UMASS/AMHERST

* UMASS/AMHERST *

■■■■■■^^^
312066 0333 3128 9

lil

v\-

LIBRARY

OF THE

MASSACHUSETTS

AGRICULTURAL

COLLEGE

SF
487
W43
V. 1

— PuXlQk.

V.

This book may be kept out

TWO WEEKS

onl}', and is subject to a fine of TWO
CENTS a day thereafter. It will be due
on the day indicated below.

J

FebTTM

FEB 1'- 193?
. DEC 17 1932

NOV 2 1935
frv 1939

NOV 2 1948

'Ap

J ^19®

^X.'

a
0 §

The Poultry Book

By

HARRISON WEIR, F.R.H.S.

American Edition Edited by

WILLIS GRANT JOHNSON

Assisted by

GEORGE O. BROWN

as Associate Editor

and

Many American Experts

Complete in Eighteen Parts

NEW YORK

DOUBLEDAY, PAGE & COMPANY
1903

Copyright, 1903, by

DCUBLEDAY, PaGE & COMPANY

/

This part has been revised and partly rewritten
from the American point of view by American experts.

"The Varieties to Keep"
George O. Brown, Maryland

"Mating and Breeding"
I. K. Felch, Massachusetts

n9¥Df;

I

This book has been revised and partly rewritten
from the American point of view by American experts.

CONTENTS OF PART II

"The Commercial Egg"

" Eggs from a General Point of View

Miller Purvis, Illinois

CONTENTS OF PART III

"Incubators and Chicken Rearing"
Thomas F. McGrew, New York

* "The Feeding of Poultry"
James E. Rice

This book has been revised and partly rewritten
from the American point of view by American experts.

CONTENTS OF PART IV

* "The Feeding of Poultry"
James E. Rice, New York

" Finishing Fowls for Market "
Miller Purvis, Illinois

"Conditions in the United States"
H. E. Moss, New York

"The Situation in Canada"
Professor A. G. Gilbert, Ontario

"Capons and Caponizing "
By the Editor

* Continued from Part III

This book has been revised and partly rewritten
from the American point of view by American experts.

CONTENTS OF PART V

"Practical Poultry Houses"
A. F. Hunter, Massachusetts

"The Common Diseases of Poultry"
Dr. Nathan W. Sanborne, Massachusetts

" Principal Insects Infesting Poultry "
A. F. Hunter

This book has been revised and rewritten from
the American point of view by American experts.

CONTENTS OF PART VI

"The Jungle-fowl"

"Ancient and Modern Game-cocks"

" An American Collection of Cock-spurs
Dr. H. p. Clarke, Indiana

* " The Modern Game-fowl"

* Continued in Part VII

This book has been revised and rewritten from
the American point of view by American experts.

CONTENTS OF PART VII

* " The Modern Game-fowl"

"Oriental Game-fowls"
Dr. H. p. Clarke, Indiana

General Remarks About Game-fowls"
Dr. H. p. Clarke, Indiana

"The Farm or Homestead Fowl"

Concluded from Part VI

This book has been revised and rewritten from
the American point of view by American experts.

CONTENTS OF PART VIII

Kent, Sussex, Surrey, and Dorking Fowls
"Some Scotch Fowls"

This book has been revised and rewritten from
the American point of view by American experts.

CONTENTS OF PART IX

"The Shanghai or Cochin Fowl"
Thomas F. McGrew, New York

"Light and Dark Brahmas "
Thomas F. McGrew, New York

From a f holograph " Commercial Poultry

WHITE PLYMOUTH ROCK COCK

PREFACE.

" There is nothing among men perpetual nor nothing stable, but all things pass and
repass, even like unto the flowing and ebbing of the sea." — Sallust.

[S A CHILD I was ever happy, contented and amused by

the companionship of animals and birds, particularly fowls.

At the time that my only brother* and myself were

quite "httle things, " our father would make outHne pencil

drawings for us to copy. These, by our desire, were mostly

" cocks and hens." No stories pleased us so much as those

of the wild and tame animal Hfe of the woods, hedgerows and the farm,

and none like those that told of the Kent and Sussex homesteads, with

their cattle, bird and poultry associations.

Early in May, 1829, when scarcely five years old, I traveled with my
mother by coach to Tunbridge Wehs, and thence by a hired conveyance
along the Hastings road to Pembury, another mile ; then up a long, narrow,
wheel-rutted, sanded lane, whose high and low side-banks and hedges amid
their greenery fairly glowed with the rich and rural colorings of spring,
through a five-barred gateway, past a pond darkened by overhanging
trees, a wider and more oA space of the grass-fringed trackway, and we
were a t^" Fletchers'," theBcient family home of a near relative: an old-
wojrf primitive, Jialf-stone, brick, timber and weather-tile built house,

^ John Jenncr \^r, F.L.S., F.Z.S., F.E.S., etc.

» ; .

vu

viii The Poultry Book

; thatched out -buildings,

barn, cart-house and

^ j, v > piggeries, with a sur-

■^'Ip^ "^-r^ rounding of hop

garden s , arable,

'^ '*-" meadow and other

"^^^ cultivated land. The

^^

*'"^--*' ' homestead w^as some

centuries old, also the
> ■ ; out -buildings ; fields

^ '' were scattered among

woods, joining other
AT THE OLD FARM woods lu almost never-

ending variety of forms
and masses, while in front of the leaden casement -windowed house was
the trim and gay flower garden, defended from cattle and other incur-
sions by the whitest of wooden paHngs. A thrush sang amid the trees of
the blossomy orchard close by, and a chaffinch gave voice from a lilac bush.
All about was old, even the very fruit-trees, and yet to me — so new. To
this day everything I saw and heard is as fresh and as bright in my memory
as though it were but yesterday ; the house, the woods, the hedged-in fields,
the birds, the wild and garden flowers, were to me then, as now, a very
wonderment of lovable things and an adorning beauty unadorned.

The day after our arrival I was missed, and by much searching found
in the cowyard with a pencil and paper, endeavoring to draw "the cocks
and hens. " For many years these drawings, with their shght resemblance
to fowls, were treasured and proudly shown by my mother. Here it was
that I first saw the Kent and Sussex white-shanked five-toed black-and-
red poultry, though kept and known at "Fletchers'" and some adjacent
farms beyond time of remembrance. Years afterward I learned that the
w^iole of the housekeeping expenses were paid out of the profits derived
from the small dairy and — the poultry. From this time my love of animal
life so increased that some fowls were got to please my brother and myself.
Three Nankeen Bantams, and then some partridge-colored and "booted, "
were given to our father by Sir John Sebright for "the boys." Then
Aylesbury Ducks, pigeons, rabbits, dogs. Guinea-pigs, piebald rats, fawn-
coloied, Ijlack and white mice, and a tame but very young squirrel were

Preface

IX

purchased ; and thus it was with my brother and myself no time was more
enjoyable than that spent in attending to the wants and welfare of our
various, somewhat incongruous animal and bird belongings ; but the farm-
yard, with its poultry, was ever the first and our most restful pleasure.
Growing older and stronger, we wandered wide in search of variety in this
our chief dehght.

Many of our relatives and friends living in Kent and Sussex were
farmers, and that chiefly of their own land or of large holdings ; and it may
be said that all, as a rule, kept the best of farm-stock, and the poultry was
not only a profitable adjunct, but things of beauty of the highest excellence,
whether for the table or for the production of eggs.

The farmer and the poultry fancier of to-day has but little or no idea
of the superior and long-tested quahty of the then ancient breeds of fowls
nurtured and kept about our southern homesteads, nor how much they
were cared for, appreciated and valued.

Both the cocks and hens were most carefully and thoughtfully selected,
not only for their fineness of flesh, thinness of skin, their form and size, but
also for their uniformity and beauty of color ; in this respect districts and
farms were known as having a certain specialty, and the fowls were not,
as many modern writers ignorantly state, unculled or unmatched. In
many cases the housewives were as proud, if not more so, of their poultry
as any cattle-breeder
was or could be of his
cattle. Often would
they take my brother
and myself at the
feeding-time into the
poultry yard, and there
point out the best, and
tell us why they were
the best, and what Avere
their chief points of
excellence, or their
beauty of color or
markings; and further
tell us how the same
kind and breed had old rent and sussex five-toed hen

X The Poultry Book

been kept and reared on the land for many generations ; and also
when some were killed, and plucked for the table for culinary purposes,
we were shown what constituted a first-class fowl as regarded size,
color of flesh, fineness of the fiber, thinness, whiteness and smoothness
of the skin, the even distribution of the white fat, the squareness
of the body — for none were then in favor of the long breast, as now
advocated, and which latter is a mistake, as it must be generally
wanting in depth; but with the shape then bred an exceeding plump-
ness of breast was obtained. The Partridge* was invariably quoted as
"the model form" of what a fowl should be, with rather more leg and
thigh, the shanks being in due proportion; and they one and all were most
particular that the shanks (then called legs) should be white, and fleshy
scaled, with feet five -toed white — even one dark nail was considered a
blemish, and rejected as breeding stock. We were shown where to look
for the hens' eggs, and trained in the feeding and rearing of chickens, and
to note the times of feathering, the hen's pratings, cacklings and callings;
the cock's Growings were talked of as noticeable as varying both in power
and tone, and as indications of health and strength that were not to be
lost sight of when choosing the birds of the year for mating as breeding stock.
Several methods of fattening the chicken were shown to us, and how
to pluck a dead fowl properly, while the carving of one on the table was not
neglected. All of this was well over "sixty years since" ; and thus it has
been that almost from very infancy have I grown into the knowledge and
love of our "farm" and "fancy" poultry, and the which to me has been
a source of everlasting pleasure both in thought and reality. Having kept
almost every variety, not only have I studied fowls from a poulterer's
view, but as a naturahst, and, lastly, as an artist, professionally and other-
wise attending poultry shows, from that of 1845 at the Zoological Societies
Gardens, and elsewhere to the present time, often acting as one of the
judges, and have been also an exhibitor for nearly fifty years. j During
this time I have seen, known and conversed with those fanciers of the
far-off past as to what poultry was, and those breeders of the day as to
what it now is, and thus by theirs and my own long and almost unique
experience have gathered, I hope, a true and certain knowledge of the
varieties of the breeds, both old and new. Such, I believe, should become

* Perhaps the Grouse would be in Scotland.

t Winning first prize for old EngUsh Game cocks, Crystal Palace, 1S98.

Preface

XI

historical ; thus it is that I have endeavored not only to put together such
facts that have come under my own actual observation, but also those made
known to me by others that have been my friends and associates in bygone
times, as well as those truthfully recorded by authentic writers in the

..^

r

SKETCH AT THE OLD FARM SIXTY YEARS SINCE

numerous books, mostly in my possession, my idea being to tell of, to
portray or describe our different breeds of fowls as to what they were, and
now what they are. This has been my conceit for more than forty years.
Many long and serious illnesses, and work in other directions, has hindered
much, and made progress slow, but the intention has gained in material,
though in one sense it has unexpectedly lost in another, as I shall presently
show. That I was writing and preparing an illustrated book on poultry
had long been known, and that it would comprehend the past and present
variations of the different breeds, but the full scope of its contents had not
been defined to others, until in a friendly conversation between myself
and the editor of Poultry (the late Mr. Broomhead), May, 1891, in which
I gave him the general outhne of what I was and had been doing, upon
which he published the following in Poultry, May 22, 1891 :

Xll

The Poultry Book

' ' Mr. Harrison Weir has for a long time been engaged in writing a poultry
book, although illness has again somewhat hindered him. The work,
which will be altogether different from the general run of poultry books, is a
resume of more than fifty years' experience, and will show^ the variations of
many of the breeds of fowls for a number of years in consequence of poultry
shows, which, as is generally well known, Mr. Harrison Weir has contended
for many years past has been the ruin of the commercial table fowls.
For years past ]\Ir. Weir has been making very carefully delineated draw-
ings, which will accompany his descriptions of the birds. Game-fowls and
Dorkings will occupy a prominent position in the work, a large amount of
valuable and interesting information having been got together respecting
these breeds."

This information having been freely given, I, and also many others,
were somewhat indignantly surprised to find another book published in
1892 of nearly the same construction, and not only that, but using on the
title-page almost the precise words that the editor of Poultry had
written in May, 1891, regarding my book from the information that I
gave him.

I only quote the above fact to clear myself from any imputation of
plagiarism at least on my part, and for no other reason. The above carries
its own comment, therefore any from me is needless.

Upon this, I thought it best to aVjandon my book, though the work of
many years' research, much thought and a lifelong experience; so for the

PARTRIDGES

time at least it was abandoned, and only resumed at the earnest entreaty
of some dear friends, and though from ill-health and various other causes
the work has been slow, and at times almost tedious, it is at last completed,
and I most sincerely trust and hope that as it has been a labor of love.

Preface

Xlll

OLD STYLE OF KENT AND SUSSEX FOWl

with all its faults and shortcomings it may prove to be both useful
and interesting; also, being partly historical and biographical, it may be
found instructive.

The antiquarian portion is selected from a mass of notes taken from
old books, Middle Age inventories, records, and from various other sources,
and which I trust will be found acceptable, and at one and the same time
convey to the fanciers, poultry keepers and poultry writers of to-day that,
without doubt, and whatever may have been said to the contrary, for many
centuries at least our poultry was not merely one of the neglected append-
ages of the villa and farm, but was chosen and bred with much care, atten-

XIV

The Poultry Book

tion and discretion, and that not only as a source of profit, but also for
pleasure and even sport ; and that before any poultry shows existed there
were fanciers, and the table fowls of Kent were noted in history, and these,
with those of Sussex and Surrey, were truthfully pronounced by competent
judges to be as "table fowls, the very finest and best in the world. "

I have only to add that the birds dehneated are portraits and not ideals,
and that latterly, to insure as much accuracy as possible, photographs have
been used in every instance where procurable. For many of these I am
lastingly indebted to several of our principal poultry breeders and fanciers,
and their great kindness in having their birds photographed especially for
my use, and for which and other gentle courtesies I tender my most hearty
and sincere thanks.

HARRISON WEIR.

August 9, 1902.

INTRODUCTORY REMARKS

OWLS {Galliis domesticiis, Buff.) ; Guinea-
fowls {Numida meleagris, Lin.) ; Turkeys
(Meleagris gallopavo, Lin.); Geese (Anser
anser, Lin.); Ducks {Anas boschas, or domestica,
Lin.). These in their varieties represent the chief
if not the whole of our useful domestic birds, and
it is a curious fact that they originate in the four
quarters of the world, the first coming from Asia,
the second from Africa, the third from America,
while the last two are European.

And it is no less remarkable how well each
and all, by their many naturally valuable properties
and habits, are so thoroughly adapted for domestica-
tion, no other famiHes of birds, w4th the exception of
the pigeon, lending themselves as readily to an
almost if not an entire domesticity. True it is
that the Turkey with us has comparatively not
long been known as such, nor even now is it

entirely rescued from its wild state ; nor is the Guinea-fowl at present

so perfectly under the control of man as the Goose, the Duck, or more

especially the Fowl. Centuries on centuries has the last been the useful

associate of the country villa, the cottage,

the homestead, or the profitable appendage

of the farm. At all hands it has merited and

received peculiar attention. History tells of

it ; poets have written in its praise ; painters

have pictured it; and on the very Hps of

our children its name is a household word.

The cock, as a bird of omen, was held in

reverence, and as such was cherished in the

far-away dim ages of the past. In ancient

as well as in modern times it was either a

HEAD OF WHITE

PLYMOUTH ROCK COCK

Owned by U. R. Fishel, Indiana.

AT COCK CROW

2 The Poultry Book

bird of sacrifice, worshiped for its valor, or dedicated to both gods and
goddesses. It was used and abused for sport, and morals were drawn
from its high and unconquerable courage. Though the cock was the
emblem of strife, it was also that of nobleness, coupled with gentleness,
dignity and honor. So regular were its habits that by its crowings the
times of the night season were apportioned, and it was ever the wakeful
harbinger of morn. .

From the earliest ages its flesh and bones have been in many wa^'s
considered prime factors in the art of healing, and its feathers regarded as
decorative, emblematical or useful.

Collectively with the hen its value increases. The eggs of the latter,
though produced in abundant quantity, are still in an almost incredible
demand, not only as an aliment, but as an absolute necessity in manu-
facturing, beautifying, finishing or purifying innumerable articles, fabrics
and Hquids that more or less form a part of our daily w^ants or supposed
requirements. As a matter of fact, there appears to be scarcely any limit
to the various purposes to which hens' eggs may be put, for the reason that
as yet no real substitute for the albumen which they contain has been
discovered; they remain the one and only substance necessary for the
production of much in commerce, through the progress of civilization,
luxury and invention.

The fact must not, however, be overlooked, that for the major part of
the eggs thus used we are dependent on foreign sources. Our own indus-
tries and traffic have created also a profitable industry for other countries,
even those at considerable distance from our own, which by a careful
organization are enabled, after paying all charges of cost and transit, to
come in competition on our markets, and sell at a lower price than that of
the home produce.

Now, how is this done? Why is Russia able to compete with us on
our markets in our own country successfully ? I can only give two reasons :
one is "barter," and the other "organization." In other words, it is a
matter of exchange of goods more than money ; so that the profit is
possibly, at least partially, made on the export as well as the import.

As food the egg is unsurpassed, while the flesh of the fowl commands
and receives an almost universal recognition of a dehcate, dehcious superi-
ority all its own. Both for the young, the middle-aged, the weak, the
strong, the invalid and the aged there is no difference of opinion as to its

Introductory Remarks

Leg of Surrey or Sussex Fowl (Cockerel)
Pure white and wliite Toe-nails ; Fore Toe same length as Shank
side Toe as long as the Middle Toe. to end joint ; Hind Toe just ha
the length of Side Toe ; Out Toe 4, Middle 3, Inner, 2 joints

Front View of Tawny Ol I Kent Hen's Leg.
(Observe the breadth ol Toe-nail)

GROUP OF LEGS (SH.\XKS) SHOWING THE VARIETY OF FORM I.\ DIFFEREXT BREEDS

4 The Poultry Book

dietetic, nutritious and appetizing qualities, and that it has ever Vjeen
appreciated is amply demonstrated by many of the earliest records.

Though fowls as gallinaceous birds perch and even roost on trees, yet
in their characteristic habits they are birds of the ground; and it is there
they search for food, which especially consists of grains, seeds, roots,
berries, the tender tops and leaves of shrubs and vegetables, not excluding
insects and their larvae, worms, and even small mice. Their limbs are
strong and well knit, and capable of much sustained action, the muscles
being well and fully developed. The legs and thighs are of meditmi length,
and their shanks are covered with protective scales, sometimes concealed
by feathers, while for defense they are occasionally armed in both sexes
with sharp and often lengthy spurs. The three front or anterior toes are
by their strength and formation well adapted for raking, scraping or
scratching, being furnished with strong claws or toe-nails of peculiar form,
with cutting edges, while the arched concave and convex of bone in the
inner centre prevents all chance of bending ; the hinder toes (and there are
two or three more in some cases) scarcely more than touch the ground,
and are serviceable for perching, though less so in walking.

They never wash, as many other birds do, but cleanse themselves of
insect life by shuffling in and throwing dust or soil amongst their feathers.
The beak is stout, strong, somewhat hooked at the extremity, and is horn-
covered. The body is very plump, the breast being full and rounded, with
a deep keel to the sternum or breastbone, the more so in those so formed
as to be able to use their wings freely and quickly in flight, while consider-
ably less so in those that are large in the thighs and legs and long in shanks,
which are more adapted for running and walking, the wings in these being
short and concave. The head is generally surmounted by naked vascular
flesh, or what is usually called a comb or crest, which is often deeply
serrated, and in some instances very large, as are the pendulous wattles ;
in others these are almost wanting, their place being supplied by feathers
either as beard, muffler or cops. In come cases the comb and beard are
found; in others, large and full topknots of feathers and long pendulous
wattles. With some the cheeks or faces are naked, while with others they
are entirely covered.

They seldom if ever build any nest, though there are instances of such
recorded. I had an old English spurred Game hen that actually carried
straws, weeds, etc., in her beak for that purpose into a corner som.e little

Introductory Remarks 5

height from the ground. According to the breed, they are more or less
abundant layers of pure white, tinted brown or brown-and-spotted eggs.
At what time the domestic fowl was first introduced into England is
unknown, but there is a tradition in Cornwall that it was originally brought
to that part of our coast by the Phenicians when they came to traffic for

CROSS-BRED PU

Age. a14 months ; Leg,

.ET BETWEEN DORKING HEN AND CORNISH INDIAN COCK

the scales ; Weight .if fu

Inside fat, 2

tin and copper with the natives, previous to the Roman invasion ; and to
this day, in some parts of the country, it is called the Persian bird, but
why this latter does not appear; and further, it is especially noted by
Caesar (" De Bello") that the Cock, the Goose and the Hare were among,
if not the whole of, the domestic animals of the ancient Britons, and kept
by them for pleasure only before his invasion of the country, but that soon
after their scruples in this direction disappeared.

However that may be, it is certain the Romans brought with them the
"fighting Cock, " both to the south and the west of England; clear proof
of which are the bones, nay, the very metal spurs used in their contests.

The Poultry Book

that have been
found both in
Surrey and
Cornwall. One
metal spur was
dug up in South-
wark, and a pair
in an old Roman
wall in the latter
county, besides
others that un-
fortunately were
not preserved or
sufficiently
noted.

From the
time of the
Romans, at
least, until the
present, fowls in
lesser or greater
numbers have
been imported
from Holland,
France, Spain, Germany and Italy, and latterly more especially from India,
China and Japan, and now from America, in variety and crossings almost
bewildering. Yet with all these one curious fact remains, and that is, that
the old English well-known breeds which have been attributed to the Roman
introduction — the five-toed Kent, Sussex and Surrey fowls and the
perfectly formed, valorous and beautiful "fighting Cocks," have up to
within the last few 3^ears, if not even now, maintained their high character
and superiority in England as the "best all-round" fowls ever known,
and for table are still unequaled, and as such were universally admitted
so to be before the institution of poultry shows, that have with them even
now in the exhibits the blighting influences of Asiatic crossings.

Fifty years ago it was these breeds pure and simple, from the southern
farmyards of Kent and Sussex, that the principal and justly praised prize

G<J.^'^

OLD KENT FOWL

Introductory Remarks 7

winners were chiefly taken, and where they were both in numbers and in
such state of perfection as table fowls as commanded and retained the
admiration of all who saw them. On the advent of the Shanghai, the
Cochin, the Brahma, and some other Asiatic breeds, deterioration began,
and there arose a craze for size; and as a consequence these coarse breeds
were crossed and intercrossed with our old EngHsh ; the result being our
pure breeds — the outcome of centuries of cultured selection and attention,
the perfected strains "of our forefathers" in past ages— were mongrelized,
in some cases almost past recognition, and to-day scarcely a Kent, Sussex
or Surrey farmyard holds a fowl of any pure breed. This is not merely
assertion, but absolute fact ; it is not hearsay, but what I have myself seen
sixty years ago and by inspection lately.

And still the pernicious practice of mongrehzing goes on, the stream of
ignorance or perversity grows wider and more overwhelming, reason is
scoffed at, and conceit with party and individual gain rules for awhile, and
there is but little hope of recovery from this bad state — this crossing so
ruining to everything; for what with amateur lecturers, dealers and
faddists, who have a craze for what they term "fresh blood, " the outlook
is gloomy indeed. The farmer has but to go among the southern farm-
yards, where formerly the poultry kept was of the best of marketable fowls,
and note the wide and depreciated difference.

It must be clear to every observant mind that as the craze for mon-
grehzing is rampant and still gains credit with the credulous, that were
it not for our poultry shows, our tried, serviceable, in all ways valuable
pure breeds would very soon cease to exist — these old fowls of ours, the
work of ages, the perfection of table fowls, the abundant layers of good
white eggs, the beautiful, the grand, the stately, well-formed, deHcate-
fleshed, easily bred and easily fatted, unsurpassed, long cherished, for all
their profitable uses. I say, emphatically, were it not for the poultry
shows, these, and the Hke of these, would be things of the past, and to the
lasting disgrace of the poultryman of to-day they would become extinct.
Happily, so far there are some who know the double value of purity of
breed, and it is to these and only these that the country can look for help
to regain what is already comparatively lost— the old and enviable position
of having the best and most perfect table fowls in the world.

As regards other poultry, of the Guinea-fowl it may be said that in
flesh it almost, if not quite, equals the very best of fowls, and as such

8 The Poultry Book

commands a good and ready marketable value, while at certain times of
the year it is an abundant layer of delicately tinted palatable eggs. But
its domestication is not even yet, and it is doubtful whether it ever will be,
as perfect as that of the fowl, it being wild and wandering in habit, and
more than somewhat difficult to manage with any degree of certainty and
success.

The Turkey is indeed a noble bird, and ornamentally grand both in
habit and carriage — the stately walk, the bold, imposing, haughty mien,
the general aspect — the shivering quivering of its many-colored sun-
ghnting feathers into attractive array. While majestically it poses,
turns and struts simply on its pride of beauty, it is a bird for admiration,
noticeable, and something more than pleasing. In all ways the Turkey
was a great gain and a lasting one. The flesh is delicious, white, dehcate,
juicy, and fine in grain; a well-fatted turkey poult is indeed a luxur3\
But the Turkey will not thrive on certain soils, and only in favored locali-
ties. The constant attention that the young chicks require until they
feather is urged against it, but after the troublous time is past, and
properly cared for, the little ones almost rear themselves. This being so,
the English Turkey may be grown profitably, having, as it has, a superi-
ority in flesh over the French, Belgian, Italian, Spanish and Hunga'^-'an,
by reason of its richness and flavor ; and although large quantities are im-
ported, the former generally maintains the best value in the market, as
well as the most ready sale.

Of the Goose at least two varieties are with us historical : the White and
the Gray. These are well supplemented by the African, the Canadian, the
Chinese and the Sebastopol, the last being the most ornamental. All are
hardy, easily reared, and in every way profitable both to farmer and
poultryman, and it is to a degree surprising that they are not kept in far
greater numbers than they are, more especially about our commons and
other waste lands. To this the almost general answer is, that it does not
pay as it might on account of the foxes, the wearisome nightly housing of
the flocks, where practicable, not being sufficient, for even with this
precaution many are carried ofl" in the broad day, and such casualties are
so numerous that in far too many places well adapted for the feeding and
maintaining large flocks of geese the attempt to keep them has for this
reason been entirely abandoned. And so it is with other varieties of our
poultry ; a greater number both of fowls and ducks would be raised were it

Introductory Remarks 9

not for the same cause, one man telling me that in two years he lost nearly
one hundred pounds in value of poultry, and dare not ask for such com-
pensation as, being high-class breeds, they were worth. Another fancier
writes that he has lost just the last few of his Game-fowl hens by foxes.
These can never be replaced, the strain with sixty years' pedigree being
now practically extinct. A friend of mine lost fourteen of his best White
Aylesbury Ducks in one night ; on mentioning the fact to the master of
the foxhounds, the owner was told he ought to have taken more care of
them and got them in.

This is by no means an isolated case, and the constant worry, trouble
and anxiety of collecting the stock at night in all weathers is by "The
Hunt " never thought of nor cared for, and, unless in the case of actual loss,
much less paid for, and that not always even in the latter case. Thus so
it is that far fewer poultry is kept than might or could be, both for amuse-
ment and profit, while the nation has to largely import fowls, turkeys,
geese, ducks, and eggs, by reason of this survival in civilized times of the

J'hacograph 6y Thos. Heap, Soiceyhy
GROUP OF PRIZE GEESE. (The propi^rty of F. G. S. Rawson, Esq., Thorpe, Yorkshire.)

10 The Poultry Book

" sport " of hunting animals, kept at the expense, and with perpetual worry
and anxiety, of a certain inoffensive class of the industrial community.

I cannot forbear giving the above facts, for the reason that not only
have I been a sufferer on one occasion, but that the complaints of loss from
time to time have been so numerous that the wonderment is that the
people, especially the poorer classes, have borne the scourge and suft'ered
meekly and patiently the gross injustice so long.

As well as Geese, Ducks may be kept to great advantage, the "White
Aylesbury being the best for the market, the Rouen following close, while
the somewhat newcomer, the Pekin, gains in the estimation of the
"duckers" as it is improved in shape; but even yet there is a large appre-
ciable difference in favor of the Aylesbury, which is also, if not quite, as
prolific a layer, while the Pekin is the prime favorite in America, where
some "duckers" raise as many as fifty or sixty thousand ducklings in a
season, and this exclusive of a considerable number of eggs, that are turned
to profitable account in various ways.

In conclusion, it may be observed that the dead (dressed) poultry shows
will prove of much service in educating the public to the knowledge of
what is really a good Turkey, Goose, Fowl, or Duck, and that of the highest
quality. At present the}^ are simply ignorant so far, and buy a fowl because
it is one, and not so much on account of its superiority and excellence.
Until this training has taken eft'ect, the big-boned, coarse-fleshed, thick-
skinned monstrosities that now do duty for "delicacies" will have a
marketable value, and the cross-breeds and mongrels, advocated by
interested poulterers and poultry dealers, will keep "in evidence." The
horse-breeder, the cattle-breeder, the sheep-breeder, the swine-breeder, the
dog-breeder, one and all know the enormous value of purity of breed, and
this is clearly demonstrated by the high prices realized for such stock ; but
then with these there are no faddist lecturers, busybodies and interested
poultry dealers, the last who realize most with mongrel stock cheaply
raised and dearly sold. These, and such as these, have mainly contributed
toward the gradual extinction that is going on of the best, the handsomest
and the purest races of our poultry. Of this I am quite certain, and
this from a long life's experience, that whatever animals or birds are
kept, the best, the handsomest and the purest breed are not only the
cheapest, but in the end will be found the most gratifying as stock, and
far the most enjoyable and profitable in every way.

y?^

^

^\ I

HEN AND THREE CHICKS

THE BEGINNING

" All difficulties are but easy when they are known." — ^^leasure jor Measure.

OST people have the idea that for poultry keeping, whether
for pleasure or profit, very little, if anything, is required be-
yond common sense, inclination and a sufficient amount of
capital, as though there was nothing to learn, no knowledge
or experience necessary, but simpty to take or buy some
ground, build sheds, make runs, and stock them with fowls,
turkeys, geese and ducks, and — "the thing is done." But unfortunately
it is not ; excepting so far, that a certain amount of money has been spent
in the hiring or buying of the land and "the poultry," a doubtful responsi-
bility has been incurred, while the profit is by no means so apparent ; and
then the tyro begins to realize, if he or she has not done so before,
that the keeping of poultry, hke any other business, must have an
especial training, and also an aptitude for the occupation, which may
be safely said is not universal. This latter attribute is one that can
never be acquired, and therefore it is possibly one of the reasons, if
not the chief, of the many failures of attempted "poultry farming,"
even as an important adjunct to the land industry of the making of
money in other ways.

These facts are already so well known, and have been so often and so

12 The Poultry Book

thoroughly discussed, that it seems almost superfluous to mention them
again ; and it is only for the reason that they are so continually disregarded,
put aside, or disbelieved, that it is needful, and more than needful, indeed,
it is imperative once more to call attention to the uselessness of, without
some practical insight into the business, trying to do that for which thev
are thus unfitted regardless of, and utterly neglecting, the ever-increasing
warning daily given by other absolute failures.

In the first place, if the keeping of poultry is decided upon, either for
pleasure or profit, or both, the very best plan is to begin in a small w^ay with
a few fowls, as all knowledge is gained by observation, reflection and
experience ; then to add to the stock, if it is found to be a paying invest-
ment as well as a source of pleasure. Another way is that, but it cannot
be so strongly recommended, of joining one already versed in the many
methods, market values and other requirements. Various things besides
inclination and capital have to be considered; and not any, unless they
have tried it, can possibly conceive how many difficulties there are, expected
and otherwise, and how much knowledge there is to acquire and the
numberless things to learn before they or any can hope to accomplish even
a moderate success. While, indeed, with some few all this is as though
they were "to the manner born," and with such failure seems almost
impossible, yet, even with such "gifts," there are other things necessary
to command success besides the mere breeding and rearing of the poultry,
and not the least of these are good, sound, steady business habits, an acute
faculty for buying and selling, and lastly, a steady sale and market for
the produce.

Before commencing, a locality must be chosen, and the soil should be
dry, loamy, and slightly sandy, yet very fertile. The sand in w^et weather
prevents the mud adhering to the feet and feathers of the birds. The soil
should naturally be well drained by a gravel or stony subsoil, and, if
possible, have a clear stream intersecting, and toward which the ground
should slope with a southern aspect. If sheltered by trees or evergreen
enclosures from cold, raw winds, it is then indeed favorable; and where
such can be secured, combined with a proper knowledge of poultry life,
almost any variety of fowls may be kept with advantage. But if the land
is heavy, clayey, or retentive of moisture, then it must be artificially
drained, and also must be stocked with a more hardy variety of breed. In
all cases where the ground to be occupied is bare it is advisable to plant

WHITE AYLESbURY DUcKS

I 'III II AYLESBURY DUCK
rt) uf Mr. J. .1:11 i,illies, Chermeside, Berwickshir

I

The Beginning 15

good varieties of fruit-trees, and of these the clierry is the most rapid-
growing. Plums are especially suitable, as it is claimed the poultry
keep down the ravages of the curculio. Where the yards are exten-
sive, fruit-trees as variety should be the rule. This is the time-
honored custom and a good one, the orchards being for most reasons
the favored spot. Plant trees of vigorous growth — the kinds that
are favorites in market. The trees will in time provide the semishade
so desirable.

As to the houses, coops and rearers, they should be cheap and ser\^-
iceable, fairly roomy, window-lighted, and well ventilated, but without a
draught. Each should have perches, nest -boxes and dusting places, with
scratching-sheds where no trees are available. The shape, height, width
and size of the houses should be such as are suitable to the breeds kept.
For the heavy Asiatic breeds a different kind of house must be provided, for
Plymouth Rocks and Wyandottes and the Games or Hamburgs will
require still smaller accommodations. The size of the runs must be deter-
mined according to space at command and the variety of breed for which
they are intended. The run's fencing must be boarded, or have very fine
mesh of strong wire, from the ground upward at least three feet high, so as
to prevent the cocks from fighting. This is to be surmounted by two-inch
mesh wire netting, at least six feet high with the flying breeds, and two or
three feet with the Asiatics.

In most respects glazed earthenware or iron troughs for water are to be
preferred to close fountains, for the reason that the latter are too often
neglected, and not cleansed and refilled every day. Food-troughs should
be used in small runs, the ground getting foul, and therefore clean troughs
are best. In "the open" ground the grain, etc., may be scattered, chang-
ing the spot every day. A suitable building should be erected to keep food
and all necessary accessories when not in actual use, etc.

The perches in the houses must be round and about two inches in
diameter, so that the fowl can grip them with the foot, firmly and yet
easily. Flat perches distort the outer toes, and in some instances cause
lameness. It is a mistake to suppose a flat perch prevents crooked breasts,
which are caused from a want of lime in the bones, and is constitutional.
The leading poultry men of the United States use fiat perches, and consider
round perches in a marked degree the cause of crooked breasts. If the
fowls run unconfined, it is well to have a dusting-house, and also a nesting-

i6

The Poultry Book

or laying-house, or houses with baskets and boxes properly fitted inside
with several small closable entrances. This is preferable to having them
in the roosting-house.

All the roosting-houses should have either open-wire, paled or latticed
doors during the summer to allow of thorough ventilation ; the usual close-
boarded ones should, however, be used in the winter.

LIGHT BRAHMA HEN

Owned hy W. R. Lonj;, Illinois.

Frojn a photograph hy courtesy of '•Commercial Poultry .

DO 2

c -

I i

g i

■<

P. ^

? I

< -^

OLD ENGLISH GAME COCKEREL

Dressed Poultry Show, Agricultural Hall, December 22, 1899. Showing the fine form and fully-fatted breast.

A superb fowl.

THE VARIETIES T(3 KEEP

George O. Brown, Maryland

I would we were all of one mind, and that one mind good." — Cymbcline.

;HAT variety of poultry to keep depends very much on
locality, whether for table or Qgg purposes, whether for
fancy or commerce, or both ; a wide range over grass or in
confined spaces, for size or quality of flesh, beauty only or
utility, or these combined ; whether they should be but
layers and non-sitters, or whether an "all-round" fowl
is desired — that is, one fairly good for the table and reliable for a reasonable
quantity of eggs in winter as well as in summer. All these requirements
must have careful, grave and deep consideration before purchasing the
varieties ultimately selected as in all ways to be the most suitable.

For table purposes probably the best general-purpose breeds are Barred
Plymouth Rocks and White Wyandottes. At almost any age, where the
flock has been properly cared for, these varieties are in excellent table con-
dition. Their plump shape, well-rounded breasts, broad backs and well-
developed thighs make a most desirable combination, and cause them to
present an appearance, when dressed, that is inviting and is a great selHng
factor. The Houdan, a French breed, is also an excellent table fowl. It
possesses an abundance of breast meat which is juicy and tender ; is small

i8

The Poultry Book

of bone. Its chief objection is that it is not yellow-skinned. The Creve
Coeur, and La Fleche, also French, are good table fowls. The Houdan,
however, is the favorite in the United States, as it is much hardier.

The Langshans and Light Brahmas are the best of the Asiatics for table
purposes. The first -named lacks the yellow skin that is so popular in
dressed fowls. Orpingtons and Rhode Island Reds, which resemble each

FOUR-MONTHS -OLD CROSS-BRED DORKING AND OLD ENGLISH GAME COCKEREL

Exceedingly good breast, quality fine, very thin skin.

other very much in shape, are being "boomed" as wonderful table fowls
and "general purposers."

"As regards the Black Orpington, a clear-shanked Langshan is better, and
always has been. This last may be kept with great advantage, and I prefer
it to that with the feathered shanks." The above, under quotation marks,
is an English opinion. In the United States a "clean-shanked" Langshan
w^ould not be tolerated. It would be disqualified for the show-room, and
w^ould be classed as a mongrel on account of absence of breed
requirements .

Besides these, there is that vastly overrated novelty, the "Cornish
Indian." As a utility fowl it is no favorite of mine. It has been boomed
to the very utmost, and by some thoughtlessly and recklessly so, and
assertions made that were scarcely facts. If all that has been said of it
were true, it would be perfection. It has been said that, crossed with the
Dorking, it imiproves that breed ; but it is the other way about — the latter
improves the former. The flesh of the Cornish Indian is dry eating, and,
when served as cold fowl, hard. The breast is always lean, the meat short-
grained, the skin thin, and, including all the fat, mostly yellow, which last

The Varieties to Keep 19

accumulates quickly about the abdomen, back and internally, while the
birds as shown dead and plucked vary very much in form, size and color,
being from buff to a bright orange, this tending to lower its value as a high-
class market fowl, and not so readily realizing a profit. As layers they
cannot be commended, while as chickens they are slow of growth and require
time to ripen . They are large and heavy in bone commensurate with their si ze .
The late Mr. George Brooke, one of, if not the largest, poultry sales-
men in Leadenhall Market, London, a past master of the Poulters' Company,
and one whose opinion was of real value, being, as it was, unbiassed, said
that the booming of the Cornish Indian as a table fowl and good for a
Dorking cross was unwise, and disastrous to the salable and the better
qualities of our older breeds, and had hardened the flesh and totally ruined
the time-honored whiteness of breast-meat, fat and skin which so long

^^

i

)

LANGSHAN COCKEREL NOT FATTED

Author's — bred from MissCroad's.

and worthily held such a high position and prestige as the par excellence
boiling fowl, the more-than-gold stain rendering them unsalable as such.
"Look," said he, pointing to some rows of dressed poultry on and about
adjoining stalls, "there is not a good 'boiler' amongst them" ; and he was
perfectly right. We heedlessly spoil our own, and then cry out for the
better class and more salable French breeds. We shall never learn wisdom
while every mouth is open ready to swallow the wild talk of the commer-
cially interested few, instead of listening to the calmer and often more

20

The Poultry Book

thoughtful experience of the many. Fifty or sixty years ago such fowls
as the Cornish Indian would have found no room in our southern home-
steads ; it would not have been tolerated among those of the magnificent
breed of many generations. Then, if these are progressive times, why
should it be so to-day ?

As to the breeds when the eggs are to be the source of profit or require-
ment, the Langshan still stands first for beauty and quantity; then the
Brahmas. Dark and Lights have many friends, being highly egg-productive

LANGSHAN

all, 1897, Miss Croail

though in a lesser degree than the Langshan, and this is chiefly owing to
their unwieldly size and ridiculous over-feathering of the thighs, legs,
shank and feet, these being often clothed with large falcon hocks. The
American type is far the best — more useful as a fowl and more productive,
and some have had a record of more than three hundred eggs in the year.
If kept, the old style of Brahma is far the best both for early growth,
flesh and general market value.

The reputation of the Plymouth Rock is good in all colors, but the
barred variety for the farm and market has the preference, these coming to
maturity early.

For white eggs in number the ^Mediterranean breeds are preeminent,
both for size and purity of shell color, though the fowls themselves are but

The Varieties to Keep

21

dry eating, even if fatted. Of the best and first favorite is the Black
Minorca, next the White Leghorn, then those of color. The Whites lay a
little larger egg than the other Leghorns, and they are generally kept on
the large egg farms. All are principally summer layers, and at such
season amply fill the egg-basket ; they are also considered profitable
to keep. The common Italian fowl, the black and white spangled of
which is known as the Ancona in the United States, are mostly prolific
egg-layers, while all the varieties of Hamburgs I have found equally
good ; though the eggs are small, still the weight is made up by quantity,
and thus have proved in a way profitable. The old white-faced Black
Spanish fowl was at one time a good table fowl and a prolific layer, and
might be again if
rightly selected and
managed, and so
also the beautiful
old Polish, formerly
called the Ham-
burgh. All these lat-
ter are non-incuba-
tors, which is a great
advantage when the
space for keeping is
but limited. I hope
again to see the
Black Spanish in
the ascendant.

Good laying strains of most fowls may be made or ruined entirely by
want of attention, proper supervision and management, the best and most
prolific pullets or hens only being kept and hindered from sitting, and these
mated with cockerels or cocks bred from hens tmusually egg productive. As
proof, Mrs. Campbell, of Uley, Gloucestershire, established a strain of non-
incubating Dark Brahmas, their average lay being 1 70 eggs per annum. Mr.
George Roper, of Woking, has done the same by his old English Game, and
in this direction I have met with similar success, some of my old English
Game hens seldom, and others never, wanting to sit, or, if so, easily put off.

The sum total of it all is, that whatever breeds are selected, have the
best and the truest bred. The first cost is Httle more, yet for the extra

OLD ENGLISH GAME PULLET
Bred by tlie author. Second prize at the Dairy Show.

22

The Poultry Book

expenditure there is the gain not only of the contemplation of the beautiful,
but the inward, satisfaction that, should you wish to change what 3^ou have,
such can easih^ be effected, for a good thing will command a price, while the
low and inferior will not find even common acceptance, but utter rejection.

MISS CUBBINGS DORKING AND PLYMOUTH ROCK PULLET

Buy from those well known, those respected not only for the excellence of
their stock but also for their tried integrity and upright dealing, and bear
in mind that few sell their best birds excepting at large and almost retaining
prices ; so if you wish at the start to be anywhere near perfection, you must
be prepared to pay for it. The most economical plan is either to buy eggs
at a good price from a reliable source, or to purchase culls that have some
minor defect (not disqualification), and others that are without or deficient
in those points which one or the other has in excess. I have thus bred,
and known others to breed, better stock this way than by the mating of
those possessing a great number of points of excellence, provided always
the strain of which they came was old, well cared for, and of noted reputa-
tion. It is often, too, erroneously said that like begets like. Were this
so, variety would be non-existent ; and one has but to look around to at
once prove the fallacy of the assertion. What it takes a genius to make, a
fool may easily destroy. The one by piecing builds up and rectifies, the
other by want of knowledge only weakens and spoils. Therefore buy where
the best is kept, and, if possible, pedigree bred, and in all times prospering.

The Varieties to Keep

23

Cross-Breeds

I do not advise such to be kept, either for fancy or profit, feeling sure,
from long experience, that pure breeds by careful management and mating
are much more reliable and trustworthy, and far nearer perfection for any
kind of fowl either for show or utility ; also, they are more valuable at all
times and seasons than mongrels or cross-breeds, young or old, the latter
being of no value when past their prime, while the true and pure of any
high-class strain will command a certain price, even at that age when their
creative powers are weakened and their eggs few and late.

FIRST PRIZE SILVER WYANDOTTE HEN
Ref't-oduceii hy courtesy of •'Commercial Poultry," Chicago.

ttJ^ ^^^^l^^^-^'^'^'iM^ }

fIRST PLYMUUTH ROCK IMPORTED INTO ENGLAND BY MR. JAMES LONG

■

■

■

B

s

i

B

Sfejjy^x'

3

1. M^

1

rl

^y

m

P

1 •

r

1

.*:^te

k

Li

.-.rs-^'cv*.-'

m^^

l;^

In

itt

Photograph by C. Reid, Wis haw, N. 3.
BLACK-BREASTED BROWN LEGHORN COCK

MATING AND BREEDING

I. K. Felch, Massachusetts

" Look here upon this picture, and on this;
The counterfeit pre;;entment of two brothers." — Hamlet.

N THE discussion of this important subject I quote Mr. Weir's
own words in the first few pages and then begin my
comments : As to the mating, the youth, age, purity of race,
influence of sex, and the times, seasons and duration of
strong, healthy fertihty, as well as the stain of impregnation
(if any), much may be said, and also how far the blending
of the blood, habits, form and constitution of either or both parents is
to be found in the offspring, apparent or otherwise, perhaps lying dormant,
in some cases, for one or more generations, and afterward unexpectedly
appearing, as is shown by several instances on record.

Although few subjects connected with our poultry have received
so much attention, none are so little understood as the matching, breeding,
cross-breeding and pure breeding of the dift'erent races of fowls. One
man will strengthen and perfect a strain or breed, while another will com-
pletely ruin the good one that he has by wrong selection, treatment and

28 The Poultry Book

matching, yet more frequently by the introduction from another stock,
though of the same variety, and for what he cahs gaining vigor by adding
fresh blood, when stamina is more surely arrived at by mating the finest,
the most healthy, the strongest, the most matured, with the best constitution
of either sex, and he must also match for age and other differences. If
certain quaHties are to be sought for or retained, the cock must be the
youngest ; if others, the hens or pullet hens — that is, those of the second
year; but in all cases the birds must be well grown, hearty, strong, of proper
form, well shaped in limbs, lusty, true to their breed, and of the highest
quality both of flesh and feathering.

If large, well-plumed birds are required, then none of the hens should
exceed three years in age. Of course there are, and sometimes must be,
exceptions to this rule, but if either is to be the older, let it be the hen, a
second-year cock or stag generally being at his best, and 3^outh to youth
was and should be the general and most approved practice. In choosing
either, let it be from your own yard and of those you have kept pure —
without crossing-out with any, though of the same breed or race that yours
is made of. What will strongly conduce to the vigor of your stock is the
sending away eggs to a distant part of the country, and having the chickens
entirely reared into full growth on other soil different from that of your
runs or ranges. The plan of varying the locality acts better than any
crossing to obtain stamina; but, for want of this, your cock or hen birds
may be sent to a distant part to molt and regain their strength for the
duties required of them in the spring. And again, the best for choice of
stock are the well-grown ]\Iarch hatched, which has been so long and uni-
versally admitted as to be regarded among poultry tenders of farms and
homesteads as a wise saying. If you cross-out with a bird from another
stock of which you know but little, though it is apparently good, let it be
with a hen and not a cockerel, for then if wrong the whole progeny can
easily be eliminated; but if it is a cock, then all your stock is tainted. In
the choice of the male bird, let him be, if anything, rather lighter made
than your hens. Let both be round and full-breasted, and of true and
right proportion relatively one to the other — one, if anything, having in
excess what the other lacks ; this is found to answer better than when all
are of equal forms and dimensions. Each should be alert, active, full
of life and energy, and absolutely free from any injury, either by the loss
of or a twisted toe — such deformitv once bred in is difficult to eradicate.

Mating and Breeding 29

Experience has proved this, as is even color or loss of a nail, for reasons
which will be presently shown.

Feeling sure, as I do from long and careful observation, that pure old
breeds are the very best, if properly selected, for all purposes, these will be
first treated of and that they are presumably of your own stock. I am
certain that there is no greater fallacy, and nothing more detrimental to
the well-being of our best poultry, than the modern untutored craze for
crossing-out. No one who understands the true art of breeding and
rearing would even advise, much less practise it.

If you wish to breed healthy and strong birds of any particular strain,
never let the young cocks that you intend breeding from run wdth any
hens or pullets until the time that you match up in November or December,
according to the breed, and never let your hens or pullets run with any
other breed, cock or cockerel, whether in or out of season. It is best to
keep all the cocks and cockerels, hens and pullets, separated until they
are wanted. A flock of hens may consist of twenty if they agree, but if
one or more is objected to by the others she is best removed at once, other-
wise she will be disfigured, maimed, or killed. If the hens are allowed
to run with another variety of cock or cocks, they, for pure breeding, will
become tainted, and the stain once there is never eradicated, and they
are likely to throw back, as I have known in many instances, though the
late ]\Ir. B. P. Brent, a good authority, says in the Cottage Gardener that
after a hen has been introduced to a cock for three weeks, her progeny
will follow the breed of the cock. This is certainly not so, nor anything
like it. If a pullet has received the attentions of a cock, and then is removed
from him and placed with another, the produce is Hkely to be of a very
mixed description ; this is not always so, but in cases of a decided preference
for the first, as some fowls not unfrequently exhibit. Out of several cases
that have come to my knowledge and in practice, here is one : I had a
dark buff -colored pullet ; she was bred of old English Game for two gen-
erations, but there was one cross-out with a Dorking cock before that;
with this exception, all her antecedents were old English Game. She ran
awhile with my old Game cock, which was in color a black-breasted bright
red, somewhat splashed with white. At the expiration of a week she was
removed and put with a Golden Hamburg cock that had sported to having
white shanks, feet and toe-nails. After being nearly three weeks with
the Hamburg, eleven of her eggs were incubated, with the following sur-

30 The Poultry Book

prising result : There were four cockerels ; three resembled the Game
cock, with much white among the feathers, which were of a red-gold ground
and laced and spangled with black like the Hamburg cock; three had
single combs like the Game cock in shape and fineness, and one a rose-
comb like the Hamburg ; two had five toes, thus reverting to the Dorking
cross more than two generations back in the hen. Two of the cockerels
had white earlobes, one partly red, and the fourth entirely so. All had
white shanks and feet. Of the pullets, all had blue shanks and feet with
white toe-nails. In plumage they much resembled the Hamburg cock
in color and markings, but all were more or less splashed with white, though
not to the extent of the cockerels, but one was nearly white, and also
showed a strong resemblance to the Game cock. All had white earlobes,
thus showing the chicks had the racial and other distinctions of two fathers,
wdiich were noticed and remarked not only by myself but all who saw them.
At present I have reserved one cockerel ; he is peculiarly handsome, resem-
bHng a Laced Golden Hamburg, yet having white in his wings; the shanks,
feet, and toe-nails are very white. One pullet was a perfect Hamburg
in color, with slight white markings, having a rose comb and bright blue
shanks; others as described, some with four, others five toes. Here, it
will be observed, is a curious mixture of natural forces, either of which
could scarcely be supposed to exist, or, if so, were so long latent that it
would be of advantage to know the limit, if any, of such endurance. Here
is another case: Some ten 3'ears ago I received from a friend a spur-
shanked partridge-colored Gime hen. She was said to be of pure pedigree
breed, and the stock from which she came had been bred most carefully
for years. Mine were in-bred for many years, and were of the same color.
After breeding from her with a cock of my own strain, I bred from her
daughters, and again from their daughters, each time matched to stags
of my strain, and all breeding true, until 1893, w^hen two of the chickens
hatched from the eggs of one of my best partridge hens proved to be almost
black, with slightly gray breast. Knowing how my birds had been bred
for thirty years, I concluded that the new departure was a "reversion"
through the hen I had of my friend. On writing to him I learned that
about twenty years before he mated a high-class Fumess hen into his
stock to deepen the color, and that was the only way that the color could
be accounted for. Thus the cross had lain dormant more than twenty years,
when it suddenly appeared in my yard; and not only that, but it still

MR. HERBERT REEVES SILVER-GRAV OORI
The winner of many prizes.

Ihotogra ph ly tp . Scorer, havant
MR. HERBERT REEVES' SILVER-GRAY DORKING COCKEREL

The winner of many prizes.

