls.
Origin, introduction, and price . ■ • 220

Description .....•• 222

Difficulty of domestication .... ib.

Depredations in the garden, and modes of prevention 224
Number and value of the eggs and flesh . . 227, 228

Pheasants, partridges, and pea-fowls . . 230, 232, 233

Geese.

Aquatic Fowls — the swan

237

the wild goose

238

Domestic geese

239

Michaelmas geese .

241

Celebration of Michaelmas-day

ib.

Gulls, goslings, and green geese

. ib., 245, 246

The gander and his mates

242

Breeding and incubation

243

Rearing of a brood

246

Stubble geese

248

Fatting of geese

250

Experiments on ditto

252

Cobbett's mode of feeding

254

Opinions respecting the qualitie.

of geese at various

ages

256

Pdt^s lie Foie gras .

25S

Mode of enlarging the liver

259

Plucking of feathers

260

Life and character of the goose

262

507

Ducks

Habits of the wild duck

Tlie domestic duck

Rhone and Muscovy ducks

Breeding

Eggs and hatching

Ducklings .

Hatching by the hens of fowls

Feeding of young ducks

Fatting of grown ducks .

Experiments on feeding, weigh

Ponds, and anecdote

and value

265
266
268

269,271
ib.
272
273
274
277

278,279
280

Diseases of Poultry.

The

roup

The pip, or gapes .

Fever ....

Crop sickness

Moulting, hen-lice, and old age

Mode of killing .

General treatment

Pigeons.
Description and origin of the various breeds

the wood-pigeon

the turtle-dove

the carrier, and its employment

the English dove-cote pigeon

the blue dove-house pigeon

fancy pigeons and prices .
Attachment to home
Habits, courtship, and constancy
Building of their nests
Eggs, incubation, and pigeon's milk
Process of hatching
Squabs and squeakers
Dove-cotes ....

284
286
288
289
290
291
293

294
296
297
298
300
301
302
ib., 319
304
305
307

ib.
308

ib.

508

Owls and vermin .
Flesh of the pigeon
Food .

Appetite for salt
Salt-cat
Treatment

Page
311
313
314
318
319
320

RABBITS.

Tame and wild

Fecundity

Habits

Breeds

Hutches

Warrens

Mode of feeding

Experiments

Expense and value

Rabbit-curry

Metropolitan rabbit-club

Diseases and mode of killing

322
ib.
323
325
327
329
330
332
333, 334
335
336

GOATS.

Species ....

Goat's whey

Age and denomination

Flesh of the goat and kid

Habits ....

THE DAIRY,

Establishment ...

Purchase of a cow .

Breeds : short and long horns .

Ayrshires . . . .

Suffolk duns ...

Welch

Aldemevs . . . .

341

342
343
ib.
344

347
348
349
350
351
352
353

509

Page

Col. de Couteur"s " Beauty " . . . . 355

Management and food ....

. 356,360

Kerry cows, and comparison between them an

d

Ayrshires

358

Winter and stall-feeding

. 361,386

Description of a milch-cow

365

Neat cattle, denomination and mode of ascertainin

their age ......

367

Breeding and gestation of the cow

369

Abortion ......

372

Calving

373

Beestings

374

Running dry .....

375

Diseases ......

376

Rearing of a cow-calf ....

379

Process of weaning ....

380

Construction of a cow-bouse .

388, 392

Stalls, and modes of fastening the cows

393, 394

The Royal dairy at Windsor .

395

Plan of a dairy-house ....

399

Floors, roofs, and materials of the building .

400

Milk, qualities and adulteration

403

component parts .....

405

Lactometer ......

407

Dairy-maid and unruly cows .

408

Withholding of the milk

ib.

Operation of milking .....

409

Utensils of the dairy ; pails, coolers, strainers, and

steens .......

412

The churn

416

upright

417

barrel .......

418

metallic ......

420

Operation of churning

427

Creaming and skimming ....

482

Scotch method

ib.

Clouted cream ......

429

510

Vessels of zinc . . .

Butter made from cream and from whole milk

Dutch method ....

Temperature of the milk-house

Making and quality of butter .

Curing for winter consumption

Fresh butter .....

Dr. Anderson's rules

Cream-cheese and slip-cote

Product of a cow ....

THE PIGGERY,

Pork

Breeds of pigs

the Berkshire .

the Hampshire

Suffolk and Norfolk

Essex half-black

Essex and Hertford .

Dishleys

Chinese . .

Neapolitan
Denomination

Coition and gestation of tlie sow
Farrowing ....
Produce of a litter
Breeding ....
Management, weaning, and feeding
Trials ....

Store-pigs ....
Nature and qualities of bacon .
Sties .....
Prince Albert's piggery at Windsor
Feeding of a breeding sow

of stores and porkers
Guimaraen and Westphalia hams

INDEX.

511

Rudgewicke hogs . . . .
Ringing ....
Fatting of a hog for bacon
Time requisite for fatting
Weight and cost .

Page

47J
480
481
484
ib.

Live and dead weight

Caging ....

Age for killing

Scalding and singeing off the bristle

s of the ho^

485
486

488

when killed

489

Mode of cutting him up .
Curing of bacon .

4!)0
491

Pickling of hams .

492

Spanish, Portuguese, and Westphaliai
Bayonne hams

1 modes

493
494

Wiltshire bacon .

495

Picklhigfor apig of 18 stone .

496

The Hambro' pickle

497

Smoking and smoke-houses

499

Preservation of bacon and ham .

500

Diseases ; surfeit and mange
measles

ib.
501

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