Mating and Breeding 33

appears in two or three chickens every year. There was one dark pullet
in the season 1899, and again more in 1900 and 1901 ; and this year, 1902,*
I have had four dark pullets with brown shanks and feet. This atavism
is yet apparent in the old breed of Derby Reds, which forty-five years
ago had white or daw eyes, w^hite in the wings and tail ; and though during
that time this has often been bred out, still after a generation or two it
reappears, and it is a predominant factor in the composition of the time-
honored old breed. Mr. John Harris, of Liskeard, writes very ably on
this — what is called by the Game-cock breeders "bloodstain." He says:
"Many breeders having a faulty or soft breed cock look out for an extra
good one to cross with, thinking the first cross is 4-8 producer, which
put to the sound bird 6-8 producer, again put to a sound bird and the
said result is all 8 ; and they are supposed to be as good as they can be
made. But it is a mistake ; many will retain the former bad qualities, for,
breed as 3^ou will, there is the taint left." By way of example: Fill a
bottle with half ink and half water, then take out half of the liquid and
fill again with water, then take out half the liquid left and once more fill
with water, and so on until it looks clear; then taste it, and you will find
a flavor of the ink still, and so is the blood of a true-bred Game if once
mixed with the dunghill breed.

Theory is much, but practice is more, and experience is most. Rules may
be made by which success should be achieved ; lines of thought may converge
and tend to the belief that from such and such conditions certain results must
follow% and this simply from the reason that such is likely, and apparently
more so than not, and yet instead of a prize there is drawn — a blank.

In Nature there are certain not yet understood hidden forces that are
not only beyond human knowledge but also humanity's control. It is
the "Why and the Wherefore" that we have yet to learn, even though
they are deemed as the possible and probable, yet, being beyond our guid-
ance, are truly not so. Nature's laws are not only inscrutable, but are,
whatever may be urged to the contrary, abiding and unalterable. If
we could fit things with an exactness that should show no deviation, whether
we willed it or not, then we might be said to have gained a supreme power
that at present, strive as we may, is simply unattainable.

*July, 1902 — I have now bred from the same birds a purely black chick, comb, face,
feathering, shanks and feet being that color, with white toe-nails. The skin is
also dark.

34

The Poultry Book

Here is a case: I have
a dark gray old Kent five-
toed hen. She is pure in
color, being only of the two
colors, black and white, with
their variant gray. She is
of the true type in make and
habit, and lays a snow-white
egg of the rounded shape
peculiar to the breed. With
her I mate a Dorking silver-
gray stag. He, like the hen,
has but the black, white
and gray colors, is good in
shape and shank properties,
there being not a tint of
any other color. From these
I set a dozen eggs, out of
which were hatched twelve
dark gray chicks, which
matured exactly as expected
in point of coloring and
form. Then another brood with the same result. Again another,
and these, all but one, quite different from the parents and the former
chickens, the whole number of pullets save one being stained with
a yellowish tint or red on the breast and wings, the combs also being
smaller and with less lap, while two had only four toes and one four and
five. Looking at the two first families, and they besides the third, there
would be no hesitation in saying that they were of a different strain, and
most surely they appeared to be so. But why this difference? It was
thought to be atavism on the part of the cock, the silver-gray Dorkings
having been made by a cross with Lord Hill's white-shanked silver-gray
Game and the old gray Kent and Sussex five-toed fowls. Yes; but why
should all the two first broods be clear grays and black with white breasts
in the pullets, and those of the third brood strongly different, save one?
Why not all the broods ? It was argued that possibly the hen, by laying,
was weaker, and the stamina of the cock prevailed. This seemed feasible,

CROSS-BREED NO.

Mating and Breeding

35

but then, to what period of time was the reversion confined ? The cock
was one of Mr. Herbert Reeves's silver-gray strain. But now comes a
further surprise, if anything can surprise "the experienced." A fourth
brood was hatched later, and every one of these (ten) were of the true
first coloring ; not a shade of anything else but black, white and gray. Of
these, five were cockerels and five pullets, and two of the last are so
true that they are a part of my gray breeding stock, and all much
admired. I simply give the facts, and can offer no elucidation of
the mystery. That was in 1901. The hen was again matched to
the same cock, and thirteen eggs were put under a gray pullet, the
result (January, 1902) being again dark and light gray chickens like the
first hatchings.

Again, some of the pullets from the above pair lay a very, very slightly
tinted egg, though those of the mother-hen are of the purest white. This
shows that the blend from
the cock's side still bears the
taint of long-bygone crosses.

A few years ago, having
some black-breasted o 1 d
English Game with yellow
shanks and feet, I gave a
cockerel to a friend to cross
in with a black-breasted
brown-red Leghorn. At first
cross the Leghorn had the
best of it ; next Leghorn cross,
and the produce looked pure-
bred Leghorn ; but on breed-
ing these together the old
English Game blood reasserted
itself to such an extent that
in two generations the Game
appearance far preponderated .
This is by no means a solitary
instance of where cross-
breeding has been resorted to
for the sake of giving stamina, cross-breed no. 2, avith feathered legs

36 The Poultry Book

form or color, the preponderance of the older breed crushing, as it were,
the weaker out of existence, as was the case with these so-called Black
Orpingtons and the true Langshan cross, many of these coming with
feathered shanks and Langshan form when least expected to do so. as
also the Brahma and Shanghai cross not unfrequently shows itself in the
modern Dorking.

Mr. Theodore Sternberg, writing in The American Fancier, March
31, 1894, tells of two hatches of chickens running in the same yard, one of
Leghorns, hatched in May, the other Cochins, hatched in January. About
the middle of September he sold all the Leghorns. All the chicks were
raised together. Leghorns and Cochins. But to quote Mr. Theodore
Sternberg: "Now I had several January -hatched Buff Cochin pullets,
which began laying on the 25th of June. After the sale of these Leghorns
none but Cochin cockerels were with the pullets. After my return from
Chicago the pullets continued laying ; the clutch laid nine eggs and wanted
to sit. I set her on these nine eggs. Imagine m.y suprise, the pullet being
set November 3d, at finding her hatch of seven chicks to be plainly a
Leghorn cross. ]\Iore than six weeks after the removal of the Leghorns
the first egg of the setting was laid, and yet the cross was plain." In this
case Mr. Theodore Sternberg apparently has failed to note whether the
Cochin cock actually mated with the pullet, as it is just possible he did not ;
if that were so, it would go far to explain the mystery. I will give a case
that occurred here: I had a black hen, a cross between a cock Cornish
Indian and a Leghorn hen. She was very good in color, with a wonderful
green sheen. She had been running with a black-breasted red Game cock
that had white shanks, from which she was removed and put with a dark-
colored Dorking cock ; two days after she was placed with a spangled
Hamburg cock. She was allowed to sit on nine eggs that she had laid
after being put with the Dorking cockerel and the Hamburg. She
hatched out seven chicks, two of which resembled the Game-cock in shape,
and were nearly black in color, but had some white in the tail like that of
the Game cock; both had whitish shanks, and one with a few feathers on
the outer side, but none on the feet. I give an illustration of this bird, a
cockerel. Two were Dorking-like pullets, with whitish shanks and feet
with five toes ; the feathers of both were black. I give a drawing of one of
the pullets. The other three were black, with black shanks devoid of
feathering, and had much of the Hamburg appearance; but what is

Mating and Breeding 37

curious, two had white eyes, the iris being clear white or neariy so, similar
to high-bred Azeels. I give a drawing of one of these pullets. Now it will
be observed that these all came from a clutch of eggs that were laid by the
black pullet after she left the Game cock, and were the nine eggs she laid
before she wanted to sit. My opinion is, that if she had not been put to the
Dorking for the two days, and then put with the Hamburg, it is just
possible that she might have hatched out seven chicks all showing the
Game cross ; two of them clearly did, even to the white in the tail. Being
a singular case, I made very careful studies of the chicks as shown. All
were used for table purposes. Those like the Game cock were the best.
The Dorkings were longer in body, but not so full-breasted, while in the
Hamburg cross the flesh was rather dark, though good in quality and
quantity. One of these laid an egg; it was white. But to return to
Mr. Theodore Sternberg. He continues: "I know it is taught that ten
days is sufficient to insure purity ; but it was not so in this case. One other
fact : this buff pullet had become broody after the removal of the Leghorn,
and the eggs were laid after being broken up — an entirely different clutch
of eggs." This might be thought so, but the sequel proves the contrary.
There are cases on record where a hen has laid again after rearing a brood
of chicks, and that without further contact with a cock, and the eggs have
proved fertile, as was the case with one of the late Mr. Stamps' Game hens.
No Game-cock breeder of the old school would ever consider a hen clean
after she has laid while mated. Mr. Theodore Sternberg continues : ' ' Such
occurrences set us all thinking of the possible eft'ect of the mingling of
chicks of several varieties, and my experience may suggest how many
sports can be accounted for. It may be that occasionally a hen can be
found which if once exposed to a cross never again breeds true." Just so;
this is too often overlooked, and there is but little doubt that a stain is left.
Writing to Mr. Charles Darwin on this subject, I found he was very strong
as to the continuation of blood stain, as it is called by some, as was also
Mr. WilHam Yarrell, V.P.F.Z.S., the author of " British Birds, Fishes, etc."
Mr. Charles Darwin, in a letter to me, quoted a case that was known to both
himself and Mr. WilHam Yarrell, of a woman that had two children when
the husband died. After awhile she married again, and became the mother
of two more children. From an unexpected cause the husband became
reduced in circumstances, and the relatives of the former husband, wishing
to relieve the wife of some of her difficulties, agreed to educate, etc., the

38

The Poultry Rook

CROSS-BREED No. 3, ALL BLACK

run
of,

two first offspring, but
tliat on going to fetcli
them away from tlie
liouse of the mother tliey
saw the last two, and
were so struck with the
extraordinary likeness to
their deceased brother
that they provided for
the four — that is to say,
the entire number, the
two children by the first
husband and the two by
the second.

As I have heretofore
said, all the old Game-
cock breeders would as
soon think of putting one
of their hens up as a
stock hen, that had once
r u n with a ' ' cra\'en
cock, as though she had
stain is never got rid
of fowls, much less one

with a Dorking. In m}^ opinion, a

even out of a carefully bred strain
in the individual. After a very long experience and close obser\-a-
tion, besides having had the advantage of a wide and varied knowledge
and acquaintance with some of the best breeders, both of animals and birds,
I have come to the conclusion that a stain will show itself after many gen-
erations, just the same as an hereditary disease will appear and disappear
for many years, and then show again with renewed vigor. This may be
noticed also in the contour of the face, which sometimes has a peculiar
feature, and which an inspection of the family portrait gallery shows was
in existence as part of the facial development of ancestors perhaps centuries
before ; and it must be borne in mind also that generally there has not been
"in-and-in" alliances, but perfectly independent selections from various
reasons, either natural or those influenced by real present or prospective
benefit, of or for mutual or single interest.

Mating and Breeding

39

However, one factor should not be entirely overlooked, and that is,
that the family estates or property is generally inherited in direct descent
by the male line ; therefore, if there is anything in the assertion that the
contour and general formation of the young partakes mostly of that of the
male, while the female generally supplies the requisites necessary for the
health and vigor of the offspring, so there is just a possibility that the male
continues longer to stamp his individuality on the males as one of the
peculiarities of the breed beyond the power of the female.

From what has already been advanced, as tending to show the extra-
ordinary and mysterious working of natural forces, it is perfectly apparent

GAME AND LANGSHAN CORNISH INDIAN HEN
Pearl-eyed.

that too much care cannot be taken to preserve in its purity and integrity
any particular breed or race of either domestic animals or birds. Mostly
the breeding of our poultry is conducted, if at all, in a loose and unscientific

40

The Poultry Book

manner, with too few precautions taken to prevent an admixture of other
variety, and so keep it free from degenerating contamination ; while it is
clearly overlooked that no real dependence can be placed on any but those
of positively pure stock. And whereas in such, by critical choice of indi-
vidual birds, proper food and seasonable mating, large size if wanted,
early maturity and liberal produce, as surely to be depended on as
the result, the haphazard adoption of the use of

impure stock is at the i^MK^M^^ ^^^^ insecure, and must

have before it a future ^hH^^^H^^^ of failure.

If a race is pure, ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^-'^^^ ^^^ ^^ ^^^^ species
tres- ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ passed upon, and
the variety is kept ^^HB^^^^^BH^^^^^ scrupulously i n -
tact and distinct, ^^^K ^ - '-'^I^H^^ft then and then

only may it be ^^^B^^HlS^'T^ ' expected that

the progeny will wKt^^^^^^A^' ^^ .-- resemble the

progenitors i n fiSBs^^cJ i^^-7 ihl^. almost every

respect, having, ^^^Hi^^i''^^' jOw^' ^^ ^^ were, a

continuity of ■BBIJ^SfU.'^ ^^ ^.J^ttK^ ^ form, color,
general appear- .,— —■ J^'" /'yf^^^^J^ ance and habits^
for it is well mU.!i^L'<u! ^ , ; ''" ^ ^HfH^m known that even
these are hered- ^^H^k ' ZJtKr^ itary.

If, however, a ^^^^Sjt^ ^^^^^^^^ race is made up of
mixed blood, as, for ^BR^^jjjS^^^^^^ nistance, the Plymouth
Rock or the so- ""^v^."'^' called Black

Orpington, the 'f7oTo",aph ^ ,l.u> :,'iPoJt„ product do not

necessarily resem- barred Plymouth rock cock, showing ble their parents,
and they often markings of wings widely differ both

among themselves and from t h e i r

progenitors; and, indeed, so much so, that, were the extremes kept
distinct and perpetuated, other new breeds might be the ultimate
result. Then, again, it might be observed that some of the offspring
of such cross-breeds bear Httle or no resemblance to their parents,
which is the more so when they are the issue of old birds ; while on the other
hand it has been proved that, though there may be close breeding and con-
sanguinity in pure breed, with proper and intelHgent supervision and
mating as to age, constitution and healthy robustness, their vigor is not
only maintained, but by judicious management increased, which has been

Mating and Breeding 41

fully demonstrated by the habitual in-breeding of the Game-cock — a race
that for centuries has shown an indomitable valor, coupled with a mobile
and lasting strength. A pure and ancient race may be "in-bred" with a
degree of impunity, while it would be fatal to a cross-bred, which not
infrequently become almost barren. Wild Nature in-breeds more or less,
as is shown by certain animals or birds forming into groups, flocks or
families ; and these keep themselves as such intact by driving away all
intruders, while the strength and vigor of the whole is kept up by the
strong, for at least the time being the masters, in turn. Then again, the
variation of locality is, in my belief, one of the necessities of natural selec-
tion, although birds drive or take away their young from the locality in
which they are hatched. This is done so that by being reared and
upgrown to adolescence on another soil and perhaps food, the actual consti-
tution of the young is thereby varied and strengthened ; and on returning
to their native haunts they are often able to kill either one or the other of
their parents (generally the male), and thus form an alliance with the
remaining, if any; if not, then with themselves, as brothers and sisters.

American Views Expressed

There is such a difference between the English methods in the use of
radical out-crosses or foreign crosses to revivify an old strain and the
American system of preserving the thoroughbred, that in our case it is hard
to reconcile the two methods. The EngHsh mode of introducing foreign
blood, then breeding back but twice, is not followed here. Many x\merican
breeders believe that by mating two famiHes of the same breed, and follow-
ing Hne-breeding, the same vigor and prepotency can be obtained and far
greater uniformity of shape and purity of color secured. In these days
of advanced poultry culture it is an easy matter to secure paternal and
maternal blood from strains of the same breed of sufficient strength and,
I beHeve, better influence as new blood to strengthen the race. Two such,
I believe, can be selected as an original pair to develop a new strain, while
each strain thus mated may be preserved in all its vigor, prepotency, egg-
production and beauty. The art of breeding and mating is to so mate that
while we have the care to preserve shape and pure color we should not
forget the productive merits. While we are careful not to admit foreign
blood, we should be absolutely sure that our matings produced their chicks
with blood of different proportions to the blood we are mating. To illus-

42 The Poultry Book

trate our system, I present my breeding-chart with explanations how
the mating does present a different proportion, yet showing how we at any
season can, without actual in-and-in breeding, produce half-bred groups
from which to secure revivifying benefits for the two strains represented
in our original or first mating. Coupled with this, we ever keep in mind
that selection is the handmaid of line-breeding.

Health while breeding is essential for the hen. The most active with
face and comb are good points. In fact, the hen in the best health at
the time of laying will, no doubt, give us our best chickens. When we
start with a pair the subsequent generations may be hens of 3-5, 8-12 or
15, as we can select of the type and color of the original dam. It may not
matter how we produce the half-blood specimens, whether by out-cross,
as in the English systems, or by the science of breeding, we are enabled to
secure the half-bloods within one's own flock. I prefer the latter as seen
in 3, 7, II, 16, of my chart. The strength to our strain will be far more
uniform in its effect than by following the English system. To illustrate,
I had a White Wyandotte hen of prime color and shape that layed perfect,
dark-shelled eggs, weighing 28 ounces per dozen. The second generation
we used eight daughters, setting none but eggs that approximated the
shape, r'ze and color of the original dam. The third season thirty-six of
her granddaughters of uniform color and shape and uniform dark-shell
eggs were secured. Atavism comes in as strongly in this egg production
as it does to control shape and color in the fowls themselves. But the
male must be hatched from eggs of a kindred color or there will be a vast
difference in the shade of color in the egg-product of his progeny.

You may fail to see the meaning of the solid and dotted lines of the
chart. To make it clear, we say, each dotted line represents the female
as having been selected from the upper group, while the solid line shows
the male as having been taken from the indicated upper group. Each
circle represents the progeny. To wit : female No. i mated with male
No. 2 have produced group No. 3, which is i^ the blood of sire and dam.
Females from group No. 3, mated back to their own sire No. 2, have pro-
duced group No. 5, which is 3^ of the blood of the sire. No. 2, and j^ the
blood of the dam. No. i. A male from group No. 3, mated back to his
own dam. No. i, produces group No. 4, which is ^ of the blood of the dam.
No. I, and ^ the blood of the sire. No. 2.

Again we select a cockerel from group 5 and a pullet from group

Mating and Breeding

43

4, or vice versa, which will produce group 7, which is mathematically half
the blood of each of the original pair, No. i and No. 2. This is a second
step tovv^ard producing a new strain. Females from No. 5 mated back to
the original male, No. 2, produce group 8, that are 7^ the blood of No. 2,

felch's breeding-chart

and a cockerel from No. 4, mated back to the original dam, No. i, pro-
duces group No. 6 that is J^ the blood of the original dam and only ys the
blood of the original sire. Again we select a male from No. 8 and females
from No. 6 and for a third time produce chicks (in group No. 11) that are
half the blood of the original pair. This is the third step and the ninth
mating in securing complete breeding of our new strain. In all this we
have not broken the line of sires, for every one has come from a group in

44 The Poultry Book

which the preponderance of blood was that of the original sire. Nos. 2, 8,
13 and 18 are virtually the blood of No. 2.

We have reached a point where we would estabHsh a male hne whose
blood is virtually that of our original dam, and we now select from No. 6
a male which we mate with a female from No. 4 and produce group 9,
which is 13-16 the blood of the original dam No. i and 3-16 the blood of
the original sire. Again we select a male from No. 9 and a female of the
new strain, No. 11, and produce group 14, which becomes 21-32 of the
blood of the original dam, thus preserving her strain of blood. A male
from No. 13, which is 13-16 the blood of the original sire No. 2, mated to
females from No. 10, which are 5-16 the blood of the original sire, No. 2,
gives us group 17, which is 9-16 the blood of said sire. While in No. 16
we have the new strain and in No. 18 the strain of our original sire,
No. 2, we have three distinct strains, and by and with this systematic use
we can go on breeding for all time to come. Remember that each dotted
line is a female selection and each soHd line the male selection.

In mating to secure a certain proportion of male blood in the chicks,
we should at the same time make allowance for the same proportion of
female blood. Thus: 5 mated to 8 gives 13-16 of the male breeding, and
4 mated to 6 gives 13-16 of the original strain, while the progeny produced
by these two matings, 9 and 13, if they were mated for subsequent use,
becomes one-half the blood of each of the original pair. The thing to ever
keep in mind is that this middle mating, or all 3, 7, 11, 16, are the reservoirs
of blood from which each of your two families are being fed, and whose
influence is so strong for good that you will be enabled, so long as you
are thus careful to live within your own yards, to produce unlimited
numbers, and preserve the same likeness, vigor and productiveness
you started with. Then how important is it that we in our first selection
make sure that the female is a phenomenal producer both as to number,
size and shape of her eggs, that she be of good size and as near standard
shape and color as possible. Barring accidents, such should be our selec-
tion. Accidental deformity may not injure the breeding of a male, but
often does that of the female; a perfectly formed egg being quite impor-
tant in our estimation. One of the best season's get of young stock we
ever had in Brahmas was from a cockerel that had a very crooked back
and low hip on one side by accident. But had a p)ullet been so unfortunate
it would in all probability have caused the eggs she layed to be ill-shaped.

Mating and Breeding

45

Where accidents do not injure the perfect shape of the egg, no harm
will come. Thus, when actual necessity demands it, we may use an
injured fowl with profit, should it recover from such accident strong and
in good health.

All breeders acknowledge that the male controls to a greater degree
the shape and color; while constitution, size and productiveness is the
special function of the dam. Yet I would hesitate to mate a first-class

female with a male I knew
nothing about. He should come
from a first-class producing
female. Mating color in a
general way gives but little
understanding to what it does
where correctly
chronicled in
connection
w i t h
special
breeds.
The
mating
of black
breeds de-
mands special
conditions to secure
specific results. The Langshans, for instance, present the finest con-
ditions of black overlaid with a green sheen. Yet if two specimens
possessing this phenomenal sheen are mated there is apt to come with
it an objectionable bronze bar crossing the feathers. Nothing short of a
deeply shaded walk will prevent it. Open run will destroy the
purity. But a male with this high condition of sheen mated to females
that are wanting in this respect, having dull shaded black breast, lower
body and tail, will give chickens having little, if any, of this faulty barring.
It would be folly to use a male of this dull black order. Breeders now look
beyond the surface color. The second year's life of a first-class fowl is
considered its best year for breeding. It is folly to breed from unsound
color ; the hen must have reached her second year in standard color or

By courtesy o/

46 The Poultry Book

reasonably so; otherwise we must fall back upon the pullets of standard
color, no matter what the breed.

As an instance of presumable in-breeding, Mr. Weir says that a few
years ago two pairs of House Martins built nests under the eaves of
his house. They were unfortunate, for in consequence of heav}^ rains
one pair was not able to find insects for its young, which died in the nest,
when the old birds departed, never to return ; the other pair, hatching
somewhat later, reared five young ones. All left in due course for other
climes. Next spring the old birds returned with four others, apparently
the young of the former year; the parents occupied their previous year's
nest ; the other two pairs built two nests, laid eggs, and hatched and reared
their young, and then all left. One thing noticed was, that if any other
Martins attempted to build near them, they were driven off by the entire
strength of the colony. Next year more returned, and so on until the
colony consisted of ten nests ; and from careful observation of their habits,
etc., he savs, he has every reason to believe that the whole number of
twenty were the direct descendants of the first pair, and yet were in full
vigor and health, which I attribute to their six-months' (at least) change
of climate, etc. I know from experience that change of locality has a
great eft'ect on Game-fowls; and that, though still maintaining their health
and strength, they have lost their valor, and have become, for pit purposes,
useless cravens. The Pigeon is another bird that breeds naturally in-and-in,
each pair laying but two eggs, and the young are male and female, which
afterward pair; and it is thought that whole flocks are thus blood relations.

Our wild birds generally flock the progeny of vast numbers before
they migrate. Thus they have a wide chance to mate in a suitable manner.
The strongest will be first mated. While this may be a special case of
straight in-and-in breeding, I think it better not be applied as a rule for
breeding fowls. Any hunter will tell you there is quite a difference in
the size of birds of the same species shot from different flocks. To return
to our poultry, Air. Weir says : Where the variety or race is pure and true,
it may and should be in-bred. If colonies of poultry can be established
in different localities some distance apart, and cocks interchanged, there
need be no fear of deterioration, and it is just possible that the whole
strain may be perfected to any requirement by such an arrangement

Such pure breeds are, in my opinion, the old five-toed Kent, Sussex
and Surrey fowds, the old English Game, the Black Spanish as representing

Mating and Breeding 47

the Mediterranean breeds, the Malay, the Azeel, the PoUsh, the Ham-
burgs, the Langshan, and some few others. Take any of these, make
them into a strain, and they will breed like-and-like, and with dne care
each will develop to the full their particular attributes and qualities. But
if any or either of them are crossed one with the other, or with any obscure
mongrel, then continual annoyance and disappointment must be the
inevitable result.

A most extraordinary case of impregnation is related by the late
Mr. Richard Stamp, the celebrated Game-cock breeder, etc. He states
that he had a Game hen that was taken away from the cock the day she
laid her second egg, after which she was kept by herself. She laid nine
eggs and then began "clucking," then sitting and hatching. She remained
in the same place until her chickens were a fortnight old. No cock or any
other poultry had been near her after laying her second egg. "I removed
her and her chicken," says Mr. Richard Stamp, "to where there was
no other variety of poultry, in a plantation walk; they remained there
until she commenced to lay again, I not knowing, until she disappeared
and commenced sitting. When I found her and her nest she had eleven
eggs, and all seemed to have a bird in them. I thought she had mated
to pheasants, but when the chickens were hatched they were all Game,
and they grew up thorough Game. By this it would appear that the hen
had thus carried over a certain amount of impregnation from the first
sitting." He concludes by saying that he never had a similar experience
with any other hen. Here I would observe that, in all my long and varied
experience, nothing of the kind has ever come under my own immediate
notice. On the contrary, I have found that when the cock has been removed
from the hens six or seven weeks, any eggs afterward or then laid have
generally proved infertile. Many old poultry breeders, however, aver that
any time after three weeks will render them so ; but to this shorter period
I do not assent.

The above does not agree with my experience. I have found all incu-
bating breeds that b}^ taking the hen from the company of the male and
isolating her I could never hatch an egg from her beyond the tenth. I
do not think it possible for a hen to lay a fertile egg after having the incu-
bating fever until she has been coupled with the male. I have even
subjected a hen while having the fever to the services of the male, then
broke her up. Not an egg was fertile until I put her with the male after

48

The Poultry Book

she had recovered from her wanting to set. I found the Leghorns would
carry the impregnation a few days longer. But in all breeds where the
females are changed from one harem to another, and when hens are removed
from one pen to that of another cock's, the fourth egg will usually pro-
duce the progeny of the new male. I have never known this to fail. I
see no other reason than that the new spermatozoa are more active, thus
stronger, and overpower the older and weaker; and that the life of the
spermatozoon in the oviduct is limited to about ten days, when the males
are removed. The fact that chickens in extreme isolated cases in a five-
toed race come with only four toes, and others with the fifth toe very
small and short, cannot be taken as an indication of taint in blood, or the
effect of atavism ; for a low state of health causes this lack of full develop-
ment of the Dorking race. Nor can the plea be raised m these days that
a pullet having once mated with a male not of her breed has unfitted her
for pure breeding afterward. That theory of Professor Agassiz has long
been exploded even in mammals. To apply the rule to fowls falls to
the ground. The thinking mind cannot accept the inference that pullets
can thus be contaminated. Were it a fact, there would be exceedingly
few pure strains in America to-day.

Speaking of improvement by crosses with other blood. Mr. Weir says :
Of late years much has been said as to the making of new^ breeds, and when

. doing so there
seems to be no
dearth of asser-
tion as to these
mongrels possess-
ing quaHties far in
excess of any of the
well-tested and
much-valued true
old sorts. There
is scarcely a prop-
erty that they do
not possess. But
I think I may m.en-
"' tion one they do

E INVALID not hold, namely.

Mating and Breeding 49

that of breeding like and like. Of course, we are told that they do ; and
some have gone so far as to say that they breed truer than the old in-bred
or close-bred breeds. My answer is, buy a dozen, and let them be chosen
in the same way as the old Kents were — simply for health, strength and
quality, and after a few generations the variations will be abundantly clear.
At least, this is my own and some of my friends' experience. They are
not a breed, nor do they produce "like" with anything of the certainty as do
those of ancient ancestry; neither is there, according to the mating
to obtain them, generally a reasonable chance of their proving something
"very superior."

Take as an instance the old Kent and Sussex five-toed fowls — fifty
years ago said by all that knew of them or kept them to be the ' ' best fowls
in the world." They have been crossed with the Brahma, the Cochin
and the Malay, all inferior fowls to themselves, and yet they are said to be
improved. How can this be ? Adding worse to good.

A mixture of blood is scarcely, if ever, a lasting success, but a certain
pure cross for table or laying purposes may be and often is useful and
profitable to a degree ; but these never surpass an old and pure strain bred
to the qualities required, and the less so in the mixed breeds, by the variety
of form and color of individuals in the same breed.

Take as an example the old pure -bred, white-shanked, five-toed table
fowls that in themselves possess all the attributes of a culinary breed of
the very highest class. How is it to be improved, or in what way made
better ? It has been unwisely advised to cross it with the Cornish Indian.
Where is the gain ? The Cornish Indian, a cross itself, is a yellow-skinned,
yellow-shanked fowl, and does not fatten on the breast Hke the former; the
fiber of the flesh is short, close, and dry by comparison. Therefore you get
a worse fowl, a yellow-skinned and yellow-fatted fowl, and one that makes
more internal fat. You lose by this cross. Again, matched to a Cochin
or Shanghai, the chick is bigger boned, less breast, and yellower, coarser
flesh. Crossed with the Brahma, more bone, more offal, bigger in size, but
with not so much breast meat, nor so good as the old pure breed, and in
fact a worse result than from the mixture of the Cornish Indian. Even
the wonderful grand-shaped Azeel hardens the flesh and spoils the fatting
propensities of the flrst. As Mr. W. B. Tegetmeier rightly said, now
nearly fifty years ago, that which was well-known long before then, "You
cannot improve the Dorking." And that is true, for the sized bird ; but if

50 The Poultry Book

a less is wanted, then an alliance with the old English white-shanked pit
Game will leave nothing to be desired, both parents being of the highest
class for table purposes. This is good matching, and the former wrong.

Before "matching" for a cross-breed, the first thing to be considered
is, where will be the gain ? If you have a perfect breed for its purpose you
only injure instead of benefiting it by crossing, yet some varieties may be
so treated with profit. For instance, a loose-feathered, breastless fowl,
with large legs and thighs and generally feathered shanks, fattens very
readily, mostly so about the neck, forepart of the breast and back. Then
for this, an Azeel cock, with his highly, fully developed, close-grained,
meaty breast would make a most desirable cross, if a new style of fowl is
wished for; but the laying properties possessed by the former may be
seriously damaged — you cannot have both flesh and eggs from the sanle
bird. I am perfectly well aware that for commercial purposes the contrary
has been asserted, and has been believed by the thoughtless and credulous,
but never by the experienced, cultured and reflective mind. The old
English white-shanked pit Game may be matched with advantage to the
Cochin, the Langshan and the Brahma, if fowls with larger frames than
ordinary for farmyard purposes are in demand ; but here again there is no
absolute gain, for if some of the progeny equal, none will surpass the old
English farmstead five-toed breed pure and simple. In all cases of match-
ing, then, bear in mind, whether it is the stock of the pure breeds or cross-
ings, the full and persistent purpose should be to obtain birds at least as
good as the parents, but better if possible. And very few mixtures of
form, habit and breeds of poultry lend themselves to improve that which
generations of the most carefully organized treatment has rendered certain
breeds unsurpassed for whatever special purpose was considered attainable.

It must be borne in mind that the foregoing is from the English stand-
point, where none but fowls with white or flesh-colored shanks and what is
termed white skins are fully appreciated for poultry meat. To advocate
such for the American market would be disastrous if followed by the
American poultrymen, for the very reason that fowls with yellow shanks
and skin are in absolute demand. We find here in the States that in all
the competitions the progeny of the White Wyandotte male with Brahma
females have won nearly all the first prizes. But when a little larger
carcass was wanted the cross of Indian Game with the Brahma took the
lead. For broiler purposes, fowls of one and one-half pounds to the pair

Mating and Breeding

51

.X ^^

BACK FROM A FORAGE

dressed, the White Wyandotte stands at the head of the Hst, with the
Indian cross next. The Brahma chick makes a broiler of four pounds to
the pair in eight weeks, producing that weight four weeks eariier than will
any of the American breeds, thus enabling the trader to produce in his
plant 50 per cent, more pounds during the season. This practical side of
poultry culture, it will be seen, is controlled solely by country and locality,
in the consideration of which the breeder must use his individual judgment.
When the breeder is to sacrifice the advantages of pure breeding for kitchen
uses in both poultry and eggs, as in this case of the Wyandotte with Brahma,
not only does he produce the best broilers or roasters, but a larger number
of eggs per individual than the maternal ancestors, besides preserving in
a wonderful manner the size, shape and color of the Brahma egg. This
has had a good influence on Brahma eggs in the market in some places
over other breeds. Thus, the reader sees, it is impossible to advocate one

52 The Poultry Book

rule to govern all countries in this respect. There is no doubt for egg-
production alone the White Leghorn as a breed, or its male mated to
Brahmas, will produce the largest number of eggs per capita, but the meat
itself is of less value and excellence than those mentioned above. In these
days, when the thoroughbred is so popular, we think it far better to use
the pure breeds and sacrifice the lower half for kitchen uses. It will leave
the other half of superior quality. At the late Boston exhibition, single
males of the Buff Plymouth Rock breed sold for $300, and four females to
make up the pen for $200. Sales in New York have been made within
three years at $225; Light Brahma males $150; eight White Wyandottes
at $500 and single males as high as $125 each; ten Partridge Cochins at
$1,000; $500 refused for ten White Leghorns. AVith this array of facts it
seems foolish for any breeder to indulge in cross breeding when he can
reach all necessary points of excellence with the pure breeds at hand and
still have a chance to reach results such as quoted above.

Effect of Food, Soil and Shade

It behooves the breeder to exert himself in every possible eftbrt to
furnish every condition that will secure a beautifully colored flock. Does
the partridge ever lay her eggs above a stratum of frost, or does she lay
in spring before the earth is warmed so that worms and insects come
to the surface in her feeding haunts ? Does she molt after the
harvest is past ? Does she seek the thick shades of the woods
during the middle of the day and the open fields along the outskirts of the
wood during the early morning hours ? What lesson should we leani
from this other than that meat, vegetables and grains in about the pro-
portion of fifteen per cent, meat, twenty-five per cent, vegetables, and
sixty per cent, grains should be the daily food of our flocks; that the
chicks should be hatched with the early grass blades with tender food for
them; that our flock should be furnished shade where they may retire
in the heat of the day, especially during the molting season. When flocks
secure their adult plumage after the middle of September in New England
latitudes, they retain to the largest degree pure shades of their color.
Let a Plymouth Rock cockerel secure his adult plumage in July and a
brother in October. The former in January may be greatly tarnished,
while the latter remains bluish-gray and preserves his prime color through-
out the entire season. Soil and sun have, in my opinion, far more to do

Mating and Breeding 53

with good or bad color than any other two things. The finest colored
Partridge Cochins I ever saw were raised about an iron foundry, in a locality
heavily charged with iron deposits. These conditions will affect in a like
manner Golden Hamburgs, Golden Wyandottes, and all so-called buff
breeds ; while all Whites or Barred Plymouth Rocks would suffer greatly
under such conditions, turning the Whites to a yellow shade and the
Rocks to a bronzed discoloration or cause the bars to become quite black
— all detrimental to their standard demand. The breeder of strictly
thoroughbred fowls will do well to profit by the above lesson from nature.
Give to all breeds ample shade and cool quarters in summer. They can
stand dry cold weather better than severe heat ; damp cold weather is a
peculiar hardship for them.

For the game breeders, and those who are fascinated by the mixing
of colors in animated nature, we give below Mr. Weir's own words: Color
is much influenced by climate, food and locality, some places producing
deeper or lighter tones of browns, grays, buffs, etc., though the birds may
be fed in exactly the same way, with the exception of the herbage they
find, the insects, and the soil which is taken into the system in the form
of "grit." And also there are other causes, such as water, etc. A friend
of mine sent me some young dark Dorkings, rich and pure in color, and
white in shanks and feet. The next molt with me they showed much
white in their plumage, while none of his own changed a feather to white ;
the third season of molting one hen became quite white, I gave her to a
lady who resides in Sussex, where the soil was impregnated with iron.
At her next change of feathers the hen became nearly her former dark rich
color, with only a few white splashes. Nor is this the only case by many
that has come under my observation. An old Game-fowl fancier, living
in Cornwall, showed me a few years ago a flock of most beautiful black-
breasted blood-reds. I have never seen better. He said that they were
the stock of a deceased friend, and had been bred by him for many years in
the state of perfection that I saw them. With the next molt nearly every
one was more or less splashed or ticked with white, which became on his
"walks" so persistent that he changed his breed.

I call attention to these few facts, and could give more, for the purpose
of showing that it is not always food, but the particular soil, etc., on which
the fowls range, that makes a considerable dift'erence. It is so among our
wild birds. The Red Grouse of the Yorkshire moors are brown beside

54 The Poultry Book

the Scotch, while all others that I have seen look dark by comparison
with the bright reds of those on the island of Lewis. The late Sir Frederick
Millbank some years ago sent me three brace to testify to the fact.

But apart from this district variation, there are rules for mating in the
producing of certain tints, coloring and markings ; and, as is daily proved
by color photography, nearly all may be got by a combination of three:
namely yellow, blue and red. Of these in "feather" breeding the yellow
is a natural color, sometimes found on animals and birds in a wild state,
as is the red and the blue, which last is the pallid of the black, with the
white or albino also found under similar circumstances. These are merely
differentiations from the normal color, and, therefore, by the fancier's
art are capable of intermixture, thus producing such variations as he may
consider beautiful or interesting. Thus you match a white cock with a
black hen, and if the colors are solid, without a break of any other, the
chances are in favor of the production of the blue. The white with the
light buff will produce a primrose color, with the light red a nankeen, and
if with normal that of a black-breasted red, sometimes a wheaten of light
red in the hens, or it may be a black, for white and black are nearly the
same in breeding color. An East Indian drake with our common white
ducks will often produce blacks ; and Mr. Henry Digby informed me that
he got the larger-sized Cayuga ducks from a drake of the breed mated
with the modern Aylesbury duck. The normal color is the strongest and
most assertive, and black the next ; while white is the most obtrusive, as
showing a weakness or lacking of color-pigment, coming as it does in old
birds, and yet from the young of these scarcely appearing as permanent
until at least the second molt.

The yellow, light fawn, fawn, or what in natural color is called the
Xanthus, are weak, and, applied to the normal, have the tendency to lighten
yet with the nankeen giving a warmth of hue and tone that is in some
particularly pleasing, while the light gray on blue cools and dulls, as may
be observed in the blue-dun Game-cock (Kentucky blue), which illustrates
a combination of the buff, light red and blue.

In natural or original coloring of the black-breasted red cock all the
long, attenuated, sharply lanceolated feathers, such as the hackles, etc.,
are of the brilliant character, filled with a catching iridescent light that
sparkles, comes, goes, and flashes in the sun ; while those rounded, full and
wide are invariably black, with the exception of the primary and secondary

Mating and Breeding

55

on the wing, which are in shape different from the hackles, the breast or
thigh plumage. This being so makes a division thus : black-breasted red,
black-breasted gold, black-breasted yellows, silvers, grays, duns, etc. —
smock, or white-breasted reds, golds, yellows, grays, duns and blacks ; in
each of these the spaces occupied by the colors are the same, the only
\rariants being the hue given to each, and these may be intercrossed with
ever-varying effects and beauty.

These would be to a degree on a par with the two-colored tulip, for
before the other breaks this often ensues. As in breeding white and black
are the same, so either mated with the primitive colors will produce either
birds mottled with white, or darkened with black spots or lacings. The
first is the true spangle, which should have a white tip to the feathers;
and the second, though called spangles, is not rightfully so. The
spangled Game is the self or original color, white tipped, similar
to what was called speckles in the old five -toed fowls and other farm-
yard breeds.

A black cock allied to a partridge-colored hen will often produce the
superbly brilliant feathering of the black-breasted black reds, but this is
not always so. Birds of such chromatic shades are held in high esteem,
and are said to be possessed of unusual stamina. All the others, such
as turkey, starHng, blotched, splashed and grizzle breasts, are the
foul-feathered, not bred for
varieties. The art in color-
breeding is to keep each
brilliant glowing and distinct,
each in its defined and proper
place, with the edge of contact
short, clean and true.

Just a few more words as
to the influence of the male
bird in cross- fertilization.
They are taken from " The
North British Agriculturist,"
of April 19, 1883: "The ex-
periment was that of Mr. Lewis
P. Muirhead, Helensburgh, and
was intended to indicate the

Pliotoffrnpit hy C. keid, H'ishaw. N. B.
COCHINS

56 The Poultry Book

time, etc., that it would take to obliterate the characteristics of the
female of another strain. The female chosen was one of tw^o La Fleche
hens with which the late Mr. Dring some years since w^on many prizes in
England, the type of comb shaped like a pair of horns, white earlobes
(these would be small), and white egg being strongly characteristic. The
males w^ere reared from eggs laid by hens imported from Langshan,
north China, by the late Major Croad, of Worthington — upright serrated
comb, black eyes, black-feathered legs, red earlobes, and pink-buff eyes,
both breeds celebrated for their sheeny black plumage.

"First Cross. — Hen, Hamburg in type, rose comb, white earlobes,
bare legs, amber iris to eye, egg white.

"Second Cross. — Hen, leggy and awkward looking, double comb,
lobes white and patchy, amber of eye rather darker, egg cream color.

"Third Cross. — Hen, Langshan in appearance, comb waxy, eye
darker, egg pale buff.

"Fourth Cross. — Hen, quite Langshan, full-bodied, pink-toed, feather-
legged, dark-eyed, egg buff.

"Fifth Cross. — Hen, perfect Langshan, full-bodied, pink-toed, feather-
legged, black-eyed, upright comb, red earlobes, egg pink-buff'; the chicks
were almost black in the first and second cross ; light canary color, with the
black velvet jacket of the Langshan in the last three.

"The gradual alteration of the color of the egg from the pure white
of the La Fleche to the curiously characteristic pink-buff of the Langshan
in five generations is worthy of note.

" What I am now coming to is the color of the shanks. The strongest
color in many breeds, and the most difficult to out -breed the stain of, is the
yellow. The blue is greened by it, and the white, as the pure soft-looking
milky white, is sooted and ruined. A cross was some years ago made
between a yellow-shanked Game-cock of wonderful color and two gold-
spangled Hamburg hens to give more brilliancy to their golden ground,
but failed entirely, for the reason that the yellow of the shanks could not
be eliminated. It was so, and is so with w^hat is universally termed Dorking
improvement crosses. The mongrelism does show, and will show from
generation to generation, and a lifetime will not get rid of it. It shows
on the white shank and foot as horny in tint, then sooty more or less, and
often when supposed to be bred out will, when put to a pure old strain,
come out again in all its glory of pure yellow. I know this ; I have seen it ;

Mating and Breeding 57

and many a good and pure strain of white-shanked birds, both Game
and Dorking, has been ruined by the persistent actions of those ignorant
of the probable results. It is far better, if a cross is necessary with or
for a white-shanked strain, to make one with blue or slate than yellow.
Yellow is the very worst of all ; it stains and tints the whole body and
system of the bird, while the first does not ; both are difficult to breed out,
but the yellow is the most persistent, and where firm white flesh, fat, skin
and shanks are the points of excellence, it is grossly pernicious, and utterly
to be avoided."

In the above statements of J\Ir. Weir it is understood that he continu-
ally refers to foreign or crosses out of the breeds named, but cHmate has a
great influence. It has to be admitted that the yellow skin and scales do
constantly appear in shanks of breeds described as otherwise. So preva-
lent is it in Langshans that the judges in our exhibitions first take a look
at the bottom of the feet to see if the specimen is not disqualified for that
cause. It seems to be the first and strongest ancestral control ; and that soil
and feed all tend to introduce this taint to all black- and white-shanked
breeds. Notwithstanding atavism is so strong in nature, yet man can and
does control in a wonderful degree by forcing the matings, and secures
results gratifying to behold. The breeder who knows nothing of the
ancestry of the fowls he mates may fail. But when our stock has been
carefully bred for a succession of years it furnishes the keynote to all science
in breeding. We can do no better than to search out the individual
specimen possessing the traits we covet, breed them in line, thus intensify-
ing their transmission in our flocks. It is thus only that we secure and
raise types recognized as strains. It is the control of these ancestral
influences by man's intelligence that gives us the results so infinitely better
than we see in natural selection and the survival of the fittest. It is not
strange that man works out these higher types of animals. Not even do
our flocks escape the inspiration, and new breeds come to the surface.

" There is a history in all men's lives,
Figuring the nature of the times deceased;
The which observed, a man may prophesy,
With a near aim, of the main chance of things
As yet not come to life; vhich in their seeds
And weak beginnings lie treasured. " — Shakespeare. — 2 Henry IV.

EGGS FROM A COMMERCIAL AND GENERAL POINT OF VIEW

Miller Purvis, Illinois

" Man shall rise at the cro\Y of a cock." — Jeremiah.

GGS no doubt have been an important article of diet from

the eariiest ages. The wild jungle-fowl of India {G alius

bankiva) was domesticated long before history begins, and

the most ancient writings mention it. It is mentioned in

the Institutes of Manu, and Babylonian cylinders have been

found with the impressions of domesticated fowls on them.

Ever since history began poultry has been mentioned by historians, and

none of them has mentioned it as a newly acquired part of the established

order of things.

It is probable that the Aryan invasion of Europe marks the beginning
of poultry culture in the west, and since that time almost constant im-
provement has been made.

Even in the depths of Africa the first explorers were offered or were
able to purchase in the rude market-places of that dark continent both
eggs and poultry.

The Chinese and Japanese have been expert poultry breeders for many
centuries, and the large-sized fowls and ducks of China and the long-tailed
fowls of Japan are examples of the skill of these Oriental people in molding
and shaping the fowls they breed to suit their fancy.

The Black Langshan and the Pekin duck are examples of the skill of
the Chinese in this direction, and these breeds are to-day practically as
they were when first imported from China.

Eggs have had a place in the religious observances of both pagan and
Christian nations for centuries. The heathen oft'ers them as an acceptable
sacrifice to his gods, and the Christian makes them so much a part of his
festival of Easter that the markets of the w^orld feel the effect of the
increased demand at that season.

The Christian festival of Easter is an old Pagan festival engrafted on
the observances of the Christian Church. The early fathers found the

59

6o The Poultry Book

pagans of Europe celebrating a festival at the time of the vernal equinox
in which eggs were used in quantities. It was not a violent change to
transform this celebration of the return of spring into one in memory of
the Resurrection. The egg was held as the symbol of the return to Hfe of
that which had died ; the pagans celebrated the revival of vegetation, and
the Christians changed this into a symbol of a new life for the soul of man.

It may be remarked in passing that there seems to be some connection
between the religious observances of a people and the type of the poultry
bred by that people. The Oriental uses fowls as sacrifices, and breeds his
fowls to large size, as witness the Asiatic breeds. The Christian of Europe
uses eggs in quantity at Eastertide, and his ancestors used them in his vernal
festivities, and the fowls of Europe are noted for their prolificacy. The
Malay delights in cock-fighting, and his fowls are the strongest and most
fierce of all the family, fighting to the last gasp with indomitable courage.

The egg is a good example of how nature adapts itself to environment
and conditions. Lay an egg on a plane surface and it revolves on its own
axis, having a tendency to occupy the same place. This is on account of
its peculiar shape, being pointed at one end and turning around without pro-
gressing. This pointed shape also serves to keep the larger end the highest
when it lies in a bowl-shaped nest, a position that is necessary during the
process of incubation, as the head of the embryo is always toward the
larger end and needs to be kept higher than the remainder of its body.

The shape of eggs is also the one that is best calculated to resist
attacks from without. The shell is composed of a very fragile material,
and it is so shaped that it resists considerable pressure from without,
yet at the same time is easily broken by the chick that, having arrived at
the end of the period of incubation, must break its own way to the outer
world.

Comniercially, eggs have become an important factor in the business
of the world. Millions of dollars are invested in the traffic in them, and
immense buildings have been erected in which they are kept in cold
storage from the season of greatest plenty to the season when they are
scarcest. They are of great importance in the arts; and from furnishing
the albumen w4th which photographic paper is coated, to being used in the
making of fine leathers, hundreds of thousands of doz^s are used.

Besides being held in cold storage from one season to another, they
are prepared in various ways for export to far-oft' countries. Large fac-

The Commercial Egg

6i

tories are required to produce desiccated or dried eggs for the export
trade, and thousands of dozens are canned, frozen, and thus transported
to distant lands.

In many parts of the world there is a large trade in the eggs of wild
fowls, and at one time egg-hunting on the Farallone Islands, off the coast
of California, was quite an important industry. On the east coast of

SILVER-SPANGLED HAMBURGS

Photograph by C. Reid. IVt

Virginia the eggs of gulls are often eaten, and on the coast of Texas a few
years ago there was a considerable trade in heron eggs.

As a rule, however, when we speak of eggs we mean hens' eggs, although
the eggs of ducks are of considerable commercial importance, and those of
geese and turkeys are quite often included as articles of diet — those of
turkeys rarely, as they are considered too valuable for hatching to be eaten.

Eggs of the different breeds of fowls vary considerably in size. The
egg of the diminutive bantam weighs about fourteen ounces to the dozen,
while the eggs of the Langshan hen or the stately and aristocratic Minorca
or Andalusian often weigh in excess of thirty ounces to the dozen. The

62 The Poultry Book

average \Yeight of hens' eggs • ' v'(^'\ty-four ounces to the dozen, or eight
to the pound.

It is usual to make no distinction in the market between the small,
the average and the large eggs, which is a manifest injustice to the seller
of large eggs. The only just way to deal in eggs would be by weight.
While this is almost universally conceded to be the case, so strong is the
custom of buving and selling by count that, so far as we know, there is no
market in the w^orld where eggs are sold by weight.

The average hen's egg is 2.27 inches in length and 1.72 inches in diam-
eter at the largest place, and weighs about two ounces. The eggs of pullets
are almost invariably smaller than those of hens more than one year old.

Duck eggs are considerably larger than those of hens and usually
command a higher price. Guinea eggs are very pointed and considerably
smaller than hens' eggs. Goose eggs weigh from 5.5 to 6.7 ounces, or about
five pounds to the dozen.

The average hen's egg is composed of about 11 per cent, of shell, 32
per cent, of yolk and 57 per cent, of white. Some experiments at the New
York State experiment station indicated that the shells of white-shelled
eggs are slightly heavier than those of brown-shelled eggs.

It is because the general public has become convinced of the nutriti\-e
value of eggs that they ha\'e assumed their present important position
commercially.

While they have long been considered wdiat is commonly called
"strong" food, they have been looked upon as more of a luxury than a
necessity, and the poorer people preferred to buy meats rather than eggs,
as a matter of economy.

A curious error exists in some markets concerning the quality of eggs
as indicated by the color of their shehs. The people of Boston prefer eggs
with dark shells and will pay the highest price for them, while the people
of New York City prefer white-shelled eggs, and the highest priced eggs
in that citv are those having white shells. In Chicago there is no choice
in the matter of the color of the shells, but it has been observed by those
who cater to the high-priced trade that it is advisable to assort the eggs
according to color and sell them in evenly colored lots.

As a matter of fact, it has been demonstrated by a series of careful
analyses that there is no difference in the food value of eggs with different
colored shells.

HENNY COCK AND HEN
The property of Mr. John Harris, of Liskeard.

The Commercial Egg 65

Eggs have been articles of trade ever since this cotintry was settled,
but until quite recently they were not considered of great importance.
The production of eggs was left entirely to farmers, and by them the pro-
duction of eggs and poultry was not considered of great importance. As a
rule, ever>^ farm supported a flock of mongrel fowls which were allowed to
live by picking up stray grains about the farm and in the hog lots, and by
foraging about the fields for insects, seeds and other food such as they
could find. But little attention was paid to feeding them, and less to
providing a place where they might sleep in comfort through the winter.
Frequently no shelter whatever was provided for the fowls, they being
compelled to seek out their own resting-places in outbuildings or in the
trees about the farmstead.

No attempt was made to stimulate egg production, and such a thing
as feeding for eggs was unheard of. It was .the common belief that poultry
did not pay for the damage it did to gardens and field crops; and the farm
flock was allowed to exist as a somewhat necessary nuisance to furnish
material to be used in cakes, puddings and other rural dainties, rather than
with a view to revenue.

As a result of this lack of method and almost absolute neglect, eggs
were not expected in winter, and were always scarce at that time in the
year, while their plentifulness in summer made them so cheap that fre-
quently they could not be sold except in the way of bartering them for
goods at local stores. From three to six cents a dozen was the usual price
in summer, and as there were none to be had at any price in the winter, it
is not surprising that poultry was held in low esteem.

About the middle of the last century, some ships trading with the
East Indies took on some very large fowls as a part of their food stores.
Some of these had not been eaten when the ships arrived in port, and they
were given to relatives of the captains of the ships, and at once created
a sensation on account of their immense size. The fame of the great
fowls from the Orient began to spread, and soon there was considerable
excitement concerning them. Stories were told of fowls so large and tall
that they could eat com from the head of a flour barrel while they were
standing on the ground, and every one became anxious to secure some of
the large fowls.

This led to the importation of other fowls from the Far East, and the
pouhry industry received its first impulse, an impulse that was destined

66 The Poultry Book

to produce great results and effect a revolution in the business of pro-
ducing poultry and eggs.

The first importations from Asiatic countries were tall, loose-jointed,
awkward, ungainly fowls of various colors. Some were reddish yellow,
others were grayish white, and others a mixture of almost every color
known to the gallinaceous family.

They were known by various names, such as Shanghais, Brahma-
Pootras, Chittagongs, etc. A few enthusiasts began to breed these various
fowls with a view to producing a degree of uniformity, and the result was
the evolution of several distinct breeds which are to-day known as Brahmas
and Cochins, both of which breeds come in more than one variety. Later,
Major Croad, of the British army, sent to England a distinct breed which
he found in northern China, naming them, from the Chinese province
from which they came, Langshans. These were afterward imported to
this country, and since that time other importations of this breed have
been made. The Langshans were practically perfected when first imported,
and are now bred to models based on the original form and color.

This first beginning of the interest in pure-bred poultr}^ was no doubt
the foundation of the present great poultry industry of this country.
Marvelous stories were told of their prolificacy, and the anxiety of
the people to procure specimens caused them to sell for very high prices.

Several years before the first importation of fowls from India and
China, there had been importations from Leghorn, Italy, but these had
not attracted much attention. About this time more Italian fowls were
brought over, and it was claimed for them that the hens would produce
200 eggs per year, and stories were told of specimens which had laid so
many eggs that they died of exhaustion.

The history of the introduction of these foreign fowls is rather hard
to unravel on account of conflict of authority, but the general facts are a
matter of common agreement among those who were living at the time.

Just when it seemed that the whole people were about to become
interested in poultry and the production of eggs, the Civil War began,
and for the next five years the people of the nation were so deeply engrossed
in military affairs that the poultry industry was allowed to sink out of
sight, so far as the general public was concerned, although a few enthusi-
asts maintained an interest in the subject.

Soon after the close of the war poultry breeding again became a matter

The Commercial Egg

67

of general interest, and beginning about 1870 the interest grew apace. The
fowls imported from foreign countries had been selected, mated and bred
until several distinct breeds had been perfected, and American breeders
began to introduce new breeds derived from crossing and intermingHng
the blood of several of the older breeds.

Pure-bred fowls were imported and exported, and we began to hear
of "fancy" poultry, as distinguished from the common stock of the

Photograph by Charles Keid, It'isha
SILVER WYANDOTTE HEX AXD EGGS

country. Poultry journals were established, and the trade in poultry for
breeding purposes and eggs from pure-bred poultry began to assume
considerable proportions.

From that time down to the present the traffic in eggs has steadily
increased in volume, and now eggs for hatching probably represent as
large a volume of business as the entire trade in them did fifty years ago,
while the transactions in eggs for food and other commercial purposes
represent milHons of dollars.

Formerly it was necessary to make some final disposition of eggs

68 The Poultry Book

within a comparatively short time after they were gathered, or they would
become unfit for any use except for a few processes in the arts. This
made it necessary to handle them rapidly and get them into the hands
of consumers as quickly as possible.

Later the lime-water process of preserving or "pickling" them was
discovered, and merchants and speculators bought large numbers of them
when they were cheap and preserved them in great vats, in cellars, until the
time of scarcity, when they were brought out and sold at an advance on
the purchase price.

This method of keeping them was never entirely satisfactory, as the
eggs deteriorated in quality to a marked degree, and pickled eggs were
only used because fresh-laid ones could not be had.

Still later cold storage was devised, and as the processes by which a
low temperature could be maintained for an indefinite period were improved
more and more, eggs were put in storage in the summer when they were
cheap to be held until winter when they were high priced, until now the
business of putting eggs in cold storage is a very large one. Great cold-
storage warehouses are to be found in all the large cities and many snialler
ones in small cities and towns, and the business has assum.ed such
proportions that it aft'ects the market price of eggs both summer and winter.

In summer the cold-storage speculators bid against each other for stock
to store until their demand increases the price. In winter, as soon as fresh-
laid eggs become scarce and the consumptive demand raises the price, the
cold-storage speculators withdraw their stocks from storage and put them
on the market.

Thus it will be seen that the effect of the placing of eggs in cold storage
is to make the price more uniform during the whole year than it was before
such methods were practised.

Eggs are bought in April, usually, for cold storage, and kept in store
until at such a time in winter as the price yields the holder a satisfactoiy
profit.

It is not always a money-making transaction to store eggs in this
way. Frequently the speculators bid the price for storage stock up to a
figure that makes it impossible to sell at a profit. This is especially true
if the winter should be a mild one and eggs should come in with any degree
of regularity during the cold months.

\Yith the present transportation facilities it is a matter of small

The Commercial Egg 69

moment to transport eggs from the warmer parts of the country to the
colder ones, and if those who live in the southern States would take advan-
tage of the favorable climatic conditions that prevail in those States, and
make a special effort for the production of eggs in large numbers, it would be
a hard blow at the cold storage of eggs in the North.

The processes by which a case of eggs is gathered up in the country,
sent to the city, placed in cold storage and finally disposed of is quite
interesting.

Usually the eggs are gathered on the farms of the country and sold
for cash or bartered for trade at the stores in the nearest town. Here they
are packed in cases holding thirty dozen each and sent to the commission
merchant in the city. The commission merchant sells them to the cold-
storage speculator if a favorable price is offered. If the speculator does
not offer enough for them, they are sold for immediate consumption.

Before going into cold storage they are sorted, as only perfectly good
eggs are stored, and much care must be exercised in sorting, as a single
broken egg if stored may be the means of spoiling several others that lie
next to it in the case.

Candling eggs is a trade by itself, and in the large cities is done by a
well-organized union or guild of experts, wdio command good wages, as it
takes considerable practice to become an expert candler.

The term ' ' candling ' ' is used from the fact that sorting was formerly
done by the light of a candle. Now electric lights are used, and it is much
easier to select the good eggs than in was when a less brilliant light was used.

The candlers stand in a row facing a long bench or table in a hall that
is perfectly dark, except where a ray of electric light shines through a small
aperture in the opaque shade that covers the bulb. Attendants bring the
eggs to the candlers and take them away after they are candled and
assorted.

A case containing thirty dozen eggs is placed on the table in front of
the candler, convenient to his left hand. From this he picks up six eggs,
three in each hand, and by a peculiar twisting motion of his fingers rapidly
revolves each egg before the aperture in the light-shield, thus bringing the
egg between his eye and the light. The light shining through the egg shows
him at a glance what classification it deserves.

If the light shows evenly in all parts of the egg-shell it is called "fancy " ;
if there is a faint tinge anywhere in it it is called ' ' strictly fresh " ; a more

70 The Poultry Book

pronounced discoloration places it in the class of "fresh eggs." Either of
these classes are perfectly sound and wholesome and fit for human con-
sumption, the slight discoloration in "strictly fresh" and "fresh" eggs
being the result of age that allows the yolks to settle to one side slightly.
Any of these three classes may be kept in cold storage for an indefinite
time, under proper conditions.

If the candler sees a decided dark spot through the egg as he examines
it he calls it a " second," and if this spot is quite dark it is called a " spot."
In a more pronounced condition of decay it becomes a "rot."

Seconds and spots are sold to the cheaper trade, as they have not yet
got so far along as to be detrimental to the health, and a certain kind of
cheap trade disposes of them. Seconds, it is said, are frequently sold to
bakers, a statement that we have never cared to attempt to disprove.

Broken eggs are revealed to the candler as he gently knocks the eggs
together, his quick sense of hearing revealing this condition. As he dis-
covers the condition of the eggs they are placed in different receptacles,
each classification by itself. These candlers work with remarkable rapidity
and make their decisions without hesitation.

A machine has been devised to do this work, but it has never come
into common use. In this machine the lights are under a rolling platform
which carries the eggs along, the candler standing beside the platform and
selecting and assorting the eggs as they pass him. Those that are not
"fancy" or "strictly fresh" are picked off the platform, while those that
are allowed to remain are carried along and deposited in a receptacle at
the end.

After the eggs are assorted, those with the cracked shells are broken
by girls, who separate the whites from the yolks, placing each in tin cans.
When a can is full of either whites or yolks it is taken to the freezing-room
and frozen, to remain in that condition until sold. In some cases the
whole contents of the egg-shell are canned in this way, frozen and shipped
out of the country, large numbers of canned eggs being sent to Alaska
every year since the gold mines were discovered in that territory.

Even the shells of the eggs that are broken for canning are saved and
used for \-arious purposes, such as one of the ingredients of poultry foods.

The eggs that are to be stored are placed in rooms kept cool by various
processes, usually by one similar to the one by which artificial ice is frozen,
and kept at a low temperature, a degree or two abo\'e freezing. The

The Commercial Egg

71

FOWLS SCRATCHING BEFORE THE BARN DOOR

management of a building in which eggs ax'e stored requires nice manipulat-
ing. The temperature must be kept even, and the degree of moisture in
the air regulated to a nicety. If there is too much moisture in the air the
quality of the eggs will be injured, and if there is not enough moisture the
contents of the eggs will be likely to evaporate and injure their selling
cjuality.

Another way of keeping eggs in condition for use while being trans-
ported to foreign countries is by desiccating them. This method is not
yet in general use, and it is doubtful if it will ever become popular, as dried
eggs are not likely to become a favorite article of diet except where condi-
tions make it necessary to have them reduced in bulk to the smallest
dimensions. These exceptional calls for desiccated eggs are numerous
enough to keep several large establishments busy.

It is impossible to obtain data concerning the commercial transactions
in eggs further back than a few years, as they were not considered of enough
importance to become objects of statistical information. The writer was
one of the first to call attention to neglect in this direction, and some years

72 The Poultry Book

ago spent considerable time in an endeavor to estimate with some degree
of accuracy the number of eggs produced in this country. When these
statistics were first given out they were received with increduhty, and
were the subject of much good-natured raillery. However, when serious
attention was given to the matter it was found that the estimate was
lower than the facts justified.

Even yet it is very hard to obtain accurate information on this point,
as the average farmer still suspects that his hens are not very profitable,
although this error is rapidly being dissipated by the mass of facts that
are being placed before him by the experiment stations, government
statisticians. State and national, and by private individuals who are inter-
ested in giving the facts the widest publicity.

The poultry press of the country has become a great means of dis-
seminating information on this subject, there being now in the United
States about sixty journals devoted especially to the poultry industry,
several of which have a wide circulation, one as many as 100,000 copies
each issue.

For the purpose we have in view it is not necessary to go very far back
into the statistical records, even if it were possible to do so. Except as a
matter of curious information, it is not necessary to know how many eggs
were produced one hundred years ago, nor what they were valued at.

One remarkable phase of the subject is the rapid increase of the egg
production of the country. While the statistics on this subject are no
doubt faulty to the extent that they do not with any degree of accuracy
give the number of eggs produced in this country, being entirely too low,
yet for purposes of comparison, one year with another, they answer very
well in showing the increase of the industry.

While the average farmer knows almost exactly how many bushels of
wheat or how many pounds of wool he produced the year before, he very
rarely knows how many eggs were produced on his farm. The writer
has had occasion to talk on the subject before a great many audiences
composed of farmers, and has many times asked that every one in the audi-
ence who knew exactly how many fowls there were on their farms would
rise to their feet. There never has been a response to a request of this
kind, except on one occasion a farmer arose and said he knew to a certainty
how many hens he had. When asked how many, he triumphantly replied,
■"One," and sat down ^mid a roar of laughter.

SILVER-GREY DORKING COCK
. Arthur C. Major's Crystal Palace (1902) prize winner

The Commercial Egg 73

Because of this general apathy concerning exact statistics relating
to the poultry industry the estimates furnished by various departments
are not at all exact, nor can they compare for accuracy with the statistics
on this subject published by European governments.

According to the census of 1890, the number of eggs produced during
that census year was 820,000,000 dozen, in round numbers. During that
year this country imported 1 5,000,000 dozen, which were valued at the point
from which they were imported at $2,000,000. In 1890 this coimtry
exported 381,000 dozen, valued at $59,000. Ten years later but 225,000
dozen were imported, valued at $21,000, and the same year 3,694,000
dozen were exported, valued at $641,000.

In 1901 the importation of eggs had fallen to 126,520 dozen, valued
at $10,515. The same year egg-yolks were imported to the value of $246.
In 1900 we exported 5,920,727 dozen eggs, valued at $984,081, and egg
yolks valued at $883. Thus it will be seen that during ten years there
has been a complete reversal of conditions so far as supplying the domestic
demand is concerned.

The increase in numbers is also very marked. As stated above, the
number of dozen produced in 1890 was 820,000,000, while according to the
census returns of 1900 the production during that census year amounted
to the immense number of 1,293,819,186 dozen. These at twelve cents a
dozen were worth $155,258,302, an immense sum for an industry that
only a few years ago was not considered of enough importance to have
a place in the industrial statistics of the country.

If we consider in this connection the number of eggs produced in
Canada the industry would make a still more impressive showing, as that
country has also been making rapid strides in egg production, and the export
trade has had the careful attention of the experiment stations, which have
encouraged it and have been at considerable expense to educate the farmers
of the Dominion concerning the importance of the industry and the most
economical methods for producing eggs.

Besides the regular commerce in eggs that are gathered up and dis-
tributed in the usual channels of trade, a great volume of business is done
in many parts of the country in the way of supplying eggs to private
families. With the increase of wealth in this country has come a class of
people who are willing to pay extra prices for articles of the finest quality.
Poultrymen, taking advantage of this fact, have begun catering to

74 The Poultry Book

this trade, and around the larger cities are many poultry farms the owners
of which sell eggs to private families at prices much higher than that paid
in the open market. The best hotels, restaurants and clubs also prefer to
buy all their eggs from one farm when they can do so, and are willing to
pay fancy prices for guaranteed stock.

It is customary for these egg-farmers to guarantee every egg the}^
sell to be perfectly fresh and not over a certain age, some Hving near their
customers making the outside limit as low as forty-eight hours.

In some cases the egg-farmers live as far as 300 miles from the market
they cater to, this distance allowing quick delivery by express. In New
York State there are a number of egg-farms the owners of which receive
large revenues from their egg trade alone, and all of the large cities are
becoming surrounded by farms of this kind, which are Yery profitable.

Some of these egg-farmers receive a stated price, say fifty cents a dozen
from November i to May i and a somewhat lower price for the remaining
months of the year. Others receive a stated advance on the highest market
price the day the eggs are sent to market. One of these whom we know
receives fifty per cent, above the highest market price and another receives
fourteen cents a dozen above the highest open quotations, whatever they
may be.

This is a branch of the business that is capable of almost indefinite
expansion, as the demand for fancy eggs increases much more rapidly than
the supply.

In the vicinity of Petaluma, California, there is a whole community
that makes the production of eggs almost its only work. These eggs are
sold in San Francisco, and the number shipped from the one small town
is marvelous.

It is estimated that about 100,000 hens are kept in the immediate
vicinity of Petaluma, and the net profit from these is from $1 to as high as
$2.50 each in a year. This town is the most distinctively poultry town in
America, and its trade is constantly increasing. Here it is that we see to
what an extent the trade in eggs may be developed by carefully educating
the people to an appreciation of its possibilities.

With present facilities for cold storage on long voyages there is no
reason why the United States might not develop the trade in eggs until it
would become one of the leading if not the foremost industry in the country.

A considerable branch of the trade in eggs is that of buying and selling

The Commercial Egg

75

eggs for hatching. What this amounts to it is impossible to estimate even
approximately, but that it amounts to a large sum is evident from the
number of poultry breeders who annually advertise eggs for hatching for
sale. Some of the poultry journals have as many as i,ooo advertisements
of eggs for hatching in a single issue during the season when eggs for hatch-

iARLY TO BED

ing are m demand, and single breeders sell thousands or dollars' worth
every year.

Eggs for hatching are rarely sold for less than $i per dozen and fre-
quently for much more. Breeders of great reputation sell eggs for as high
a. $6 for thirteen, and one at least gets $i each for eggs from his best fowls
and cannot supply the demand at this price.

While the business of buying and selling eggs has grown to be one of
great proportions, it is A^ery generally believed by those who have given
the matter attention that it is yet in its infancy and that it will continue
to grow indefinitely and expand into one of the great branches of the
commerce of the world.

As the country becomes settled and the inhabitants crowd more
closely together the production of beef, pork and mutton must continually

76 The Poultry Book

decrease, as compared with the increase in the population, and this will
very naturally turn the attention of the public in other directions for food
to supply the place now taken by meats.

Poultry can be kept on a very limited area, and the production of eggs
can be carried on in confined quarters, and eggs will largely take the place
of meat.

These conditions, together with the increasing liking of the consumer
for eggs as a regular part of the daily food, lead us to believe that the
commercial egg is destined to become of more and more importance
as time passes.

Foreign Eggs

Of foreign eggs the American poultryman of to-day knows but little
from experience. As has been stated, but few eggs are imported into this
coiintry from other countries, and a large per cent, of these are from
Canada, which we have ceased to think of as a foreign country, this being
especially true of poultry men, who regard their Canadian brethren as
compatriots, and in no sense foreigners.

The duty of five cents a dozen that is collected on all eggs that are
imported into this country makes it unprofitable to bring them across our
borders in large numbers, except at times when they bring exceptionally
high prices, and the bulk of the importations come from that part of Canada
bordering our own country, these being carried over by the producers
and sold in towns and cities that lie on the border, such as Buftalo
and Detroit.

The average price of imported eggs for the five years from 1892 to
1896, both inclusive, was 11.8 cents per dozen, while the average price for
the five years from 1897 to 1901, both inclusive, had fallen to 7.8 cents per
dozen. During this period the price fluctuated from 4.9 cents per dozen
in 1898 to 9.5 cents in 1899.

A considerable number of eggs are received from foreign coimtries for
hatching, but no statistics concerning this branch of the industry are
available, as eggs for hatching are listed with those imported in a com-
mercial way.

The Chinese import a good many eggs which have been prepared for
food in the ways pecuHar to that people, one Chinese delicacy being eggs
that have been buried for several years and are then used as appetizers.

It is not at all probable that the import trade in eggs will increase

The Commercial Egg 77

beyond its present limits unless prices should become very much higher
than they are now in this country.

This country is rapidly increasing the number of eggs produced, and
is now able to export large numbers at a profit, while those imported are
made more costly by the duty imposed on them.

The production of eggs in this country will naturally become more
and more a regular business, and the economies that are constantly being
devised, and the improvement in the laying qualities of our hens, w^hich is
becoming more pronounced under the stimulus of good prices and insistent
demand, will make it possible for American poultrymen to compete in the
open markets of the world with the poultry breeders of any other country.

For these reasons the subject of foreign eggs has but little interest for
American poultrymen except as it relates to the methods that obtain in
those countries, and then only as a matter of information that has no
bearing on the financial aspect of the industry.

Photograph by courtesy of "Commercial Poultry '
WHITE WYANDOTTE COCK
Owned by C. J. Larson, of Illinois

78

The Poultry Book

=^ I

O O O N

^ ■<)■ "_ CC

■* O' =: M

gwg

O C O O r~
0_ S. r- X S_

-O ■^O OOO I^

O M N ►- O

o> o

-o o- ^ -t t^ o t^ M o "^ o o X :

>0 M f. O.

ooooo o r-

o o X »/: o o y:

o y. y:

o_ t^ N o_ 0_

00 CO MOO M

CC O t- c
O ", - =

r- ;> o_ ••;

> o o_ -■_ "_
•-jo' 6 p \n

o, o> -t '
a o" N ^i
in-yo o 0

Ov O O M ^O M I

O r~vO o. O
o- o> o=c_oo_

VIM r^UlTJ-MOv H-tNi

1M« CO ONr- COOm(

■ m' rt m" too" ui cJ t^ c^

Ov t^ N O CO N to loco

'C'C-js-i: ^

ii C C t; u >

The Commercial Egg

79

f.DO t~ o o
N Ov « o :c

"1 H CO X -X O :

oa P

o-o o o o

00 M O Ov N

in n" c? o"

O ■* -O CK
tC I-." in" tC

) o. o

o o o o o

K ~o -t S =c

o o o o

CO r^X •*

d" i-^ m' o"

\0\C ^ O: O MCOf^'

o 00 M •* o t^ o 'to c

O O O in

fO in M_0
M cT (> T?

H in o "0 tN o >n

in o' o" 't in r^ o"

O Tf ~-, o I^ o
o " o in n
inx" :> >-" ts"

00 o m-jo o

O Ov •* O =0

M_ N M_v£

1-1 M \0

Ovin o. ■*

c o J3 S

•* O M o I^

a tJ pT o" tJ-

2;2:2;2;2; ^oooa, pSwmH h^>> ^^^^

tS'S c tax!
3 ri c X 03

O Of'

HAMBURG COCK S HEAD

EGGS FROM A GENERAL POINT OF VIEW

]\IiLLER Purvis, Illinois

■SIDE from its commercial importance the egg has ahvays
been an article of diet that has been held in high esteem,
even the most ignorant savages understanding its nutritious
qualities. Perhaps no article of diet is more uni\-ersally
used than eggs. They are esteemed by all nations and
every shade of religious belief except, perhaps, some of the
stricter sects of India. Not only are the eggs of domestic poultry used, but
those of wild birds, turtles and fish are held to be a delicacy by the
different nations, according to the degree of civihzation and national
customs. The Eskimos of the Far North seek the eggs of wild fowl,
while the natives of tropical countries dig in the sand for the eggs of
turtles as delicacies to be added to their food-supply. Even in civilized
countries eggs of certain wild birds are sought for food, and the eggs
of wild duck, plover, herons and other wild fowl are freely eaten, and
are, in fact, wholesome and nutritious.

The more civiHzed people could hardly dispense with it, and its place
in the dietary rises in importance as cooking becomes more esteemed as
one of the sciences. While the egg has always been highly esteemed as
an article of food, its real value has only recently been demonstrated by
chemical analyses and careful experiments. ]Many extremely interesting
experiments have been made in testing the quality of eggs as an article of
diet, and some of these have produced surprising results.

8i

82

The Poultry Book

[Adapted after Marshall]

Structure of an Egg
An egg is curiously constructed, and it may be interesting to examine
briefly how it is built up. The egg consists of three parts, commonly
recognized. These are the shell, the white and the yolk. The shell is

composed of calcareous crystals so united
that it is very porous, allowing the ingress
of oxygen in the process of incubation and
the egress of carbon dioxid, one of the
poisonous waste products of the processes
of life. Inside the outer shell is a membrane
of a fibrous nature, w^hich is closely attached
to the inner surface of the shell, except at
the larger end, where it is divided and forms
a disk-shaped cavity which is known as
the air-space or air-bubble (sv in the illustration). Inside the inner
membrane is a viscid fluid commonly called "the white," which consists
of 84 per cent, water, 12I/3 per cent, albumen, i per cent, mineral matter
and 2y^ percent, sugar. Suspended in the w^hite is the yolk, a yellowish
spherical mass of matter consisting of 52 per cent, water, 45 per cent,
oil and about i per cent, each of coloring matter, albumen and mineral
matter.

The albumen or white is of different degrees of density. The yolk
retains its spherical shape for a considerable time, owing to the fact that it
is enclosed in a transparent membrane called the vitelline membrane. The
yolk, as shown at y, also consists of several layers enclosing a small whitish
ball or sphere, from which extends a canal terminating in a vesicle known as
the germinal vesicle. From opposite sides of the yolk extends twisted fila-
ments, as seen at n'c, denser than the white, called the chalaza, which are
attached at the inner and large ends to the vitelline membrane and to the
inner membrane of the shell at the outer ends. The purpose of this is to
hold the yolk in position and at the same time act as a spring to counteract
the effect of sudden shocks.

The germinal vesicle is of such a nature that it invariably keeps the
side of the yolk to which it is attached on the upper side. This
germinal vesicle is the spot where the spermatozoa of the male is
deposited after copulation, and its characteristic of always coming to the
top, no matter how the eggs may be turned, is a natural provision that

Eggs in General 83

always keeps the embryo in such a position that the heat of the incubator
or of the setting hen is next to the embryo chick.

The yolk of the egg is formed in the egg-sac or ovary of the hen or
other female bird, and at the proper time, depending largely on the food
consumed and the time of the year, a yolk is detached from the several that
are to be found in the ovary and passes down the oviduct, the albumen
being deposited in the course of this passage, the inner membrane forming,
and finally the shell, and the perfect egg is expelled. As a rule, it requires
about two days for the yolk to become a perfect egg, but in several breeds
of hens eggs will be produced several days in succession, and in exceptional
cases this will continue for a considerable period, and an egg will be
deposited every day for a number of days.

The process by which the inner membrane is formed is not well under-
stood, but it is known that the shell is formed by the deposit of minute
crystals of lime on the inner membrane. Sometimes eggs will be deposited
without the outer shell, or with such a thin coating of shell m.aterial that
it breaks when touched. The inner membrane is usually strong enough
to hold the contents from being lost. These are known as soft-shelled
eggs, and are due to overproduction, or to some abnormal condition of
the organs that causes a suspension of the functions to the extent that
lime is not elaborated in sufficient quantity to supply material for the
shell. It will be seen that an egg is a very complicated structure,
composed of the most fragile materials, yet so put together that
it will withstand considerable rough usage without material damage
being done to it.

If a fresh egg is boiled hard and carefully dissected the different parts
can readily be distinguished and the several layers of the white and yolk
can easily be separated. Naturally eggs are not constructed for any
rougher usage than they would receive by being deposited in a nest and
covered by the female during the course of incubation. When carried
long distances by the ordinary means of transportation the several parts
are very likely to be disassociated to some extent, but if allowed to stand
for a day or two the natural condition will return.

Eggs are of various colors and the shells differ greatly in thickness
and strength. The eggs of most wild birds seem to have been designed
by nature in such colors as will cause them to be inconspicuous when
unprotected in the nest, but there are notable exceptions to this, as the

84

The Poultry Book

light -blue egg of the
robin or the pure white
one of the dove, both in
striking contrast to the
material usually found in
the nests of these birds.
The eggs of domestic
poultry vary greatly in
size, as has been noted in
a previous chapter. The
egg of the bantam will
weigh about fourteen
ounces to the dozen,
while that of the goose
will weigh as much as
five pounds to the dozen.
While not strictly
along the line of this
work, it is interesting to
note that all eggs are not identical in chemical composition. Birds are di-
vided into two distinctive classes. The young of one class are hatched with
a full coat of feathers, and of the other without plumage. The common
domestic hen belongs to the first class, the plumage being represented by
down, and the robin, dove and other birds are among the second class.

It is apparent that the egg that contains the elements which will
furnish a complete bird, including the plumage, must be more nutritious
than one that produces a bird without plumage. The eggs of the first class
are found on analysis to be the most nutritious. While it is commonly
believed that eggs contain all the elements of nutrition, this belief is an
error. It is true they contain all the elemients necessary to the growth of
the young bird, just as milk is the natural and sufficient food for young
mammals, but eggs are not composed of all the elements of nutrition
necessary to mature growth.

WHITE LEGHORN HEN — A PRIZE-WINNER
Owned by Henry Van Dreser, New York

Eggs as Characterized by Breeds

The eggs of birds have a wide range of color, as has been noted, but
those of domestic hens are not especially different. The colors range from

Eggs in General

85

pure white, through shades of cream color to yehowish brown or pink with
a purple tinge. The eggs of each breed have a distinct range of colors of
their own that do not vary, although several breeds may produce eggs of
the same general color. It is also true that individual hens often produce
eggs of a distinctive shape, which is easily recognized by the poultry keeper
who pays close attention to his flocks.

It has been determined, after repeated experiments, that the weight
of eggs in different individuals in the same breed of fowls will vary con-
siderably, and it has been noticed that generally the hen producing the
largest number of eggs will produce eggs that are smallest or weigh the
least, although this is not invariably the case.

The Hamburg class, which is acknowledged to be among
the most productive of all domestic poultry, produces the smallest
eggs of any breed.

The Leghorn family is probably next to the Hamburgs in egg-
production, and the eggs of hens of this family are rather small, although
recent attempts at producing a strain that will produce large eggs seem
to be meeting with some
success.

The Minorcas produce
very large eggs and a great
number of them. They are
a much larger breed than
the Hamburgs and con-
siderably larger than the
Leghorns, but not enough
so to account for the
difference in the size of
the eggs produced by them.

The eggs of the Asiatic
family, which includes the
several varieties of Cochins
and Brahmas, are of good
size, but this class is not "
included among the prolific
layers. It would not be -'.-:
fair, however, to leave the

Front a^lu
OLD-STYLE BLACK ORPINGTON

86 The Poultry Book

impression that all Cochins and Brahmas are poor layers, for there are
records of very notable exceptions to such a rule. Light Brahma hens
have been known to produce as many as 233 eggs in a year, and no doubt
proper attention to food and care would place this class in a higher position
than it now holds in this respect.

For the last twenty-five years poultrymen have been paying more
attention to perfecting the shape and color of the various breeds of poultry
than to the production of eggs, and this has beyond dispute led to a falling
off in egg-production. The establishing of egg farms in various parts of the
country has led to the more careful selection of hens with great productive
capacity. Several of the experiment stations have introduced the trap-
nest, by which hens may be identified with the eggs laid by them, and by
this means flocks of great egg-producing capacity are being built up and
strains are being estabhshed which will lead to a much greater average
production per annum than is now the case.

Influence of Feed upon Eggs

The public is largely in error concerning the nutritive qualities of eggs.
It is quite generally believed that an egg w4th a deep yellow yolk is more
nutritious than one with a yolk of a fighter color. It is also commonly
believed in some communities that an egg with a dark shell is more
nutritious than one wfith a pure white shell. Careful analyses fail
to uphold these opinions, which have no foundation on any well-
considered theory.

It has been found by repeated analyses that the color of the yolk or the
color of the shell makes no difterence in the nutritive value of the eggs.
Eggs may vary slightly in nutritive value, but the analyses indicate that
the variation happens as often between eggs from hens of the same breed
as between those of different colors or shades of yolk or shell.

In the matter of flavor there is a very wide dift'erence in eggs. While
no breed can be said to furnish eggs of a distinctive quality, the eggs from
one breed of hens being exactly similar in flavor to those of another, yet
the difference between the eggs of two flocks of the same breed, kept under
different conditions, may be very marked.

Fowls that are fed on clean, w^holesome feed are superior in flavor to
those fed on inferior or tainted feed of any kind. Even musty or molded
grain, which fowls will eat readily, may impart to eggs a flavor that at

Eggs in General

87

once marks them as lacking in that deHcious one that belongs to eggs of the
highest class.

Fowls fed on clean, sweet feed, sound grains, untainted animal
feed and sound vegetables furnish the highest quality of eggs. It is
not necessary that this
should be such food as
human beings would eat
to make the egg perfectly
good and of fine flavor.
A hen roaming the fields
may pick up many insects
and much food material
that would not be con-
sidered fit for human use
but which is essentially
free from decay or other
unwholesome qualities.
Such substances may in
the laboratory of the egg
organs of the hen be trans-
formed into eggs that could
not be distinguished from
those produced by the most
careful attention to feeding.
When hens are allowed per-
fect liberty and select their

feed from manure piles and decaying animal or vegetable matter, the eggs
take on a flavor that is at once detected by any one who attempts to eat
them after being accustomed to eggs produced from clean and wholesome
food-stuffs.

Experiments at the North Carolina Experiment Station showed con-
clusively that hens fed on strong-flavored feeds produced eggs with a
flavor characteristic of the feeds provided for them. When hens were
given onions freely the eggs were so strongly flavored with onions that they
were unfit for food, and several days elapsed before this flavor disappeared.

The New York Experiment Station made an exhaustive study of the
effect of the feed eaten by hens on the eggs produced by them, and these

if^'vi^-t^i'vl'^

FIRST PRIZE SII.VFk
Owned by Ja

)(~)TTK COCKEREL
Canada

88 The Poultry Book

experiments led to the conclusion that hens fed on highly nitrogenous feeds
produced eggs that were inferior in flavor to those produced by a carbon-
aceous ration. They had a disagreeable flavor and odor, the eggs and
yolks were smaller and the keeping qualities not so good.

At the Hatch Experiment Station, in Massachusetts, cabbage and
clover were fed to difl'erent lots of hens, and it was found that the eggs from
hens fed cabbage, while heavier and containing a larger percentage of
dry matter, were inferior in flavor and cooking qualities to those from hens
fed clover.

It is logical to conclude from these several experiments, all of which
were very carefully conducted by those with experience in experimental
work, that the quality of eggs depends in a great measure on the quality
of the feed the hens consume.

To sum up the whole matter, it is perfectly safe to say that color of
shell, color of yolk or breed has nothing to do with the nutritive value or
flavor of eggs, but that feed is the sole factor that influences for good or
bad in this respect.

Eggs of Other Fowls

The eggs of turkeys are so seldom used for human food that it is not
worth while to consider them in this connection. Those of ducks are con-
sidered "rank" and of an undesirable flavor for human food, although a
goodly number are used for this purpose. They are so much larger than
hens' eggs that they command a premium of a few cents a dozen in most
places, and for this reason farmers usually sell them, reserving hens' eggs
for their own use. Bakers and confectioners are partial to the eggs of
ducks, as they are said to be superior to hens' eggs for their uses.

Goose eggs are also of more pronounced flavor than hens' eggs. They
are often sold in the markets at about twice the price of hens' eggs, and,
like duck eggs, go generally to bakers and confectioners.

The eggs of the Guinea-fowl are quite small and are not greatly esteemed
on this account, although the flavor is not at all disagreeable, the Guinea
being rather dainty in its selection of feed, searching diligently for worms,
insects and seeds. The number produced is inconsiderable and probably
is not increasing.

Judging Eggs

There is really no standard by which eggs are judged in this countr>^
It is so seldom that a prize is oftered for eggs that no serious consideration

^^

"%%"

is

o
^ >;

H 1:3
H g

EH 2

»'•

Eggs in General 89

has been given to the subject, except in cases where some one who has been
called upon to act as judge has formulated a standard for his own use.
Some years ago the New York Poultry Bulletm published the following scale
of points, but it has never been generally adopted :

1. Weight

2. Freshness . . . .?VV^. ..JU^
O- — >. Coioi^f Yolk

4. Flavor

^"*""^~-5. Consistence of Albumen . . .

6. Even Color of Shell

7. Thickness of Shell

8. Perfection of Otitline

9. Freedom from Ridges

10. Cleanliness

Points
20
15

10

— T_0

10

10

— -L-O

10

5

ii

i\t the Boston Poultry Show, January, 1903, Mr. George V. Fletcher,
who judged the eggs, used a standard of his own devising, as follows :

Perfection Cuts

Shape — Large and oval and showing a similarity in size 30

Color — Very dark brown for brown eggs and ^'ery white for white eggs over all

the shell 40

Weight — The heaviest standard and others to be cut one-half point for e\-ery

ounce under the heaviest 15

Condition — Fresh laid and perfectly clean 15

Total 100

Disqualifications — Double yolk, unsound and cracked eggs.

Commenting on this. The Keiv York Produce Review says :
" Of course in formulating a score-card on the point system, the effort
should be to allot more or less points to each element of quality according
to its relative importance in affecting value. There might be some
difference in a proper apportionment of the points according to the use to be
made of the scoring. If the score-card were designed for judging fancy
hennery eggs sent to a poultry show (when freshness might be taken more
or less for granted) , it might be proper to lay relatively greater importance
on size and color, but even for such use it appears absurd to allot forty points
of the 100 to color and only fifteen to freshness; then it would seem absurd
to give shape twice as many points as wciglit.

' ' I suppose it will be a long time before eggs are scored on the point
system for regular market grading (if, in fact, they will ever be so graded),
but the above attempt suggests the possibility, nevertheless, and it may be

90 The Poultry Book

interesting to consider what kind of a scoring basis would be practical. Of
the elements of quality we should say that the essentials, placed in the order
of their importance in afTecting value, would be : First, freshness ; second,
size ; third, cleanness ; fourth, packing ; and the relative importance of these
elements of quality represented in points might be, for freshness fifty points,
for size and cleanness tw^enty points each, for packing ten points."

In our opinion, either of these standards could be very much improved.
Inasmuch as it is impossible to test an egg for flavor without destroying it,
and no one egg can be taken as representing the flavor of any other, it seems
to us that size, color and shape should be the three factors chiefly considered.
]\Iinor points would be condition, relating to cleanliness and freshness,
and manner of packing — this on the supposition that no one would exhibit
a stale egg. If the judging were for market qualities, condition would be
counted as fully of as much value as size. However, the matter is yet of
very little importance, and is only referred to in this connection that it may
suggest some concerted action that will lead to the establishing of a recog-
nized standard by which eggs may be judged uniformly wherever exhibited.

Laying Qualities of Breeds

The laying qualities of some of the breeds of fowls kept in this country
have been already referred to. When we begin the discussion of this point
we are well aware that we are on dangerous ground for two reasons: i.
Each breed and variety has its champions among the many poultry breeders
of the country, and no champion is willing to acknowledge that his breed
can be beaten by any other. 2. There has been so little done in the way
of keeping accurate account of the actual production of eggs by the different
breeds that it is not possible to give exact figures except in a few cases.

The experiment stations of the country have not been greatly inter-
ested in this phase of the subject and have given but little attention to it.
A good many reports have been made by poultry keepers, but most of these
lack in some respect and cannot be put forward as tests that have been so
carefully made as to be accorded a place as records on which to base positive
statements. We hear about flocks that will average 200 eggs per year for
each hen in them, but we have abundant reasons for thinking these are
more in the nature of guesses than actual accounts carefully kept.

It is usually believed that the Hamburgs are the most persistent
layers of any breed commonly kept, but as far as we have been able to learn

PRIZE-WINNING PLYMOUTH ROCK COCKEREL

Owned by E. M. Gill, New York

(Second at New York Poultry Show in 1903)

Eggs in General 93

there is not a single record ux)on which to base a behef of this kind. The
Hamburgs are no doubt good layers, but they do not lay in cold weather,
and it is probable that their persistent laying during the summer, when the
larger breeds are inclined to sit, gave them their reputation for prolificacy.
The Hamburgs were never very popular in this country, and it is probable
that fewer of them are now bred than was the case a few years ago.

The Mediterranean class is highly esteemed for its laying qualities and
is steadily becoming more popular with those who make the production of
eggs a special feature. This class includes the several varieties of Leghorns,
the Minorcas, the iVnconas and the Black Spanish. All of these are good
layers, and the laying qualities of the breeds are steadily being improved
through the careful attention of egg-farmers. The White Leghorn is the
most popular variety in this entire class, and a large number of the great
egg-farms of this country are stocked with White Leghorns exclusively.
This is especially true of the great egg-farms of New York and those around
Petaluma, California, where there are very few flocks of any other variety.

Next to the Mediterranean class comes the American class, which
includes the Plymouth Rocks, the Wyandottes in all their varieties, the
Javas and the American Dominiques. These are usually called general-
purpose fowls, but recent attempts at improving their egg-producing
qualities have succeeded to such an extent that the Wyandottes promise
to become known as a very prolific breed.

The Orpingtons have not been bred long enough m this country to
establish their qualities, but from reports that come from breeders they
seem to be a promising breed for the production of eggs. As they are a
new breed, in which there is a Hamburg cross, it is probable that they will
prove to be among our best layers and possibly take first place among the
larger breeds.

Among the Asiatic breeds, which include Brahmas, Cochins and
Langshans, the latter are generally most highly esteemed as egg-producers,
the Light Brahmas coming next and the Cochins considerably below
these.

The Dorkings, the French and Pohsh breeds are not highly esteemed,
although the Houdans are fairly prolific, laying a large white egg. How-
ever, they are not classed among the most popular fowls in this country.
The Andalusians and the Minorcas are both fairly good layers, and some
strains of each breed are among the best, and great pains are being

94

The Poultry Book

taken to improve them in
this respect. Statements
are frequently found in the
newspapers ostensibly giv-
ing the number of eggs
produced per annum by
the different breeds, but,
as we have said, these are
simply guesses, and in
almost every instance
where careful records have
been kept it has been
found that exceptionally
good layers and very poor
ones may be found in the
same breed.

Light Brahma hens
have been known to lay
more than 230 eggs in a
year, and where good care
and proper attention to
kind and quality of feed is given this breed is no doubt a very good one
for the production of eggs. The writer has known a flock of Single Comb
Brown Leghorns to lay an average of 179 eggs each in a year, but this
flock was given every attention.

At the Maine Experiment Station 126 Plymouth Rock hens were tested
for one year, after they first began laying. Of these, 24 produced from
160 to 206 eggs, but three making a record above 200. Of the same flock
there were 22 hens that failed to lay as many as 100 eggs during the first year
after beginning to lay. Some of this flock made a record as low as 36 eggs
during the year.

At the same time 56 White Wyandottes were tested and 9 were found
that laid from 165 to 208 eggs in a year, 3 laying 200 or more. Of this flock
7 laid fewer than 100 eggs, the lowest record being 59. Of 56 Light Brah-
mas tested in connection with the two flocks above referred to, 6 laid from
179 to 194 eggs in a year, 5 laid fewer than 100, ranging from 55 to 87, and
45 from 100 to 160 each.

LAXGSHAN PULLET
I by Harrison Weir— Third generation from imported birds

Eggs in General

95

The Farmers' Sentinel for February 12, 1903, gives an account of a
flock of White Leghorns numbering 900 that averaged 197 eggs each
during one year, but gives no information as to how the record of this flock
was kept.

It is conceded that if the best hens in any flock were selected year after
year and used for perpetuating the flock there would be a rapid and marked
improvement in the yield of the flocks of the country.

Influence of Feeds

Some experiments at the West Virginia Experiment Station proved
that the feed provided for laying hens makes a great difference in their pro-
duction of eggs. These experiments showed that a nitrogenous ration
promoted egg-production to a remarkable degree. The fowls used were as
nearly identical in age as possible, and all the conditions were exactly the
same in caring for the two lots except in the quality of the feed provided
for them.

Both lote were fed in the morning with ground feed mixed either with
boiled potatoesor,
steamed clover hay. The
carbonaceous lot were
fed principally on com in
the shape of meal, while
the nitrogenous lot were
fed a mixture of brown
middlings, oil meal and
ground oats and corn-
meal in varying propor-
tions, for their grain
ration. At noon the
nitrogenous lot received
a feed of ground fresh
meat at the rate of from
five to eight pounds to
the 100 birds. At night
the fowls in both flocks
were fed all the whole -
grain they would eat up b d^ h ■ J'^''?>,T'' ''■^''. • ..-.

■^ -T Bred by Harrison Weir— Third generation from imported birds

96 The Poultry Book

clean, consisting of corn, oats and wheat screenings, corn predominating
for the carbonaceous lot.

At the beginning of the experiment the fowls were weighed. The
experiment continued for seven consecutive months, and during that time
the nitrogenous fowls gained in weight about one, pound four ounces each,
while the gain in weight for the carbonaceous lot was only about one-
tenth of a pound each.

In this experiment one pen each of Light Brahmas, White Leghorns and
Rhode Island Reds were used for each kind of feed. At the end of the seven
months the nitrogenous-fed fowls had produced eggs as follows : White Leg-
horns, 72.03 each ; Light Brahmas, 40.41 each ; Rhode Island Reds, 62.15 each.
The carbonaceous-fed fowls had produced eggs as follows : White Leghorns,
33.92 each; Light Brahmas, 22.74 each; Rhode Island Reds, 40.42 each.

During the seven months the nitrogenous-fed pens, calculating 100
liens to the pen, laid 17,459 eggs, and the carbonaceous-fed pens 9,708 eggs.
Thus it will be seen that the nitrogenous feed not only added to the weight
of the hens, but stimulated them to produce nearly twice as many eggs as
were produced by the carbonaceous-fed hens. The value of the eggs pro-
duced was as $194.84 to $119.06 in favor of nitrogenous feed.

Allowing market price for added weight and eggs produced, the three
pens fed on nitrogenous feed yielded a profit above cost of feed, during the
seven months, of $97.90, while the profit from those fed on carbonaceous
feed was but $20.59. ^"^s the experiment began in October and was con-
tinued through the winter, the egg-production was very good.

In every case the eggs from nitrogenous-fed hens were heavier than those
from the hens fed on a carbonaceous ration, the difterence averaging a little
over one pound to 100 eggs. Incubation tests showed that the nitrogenous-
fed hens produced better eggs for hatching than the carbonaceous-fed lots.
Of two lots of eggs, one from hens fed on each kind of feed, the nitrogenous-
fed eggs show^ed 65 infertile, the carbonaceous-fed 129. Of the nitrogenous
lot 260 hatched, and of the carbonaceous lot but 146. Sixty-six per cent,
of the nitrogenous eggs hatched and but 47 per cent, of the carbonaceous lot.

It was found that eggs from nitrogenous-fed hens hatched about twelve
hours the sooner and that the chicks were stronger than those from eggs laid
by carbonaceous-fed hens. These experiments were repeated the next year
with almost identical results, showing the importance of proper feed in the
production of eggs in numbers and in their quality when used for hatching.

Eggs in General

97

One curious result of the different kinds of feed was noticed. The
shells of the Light Brahmas fed on nitrogenous feed were pinkish in color,
while those fed on carbonaceous feed were of various shades of brown.

Laying Capacity of Breeds
In Bulletin 29, United States Department of Agriculture, Mr. T. F.
McGrew gives the following as the average egg-production in the breeds
named under the very best man-

agement: Barred Plymouth

Rocks, 150 per .^^^^b. year; Buff' Ply-

mouth Rocks, "^j^^^ 150; Single

Comb Brown J^ ^S^ Leghorns, 160;

Single Comb ^R^ ^'^Ml -^^^ Leghorns,

160; Silver Wy- J^^' * ^ ''W andottes. White

Wyandottes wi , ' ' 1 ' ^%^ ^^^^'^^^ ^^^ Rhode

InTJieBiisi- Wft/'f^s. '^ -'^'^ ^^^^^ '^'^"' Rural
Publishing Com- V^^'^ ^ '^"'K pany, New York,
1892, page 57, ' 1k^^ %,..u^i^^^ ^' ^' ^^^P"^^^'
a well- known ^l ^'^^3^ writer on
poultry subjects, ^^^^fWf '' ^^^^ ^^ visited
a flock of White ^ ''/H/'^ Leghorns num-
bering 600 which ^'/ '^^ 11 produced an av-
erage of 168 eggs A "* each in one year.
A s h e g i V e s s quite full details,
this is probably ^„ •■ - . approximately
correct for that black Hamburg hen flock. The

James Long's first prize

writer visited the same flock

in 1902 and found descendants of the fowls Mr. Chapman described
ten years before, and was led to believe the flock had been improved
since that time.

We may safely take it for granted that it would not be a hard matter
to breed a flock of fowls of any of the popular breeds that would average
^50 eggs per year, and by careful selection and the use of trapnests this
yield could without doubt be increased one -third.

Taking the census returns, which show an average of about
five dozen eggs per hen, it is readily seen that there is abundant

98 The Poultry Book

room for improvement in the matter of egg-production in the fiocks of
this country.

It is noticeable that in every contest that has been held, and in
every experiment public or private, it has been pure -bred hens that have
excelled as layers. The ordinary mongrel stock of the country does not
make large egg records. In fact, it is altogether probable that the average
"native" or cross-bred hen is kept at a very small profit at the best, and
often at a positive loss.

The importance of keeping pure-bred fowls is becoming better under-
stood all the time, and the proportion of mongrels is growing smaller con-
stantly. This is shown when we compare the census reports of 1890 with
those of 1900, the average production of eggs per hen during that time
having increased about 100 per cent.

It has repeatedly been shown that the most profitable year of a hen's
life is the year after she first begins to lay. There has been considerable
speculation as to the number of eggs it is possible for a hen to produce
during her lifetime, and some investigators have placed the number as
high as 600, estimating that these would be produced during nine years.

The modern poultryman cares nothing about the possible number of
eggs a hen can produce. What he cares most for is the profitable number,
and the general rule of egg-farmers now is to sell the hens at the end of the
first year after they begin laying, say at about the age of eighteen
months, having pullets coming forward to take their places. Where this
rule is practiced every effort is made to promote early maturity, strong,
vigorous growth and the greatest possible egg-production.

As older hens produce the best eggs for hatching, it is common to
reserve enough stock to furnish eggs for hatching from birds two years old,
but this will require a comparatively small number, and the rule of keep-
ing only pullets for egg-laying holds good. No doubt the low average pro-
duction shown by the census reports is due in some measure to the fact
that many farmers keep their hens year after year until many of them have
ceased to lay more than a few eggs each season.

The natural time in the year for a hen to lay is during the spring and
summer. The original Jungle Fowl laid twenty or thirty eggs, hatched her
brood and reared them, and her work for the year was done. Under the
influence of domestication the laying period has been extended to nine or
ten months of the year, the average hen laying some eggs during every^

Eggs in General 99

month in the year except during the molting period, or while incubating
and brooding her young.

It is usual for hens to fail to produce eggs during the period of molting,
although good layers will produce an egg occasionally even while taking
on a new suit of plumage. Usually it requires about three months for a
hen to molt and resume laying regularly. This leaves about nine
months in the year as the period of possible egg-production. In the
case of the Wyandotte hens we have referred to which produced 200 eggs
in a year, it will be seen that in the space of nine months they produced
eggs to the extent of about four times their own weight, as the American
Standard of Perfection fixes the weight of a Wyandotte hen at six and one-
half pounds, and w^hen in full laying condition they rarely reach this
weight.

Winter Egg-Production

It makes considerable difference to the poultryman whether his hens
produce eggs freely in winter or not. During the winter eggs are usually
three or four times the price they can be sold for during the summer, and
it follows that the winter-laying hen is the most profitable one to keep.
Therefore, during the last few years much attention has been given to
promoting egg-production in the winter months. The Langshans, the
Plymouth Rocks, the Light Brahmas and the Wyandottes are more
inclined to lay in winter than any other breeds, and will produce a few eggs
during this season without having extra care. ^ 1^

Thejioted laying breeds, such as the Leghojjis, Minorcas, Andalusians
and Har^urgs, are naturally somewhat sensitive to cold, and to induce them
to lay during the winter they must be given the best care and properly
prepared rations.

It is now very well understood that in order to promote the production
of eggs beyond the normal number hens must be fed such feeds as contain
the elements of which eggs are composed. The large percentage of
albumen in the composition of an egg indicates the necessity of a ration
rich in nitrogenous elements, while for the fats in the yolks the need of
carbonaceous feeds is indicated.

Animal feed of any kind is rich in the albuminoids, and the leguminous
plants are also among the nitrogenous feeds. This led to careful experi-
ments in feeding fresh bone, ground fine, butchers' scraps from which the
fat had been removed, and finally to dried and ground beef scraps so

lOO The Poultry Book

prepared that but little fat was left in them. These are now sold almost
ever\'where, so prepared that they will remain fresh and sweet for an
indefinite time if kept dry.

Peas, beans, clover-ha}' cut in very short lengths or ground into a meal are
also used — the cut or ground clover in very large quantities, large factories
being operated to supply the demand for it, and several large factories are en-
gaged in making dried and ground beef scraps for poultry feed. Dried blood
is also esteemed as an exceptionally good egg-food. Green vegetables, such as
cabbages and any of the root crops, are used to furnish vegetable feed of a
succulent nature, whiich has been found to promote the production of eggs.

By providing warm houses, well lighted and kept in a sanitary condi-
tion, and feeding these special feeds in addition to the ordinary grains grown
on the farm, it is now quite possible to stimulate the hens and furnish
conditions so nearly natural to the normal period of laying that many
flocks produce eggs freely during the severest weather of the year.

At the West Virginia Experiment Station two flocks identical in every
respect were fed the same kind of feed and given the same care except that
one flock was kept in a cold house and the other in a house that was per-
fectlv warm and comfortable. The flock kept in the cold house laid 4,136
eggs, while the flock kept in the warm house laid 5,239, a difterence in favor
of the warm house of 1,103 eggs, worth at the time the experiment was
made $22.06. This is only one of many experiments that have been made
along the same line, and in every case the results have agreed with those
obtained in this one.

Cost of Egg-Production

Some interesting experiments have been made to determine the cost of
producing eggs. Unfortunately, in all these experiments the items of
interest on investment, depreciation of plant and cost of labor was not
considered. Therefore the results have shown only the feed-cost. The
writer kept careful account with a flock of Single Comb Brown Leghorns
for one year and found the feed-cost of the eggs produced by this flock was
almost exactly 5.25 cents per dozen.

In a prize competition made under the auspices of the Ohio Fanner
several years ago the writer was selected to award the prizes. Seventy-two
flocks were in the competition, and this lasted from ]\Iay ist to November
I St. The cost of the eggs produced by these flocks during the period of the
tests was almost exactly six cents a dozen.

Eggs in General

lOI

The Canadian Department of Agriculture asked of a large number of
poultry breeders the cost of eggs to them, and the rephes indicated that
between five and six cents a dozen was the average feed-cost in the
Dominion of Canada. From December i, 1 901, to March 29, 1902, a period
of seventeen weeks, the New York Experiment Station at Ithaca, in that
State, conducted an experiment in which ten of the best-known poultry men
of New York kept account with their flocks, each feeding in his own way.
There were 12 flocks on the 10 farms, ranging in number from 25 to 600,
the aggregate being 2,133 hens. The average feed-cost of a dozen eggs
during this time was 16.3 cents, the lowest being 8.7 cents for a flock of
White Leghorns and the highest being 33.9 cents for a flock of Black
Minorcas. It should be remembered that this test was made during the
most unfavorable time in the year.

Selling Eggs by Count or Weight

The universal custom of selling eggs by count cannot be explained on
any logical ground. It is a remarkable example of the persistence of an old
custom, inaugu-

rated when /' ^ ^^

the eggs of the /^ . -^ ' -^^Z^*-^

country varied ' . • , ■ f

very slightly in \,.

size and weight. " ^'

In buying any

othercom- g

modify the price
is regulated by
some fixed
standard, and a
certain weight
or ■ measure is
used by which
the cost is fixed
and made uni-
form. Eggs,
whether large

- ., SHANGHAI OR COCHIN HEN

or small, are M.ddle Penod ,ype

I

I02 The Poultry Book

sold by count, and the only unit by which the cost is fixed is the
dozen or, in England, the score. Whether the eggs are from Hamburgs
and weigh twenty-one ounces to the dozen, or from Minorcas and weigh
thirty ounces to the dozen, the price is the same if the two varieties are
offered in the same market at the same time. It is manifestly unjust
that this custom should prevail, for the breeder of Minorcas furnishes
50 per cent, more food when he sells a dozen eggs from his fowls than is
the case with the breeder of Hamburgs.

The North Carolina Experiment Station took this matter up and has
published some interesting notes concerning it. The eggs of a number of
breeds of hens and pullets and of Pekin Ducks were carefully weighed and
their. comparative value computed. As a rule, the eggs of hens were larger
than the eggs of pullets of the same breed. The eggs of Pekin Ducks were
considerably larger than the eggs of any breed of hens. These duck eggs
averaged, taking those from old and young ducks together, 35.6 ounces
per dozen. The largest eggs of any breed of hens were those of the Light
Brahma, these weighing 28 ounces to the dozen. Eggs laid by Barred
Plymouth Rocks and Black Langshans weighed a trifle more than
26 ounces per dozen; Brown Leghorn, late hatched Plymouth Rock,
White Wyandotte and Buff Cochin eggs weighed from 21.7 to 23.7
ounces per dozen. The heaviest pullet eggs were those of Black
Minorcas, which weighed 26.5 ounces per dozen. The lightest pullet
eggs were laid by Single Comb Brown Leghorn and Silver Wyandotte
pullets, these weighing 17.5 and 22.1 ounces per dozen respectively.
The eggs of Barred Plymouth Rock, White Plymouth Rock, White
Wyandotte, Black Langshan and Buff Cochin pullets weighed not far
from 24 ounces per dozen.

All these eggs were worth in the local market, at the time the matter
w^as being investigated, 13^^ cents a dozen. Taking the eggs of the Single
Comb Brown Leghorn pullets, which were the lightest, as the basis of com-
parison, we can easily compute the value of those of heavier weight. The
Brown Leghorn eggs weighed 17.5 ounces per dozen, and at i^^z cents per
dozen were worth almost exactly 12 cents a pound. This would make the
eggs from Brown Leghorn hens, weighing 21.7 ounces per dozen, worth
16.3 cents per dozen, and those from Light Brahma hens worth 20.7 cents
per dozen, or about 60 per cent, more than the price the market afforded
for them.

Eggs in General

103

The following tables from Farm- Poultry, January i, 1900,
give the breeds investigated, the number of eggs weighed, the
weight per dozen and the comparative value per dozen, all arranged
to show at a glance the injustice done to some breeds by selling
eggs by the count.

Comparative Value of Eggs by Weight and per Dozen

No. of Weight
eggs per

laid doz. oz.

Barred P. Rock hens 402

Barred P. Rock hens (late

hatched) 554

Barred P. Rock pullets 506

White P. Rock pullets 478

White Wyandotte hens .... 232

White Wyandotte pullets ... 689
S. L. Wyandotte pullets. .
S. C. Brown Leghorn hens.
S. C. Br. Leghorn pullets. .

Black Minorca pullets 354

Black Langshan hens 463

Black Langshan pullets 827

Buff Cochin hens 518

Buff Cochin pullets 83

Light Brahma hens 118

Light Brahma pullets 412

Pekin ducks, old and young 44S

613

535
62^,

26

3

23-5

24

2

23

6

23

23

22

2 I

17

26

26

24

23

23

28

23

4

35

6

S. C. Br. Leghorn pullets 13
S. C. Br. Leghorn hens . . 16
S. L. Wyandotte pullets. . 16
Light Brahma pullets. . . 17
Barred P. Rock Hens .
(late hatched) . . .
White Wyandotte hens
White Wyandotte pullets.
White P. Rock pullets.

Buff Cochin hens

Black Langshan pullets
Barred P. Rock pullets . . 18
Barred P. Rock hens. ... 19

Buff Cochin pullets ig

Black Langshan pullets . . 19
Black Minorca pullets 19

Black Langshan hens . . 20

Light Brahma hens 21

Pekin ducks 26.7

Percentage
above mar-
ket value

30-4

30-4

30-4

31-^

31.8

31.8

34.8

46

47.2

47-2

47.2

51-4

60

97.8

Until it becomes customary to sell eggs by weight there will be no
incentive for the poultryman to undertake to increase the size of eggs.
Indeed, it is to his advantage under the present custom to produce small
eggs, for they can be produced at less cost. At the Maine Station it was
found that increasing the number of eggs laid by a flock of hens reduced the
size of them to a marked degree.

Value as Food

A discussion of this subject would not be complete if we were to
omit reference to the value of eggs as an article of diet and showing
how they compare with other common articles of food. The following table
shows the average composition of eggs, egg products, and other common
articles of food. It was prepared by Doctor C. F. Langworthy for the
United States Department of Agriculture :

I04

The Poultry Book

Average Compositiox of Eggs, Egg Products, axd Certain Other Foods

Hen:

Whole egg as purchased

Whole egg, edible portion

White

Yolk ...; .. .

Whole egg boiled, edible portion .

White-shelled eggs as purchased .

Brown-shelled eggs as purchased
Duck:

Whole egg as purchased

Whole egg, edible portion

White

Yolk

Goose:

Whole egg as purchased

Whole egg, edible portion

White

Yolk

Turkey :

Whole egg as purchased

Whole egg, edible portion

White

Yolk

Guinea-fowl :

Whole egg as purchased

Whole egg, edible portion

White

Yolk

Plover:

Whole egg as purchased a

Whole egg, edible portion a

Evaporated hens' eggs

Egg substitute

Pudding (custard) powder c

Cheese as purchased

Sirloin steak as purchased

Sirloin steak, edible portion

Milk

Oysters in shell as ptirchased

Oysters, edible portion

Wheat flour

Potatoes as purchased

Potatoes, edible portion

a European Analyses

Water Protein
Per Cent. Per Cent

65 , 5

73-7
86,2

49.5
73-3
65.6
64. 8

60. 8
70.5
87 .0
45 •«

59- 7
69-5
86.3
44. I

63.5

73-7
86. 7
48.3

60 . 5
72.8
86.6
40- 7

Carbo- Fuel value

Fat hydrates Ash per pound

Per Cent. Per Cent. Per Cent. Calories

635

:3-4

x.g

'Z-S
1.6
:6.7

46.9

73-9
2 . I
25.9
16.5
18.9

I . 2

6.2

II .4

1.8

36

5-3

80 . 9

2 .4

3-7
75-1
14-7
18.4

.705
765

675
695

o 860

8 210

2 1,840

9 760
865

8 215

3 1-850

8 635

9 f20

8 215

2 1,710

8 640

9 755
8 215
2 1,655

625
695
^.525
[,480
[,690
^95o

9S5

:,i3o

325

45

235

,650
310
385

The above reports of analyses show that eggs consist chiefly of tw6
nutrients — protein and fat — in addition to water and mineral matters rep-
resented by the ash contents as given in the table. Usually li is stated that

Eggs in General

105

eggs are entirely deficient in carbohydrates, but strictly speaking this is not
true. They contain a trace of carbohydrates, but so small is the quantit}^
that it is negligible for all practical purposes.

The protein is that element which builds up the muscles, skin, hair,
nerves, brain, viscera, bones and tissues generally. The fat is useful in

Photograph furnished by MilUr Purvit
SPLENDID LOT OF WHITE WYANDOTTES

furnish- ^^^^^^^ ing energy, that power which keeps the vital

spark burning and enables us to live and move. Some energy is also
derived from protein, and in case carbohydrates or fat is lacking protein
supplies all of the energy.

As eggs are deficient in fat, it will be seen that the common custom
of combining eggs wdth bacon or ham is an effort to balance the food,
unconsciously though it may be made. The potential energy of fat is about
2.4 that of carbohydrates, and the use of bacon w4th eggs makes a very
fairly balanced food.

In composition eggs resemble such foods as meat, milk and cheese much
more than they do any of the vegetables. In nutritive value eggs stand
between cheese and milk or oysters. They very closely resemble average
meat in composition. From the chemical composition they are shown to
belong to the same class as other animal foods, and may take the place of
them. ^

io6 The Poultry Book

Elaborate experiments both in this country and Europe have demon-
strated that eggs are equally digestible with other foods of their class and
that they are more thoroughly digested than most foods of similar com-
position. In conducting dietary studies it has been found that eggs at
12 cents a dozen were a cheap food, at i6 cents they were fairly expensive,
and at 25 cents they were considered very expensive.

It is frequently said that eggs at 25 cents a dozen are cheaper than
beef. This is true in one respect. For a family of five it would require
at least one and one-fourth pounds of beef, costing 25 cents, while in most
families five eggs costing approximately 10 cents would satisfy the appetite
as well and serve exactly the same purpose. Even if the family would
eat two eggs apiece, the saving would be 20 per cent.

During a dietary study at Lake Erie College made by Miss Bevier,
now of the Illinois College of Agriculture, and Miss Sprague, it was found
in boarding a club of young ladies that eggs costing $2.50, when selling at
i62^ cents per dozen, took th. place of beefsteak costing $6.12, the beef-
steak costing 1 7 cents per pound : that is, ten dozen eggs would take the
place of thirty-six pounds of beefsteak. However, it is not to be under-
stood in this case that the eggs were a perfect and complete substitute for
the beefsteak as far as nutritive value was concerned, for no account was
made of the nutrients in the other foods consumed at the same meals.
The eggs merely supplied and satisfied the appetite as far as animal food
was needed much more cheaply than this could have been done if beef-
steak had been used in their place.

Palatability has much to do with the value of foods, although why this
is so is not well understood. Eggs are relished by almost every one, old
and young, while meats are rejected by a good many people. For this
reason eggs may sometimes be used when meats would not be available.
Occasionally a person will be found who is made ill by eating eggs. Such
cases are no doubt due to some individual predisposition or idiosyncrasy,
as it is not rare to find those who cannot eat certain articles of diet in
common use.

Medical literature contains very few cases of poisoning from eating
eggs, so the danger from this source is very remote. Commonly such cases
are due to ptomaine poisoning induced by eating eggs that are stale. In
these days of sanitary precautions common prudence would point out the
n^essity of providing clean nests and clean runs and houses for laying hens.

Eggs in General 107

The Preservation of Eggs

Much time has been expended and many different processes tried m
efforts to discover some method of preserving eggs for an indefinite time.
Although it is generally conceded that no process is yet in use that will
preserve eggs for a very long time, keeping them in perfect condition, yet
we constantly see in the public press announcements of the discovery of
some wonderful preparation by which eggs can be preserved for a term of
years, remaining perfectly good in every respect.

As a matter of fact, those who have given this matter the most atten-
tion are quite generally agreed that the preserving of eggs for an indefinite
time is beyond the range of possibilities. They argue that any process that
would preserve the eggs from gradual deterioration, if not actual decay,
would necessarily render them unfit for food, and that to undertake to
preserve eggs fresh and sound is impossible.

So far, cold storage in specially prepared buildings is the best means of
preserving eggs in even tolerable condition for as long as a year. Usually
eggs are not stored more than a few months at the longest. It is a well-
known fact that eggs kept in cold storage lose flavor and deteriorate to
such a marked degree that one accustomed to eating perfectly fresh eggs
will detect them at once when put before him on the table.

Many times eggs that have been kept in cold storage take on
a peculiar musty taste that makes them unpalatable to those who have
been accustomed to fresh eggs, and the best of cold-storage eggs lose that
appetizing flavor found in new-laid eggs. For culinary purposes,
such as making cakes and other made dishes, cold-storage eggs are fre-
quently almost as good as new-laid ones, but after they have been stored
from April, the usual time for putting them in storage, until December or
later, they lose much of their palatability when cooked alone.

The keeping of eggs in cold storage has been treated in the chapter
devoted to "Commercial Eggs" (see Part I), and need not again be
taken up in this connection. Many solutions have been tried as egg-
preservatives, and many of them have proved fairly efficacious when
the eggs were to be kept only a few months.

When it is desired to preserve a small number of eggs for family use,
or even to supply a limited local demand, there are several solutions that
will answer quite well for this purpose. These do not require expensive
apparatus or special buildings, and are adapted to the use of those who

io8

The Poultry Book

want to preserve eggs from the
time when they are plentiful
until the time when they
become scarce.

Before considering solu-
tions it might be well to note
the most favorable conditions
under which eggs can be pre-
served. They should be from
hens that have no males run-
ning with them, as an infertile
egg keeps longer, even without
the use of a preservative, than
does a fertile one. The reason
for this is that an infertile egg
does not contain the life prin-
ciple. It is merely an inert
and dead combination of sub-
stances provided by nature
for the support of the embryo
chick during the process of
incubation.
When an egg has become fertilized it contains a minute germ which
is alive and under proper conditions is capable of growing into a perfect
chick. This cell or germ is alive as long as the egg remains fit for food,
for when it dies the process of disintegration that sets in in the germ com-
municates the elements of decay to the remainder of the egg.

It should be remembered that the contents of the egg-shell are not to
be confounded with the chick that may be hatched from the egg. In fact,
the embryo, the microscopic speck of protoplasm in which the life principle
resides and is preserved, in a fertile egg, bears exactly the same relation to
the other contents of the egg-shell that the loaf of bread in a baker's window
bears to the man who purchases and eats it. The contents of the egg-shell
are the food on which the embryo grows and matures into a perfect chick.
The processes by which this cell grows into a perfect chick may
not properly be taken up in this chapter, but it is an exceedingly
complicated and interesting one, and one who studies it comes as near

VOUNG SILVER

Photograf'h by C. Retd, IVishaw. N. B.
iLACK-LACED WYANDOTTE

Eggs in General

109

to seeing the beginning of life as he could in studying any other phase
of animate existence.

If this life principle is not present in an egg the tendency to decay
and the disassociation of the elements contained in it are considerably
retarded. This is proved in the case of infertile eggs placed in an incu-
bator. Ac the end of three weeks there is no change in them that can be
observed, either as to condition or flavor. Except for the natural prejudice
that exists against such a course, an infertile egg that has been in an incu-
bator for three weeks is exactly as good as it would have been if it had been
left on the outside. But if there has been a Hfe germ in the egg, no matter
how weak it may have been, even if it should have lived but a day after
incubation had begun, the egg containing it decays and the contents
become very offensive in appearance and smell.

For this reason infertile eggs should be selected when they are to be

preserved. These eggs should be perfectly fresh, also, for it has been found

that unless fresh eggs are

used the deterioration

is marked, and if an egg

in which decay has set in

is placed in the same

vessel with others it is

likely to injuriously affect

all the surrounding ones.
The eggs that are to

be preserved should be

clean, as filth of any

kind clinging to the shells

is likely to taint the pre-
serving solution and thus

taint the eggs in it.

No cracked eggs

should be placed with

sound ones, and great

care should be taken not

to crack th^m when put-
ting them in the solution.
Eggs that are in a

LACK-LACED WYANDOTTES

no The Poultry Book

preservative solution should be kept in a moderately cool room, a dry,
clean cellar preferably, as the temperature should be kept as nearly
constant as possible with ordinary good care.

It has been found that identical solutions did not act in the same
manner in different places, and it may be said they showed different results
at times in each experiment made. For instance, the same processes used in
Montana, Ottawa, Canada, and Berlin, Germany, gave different degrees of
satisfaction. The Canadian experiments, continued through several years,
did not exactly agree with a very careful series of experiments made at the
Montana Experiment Station.

As many processes are recommended and advertised for sale, it might
be well to recount some of the failures as well as the successes. In the
Montana experiments two solutions were used, as follows:

1. Lime, T,h pounds: salt, 4f pounds; water, 8 gallons.

2. Water-glass, i part; water, i8 parts.

About sixty dozen eggs were put in each solution and the experiment
was continued for six months. When examined the water-glass was found
to be the best pickle, although the lime solution served its purpose very
well. The whites of the eggs preserved in the lime-and-salt solution were
found to be much more watery than was the case with those kept in the
water-glass solution.

Those kept in the water-glass were difficult to distinguish from per-
fectlv fresh eggs, as the white was quite firm and the yolk stood up upon it
just as it does in a fresh egg.

Another advantage of the water-glass solution is that it does not affect
the shell, as is the case where the lime solution is used. Eggs from the
lime-and-salt solution were found to be very liable to crack either from
handling or when cooking.

Water-glass or soluble glass is sodium silicate or potassium silicate,
the commercial article frequently containing both. It is not necessary to
use the chemically pure product, the ordinary commercial water-glass being
sufficiently pure, unless it is adulterated. Sometimes it is strongly alka-
line, and this should not be used. It can be bought of almort any drug-
gist. In Montana it costs about 75 cents a gallon. Usually the price runs
from i^ cents a pound in carboys to 10 cents a pound in small lots. It
comes either as a smooth, slipper>^ sirupy liquid or in powders. The liquid
form is preferable. Only pure water should be used in making the mixture ,

Eggs in General iii

and it is best to boil it and let it cool before using. Earthen jars are
recommended to hold the solution, and these should be perfectly clean. If
kegs or other wooden vessels are used they should be very thoroughly
scalded and cleaned before being used. Sometimes the specific gravity of
the solution is greater than that of the eggs. When they float to the top
from this cause they should be weighted down to keep them entirely
immersed.

At the' Central Experiment Farms, Ottawa, Canada, Frank T. Shutt,
M. A., conducted a long series of experiments in preserving eggs, with the
following results, the eggs having been kept in the different preservatives
from May 14th to December 14th, a period of seven months. When
examined, the eggs kept in saturated lime-water showed the white
somewhat more limpid than in a fresh egg and faintly tinged with yellow.
Yolk globular, but in one or two cases attached to the shell. No
offensive odor, and appearance, both externally and internally, good.
Discoloration of white somewhat more pronounced on poaching, with
development of very faint musty odor. Though not equal to a fresh egg,
they were quite usable and in no sense offensive.

Where saturated lime-water, with the addition of i per cent, of salt,
was used, the appearance was very good both externally and internally.
White very slightly tinged with yellow and somewhat more limpid than in
saturated lime-water alone. Yolk, globular; air space, normal. Faint
odor, somewhat more marked on poaching. Nothing disagreeable in eggs
uncooked or cooked ; egg quite usable, but lacking the flavor of a fresh egg.
Compared with eggs kept in saturated lime-water alone they were on
the whole slightly superior. In eggs kept in saturated lime-water with
a 2 per cent, addition of salt the yolk was quite limpid and slightly
brownish. They were fairly well preserved, but not equal to either of
the foregoing.

Common salt solutions, i and 2 per cent, respectively, did not give good
results. Eggs smeared in vaseline and then kept in lime-water showed
markedly colored white and a decidedly musty odor. Eggs covered with
paraffine and kept in lime-water were decidedly inferior. Eggs kept in a
5 per cent, solution of sodium aluminate were fairly good in appearance,
but had a musty odor.

Eggs kept in a 2 per cent, solution of water-glass had a marked soapy
odor, and, on being poached, a stale flavor.

112

The Poultry Book

Mr. Shutt concluded that the saturated solution of lime-water gave
the best results and was the cheapest and pleasantest to handle of all the

processes experimented with.

This does not agree with the Montana

experiments, nor with a series made

in Rhode Island, where a lo per cent.

solution of water-glass kept eggs

in good condition from May 20th

to April 4th following, or a period of

eleven months. From 120 eggs

preserved in this solution not one

was bad, and the water-glass

solution was pronounced the nearest

to a per-

fect egg
preser-
vative
that had
yet been
found.
In this

experiment every other process failed

in every case. Further experiments showed

that a 3 per cent, solution of water-glass was as effective as the one

containing 10 per cent. The cost of preserving eggs with this solution

Eggs in General 113

is placed at two-thirds of a cent per dozen, this including the cost of the
vessel they were stored in.

An elaborate series of experiments in Germany did not agree with the
Canadian experiments, but partially agreed with the Montana and Rhode
Island experiments in regard to the value of water-glass in preserving eggs.

Usually preserved eggs do not beat up well and are of little use for
making cakes and other similar purposes where they must be whipped.
► Where they are preserved in water-glass they have been found to beat up
or whip as well as fresh eggs.

In view of all the evidence we have been able to get we are inclined to
say that the water-glass solution is the best one that has yet been tried.

Eggs for Hatching

The production of eggs for hatching has become of great importance
since the advent of pure -bred poultry, and the high value of the eggs makes
it necessary to take pains to have them of strong vitality in order to secure
good hatches, and to handle them carefully to prevent the destruction of
the life principle.

It has been found that eggs from hens that have been stimulated to
induce egg-production during the winter do not hatch well, as a rule. No
doubt this is due to the low vitality of the hens, they having been
exhausted by the long period of production.

Eggs from hens that are too fat or too poor do not hatch well, and it
is necessary to provide some means to induce the hens to take exercise in
order to have fertile eggs strong in vitality.

Very often a portion of the hens in a breeding flock will noi; allow the
attentions of a male placed with them. To guard against this it is best to
have two males with each pen, using each on alternate days.

If the male is active, vigorous and full of life he usually pays more
attention to the hens, being too gallant to eat until they are satisfied and
no longer hungry, by which time there is nothing left for him, and it is not
unusual for a male of this kind to become very thin in flesh, when the hens
will no longer produce fertile eggs. This is another argument in favor of
isolating the male every other day, as during the rest-day he will eat freely.

Eggs that are to be used for hatching should be gathered several times
a day if the weather is at all cold. Eggs have been known to hatch well
when left overnight with the temperature down almost to the freezing

114 The Poultry Book

point, but it is generally believed that a temperature of 45 degrees F. is
as low as is safe for best results.

It is best to set eggs immediately after they are laid. It has been found
that eggs set the day they are laid hatch from twenty to thirty hours sooner
than those two weeks old when set.

It is not possible always to set eggs imimediately, and often they must
be kept for several days before they are set. Good hatches are frequently
got from such eggs, but it is best to give them good attention from the
time they are laid until they are set. They should be kept in an even
temperature between 45 and 60 degrees F., if possible, and should be turned
over every day. Some poultrymen use a specially designed rack in which
the eggs are each held separately with the pointed end down, and at least
one such egg rack is so constructed that the shelves on which the eggs are
held may be turned so as to turn the eggs as frequently as desired.

Eggs are sent from England to America, and from America to England,
Germany and even to Australia and hatched, but the percentage of chicks
hatched is variable. We have known twelve eggs sent from England to
America to produce ten chicks, all of which lived, and we have known fifty
eggs to produce but three chicks, two of which died in a few davs after
emerging from the shell.

Eggs are frequently shipped thousands of miles and a good hatch is
had from them. When the eggs are strongly fertile it is not unusual to
have every egg in a clutch hatch, even after they have been sent hundreds
of miles. Once in a great while there is found a hen the natural tempera-
ture of which is not the proper hatching temperature, and in such cases the
best eggs will not hatch.

There are several specially designed egg baskets and boxes on the
market, made for sending eggs for hatching long distances. Where these
can be procured it is best to use them, as they cost but a few cents each.
Where it is impossible to get these, a light basket may be used. The writer
always wraps each egg separately in paper and packs them closely in the
basket or box, first placing a layer of excelsior or cut straw in the bottom.
The same material is placed between the eggs and another layer on top of
them. The top is then put on, leaving the eggs so closely packed that they
cannot move from their position. The elastic material serves as a cushion
to take up sudden jars and the jolting of railway trains. The small end
is always placed lowest. Packed in this way we have shipped eggs that

Eggs in General

115

went thousands of miles by rail and then were carried a long distance by
stage and yet hatched well.

After eggs for hatching have been received from any considerable
distance they should be allowed to stand for twenty-four hours before being
put under a hen or into an incubator. The constant jarring received on a
journey disorganizes
them in a measure,
and if they are
allowed to stand
quietly for a day
they will return to
the natural condi-
tion and the various
elements resume
their normal rela-
tions to each other,
and a better hatch
will be got from
them.

There is no
known means of
distinguishing what
the sex of a chick
hatched from any
particular egg will

be. This matter has been so thoroughly tested that there remains no
room for doubt. Neither is there any method of mating fowls that will
govern the sexes. It was at one time thought that mating a cockerel
with old hens would produce a preponderance of pullets, but this has
failed too many times for us to put any reliance in it.

A rather extended experience leads us to believe that males prepon-
derate in hatching. Of course there are exceptions to this rule, but in the
main we beHeve it will hold good. Double-yolked eggs quite frequently
hatch, but they usually produce monstrosities. There are cases where two
perfect chicks have been produced from one shell, but these are exceedingly
rare. We have never heard of a case where one of these monstrosities
has lived more than a few hours.

OLD-STYLE DL'TCH PENCILED HAMBURG

ii6

The Poultry Book

It is not a very rare thing for a chick to be hatched with some abnormal
peculiarity, such as four legs or a double head. These probably are only
freaks of nature such as are occasion-
ally found in all animal life, being
more frequently found in fowls on
account of the large number kept.

On three separate occasions we
have known eggs laid by Guinea-
hens which had mated with a
common cock, to hatch, the cross-
bred mongrel resembling both
parents in some ways. The shape
of the three we have seen was dis-
tinctly that of the Guinea, and the
plumage had the distinctive spot of
the plumage of the Guinea-fowl on
many of the feathers, but the color
was more that of the male parent.

Eggs from old hens produce
more vigorous and stronger chicks
than those from pullets. For this
reason eggs for hatching should be

taken from hens in their second year rather than from those in their first
year. Old hens produce few eggs in winter and fewer at any time in the
vear. This no doubt accounts for the better quality of the chicks hatched
from their eggs.

Development of the Egg

"Order is heaven's first law." — Pope's Essay on ^[^.L

The following notes on this important subject are taken from Swainson's
Work on " The Domestic Habits of Birds," London. To render this curious
but difBcult subject as plain as possible to those but
little acquainted with physiology, we shall trace the
egg from its appearance in the ovarium, or "egg-
organ" (as we may call it), of the hen, till the final
exclusion of the chick in the process of hatching. This
subject has been investigated with much care and

EMBRYO IMPREGNATED i -n ■> r ^1 u. J- ^- • 1 J 1 J

EG-. skill by some of the most distniguished observers and

OVARIUM. OR EGG-ORGAN

Eggs in General

117

experimentalists in consequence of the light it was expected to throw
upon obscure points in the early history of other animals whose develop-
ment was of more difficult if not of impossible observation. We have
endeavored to condense the chief facts ascertained into a brief but explicit
sketch.

" The egg of a bird appears in the egg-organ (ovarium) under the form
of a small yellow globe or sphere, frequently smaller than mustard seed, but
gradually increasing in size till it drops from its slender

fastening and falls into
The egg-organ contains
to be laid for several
differing from the
as in composition
largest of them,
to be first laid,
while the rest
crease in size and
yellow. It has
to establish an
this detachment
the dropping o f
tree ; but though
the resemblance of
we beHeve that such
Dutrochet remarks,
of observation. That
of the egg, however,
slender attaching

BARRED PLYMOUTH ROCK
American bred

the egg-tube (oviductus).
all the eggs which are
years, each egg
rest in size as well
and color. The
which are destined
are yellowish,
gradually de-
are less and less
been attempted
analogy between
of the egg and
ripe fruit from a'
we cannot deny
the circumstances,
a n analogy, a s M.
will not stand the test
the increasing weight
may, by stretching the
pedicle, so attenuate

the blood-vessels that supply it with nourishment as to greatly weaken
and ultimately to break it, we may with some probability suppose.
Before dropping into the egg-tube there is no white nor shell, both of
which are formed there by the addition of the glutinous substance called
albumen and of the calcareous substance constituting the shell. From
ill-health or accidents eggs are sometimes excluded from the egg-tube
before the shell has begun to be formed, and in this state they are
provincially termed 'oon' eggs."

'^^iK

f

t

w

c

Frjm a dramng by Harr
A CAPON SITTIXG ON EGGS

INCUBATORS AND CHICKEN REARING
Thomas F. McGrew, New York

"The wise are always learning." — Fitzherbert.

S we have gained from experience a better understanding of
the natural requirements for safe incubation of eggs,
whether in the natural way under hens or within machines,
we are more able to lend our aid in the better construction
of both nests and incubators to be used for the purpose
intended. It is quite usual for the hen that hides her nest
to either select some secluded spot on the ground or to go into the haymow
or strawstack. Seldom, if ever, will she select an unprotected spot that
must be exposed to the changes of the weather. \Yhen preparing the
nest for the broody hen, have it so constructed as to protect the eggs from
the under side. Do not have it so shallow as to furnish no protection to
the eggs from below, nor so narrow as to have it possible for a cold chill to
cast its bad influence on the eggs from the side or end. Have the nest -box
large enough to fully protect the eggs on all sides and below from
sudden changes in temperature.

A good practice is to cut a piece of sod the size of the box and place it
in the bottom of the nest-box as a protection. Some hold to the opinion
that the presence of the sod lends aid in furnishing moisture to the eggs ;

T19

I20 The Poultry Book

but whether this is true or not, it protects them from sudden changes.
On top of the sod fill in with plenty of soft hay or straw below and on
all sides of the eggs. A nest so constructed aids the hen in her continuous
task of incubation by holding about the eggs the heat transmitted to them
from her body. On the other hand, poorly constructed nests allow of
possible injury to the eggs by permitting hurtful influences to gain ready
access to the eggs and take from the accumulated heat.

Having prepared the nest -box, put the broody hen in it. Under her
place a few eggs of no value, as dummies, to keep her quiet upon the nest.
Some hens give trouble at first, and it is just as well to have them well
settled prior to giving them a nest of eggs to incubate. At times it may be
necessary to shut the hen on the nest for several days, allowing her to come
off, and watching her return to prevent the possibility of her neglecting
her duty. It is always best to have fresh-laid eggs for incubating, and a
selection made so that all the eggs under each hen will be of the same size, or
nearly so, and all of one breed, if possible. It is most satisfactory to set
three or four hens the same day. When hatching-time comes, usually
two hens can care for all the chicks that come from the four nests
of eggs. The other two may be continued on their nests for another
term of incubation or returned to the runs to recruit and prepare for
laying.

It is not unusual to see a room prepared for hatching eggs by having a
double row of nests along the wall, with slat doors, in which broody hens
are confined with eggs under them. The person in charge must see to it
that each hen comes off every day and returns to her nest. As many as
fifty hens are set in one room in this way. The floor should be covered
deep with dry earth or fine sand to serve as a wallow. Another feature of
vital importance is to rid the hens of all manner of pests, such as mites or
lice, by the use of insect powder. Dalmatian or Persian insect powder
is good. Rub plenty of it into the feathers of the hen when she goes to
the nest and repeat the dusting after she has been on her eggs for two
weeks. This, with her dust -bath during incubation, will almost insure
against lice.

With so vast an expanse of country as we have in America, the time
for hatching must be governed by climatic conditions. For exhibition
fowls, the chicks should be hatched early enough to gain their full
growth and plumage prior to the time they are to be shown. For winter-

Incubators and Chicken Rearing

121

laying pullets, April hatched chicks are the best. If hatched in March
they do quite as well. In some parts of our country it is quite difficult
to care for young chicks in March, the weather being so severe. Another
fact worthy of consideration is that the chick grows best when the young
grass begins to sprout and they can feed upon it. May-hatched chicks
often do as well as those hatched earlier, especially if special care and
feeding be given them. Chicks hatched later than Mav seldom make

An egg as it appears twelve h.

, with a magnified

profitable winter-laying pullets. The late-hatched chicks make good
market poultry. Market poultry, for broilers or small roasters, may be
hatched at any time and marketed as soon as of suitable size.

An odd number of eggs is in favor when placed under a hen for incu-
bation. Not, as some suppose, because there is "luck in odd numbers,"
but because nine, eleven or thirteen round up better in a nest than would
an even number. The number of eggs "nested" for hatching should be
regulated to accord to time, place, season and size of the eggs, or
whether placed under hens or pullets. No hen should be given more
eggs to nest than she can cover nicely. If she has too many she cannot
properly cover them and poor results will follow.

Development of the Chick within the Egg

In the development of the chick we can do no better than give Mr.
Weir's own words. He says that for many years the henwife has divided

122

The Poultry Book

after Ih. I eijinnin^ ..i
: .jf the eiuLryo ^huk

eggs into three classes. If an Q.^<g is without a germ it is called "clear,"
for it does not cloud after incubation. When an egg begins to hatch and
gets chilled, or its growth otherwise arrested before the chick is formed,
then the egg is "addled," becoming rotten, and if broken it has a most

offensive smell; this is the
"addled" egg. Thirdly, when
the chick is well formed m the
^'g'g it is called a " dead-chick"
Qgg, and is never used in
the sportive way that the
" addled " one is. The knowl-
edge of the progress of the
development of the chick in
the Qg^ is of great use to the
poultry trade, as, on examina-
tion of the eggs unhatched
much is learned as to the
cause and time of failure. I
have therefore given the whole
of Mr. Swainson's notes and diagrams from his "Habits of Birds," he in
turn having borrowed them from Sir E. Homes's " Comparative Anatomy" ;
therefore they can certainly be relied on as being correct.

" In about twelve hours from the time the mother begins to sit the com-
mencement of life is perceptible in the germ {cicatricida) . What seems to
be the head of the chick appears joined to the body and swims in the sur-
rounding fluid ; and toward the close of the first day this apparent head is
seen bent back by its enlargement. So says Haller ; but Blumenbach thinks
this a deceptive appearance, produced only by the destined abode of the
future chick, no trace of which, he says, is perceptible before the second day,
when it assumes an incurvated form resembling a thread of jelly enlarged
at the extremities, very closely surrounded by fluid, from which it is scarcely
distinguishable. The first appearance of red blood is perceptible on the
yolk-bag toward the end of the second day, a series of points being observed
which form the grooves ; these closing constitute vessels, the trunks of which
become attached to the chick. Haller says we can now perceive traces of
the backbone (vertrebm), like small globules, disposed on two sides of the
middle of the spine, the wings and the blood-vessels of the navel, distin-

Incubators and Chicken Rearing

123

guished by their dull color, also beginning to appear. The neck and breast
are unfolded, the head is enlarged, the outlines of the eyes and their three
surrounding coats now become perceptible, and the heart is seen pulsating
and the blood circulating.

" Blumenbach does not mention his having seen the heart before the
commencement of the third day, when it resembles a tortuous canal, and
consists of three dilatations lying close together and arranged in a triangle,
one part of which is properly the right auricle, forming at this period a
common auricle, and another is the only ventricle, which afterward be-
comes the left ventricle; the third part ibiilhns aorta) is considerably bulged
out. It is remarkable that the heart at this period projects beyond the
breast, and beats in triplets; first, on receiving into the auricle the blood
from the veins; secondly, on discharging this blood into the arteries; and
thirdly, on forcing it into the vessels of the navel — motions which will con-
tinue for twenty-four hours if the embryo be taken out of the egg. The
veins and arteries may now also be seen branching over the surface of the
brain, and the spinal marrow beginning to extend along the back ; or rather,
as has been beautifully shown l:y Marcel de Serres,* Tiedeman,t and Carus,t
the spinal marrow itself,
becoming enlarged, forms the
brain. At this period the
fluid surrounding the fetus
becomes more consistent and
less transparent. About the
same time also the spine,
which was at first extended
in a straight line, becomes
bent, and the joints of the
bone (vertebra) become
distinct. The eyes are
distinguished by their black
pigment and comparatively
large size, as they afterward
are in consequence of a peculiar slit in the lower part

; It appears thirtj si\
magnified

; after the betrinnm^^ of incubati*
of the embr) chii-k

of the iris, a

* "Du Cerveau," Paris, 1S26; and " vSur le Cervelet," Paris, 1823.
t "Geschichte des Gehirns des Fetus." 4to. Leipzig.
t Gore's "Comparative Anatomy."

124

The Poultry Book

circumstance also observable in the nimble lizard (Lacerta agilis) and other

animals which have no pupillary membrane.

' ' On the fourth day the pupil of the eye can be distinguished as well as

the aqueous and vitreous humors. In the head are perceived five vesicles,

filled with a fluid; and these
as they enlarge approach each
other, coalesce, and form the
brain, invested with its
memliranes. The wings also
grow, the thighs begin to
appear, and the body extends
to one-third of an inch in
length. Several other im-
portant organs now become
visible, as the stomach, the
intestines and the liver. A
vascular membrane begins to
of incubation, ivith a form about the navel, and

tlie first appearance of

grows during the succeeding
days so rapidly that it covers almost the whole inner surface of the shell, appar-
ently performing the office of lungs in carrying on the process of respiration.

" On the fifth day the lungs begin to be formed, but cannot, of course,
perform their functions, on account of the circumambient fluid. The vessels
of the navel rise out of the abdomen; the heart is conflned in a very thin
membrane that covers the chest ; and the muscles appear over the body in
the form of an unctuous envelope.

" On the sixth day the gall-bladder is first perceptible, and the first indi-
cation of voluntary motion may be remarked. The spinal marrow, divided
into two parts, is extended along the trunk ; the liver, previously whitish,
becomes of a darker, dusky color. It is now seven lines* in length.

"On the seventh day it is easy to distinguish the bill; and the skin,
with the germs of the feathers, becomes obvious.

"On the eighth day the brain, the wings, thighs and legs have taken
nearly their ultimate form ; but, according to Scarpa, are still soft, flexible,
and pellucid. t The two ventricles of the heart also appear like two bubbles,

An egg opened thirty
magnified view of the -

iix hours after the beginnini

nbryo chick, in which is shown

the principal blood-vessels

* A line is the twelfth part of a French, or rather less than the eleventh of an English, inch.
f De Penit's "Ossium Structura Comment." 4to. Lips., 179Q.

Incubators and Chicken Rearing

125

contiguous and joined above to the substance of the auricles ; while two suc-
cessive motions are observed now in them, as well as in the auricles, which
resemble two separate hearts.

"On the ninth day the bones begin to be formed, appearing in the form
of hard bony joints, the middle of the thigh- and leg-bones, according to
Scarpa, becoming yellowish. These form the rudiments of the bony ring
of the sclerotic, resembling a circular row of the most delicate pearls. At
the same period the marks of the beautiful yellow vessels on the yolk-bag
begin to be visible.

" On the tenth day the muscles of the wings are seen completely formed,
and the germs of the feathers appear enlarging. Scarpa up to this period
could observe nothing hard, but a yellow wrinkling of beautiful net-
work.*

"On the eleventh day the arteries begin to be distinct, those which
were previously at a distance from the heart now joining and cohering to it.
It was now that Scarpa first observed the wrinkles in the leg- and thigh-
bones to become rough and hard, and red spots to appear.

" On the twelfth or thirteenth day, if the membrane {chorion) envelop-
ing the white of the egg be
examined very cautiously by
opening the shell, it will
present, Blumenbach says,
without any artificial injec-
tion, one of the most splendid
spectacles that occurs in the
whole organic creation — the
most simple yet the most
perfect substitute for the
lungs. It exhibits a surface
covered with countless blood
vessels, venous and arterial,
branching through its texture.
The veins are of bright sea rl "'" °' "' ''"'

color, carrying oxygenated blood to the chick ; while the arteries, on the
other hand, are of a deep crimson or livid red, bringing the carbonated
blood from the body embryo. The functions of the two are thus the

* Zoological Journal, ii., 433.

An eg-g- opened four days after the

126

The Poultry Book

reverse of those they perform after the chick respires. From the trunks of
these arteries being connected with the ihac vessels, and on account of the
thinness of their coats, they furnish the best objects for demonstrating the
circulation of the blood in a warm-blooded animal. According to Scarpa,

the thigh-bones, when
dried, now preserve their
shape.

' ' On the fourteenth
day the feathers appear,
well developed ; and if
the embryo be taken out
of the egg it can open its
beak for the purpose of
breathing.

" During the remain-
ing part of the process
the yolk becomes gradu-
ally thinner and paler
by the texture of the
inner white ; while an immense number of fringe-like vessels, with flaky
terminations of a singularly peculiar structure, are formed on the inner
surface of the yolk-bag, and hang into the yolk, evidently for the purpose of
absorbing it and conveying it to the veins, where it is assimilated to the blood
and applied to the nutrition of the chick. Blumenbach persuaded himself
of the actual passage of the yolk from the floating vessel of the inner sur-
face of the bag into the blood-vessels which go to the chicken ; at least, he
could distinguish yellow streaks in the red blood contained in the veins.*

" On the nineteenth day the embryo can utter sounds, and may be
heard doing so through the shell. It breaks and escapes from the shell
usually on the twenty-first day, but sometimes as early as the eighteenth
and at other times not till the twenty-seventh.

"The exit of the chick from the shell appears to us to be one of the
most interesting processes of animated nature ever investigated by natural-
ists. \Ye are indebted to Reaumur for a most minutely accurate account
of this processt ; and recently j\Ir. Yarrell has given a brief detail of his own

An egg as it appears five days after the

* Zoological Journal, ii., 433.

t "Oiseaux Donicstiqujs, " Mem. torn, v:

Incubators and Chicken Rearing

127

observation upon several species of birds. It is the popular opinion that the
mother-bird breaks the shell of the egg to free the chick from imprisonment
— an opinion which must have originated from the circumstance that pieces
of the shell are often broken and driven off to some distance while the mem-
brane within remains unruptured, which it is supposed could not happen if
the fracture were made on the inside by the chick. But it might, on the
same principle, be argued that a wine-glass covered with parchment could
not be broken by the stroke of a hammer without rupturing the parchment ;
for the membrane of the egg is elastic and yielding, while the shell is not.
That the chicken, however, and not the mother, performs this office, has
been proven by direct observations which may be readily verified. It is
worthy of remark, that the fact was correctly stated so long ago as the
thirteenth century, by Albertus Magnus, the great naturalist of the dark
ages.*

" It might be supposed that this task was much above the strength of
the yet feeble chick, did we not reflect that the anxiety it must feel to escape
must add greatly to its energy, which is further aided both by its peculiar
structure and by the position it assumes. The bill is still soft, indeed, and
to a careless observer
would seem ill fitted for
breaking the shell; but,
superadded to the bill,
' upon the curved part of
the upper mandible,' to
use the words of Mr.
Yarrell, 'just above the
point there will be seen
a small homy scale,
nearly circular, having at
its centre a hard and
sharp projecting point,
and by the particular
position of the head this
sharp point is brought into constant contact with the inner surface of the
shell.' It is worthy of remark that the only use of this horny point seems
to be to break through the shell, from which the chick escapes, and the

* Apud Aldrovand's "Ornith," iii., 1S4, ed. Francofurti.

; days after the heginni
view of the chii

■ of incubation, with a magnified

128

The Poultry Book

An egg as it appear

.e\tn ia>s after the beginning of
a ma^nihed \ic\\ of the Lhick

beak hardens by exposure to the air, it soon falls off, and on the second or
third day only a light-colored mark is observable on the spot which it
had occupied. It may, indeed, be easily separated by the thumb-nail
when the chick comes forth. In pigeons, and probably in other birds which

do not run about and feed the
instant they are hatched, the
bill-scale does not fall oft' for
more than a week. ]\Ir. Yarrell
thinks the hardness of the bill-
scale may be proportioned to
the thickness of the shell, from
its being very prominent, hard
and sharp in a preserv^ed chick
of the EgA'ptian goose (Anser
gambensis).

' ' The position of the chick
in the egg appears no less un-
favorable to its breaking
through the shell than the
softness of the bill ; for it is rolled up almost like a ball, the neck sloping
toward the belly, with the head in the middle, and the bill thrust under
the right wing, as in birds when asleep. The feet also are bent up under
the belly, as chickens and pigeons sometimes are when trussed for the spit,
the claws being so bent back that their convex part almost touches the
head. The forepart of the chick, as Reaumur observed, is toward the
biggest end; and Doctor Prout adds that it "is so situated in the egg as,
by its superior weight on one side, to assume such a position that the beak
shall be uppermost."* It is surrounded by a thick, strong membrane,
which retains it in the attitude just described, and is apparently unfavor-
able to its requisite movements. But closer inspection shows that all
these circumstances tend to facilitate rather than retard its operations on
the shell, which it must break before it can escape.

"The bill, indeed, though placed under the wing, as in the case of a
sleeping bird, is thrust so far as to project beyond it toward the back, and
the head, by moving backward and forward alternately, causes the bill
to strike upon the shell, the action being partly guided by the wing and
*Phil. Trans, for 1822.

Incubators and Chicken Rearing

129

the body. It is to be remarked that the head, compared with the bulk of
the body, is very heavy; and it makes, together with the neck, a load
which the chick, even for several days after its exclusion, can with diffi-
culty support. But in the egg, let the position be what it may, the head is
supported either by the body or by the wing, or by both together ; and the
greater the size of the head the more efficient, of course, are the blows of
the bill. The length of the neck causes it to be bent at this time, though
after the first fourteen days it becomes nearly straight ; but what seems to
be done out of necessity to procure room, is here, as in many other opera-
tions of Nature, the best thing that could possibly have been done out of
choice.

"By watching at the proper time, Reaumur frequently heard chicks
hammering upon the shell with their beaks; and in the more advanced
stages of the operation he could actually see them at work, through the
translucent membrane. The result of the first strokes is a small crack,
commonly situated nearer the larger than the smaller end of the egg. When
this crack is perceptible the egg is said to be chipped. The membrane is
seldom ruptured in the first instance, even when the hard part of the
shell over it is detached ; but in
one instance, while Reaumur w^as
observing the operations of a
chick by candle-light, it was hard
at work pecking at the membrane
divested of the shell. It did not
strike, however, but seemed as if
endeavoring to wear it out, and
make it thinner by continued
friction.

" The continued blows extend
the first cracks, and new pieces
of shell are driven off almost in
the same circle, the blows run-
ning round nearly the whole
circumference of a circle which
never cuts the egg obhquely, but always directly across; yet the
bill all the while remains under the wing and always in the same
position. In order to accomplish this, it is indispensable for the chick

An egg as it appears eight days after the beginning of incubation,
with a magnified view of the chick

130

The Poultry Book

I it appears nine days after the begi
of incubation

to turn gradually round till it has completed an entire revolution;
though this circumstance cannot, in consequence of the opacity of the
shell, be actually observed. The demonstration of the inference,

however, is com-
pleted by the
several places at
which the point
of the bill ap-
pears, whilst the
head is kept con-
stantly under the
same wing — a
position so strictly
preserved that it
i s persisted i n
even for some
time after t h e
separation of the

shell into two portions leaves the chick a door almost as large as the
dimensions of his prison. The revolution which the chick thus makes on
its own body is invariably from left to right, and it is probably performed
by means of the feet ; for the claws, on pressing the shell through
the membrane that separates them from it, must find in that shell the
resistance necessary to eftect the required circular motion. This
notion is corroborated by the circumstance of the feet alone enabling the
chick to effect its exit ; for the wings and other members, with the exception
of the neck and bill, are incapable of any action so long as the chick is in
the shell.

"The fracture may be observed to be broader in some eggs and nar-
rower in others, and even of different breadths in the same egg; while only
a few pieces are broken off in some and a great number in others, the latter
case exhibiting all the regularities of a glass bottle broken by the repeated
gentle blows of a hammer. The eft'ect required to be produced is the entire
separation of the two portions, first of the hard shell, and then of the mem-
brane, which is torn by repeatedly pecking it with the bill. All chicks do
not succeed in producing this result in the same period of time, some being
able to perform the task within an hour, others taking two or three hours,

Incubators and Chicken Rearing

131

while half a day is most usually employed, and some require twenty -four
hours. 'I have seen chicks,' says Reaumur, 'continue at work for two
days together. Some, again, work incessantly, others rest at intervals
according to their physical strength. I have observed some, in conse-
quence of their impatience to see the light, begin to break the shell a great
deal too soon ; for they ought, before they make their exit, to have within
them provision enough to serve for twenty-four hours without taking food,
and for this purpose the unconsumed portion of the yolk enters through the
navel. The chick, indeed, which comes out of the shell before taking up
all the yolk, is certain to droop and die a few days after it is hatched. The
help which I have occasionally tried to give to several of them toward their
deliverance has afforded me an opportunity of observing those which had
begun to break their shells before this was accomplished ; and I have opened
many eggs much fractured, in each of which the chick had as yet much of
the yolk not absorbed. Besides, some chicks have greater obstacles to
overcome than others, since all shells are not of an equal thickness, nor of an
equal consistence; and I think it probable that the same inequality takes
place in the lining
membrane.

'"It is the
practice in some
countries to dip the
eggs into warm
water at the time
they are expected
to chip, on the
supposition that
the shell is thereby
rendered more
fragile and the
labor of the chick
lightened. But
even boiling water

does not render the shell more fragile; and though the water should
soften it, upon drying in the air it would become as hard as at first.'*
It is well remarked bv "Sir. Yarrell that the shell is rendered more brittle by

The embryo chick taken from the preceding
egg, "ith the amnion and vesicle removed

Reaumur, as before

132 The Poultry Book

the process of hatching, during which the egg of the common fowl loses on
an average eight grains a day, the moisture being partly evaporated and
partly absorbed, and the lining membrane at the same time becoming
partially separated."*

First Food and Care of the Chick

There is considerable controversy at present as to the time that should
intervene between the coming of the chick from the shell and its first
supply of food. Some tell us that the chicks will do better if no food is
given them until they are seventy-two hours old ; while others sav they
should be offered food any time after twelve hours from the shell. The
fact is, Nature provides the natural food for the young chick through the
yolk of the egg when first it comes into life. This will provide their
sustenance of life for at least twenty-four hours ; during this period the
chicks should be left to the hen or incubator to mother quietly. After
twenty-four hours, the hen, with chicks, should be placed in a properly
constructed coop that will furnish comfortable, warm quarters for them all.

Clean, dry quarters and surroundings are absolutely necessary for the
successful growing of chicks. To do well they must have a dry footing at
all times. No matter how wet or damp it may be, if the chick has a
sheltered, dry runway it will prosper. Filth and dampness are most
destructive to young chicks — and too much coddling is not good for them.
Good, reasonable care is all they need for best results where they are
properly cooped and guarded from filth and the wet and chilly effects
of damp, cold weather. Clear, cold weather is not so bad for them as
the chilly wet or damp weather.

The proper method of feeding is to provide for the chick as soon as it
comes from the nest or the machine ; give them the opportunity to eat if
they will, and trust to them to eat when food is needed. For the first meal
bread-crumbs are good ; hard-boiled eggs, shell and all, mashed fine and
mixed with an equal amount of bread-crumbs, are much valued for the first
day. Too much of the egg and bread is not good for them. After the first
day, small oatmeal and bread-crumbs are good. Follow this with oatmeal
or rolled oats; small broken w^heat, and bits of broken com no larger
than the small oatmeal, and a little millet seed make a good mixture.
Do not feed too much millet seed, as this is not good for them. There are a

* Zoological Journal, ii., 436.

Incubators and Chicken Rearing

133

numter of chick foods made of an assortment of small broken grains and
seeds that are valuable because of the well-selected foods they contain.

Grit is an
absolute neces-
sity. It is the
digestive mate-
rial for the chick.
Small-broken
egg-shell will do
at first. Follow
this with coarse
sand or small
chick-grit. I f
there is plenty
of grass growing
where the chicks
can help them-
selves, this will

furnish a full green-food supply ;
must be furnished, grass, vege-
lettuce cut into small bits will do.
can run about for bugs and
animal food need be given them ;
are not permitted to forage,
or meat meal should be sup-
chicks should be fed the first
often as every two hours from
dark. For the first day or two
is not too often. After two
often will do. Warm milk makes
for them. If they can be kept
the milk over their down or

An egg as it appears fourteen days after the
^'beginning of incubalion

The same egg as the preceding, with the external
half of the vesicle removed

but when this
table tops and
If the chicks
worms, no
but when they
cut green bone
plied. Young
two weeks as
early dawn 'till
feed every hour
weeks old less
a good drink

from smearing
feathers it is

well to use it in this way, but The emVryo of .he preceding egg opened to Whcn thcy
, 1 1 . ^ . , show the course of the principal blood-vessels . . , -,

smear themselves with it they .hich go to the veside and to the areolar injure them-
selves more than they gain in its men.brane ^^^ Fresh,
pure, clean water should always be kept where they can help themselves.
The old English method, as given by Mr. Weir, was as follows :

134 The Poultry Book

"The first food generally given is stale bread-crumbs, cheese-curds,
boiled ground rice, broken rice, oatmeal moistened with milk, some scalded
rape seed, a little mustard seed, and, in two or three days, more groimd oats
and milk and some of the winnowings of wheat, oats or other farm seeds.
The coops may be put into the kitchen gardens (but not for long) while the
chickens are young, cauliflowers and cabbages being very favorite foods of
poultry. If the chickens are of a small breed and of delicate habits, they
may be fed on a kind of thick custard made of flour (two parts) and oatmeal
(one part) mixed with two or three eggs and new milk, all stirred together
in a dish or pan and put into a slack oven until it sets somewhat firmly;
after cooling, it will crumble and prove excellent food for the first few da^^s,
if thought necessary ; chopped boiled eggs were seldom or never given.

"The newly hatched chickens must be fed as early in the morning as
possible, at first regularly every hour, and then two hours during the day,
and a less number of times as they grow and feather. When taken from the
hen they may be fed on one-third oatmeal or ground oats, with one-third
boiled potatoes and one-third ' sharps,' all scalded and well mixed ; at night,
half-boiled wheat, barley or some other grain. If running with the adult
fowls, a pan of food should be put under a wire or wooden cage with the bars
placed sufficiently wide apart to allow the chicks to squeeze through and
feed when so inclined, which they will do very frequently ; this plan
prevents the old birds getting the chickens' food. Clean water in clean
■pans should be given twice a day.

"If there is convenience for the purpose, the sexes should be divided
as soon as they have feathered; and, if divided into flocks, they should be
sized, and not numbered more than twenty in each, as otherwise the
strong are very apt, in their endeavor to obtain warmth, to smother the
weaker birds."

For many reasons, the early hatched chicks are the best. April- and
May -hatched chicks make better winter-laying pullets than do those that
come later. For exhibition, they may be hatched an}^ time after the first
of the year for the exhibitions of the following winter. The rearing of
poultry for household purposes is a verv old custom and has been a source
of income and profit, more particularly from the sale of eggs and chickens to
"higglers," for the purpose of fattening for market. The latter were
raised under hens and turkeys, though in some instances artificial means
were used for incubation.

Incubators and Chicken Rearing

135

An egg as it appears eighteen days after the
1 eginnir-g i f incubation

The Incubator in England

The incubator is by no means a novelty in England. Mr. Weir says
that in 16 10 one Comelous Drebel, then residing at Eltham, among descrip-
tions of other wonderful inventions, declared that "By this peculiar
ingenuity he
could at all
times of the
year, even in
the midst
of winter,
hatch chick-
e n s and
ducklings

without the \ ^BlMi-'-^^^^iilKl^^d;^)?/ / L \^
aid of hens
or ducks"
("Notes and
Queries," ist
Series, ii., 7).

While later, in his "System
J. W. (JohnWorlidge), 1681,
Edition (1697), gives espe-
to the keeping of poultry,
"they are kept to a very
tage in the back sides and at
of great farms ; and, as I have
informed, a good farm hath
stockt with poultr\% spend-
crop upon them, and keep-
attend them; and that it
to a ver\^ considerable im-
(Here is a poultry'' farm pay-

"In Eg\-pt and China
eggs in great quantities in
made for that purpose. In
in this country^ also one
the brood of two or three

The embryo chick
of the

The same egg as the preceding, with part of the vesicle
removed to show the embryo chick more clearly

of Agriculture,"
and in the 4th
cial importance
for he says that '
great advan-
the bam doors
certainly been
been wholly
ing the whole
ing several to
hathredounded
provement."
ing its way.)
they yet hatch
open ovens
several places
hen will lead
hens, so that

opened to show the absorption
yolk into the body

136 The Poultry Book

they be hatched near about the same time ; therefore you may with much
faciHty hatch three or four dozen of eggs in a lamp-furnace made of a few
boards, only by the heat of a candle or a lamp, so that you order them
that they may hatch about the same time as the hen hatches her eggs
that you intend shall lead them; by which means one hen may in a
warm room lead many chickens and raise them up with little charge
and without the loss of time of other hens."

Thus it appears that artificial incubators were in ordinary use in Eng-
land in 1681-97. No allusion is made to "rearers," though this method
had not been neglected in France, and it is not until 181 5 that I find the
following mention of such appliances in the new ' ' Family Receipt Book' ' of
that date, under the heading of "A New Method of Rearing Poultry to
Advantage; communicated by Mrs. D'Oyley to the Society of Arts, etc."
"I keep a large stock of poultry, which are regularly fed in the morning
upon steamed potatoes chopped small, and at noon they have barley ; they
are in high condition, tractable, and lay a very great quantity of eggs. In
the poultry yard is a small building, similar to a pigeon cote, for the hens to
lay in, with frames covered with net to slide before each nest ; the house
is dry (this is essential) , light and well ventilated, kept free from dirt by
having the nest places and walls wdiitew^ashed two or three times a year, and
the floor covered once a week with fresh ashes. When I wish to procure
chickens, I take the opportunity of setting many hens together, confining
each to its respective nest ; a boy attends morning and evening to let oft" any
that appear restless and to see that they return to their proper places.
When they hatch, the chickens are taken away and a second lot of eggs
allowed them to sit again, by which means they produce as numerous a
brood as before. I put the chickens into long wicker cages, placed against
a hot wall at the back of the kitchen fire, and within an artificial mother
for the chickens to run under ; they are made of boards ten inches broad and
fifteen inches long, supported by two feet in the front four inches in height,
and by a board at the back two inches in height ; the roof and back are
lined with lambs' skins dressed with wool upon them; the roof is thickly
perforated with holes for the heat to escape; they are formed without
bottoms, and have a flannel curtain in front and at the ends for the chickens
to run under, which they do apparently by instinct." (See also Reaumur's
"The Art of Hatching and Bringing up Domestick Fowls of all Kinds,"
1750, pages 249-304.) "The cages are kept perfectly dr}^ and clean with

Incubators and Chicken Rearing

137

An egg as it appears twenty days after the begin-
ning of incubation, the vesicle and amnion re-
moved to show the position of the perfect chick

Position of the chick in the egg

sand or moss. The above is the proper size for fifty or sixty new-hatched
chickens, but as they increase in size they of course require a larger mother.
When they are a week old the boy carries them and their artificial mother
to the grass-plot,
nourishes them,
and keeps them
warm by placing
a long, narrow tin
vessel filled with
hot water at the
back of the arti-
ficial mother,
which will retain
the heat for three
hours and is then
renewed from the
steamer. In the
evening they are
driven into the
cages, and resume their station
walls, till they are nearly three
and able to go into a small
priated for that purpose. The
nished with frames similar to
mother, placed round the floor,
perches conveniently arranged
roost upon." Mrs. D'Oyley
numbers of chickens from suffo-
roofs of the artificial mothers
sufficiently ventilated. This
then the food proved un-
found that coarse barley meal
it was quite soft, mixed with

potatoes, better; with this they were fed alternately, and
pellets of coarse wheat flour given occasionally.

A few years ago Mr. Lawther, of Tonbridge Wells, a well-known
fancier of Japanese frizzled Bantams, had his only hen of the breed die sud-

Position of the chick in the egg

at the hot
weeks old,
room appro-
room is fur-
the artificial
and with
for them to
lost 1 a rg e
cation, the
not be ing
was remedied-,
suitable. She
steamed until
minced boiled
as a variant

The Poultry Book

jgnW^'

denly \\-hile sitting on fifteen of her own eggs. He could not get another
broody hen, so improvised an incubator. He got a small frame — the lower
part of a chair — putting a somewhat small iron tea-board on the top, and on

this a wicker basket nearly filled with
cotton wool, which was hollowed for
the reception of the eggs, which were
then covered over with more cotton
wool. Under the tea-board was placed
a small oil or paraffin lamp — the
eggs were turned and aired twice a
day — and with this contrivance
Eg^s fraaurea by the included chi.k. ^^_^ Lawtlicr managcd to hatch and

afterward to rear thirteen out of the fifteen eggs, and thus renewed his
strain of bantams which would have been otherwise lost.

Of late years many kinds of incubators have been invented and oftered
for sale, all more or less useful, and varying in price, and the number of eggs
that can be placed in each machine varying from 50 to 200. Of these I have
found " Hearsons" very successful. On one occasion from 100 hens' eggs
92 chickens were hatched, and from 80 to 85-7 was not uncommon. Of
course almost everything depended on the vitality of the eggs inserted. The
temperature used was 102-3° Fahr., but I am inclined to think that a degree
or two more would have been as well if not better. If an incubator is found
to be a "necessary" adjunct to the poultry yard, it is best to place it in a
ventilated room without draught, and entirely under the management of one
person, and to have it attended to at certain times w^ith the utmost punctu-
ality. In mine the eggs were turned and aired for fifteen minutes every
morning at g a.m., and again for ten minutes at 6 p.m., and the lamp "seen to."
The eggs should be dated on one side with black, and on the other with
red ; thus during the day the red will be uppermost, and at night the black,
by which means, by a single glance, the poultryman can tell whether all the
eggs have been properly turned ; and also by always having the date upper-
most the time for hatching may be watched to some advantage. It might
be an improvement to put on the egg, besides the date of insertion, that of
the expected exclusion. As to the other rules, etc., it is best to follow
exclusively those given by the makers at the tim.e of the purchase of the
incubators and artificial mothers.

As regards my own experience, I have never used the ordinary artificial

Incubators and Chicken Rearing 139

mothers until lately. Previously, on the chicks being hatched and "dried
off," they were taken to one of my vineries, where grapes were being "forced"
by a boiler and heated pipes. Boxes, with two holes for ventilation, lined
and padded with flannel, and having portions cut out at the ends to allow
the pipes to pass through, were placed over the lower hot-water pipe.
Over the pipe was hung flannel with cuts or slips, which nearl}^ touched the
ground — so, whether under, about or clustered within, the chicks were warm
and the temperature even. In front of the boxes were two holes for ingress
and egress from the floor of the vinery, which being a low one, they ran about
at considerable liberty. A hole in the wall of the vinery could be opened
when thought necessary, and the weather fine and dry, so as to allow of
exercise in the outside air. With regard to food, the chicks were fed in the
usual way, with the addition of chopped lettuce, cabbage, watercress,
onions or chiclaveed, but of all green food they mostly preferred the tender
spring cabbage. After a fortnight, or rather more, according to breed and
gro\\^h, the chicks (flocks of fifteen to twenty) were put into cucumber
frames with perches about four or six inches high put across the deepest
part. This plan kept them off the damp ground and also prevented suffo-
cation from crowding. The upper part of the glass of the frame was covered
either with a Russia mat or boards, which was a shade by day and warmth at
night. A hple w^as cut in the front part of the frame and a tin slide made
to fit, so that the chicks could be shut in when needful. These frames
were set out on the grass, and moved every two or three days at the least.
With this method I had two advantages — that of early grape-growing, which
proved profitable, and the easy and healthy rearing of my chickens. The
sexes were divided, and as a consequence there was less fighting among the old
English game chicks. They
were kept under the frames
at night, and in wet weather
by day, until six to eight
weeks old; after that they
were, if the nights were
sufficiently warm, allowed to

Positions of the shell after the escape of the chick

roost out in the hedges or

apple trees, if they were so inclined, and which they generally preferred
doing; with this treatment the birds were most healthy and strong, and
there were very few deaths, and more seldom any disease. If there was

140 The Poultry Book

not room for all the chicks incubated hens were used, and they were
cooped out in the ordinary way.

The rearing of chickens is still largely practised in Kent, Sussex
and Surrey, and by some more profitably than others, for the reason that
the latter rear too long, continuing far into the time when they are almost
a drug in the market,* instead of only " working" at and for the scarce and
high-priced time — that being the end of winter and early spring.

Here is an instance of the latter : A young farmer, having much grass
land about his house, with also a barn, oast-house, sheds, etc., asked me if
it would pay to rear chickens for the market, he having such good shelter
and runs. ]\Iy advice was this: "Get three or four incubators holding
from 150 to 200 eggs. Have a couple of hundred hens of the best kind,
such as the white-shanked Kent, Sussex and Dorkings and some of the
properly proportioned Langshans, of these last at least half. In addition,
buy up all the eggs in the neighborhood from those cottagers and others
who keep good table-fowls, thus saving the expense of keeping the hens
when you do not want the eggs — /'. <?., the cheap time, etc. Raise some
thousands of early chickens by hatching the bought eggs and those from
your own hens, either by incubators or by sitting hens. Leave the eggs laid
in the nests to get the hens to sit early. Have artificial mothers placed
in your meadows and let the chicks run about them; this will help \^our
grass and manure it for the hay time. Rear all your chicks so as to have
them all sold to the higglers by at least the first week in Alay, so that your
grass will be then not only well manured, but left clear to grow into a fitness
for cutting and making hay. After the chickens are all sold cull off the
worst layers of the hens, which will be about half, and sell your incubator
if you can get a good price, and buy fresh for another year," etc., etc.

Mr. Guest followed my advice and reared more than 3,000 chickens, all
of which were off the land before the second week in ]\Iay, after which the
grass grew strongly, and his hay crop and feeding good ; and he told me that.
raising and selling at the dearest time, the early spring only, he had realized
fifty pounds a thousand, which about paid his rent. Had he gone on hatch-
ing and rearing he would have got into the low-priced time, lost his grass,
feed and hay, and not gained on the latter produce.

When good-bodied, well-bred early chicks are bred in any quantity,
there has never been, nor is now, any difficulty of selling, the higglers being

* This could be obviated by cold storage.

Incubators and Chicken Rearing 141

only too glad to buy at fair and generally very remunerative prices ; but it is
useless to try to "market" ill-bred, ill-shaped, neglected and badly reared
and fed chickens; for the best of almost everything there is mostly the
"ready sale." For my own old five -toed white-shanked old Kent chicks
the higglers would give me a shilling each more than for nearly all those of
other breeders, excepting Mr. Guest (before mentioned).

I do not believe that it pays to rear middle-season chickens, nor to
keep hens to lay "summer eggs"* — the time when they are so abundant
that the market is glutted and the prices accordingly low. It is only
winter eggs and the very late and very early birds that are really profitable.
Others may be raised for the household, and for such purpose summer layers
kept, but for commerce I do not think it is desirable, unless cold storage can
be utilized, when, if so, the summer eggs will prove almost as advantageous
and lucrative as those of the winter.

Now that incubators are found reliable, both in England and America,
poultry farms are established, where the hatching and rearing, fattening and
marketing, of both ducklings and chickens has become a business of very
considerable importance. Of course this can only be done by good manage-
ment, fertile stock, the requisite capital and perfect organization ; and such
can only be arrived at with any degree of certainty by small beginnings,
keen observation, and careful attention to every detail, however apparently
small or insignificant. Evidently it is a growing industry, and will presently
become a highly successful one.

There is another phase of chicken rearing, and I think a useful one,
but as yet untried and neglected. It is this : there are a number of fanciers
of high-class poultry that have no room or convenience for hatching the
eggs of their stock. What is wanted, then, is a reliable person to whom
the eggs may be sent, hatched, the chicks fed and tended until
they are two or three weeks or even a month old, as required, at a fixed
payment of so much per dozen. This would be a boon to the fancier
class of the community, and a helpful source of income, perhaps, to
ladies living in a suitable country. In Egypt and America incubation
of thig kind is carried on to a wonderful extent. Here is an excerpt
from The Times, November 22, 1890: it conveys my meaning, and is
worthy of consideration :

* Though this might prove lucrative if district cold-storage depots were provided either by
County Councils or private enterprij "

Dnse.

142 The Poultry Book

''Artificial Hitching in Egypt. — The United States Consul-General
in Egypt, in a report recently published, describes the system of hatching
eggs by artificial heat pursued in that country from time immemorial, and
still in active operation. One establishment visited by the Consul-General
was wholly constructed of sun-dried bricks, mortar and earth. It was
70 feet long, 60 feet wide and 16 feet high, and was provided with twelve
compartments or incubators, each capable of hatching 7,500 eggs, or alto-
gether 90,000 at one time. The season begins in March and lasts until
May, and three batches of eggs are hatched in this time, each taking an
average of three weeks. The fourth week is given to removing the chickens
and preparing the incubators for a new batch of eggs. The number of eggs
treated at this establishment in a single season was therefore 270,000, from
which 234,000 chickens are usually obtained. The percentage of chickens
would be greater, but the eggs are in some instances procured from long
distances and in large quantities, and are therefore liable to damage. 'The
price of eggs is 2^d. per dozen, and chickens just issued from the shell are
sold at 7^d. per dozen. The loss of chickens after incubation ft compara-
tively small. The whole staff of the place is a man and a boy, who
keep up the temperature to a level of not less than 98° Fahr., arrange
the eggs, move them four or five times in the twenty-four hours, look
after the chickens, and hand them over to the buyers. The number of
chickens hatched in this manner throughout Egypt is estimated at 75,000,000,
and would, under ordinary circumstances, require 1,500,000 mothers."

General Use of Incubator in America

Artificial incubating and brooding has come into general use in America.
It is quite usual to see the small grower make use of both incubators and
brooders for all their hatching and brooding. The fact that the chicks can
be grown without any danger from the insect pests by the use of the artifi-
cial methods has had an influence in its favor. Then, again, with incu-
bators and brooders one may hatch and grow as many fowls as they wish
of the non-sitting varieties without having other fowls to brood their chicks ;
and one need not delay the hatching season for the lack of broody hens so
long as they can have ready at hand an incubator of modern make and a
well-constructed brooder, in which to grow chicks.

Thousands of chicks and ducklings are hatched each year for
broilers. At Allentown, Oxford and Harrisburg, Pa., there are

PRIZE-WINNING WHITE DORKING COCKEREL

Incubators and Chicken Rearing 145

located three very large farms that grow fully 100,000 ducklings during
the year. At Sidney, Ohio, is a plant that turns out many thousand
broilers per year. These are only samples of the many plants of this kind
throughout the country. All such plants hatch their chicks and ducklings
with incubators and grow them in brooder-houses built for the purpose.
These houses are heated with hot-water pipes that go from a water-heating
stove located in a cellar or pit in the centre of the house. From this the
pipes run to the right and left to heat the hovers of the brooder-house.
These houses are warmed, without the hovers, in the same way in cold
weather, so that the temperature may not be chilling for the small chick.

There are two systems for heating incubators — one the hot-air system,
in which the air is heated and carried into the machine over the eggs and
distributed through the egg-chamber and carried out through ventilators;
the other is known as the hot-water system. In this the water-tank is
placed above the egg-chamber and the water heated from a lamp, the same
as the air is heated for the hot-air system. The hot-air machine responds
more quickly to the effects of both heat and cold, and is more generally
used than is the hot- water system ; at the same time, the hot-water system
has its enthusiastic followers who will not listen to any other method of
heating. When properly constructed, both will do good and satisfactory
work; but, to be successful, the machine must be of correct construction,
properly and well built, and properly cared for.

The incubator, when in operation, should be placed where there will be
a regular and even temperature not lower than 50° nor above 70° Fahr.
For this reason incubator cellars properly constructed are best, or the
incubators may be placed in the cellar of the house if the cellar maintains
these degrees of heat. When placed either in the house, cellar, bam or
buildings it is best to have a permit from the insurance agent to run it
therein. A damp atmosphere without is by far better than a dry heated
air. When the air without is too dry, the floor about the incubator may
be moistened to advantage. An even temperature both within and
without the machine is conducive to best results. The most desirable
temperature within the machine ranges between 102° and 104°, according
to the location of the thermometer, which should be placed in each
machine as directed by the makers.

The turning and airing of the eggs during the three weeks of incubation
is of vital importance. The turning or moving of the eggs during incuba-

146 The Poultry Book

tion is to prevent the "blastoderm," or germ skin, from coming in contact
with the inner membrane of the sheU. If all the eggs are moved once
or twice a day with the hands, this will suffice. They are usually turned
completely over from one tray to another. They miust be so moved
each day as to completely change their position, and should be left
out of the machine to air from twenty to thirty minutes, providing the
temperature of the room is not below 65°. When lower than this, ten or
fifteen minutes will do. The inchnation is not to air the eggs as much as
the hen will during her time of incubation. AVhen it is cold she will stay
away a short time only, but when warmer the time is prolonged. The
desideratum is to turn and air the eggs and not to chill them.

The eggs may be tested for fertility from the fifth to the seventh day,
according to the ability of the one in charge to select the clear from the
fertile eggs. The clear or non-fertile eggs may be removed. They are
just as good for cooking as eggs that have been kept for a week
during warm weather either in the house or in the store. Being m an
incubator for a week will not injure a clear egg as much as will the
keeping of it in the house a week in summer. These clear eggs from
the incubator are usually cooked and fed to the young chicks, or sold
as incubator eggs to the manufacturing trade. Proper ventilation and
moisture is of vital importance. This is, or should be, fully provided in
all machines.

The system of artificial brooding covers the ground from the small
individual indoor or outdoor brooder for forty chicks to the brooder-house
for thousands. The principle is the same. When the chicks go from
the nursery of the incubator to the hover of the brooder the temperature
within or under it should be 90°. The outer room of the brooder,
where the chick goes to eat and run about, should be 70° at the start. As
the heat under the hover is lowered, as it should be from week to week,
the temperature of the outer runway should be lowered to correspond.
All brooders, whether of the indoor or outdoor pattern, will do best when
placed under shelter during early spring while the weather is cool. Too
much heat or dampness is most destructive to the young chicks.

The brooding of chicks in coops with hens may be governed or success-
fully accomplished through following the simple rule of cleanliness,
proper feeding and protection from dampness. Cleanliness includes clean,
warm coops or boxes for the hens and chicks. These coops must be so

Incubators and Chicken Rearing

147

constructed as to protect the hen and chicks from wet, damp and cold, as
these are the worst enemies of the chick. More losses come from the result
of exposure to dampness and filth than from all other causes. If thorough
sanitary methods are observed there will be little chance for the vermin
which at times work such awful destruction. When properly protected
there should be little or no trouble in the growing of the brood, if
they are carefully fed and watered.

Egg left unturned for two months

From dya7i'i>tg-s by Harrison IVtir
Egg turned twice daily

THE FEEDING OF POULTRY

James E. Rice, New York

UCCESSFUL feeding of poultry is both a science and an art.
The science is knowing the reason why. The art is having
the skill to do. The former must be learned by careful
study and observation. The latter can only be acquired
by actual experience — handling fowls.

Poultry feeding is not an exact science. There is
much that we do not know; and much that we think we know-
sometimes, unfortunately — is not so. But each year adds more to our
store of knowledge; each year by comparing experiences we are coming
to agree upon certain methods and practices, and from facts thus obtained
we can lay down rules. But rules are not always safe — conditions so
often vary. It is to discuss these rules and facts that this series of articles
is written, with the hope that from them some principles of feeding poultry
may be sifted which any one can apply to varying conditions. It is
prepared after a good many years of study and experience in the rearing
and handling of fowls on the part of those who contribute. What is
here said, however, is not given as infallible, nor is it intended to lay
down fixed methods of procedure. But it is desired to stimulate those
who read it to think for themselves — to compare it with their own
experience and observation and to thereby arrive at safer conclusions
and firmer convictions.

Food and Its Relationship to Production

The relationship between food and animal nutrition is largely a
question of cause and effect. The food is the cause, and the growth
or the production is the effect. And there is a beautiful harmony
between them, which is, that the character of the food determines the
kind of growth. If the food is deficient in any nutrient, the growth
also will be deficient in the same respect.

In order to make this relationship clear, let us examine the finished

149

150 The Poultry Book

product — i. e., the fully developed fowl or egg. The following analyses*
of the hen, pullet and capon include the entire fowl — bones, feathers,
blood, viscera, etc. The analysis of the egg is that of a fresh egg,
including the shell.

Water Ash Protein Fat

Hen S5-S 3.8 21.6 17

Pullet 55.4 3.4 21.2 18

Capon 41.6 3.7 19.4 33.9

Fresh Egg 65.7 12.2 11.4 8.9

The ash, or mineral matter, as it is sometimes called, was found most
largely in the bones and the shell of the egg. The protein is a general term
for substances containing nitrogen in the form of albumin — casein, etc.,
and is represented by the lean meat and the white of the egg and a portion
of the yolk. The fat and water we all recognize by name and by sight.

It will be interesting now to compare the analysis of some of
our common poultry foods and note their close relationship to the
substances found in the bodies of the fowls and in the egg — which is
simply an unorganized chicken.

Water Ash Protein Carbohydrates Fat

Cora II 1.5 7.9 66.7 4.3

Peas 10 2.6 16. 8 51.8 .7

Mangels 89 i.i i.i 5.4 .1

Clover Hay 15 6.2 6.8 35.8 1.7

Sunflower Seed 8.6 2,6 12. i 20.8 29

Meat Scraps 10.7 4.1 66. 2 .3 i3-7

It will be seen that we find all four compounds represented in the raw
materials — the foods — that we found in the finished product — the meat
and egg — and also one in addition, which is called carbohydrate — a term
used to represent a class of food nutrients some of which are starch, sugar
and gums. They have the same functions in the body as fat or oil —
i. e., to make heat and form energy and also to make fat, but not being as
valuable as fat for these purposes they are given separately. However,
they can be grouped together by first multiplying the fat by two and one-
quarter and adding it to the carbohydrates. The reason for multiplying
by two and one-quarter is that the fat is considered to be two and one-
quarter times as valuable for fuel as the carbohydrates. By this multi-
plying and adding they are united on equal terms, and when so grouped a
clearer comparison can be made between the protein (the muscle-maker)
on the one hand and the carbohydrate (or heat, energy, fat-formers) on the

* Professor Wheeler, Geneva, X. Y., Experiment Station.

The Feeding of Poultry

151

other hand. A still clearer idea of the proportional relationship between
these two great classes of food nutrients is obtained by reducing them to
lower terms — expressed by the number of pounds of carbohydrates in a
food for each one pound of protein that it contains. This relationship is
found by simply dividing the total carbohydrates by the protein, and is
expressed as one pound of protein to whatever number of pounds of carbo-
hydrates are shown in the dividend. This is called the nutritive ratio, or,

!

tv^'--r>

Ks

u

'?<.')' n

- — ,

"~'' N i

/ )

?'

r

>

i.^

■--

HEN AXD CHICKS

h

\

to express it in another way, the nutritive relationship of the protein (the
muscle -makers) to the carbohydrates (the fat, heat, energy -formers) ; or,
for example, one pound protein to 9.7 pounds of carbohydrates, which is the
nutritive ratio of com. To save time, part of the formula is left off,
because it is generally understood, and the nutritive ratio is then expressed,
for com : I : 7.9. In a food or a ration where the relative amount of carbo-
hydrates to protein is small it is said to have a narrow nutritive ratio; where
the relative amount of carbohydrates to protein is large it is said to have a
wide nutritive ratio.

152 The Poultry Book

From what has been said it must be clear that there is a close relationship
between the food an animal eats and the growth the animal can make or the
product it can produce. That such is the case not only has been proven by
careful experimentation, but it is recognized by common observation.

By noting the wide variation in the foods given in the tables it will be
seen that in corn there is only 7.9 pounds protein, while in meat scraps there
is 66 per cent. ; that in sunflower seed there is 20.8 per cent, carbohydrates
and 29 per cent, fat, while in corn there is 66.7 per cent, carbohydrates and
only 4.3 per cent. fat. In the matter of ash there is also wide difference,
as, for example, 6.2 per cent, ash in clover hay, 19.5 per cent, in meat meal,
and only 1.5 per cent, in corn. Is it not apparent, then, that a laying hen
requiring 12.2 per cent, of mineral matter to make an egg, and having
3.8 per cent, in her body, which must be maintained, if fed upon corn
alone must eventually have weak bones and soft-shelled eggs ? Would it
not be reasonable to expect a pullet, whose body contains 21.2 per cent,
protein and whose egg contains 1 1.4 per cent, protein, to make slow growth
and lay few eggs — or no eggs at all — when fed upon corn, which contains
only 7.9 per cent, protein. To be sure, she might eat enough food low
in protein to get sufficient nutrient to supply her daily needs. But the
nutritive ratio of corn is one pound protein to 7.9 pounds carbohydrates.
What will the pullet do with the excessive amount of carbohydrates?
There are but two things she can do. She will use what she needs for heat
and energy, the rest w411 either be stored up as fat or pass undigested. If
this exclusive corn -feeding should continue, she would get exceedingly fat,
the supply of blood would become deficient, and if this feeding should still
continue, the inability of the fowl to renew broken-down muscular tissue
because of lack of protein would weaken the body, growth would cease, and
loss in weight would soon follow, which most likely would result in death.

It may seem almost impossible to believe that such results could follow
from exclusive feeding of a food so good and so universally used as corn.
This statement, however, is not guesswork, but is based not only upon
personal observation and experience, but also upon careful experiment.
The same result can be, and frequently is, brought about by feeding several
kinds of food all of which, like corn, are too fattening. Did you ever find
a condition where many hens in a flock would be found dead without any
apparent cause except that the body would be filled almost solid with fat ?
That is one evidence of feeding too-fattening foods.

The Feeding of Poultry

153

With chickens the result is not surplus fat, except for a very short
time, because they are active and have not yet built their framework. But
eventuahy it results in dwarfed, pinched-up growth. What is here said
is not intended to be
an argument against
corn, or potatoes, or
sunflower seed, o r
any other fattening
food, but it is a plea
for a ration that not
only contains these
foods, but also pro-
tein foods like peas,
oats, wheat, bran,
middlings, clover,
meat, milk, and
the like.

How to put
these foods together
so as to supply the
protein and carbo-
hydrates in the
proper proportion
for the purpose in-
tended is called

ballancing the ration. As near as we know now, the best general
results with laying hens should be had by feeding a balanced ration
containing one pound protein to five or six pounds carbohydrates. This
will differ somewhat with conditions — such as breed, age, temperature,
exercise, etc.

It may be well to note right here that while evil results will surely follow
any radically wrong feeding if long continued, nevertheless the hen, like all
other animals, has a wonderful power of adaptability. If the food should
be deficient in carbohydrates, w^hich often occurs where much peas, meat,
oil meal, etc., are fed, she apparently has the power of using the protein for
fuel, or possibly even to make fat. We find hens getting too fat when fed
on a very narrow ration if it happens to be rich, easy of digestion and

OLD KENT SPECKLED HEN

154

The Poultry Book

abundantly fed. The hen's power of substitution — i. c, of using
protein to take the place of carbohydrates — does not work both ways.
She does not have the power of using carbohydrates to take the
place of protein. That is why hens usually suffer less when fed a
too narroii' ration than they do when fed a too wide ration. That
is why an animal will stance to death when fed abundantly and exclu-
sively on sugar, starch and fat. But evil results will follow both
extremes. If too much protein is consumed, the blood will become
overcharged, resulting in a plethoric condition which, if persisted in,
would overtax the kidney to throw off the surplus materials, and would
result in debility.

In order to illustrate the difference between properly balanced and
improperly balanced rations, several combinations are here given. The
reader can easily make up others, according to the foods he may have or
can purchase, by consulting the feeding tables.

It has been found by Professor ^A'heeler, of the Geneva, X. ^'., Experi-
ment Station, that the ration required per day for each 500 pounds live
weight of hens in full la34ng, each hen weighing three to five pounds, would
be approximately 27.5 pounds dry matter, 1.5 pounds ash, 5 pounds protein,
18.75 pounds carbohydrates and 1.75 pounds fat, having a nutritive
ratio of i : 4.6. This would be an exceedingly stimulating ration. If we
assume that this ciuantit}' and proportion of nutrients is correct, we can
then compare it with the rations that follow. To do this it will be neces-
sary to multiply the fat by two and one-quarter and add it to the
carbohvdrates, which would give 22.7 pounds total carboh\-drates required
each day.

Ration No.

Well Balaxced

Two Pounds Com Meal ....
Two Pounds Ground Oats . . .
Two Pounds Wheat Bran. . .
Two Pounds Wheat Middhngj
Two Pounds Meat Scraps. . . .

Eight Pounds Corn

Eight Pounds Wheat

Six Pounds Oats

Four Pounds Peas

Fifteen Pounds Mangel Beets.

Fifty-one Pounds

Cost
,02500
03700
02400
02500
04400
09600
12240
10500
05200
03750

Drv
Matter

I .78

I .78

I 76

I .76

I . 78

• °3°
. 060

.116
.076
.082

144

180

104
165

Protein
158
1S4
244
256
324
.632
.816

672
165

56790 34.07

Carbo-
hydrates

I.52S

I ,136

. 906
I .214

.622

Xutritiv
Ratio

5 . 840
j-4oS
2.136
I . 560

24.462

Manurial
Value

.00652

.00756

.01236

.00942

.03500

.02608

.0340S

.0226S

.02192

.00765

.1S327

The Feeding of Poultry

155

Ration No.

Kind of Grain

Two Pounds Corn Meal

Two Pounds Ground Barley. . . .
Two Pounds Wheat IMiddlings . .

Two Pounds Animal Meal

Two Pounds Hominy Chops ....

Eight Pounds Corn

Eight Pounds Wheat

Six Pounds Barley

Four Pounds Buckwheat

Fifteen Pounds Potatoes

Too Wide — Too Fattening

Fifty-one Pounds .

Cost
02500
03000
02500
03S00
02300
09600
12240
0S2S0
04400
06000

Drv
Matte

54620

I

78

• I

78

I

76

I

85

I

78

7

12

7

20

3

34

3

48

3

15

33

24

Ash

Protein

Carbo-
hydrates

Nutritive
Ratio

Manurial

Value

.030

.15S

I .52S

1:9.7

.00652

.048

•174

1-384

1:7.9

.00576

.076

.256

I . 214

1:4.7

.00942

•390

.640

. 460

1:0.7

.00250

.050

•150

I .410

1:9.4

.00632

. 120

.632

6. 112

1:9.7

.02608

•144

.S16

5 840

1:7.2

.03408

■ 144

• 522

4- 152

1:7.9

.01728

.080

•30S

2.132

1:6.9

.00988

• 150

• 135

2-475

1:18.3

.01125

791 26.

I5I59

It would take 67.3 pounds of Ration Xo. 2 to give the same amount
of protein as 51 pounds of Ration Xo. i — /. c, 6.3 more food. If the
fowls should eat this 67 pounds of Ration Xo. 2 they would consume
35.24 pounds carbohydrates, which would be 11.07 pounds more carbo-
hA^drates than they would consume in eating Ration Xo. i.

Ration No.

Two Pounds Buckwheat Mids.
Two Pounds Ground Peas ....

Two Pounds Wheat Bran

One Pound Gluten Meal

One Pound Oil Meal

One Pound Meat Scraps

Eight Pounds Peas

Eight Pounds Oats

Ten Pounds Wheat

Fifteen Pounds Mangels

Too Narrow — Too Stimulatinc

Cost
. 02000
.02900
.02400

.01300

.01450
. 02200
. 10400
. 14000

5j

00

Dry
Matter

I ■ 74

I .80

1.76

.92

.91

.89

7.20

7.12

9 . 00

1-95

Ash
. 096
. 052
.116
.008

• °53
.041
.208
.240
. iSo
.165

Fifty Potmds.

55600 33.29

440
336
244
258

293
622

344
736
020
165

Carbo
hydrates

912
.068
. 906

6;6

.4S5

544
300
:;6o

Nutritive Manurial

458

01096
01236
00774
00960
01 750
043S4
03024
04260
00765

[8761

If the hens should eat all of Ration Xo. 3 they would consume 1.2
pounds more protsin than would be needed, and at the same time would have
1.84 pounds less carbohydrates than they would require. The result would
be that the protein would be burned up for fuel or transformed into fat, or
would be assimilated, causing a plethoric condition.

Assuming that Ration Xo. i furnished protein and carbohydrates
in the right quantity and proper proportion for the best egg-production,
then we see that the extra 11.07 poimds of carbohydrates would either be
used to make unnecessar\^ fat or be wasted undigested. That is why it is

156

The Poultry Book

wasteful to feed too much fattening food, unless it happens to be enough
cheaper as a source of protein to afford to let extra carbohydrates be wasted,
which sometimes may be the case. But the feeder takes desperate chances
of getting his stock too fat.

Prices oy Grain Used in Calculating Cost

Wheat

Com

Oats

Barley

Buckwheat

Peas

Wheat Bran

Wheat Middlings

Oil Meal

Com Meal

Gluten Meal

Hoininy Chop

Ground Barley

Buckwheat Middlings.

Pea Meal

Ground Oats

Meat Scraps

Animal Meal

Potatoes

Beets

G Cost of Rat

DNS

;r Pound Per loo

Per Ton

01530 I

53

30 60

01200 I

20

24 .00

01750 I

75

35 .00

01380 I

38

27 . 60

OIIOO I

10

22 .00

01300 I

30

26 . 00

01200 I

20

24 . 00

01250 I

-5

25 .00

01450 I

4 5

29 .00

01250 I

-5

25 .00

00300 I

30

26.00

on 50 I

IS

23.00

01500 I

50

30.00

oiooo I

00

20.00

01400 I

40

28.00

OIS50 I

85

37.00

02200 2

20

44.00

oiqoo I

90

38 00

00400

40

8 .00

00250

25

5 • 00

It will be seen that the two rations that are richest in protein — /. e.,
No. I and No. 3 — are the most expensive to buy. From the standpoint of
economy it does not pay to feed rations so deficient in carbohydrates that
protein must be used for fuel. Ration No. 3 would have been much
more expensive than Ration No. i if cheaper protein-rich by-products had
not been used, which leads us to the importance at all times of figuring both
the price and the cornposition of each food when making a ration.

Often many dollars may be saved by watching the market fluctuations.
Sometimes corn is one of the most expensive foods, at other times oats are
too dear to buy except in limited quantities for the sake of variety. The
same may be said of wheat, buckwheat and other grains. All this time
the composition of these grains remains practically constant. There-
fore the careful feeder must not only know what food will give him
the best results, but he must be ready at any time to take advantage
of fluctuations in the price of grain and substitute an expensive source
of food nutrients for a less expensive one.

The Feeding of Poultry

157

The manurial value of foods should be considered. True, it is a
secondary consideration, but if the poultry manure is carefully saved in the
houses by the use of absorbents, and if forage crops are grown in the yards,
so as to make good use of the droppings, considerable income will be
derived, which may be used to offset a portion of the cost of the ration.
For example, in the rations given the manurial value has been determined
by allowing 1 5 cents per pound for the nitrogen, 5 cents per pound for the
phosphoric acid and 4^ cents per pound for the potash. A portion of
this value would of necessity be lost, because poultry manure loses its
nitrogen very readily in the form of ammonia, and also by leaching.

Grain Foods

While fowls require both animal and vegetable foods in order to do
their best, they are also grain eaters to a much greater extent. Their
digestive tract is more especially adapted to the grinding and digesting of
cereals, which they relish almost without exception, from the rich oil-bearing
sunflower seed to the starch-grain corn and the protein -rich pea.

Grain Foods Arranged in Order of Total Digestible Protein Content in 100 Pounds

Dry

Matter

Flaxseed 90 . S

Peas 90

Sunflower Seed 925

Wheat 90

Rye. , 88

Wheat Screenings 88.4

Oats 89

Millet 86

Barley 89

Corn 89

Buckwheat 87

Kaffir Corn 84 . 8

Broom Corn 85.9

Sorghum Seed 87.2

Rice 87.6

Ash, or
Mineral
Matter

Protein
or Muscle-
Maker

20.6

16.8

12.1

10.2

9.9

9.8

9.2

8.9

8.7

7.9

7.7

7.8

7.4

7

4,8

Total
Carbo-
hydrates.

Fat-
Formers

82.3

53.4

85.8

73

70

55.9

56.8

52.2

69.2

76.4

53.3

63.2

54.8

59.1

72.9

Nutritive

Ratio.

Prot.-Carb.

4

3

7

7

7

5

6
8
9
7
9

4
4

Manurial
Value
in 100
Pounds

657
548
428
426

329
462
378
365
288
326
247

2445
2814

1750

Wheat

It may be safely said that there is no better all-round grain for poultry
than wheat. It has all the qualities of attractiveness of size, color, shape
and freedom from undesirable covering or shuck. While it is a rich food.

158

The Poultry Book

its nutrients are quite well balanced — though perhaps a little more inclined
to be a fattening food than one for the production of the greatest
growth of muscle. While it contains more protein and more starch than
corn, it contains less oil, and on the whole is not considered to be quite
so valuable for fattening, but better for growth.

Wheat seems to give a lighter color to the yolk of eggs and to fat, and,
according to meat packers in Chicago,* also gives redder color to the lean
meat, than does corn. The by-products of wheat — the bran and middlings —
are more valuable, pound for pound, than is the whole grain. Tliere-
fore it may be wise many times to sell wheat and buy bran and middhngs.

MR F. G. S. RAWSON S WHITE EMBDEN GOOSE
(One of two) First prize and cup at Birmingham. Bred hy Mr. Harrison We

The great demand for the best grades of wheat for flour usually makes it
too expensive to feed extensively to poultry, but there are grades of
wheat that are perfectly sound and wholesome which, because they are

* Henry's feeding.

The Feeding of Poultry 159

mixed with other grain, or because the kernels are shrunken, can not be
used to make the best grades of flour, and therefore can be purchased at
a reasonable price — so low, in fact, that it is often a more profitable food
to buy than corn or oats.

Wheat screenings, if they are a good grade, can frequently be purchased
and fed to good advantage. A good sample should contain more protein
than oats, barley, com or buckwheat, and about the same amount of
carbohydrates as oats, peas or buckwheat. Of course there is always the
objection of introducing weed-seed on the farm, but a large number of
the seeds are eaten with a rehsh by the hens.

"Burnt wheat" should nearly always be shunned as one would a
pestilence. The same is true of any other kind cf musty or damaged
grain. "Burnt wheat" is only a trade name for damaged, bunted grain,
and is not, as might be inferred, simply charred by fire. Moreover, the
difference in price between so called "burnt wheat" and good grades of
uninjured "chicken wheat" is so slight that one should not hesitate an
instant in making the choice for the latter.

Corn

Corn is the best relished by poultry of all the grains. It possesses
four qualities that make it attractive to fowls; i> has a bright color; its
shape, size and texture are such that it can be easily swallowed ; it is free
from woody husk or integument; it contains a large amount of oil and
sugar, which add attractiveness to flavor and ease of digestion. Moreover,
it appears to satisfy the cravings of appetite and fulfil the bodily require-
ments, at least for the time. However, if fed alone or in large part it is
too fattening in its nature to be the most desirable food for egg -production or
for the growth of lean meat. Nevertheless, it should form a good part of
all poultry rations, whether for young or adult, male or female, layers or
sitters. This is especially true in the United States, where corn is "king"
not only because of its goodness but because of its cheapness. From the
analysis it will be seen that corn is actually the richest in the carbohydrate
nutrients of any of our grains except sunflower seed and flaxseed, that
it is a little weak in protein, and decidedly low in the mineral nutrients.
Therefore it is most valuable when fed to mature animals for fattening
purposes. And, conversely, it should be combined wdth foods rich in
protein and ash when fed to animals producing muscle or eggs.

i6o The Poultry Book

There is not much difference in actual feeding value between the dent
and flint corns, as will be seen by the analysis. This is also true as
between white and yellow corn.

It is not wise to feed corn and cob meal to poultry. The cob is very
indigestible and contains about the same feeding value as oat straw. A
better way to give bulk to the ration is by feeding something more
nutritious, like wheat bran or cut clover hay.

One of the most pronounced and very valuable characteristics of com
is its power to impart to body -fat and the "olk of eggs a rich deep-yellow
color.

In his experience in feeding poultry, George O. Brown, of Marvdand,
has found hominy chop very satisfactory. Regarding it he says: "It
is especially suitable for laying hens and admirable for growing chickens.
I would not undertake to keep chickens without it. In Baltimore it is
known as hominy chop, and is sometimes called hominy meal. It comes
from hominy, used as human food. The hard part of kiln-dried white
com forms the hominy, while the hulls, germ, a portion of the gluten,
and starch, constitute 'hominy chop.' Recent analyses show hominy
chop contains several per cent, less water than corn meal, fully two per
cent, more protein, at least ten per cent, greater feeding value, and four
per cent, more fat. Hominy chop usually sells for less than com meal.
It can be understood how valuable it is as a component ration for poultry
where mixed food or mashes are used."

^ Oats

Good oats are good food for poultry. Light oats, that are often found
on the market, are very undesirable. This difference is due to the varying
proportions of hull and kernel in heavy and light oats. There is no grain
so variable in weight per bushel as oats. Richardson is quoted by Henny"
as saying that the proportion of hull to kernel varies from twenty to forty
per cent, of the total weight, and averages about thirty per cent. In the
warm lower country, oats are light, with a large proportion of shuck; while
in northern sections or on high altitudes they are solid and meaty. It will
pay to get only the best, as will be found by noting the composition
of oat shucks and the comparative proportion in heavy and light oats.
It will be found that oat shucks have about the same feeding value as oat
straw, and therefore contain such a large proportion of indigestible fiber

The Feeding of Poultry

i6i

(^,

r

that it is a great tax upon the digestion of the fowls to handle it. Hens
know this instinctively, and will refuse to eat light oats or the hulls if they
can avoid it. It will be seen that oats contain less protein than wheat,
sunflower seed or
peas, but more
than barley, corn ' .

or buckwheat ;
more carbo-
hydrates than
peas or buck-
wheat, and less
than barley, rye,
wheat or corn, and
also more oil and
twice as much
mineral matter.
They should
usually form a

part of the daily - .

ration where the

"dozing"

price will warrant.

Practical feeders believe that the oat contains a stimulating virtue
greater than other grains — which cannot be accounted for in its protein or
carbohydrate content. On this point authorities are divided. Some
chemists claim that an alkaloid called avenin is found in oats ; others dispute
that such a thing exists. While they are discussing the question it will be
well to go right on feeding good oats liberally, both ground and unground.
Owing to the extensive adulteration of ground oats by incorporating large
quantities of oat hulls and light oats, it will be far more satisfactory to pur-
chase the heavy oats and have them ground. Where hulled oats can be
procured at a reasonable price they should prove a most satisfactory food,
especially for the chickens that can not handle the shuck to good advantage.

Barley

Barley stands intermediate between oats and peas as a growing food
and com as a fattening food. It contains a little more protein than buck-
wheat and com and a little less than oats, wheat or rye. But as it contains

i62 The Poultry Book

more of the carbohydrates than either oats, peas or buckwheat it becomes
one of the richest and best of our grains for poultry. The shuck and beard
are a little against it, the shuck being estimated at about fifteen per cent,
of the total weight of the grain. The great demand for the best grades of
barley for brewing tends to keep it out of the market for stock food by
forcing the price a little high. Sound but discolored grain frequently can be
purchased at a reasonable price. Avoid "ground barley" as it is sold upon
the market. It is apt to be adulterated with various cheap fibers, ground
corn-cob and the like, so that its feeding value often is less than one-half
what good ground barley should be. Hens relish barley, and it can be
fed liberally.

BUCKW^HEAT

Owing to the demand for buckwheat flower for human food, the
price of buckwheat for stock food is usually too high to warrant buying it,
except possibly in small quantities for sake of variety. Compared wdth
other grains, it cannot be considered a rich food. It contains less protein
and less carbohydrates than any of the common grains, and it is also low
in mineral matter, containing about the same as corn, rye and wheat. The
shuck, which envelops the kernel, is very tough and almost w^orthless as
food. Buckwheat contains very little coloring matter, a fact very notice-
able in the white flesh and light -colored yolks produced when buckwheat is
largely fed. Hens like it when they once become accustomed to it, and
inasmuch as it can be grown quickly as a second crop after grass or on poor
land following a short fallow, it will often pay to raise and feed it, rather
than to go to the expense and trouble of exchanging it for a richer grain.
It has a nutritive ratio of one pound protein to 6.9 of carbohydrates,
which is right between two of our best poultry grains — oats, with a
nutritive ratio of i to 6.2, and wheat, i to 7.2. It may be considered a
fattening food rather than one well adapted to produce growth.

Rye

Rye is not a success as a poultry food. Why, no one seems able to
satisfactorily explain. Surely it cannot be accounted for in its composi-
tion. Rye is richer in protein than oats, barley, com or buckwheat, and
richer in carbohydrates than barley, oats, peas or buckwheat. It does not
contain any objectionable hull, like oats, barley and buclavheat, but still
hens do not seem to like it. While it is deficient in ash. it is no more so
than wheat or corn, both of which fowls relish. It is possible that it con-

ORDINARY MODERN SHOW HOUDAN

The Feeding of Poultry

165

tains some objectionable flavor or medicinal property. Perhaps it is only a
whim. However that may be, it will be just as well to let the hens have
their way, and raise or buy grains that they like better than rye.

By-Products and Hay Arranged in the Order of Total Digestible Protein Content

PER 100 Pounds

Di

Matter

O. p. Oil Meal 91.

Gluten Meal 92

Buckwheat Middlings 87

Gluten Feed 92

Wheat Middlings 88

Wheat Bran 88

Alfalfa Hay 92

Hominy Chops 89

Corn Bran 90

Red-Clover Hay 85

Oat Hulls 90

Ash, or Bone-
and Shell-
Maker

Protein,

Muscle-
Maker

29.3

25.8

22.

19.4

12.8

12.2

11.

7.5

7.4

6.8

1.3

Total

Carbo- Nutritive
hydrates. Ratio.

Fat-Formers Prot.-Carb.

48.5

65.6
45.6
63.3
60.7
45.3
42.3
70.5
70.1
69.6
41.5

r-7

2-5

Manurial
Value

Pounds
960
774
256

471
618

431
316

335
329
"3

Wheat Bran

Wheat bran, it is safe to say, is the safest, best and most universal
all-round natural by-product food which w^e have. It is not as rich in protein,
to be sure, as gluten feed, gluten meal, oil meal or the best grades of wheat
or buckwheat middlings, but it contains more mineral matter than any of
the named foods, and is the best food to add bulk to the ration
so that the stomach juices can act readily upon it. Good bran is
richer in protein than oats, but does not contain as much starch
or oil. On the whole, good ground oats are worth a little more,
pound for pound, for general feeding, than good bran. There is
a great difference in the quality of bran, owing to the grades of wheat and
milling process. In the centre of the wheat is the flour, which is largely
starch. The outside shell, the bran, contains a large amount of protein,
mineral matter and fiber. Between the flour and the bran is a layer of
gluten — a form of protein — some of which gets in with the good bran; a
little goes along with the flour, but more is found with the middlings, which,
as its name implies, is from the middle — i. e., between the bran and flour.
The difference in quality of bran, then, largely depends upon how thin the
outside shuck is taken off and how much of the gluten is retained.

The best way to learn to judge bran is to secure a number of samples and
prices from a wholesale dealer and compare them. A good test is to chew

i66

The Poultry Book

a handful, and if it is fine and dry and refuses to gather, but remains
dry and loose, look out for it. If it chews up into a nice "cud," it indi-
cates gluten. That is the kind which makes eggs.

Middlings
The great value of the various kinds of middlings lies in the large
amount of protein, largely in the form of gluten, which they contain, and
to the fact that when they are mixed with such dry, crumbly foods as corn

meal, gluten
meal, wheat
bran and the
like, an adhe-
sive, sticky
principle is
added w h i c h
w h e n mixed
^^' i t h other
grains makes
them more
attractive t o
fowls. There is
a wide varia-
tion in the

quality of middlings. Some kinds apparenth^ are nothing more than ground
bran and floor sweepings ; other grades are mostly flour. ]\Iiddlings contain
very little crude fiber — in which respect they are very like com meal and
gluten meal. AVheat middlings is the kind most largely used, but buck-
wheat middlings is far richer, and in sections where buckwheat mills
are found the latter is usually the more profitable kind to buy.

Gluten Products

There are many kinds of gluten products. They are all by-products
from the corn-starch factories, and they vary widely in composition and
price. It is never safe to buy them except upon a guaranteed analysis.
Gluten feed is the whole of the corn by-product. It contains all the corn
except the starch, which has been removed. Gluten meal is the same as
gluten feed less the hull and germ, and therefore is more concentrated.
Corn bran simply consists of corn hulls — the outside shuck from the

AZEEL COCK

The Feeding of Poultry 167

kernel of corn — and therefore is very bulky and not very rich. Corn germ
is concentrated and exceedingly rich in protein and oil. With all
gluten products, as with all other by-products, they should only be
fed in limited quantities and in connection with natural grains. Their
cheapness often makes their use desirable.

Linseed Meal

Linseed meal is a product of the manufacture of oil from flaxseed.
While it is extensively heralded as the best food to feed to hens during the
molting period, and while we know that it is the most important ingredient
in most of the condimental foods and condition powders, it should be fed
only in limited quantity, because, first, hens do not like it; and, second, it
contains an excessively large amount of mucilaginous material, making the
ration exceedingly sticky, which causes the food to wad up in the crop ; and,
third, it is such a rich, concentrated protein food that there will be danger
of over-feeding. It contains more protein than any other grain food
except cottonseed meal. One hundred pounds of oil meal contains about
as much protein as 287 pounds of wheat, 318 pounds of oats, 370 pounds
of corn, 380 pounds of buckwheat or 610 pounds of rice. It is rich also in
mineral matter, containing nearly as much ash as wheat bran or clover hay
and about two or three times as much as most of the grains. It is a laxative
food, and if fed too liberally will cause bowel trouble. Generally it will not
be necessary or wise to feed more than one-fifteenth by weight of the total
ration fed per day.

Cottonseed ^Ieal

While this is one of the richest and cheapest of all stock foods, it is not

a safe one to feed to poultry in large quantity. We do not feed it at all.

Hens do not take to it kindly. It is constipating in its nature.

Meat Foods Arranged ix the Order of Total Digestible Protein Content Per

no Pounds

Dr

Mat

Meat Scraps* 89,

Meat Scraps * 94 ,

Dried Blood 91

Dried Fish 89 .

Animal Meal 92 .

Fresh-cut Bone 65 .

Buttermilk 9 .

Skim Milk 9 .

*Both analyses are given to show how variable meat products really are.

ry
tter

Ash. or Bone
and Shell-
Maker

Protein

or
Muscle-
Maker

Total
Carbohy-
drates. Fat
Former

Nutritive

Ratio.
Prot.-Carb.

Manurial
Value
in 100
Pounds

• 3

4- I

66.2

31.1

0-5

1-75

.6

1-5

53.

68.

I • 3

•5

4-7

52.3

5.6

0. I

2.128

39-2

44.1

23.2

0-5

1.772

.7

19-5

32.

23.

0.7

.8

II-5

18.

43.

5-3

■9

3.9

6.5

3-7

.088

•4

•7

2.9

5.9

4.5

.103

i68 The Poultry Book

]\Ieat Foods

Hens are meat eaters. They are natural scavengers — worm and insect
hunters. It has long been commonly believed that hens would lay better
and that chickens would grow faster and with greater profit when fed meat
in some form. That has now been quite satisfactorily proven by Professor
Wheeler, of the Geneva, N. Y., Experiment Station. From his experi-
ments it would seem that we are justified in thinking that protein in meat
is more valuable than protein in any other form of food, and that for
fowls meat is a necessity. In fact, I believe that meat in some form is the
most important one food that can be fed to stimulate the ovaries into
activity and to increase the secretion of albumen. And because of this
fact it must be fed judiciously, particularly to young pullets that we do
not care to force into premature laying, or to hens in which for any reason
we desire to retard egg production. The amount of meat that it is safe
to feed will depend entirely upon its kind and composition. The accom-
panying tables show how the various meat products vary in this respect.
The prepared meat products in the market should never be bought except
upon a guaranteed analysis. They vary in their protein content from
twenty-five per cent, to sixty-five per cent., and some brands of meat
scraps and dried blood are even richer in protein.

There is also a great difference in the amount of fat which they contain.
And the same may be said as to the mineral elements. Generally it may be
said that the meals have less protein and less fat but more mineral matter
than the meat scraps. It should be remembered that while the mineral
matter which represents bone is valuable as a source of lime for the egg-
shell and to make bone, it might be purchased for much less in cracked
oyster shell at $io per ton than in the meat meals at $40 to $50 per ton ; and
that fat, while having a fuel and fattening value, can be bought for less
money in other forms. The protein is the element that we are particularly
after when we buy meat in any form, and upon its protein content we
should for the most part base its value. Fat and mineral matter we usually
get in sufficient quantity in most foods as we buy them.

If we compare meat scraps that contain sixty per cent, protein at S45
per ton with meat meal containing thirty per cent, protein, and green cut
bone with fourteen per cent, protein, and skim milk containing 3.5 per
cent, protein, then the meat meal would be worth $22.50 per ton, green
cut bone $15 per ton, and skim milk $2.60 per ton. In this reckoning we

The Feeding of Poultry

169

should take into account the palatabihty of the various forms of meat. It
would seem that in this respect the skim milk and green cut bone would
have the advantage over the prepared meals and scraps, provided the latter
were fresh and
wholesome, which
is not always the
case, particularly
during hot weather.
It must also be said
that frequently the
meat meal and
scraps are tainted
and absolutely un-
fit to feed. The
same brand varies
in this respect.
Meat foods must

be kept dry. If they get wet they heat and ferment. Sometimes it would
seem that the trouble is caused by the use of undesirable slaughter-house
refuse. Any meal that hens will not eat with a relish when they once
become accustomed to it should not be fed. A good way to test the
wholesomeness of any food is to pour boiling water upon it. If the
odor arising immediately therefrom is musty or putrid, shun it.

RED-SPANGLED DORKING COCKEREL
months old. Weight (ready for cooking), 5% lbs. Bred by Mr. Har

Vegetable Foods Arranged in the Order of Their Total Digestible

IN 100 Pounds

Ash, or Protein, Total Carbo-

Dry Bone- and or Muscle- hydrates, or

Matter Shell-Maker Makers Fat-Formers

Red Clover, Green 29. 2.1 2.9 16.4

Cabbage 15. 1.4 1.8 9.1

Rape 14. 2. 1.5 8.6

Mangel Beets 13. i.i 1.1 10.4

Turnips 9.5 .8 1. 7.65

Potatoes 21. I. .9 16.5

Protein

Con

TENT

Nutritive

Ratio.
Prot.-Carb.

Manurial
Value in
100 Pounds

5-6

.107

5-1

.082

5-4

.092

5-1

.051

7 • 7

.050

1S.3

•075

Vegetable Foods and Feeding

Fowds are vegetable eaters. They are natural grazers, though not to

the same extent as ducks and geese. We surely do not fully appreciate

the part that good pasture plays in the feeding and good health of poultry.

Greater attention should be paid to it. At present, most flocks that do not

170 The Poultry Book

have the freedom of the farm are kept in yards much too small and which
in many instances are devoid of all forms of vegetation. Not only is this
wrong from the standpoint of economy, but it is dangerous from the
hygienic point of view.

Poultry yards should be made to pay a revenue in the green forage that
they grow, which will at the same time purify the soil by transforming what
would have become filth and dangerous impurity into wholesome food
product. This may be brought about in two ways. The runs may be
utiHzed to grow forage crops, or they may be seeded down to permanent
pasture. The former has the advantage of aerating the soil and letting in
the sunlight to purify it. The permanent pasture has the disadvantage that
it will "run out." This is particularly true in spots near the buildings.
Most kinds of poultry graze too close on portions of pasture, and let the
other parts go to seed, where the runs are large.

Rye is a good crop for very late fall and early spring forage, because it
will germinate and grow in very cold weather and will live through the
winter. Its weakness is that it gets tough \'ery quickly when warm
weather comes.

Oats and peas sown together very thinly, with a liberal seeding of
red clover and a very Httle rape, make a good combination. The oats and
peas furnish a rapid growth of green food, a good deal of which will get
tramped down and some will go to seed, but it will serve to protect the
clover and rape, which will make good food for late summer and fall pas-
turage. Three pecks of oats, two pecks of peas, one pint of rape seed and
five quarts of red clover seed will be a good proportion for seeding. The
oats and peas should first be harrowed in deeply, then the clover and rape
seed should be m.ixed and sown, then lightly scratched in with a weeder.

This system can best be employed by having double yards, one of
which can furnish forage while the other is getting started. With a single
range, if it is large, a good stand should be obtained except near the houses.
But the hens should not be turned on until after the grain has come up.

Green food is equally important for winter feeding. It should be fed both
raw and cooked. The best vegetable for feeding raw, so far as our experi-
ence goes, is the mangel beet. It is sweet, tender, juicy and nutritious, and
does not impart any objectionable flavor or odor to the eggs or flesh as some
other vegetables, like onions and cabbage, are apt to do if fed in too large
quantity. Cabbage is very much relished, and may be fed for variety.

The Feeding of Poultry lyt

Turnips are perhaps the most satisfactory as cooked vegetables. The
objectionable flavor is largely driven off by the cooking and the fowls have
an especial fondness for them. They are apt to be a little tough and strong
when fed raw. Other factors in their favor is that they can be grown so
cheaply. We sow them as a catch crop after early potatoes, or in the com
at the last cultivation. Clover is sown with the turnip to seed the ground,
so that about all the turnips cost is the labor of harvesting.

Little potatoes can be used to good advantage. Like turnips, they are
much improved by boiling. The two go well together. Even a very few
onions will be found valuable to add variety and palatability to the ration.
The onion has splendid medicinal qualities, and can be fed quite liberally to
young chickens with excellent results. The table shows the comparative
value of the most important green foods. It will be seen that when arranged
in the order of richness in protein they will be red clover (green), cabbage,
rape, mangels, turnips, potatoes. But when arranged in the order of their
richness in carbohydrates they will be potatoes, red clover (green), mangels,
cabbage, rape, turnips. And when arranged in order of richness in mineral
nutrients they will be red clover (green), rape, cabbage, mangels, potatoes,
turnips. From these comparisons it will be noted that, so far as protein
and mineral nutrients are concerned, red clover (green), rape, cabbage and
mangels head the list, and that for carbohydrates, potatoes, red clover
and mangels are in the lead.

Grit and Mineral Matter

Grit is to the fowl what teeth are to the ruminating animal — a necessity.
They must have it if rapid and perfect digestion is to take place. It is
reasonable to believe that fowls will get more value out of food when they
are provided with grinding material. Therefore it will be economy to pro-
vide it. Hard, irregular grit is best, because the action of the gizzard in
grinding is a crushing process. When the particles of grit become round
and smooth they are expelled and other grit is eaten to take its place. To
make sure that fowls have enough grit it should be kept where they can
help themselves at w411. An incidental value of grit, though a very impor-
tant one, is the mineral nutrients which it contains. The various forms of
grit on the market vary largely in this respect, according to the nature of
the rock from which they are made. It will be seen that the cracked
oyster shell or clean sea shells are particularly valuable in this respect.

172

The Poultry Book

OLD KENT AND SUSSEX BLACK-BREASTED RED

From a switch by Ha
SARX-DOOR COCK

They are rich in carbonate of lime, and are so easily broken up by
the action of the gizzard that the mineral matter seems to be almost
immediately available. They will have an effect on the hardness of the
egg-shells within a few days. The reason for this quick transformation
will be apparent by noting the great similarity in composition between
egg-shells and oyster shells.

The most potent cause of hens eating their eggs is a lack of the mineral
elements in their system to make the egg-shell. When their bodies lack
this element they naturally crave it, and are ravenously hungry for it.
Their instinct tells them that the egg-shell contains the material to satisfy
this craving; they therefore eat it. After learning what is inside the egg,

The Feeding of Poultry 173

they know a good thing when they see it, and may then develop the egg-
eating habit. Several times I have seen whole flocks of hens, where nearly
all of them seemed to be eating their eggs, cured by simply providing
sufficient mineral matter in the form of cracked oyster shells, mortar,
or the like.

When hens lay but few eggs, the grain, meat and vegetables will usually
furnish sufficient mineral matter. But for hens that lay almost continu-
ously for long periods additional mineral matter must be provided.

The various kinds of sea shells not only contain the mineral foods, but
they apparently have a salty flavor which the fowls relish. This, together
with hunger for grinding material, will cause fowls that have been long
deprived of grit to eat it as freely and as ravenously as they would grain.
This need of mineral matter of the right kind and proper proportion undoubt-
edly has much to do with the bad results with growing chickens, or hens
kept too long away from the soil. In the sod soil in which they delight
it is possible that they flnd the one thing which the system craves and
which our foods lack. This lack of mineral constituents is manifestly one
of the dangers of too liberal feeding of some of the grain by-products
which in their manufacture have had much of the ash removed.

CONDIMENTAL FoODS

Salt assists in the digestion of foods, particularly those that are exces-
sively rich in protein. Nearly every food in its natural condition contains
some salt — enough, usually, for the needs of the fowls. When fowls are
being fed a forcing ration it is well to feed a little salt to season it and
make it palatable. It will be safe to f^ed one-half pound of salt to
one hundred pounds of food.

It was found by Professor Wheeler that a much larger amount of
salt could be fed without injury, but it does not follow that it would be
advisable to feed that amount. Whether or not evil results will follow
the eating of salt will depend upon the kind of salt and how it is fed.
When eaten in too large quantities it acts as a poison and will cause
death. Fowls that have died from eating salt have usually mistaken
coarse salt for grit and in that way have eaten too much.

Charcoal has a great absorbtive power for gases, impurities and acids.
It acts as a corrective when the stomach is sour and digestion has been
impaired — and is not a food. Sometimes fowls eat it freely, at other times

174 The Poultry Book

they will not touch it. Let the fowls be the judge; they seem to under-
stand when it is required. Keep it where they can help themselves.

Red pepper is a stimulant. It acts as a tonic. It surely warms up
and tones up the system. Like all other stimulants, it should be fed rarely
and moderately or evil results will follow. To fowls having colds or
roup, or for stimulating hens into egg-production, a little red pepper
is desirable.

Water

Water is as necessary to digestion as food itself. Many foods contain
enough water for their own digestion. This is true of vegetables. But
with the grains and dry meat products, particularly those that are exces-
sively rich in protein, much additional water will be required for perfect
digestion. Water is needed in the blood to float the solids and in the
muscles and bones to carry on nutrition and gro\\i:h.

It is the common carrier of the body, and is largely used in all the
secretions. The egg, which is a combination of three separate and
distinct secretions, contains a large amount of water, as will be seen from
the analyses.

Professor Wheeler has estimated that one dozen eggs contain one pint
of water. It must be apparent from either a practical or a theoretical point
of view that hens must have water other than that found in their food in
order to keep in perfect health.

jMany a flock of fowls that are otherwise quite well cared for go about
with dark combs and dull feathers because they do not have enough water
to carry on digestion and supply their bodily wants. Common observation
proves this to be true. A flock of fifty hens in good laying will require four to
six quarts of water a day. This should be kept where they can help them-
selves whenever they desire it. They can not fill up, like a cow or horse,
and go all day. They have no place to carry water in quantity. They
take a little water at a time, whenever they need it to moisten the food in
their crop so that it may soften up and pass on freely to the gizzard to be
ground. Hens usually drink before going to roost and the first thing in
the morning. The only way to make sure that they always have enough
water is to supply it in a receptacle so large that it will never be empty.

It would naturally follow that pure water is of as much importance as
wholesome food. Disease or disorder is frequently the direct result of
fowls drinking dirty, stagnant water, particularly if it is their own filth that

The Feeding of Poultry

175

is the source of contamination. Unfortunately, the hen is not the most
cleanly bird, which makes it doubly important to take special care to
keep things clean.

During very cold weather it is a good plan to provide warm water in
the morning. It helps to warm the fowls, and does not act as an emetic, as
it does with most animals, because they drink so little at a time. If fowls
are allowed to become abnormally thirsty they may drink too freely, which
is apt to result quickly in looseness of bowels, which is another reason why
water should be kept always on hand.

Palatability

Aside from their actual composition, foods have a value due tQ» their
flavor and medicinal qualities, which act beneficially or injuriously upon
animals.

This perhaps accounts for the fact that hens prefer some foods to others
of similar composition even to the extent of refusing to eat certain kinds
of grain. And strange to say, the foods they like the best may not always
be the ones that will give the best results in egg -production. For example :
they like com perhaps better than other grains, but if allowed to eat
it too freely will become too fat to lay well, and in the end will suffer
in health.
They do not
like rs^e and
they do like
wheat, yet
the two are
quite similar
in composi-
t ion and
appearance.

A pref-
erence for
certain
grains is

often a matter of habit. If fowls have been accustomed to certain kinds
of grain, they do not take kindly at first to other kinds. Hens that have
never eaten peas or buck-^vheat will be pretty sure to refuse them at first.

GAME AND DORKING COCKEREL
Weight, 7J^ lbs.; trussed, $% lbs.

176 The Poultry Book

The same is true of corn and all other grains. However, they gradually
become accustomed to a new food, and if it agrees with them will soon learn
to eat it with avidity.

It is important to feed only those foods that fowls really like when they
once become familiar with them. Palatability has much to do with diges-
tion. Experiments with other animals have proven that when they have
been forced to eat that which was unattractive or distasteful to them it was
digested improperly. If the food pleased the palate the fact was instantly
communicated to the digestive glands of the mouth and stomach, which
stimulate the secretions even before the food reaches them. Foods not
palatable did not cause this secretion, hence improper digestion followed.

Variety

Variety in diet helps to increase palatability. It is therefore better to
feed a mLxture of grains all of which fowls like than it is to feed any one
kind of grain, no matter how good it may be. The reason is twofold.
Not only will the fowl have a better chance to get a ration best suited to
her particular needs, thus in a measure balancing her own ration, but she
will also have a variety from day to day to break the monotony of sameness
that always comes from eating any single food. The main organ of
taste, the palate, the watch dog of the stomach, becomes deadened by
constant tasting of the same food, just as the sense of smell becomes
dulled when compelled to inhale the same odors for any great length of
time. Distaste for food is Nature's way of indicating that the system has
enough of that particular thing. That is one reason why we prefer to
feed a mixture of grain at one feeding rather than to feed a single grain
for a time and then change to another.

If the grains are similar in composition, such change from time to
time will prove beneficial, but any radical change in diet may derange
digestion and retard egg-production.

Cooked vs. Uncooked Food

It may be said in a general way that cooking food for poultry^ does not
pay. However, with some foods cooking does pay. This is particularly
true of some vegetables, such as potatoes and turnips, both of which, in
the raw state, are not particularly attractive to hens (unless they can steal
them). When they are boiled they are much relished. This may be due to

The Feeding of Poultry 177

the fact that starchy foods are rendered more digestible by virtue of the
cracking of the starch grains, or it may be because they are made more palat-
able, or both. Fowls seem to prefer cooked meat to the raw article, which
is rather surprising in view of the fact that hens in nature get their animal
food raw, and also in face of the general belief that cooking albumin coagu-
lates it, which renders it less digestible. It would seem that hens, like
people, have civilized tastes, and that palatability plays a more important
part with lower animals than is generally supposed.

Even if cooking poultry foods rendered them more digestible in all
cases, the question of labor and expense would still have to be considered.
In fact, it is this item perhaps more than any other which makes it
undesirable to cook the ground food for the hot mash.

Scalding the ground food answers the purpose of giving something hot
and apparently improves its flavor, but it should be mixed quickly and fed
immediately or be kept closely covered, so that the natural, attractive
aroma may not escape. The instant that scalding or boiling takes place the
characteristic odors and flavors that render most foods attractive are driven
off. If this occurs and the food is allowed to stand, much of the charm of
attractiveness is lost.

Our plan is to boil a kettleful of mixed vegetables and bones from the
butcher's with the kettle closely covered. When thoroughly cooked, this is
put into a mixing-tub and thoroughly mashed. Then ground grain is added
until the mixture becomes dry and crumbly, when it is fed immediately.
Experience will very quickly indicate the proportion of vegetables and grain ,
and also how much of the mixture will be needed for a feeding. No rule
can be given, so much depends upon the nature of the grain mixture and
the kind of vegetables used, and upon the appetites of the fowls.

How Much and How Often to Feed

How much to feed is more important than how often ; but the time and
method of feeding has much to do with success. This is true whether we
are feeding for eggs or for growth or for fat. In their natural state fowls
rustle and hunt for most of their food. It is gathered a little at a time and
held in the crop until a convenient opportunity for grinding, digesting and
assimilating. It is much the same as a cow foraging until her paunch is
filled, when she quietly rests and chews her cud. It is probable that some
grinding and digesting is done while the hen is foraging, but it seems

178

The Poultry Book

quite evident that the larger part of the digestive and assimilative process
takes place when the body is quiet, particularly at night. The gizzard
works by the involuntary muscles, as do the heart and lungs, whether the
fowls are asleep or awake. A hen does not lie awake to grind her food.
In fact, it is probable that the grinding and digesting process takes place
most rapidly and most completely during sleep, as is the case with other
animals. From this it will be seen that the fowl can adjust herself readily
to the slow accumulation of food or to a rapid filling of the crop, because
this organ is intended to regulate the rapidity of digestion. The crop is the

hopper or the
supply sack to
carry the sur-
plus. It works
both by volun-
tary and in-
voluntary
muscles, and is
wholly under
the control of
the fowl. When
the system
craves more
nourishment
the fowl lets
more food pass from the crop through a small stomach where the
gastric juice is secreted. The food then passes to the gizzard, where
it is crushed into a fine semiliquid condition, and is forced on into
the intestines, where digestion continues and assimilation and absorp-
tion takes place. With this explanation, it will be easy to see that
the hen can adjust herself to varied conditions. Nevertheless, it pays
to be regular in habits of feeding. Where fowls are confined to houses
or small yards this is more important than where they have free range
and can forage for part of their living, because while at liberty if the
regular feeding should fail the appetite could easily be appeased by foraging.
From the standpoint of exercise and happiness on the part of the hen, fre-
quent feeding is better than heavy feeding once or twice a da}^ Little and
often is a good rule, particularly with the heavier breeds, where exercise

From a dfa-wing by Ha

DORKIXG AXD WY.W'DOTTE ^CORXISH INDIAN

Skin thin and flesh white and of good texture

The Feeding of Poultry 179

is of great importance to keep them from becoming too fat and to avoid
overfeeding. However, the element of labor always enters in, and we find
that for most purposes feeding three times a day is the most satisfactory.

The hen is an early riser and likes to begin work as soon as she can see.
The first meal should be fine grain. We want the hens to work. They
are usually more incHned to do this in the morning than at any other time
of the day. This is because the crop has been emptied during the night and
the food most likely digested and assimilated. They will then have both
an empty crop and a good sharp appetite as an incentive to work. It is
important, also, that they exercise in the morning, because that is usually
the coldest part of the day, and the activity will keep the body warm and
will stimulate a good appetite for dinner, particularly if the morning feed
has been a little light, which should always be the case.

If the soft food were to be fed in the morning, as used to be the almost
universal custom, the fowls would fill up quickly, and the food, not having
to wait to be ground, would pass on quickly to be digested and thus to
satisfy hunger. This would satisfy the appetite and destroy the incentive
to forage. The hens would most likely stand around on one foot or squat
down and rest perfectly contented. Hens will not work just to keep warm.
Exercise must be impelled by appetite. If the hens have been properly
fed in the morning with only a light feeding, they will come hungry for
dinner, which should be fed early.

At noon is the time to give them all they will eat up clean within fifteen
to twenty minutes. If less is given, it is possible that some timid or slow-
eating fowls will not get enough. If so much is fed that they are all the
afternoon eating it, they may get too much of the rich, easily digested con-
centrated food and be overstimulated, or have their digestion overtaxed,
which would surely result in less eggs. There is not as much danger of
this if the soft food contains considerable bulky material, as it should, such
as cut clover hay, wheat bran or ground oats. Moreover, where soft mash
stands very long it loses flavor, and in winter becomes cold and in summer
quickly sours. This is apt to cause trouble.

At night, hens should be given all the whole grain that they can eat.
It is better to have a little left over than not to have enough. This feeding
should be done early enough so that the hens will have time before dark
to find the grain in the straw litter. This grain feeding will usually be all
ground up by the digestive organs before m orning.

i8o The Poultry Book

If the soft food should be fed at night, it would pass too quickly into
circulation, and the gizzard would not have its natural amount of work
to do during the night.

Balancing Their Own Rations

If a variety of grains, including all the principal ones commonly used
for poultry, are thrown where fowls can have their choice, they will usually
eat the corn first.

If the sense of taste, which indicates the fowls' likes and dislikes, were
a correct and safe criterion by which to judge food best suited to the fowls*
needs, surely corn would be the universal poultry food. But this is not
so. The appetite is simply the signboard to digestion, and it does not hang
out its danger signal until there has been an accident and there is occasion
for it. Digestion learns by experience. The warning may come too late,
so far as health and profitable production are concerned. The fowls'
estimate of a good food is the kind that tastes good, digests easily and
permits a little surplus energy (fat) to be accumulated. That, with a
fowl, is contentment.

Let this lazy contentment continue and there comes a time when the
body is overstocked with fat, a derangement of digestion takes place and
the appetite rebels against the food that once it craved. The same phe-
nomena takes place where an animal, spurred on by an unusual appetite,
eats more of any kind of food than it can digest. The system becomes
overcharged with the particular nutrient with which the food abounds
and that food becomes repulsive.

One experience like this may never be 'forgotten, and as a result that
food may never again be relished. The chief difficulty, then, of giving fowls
unlimited access to food, is that the danger is reached before the warning
comes. Another is, that one of the best incentives to good health, which is
exercise, is lost or at least impaired. Still another reason is that food which
an animal sees and smells continuously loses much of its attractiveness.
The senses of sight and smell also have much to do with perfect diges-
tion, as has been proven by a recent experiment in which a dog was
allowed to see and smell food which it liked but was not allowed to eat.
Examination of the digestive tract showed that great quantities of diges-
tive juices had been secreted preparatory to digestion which had been antici-
pated. When the nerve had been cut which had connected the digesti^'e
glands with the senses of sight, smell and taste no secretion of digestive fluid

The Feeding of Poultry

i8i

took place. Therefore we can readily understand why seeing and smelling

things which are very much relished aids digestion and makes the ' ' mouth

water." Constant excitation of the senses deadens them and thus

impairs their

effectiveness.

Less danger

will occur

where fowls

have constant

accessto

r

From a dra-wing by Harrison Weir
FAT WILD DUCK (mALLARD)
Bred by Mr. Harrison Weir

whole grain or
very bulky
food than
where much
rich stimu-
lating soft
ground food
i s supplied,
for the ap-
parent reason
that with the
coarse, hard
food much

more time will be required to soften and grind it, and therefore the amount
that can be eaten will be limited. Even then fowls are almost certain to
become too fat. This is particularly true of hens not in laying.

Whole Grain vs. Ground Feed

Where we desire to push the hens to the largest possible egg-production,
regardless of fertility or vigor of the germ, about or nearly one-half of the
grain food should be fed ground. This is because the hens cannot grind the
whole grain fast enough to make eggs as rapidly as the}^ would if part of the
grain were ground for them. It will pay to do this grinding. Engine
power is cheaper than hand power. It may be said also in favor of feeding
ground food that the hen requires food to grind food. Anything that
requires effort — motion — whether it is inside or outside the body, takes
energy. These two facts found good proof in the experiments by Professor

1 82 The Poultry Book

W. P. Wheeler, who found that Leghorn hens having a ration in which
the grain was whole consumed on the average for two years more than twenty
per cent, more food for the same egg -production than did similar hens
having half the grain in their ration ground and moistened.

The hens having the whole grain had on the average for two years
6.4 pounds of water-free food for every pound of eggs produced. Those
having ground grain had on the average for two years 5.3 pounds of water-
free food for every pound of eggs produced — a difference of i . i pounds of
water-free food for each pound of eggs. Possibly it may be asked why not
then feed more ground food and get still more eggs ? That would probably
be wise if the largest number of eggs were desired for a very short period —
which is not usually the case. Under such forced feeding upon concen-
trated foods it is more than likely that the result eventually would be
indigestion, which would result in retarding egg -production. The ultimate
effect would depend much upon the nature of the soft food. If it were
composed largely of the bulky food, such as bran, ground oats and cut clover,
the result would be much the same as if all whole grain had been fed. It
would make digestion slow, and the danger of giving too much soft food
would be decreased. Great caution must be used when feeding such rich
concentrated foods as meat scraps, middlings, gluten and oil meals, corn
meal and the like — which are fine in texture and deficient in fiber.

Exercise

Nearly all poultry -keepers believe that exercise is an important factor
in egg -production. It would seem that there must be some truth in this
general belief. I believe there is, and that it is found in the fact that activity
of the ovaries is \'ery largely dependent upon the physical vigor of the fowl,
and that exercise is an essential to physical vigor. By it fowls strengthen
their vitality and increase all their bodily functions, including purification
of the blood by better breathing and elimination of impurities through the
secretions from the kidneys. Activity of respiration increases combustion in
the lungs, which warms the body. Therefore, the busy hen will be warmer
than the one that stands around with nothing to do.

This is an important consideration in cold weather. It is to be expected
that all this exercise will burn up food nutrients and thus increase the
appetite, for that exercise increases the appetite is a self-evident truth.
This is a sign of good health and always precedes good egg-production.

The Feeding of Poultry*

183

The extra cost of food is no argument against exercise if by it the
fowls keep in better health and are stimulated to higher production.

Another argument in favor of exercise is that fowls are made happy
by being allowed to indulge their natural instinct to hunt and scratch. So
pronounced is this characteristic that little chickens a day old will scratch
industriously for food on a bare table where there is no excuse for so doing.
It is born in them. They enjoy it. The best way to start hens to singing is
to give them something to do. A singing hen is apt to be a laying hen.

When the cold weather comes another law asserts itself. The animal
instinctively avoids exertion. The physical activities of the hybernating
animal become almost dormant. This same tendency is noticed with
poultry, though in a less marked degree. They are simply following the
dictates of a natural law, which is that activity, either physical or mental,
uses up energy, which is the result of heat, which is derived from the fat
in the body or direct from nutrients in the food. Thus we find hybernating
animals coming out of winter quarters spring-poor, having used up the
fuel stored up in the fall — in spite of the fact that they have been husband-
ing their energies — just the same as a fireman short of coal would economize
his fuel. The hen does the same. She does it intuitively. The difficulty
of overcoming
this inherited
tendency is one
of the reasons
why it is so
hard to make
hens lay well
while the days
are getting
shorter and the
weather colder.

The all-
important
problem of the
poultryman is

not so much the husbanding of energies or the saving of food as it is the
getting of eggs and the keeping of his fowls in the best possible health.

* Begun in Part III. — By James E. Rice, New York.

A GOOD BUT SMALL COMMON GOOSE
Weight 10 lbs.

1 84 The Poultry Book

Therefore, the first object for the poultry^man to overcome is the inactive,
conserving tendency in his fowls. He must do this even at the expense
of greater food -consumption if he wishes to force egg-production.

Temperature and Food-Consumption
It is apparent that fowls which are kept in cold houses will require
more of the food nutrients than will those which are kept warm. How-
ever, the part of the food — the carbohydrates — which is used for the purpose
is the least expensive of the food nutrients and is usually found in sufficient
quantities in most of our grains. Inasmuch as it is the same nutrient
that is required to make fat in the animal, it naturally follows that animals
already fat will suffer less during exposure than fowls not fat. It is the
natural tendency of all animal life to prepare for this emergency, and there-
fore as cold weather approaches the body fortifies itself by storing up
fat. At such times the appetite naturally craves those foods that will most
readily make fat. This increased appetite and the readiness to fatten as
cold weather approaches is recognized by feeders of all animals, and is
one reason why it is so difficult to keep hens from becoming too fat for good
egg-production at this time of year. It is the natural instinct of all animals
to go into winter quarters "hog-fat."

Feeding According to Age
Alature fowls not laying eat less in proportion to live weight than do
those that are young. This is because the mature fowls have only to main-
tain their bodies, while young stock not only maintain the growth already
made but they must have the food to make new growth. The table * here
given shows the relative amount of food required per day for each loo
pounds live weight with chickens of different ages. It illustrates most
aptly the point in question.

Rations for Chicks

Total
Drv Matter Ash Protein Carboh. Fat

'lbs. lbs. lbs. lbs. lbs.

For first two weeks lo.i

From 2 to 4 weeks of age 9.6

" 4 to 6 •' " 8.6

" 6 to 8 " " 7.4

8 to 10 " " 6.4

" 10 to 12 " " 5.4

* W. P. Wheeler, Geneva, N. Y., Experiment Station.

6.2
56
4-9
4-4
3-7

The Feeding of Poultry 185

The digestive apparatus of young animals is larger than of the adult,
in proportion to their live weight, which is a physiological explanation
of their rapid growth in proportion to their live weight.

As the fowls become older their tendency to throw their energies into
fat rather than into eggs or muscle increases. Therefore it is not
profitable, as a rule, to keep fowls after the second year — except in case
of exceptionally good ones, which of course should be retained as breeders.

Feeding Pullets

The aim in feeding pullets from the time the sex can be distinguished
until they have reached the proper period of maturity to lay is to keep them
growing as rapidly as possible without forcing them to premature pro-
duction. This is a fine point and a difficult one — particularly with the
breeds that have the egg-producing tendency largely developed.

If the food is too easily digested and too stimulating and fed too liberally
the pullets will be stimulated to lay before they have reached the proper
size, which would check their growth and perhaps injure foreve what
should have been the most prolific layers in the flock. On the other hand,
if the food is too indigestible or too deficient in growth material or too spar-
ingly fed they will not get sufficient nourishment to make a normal growth.
This latter condition occurs more often by far than the former, but both
should be guarded against. To avoid too stimulating a diet, feed meat
sparingly and concentrated ground feed but once a day. Plenty of range —
good mixture of whole grain, like wheat, oats, barley, peas and com. To
avoid too slow development, guard against feeding too largely on fattening
foods, like corn, buckwheat, etc. See to it that all the flock have enough
to eat three times a day. When feeding ground food there should not be
too much bulk.

Feeding Different Breeds

Generally speaking, the ration that will give the best results with one
breed of fowls will not in the long run be the one that will give most satis-
factory returns when fed to dissimilar breeds.

On general principles, it may be accepted that the same food nutrients
that go to make eggs, meat or fat in one breed will do the same in all breeds,
but that they are not required in similar proportion. This is because the
element of heredity enters into the problem and the inherited tendencies
of the breed assert themselves. That is why the same ration will make

i86

The Poultry Book

CORXISH INDIAN AND LANGSHAN

A good fowl

a Leghorn produce eggs while an Indian game produces meat ; a young
fowl grow muscle and an old fowl grow fat.

In the first case, the tendency is inborn to throw its food into reproduc-
tion , in the second,
the inherited
tendency is to
throw its energies
into expansion ;
in the third, the
tendency toward
muscular develop-
ment asserts itself ;
while in the fourth
case, this tendency
having reached its
limit, the food
nutrients are then
naturally enough
stored up as a
reserve lorce in the form of fat. That is why it is difficult to fatten
young stock, and why it is almost impossible to keep mature stock
from becoming too fat when fed liberally. So strong are these
tendencies asserted that the mature animal will actually convert
the food nutrients into fat which with a young animal would have
naturally gone to make muscle or eggs. So, too, one breed inherits
an active, industrious disposition and works off its energies, while
a fowl of another breed having a phlegmatic disposition stores up its
energies, being too good-natured and lazy to use them. Therefore it becomes
necessary to feed fowls of different ages and different breeds on rations best
suited to develop or counteract these tendencies, as may be desired. If we
want a breed to lay that is naturally inclined to become fat, we must feed
foods containing less of the fattening nutrients — /. <?., a narrower ration —
and make them work to use up fat which may be stored.

If they are of the active disposition that naturally works off their fat,
they can be fed more of the fattening nutrients with safety — i. e., a wider
ration. In fact, it is imperative that we pay close attention to the dis-
position of the fowls if they are to be kept fat enough to do well.

The Feeding of Poultry

187

The problem, then, of getting the best net results in egg-production
with heavy breeds is how to give enough food to enable them to lay well
without getting them too fat. To do this we may have to sacrifice some-
thing in cost of food, because the narrower ration costs more than the
wider one. Protein is more expensive than carbohydrates. The following
result of an experiment is a case in point :

Cochin hens having a whole grain ration laid much better than those hav-
ing the ground grain, while with the Leghorns those that had part soft feed laid
best. The better results from feeding whole grain to Cochins was very likely
due to the fact that they were compelled to exercise more to get their food,
and, having to do all their own grinding, were prevented from becoming too
fat — the fat nutrients being used up in the work of grinding and scratching.

It must be apparent, then, how impossible it is to get the best results
from egg-production where the breeds are mLxed up miscellaneously and
the same ration and treatment given all.

Feeding Breeding Stock

The greatest care should be exercised in feeding the fowls that are
to perpetuate their kind. While it is the natural law of all plant and animal
life that the
parent will sacri-
fice its own body
to the last ex-
tremity in order
to make a perfect
offspring, never-
theless there
comes a time
when the body
can no longer fur-
nish the materials
in the right quan-
tity and propor-
tion to perform

its natural office and reproduce vigorous, perfect offspring. This fact
is clearly shown in the analysis made by Professor Harry Snyder of
eggs from hens fed by the writer upon rations that were radically different

: FAVEROLLE (EX) ANCEAUMA
Shown at Islington. 3'^ months olri. V'ery fat

i88

The Poultry Book

in composition ; one being very deficient in protein, called the carbonaceous
ration, the other being deficient in carbohydrates, called the nitrogenous
ration. Surely such wide differences in the composition of the eggs would
result in wide differences as to the development and vitality of the
chickens.

Analysis of Eggs from the Two Rations

Yolk of Egg Contained

Water

Nitrogen in dry substance

Protein 3

Fat

Shell

White of Egg Contained

Nitro-
genous
Ration
Per cent.

Carbon-
aceous
Ration

Per cent

Water

92.08

90.22

Nitrogen in dry substance

14-23

13-71

Protein

88,92

85.69

Fat

0-53

0.64

Nitro-
genous
Ration
Percent.

Carbon-
aceous
Ration

Percent.

44-47

41.60

4.90

4-97

30.62

30-83

64-43

64.78

8.69

8.48

It will be wise generally to not push for eggs the hens that are to be used
for breeders during the early winter months. It will pay in the long run to
sacrifice something in egg-production for the sake of increased vigor and
vitality in the chickens. It seems pretty well demonstrated that fowls that
have been laying rapidly and continuously for a long period previous to the
breeding season will not give eggs that will hatch as many or as strong
chickens as fowls that have not been forced up to the breeding season. It
is perhaps largely for this reason that hens are usually more satisfactory
as breeders than pullets. Hens in comparison to pullets usually lay but few
eggs during the fall and early winter. In order to hold back the breeding
stock it will be wise to feed them almost entirely on whole grain, only a little
meat and plenty of vegetables. Or if much soft ground food is fed it should
be very bulky in its make-up. The activity of the gizzard and slow diges-
tion will help to keep the fowls from being over-forced or becoming too fat.
For the same reason plenty of exercise in the fresh air should be encouraged.

Feeding Sitting Hens

Sitting hens should be as well fed as those that are laying, but the
feeding should be different. Grain should be left where they can get it
whenever they desire to come off the nest. This is done not only as a
matter of convenience, but also to insure the hens getting all they want to
eat, and also to get them in the habit of coming off" regularly, which they will
be more apt to do if they know the food is always obtainable. It is better
to feed all whole grain in good variety, such as corn, oats and wheat. The
reason is that all the food a sitting hen requires is for her bodily maintenance.

The Feeding of Poultry

189

She is a non-producer, and will therefore be able to satisfy her needs without
soft food, vegetables or meat, though a little of these will be a benefit.
The danger lies in feeding so much vegetable food as to loosen the bowels,
or in feeding so much meat as to stimulate a desire to discontinue sitting
and go to laying.

Breaking Up Broody Hens

The problem in feeding broody hens is twofold: we want to break
up the desire for incubation, and get the fowls to laying again as soon as
possible. If it were simply to do the former, starving them or ducking
them in the water-trough
might be sufficient diver-
sion to take their mind
from the natural inclina-
tion to sit. This treat-
ment, however, would
delay rather than pro-
mote that state of
physical vigor and nerve
sxrength necessary t o
egg-production .

After a period of
laying the fowl is in a
condition of nerve ex-
haustion. This may and

may not mean fat exhaustion. Because very often broody hens are
overfat. When in this state they are not in the best physical con-
dition. The same is also true of the hen poor in flesh. Manifestly the
best way to get a hen to lay is the best way to break up the broody desire.
That is to say, if she is too fat, feed abundantly on easily digestible food
rich in protein and mineral matter. If she is poor in condition, more fatten-
ing food like corn should be added. As a matter of practice, it will be found
impractical to bother to feed broody hens differently from the laying fowls
unless it appears that the broody hens are radically different in their condi-
tion and a special effort is being made to get the largest possible net results
regardless of time and expense — the point to be emphasized being the
importance of liberal feeding instead of a starvation treatment in the hand-
ling of broody hens. It is important also that the hens be taken from the

From a draiuing by Harrison I
FAT MONGREL FOWL
■wing fat accumulation about neck and lower part of breast

iqo

The Poultry Book

nests as soon as they manifest a desire to sit, because the desire seems
to become stronger if they are ahowed to remain on the nest several days.
Grit, water and both whole grain and soft mash should be provided. It is
our practice to let the broody hens out after three or four days' confinement.
A few" of the hens will return to the nest and must be recaught. We
think it wiser to do this than to keep the others cooped up unnecessarily.

Feeding Molting Hens

The molting period of fowls is a critical time in their lives. In nature
they seek seclusion because they are in a somewhat defenseless condition —
both as to their ability to escape from natural enemies and their power to
withstand inclement weather. Therefore in domestication they manifest
the same disposition, and must be given special care as to food and shelter.

The time and manner of miolting is largely a question of inheritance ;
various conditions of age, production and food may affect the natural
inherited tendency so as to hasten or retard the molting process. Normally
hens of the same age and breed would shed their feathers at about the same

time, provid-
ing other con-
ditions were
equal. But
fowls that are
early hatched
will have
reached a
condition o f
maturit}" pro-
portionately
earlier than
those that are
hatched late,
consequently
they will have
performed

their normal annual life work of growth, egg- and feather production, after
which will follow rest, recuperation and a new coat of feathers. ]\Iost fowls
begin life during the warm spring months both in nature and in domesti-

From a draiving by Ha

MISS croad's laxgshan prize pullet

Note the shortness of thigh and leg. A fine sample

The Feeding of Poultry 191

cation. They will then naturally fulfil their life work of reproduction at
about the same time, and if conditions are favorable they will take their
rest and renew their coats and be ready for winter before it arrives. But
when we change the conditions by hatching exceedingly early and then very
late, even extending the time to fall hatching, we find a difference in condi-
tions of maturity and a consequent difference in time of molting. When
we add to this a system of feeding intended to prolong the egg-production
late into the fall, or, in contrast to this, a system of neglect or improper
feeding on fattening foods, we find potent factors which most emphatically
influence the time and manner of molt.

It may be well to here inquire what constitutes a healthy molt. On
this point poultrymen do not agree. My own belief is, that a natural,
healthy molt is one where a rapid growth of new feathers takes the place
of the old ones as fast as they drop, and where certain feathers are
naturally shed while others wait until some of the new feathers are well
grown, which is a condition that never permits a fowl to be nude or
decidedly ragged.

The molt where all or most of the feathers are shed before the new
coat comes on is not the most healthy molt. It is not in accordance with
the natural laws. In nature, all bird kind quietly drops a few feathers and
replaces them before other feathers fall, so that at no time will it be unable
to flee from a pursuer or be unprotected during a storm.

A careful study of molting hens will reveal the fact that a very fat
fowl will shed its feathers and will not have the power to renew its coat,
and that a very poor fowl will not be able to shed its coat. The best con-
dition for a healthy molt is to be found between these two extremes. In
other words, the best molt occurs when the fowl is in the best possible
health, having completed its year of egg- and feather production.

The feathers lose life and vitality when the ducts which nourish them
have done their season's work. This exhaustion may be brought about
prematurely by physical or nerve exhaustion, either through heavy laying,
by sickness, or by starvation.

This is according to common observation in the case of fever in the
human family, when the hair is apt to fall out, or where pullets completing
their flrst period of laying will molt even in the dead of winter. A restora-
tion to health by generous feeding will start a new coat.

In a healthy animal, the glands will work, and unless there are live,

192 The Poultry Book

healthy feathers there to take the nourishment suppHed, new ones wih start,
as is shown by the cases where persons preparing fowls for exhibition have
plucked their feathers and so timed them that a new coat is grown complete
in time for the show.

\Yhile it is apparent that the molting process is somewhat under the
control of man, the practical question to be asked is, whether or not it is
desirable to force a molt. All producers of fall and winter eggs know that
the hardest time of all the year to get hens to lay is during the months
of October, November and December, and that the hens that lay best
during these months are usually the ones that have molted early. The
practice of forcing an early molt by a starvation process, so that the
fowls throw their feathers in a bunch, is receiving wide pubhcity and
trial. With what success, time only will reveal.

I venture the suggestion that it will be wiser and more profitable to let
the hens lay while they will under normal conditions rather than stop them
in order to force a molt. One will have to take desperate chances to get
them to lay again much sooner than they ordinarily would, particularly
if as radical a means as starvation rations is used to compel the molt.
Would it not be wiser to depend more largely upon early hatched
pullets to keep up the early winter egg-supply, and simply cut out the
forcing diet from the hens during late summer, and continue to feed
good, wholesome whole grain for maintenance and good health ?

The rational ration for hens during their molt will depend upon their
condition. If they are poor after a long period of laying, a food rich in oil,
with a moderate amount of protein, will be best ; oats and sunflower and
flaxseed are the best examples of foods that are rich in oil and not deficient
in protein. If the fowls are fat, a ration rich in protein will supply the
material to grow a new coat of feathers better than one which has a tendency
to fatten. Old-process oil meal, wheat bran, meat meal, skim milk and clover
meal are the best examples of feather-making foods. It w411 be seen by the
analysis of feathers that they contain a large proportion of nitrogen, and
therefore must have a ration rich in protein in order to make the gro\\i:h.*

Feeding Chickens

Young chickens should be fed little and often. The great danger in
feeding chickens up to the time they are feathered is from overfeeding.

*Van Dreser's Molting Art.

The Feeding of Poultry

193

MALAY PULLET

It occurs far more frequently than does underfeeding. Overfeeding is more
apt to occur with brooder chickens that have little chance to exercise than
it does with chickens that run with the hen. There is far less danger of over-

194 The Poultry Book

feeding with whole or cracked food than there is when all ground food is
fed, for the reason that digestion must take place more slowly.

It therefore follows that as between hard and soft food, where both are
fed, the larger the proportion of ground food the chickens eat the faster they
will grow; and conversely, the larger the proportion of cracked or whole
grain they eat the slower they will grow and the less will be the dangers
from digestion troubles.

It really becomes a question of seeing how fast we can grow them with-
out "feeding them off their feet" — which means without injuring their
digestion. Most feeders will prefer to keep on the side of safety, and
not try to force them too fast.

The first food should be given about twenty-four hours after hatching
has been completed. The yolk sack, which has been enclosed within the
body a few hours before hatching began, contains all the food that is
required until the digestive system is in working order. The mistake some-
times is made of leaving the chickens so long without nourishment that they
are weakened — but the mistake is more apt to be made in the other direction.
Hens pay more attention to keeping their little ones warm than they do to
hunting for a big dinner. We should do the same.

The best results that we have ever had in raising little chickens was when
we fed wheat bread soaked in skim milk — squeezed dry and fed crumbled —
for the first day or two. For the next few days this was supplemented with
fine cracked grain, principally wheat and oatmeal. I think a large variety
of seeds and fine grain is an advantage. They can be purchased in quan-
tities of poultry supply houses and a mixture made to suit conditions.
Several combinations of these grains are upon the market which we have
found very valuable. We have had well-grounded suspicions that a good
deal more grit is often put in these foods than is really necessary. The
feeding table on another page gives the composition of many foods that
may be used for chick feed.

All whole or cracked grain should be fed in a litter of chaff, where the
chickens will have to scratch for it, if they are confined. This should form
the first and last feeding of the day.

During the day they should be given what they will eat up clean of
soft food, which should be dry and crumbly. After four weeks this soft
food may be fed quite liberally.

The best combination which we have ever found is to make a corn-meal

The Feeding of Poultry

195

"Johnny cake," by mixing sour milk and soda to make it light. It must

be thoroughly cooked all the way through. If it is sodden or only partly

baked it is a dangerous food. When taken from the oven it should be

covered with a damp cloth so that it will steam and soften. With this

should be mixed a little pot-cheese or custard. The custard is made by

adding half a dozen infertile eggs to a quart or two of milk and the whole

beaten thoroughly and placed in the oven and allowed to cook by slow heat.

This custard takes the place of meat, which in some form is a necessity

in feeding

chickens. N o

kind of grain

or vegetable

can take its

place. If

custard is not

fed, some kind

of meat must

be provided,

such as green

cut bone, fresh

meat — which

is better cooked

— or meat

scraps, which may be sifted and the coarser particles mixed with grain,

about one -tenth to one-fifth weight. If skim milk is to be had, it can be

fed freely as a drink or in the form of pot-cheese — or both.

If the chickens cannot get to grass, green food of some kind must be
provided. The best vegetable for little chickens is lettuce. Cabbage is
also very satisfactory. Chopped onions or onion tops in small quantity are
particularly healthful.

Finely cracked grit is a necessity from the start. It should be mixed
and scattered with the fine grain at first. It should also be kept in a box
where they can help themselves at all times.

In case of sour stomach, which is indicated by gas or water in the crop,
feed some charcoal. In fact, it is a good plan to have some of it where the
chickens can help themselves.

Water should be given from the start, but always in such a dish that

CORNISH INDIAN PULLET
Bred by Mr. \V. Brent

196

The Poultry Book

the little ones cannot get wet. Use large fountains that can be taken apart
and thoroughly cleaned and scalded if necessary.

The great danger in watering chickens is that the dishes will not hold
enough. "When chickens get out of water they get too thirsty, and then
drink too much when it is supplied them.

The six things to keep in mind when raising chickens are :

First, keep them w^arm.

Second, keep them dry.

Third, keep them clean.

Fourth, keep them busy.

Fifth, keep them hungry.

Sixth, keep them growing.

■^J^--

MISS WATERER S MODERN DORKING COCKEREL
Showing good fleshy form without much fat

By courtesy New York Duck Farm.

Photo^rapli furnished by MiUcr Purzi.

PEK.IN DUCKS ON LONG ISLAND

FINISHING FOWLS FOR MARKET

Miller Purvis, Illinois

"Though in our work we often fail.
The way we finish tells the tale." — Carew.

;T is not uncommon for the poultry dealer to find a large
number of fat fowls among those he gathers from the
farms, but it is a comparatively rare thing to find
finished ones, and it is the finishing of poultry that
determines the class to which it belongs. While a fat
fowl may sell well and bring the highest open quota-
tion, the perfectly finished one will bring the fancy prices that are paid
by those consumers who are willing to pay extra for extra quality.

It is comparatively easy to feed a lot of fowls until they are very
fat, yet such fowls may not be finished in the real sense of the
word as applied to poultry prepared in the best manner for the market.
It is quite easy to feed a flock of fowls that have entire liberty until they
are loaded with fat, and yet they may lack in flavor, and when brought to
table may present anything but an appetizing appearance.

igS The Poultry Book

The poultry consumers of this country do not recognize the difference
between a fowl that has been simply fattened and one that has been properly
finished as readily as do the consumers of England, France and other
European nations, because they have not been educated up to the point
of realizing how much better the finished fowl is than the merely fat one.
The fat fowl has its fat distributed on the intestines and immediately
under the skin, while the finished one will have the fat distributed among
the fibers of the flesh in very small globules. In the process of cooking, the
fat in the fat fowl will melt and run out into the cooking vessel, leaving the
flesh hard or stringy according to the way it is cooked, and lacking that
delicious flavor that belongs to the flesh of fowls properly finished,
while the flesh of the finished fowl comes to the table sweet, juicy and
tender.

To fatten a fowl it is only necessary to give it all the corn or other grain
it will eat and water to drink, and pay no more attention to it. Such a fowl
will sell readily in the American market; but our great poultry-packing
firms soon learned that when such fowls were exported the consumers
rejected them as not being first-class, and they immediately began to study
European methods, and up to this time no method has been discovered that
is superior to those which have been followed in the old country for cen-
turies. Some improvements have been made in the manner of handling
the fowls, and the rations have been slightly modified, but in the main the
processes followed are those of the old country, and in more than one instance
men have been brought from abroad to inaugurate European systems of
finishing in this country. Because fattening fowls requires no special
skill, and can be done by any one who knows enough to throw com out of
a corn-crib with a scoop shovel, we have devoted this chapter to the
finishing of fowls.

Perhaps the importance of this final finish may be made more clear by
relating the instance in the experience of the writer. We were going
through one of the largest poultry-packing plants in this country with
the manager, observing the methods in use and inquiring into the magnitude
of the business, when it occurred to us to ask him how much difference there
was in fowls merely fattened and those properly finished. For reply he
took us into a storeroom where some thousands of fowls were disposed on
racks before being packed. Putting his hand on one rack he said : " Here
is a lot of birds that came from Arkansas. They are just ordinary mongrels,

Finishing Fowls for Market 199

but have been well fed. To-day these birds are worth nine cents a pound,
just as you see them."

Going over to another lot, where an inspector was engaged in sorting
the fowls before they were packed for shipment, he said: "Here is a lot
of birds that were bought in Iowa and finished in our place here. They
were mostly Plymouth Rocks and Wyandottes, well fattened on the farm
and finished by ourselves. They are worth sixteen cents a pound to-day.

OUTDOOR FATTENING PENS

but I wouldn't thank any man to give me that price for them, for I can
export them and get more out of them."

We then asked him if he would pay the difference in value between
fowls that were simply fattened and those that were properly finished if the
poultry raisers would take pains to finish their poultry. He said he probably
could not afford to do so unless such finishing became common enough
to make it possible to buy poultry in large lots at first hands. This is the
substance of several conversations we have had with extensive poultry
buyers — those who do business amounting to hundreds of thousands of
dollars every year.

The advantage of properly finished poultry is becoming well under-

200 The Poultry Book

stood in Canada. Canadian poultry breeders haye created a great demand
for their product by sending to England poultry finished in every sense of
the word and as English consumers have been educated to expect it to be.
Already in America several private plants are producing finished poultry
for market and creating a demand that must have a beneficial efiect on
the general practice in this country.

It is the opinion of the managers of the great poultry-finishing plants
in this country that Plymouth Rocks and Wyandottes are the most profit-
able breeds for the high-class markets. They recommend those from
whom they buy their supplies to breed these and their grades. The Indian
Game fowl has a good many friends, but does not seem to be making any
headway, and the Asiatic breeds have fallen behind in the race for popu-
larity. The Orpingtons have recently been introduced, and are gaining
ground very rapidly, and the desire to secure them amounts to almost a
furore in some parts of the country. They promise to become very popular
for exporting, as they have the white skin desired by foreign consumers.

The smaller breeds, such as the ]\Iediterranean varieties, the Polish and
the Hamburgs, are not esteemed for market purposes, and do not finish in a
satisfactory manner. They are kept principally for eggs. Of the French
breeds, the Houdan is oftenest seen, but these are not numerous enough to
make any showing in the poultry market, although they are beyond a doubt
very desirable table fowls. A very few Dorkings are kept in this coiintry,
and these mostly by fanciers who are not interested in market poultry.
While they are among the best table fowls, they are not prolific layers and do
not meet the American demand for a general-purpose fowl. The Orpingtons,
having a Dorking cross and also a cross of blood from the distinctively
laying breeds, are rapidly taking the place of the other English breeds, as
they are very good layers as well as good market fowls.

Mr. Weir says, "All very short- and close-feathered birds, as a rule,
though fine in flesh, are not rapid in fattening ; in some cases they will not
fatten on the breast at all, though abundantly so on the back, etc." A fowl,
to be really good and the breast meat rich and mellow, must fatten on that
part ; otherwise, however deep and full of flesh the breast is, it will be dry
and to a certain extent hard, and especiafly if it is to be served as cold
fowl. Therefore, those birds that fatten evenly, with a close, square,
well-fleshed form, prove of the highest quality. A long-breasted bird is not
so good, as there is never the depth of flesh, though it is longer; still, the

Finishing Fowls for Market 201

slice that can be cut from the one is no heavier than from the other, while
the shorter is usually the richest in flavor. The long breast is a modem
mistake.

When fowls or chickens have a capacity to fatten they may be brought
to this condition by being kept in grass enclosures and fed liberally three
times a day — in the morning, at seven, on corn-meal or barley meal
and oatmeal, mixed and moistened with scalding skim milk, or
water if milk can not be had; at twelve, on scalded wheat and
rice mixed; lastly, on ground buckwheat and ground oats mixed,
moistened with scalding skim milk; or they may have a trough,
replenished twice a day, to go to as they are inclined. In this way,
when of the age of four to six months, they make fine and very
richly flavored fowls. Or if a grass run is not available, the birds must
be put into a room or coops, but the small runs are preferable, and the birds
are better flavored and at the same time firmer and more healthy in their
flesh. In all cases grit or fine gravel should be put in the food when it is
mixed, the sexes separated, and punctuality as to the time of feeding
observed.

There is nothing new in the process of fattening as now used. It is
the same as that used thousands of years ago by the inhabitants of Delos
and others who were celebrated for the perfection of their poultry, and as
such have a world -time lasting fame.

The poultrymen of to-day claim an excellence and an advance to
which they are by no means entitled : the same kind of food is used now as
was used centuries ago, and the methods adopted for feeding in England
and America are similar to those followed in the eighteenth century,
and doubtless long before. Poultry has been one of the most valued
adjuncts to the farm from time immemorial, as is clearly proved by the law
documents and books of household expenses. The rearing of the stock
was one of the duties of the poulterer and the henwife, while the fattening
process was generally a business by itself, as presently will be shown.

Coop Fattening

The coop finishing of poultry is practically the same as it was in the
time of Columella two thousand years ago, and it is doubtful, judging by the
description that he gives, whether we have better table fowls, or even as
good, as those that he so graphically describes. Even then, as now, the

202

The Poultry Book

rearing and the finishing were two distinct occupations, for he says:
"Although it is the business of a poulterer, and not of a husbandman, to

fatten a hen,
nevertheless, be-
cause there is no
great difficulty
nor charges in the
doing it I have
thought it proper
to give directions
concerning it. An
exceedingly warm
place, and of very
little light, is
requisite for this
purpose, wherein
the fowls may be
shut up one by
one, in very
narrow coops or
in hanging baskets, but so straightened that they may not be able to
turn themselves." This closely resembles the modern French method, and
is almost the same as our own, with the exception that we not infre-
quently put more than one bird in the same compartment. Columella
warns the poulterer to beware of lice and other vermin, and to take precau-
tions to prevent the fowls from being infested with such pests, as they
materially retard the finishing and are directly opposed to the well-being of
the fowl or the progress of the process. He continues: "But they give
barley meal for their food, of which, when they have sprinkled
with water and kneaded it, they make pellets and fatten the fowls
therewith ; but these ought to be given more sparingly the first days,
till they are accustomed to a greater quantity, for indigestion is especially
to be avoided, and as much must be given them as they can digest.
They who are desirious not only to make their fowls fat but also tender,
sprinkle that kind of meal beforementioned with fresh mead, and so cram
them. Some mix one part of good wine with three parts water, and with
wheat bread soaked therein fatten the fowl."

SHAPING-BOARD

Finishing Fowls for Market

203

Then ]\I. Porcius Cato, who died in the year of Rome 604, in his treatise
on agriculture says (Owen's Trans., page 102): "Cram hens and geese
thus : Confine tender pullets which are likely to lay, make pellets of flour
and barley meal, dip them in water, and administer them, adding a little
gradually every day, judge of what is sufficient for the pullets' voracity.
Cram them twice a day and give them water at noon, and let not the water
remain before them more than an hour. Feed geese in the same manner,
but give them drink first, and twice a day, and give them food twice."
And ]\Iarcus Varro, the friend of Cicero, who also wrote a treatise on
agriculture, thus observes (Owen's Trans., B. 11, page 228) : " In respect to
the three sorts, the Vallatic poultry is mostly fattened. They confine them
in a^ warm, narrow and dark place, for motion and light are unfavorable to
fattening. They cram them with pellets made of barley meal mixed with
the flower of darnel, or linseed, and some spring water, having taken off the
large feathers of the wings and tail. They feed them twice a day,, observing
from certain signs that the first meal may be digested before they give a
second. Having given them food, they clean their heads of vermin and
shut them up again. They do this during five and twenty days. Some

cram them with

wheat bread dipt
in water mixed
with good and
well-flavored
wine, so that they
make them fat
and tender in
twenty days. If
they become fas-
tidious from too
much cramming,
you must be more
remiss in propor-
tion, and after the
first ten days you
may diminish the

quantity in that ratio that the twentieth and the first day may be equal."
We might almost imagine these descriptions were written by one

SHAPING-BOARD WITH WEIGHTS

204 The Poultry Book

who had visited and inspected one of the great modern poultry-finishing
plants, so similar are the methods described to those in use to-day. In
these modern plants the poultry is brought from the farms by hucksters,
who go about the country for this purpose. It is then placed in small cages,
five or six in each, and fed a mixture of ground grains, the mixture usually
containing oats, wheat, corn, barley, and sometimes oil meal. This is mJxed
with milk or water to the consistency of a thick batter and fed in troughs
arranged outside the coops or cages. As soon as the fowds have eaten all
they will the troughs are removed and thoroughly cleaned The feeding
is done three times a day, and it takes from twenty to twenty-five days to
finish a fowl, the time depending on its condition when the process was
begun.

The cages are arranged on each side of a long building, in tiers five or
six cages high. These cages have a solid bottom and on top of this is a
slatted bottom, raised one inch from the true one. This allows the
droppings to fall through the openings between the slats, where they
lodge, and it is not necessary to clean the cages until the fowls in
them are finished. No water is given during this finishing process,
as the food is wet enough to supply the needs of the fowls.

The cramming machine is slowly coming into use, and will no doubt
soon be in as high repute in this country as it is in France. In these great
plants, as soon as the feeding is finished curtains are drawn along each side
of the passageway in such a manner as to shut out most of the light, leaving
semidarkness, which induces quiet and the more rapid addition of weight.
The illustration on page 205 is from a photograph taken by the writer
during a visit to one of the greatest finishing plants in the United States.
It shows very plainly the manner of arranging the cages in which the fowls
are confined. It also shows one of the cramming machines mentioned in
this connection, and the old English poultryman who was brought over
from Sussex to instruct American attendants into the mysteries of finishing
fowls by the English method.

Doubtless in England, during the time of the Roman occupation, the
keeping and the fattening of poultry was common, as it was long after
in the time of the Saxons and Normans, for mention is made of
fattened capons, capons of geese, etc., in some of the early records. And
later, Polydore, in the time of the Henrys, mentions the tenderness
of the young geese and the Kentish hens, and in the "Antiquities of

Finishing Fowls for Market

205

Photograph hy-Miller Purvis
INTERIOR VIEW OF A POULTRY-FINISHING PLANT, SHOWING METHOD OF CRAMMING

Hengrave, in Suffolk, A.D. 1572," there is this entry: "To my M'" as to
so much by her given to two maids w'' came out of Essex to teach the maides
to fatte capons, xiiJ5. xiijJ." — a goodly sum in those days. I quote this
to show that, more than three centuries ago, in England, not only was
good poultry raised, but the finishing process was a separate and
desirable art to learn in conjunction with the breeding and rearing.

Leonard Mascall (who wrote A.D. 1570) says that for "the fattening
of bigge chickens in the coope or penne, they doe commonlye give them
steeped bread in ale, sometimes of dry breade, and their drink, milk and
water, or of soaked bran in milke ; and sometimes ye must give them barley,
and feel them one after another, if there be anything left in their crops, for if
that which they have eaten is not gone and consumed, nor their craw yet
emptie, that signifieth undigested, and like not the meate, then give them
no more until they have digested that." And further Mascall says of
pullets: "For the feeding and cramming of young pullets, a verye goode

2o6

The Poultry Book

way is this to make them fatte and tender to eate : ye shall keep them in a
darke place, or blmdfold them ; then take barlye ground small and sift all
the branne thereof, then they doe use to moysten this barley meale with
warm milke ; and some take ale, and some beare, and so they cramme and
feed them morning and evening, by giving them as much at once as they

may well digest ;
-> ^ and to h e 1 p e

their digestion,
some doe mix
with their meate
of mustarde
seede, or anise
seedes; thus
you may fat
them in short
space."

G e r V a s e
Markham, and
other writers
on the subject,
during the six-
teenth century,
all give more
or less similar
advice ; and in
some, stones or
something hard
is mentioned as
helping diges-

MR. MATTHEWS' PRIZE STREAKY-BREASTED BROWN-RED OLD ENGLISH -^ion. In t h 6

GAME COCKEREL i < t, r , r

J\I y s t e r y ot
Husbandry," by J. W. (Worlidge), A.D. 1681, we read: "If convenient
places or houses were made for them as dark as may be, which doth
much expedite their fattening. Buckwheat, either ground and made into
paste, or whole (the former is the better), is the best single fatner of fowl,
hemp seeds, as they say, giving an ill flavor to the flesh of the bird that feeds
on it ; but this only on report ; if it proves otherwise, it would be one great

Finishing Fowls for Market 207

encouragement for the planting and sowing of hemp that the seed should be
of great use." In another place we find this advice: "Most certain it is,
that darkness doth much conduce to the fat'ning of any creature ; also, rest
and sleep. Gravel not a little availeth, it being usual, that when poultry
are penned up and have lost their appetite, being set w^here gravel is, they
will greedily eat." This practice has always been that of the intelligent
poultryman, even to the present, and no birds, whether cooped for finishing,
or other purposes confined, were expected to thrive without it, broken shells,
or very coarse sand. The modern poultry keeper has also within the last
few years made this discovery, and written columns in favor of the practice
as being new, though known for centuries.

During the last century the following methods of finishing were in
vogue : The first consisted in cooping the poultry in a dark place, in feeding
the fowls abundantly with barley, buckwheat, or maize, either of these
seeds boiled and made into balls.

The second, practiced in Maris (France), differed in that instead of
letting the poultry feed at liberty, they were made to swallow rolls of paste
in an oval shape, about two inches in length and one in breadth, made of
two parts barley meal, one part buckwheat, and a sufficient quantity of
milk.

The third method was accounted more expeditious than the preceding.
The fowls, being put into rows of pens and placed in a warm place, were
crammed two or three times a day by means of a funnel with the meal of
barley, wheat, small millet and maize, soaked in milk. A small quantity
of this mixture in a rather liquid state was given them at first, no drink being
allowed. The dose was afterward gradually increased until the crop
was filled entirely, allowing time enough to empty it in each case before the
renewal of the process, in order not to disturb the digestion.

The cages employed in the third method were a series of small pens, in
which each fowl was separate, and in a manner cased up and so closely
wedged in that it could move with difficulty. All that it was allowed to do
was to thrust its head through a hole and void through another. With
the help of the funnel a man could cram fifty fowls in half an hour. The
machine used was similar to that now in use at many finishing plants.
Every time the funnel was used for cramming the whole number it was
washed, as any remains of food on it would become sour. The chickens
fed in this manner were particularly well suited to poultry dealers.

2o8

The Poultry Book

At the end of a week they were very white and well flavored ; in a fort-
night they would be at their best.

A writer in "The Family Receipt Book," 1815, gives the following for
fattening poultry. I quote it because it indicates the general use of gravel,
now called grit, for the healthful feeding of cooped birds: "Poultry
should be fattened in coops, and kept clean. They should be furnished with
gravel but no water ; their only food, barley meal, mixed so thin with water as
to serve them for drink. Their thirst makes them eat more than they other-
wise would, in order to extract the water that is in the food. This should

From a drawing by Harrison Weir

RED PILE

Finishing Fowls for Market 209

not be put in troughs, but laid on a board, which should be washed clean
before fresh food is put upon it." Another method for fattening at
this period was one then much in vogue, as it was supposed to add a finer
flavor than that in ordinary use: "Take, for the purpose, a quantity of
rice and grind or pound it into fine flour. Alix sufficient for present use with
milk and a little coarse sugar; stir the whole well over the fire, till it makes
a thick paste, and feed the chickens, in the daytime only, putting as
much as they can eat, and no more, into the troughs belonging to the coops.
It must be eaten while warm, and if they have also beer to drink they will
soon grow very fat. A mixture of oatmeal and treacle, combined till it
crumbles, is said to form a good food for chickens, of which the}^ are fond
and on which they thrive so rapidly that at the end of two months they
become as large as the average full-grown fowls fed m the common way."

"About the early part of the nineteenth century, Mr. Turner, of North
Chapel, in Sussex, a tenant of Lord Egremont's, was wont to fatten about
two hundred chickens annually to a size and prefection not known else-
where. The food given them was ground oats, made into gruel, mixed
with hog's lard or grease, sugar, pot liquor, and milk; or ground oats,
treacle, and suet, also sheep's pluck, etc. They were kept very warm,
and always crammed in the morning and at night. The pot liquor was
mixed with a few handfuls of oatmeal, then boiled up, taken ofl: the fire,
and the meal therewith made into paste and divided into rolls for cram-
ming. The fowls were put into the coops a few days previous to cramming,
the process being completed in a fortnight. Fowls thus fattened would
weigh about seven pounds, and average five pounds, though some arrived
at double that weight." — Sussex Agricultural Report.

The system of cramming became usual w^th the hucksters both in
Kent and Sussex, and fowls of large size and weight were not infrequently
produced. My father had a couple of pullets from a farmer of Cuck-
field, Christmas, 1834, which weighed one ounce more than twenty-one
pounds, the food used in this instance being two parts oatmeal to one part
of barley meal mixed with milk, with some suet and a little sugar added.
Some of the old Kent and Sussex capons, fully fattened, have weighed at
Christmas as much as twelve to thirteen pounds. Latterly the sugar,
treacle or molasses mixture has been abandoned in favor of oatmeal and
barley meal mixed with boiled skim milk.

Formerly, as at present, the best fattened and finest table fowls in Eng-

2IO The Poultry Book

land were to be found either in Kent, Sussex, Surrey or Bucks, and it was
from these counties that London and other large cities or towns obtained
their chief supply. In no other counties was so much care exercised in the
selection of the breeding stock or the management and rearing of chickens.
These were collected by hucksters, some going on foot, with nets or
coops at their backs, which would contain one dozen to two dozen chickens,
according to size. These men often traveled twenty miles a day, while
others with a horse and panniers or cart would far exceed this distance.

The fowls now chiefly kept m England are the following : The Brahma-
Dorking cross — a rough-and-ready kind, also a long-cherished buff cross
with the Shanghai, both large -boned by comparison with older and better
breeds. The Langshan has been found to be very good, but in some
instances it does not thrive well in the fattening pens.

One English poultry dealer who finishes a large number of fowls every
year and is very successful uses the following method : The chickens are
taken in tops or crates to the finishing sheds or yards and at once placed in
the pens. If not "fasted" they are kept without food for a few hours
to increase their appetites, to reconcile them to feeding in coops. The
cages are in long lines, about breast high, and are lightly constructed,
having the backs, fronts and bottoms made of wooden bars, the roof and
sides of close wood or corrugated iron. Each compartment will hold four
fowls, with just room to turn around. In some cases a flat board is in
front, on which the food is placed. In others a V-shaped trough, or parts
of zinc water-chuting, are used. The cages are sometimes covered with
canvas drawn down in front, as darkness is said to shorten the time
required for the process. Usually the pens are placed in sheds or bams,
which are kept close and dark. Warmth being essential, ventilation in
some cases is neglected except in summer. The droppings fall through
the bottom bars of the pen on fresh earth, w^hich is removed and
renewed periodically. Cleanliness of the pens, and frequent washing
with lime-water in which carbolic acid is mixed, is considered to be
essentials to success.

The period of finishing varies slightly, some responding to the process
and the kind of food used better than others, but it is seldom less than from
three to four weeks. The chickens are fed twice a day on ground oats (not
oatmeal) mixed with skim milk, enriched with fat either of beef or mutton.
This dealer feeds quantities of AustraHan mutton tallow, which is imported

Finishing Fowls for Market

211

in barrels, and is mainly used for soap-making; the cost is $7.50 to $10 per
100 pounds. The fat is melted and mixed with the ground oats and milk, to
which some brick-dust or sand is added as a digester. For the first two
weeks the chickens eat naturally, but afterward they are crammed until
finished. The operation is performed rapidly by a cramming machine,
which now supersedes the old hand process. If the operator is experienced

the cramming is very
of the machine being
mouth, a half turn of
is — next, and — next,
machine varies from
is usual to kill twice
according to the
ready they sicken if
plucking and stubbing
women, after which
breast downward on a
weight placed over

One curious fact
namely, that the
is far greater than the
several finishers who
needs in this respect as
one hundred dozens per

There is much
capacity of fowls for
are somewhat long
more readily than the
breeds. Here I would
fatten generally, if
parts on which the plumage grows. Thus on
feathers are close, the fat is excessive, as also

PROPERLY FINISHED PLYMOUTH
ROCK HEN

Photoicrapk by courtesy of Miller Purvis

quickly done, the tube
inserted into the fowl's
the crank, and then it
The price of the
$17.50 to $22.50. It
or three times a week,
demand, but when
not attended to. The
is mostly done by
they are put in rows
shaping-board and a
them.

remains to be noted,
demand for chickens
supply, and there are
are so far short of their
to advertise for at least
week during the season,
difference in the
finishing, those that
in feather taking on fat
close, short-feathered
point out that fowls
not always, on those
the back, where the
about the neck and

belly; while on the breast, where there are open spaces between the
lines or tracts of the feathering, there is no fat. The goose might be
taken as an example of the difference between a feather-covered bird
and one that is partially so, the whole body of the former being enveloped
in layers of fat, while those fowls that are short- and close-feathered on

212

The Poultry Book

OLD ENGLISH GAME HEN

the breast seldom if ever fatten on that part, though they may be fleshy
and well formed.

It has generally been supposed that the more nutritious the food given
the better the fowl, but experiments have proved that this is by no
means always the case. For instance, buckwheat and oatmeal mixed
have not been found so serviceable as when one-third of boiled potatoes
have been added. Again, ground com is better with one-third boiled un-
husked rice. Groimd oats, with one part potatoes or some boiled cabbage,

Finishing Fowls for Market 213

are good ; wheat and rice boiled together are good, as is also buckwheat and
one-third potatoes, with a finish of all buckwheat. The old finishers never
gave hard grain, but, if whole, soaked it at least twelve hours, or boiled
it. In all cases it was usual to add some gravel or very sharp sand.
Sometimes table beer was used in the latter part of the day for moistening
the food, and skim milk in the morning, but not generally. The giving
of sugar was thought to make the birds so thirsty that they would eat
more of the mixed food for the sake of moisture.

Preparing for Use or Market

The English method is as follows: A fowl should be fasted from
twelve to twenty hours before it is killed, otherwise it soon taints.
When a fowl is ready, or sufficiently fat for the purpose required, the usual
plan of killing is that of breaking the neck, which by an adept is quickly
and painlessly effected. Another method is bleeding, which is more
common in France than in this country. With some the fowl is stunned
by a blow at the base of the skull, if bled ; but the first plan is the most
humane. Immediately after, the process of plucking is performed, when
great care must be taken not to tear or injure the skin, this being likely
through rough usage, especially on the breast, which is generally first
operated on. Then the feathers on the back, belly, lesser wing coverts
and tail are removed, leaving the head feathers, those of the upper part of
the neck, and the larger wing primaries or quills. After which pluck
away all feathers but those of the head and neck. So quick are some
of the American pluckers that they have been known to remove the
feathers of six fowls in twelve minutes, while man}^ of the English
experts are not a minute behind, showing that practice makes perfect.
The birds are hung up to slightly cool, then taken down, and their legs tied
at the hocks; they are placed in rows, with the breast under, on shaping
boards, another board then laid on, with weights added. They cool into
shape. When cool they are removed, packed into crates, and despatched
to market. Pullets, cockerels and capons keep better than quite young
chickens or ducklings.

We have purposely given in considerable detail the English and French
methods of finishing fowls, and also the methods advised by ancient writers,
because the essential facts have been understood for hundreds of years,
and the finishing of fowls is practically accomplished by the same means to-

214 The Poultry Book

day that were in vogue during the time of the Roman Empire. In this
country we use more corn than in other countries because it is the
cheapest grain food we have and is essentially a fattening food.

The American method of preparing for market is somewhat difi'erent
from that in use in England. In our large finishing plants the fowls are
not fed for twenty-four hours previously to being dressed. They are placed
in crates and taken to the dressing-rooms, where an attendant catches them
and hangs them by the feet in a device that holds them fast. This device
is suspended on a wire, a small wheel running on the wire. The fowls,
hanging head down, are then pushed forward and another workman kills
them by deftly cutting the artery in the back of the head with a pointed
knife. As they are pushed along on the wdre support in a continual pro-
cession they come to a tank of scalding water, where they are taken from
the support, scalded, and quickly returned. Then a workman makes a quick
"grab" and pulls out a handful of feathers, and, with the same motion,
pushes the bird forward, where another takes out another handful, and so
on, each workman pulling out as many feathers as he can without stopping
the bird in its onward course. By this means the feathers are stripped ofT
in an incredibly short time, and a line of birds extends the whole length
of the long wire, all progressing toward complete dressing all the time.

Where it is desired to save the wing and tail feathers without wetting
them, these are pulled out before the bird is scalded and kept separate from
the softer feathers.

As soon as the feathers are all stripped from a fowl, it is taken from
the wire and laid on a shelf on a rack specialh^ constructed for this purpose,
where it is allowed to cool until all the animal heat is out of the body.
The birds then go to the inspector, who rapidly grades them, and they
are packed in new, clean boxes and pressed into shape and taken to the
freezing-rooms, where they remain until taken out to be sent in refrigerator
cars to market, often across the ccean.

The inspector selects the birds according to quality, those with very
short thighs being put by themselves and reserved for the English market,
being sold under the name of "Sussex fowls," the reputation of Sussex in
England being so great that the best are given the name in order to get
a better price for them, just as all good butter is sold as Elgin butter.

English finishers seem to think cross-bred fowds better than the pure
breeds, but the great poultrv' dealers in this countr}^ do not agree with

Finishing Fowls for Market

215

them ; and one firm that handles millions of fowls every year has been at
considerable expense to teach the poultry breeders of the districts from
which they draw their supplies the advantages of using only pure-bred
stock in their breeding pens.

The English consumer is partial to a fowl with a white skin, while the
American wants yellow-skinned fowls. This is mere fancy, and it is
probable that before many years the prejudice that exists in this country
against white-skinned fowls will disappear. The great poultry -packing
firms of the country do not finish fowls particularly because they desire to

OLD ENGLISH GAME, AGRICULTURAL HALL, I 897

do SO, but because they are compelled to do so in order to get the
quality the best markets demand.

The most profitable part of poultry breeding is in this final operation
that finishes the fowl and puts it in condition to command the highest price.

The writer has seen a lot of ordinary fowls which were bought at six or
seven cents per pound put in the finishing pens for three weeks and taken
out weighing twenty or twenty-four ounces more than they did when put in,
and worth more than twice as much per pound as they were when bought
on the farm of the breeder who produced them. In such cases the finishing
process not only added weight to the fowls, but added one hundred per cent,
or more to the value of the weight they carried before the process was begun.

The market for the best poultry is an insistent and growing one. It

2l6

The Poultry Book

has never yet been supplied with all it would take. Any glut in the market
is always produced by an oversupply of inferior stufT, which does not meet
with a ready sale. Any poultry breeder, by following the directions given
in this chapter, modifying them to meet his surroundings, may with very
little trouble be able to meet the demand that will rapidly grow for properly
finished poultry. Every city and every considerable town in this country
would consume large quantities of poultry that had been finished properly, if
it were once introduced, for its superiority to poultry as ordinarily fattened
is so great that it commends itself at once to every one having an
opportunity to compare the two qualities.

DARK-BLUE OLD ENGLISH GAI
Aquarium Fishery Show. 1902

h

1

M^l

CONDITIONS IN THE UNITED STATES

H. E. Moss, New York

]HE fattening or finishing of poultry by any special process
or feed with this definite object in view is practically
a new and almost unknown industry in the United States.
Until two years ago, when the writer made and ex-
hibited a cramming machine at several of our large
poultry shows, not one person in a thousand had ever
heard of such a thing, and many who saw it in operation protested that
we should be prohibited from using it under the plea that it was cruelty
to animals, due of course to their lack of knowledge of the anatomy of
the bird.

It is scarcely ten years since the large packing-houses at Chicago and
Kansas City took up the poultry and egg question, which has since grown
to be such an important branch of their business of supplying the world
with meat food. Several years later the writer urged upon them the
advisability and importance of either the producer or a middleman putting
a finish on thin birds, there being a very large percentage that dressed out
as No. 2 stock which had either to be worked into soup or canned,
or sold at a reduced price, and even at a loss. There was surely an
extravagant waste of opportunity on the part of some one. Here were
three-pound chickens with their frames practically grown — carcasses that
carried about six ounces of bone, eighteen of fat and but thirteen ounces, or
twenty-eight per cent., of edible meat, when such a bird of almost any
suitable breed could, by twenty to twenty-five days of proper feeding, be
made to carry forty ounces, or three times as much weight, of edible meat.
The packers realized these facts, and spent both time and money in what
proved a futile attempt to impress upon the farmer the importance of
special feeding and better breeds, so as buyers of their stock they might
be able to secure more birds of the quality for which they had an almost
unlimited demand, and fewer of the unprofitable kind. They recently
took the matter in their own hands and to-day there is scarcely a town of
any size in the States west of and tributary to Chicago and Kansas City in

2i8 The Poultry Book

which there is not located a buying station for one of the packers, where
birds are taken from the farmer. At many stations they are coop-fed
and finished before being dressed and sent to the central house for final
grading, packing and shipping.

It is difiicult to understand why the farmer, who has every facility
for properly finishing his fowls, should waste this opportunity. He is
very careful to see that every steer, hog or sheep that he sends to the
shambles is carrying all the weight possible — but he thinks it costs him
nothing to produce his poultry and all that he gets for it is clear profit ;
whereas, if properly handled, a pound of grain can be converted into more
poultry meat, of greater value and in less time, than through the four-
footed animals.

The packers are not the only ones who have discovered this possibility.
Since 1900 many individuals and companies have gone into the finishing
business in the western States, while a few had previously been established.
Very little is known of the magnitude or methods of their business. Their
No. I stock is almost all exported, and little is known of it in the
eastern markets. The New York Produce Review of February, 1903,
reports one shipment of seventeen carloads as having left New York for
Liverpool on the steamship Celtic.

These finishers have encountered but one obstacle, and that is the
unintentional production of a variable and uncertain quality of meat, and
an excess of fat in layers. This is the result of the random and experimental
methods of feeding they have followed. But within two years they have
made much advancement in producing birds of the color and finish that
foreign markets demand, which it is necessary to furnish if they would
obtain the prices they are seeking. The farmer sticks to corn, which,
perhaps above all other cereals, makes the most unsatisfactory quality
of meat ; but as it produces weight and is the cheapest and most available
grain, he supplies it, and where the supply is unstinted the weight is gained.
The peculiar nutritive properties of corn and its eftects are comparatively
unknown to the average feeder. It has a special tendency to deposit a soft,
oily fat in layers under the skin and in masses in the abdominal cavity,
instead of depositing this fat in globules throughout the tissue where it
belongs. In corn-fed birds these globules are watery instead of being fat.
When such a bird is cooked these oil globules escape and the carcass shrinks.
If oats, barley or a suitable mixture of these and other grains, ground.

Conditions in the United States

219

^i

SLACK-BREASTED PRIMROSE DUCKWING OLD ENGLISH GAME COCKEREL
Owned and bred by Mr. Weir

were used as a base in feeding, these globules would consist of fat which
would soften in cooking, thereby rendering the tissues soft and juicy.

Numerous experiments in fattening have been made in the eastern and
New England States in the past, but the demands of the eastern markets
always having been for a yellow-skinned, plump bird, there appeared but
one course open to poultry fatteners, and to secure it corn was used ad
libitum. As a result, where a forced diet of corn was fed — often without
the safeguards necessary to accompany it — indigestion and liver or bowel
trouble followed and defeated their purposes, which discouraged them to
such an extent that but little general advancement was made along
this line.

The western men have outstripped those of the East, and it is a
common occurrence to find 25,000 birds in the coops of one establishment
at one time during the fattening season. These are ordinary farm birds,

220

The Poultry Book

the American breeds predominating, and largely Plymouth Rocks or
their crosses.

The fattening industry is in its infancy in this country. It has no
past. As yet we have nothing here with which to make a comparison, but
we are safe in predicting its rapid growth. Many cramming machines are
now in use, and many people are seriously investigating and studying
the possibilities of both trough and machine fattening. To these we wish to
say there is much to be learned before the maximum results can be attained,
as Mr. Purvis and Mr. Weir have clearly shown in this chapter: The
questions of how much, what kind, and when to feed it are the vital ones.
Experience will teach as no other method can. The question of best breeds
for the purpose will also determine itself in time. The writer believes the
Dorking- Brahma cross would prove superior to any for the purpose, but
it would take many years to establish this or any other special cross to the
exclusion of others, even if a united effort were made in the large poultry
producing sections.

Photographed f-y C Reid. ll'i^ha
OLD ENGLISH GAME HENS

' 'o^t ?/ J Prj,i,i> Sc>i:./\ Canada
MARKET TYPES OF LIGHT BRAHMA AND BARRED PLYMOUTH ROCK CROSS COCKERELS
AS BRED AT THE CENTRAL EXPERIMENTAL FARMS IN CANADA

THE SITUATION IN CANADA

Professor A. G. Gilbert, Ontario

^HE rapid growth of cities, with corresponding development
of population and augmentation of wealth, has created
a great demand for the products of the farm for consump-
tion both at home and abroad. In this connection we
have an urgent and ever-increasing call for a superior quality
of poultry and eggs of undoubted freshness in winter, the latter especially
from our own city markets. Opportunities are thus afforded our farmers
to make money out of their fowls both summer and winter. It is of the
superior quality of poultry and how to produce it that we more particularly
write on this occasion. There are undoubtedl}' other producers of the finer
quality of poultry than farmers, but we speak of the latter because
from them must inevitably come the great bulk of the supply. This supply
will not be from the few farmers with many fowls, but rather from the greater
number with comparatively few hens each. It is of very great importance,
then, that our farmers should thoroughly understand the necessity of pro-
ducing nothing but the best. How can that superior quality be produced ?
Experience has unmistakably shown that breed, feed and proper caring

222 The Poultry Book

for the chicken after hatching and during its tender months are all factors
of vital importance.

The finishing of the chicken in reality begins at an early period of its
existence. It has been shown over and over again that unless the chicken
has been regularly fed and carefully looked after from the time of leaving
the nest or incubator it will not make a satisfactory subject for fleshing
in coop or pen with limited run. There is a world of truth in the old
English maxim that a chick which has become "stunted" from being
' ' stinted ' ' of food will never fully recover from such neglect. If the ' ' feed ' ' is
not altogether half the "breed, " it certainly has a potent effect. And again,
a bird may be properly reared and carefully finished and yet its market
value much deteriorated by improper killing, careless plucking or clumsy
dressing. The first six weeks of the chicken's life has been found to be a
critical period, demanding extra care and attention, for during that time there
is a tax on its vitality for bone, sinew, muscle and rapidly growing feathers.

Before proceeding to note the merits of different breeds it is well to
understand the requirements of the market to be catered to. We have
two markets, with their different features, as follows :

The home market, w4th a high price for winter eggs and for young and
tender birds with yellow color of flesh and legs.

The British market, which gives the best price for birds three and
four months of age, with legs of light color and flesh as white as possible,
and eggs large and of even size, preferably weighing seven to a pound.

It is now in order to consider which breeds most acceptably fill the
requirements of the aforementioned markets. Heretofore there has been
little difficulty in supplying the demand with one or more of the well-known
American utility breeds. In this sense the term utiHty is used to describe a
breed which is a wmter layer as well as a rapid flesh -maker in spring or early
summer, thus permitting the farmer to make money at both seasons. In too
many cases, either from carelessness, bad management or ignorance of
proper methods, farmers have fowls of nondescript origin which are
non-productive during the w^inter season of high values. They begin to
lay in spring and summer, when prices are very much reduced. It is
needless to point out that in such cases only half value is obtained. Where
up-to-date methods are practiced, the fowls are gotten over their molt by
early fall; are in proper condition, being neither too fat nor too lean; and
so comfortably housed and intelligently fed that they begin to yield their

The Situation in Canada

223

Photograph by Professor Schutt, Canada

WHITE WYANDOTTE COCKERELS AS FINISHED IN CANADA FOR MARKET AT THE CENTRAL

EXPERIMENTAL FARMS

Hatched March 31, 1902, and killed when 3 months and 22 days old. No. 17 : Live weight, 5 lbs.3 0zs.; plucked but not drawn, 4 lbs. 14 J^ ozs.

No. 22: Live weight, 4 lbs. 7 ozs.; plucked but not drawn, 4 lbs. 2}^ ozs.

product in November and continue so to do all winter. In April the eggs,
which are then cheap, are converted into chickens, which will mature early
and bring a good price. We do not refer to specialists, who begin
operations in December or January with the aim of producing early
broilers. These operators are in most cases skilled men and have special
equipment, such as incubator rooms, brooding houses, etc.

In the colder districts of the country, unless the farmers are provided
with facilities to enable them to be independent of outside temperatures, they
will find the most satisfactory chickens to be those hatched in late April or
early May. The importance of having a grass run at this season for the
chicks, whether hen or incubator hatched, can not be overestimated.

As to the means of hatching, where more than fifty or sixty chickens
are desired early and of uniform age, artificial incubation will be found
most satisfactory.

Quite possibly it may be pointed out that germs of April eggs from

224

The Poultry Book

hens which have been closely confined during the previous winter, yet good
layers, are not likely to be strong. In certain cases this is doubtless true,
but observation has shown that the majority of farmers have opportunity
to allow their fowls to run in bam or shed during winter and so enjoy exercise
and fresh air, so conducive to fertile eggs and strong germs. Where laying
hens have been so situated, results in healthy chicks from early eggs have
been most satisfactory. In the case of the closely confined hens without
opportunity for outdoor exercise, experience has" shown it is better to
defer hatching operations until they have had a run outside and time to
recuperate from their enforced term of artificial life and treatment.

OLD ENGLISH GAME COCK

Photograph by courtesy of Neiv 1 ork State Exptritncnt Station
YARD UF CAPONS AT THE NEW YORK STATE EXPERIMENT STATION AT GENEVA

CAPONS AND CAPONIZING *

CAPON bears the same relation to a cockerel that a steer
does to a bull ; it is an altered rooster. As with steers,
a Capon is more quiet, lays on much flesh and fat, and
remains tender for many months after the operation.
They usually weigh from twenty to thirty per cent, more
than roosters of the same age, if kept the proper length
of time. For a few months after caponizing they are very hearty eaters,
but later do not consume appreciably more food than ordinary fowls. The
comb and wattles do not grow after the operation, while the feathers of
the neck and saddle develop rapidly, becoming very glossy. They neither
crow nor fight, and do not chase the hens. In many eastern markets the
prices paid for them range from eighteen to thirty cents per pound.

Caponizing was in existence more than two thousand years ago.
It was the impression that such fowls fatted better, and were of finer flavor
and quality. At first hens only were fed, but Pliny says fatting cocks

*This chapter has been carefully rewritten by the editor from an American point of
view. In Canada, Capons have nrt been given as much attention, up to the present time,
as in the United States.

225

226 The Poultry Book

was begun by the inhabitants of Delos. Beckmann states that "These
people brought the art to such perfection that they became instructors
to the Romans, among whom all those who made a trade of feeding fowls
were called dcliaci/' It was in practice also with the ancient Athenians,
for it is recorded that Arcesidans, the son of Scuthus, on being asked
"why many scolers of everye secte became epicures, but none of the
epicures became of other sects," he said, "because the cockes were made
of men, but never men of cockes," or as some say, "Capons be made of
cocks, but never cocks of Capons."

In course of time the Romans followed the example of the Greeks,
who had long known that the feeding of cocks could be much improved
by rendering these animals incapable of propagating their species. As
the Delians took advantage of this process, and acquired the greatest dex-
terity in the management of it, they are mentioned by the ancient writers.
The invention of this art is not known. It is, however, singular that
the Greek writers mention no particular name for Capon. It is not known
whence the Romans obtained the terms "capo" and "capus. "

Columella and Galen make mention of such birds, and fed on food
prepared w4th milk, though the practice of caponizing was dissimilar to
that now employed.

"How old our present method of making Capons may be," says
Beckmann, " I do not know, but one might almost believe that it was
practised in the seventh century, because Isidore of Seville seems to say
so, unless we are to suppose this ecclesiastic, not being fully master of the
subject, wrote merely from conjecture.

"The present mode was no doubt," continues the same author, "first
practised in France, at the beginning of the sixteenth century, but it was
not made known in Germany till a much later period, when the princes
began to fall into the weakness of imitating the French by employing
French cooks. La Bruyere-Champier, who wrote his book on 'Cookery,'
in 1530, says expressly that the art was a new invention. Aldrovandi, in
the year 1598, treats of Capons, and adds these were not common. Olivier
de Serres, however, in his treatise on 'Agriculture,' A.D. 1600, speaks of
this method of feeding being well understood in his day. After that time
the word poiilarde was not used as before to denote a cock which had been
fed, but one caponized and afterward fed."

Mr. Weir says: "Surely Mr. Beckmann m.ust be a little wrong here.

Capons and Caponizing 227

the word poularde usually signifying a pullet so treated, but perhaps it
might also mean a caponized cockerel." About 1642 Vincent Tanara,
an Italian, stated that Capons were then common. In 1645 Lewis Nonnius
said that the method was used to make young cocks more beautiful, and
had but lately been known.

Thus it appears that the Germans were much behind in adopting
the method. Old writers mention that it was usual in France. There
is little doubt that the usage was carried from that country to Germany.
Though this might possibly be so, there is no doubt whatever that capon-
izing was known and used in England long before. Professor Thorold
Rogers, in his "Agricultural Price List, " gives that of the capon as 2i^d. in
1261-70; i3^d. in 1271-80, and so continuously almost every ten years
until 1391-1400, when it had risen to 35^ d. After this there is frequent
mention of it at feasts and banquets, and so without intermission, more
or less, to the present time. In "Medieval Agriculture," Vol. I., it states
that " Fowls are kept on all estates ; Capons on most — before 1348." Tusser,
in the seventeenth century, in his "Five Hundred Points of Good Hus-
bandry," says in his cautioning way —

" Who many do feed,
Save much they had need, "

and — •

" Put chippings in dippings, use parings to save.
Fat Capons or chickens, that lookest to have,"

and again — ■

" Leave Capon unmeet,
Dear fed is unsweet, "

which evidently means that it is not to be done with costly grain or food,
for he further says —

" Though fat fed is dainty, yet this I thee warn,
Be cunning in fatting, for robbing thy barn."

Shakespeare later mentions Capons in his plays no fewer than a dozen
times, and often in eulogistic terms, as —

" With good Capon hned." — As You Like It.

"But to Carve a Capon and eat it." — i Henry IV .

"You Cannot feed Capons so." — Hamlet.

Andrewe Borde, writing A.D. 1542, says: " Of all tamefowle a Capon
is the most beste, for it is nutrytyve and is soone dygested. A henne in
wynter is good and nutrytyve, and so is a chickyn in somer, specyalle
cockrellys and polettes."

228 The Poultry Book

Lawrence Andrewe, writing in the sixteenth century in " Noble Lyfe,"
says of the Capon: " GalHnacius, the Capon, is a gelded cock, and because
that he waxeth the soner fatte, and though he go with the hennes, he
dothe not defend, nor crowith not."

Leonard Mascall, also about the same period, not only alludes to the
Capon, but "gives particular instructions as to the best means to be adopted
for the fatting: "When as you take uppe your Capons to make them
fatte, ye must prepare of wheaten meale, or barlye meale, mixed with two
parts of brawne. Then ye shall heate ale or beare, but ale is better, or
lukewarm worte, and therewith temper your meale and brawne ; some
do put thereto fresh hog's grease, or of sheepe, or oil of olive, and when it
is all tempered together, they take a small piece and make and roll it be-
twixt their hands, of two inches long or more, and small at both ends like
this figure O, then they dippe it in milke, ale, or oyle, and give a Capon
so many thereof as ye shall think good, to a great Capon xx roles, and to
the other as ye shall see cause ; thus ye muste feede them twice a daye,
at morning and evening, and so ye shall make them fatte in a month or
lesse, but always ye must see their meate digested before ye give them any
more, for some be of a slow digestion, and if ye give them meate upon
meate they will loathe it."

In the beginning of the seventeenth century Gervase ]\Iarkham, in his
"Cheape and Good Husbandry," says: "Now, touching Capons, the
best time to carve or geld him is as soon as the dam hath left them or they
begin to crow, for the act of carving itself is both easie and common, and
much sooner learned by seeing one carved than by any demonstration
in writing." He also, like Mascall, gives the most approved method of
fatting, thus: "To feed capons for the dish, as either at the barn door,
with scraps of corn and the shavings of pulse, or else in pens in the house
by cramming them, which is the most dainty ; the best way to cram a Capon
(setting all strange in ventures apart)" — from this one would suppose
that even at that period there were certain machines or appliances in use,
or why are such alluded to? But to resume — "is to take barley-meal
reasonably sifted, and, mixing it with new milk, make it into good stiff
dough ; then make it into long crams, biggest in the midst and small at
both ends, and then wetting them in lukewarm milk, give the Capon a full
gorge of them three times a day, morning, noon, and night, and he will in
a fortnight or three weeks be as fat as any man need to eat."

Photograph, by courtesy of " Commercial Poultry '
WHITE WYANDOTTE COCK
Owned by Biltmore Farms, North Carolina

Capons and Caponizing 231

This, though somewhat the same as ^lascah's, differs so far as to render
it desirable of notice as one of the various means employed for coop-
fatting at a later time.

Other authors particularize the "capon"; poets and historians allude
to it ; culinary books, old and new, have recipes for the cooking ; at Christmas
Capons found a place on the tables of the wealthy ; the landlord had Capons
as toll, the tenants dined off their own, while even the cottager at such
festive seasons and times of high glee had a tasteful knowledge of what
was best in poultry.

According to the "Sandwich (Kent) Records, 1552," Capons were
not neglected as propitiatory gifts, for there is an entry to the following
effect: "The Lord Warden being late come to Dover Castle, 6 couple
(of) Capons be sent him as a pst. (present ) at the expense of the town."

Mr. Weir says : "At present Capons in England are not in the ascend-
ant, the big and coarse being the satisfying chick of the people; tenderness
and fine flesh, with delicate flavor, is unsought, and quality is not the con-
sideration so much as size, with its concomitant evils of hardness, greasi-
ness, and thick skin. The man who tastes, knows, cares for and appreciates
what he is eating — the keen old epicure — is a thing of the past; and it is
only on the Continent and in America that the Capon is gastro-
nomically understood and valued. In Paris the finest of the " Creves " and
"La Fleche" realize as much as from twenty to twenty-five francs each,
while from three to five dollars is not an uncommon price in New York.
The French Capon, when really good, is in its way the perfection of poultry.
It is generally exposed at the poulterer's lying on the breast, showing the
back, which is mostly evenly coated with white, somewhat dense-looking
fat. In France, and now in America, caponizing is very prevalent.

"Our French neighbors make use of the Capons to rear and brood
chickens. In this they are very successful, one Capon often leading as many
as from fifteen to twenty little chicks. After the process of caponizing,
the comb is cut off, so as to readily distinguish the birds from the cockerels,
and these, if of sufficient size, are 'bottled,' and not only preserved for
home use, but exported to England in some quantity. For this purpose
the rose comb is not desirable. The variety of forms and sizes, spiked
or simply serrated, clearly disposes of any argument that the generality
of French fowls are any particular or uniform breed.

" The Capon has sometimes been made to incubate two sittings of eggs

232 The Poultry Book

in succession ; the first brood, being removed, are often reared to a certain
size, fatted, and sold as chicks — petits a la gourmet. This plan is much
in vogue in Belgium, in which place the dainty morsels are principally of
the Coucou de Malines breed. A number of such were exhibited at the
Smithfield Show of 1898. They attracted considerable attention both
by their novelty and even quality. I was assured by a Belgian poulterer
that this practice was not so much done for the purpose of ' marketing '
small delicacies, as more often for the want of space after second broods
were hatched, though he was of opinion that it was as lucrative as those
of a larger growth and more matured, the lesser being sought for by invalids.

"The Capon in the poultry yard has a sorry time: the cocks and
cockerels attack him ; hens also ill-treat or despise the ' combless ' object.
Therefore it is advisable to keep Capons apart from the general flock.

"It is not uncommon for a Capon to bring up chickens, but for a
Game-cock to do so is indeed rare. M. Cliqueunois, of Lille, had an Aus-
tralian Game-cock, which was placed with four hens on a walk in the suburbs
of that place ; the hens all began to sit at the same time, leaving the coclt
by himself. There was one nest unoccupied, in which had been left
several artificial eggs. The cock took possession of that nest ; he sat and
clucked for a week or so before attention was paid to him; from his per-
sistency it was thought he would incubate. Good eggs were placed under
him, when he continued sitting, and, after three weeks, four chickens
were hatched. The Editor of the American Game Cock Monthly, January,
1895, says: 'We saw the sitting cock last June, when he was right in the
midst of his maternal duties; he clucked and acted just like any hen, in
spite of the fact that he had gone through many hard battles in his life-
time. Such proves that he was not only a cock, but a Game-cock.' "

Speaking of caponizing, Michael K. Boyer, of New Jersey, says : "Just
when the art was introduced in America I cannot say. I have newspaper
clippings referring to caponizing that were published about fifty years
ago, which shows that at that time the art was more or less practised.
Geo. P. Pilling, of Philadelphia, a noted expert, says he has had more than
forty-nine years' experience in the manufacture of caponizing instruments.
'Philadelphia Capons' are known throughout the United States and
Canada. These birds come mostly from New Jersey and other nearby
States. Pilling says Philadelphia and vicinity was the pioneer section
for raising Capons. As the fame of the bird spread, it naturally took on

Capons and Caponizing 233

the name of its marketing center. In 1888, W. H. Rudd, of Massachusetts,
wrote that about 5,000 Capons were sold in Boston annually, mostly
during January, February and March. Generally the supply was exhausted
by April loth. The average price was about twenty-two cents per pound,
but if very nice and large they brought two cents per pound more. They
would weigh about eighteen pounds or upward per pair. The Plymouth
Rock, -Light Brahmas and Partridge Cochins were generally used. In
1892, Capons in the Philadelphia market sold for twenty-five cents per
pound, while roosters brought only six cents per pound. The usual price
charged for caponizing by experts was from four to six cents per bird.
Capons come into market about the time early broilers are shipped."

Doctor Richard Schmidt, a well-known American breeder, says: "In
the spring of 1891 I caponized 167 cockerels, ate a good many, treated
several of my friends to a Capon dinner that Christmas, and shipped a
barrel of Capons to New York City, from which I reahzed $31.50 net profit.
There were twenty Capons in the barrel, and they dressed 210 pounds at
about eleven months old. They were incubator- and brooder -raised, and
fattened like pigs, in a row of coops each 18x18 inches and 2^ feet high,
giving them all the corn and wheat they could clean up.

"The mortality of Capons in 1891 was 1.67. I lost two out of 167,
one being my first and the other my fifth. The latter was lost on account
of the use of a pair of scissors with which I thought to facilitate the opera-
tion. Having a very rebellious spermatic cord to twist off, I snapped it
in two with my scissors, since which time I have had no use for scissors
in caponizing, for my would-be Capon passed quietly away, a victim of
'^ hemorrhagica interna arteria spermatica," a very easy and apparently
painless death. Since 1891 I have caponized some cockerels each year,
both for myself and my friends."

A large buyer of poultry in Iowa recently wrote the editor of the
Reliable Poultry Journal as follows: "To dispose of the cockerels which
usually predominate in the hatches at a profit has been one of the problems
for the poultryman and one that he has not completely solved. Caponizing
offers to him a new and fertile field of operation, one that will yield him
great profits and whose hidden treasures cannot be exhausted, as food is
always a staple. By the process of caponizing one bird can with less cost
to the producer be made to bring from sixty to eighty-five cents. A
dozen birds can be made to return from seven to nine dollars. One

234

The Poultry Book

buyer here paid out $2,347 for Capons alone in December, January and
February, 1896-97. One farmer's wife that winter brought in 100 Capons
that brought her $90. The next season she sold no for $97.50. When
Capons bring from ten to twelve cents per pound at our depot, while hens
sell at five to six cents per pound, the wisdom of caponizing is plain."

The photograph reproduced herewith shows just how Capons should
be dressed for market. The feathers are left on the neck, legs, wings and

Photografh by courtesy of New YorA Slate hxperzmcnt
CAPONS DRESSED FOR MARKET AT THE STATE EXPERIMENT STATION AT GENEVA, N. Y.
SHOWING MANNER OF LEAVING FEATHERS

rump, as well as the tail. Otherwise Capons should be dressed the same
as other fowls, except that they should be dry-picked. It would be impos-
sible to scald them and leave part of the feathers on. If scalded.
Capons bring no more than other fowls. They are distinguished more by
the way they are picked than any other manner. Capons are in the best
demand in the Chicago market from November ist to May ist. Highest
prices usually prevail from January to May. The larger the birds the
more they bring per pound. Capons that weigh less than seven pounds

Capons and Caponizing 235

do not bring any more, as a rule, than common fowls. If well-bred, a
Capon may weigh from twelve to fifteen pounds. Such a bird will sell
for two to three dollars, while a cock of the same size will not bring
more than fifty cents.

When raising Capons the breed should be carefully considered. The
operation should be performed before the bird is three months old. P. H.
Sprague, a prominent dealer in Chicago, says : " The largest Capons, accord-
ing to our information, are produced by crossing a Dorking male with
Brahma hens ; the best in quality are produced by keeping the pullets of
the Dorking- Brahma cross and mating them with an Indian Game male.
Capons thus produced combine the size of the Brahma, the compactness
of the Dorking and the full breast and juicy qualities of the Indian Game.
Other good crosses may be made by using a Houdan male and Brahma,
Cochin or Plymouth Rock hens. The Dorking or Indian Game may
be used in place of the Houdan. The hen should always be large. The
form and quality are mostly derived from the size.

"A Capon grows and fattens on a small amount of food. The first
point should be to secure large frames, and fatten them after they are
fully matured. If the Capon is produced from a large breed it should
have plenty of time for growth — about fifteen months — for every pound
is valuable. The food should be nourishing, but not fattening. Corn is
unnecessary until near the t,me for fattening. Wheat, oats, pounded
bone, meat, milk and green food, all that it can eat twice a day, will be
sufficient to help Capons rapidly in growth.

' ' Capons should be put in a small yard (not too crowded) three weeks
before being sold, and fed four times a day, giving plenty of corn and also
a variety of other food. One of the best preparations for fattening Capons
is corn-meal and ground oats, equal parts, adding half a pound of crude
tallow to every quart of the mixture. Moisten the whole with skimmed
milk or boiling water and season with salt.

' ' Buyers are not so particular about the size of the legs and skin of
the Capon as they are of its size and attractive appearance in other respects,
yet a yellow-leg Capon holds an advantage. Yellow legs may be secured
by using Plymouth Rock males on pullets that have been produced by
mating a Dorking male and a Brahma hen. Such a Capon will be of
excellent quality and will always bring a good price. Light Brahma
males are also mated with Cochin hens in order to secure large Capons,

236 The Poultry Book

but they do not have that full breast which is imparted by the Houdan,
Dorking or Game. If the color of the legs is of no consequence, the Houdan
male and Langshan hen produce excellent Capons when mated.

"The comparison of a well-bred, well-kept and well-fed Capon with
a cock of the same breeding will show that where a cock reaches ten pounds
weight in a given period of time the Capon will weigh one-third more,
and the difference in price is three to four times as much. If, instead of
keeping the yards full of useless and unprofitable cockerels, caponizing
were resorted to, there will be a greater desire to have more cockerels
hatched than pullets. By keeping good breeds, neighbors may be induced
to use the eggs for hatching purposes. Then the surplus cockerels may be
bought at a slight advance, as they will prefer to keep the pullets for their
own use. By then providing the neighbors with pure-bred males every
season there would be no limit to the supply of eggs for hatching cockerels
for Capons."

Several years ago the New York Agricultural Experiment Station,
at Geneva, conducted a series of experiments with Capons, under the
direct supervision of Doctor William R. Wheeler. In his report (Eleventh
Annual Report of New York Agricultural Experiment Station) on this
work he says: "The much higher prices at which Capons are quoted,
compared with those of the average of poultry, ha\'e led to many inquiries
being made in regard to the profit in growing them for the market. When
we remember that beef cattle have been fed in this State during recent
years at very small profit, and that often to find an}^ profit in producing
pork it has been necessary to take into account the advantage of using
skim milk, etc., and to consider the manurial value of the grain fed, we
may find it well worth while to learn the cost of any possible animal
product of the farm that will command a good price in the market. "

In this report Doctor Wheeler records the results obtained in feeding
several lots of Capons for the months during which they are usually
grown, beginning in August and September, when young cockerels are
old enough for caponizing, and continuing until February, at which time
the birds are so nearly mature and the growth becomes so slow that it
is only a question of holding them longer or not for higher prices.

In the feeding trials, Doctor Wheeler says, skim milk was as profitably
fed to Capons as to young chicks. With every lot, sweet skim milk was
fed during nearly all the time in place of water, and much of the time

Capons and Caponizing 237

constituted about sixty per cent, of the total food. Of the water-free
substance consumed, the skim milk supplied from nine to nineteen per
cent., generally from twelve to fifteen per cent. Fowls of several breeds
and a few crosses w^ere used: Light Brahma, Buff Cochin, Plymouth
Rock, Black Langshan, Indian Game, Indian Game-Light Brahma
cross, Indian Game-Buff Cochin cross, and White Plymouth Rock-Black
Minorca cross.

The cockerels were caponized at an average weight of 3.8 pounds.
The average weight of those caponized at smallest size (Barred Plymouth
Rocks) was 2.7 pounds, and of those at largest (the Light Brahma) 4.8
pounds, when the operation was performed. While the former recovered
from the operation much more rapidly, the latter made, after recovery,
much the more rapid and profitable growth.

The average loss in weight from the thirty-six hours' fasting and
operation was 11.2 per cent. Within five days thereafter the birds had
generally recovered the weight lost, so that seven days from the time of
the removal found the cockerels back in the pen as Capons at the same
weight (the average showed a slight increase of three-tenths per cent.),
with but the additional cost for food of that consumed during the five
days.

" No bird among those grown at the station died during the experiments
directly on account of the operation. The loss of one, some weeks after
caponizing, was due more to an oversight in after-treatment than to the
direct effect of the operation itself. To make sure of killing no birds, it
is occasionally necessary to leave some with almost the assurance of their
developing into slips. Even the mast expert professional operators expect
to kill a few birds.

"The excess that the average market prices show over the cost for
food, however, is enough to promise a fair profit, over an ordinary per
centage of loss, for any reasonable investment of labor, etc. The cost of
caponizing where the services of any expert operator can be obtained is
but a few cents per fowl, sometimes as low as four cents. After a fall in
the high broiler prices of spring and early summer, it will probably be found
more profitable to caponize the surplus cockerels than to market them,
especially where cheap skim milk and grain are to be turned into a market
product. For while often the per centage of profit over the cost of food in
selling at broiler age is greatest, the actual difference per fowl in market

238 The Poultry Book

price over cost of food is greater with the Capon, providing the latter is
sold before growth has ceased. After caponizing, the labor in caring for
and feeding is but little more than in feeding cattle or pigs, and the
proportion of labor to produce one hundred pounds of Capons is therefore
less than in the production of one hundred pounds of broilers, as the latter
have most of the time been with the hen or brooders.

"As the demand for Capons does not come from those who are looking
for the cheapest possible animal food, it is evident that effort should be
made by any grower toward improvement in quality, and the most
successful and profitable competition will probably be in this direction.

"It is better to use only the larger breeds for Capons, and the Brahmas
and Cochins are among the best, but while these breeds furnish poultry
of superior size and excellent quality, there is, compared to the Game, an
undesirable deficiency of breast development which is plainly noticeable
in the dressed fowl. At the New York Poultry Show in 1892 the first
prize was given by a competent judge to a Capon eight and one-half
months old of Indian Game- Buff Cochin cross over Capons young and
old of Light Brahma, Black Langshan, and two or three other breeds
and crosses. A cross of the Indian Game gives nearly as large fowls as
the pure breed, with much of the Game shape. This cross can probably
be used with advantage, for the Indian Game, while larger than the pit
Game, has little of the fighting spirit of the latter, and, having yellow skin
and legs, will not interfere with the common prejudice in that direction. It
is not probable, however, that, did such prejudice exist in a market demand-
ing the best of Capons, it would be hard to overcome where good fowls of such
breeds as the Dorking, Houdan, La Fleche and Langshan were to be had.

"The labor required in feeding Capons is less than with young chicks.
The cost of caponizing is small where expert services can be obtained,
and an expert should be employed where possible. The methods of
operation can be learned from the printed instructions accompanying
several of the different sets of instruments advertised and sold, but any
one endeavoring to teach himself should operate on several dead cockerels
before attempting to operate on a live one. "

Directions for Caponizing

The following complete and interesting account about caponizing
is taken from Success with Poultry. From twenty-four to thirty hours

Capons and Caponizing

239

METHOD OF HOLDING FOWL READY
FOR CAPONIZING

before preforming the operation, select such cockerels as you intend to
caponize (these should be from two to four months old) , confining them in
a clean and airy coop or room without
either food or water. The best time
to confine them is at early morning,
as their long fast will then end about
noon of the following day, at which
time the operation is best performed.
Should the day be cloudy or wet, do
not caponize them, but let the opera-
tion go until you have a bright and
fair day. It is necessary that you

have all the light possible in the matter. If it be a cloudy day, and
you decide not to caponize, the birds may be given a little water and
food if necessary, but it is much better to avoid this if possible, as it is
very desirable to have their intestines quite empty, thus allowing their
testicles to be more readily seen, besides giving the operator much
more room in which to perform his work. Lay
the bird on the operating table (Fig. 8) on its
left side. Wrap the cord (Fig. 2) twice around
the bird's legs, above the knees. In making one
wrap only there is danger of the birds kicking
themselves out of the loop. Hook the other cord
once around both his wings, close to the body. To the opposite end of
these cords attach a half brick, or some other weight, letting them
hang over the sides of the table. This holds the bird securely. Have
all your instruments in readiness, that you may work quickly. Thread
the canula (Fig. 3) with a strong and long horsehair or fine steel wire
(we think wire the
best), letting the
wire form a loop at
the curved end, and
extend well out at
the other end.
Now, after slightly
wetting the spot, proceed to pluck the feathers from the upper part of the
last two ribs and just in front of the thigh joint. Pull the flesh on the side

FIG. 2. KNIFE FOR KILLING
POULTRY

FIG. 3. CAPONIZING CANULA

240 The Poultry Book

down toward the hip, and when the operation is finished the cut between

the ribs will be entirely closed by the skin going back to its place. While

^^^^_^ holding the flesh back with the left

(f----"^^^?"^^'^^'?^^ hand, with the right hand take the

knife (Fig. 4) and insert it (cutting

FIG. 4. K.\ii-K i-i)k .makim; clt

edge away from you) between the last
two ribs, cutting first down and then up a little way, following the direc-
tion of the ribs, making the cut not more than one inch long. Cut deep
enough to go through the skin and flesh, being very careful not to go so deep
as to cut intestines. There is little danger of doing this, however, if they
are empty, as they will be from the bird's long fast. The danger of cutting
the intestines is when they are full, as in this state they press against
the ribs. Should the cut bleed, stop a moment, let the blood clot on the
thin skin covering the bowels, and then remove it with the spoon forceps.
Next take the spring spreader (Fig. 5), press it between
the thumb and finger until the ends come together,
and insert the ends in the incision, with the spring end
toward the bird's feet. Upon looking into the cut a
thin tissue-like skin will be seen just under the ribs
and enclosing the bowels. Take a sharp hook (Fig. 6)
and pick the tissue open, so that you may get into
the bird with the instruments. The breaking of this ^"^'- 5-

° SPRING SPREADER

skin does not cause the least pain to the bird. One of
the testicles w^ll now be brought plainly to view, lying close up to the back of
the fowl. Sometimes both testicles are in sight, but this is not generally
the case, as the other one lies beyond and more on the other side of the
bird, the intestines preventing it from being seen from this opening. The
testicle brought to view is enveloped in a film. This should be brought
away with the testicle. Some people, in caponizing, tear the skin open
and then take the testicle out. The danger in so doing is, that if this
skin is left there is danger of causing a "slip."

Now comes the only dangerous
< part of the whole operation, getting

FIG. 6. SHARP HOOK TO OPEN FILM-LIKE hold of and rcmovlug the testicles ;

SKIN

but w4th a steady hand and plenty of
Hght not one bird in fifty should be lost. Attached to the testicle and lying
back of it is one of the principal arteries of the fowl, and this, if ruptured.

Capons and Caponizing 241

is sure to cause death. It is here that the canula (Fig. 3) proves of great
advantage. The hair (or wire) , being small and very fine, is easily slipped
between the testicle and artery without

injury to either, and a clear, clean (T^ _ . .,

cut made. Take the canula in the

FIG. 7. CAPONIZING PROBE

right hand and adjust the hair (or

wire) in it so that a loop about one-half inch long will extend from
small end of tube, leaving the two ends of wire extending far enough out
of the open end to secure a good hold. Insert the end of the tube that
has the loop on it very carefully and slip the loop over both ends of the
testicle and entirely around it, holding end of tube close to the testicle.
When the testicle is entirely encircled by the loop, take both ends of the
wire (or horsehair) which comes out of the other end of the tube with
thimib and first finger, holding it tight, and draw up on it carefully but
firmly, being particularly careful to have the loop around testicle. Keep
the end of the tube very close to testicle all the time. If drawing up on the
wire does not at once cut testicle, slightly turn from one side to the other
(but not entirely around), then the testicle will come off. After removing
it, carefully examine inside of bird to see that no piece is left in, and also
to see that no foreign substance, such as feathers, etc., has gotten in.
If any have, it is necessary to remove them, for, if allowed to remain, they
are liable to cause inflammation. Sometimes part of the testicles or
a feather may drop among the bowels ; if this occurs, move bowels
around with probe (Fig. 7) until the object is found, then remove with
spoon forceps. When the operation is performed, remove the spreader
at once and the skin will very soon slip back over the cut
and heal in a short time. Never sew the cut, as it will
heal just the same as any other small flesh wound.

The bird can now be turned over on its right

side, cut made, and testicle removed in exactly the

same manner as just described for the left side.

Both testicles may be taken out with the one incision,

FIG. 8. TABLE SUITABLE t>ut to thc bcgiuner we would say this is attended

'TlarJ^scIL^'' with more difficulty than the two incisions. The

other testicle being situated so far over on the

other side, there is more difficulty in reaching it, besides danger in piercing

artery running back of first testicle. To an experienced person there is

242 The Poultry Book

no danger in removing both testicles from one incision, but to those who
have not that degree of confidence given by practice we would recommend
the two cuts. The bird recovers just as quickly as though one cut were
made, and the operation is performed equally as quick, if not quicker.
If both testicles are removed from one cut, the lower must always be taken
out first, for if the top is first removed the small amount of blood that may
follow will cover the lower one, keeping it from view.

The Best Time to Capoxize

Fowls hatched early in the spring make the finest Capons. They can
be cut before hot weather comes, which is a great advantage, although
no ill results follow the operation at any time in the year. The bird should
be from two to three months old (not more than six months), and weigh not
less than from a pound to a pound and a half. The size is equally as im-
portant as the age. June, July, August, September and October are the
months generally taken for caponizing, for the reason that spring chickens
arrive at proper age and weight for market during the months of January,
February, March, i\pril and May, at which times there is the greatest
demand for them in the cities, and the highest prices secured. That
Capons are in our markets at certain seasons only is because the demand
is far in excess of the supply. The time will be when Capons may be
obtained the year round.

The top of an ordinary barrel (see illustration) meets all requirements
of a table, admits of the birds being easily secured, brings them to the
proper height with the operator ; in brief, makes as good a table as can be
desired. It costs nothing, as there is always an empty barrel lying around,
or one that can be easily emptied.

The question is often asked: "How are capons to be fed?" After
caponizing, give the bird all he will eat of soft food, and let him have plenty
of water. Caponized fowls begin to eat almost immediately after the
operation is performed, and no one would think for a moment that a
radical change had been made in their nature. Now leave the bird to
himself, as for the time being he is his own doctor. It is well to
look him over two or three days after the operation, as in breathing
the air sometimes gets under the skin, causing "wind puff," or a
slight swelling, in other words. Simply prick through the skin at the
sides with a sharp needle, gently pressing at the same time, when the

Capons and Caponizing 243

air will be expelled and the Capon relieved. Within ten days from
the operation the wounds will be healed over. A day or so after
caponizing, the bird should be allowed to run at large, treating him
just the same as any growing poultry would be treated.

Killing and Dressing Capons for Market

The Capons should be allowed to grow until at least one year old.
By this time they will have attained an imposing size. Some keep them
even longer than a year. While this is optional with the raiser, yet we
would not advocate killing them under one year old if they are being
raised for market. There is a great difference between the dressing of
Capons and an ordinary fowl.

When the capons are ready for market, select such as you propose
killing, and confine them. Keep them without food or water for about
twenty -four hours before killing, that their crops may be entirely emptied.
Now get ready your place for killing and dressing the fowls (if you have
conveniences in the chicken house, this will do quite well, or the wood-
shed, or any cool outhouse), and drive two heavy nails or wooden pins
about one foot or less apart in an overhead beam. Make two nooses of
strong string, each noose long enough to hold one each of the legs, and have
the Capons hang low enough to pluck with ease. Have a weight of two or
two and one -half pounds attached to a hook, and when the bird is killed
fasten this hook in his lower bill after you hang him up for plucking. The
weight holds the bird in position while picking and renders the operation
much easier.

Next, procure a table to dress the fowl upon, and make a frame on
the same principle as a small box without the ends and cover. In this you
lay the Capon, back down, to remove the intestines.

When everything is in readiness, take your Capon and suspend
him by the two legs from the nooses. Catch hold of his head,
and with your poultry-killing knife (Fig. 9)
cut vein at back of throat, through the
mouth. Never cut this from the out-

.j -r 1- 1 • • FIG. 9. KNIFE FOR KILLING

side. immediately upon cutting vein, run poultry

point of knife through roof of the mouth

clear into the brain. This operation causes what is termed "drop-
ping the feathers," making them come off more easily. As soon as

244 The Poultry Book

the knife enters the brain the bird loses all sense of feeling. Begin
plucking at once.

As to the style of dressing, the feathers are left on the wings up to
the second joint, the head and hackle feathers, also on legs half way up to
drumsticks, all the tail feathers, including those a little way up the back,
and the long feathers on hips close to tail. These feathers add greatly
to appearance of the bird when dressed, and are also a ready marker from
other fowl in markets. Never cut the head off, as this is a distinguishing
feature of the bird. A Capon may readily be identified among a thousand
cockerels, as the comb and wattles cease to grow immediately after capon-
izing is performed. Wash head and mouth well with cold water, being care-
ful to remove all blood. A Capon should not be torn in plucking. There
is no danger of this happening if proper care be taken. Place the plucked
fowl back downward in the box frame already described. Cut carefully
around the vent and pull out the intestines. These will be found
covered with fat, which, as they are pulled out, should be pushed
back. When the end of the intestines is reached, insert your finger
and break this off, leaving everything else in. As may be expected,
the fat will be found very heavy around the opening, and if slightly
turned outward will soon become hard, which will give a rich appearance
in this portion of the bird. Let the birds hang in a clean, cool place
until thoroughly cold. For packing, use a new box of the required size,
lined with white paper (any good, clean paper will do). Pack the birds
in solid, back up, being careful not to bruise them. Your birds are
then ready for market. With a bird not torn and the feathers properly
left on, you have a fowl which for inviting and "taking" appearance
it is impossible to equal.

A "slip" is neither Capon nor cockerel. He is much inferior to the
former and a great deal worse than the latter. The "slip" is caused by
not entirely removing the testicles. The smallest fraction left in the bird
will grow again with no benefit to the fowl.

Our first advice would be, "Keep cool and make haste slowly." If
you are rather tenderhearted, read the directions over carefully and then
try your hand on a dead fowl. All surgeons do this in the first place, and
probably it would be as well for you to follow their example. Have
plenty of light. It is impossible to properly perform the operation unless
you have this. After your first performance of caponizing you will be

Capons and Caponizing

245

surprised at its simplicity. Always keep your instruments in perfect
order. Before using the knife, see that the edge is sharp, and that the
other tools are as they should be. After beginning the operation of capon-
izing there should be nothing to hinder you from going right ahead.

Pkuiugraph by courtesy of" Commercial Poultry '

SINGLE COMB BROWN LEGHORN COCK
Owned by W. G. Warnock, Illinois

'^C

^<l^

BUFF SHANGHAI COCK. (FIRST PRIZE.)
The properf'j of the Uite Mr. Paukinson. The uinner of many prizet!.

PRACTICAL POULTRY HOUSES *
A. F. Hunter, Massachusetts

IN THIS CHAPTER on poultry houses the purpose has
been to present plans which have approved themselves
in the experience of practical poultry men, and to give a
sufficient variety of plans so that every one's taste
and circumstances may be suited. In recent years the
tendency in poultry house construction has been toward a better supply
of fresh air, especially during the day, when the fowls are naturally
active and are exercising ; hence the prominence given to house plans which
combine a curtained-front scratching-shed with a close roosting-pen, or
give a more or less open-front scratching-roosting pen, at the discretion
of the attendant. The most essential points in a poultry house are
shelter, warmth, sunlight and fresh (pure) air; and that plan is best
which judiciously unites these essential points,

I. Essentials to success in the poultry business. Poultry keeping
is an exacting business. The four corner-stones upon which success
rests are:

(i) Suitable buildings properly located.

(2) The right food skilfully fed.

(3) Good fowls carefully bred.

(4) Facility and ability to hatch and rear chickens.

To these should be added a willingness to work, love for the business,
good common sense and marketing ability. Not the least in importance is
the matter of building the poultry plant.

I. Location. — The location should be dry. If the ground is not
dry naturally, it should be made so by drainage. Damp ground means
cold ground, because rapid evaporation cools the soil. It also means

* In the preparation of the pages on " Practical Poultry Houses" free use has been made,
by permission, of the matter pubhshed in "Reading Lesson No. loA, " Cornell Reading
Course for Farmers. This lesson was prepared by James E. Rice, of New York, and issued
by the. College of Agriculture, Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y.

2^47

248

The Poultry Book

h J

Jfi-

'"U"

d

d

d i d

: 1 i

d

d

d"-

"""D

d

"■""d

unhealthful soil, because the air and sunshine cannot penetrate to purify
it. Muddy ground means dirty feet, and dirty feet make dirty eggs.

Air drainage is as important as soil drainage. Cold air settles in low

places. A low place, though more

1^ soo' ■ — ". sheltered from the wind, may be many

degrees colder than a higher spot a few
rods distant. Therefore avoid locating
poultry houses where cold strata of
air can settle. Secure warmth by
building in the lee of a windbreak or
m front of farm buildings or a hill.
Buildings that face the south will get
the largest amount of exposure to the
sun's rays. Other things being equal,
they will be warmer and dryer and
more cheerful. An exposure from two

FIG. I

to four points east of south will give the
most shelter from the prevailing west and northwest winds of winter, and is
the exposure most preferred by experienced poultryrnen. An eastern ex-
posure is usually preferable to a western exposure, barring prevailing winds
from the east, because, like flowers,
hens prefer morning to afternoon sun.
2. Steps may be saved by studying
the form and location of the biiildiiig. —
The form and location of poultry houses
have much to do with their convenience.
Time is money. Therefore a poultry
plant should be built with a view to
saving steps. With this point in mind
a man would have to walk 1,320 feet
to go the rounds of the sixteen houses
shown in Figure i. Most men feed
their fowls three times, water once,

FIG. 2

gather the eggs once and clean house

once daily, making six trips a day, which would require the attendant
to walk 7,920 feet a day, or 547 miles a year. Walking four miles an
hour, it would take 136 hours, and at 12^2 cents an hour would cost

. 300-

1

V"

SOUTH YAdJJ
ALU ONE YARD

R

L^i-rnrnrTTfrrr

Lfe

NORTH YARD

Practical Poultry Houses

249

$17. If the sixteen houses are brought together into one continuous
house (Fig. 2), the attendant would make the round by walking 540 feet.
Six trips a day would make 3,240 feet a day, or 223 miles a year, taking
fifty-five hours and costing $6.97 per year, a saving of 324 miles, of eighty-
one hours and of $10 a year. A horse and cart to carry the feed and water,
eggs, litter, cleanings, etc., in case of the colony plan, and a trolley through
the continuous house, could be made to save two or three trips a day —
reducing the amount of travel proportionately.

4. The form influences the cost of construction. — Houses built on the
colony or separate plan cost more to build than a continuous house of the
same capacity. (Figs, i and 2.) One

end of each house is saved by bringing
them together. Supposing the build-
ings to be fifteen feet wide and six feet
high on the sides, the lumber saved
would amount to 127^ feet for one
house, equal to 2,040 square feet for
sixteen houses, and if double-boarded
such buildings would require 4,080 feet,
besides other materials and cost of
building. The colony houses are much
cooler because more exposed.

5. Yards: Fences are expensive ^^^^
and increase labor. — To fence separate

yards for the pens (Fig. i) would require twenty-seven and a half rods
of fence, which would cost about $20. Every time a division fence
is taken out each flock has twice as much liberty as it had before. When
all the division fences are removed each flock enjoys sixteen times as much
liberty as it had before. Fences increase labor. The labor of cultivating
and seeding sixteen yards is much greater than it would be if all were in
one field. Again, one would have to open and shut about one hundred
gates a day in caring for the stock in buildings arranged as in Figure i.
Large flocks can pasture in the same field. Hens know enough to return
to their own roosts. The biggest bump on a hen's head is the bump of
location !

A strong argument in favor of yards, however, is the fact that fowls
lay better when not permitted free range. When kept in semi-confinement

p 300- ^

^...

...4....^...

--|--k

■-F

^-

-F

TT|...,

■F

L^...

-F

^

250

The Poultry Book

in yards sufficiently large for healthful exercise, the physical energies
are not dissipated in ranging, but are conserved for egg-production. This
is upon the same principle as the keeping of milch-cows upon the soiling
plan, giving all needed food at the stable and permitting from two to
four hours' exercise in a paddock daily : sufficient exercise for good health,
but no ranging in search of food.

6. Features of large and small yards. — As a rule, make them long
and narrow. Double yards are desirable (Fig. 2). They allow one to
rotate green crops. This practice converts the filth which would become

a source of danger into a valuable food
crop. (Note house and yard plans in
subsequent pages, especially the north-
and-south- yards plan, page 285.)

Where several breeds are kept or
many small breeding-pens are desired
the following plans are suggested to
save steps (Figs. 3 and 4). The shape
of the fields, the slope of land and
location of the other farm buildings
will have much to do with the shape of
the yards and mode of access to the
buildings. Generally, the yards should
be long and narrow, to facilitate culti-
vation. Two rods wide and eight rods
long is a good size for forty or fifty
hens, although more room would be better. This permits a row of
fruit trees in the center for shade, which is a necessity. If the nearest
point of access should be from the north (Fig. 4), it would be better to
have the houses on the west at B instead of at A.

7. Small flocks lay best. — Ordinarily, we expect to get more eggs
from a small flock than from a large one. But every time we double a
flock we divide the labor. From forty to fifty seems to be about as large
as it is safe and economical to keep together. If more are together the
weaker are crowded and the individual is lost sight of.

8. Construction: The working unit in building a hen house is the
floor and air space required for each hen. — A safe working rule is about
five to six square feet of floor space and from eight to ten cubic feet of air

s

j,

,■'■

outli

300A M

h '-

n

h '■•

n

in ■-

n

H

n

in V

n

in ■■■

n

in '-■

n

[n r

3

N

FI

or
G

4

Practical Poultry Houses

251

space for every fowl. The lighter breeds, because more active and
restless, require about as much room as larger breeds.

Foundation walls should be built deep enough to prevent heaving
by the frost, and high enough to prevent surface water from entering.
Sometimes grout walls may
be made with gravel or
small stones where large
stones are scarce; or, in
the absence of foundation
materials, the building may
be set upon posts.

Bottom of sills should
be one and ^o^l---""'

one-half feet ~-.^^:i—-

above na-
tural ground

level (Fig. 5), and the ground outside should be sloped down from bottom
of sills so as to turn away surface water. Inside, the pens may be filled
to the depth of a foot with small stones or coarse gravel ; then about six
inches of dry, sandy loam or fine sand. This loam (or fine sand) should
be carted off and the earth floor renewed with fresh material every summer,
at the annual house-cleaning.

9. Square houses economize lumber. — The nearer square a house is
, ^j-' ^ — other things being equal —

Sandor Sandy Loam
Small Stones or. Gravel

Natural Ground Level
FIG. 5

iixJS''4S0 sq.ft.

fAS(}/A^Os<i.ft.

B

/OxfS'fS'Osj.n.

/6z'

oround

//O
around

/Z:x3/S=^0s^.ft. D

/f>j<3%y%.//. E

oround ^^® ^^^^ lumber it will require.
(Fig. 6.) It is seventy- two feet
farther around house A than it is around
house E, both having the same number of
square feet floor space. If the sides of the
house are six feet high, then one thickness of
boards would take 6 x 72=432 feet. If the house
around is double-boarded it would be twice as great, i. e.,
864 feet, besides the extra material required for
seventy-two feet of frame-work, building paper, nails,
etc. The long, narrow house is colder because it

99'

arouna

FIG. 6

labor, foimdation

has 432 square feet more of exposed surface.

10. Cost and value affected by form of roof

-The shape of the roof

252

The Poultry Book

Total Roo!

Side

-,/2'

/J^'

affects the value of a poultry house. It takes the same amount of material
to build a gable roof — a one-pitch roof or a combination roof, if the pitch
of the roof and the ground plan are similar. ^(Figs. 7 and 8.) The shape

of the roof influences the cost of the
sides of the house. If we assume that
the window is six feet high in a
building fifteen feet wide, it would be
necessary with a gable roof to have
/o/x" both sides of the house the same

height, which makes more interior air
space than is necessary and requires
the rear wall one and one-half feet
higher than would be needed with
a one-pitch or combination roof. A
one-slope roof will cost the extra
lumber to build three feet higher in
FIG. 7 front than is required by the combi-

nation house. If an alleyway should
be desired along the back side of the house, or if a large garret space is
desired, the gable-roof style of house will be the most economical to build.
In order to build the three styles of houses, each taking the same
amount of material and having the same pitch of roof and floor space,
they would be as seen in Figure 9, whichj would make the one- pitch roof too
low in the rear for convenience. The steeper the pitch, the greater the
comparative expense of building a shed-roof house, as compared with the
gable or combination roof house (Figs. 7 and 10). The steeper the roof the
greater the cost for roofing and the longer it will last. Most roofs can be
one-fourth pitch. Shingle roofs should generally be one-third pitch.

II. Each form of roof has
its advantage and disadvantages. —
The single-span roof is the easiest

to build. It gives the highest ver- Tota[ s^es ^^^^

tical front exposed to the sun ' s rays , ^oat

which are reflected back, drying the

ground and making a warm shelter. It throws all the rain-water to the rear,
lessening the length of eaves-trough one-half, and keeping the front of the
house dry, where no eaves-troughs are used. It allows the windows to be

Total Roof

iWft.
igUtl.

Practical Poultry Houses

253

placed high up. A tarred-paper roof will last many years longer if the slope
is toward the north. It is cooler in summer if not exposed to the vertical
rays of the sun. The gable roof provides for a large garret space which

can be stuffed with straw, making the
house warmer and drier. The com-
bination house shares in the advantages
and disadvantages of each of the others.
12. Alleyways are expensive and
do not always economize labor. — They
occupy from one-fourth to one-fifth
the entire space of the house, which
would accommodate from one -fourth to one-fifth more hens or would give
the regular number of hens from one-fourth to one-fifth more room.
From twenty to twenty-five per cent, of the total area of a building is
too much to pay for a free passageway.

Every time one enters the pen from the alleyway he opens and shuts
twice as many doors as he would in a similar house without an alleyway,
if one passes from pen to pen and returns outside (except in case of a full
section scratching-shed house). (See Fig. ii, A and B.) If alleyw^ays are
boarded up tight one cannot see the fowls without opening the doors. If
they are not tight they encourage drafts.

The nesting and roosting conveniences can be so arranged that most
of the work may be done from the alleyway, which might be a
saving of labor. But in so doing one would not be among
his fowls, which would be a decided disadvantage.

Long houses should always be divided
by tight partitions, either cloth or board,
between every two pens at least, to avoid
drafts. Otherwise, cold and dangerous
air-currents will be formed whenever
windows, doors or ventilators are open.
13. Sunlight is a necessity. — It carries
good cheer and tends to arrest or pre-
vent disease. Too much glass makes a

house too cold at night and too warm during the daytime, because
glass gives off heat at night as readily as it collects it in the daytime. Much
glass makes construction expensive. Allow one square foot glass surface to

254

The Poultry Book

about sixteen square feet floor space if windows are properly placed. The
windows should be high and placed up and down rather than horizontally and
low. (Fig. 12.) In the former the sunlight passes over the entire floor during

A

B

C

D

i]

Alley

, Pen

Pen

Pen

S ; S

Shoii:Shed

Pen

Pen

D 1

Pen

Pen

[ P

3n

I

s i s

Shed : Shea

£

«e/0-.-<d>

^^4-^^

Closed
Hoost

Closed
Roost

ss

hed

SShed

30

the day from west to east, drying and purifying
practically the whole interior. The time when
sunshine is most needed is when the sun is lowest
— i. e., from September 21st to March 21st. The
FIG. II arrows in Fig. 12 represent the extreme points

which the sunshine reaches during this period
with the top of a four-foot window placed four feet, six feet and seven
feet high, respectively. With the highest point of the window at four feet,
the direct sun-rays would never reach farther back than nine feet; at
six feet it would shine thirteen and one-half feet back, and at seven feet
it would strike the back side of the house one foot above the floor.
Window sash with small glass seriously obstruct the
light. Very large lights break too easily and are
more expensive; 8 x 10 is a good-sized glass to
be used in twelve-light sash, making it about
three feet nine inches high by two feet five
inches wide. Use two of these for

a house about fifteen
feet square.

Sun from
April Zlst
'/ to

Sept.2l3t.

San ot
■^ Dec. Zlst.

,..'■' Single sash

--■'' are usually less

expensive than double

sash of the same size,

and the cost for window

'/'5- ^ ' frame is less. Single sash

FIG- 12 may swing from the side or

top, or be made to slide to one side. They can be opened and
closed quickly and completely, and are against the wall, where
least apt to be broken. With double sash this is more difficult.

Practical Poultry Houses

255

Whitewashing the inside of a house makes it as much Hghter as would
an extra window.

14. Extreme temperature may he modified by careful ventilation. —
It is as important that houses be kept cool in summer as it is that they
be kept warm in winter. Therefore remove windows in hot weather.
Curtains over windows, though adding to trouble and expense, can be used
to advantage during the night in the coldest weather and during the
day in the hottest season. Hens must be kept comfortably warm. This

is particularly true at night, when the body is less active. The great
difference between summer, when hens naturally lay most eggs, and
winter, when they always lay the least eggs, is a difference in temperature
and sunshine. Therefore we must build our poultry houses so that we can,
as far as possible consistently with cost, overcome this condition.

15. A low house is warmed more easily than a high one. — Solid walls
radiate heat rapidly. The best way to make a poultry house warm is
to build it as low as possible without danger of bumping heads. There
will then be ample air space for as many fowls as the floor space will
accommodate. Too much air space makes a house cold; it cannot be
warmed up by the heat given off by the fowls.

256 The Poultry Book

With the house as seen in Figure 13, 15x15x6 feet, there would be
1,350 cubic feet of air space, which, with forty hens weighing five pounds
each, would allow 9/^ cubic feet to each pound live weight. This is
eight times greater than is recommended for each pound live weight for
other animals. The gable roof alone has 562 cubic feet air space, or 2^
cubic feet air space to each pound live weight.

16. The walls should furnish insulation. — Matched lumber is cheaper
in the end than unmatched with battened sides. Planed lumber will pay
for extra cost in the saving of paint and brushes. For durability, painting
buildings may not pay, but for appearance's sake it is desirable. Line
with tough building paper, always making the laps tight. Make the walls
double, with the space stuffed with straw, rather than have a so-called
dead air space or the same material built solid together. (See Fig. 11.)
With the solid wall heat passes through rapidly. The same is true of a dead
air space, where the air becomes as cold as the outside boarding, and in
turn, by direct contact, cools off the inside boarding. This occurs less
quickly when the space is stuffed witli non-conducting material. Stuffed
walls will not be necessary over the entire house except in the very coldest
sections, or the coldest sides in the milder sections, and not at all farther
south. It costs about the same to build a double-battened wall with
unmatched boards solid together, with paper between, as it does to make
two single walls of matched boards with one lining of paper and the space
stuffed with straw. With vertical boarding every board serves as studding
and saves expense.

17. Dampness is fatal in hen houses; drain to promote dryness. —
Better by far to have a cold, dry house than a warm, damp house. The
warmer the air the more moisture it will hold. W^hen this moist air comes
in contact with a cold surface, condensation takes place, which is often
converted into hoar-frost. The remedy, therefore, is to remove the moisture
supply as far as possible by first cutting off' the water from below which
comes up from the soil. The water table is the same under a hen house
as it is outdoors. Dirt floors are therefore damp. Stone-filling covered
with soil is hard to clean, and only partially keeps out dampness, unless
raised considerably above the natural ground-level, as shown in Figure 5.
Board floors are short-lived if the air is not allowed to circulate under
the house. If the foundation walls are not tight the floors are cold. In
any case, they harbor rats. A good cement floor is nearly as cheap as a good

Practical Poultry Houses 257

matched board floor, counting lumber, sleepers, nails, time, etc. When
once properly made it is good for all time. It is practically rat proof,
easily cleaned and perfectly dry, cutting off absolutely all the water from
below. An objection to cement floors is that rats may burrow under
^ them and so undermine them that the floors break through when stepped
on by a man. We have seen cement floors so badly broken they had to
be dug up with a pick and relaid. If covered with a little soil, or straw,
or both, as all kinds of floors should be, it will be a warm floor. Make
cement floors by filling in with small stones or coarse gravel, if possible,
for drainage. Then work in and smooth off about from one to two
inches of mortar, made by mixing thoroughly, while dry, one part good
cement to three parts sharp sand, then wetting and thoroughly mixing
again and again and again. Other things that can be done to keep
dampness out of the air is to use absorbents, like dry dust or land-plaster
(ground gypsum), or South Carolina rock on the droppings (which should
be frequently removed), and by keeping plenty of dry straw or buckwheat
hulls on the floor or for litter overhead.

18. When air is warmed it expands and rises. Cooling has the opposite
effect. — Damp air may be removed by ventilators, which will necessarily
make the house a little cooler. Warm air rises. Therefore the best
ventilator is one that has an out-take near the floor, with a tight galvanized
iron shaft leading up through the warm air of the house to the roof and out
at the peak. The metal, being more quickly affected by heat, will cause
currents of air in the shaft to rise more quickly. (Fig. 13.) The intake
air should be received from the bottom on the outside and conducted to
the ceiling before being allowed to enter the room. This avoids direct
drafts and causes a circulation necessary to the removal of moisture.
The less the difference between the inside and outside temperatures and the
quieter the air the more difficult it is to ventilate. The tighter and warmer
buildings are made the easier they are to ventilate. The larger the amount
of air space the less need there will be for ventilators, provided there is
a change of air through windows or doors during the day. (See King, on
"Ventilation.") Stuffing the sides and roof of the house with straw to
prevent condensation of moisture will help to keep the moisture in the
air so that it can be removed by ventilation. Pure air is as necessary
to good health and good egg-production as are pure food and pure water.
It will require a perfect system of ventilation and considerable personal

258

The Poultry Book

attention to keep the air in a poultry house as pure as it would be outdoors ;
it will, therefore, often be found advisable to adopt the scratching-shed

"t^>;-.

6-8y

plan of house, which allows fowls some discretion in choosing an open-
air temperature.

19. Exercise is necessary to insure health; scratching- pens provide
for this. — Hens do not like confinement. The fact that hens can go in
and out freely from house to shed seems to be a deceptive form of liberty
which they crave, and which is not provided in a single close compartment
house. The fact of having been in the cooler air during the daytime
seems to make the fowls less affected by the cold of night. In practice
they are generally found to be more healthy and to lay more eggs in a year
when proper scratching-sheds are provided. The relative size of the shed
and closed compartment will depend upon the location. The farther
south, the larger the scratching-shed and the smaller the closed pen, even
to the extent of having all open sheds with cloth fronts and with hooded
roosts. Such houses are far warmer than is generally supposed. The
farther north one goes, the smaller the scratching-shed and the larger the
closed compartment should be, until in very cold sections the open shed
might be entirely undesirable. Ordinarily, they should be about equally
divided.

There are several ways to provide scratching-sheds, each one possessing
some advantage over the others. Figure 1 1 shows three styles. Plan C has
the advantage of a scratching-shed as deep as the house, which is thus
better sheltered from the wind. It has the disadvantage of having more
doors to open and close in passing through a long house. Plan D does
away with two doors, thus saving time, and is no more expensive to build,

Practical Poultry Houses

259

but is more exposed to the wind, and will make a somewhat dark comer
unless a window is placed at the back of the scratching-shed. Plan E is
all scratching-shed except a small, warm roosting-room. This would be
a little cheaper to build, but would not be adapted to the coldest sections.
The fronts of the open sheds should generally be provided with heavy
cotton cloth doors to keep out sleet and snow during heavy storms. They
may be hung at the top and raised by a pulley, or sliding doors with cloth
windows can be used. Hens are easily frightened. Anything that causes
uncertainty or suggests danger retards egg-production. Therefore every
house should provide a retreat. This is done by placing the opening
through which the fowls pass to and from the shed and the house at the
rear side instead of the front side of the partition (Fig. ii, C). When any
one approaches the shed the hens retreat, without alarm, to the house, or
to the shed if the alarm were to come from the other direction. Placing
the opening at the rear side also prevents the wind from blowing into the
house. It should be raised eight inches above the floor to prevent the
litter from being scratched out.

20. A dust-bath is as essen-
tial to a hen's health and happiness
as a water-bath to a human being's.
— By it they scour off the scurf
and scales from the skin and rid
themselves of vermin. The finer,
lighter, drier dust is the better,
because the dust must be light
and fine to get into the breathing- ^
pores of the lice to kill them.
Sandy loam is often better than
sand or some kinds of road dust,
which are cold and heavy; wood
ashes and coal ashes lighten it up.
The best place for the dust-bath
is in the open air of the scratching-
shed. Here the dust quickly

settles, and the hens that are not dusting are not compelled to
breathe it. Fowls are apt to stand upon the edge of a dust-box
and befoul it. The interior arrangement of a poultry house should

FIG. 15

26o

The Poultry Book

not occupy the floor space ; the hens need it all — and thus, also,
the floors are more easily cleaned.

2 1. Cleanliness is important; movable fixtures facilitate in cleaning
the house.— For the most part, interior fixtures should be portable to facili-
tate fighting mites (Figs. 14 and 15). Generally they should not be allowed
to touch the sides of the house. If they do, the wall must be kept tight
and vermin-proof. Roosts should be on the same level to prevent fowls
from fighting to get to the highest place. They should be placed in the
warmest spot, out of the reach of drafts, and as high as possible without

injury to the fowls in
close that fowls can snuggle
warm, and enough space
can separate during warm
twelve inches for each fowl,
desired seems to be a piece
the narrow edge rounded .
a platform to catch the
permit cleaning without

22. Hens are
darkened nests. —
their nests, there-
be partly dark ; '—

to eat eggs in dark
place for the nests

NyVaterPo

PItttfo

Floor

FIG. 16

descending. They should be so
together and keep each other
should be provided so that they
weather. Allow from six to
The form of perch most to be
about two by three inches, with
Under the perches should be
droppings — far enough below to
removing perches.

secretive and prefer
They like to hide
fore these should
they are less apt
nests. A good
is under the drop-

Wooden Cover

pings board. They should be so placed that the eggs can be gathered without
stooping. Hens hke to fly up to lay. Nest boxes should generally be about
one foot square and from six to eight inches deep, so that the nest material
will prevent the eggs from breaking, and the hens cannot roll eggs from
one nest to another. The partitions between nests should permit hens to
go from one nest to another, otherwise they will fight and break eggs.
Fine hay is the best nest material ; sawdust stains eggs ; excelsior wads up
and sticks to hens' toes; straw is too coarse. Provide nest eggs; the
hen then feels a sense of security. That is why different hens like to lay
in the same nest. Figures 14 and 15 are suggestions for roosting and
nesting arrangements which we have been using with great satisfaction;
they can be modified to suit conditions.

Water basins should be large enough so that when filled the water

Practical Poultry Houses

261

will last for twenty-four hours ; then we shall know that the hen will never

suffer from lack of water. They should be easily cleaned, and should

be made of such material that they will

not break if dropped or frozen. The best

water-dish is a galvanized iron refrigerator

pan, with corrugated bottom and with

top larger than bottom. It should be

placed a little above the floor, with a

cover to prevent its becoming dirty

(Fig. 16).

A self-feed grit-box should be placed
where the hens can have constant access
to it and cannot roost upon it (Fig. 17).
Every pen should be provided with a
hanging coop, with slat sides and bottom,
in which to place broody hens or extra
males (Fig. 18). ^

. FIG 17

In the foregoing pages the attempt
has been made to take up the parts of a poultry plant in detail,
to discuss the principles involved, and to give the reasons why,
leaving to each one who reads it the problem of applying the principles
by locating and building according to his own conditions. There is no
one best poultry house for all, but there is a best poultry house for each
one. We will give in the following pages illustrations and descriptions of
practical poultry houses of several different designs.

FIG. 18

262

The Poultry Book

FIG. I IMPLEMENT HOUSE TRANS-

FORMED INTO POULTRY HOUSE

Poultry House Suggestions

Poultry houses are discussed in "Farmers' Bulletin No. 141," United
States Department of Agriculture, as follows: "It is very desirable that
poultry should be provided with a house somewhat separated from the

other farm buildings, but near enough to
the barnyard so that they can spend a
part of their time in scratching for and
gathering up the many seeds and grains
which otherwise would not be utilized. On
farms where no poultry house is provided
the hens are compelled to seek roosting
places wherever they can find them —
sometimes in fruit trees, sometimes on feed
racks, sometimes on the farm machinery,
and sometimes even on the wagons and carriages.

" Poultry houses need not be elaborate in their fittings nor expensive
in construction. There are certain conditions, however, which should
be insisted upon in all cases. In the first place, the house should be
located upon soil which is well drained and dry. A gravelly knoll is best,
but, failing this, the site should be raised by the use of the plow and scraper
until there is a gentle slope in all directions sufficient to prevent any stand-
ing water even at the wettest times. A few inches of sand or gravel on the
surface will be very useful in preventing the formation of mud. If the
house is sheltered from the north and northwest winds by a group of ever-
greens, this will be a decided
advantage in the colder parts of
the country.

" Sometimes there is already
a small building on the farm
which has been used for imple-
ments or animals and which is
no longer required for these
purposes. Such a building may

be easily fitted for poultry by cutting a small door in one side and placing
roosts and nests in the interior. (Figs, i and 2.)

"In case there is no building suitable for remodeling into a poultry

IMPLEMENT HOUSE TRANSFORMED
POULTRY HOUSES

Practical Poultry Houses

263

house, an inexpensive lean-to may be built (Fig. 3), or a new building
constructed. A house for this purpose should be planned with a view to
simpHcity, economy and convenience while supplying the conditions
proper for successful poultry keeping.

"One of the simplest forms of poultry house
is shown in Figure 4, and groimd plan of the
same in Figure 5. A scratching-shed may be
attached to the side of this house, as in Figures
6 and 7, which, if desired, may be inclosed in
front with poultry wire, so as to keep the birds
confined.

The details of construction of roosts are

seen in Figure 8. The important points are a

nearly fiat or sHghtly rounded surface on the

tipper side and as few cracks and crevices as possible in which vermin

may hide. The roosts may be made of two- by three-inch scantling, and

should be so put in that they can easily be removed at any time for

FIG. 3.

A LEAN-TO POULTRY
HOUSE

cleaning and
A platform is
under the
catch the
and the nests
under this
"The

GROUND PLfKN.

'IG. 4. SIMPLE FORM OF
POULTRY HOUSE

FIG. 5. GROUND
PLAN FOR FIG. 4

disinfection,
often placed
roosts to
droppings,
are placed
platform,
simplest form

of nest is a box placed upon the floor of the poultry house. With heavy
fowls, which are apt to break their eggs in fighting away other hens
that try to enter their nests when they are laying and thus acquire the
habit of egg-eating, a
more concealed or dark
nest may be necessary.
"One of the most
troublesome parts of
a poultry house to
make satisfactory is
the floor. Many use earth floors, but these are often damp, especially
in cool weather, and then induce rheumatism, colds, roup, digestive
disorders and various other diseases. Some have put in cement floors,

FIG. 6. POULTRY HOUSE WITH
SCRATCHING SHED

7. GROUND PLAN
FOR FIG. 6

264

The Poultry Book

but have found these cold and also more or less damp. Probably
a good cement floor, laid on broken stone and covered with a few inches
of earth, would be satisfactory, if not too expensive. A board floor, six

or eight inches above the

l-HI ll-HI II

FIG. 8. CONSTRUCTION
OF ROOSTS

FIG. 9. SECTIONAL VIEW
OF ROOST, PLATFORM

AND NESTS

earth, with good ventilation
under it, is dry but too
cold, except in the South.
A double flooring, laid
tightly with building paper
between, or a good single

flooring covered with a few inches of dry earth, is probably the best.

In all cases of board floors there should be sufficient space beneath for

ventilation and to guard against the lodgment of rats.

"A good style of poultry house, with scratching-room under it, is

shown in Figure 10. In case more than one flock is to be kept, the plan

may be multiplied to any extent by adding to the ends. With such

houses there may be fenced runs at the back or front, or on both sides, so

that the birds may be confined.
' ' The amount of space to be

allowed for each bird depends

upon the size of the birds, whether

a shed is attached to the house or

whether the fowls have a free

run of the open fields. For birds

in confinement there should be

from six to fifteen square feet for

each adult bird in case there is no

shed attached to the house; and

with a shed this space may be

reduced about one-half. The yards

should be large enough to allow

exercise in the open air and to

furnish more grass than the birds

will eat. This will vary from 60

to 150 square feet per adult bird. The open shed facing the south,

where the birds can be induced to hunt for their food and take

exercise in all seasons of the year, and where they can enjoy the pleasure

[O. SCRATCHING-ROOM UNDER
POULTRY HOUSE

Practical Poultry Houses

265

of scratching and dusting themselves in the sunshine, even during the winter
months, is of great assistance in maintaining the health and productiveness,
of the flock. The roosting space allowed should be from six to eight inches
for the smaller breeds, from eight to ten inches for the medium breeds,
and from ten to twelve inches for the larger breeds.

"Poultry houses should be well ventilated, but so arranged that
drafts of air will not strike the birds. Windows and doors should be
provided in such locations that the sun may shine into the building a
considerable part of the day. Sunshine is required both to keep the houses
dry and to destroy various forms of infection."

COLONY HOUSES AT THE WEST VIRGINIA EXPERIMENT STATION

Experiment Station Colony Houses

The West Virginia Experiment Station colony houses are ten feet'
wide and twenty feet long, and are arranged in a row facing southward so
as to give the fowls as much sunlight as possible during the wmter. In
front of each house is a door and two windows. The doors are furnished
with spring locks, thus securely fastening the houses at all times. The
windows are co\'ered with wire netting and are kept open during the hot
weather. These and a drop door on the east end of each house, also
covered with wire netting, are the only means of ventilation. At the
approach of very cold weather the windows and doors are closed and
remain so until spring.

There are two runs for each house, and they are entered by the fowls
through two drop doors in the rear of the houses. An advantage of
having double runs is that the fowls are thus constantly supplied during

266

The Poultry Book

SCRATCHING-SHED HOUSE AT THE MASSACHUSETTS EXPERIMENT STATION

the summer with an abundance of green food, the runs being plowed three
or four times, and alternately planted to rape or some other suitable crop.
During the planting, and while the crop is young, the adjacent run is opened
and the fowls have free access to it, while the newly planted yard is closed
by means of a little drop door. Each run is furnished with a wire gate
opening out upon a boardwalk which extends in front of the houses and runs.

The houses rest upon brick founda-
tions about two feet in height, a foot
of which is aboveground. The surface
of the ground within this wall is filled
up to the sills with sand, and upon this
is scattered litter in which the fowls
scratch during the winter for grain
and grit.

A tile drain extending along the rear
of the houses keeps the dirt floors of the
houses dry in all kinds of weather.
The houses are divided into two rooms, a roosting room, in which
the roosts and nest boxes are situated, and a scratching pen. The perches

.^ j J

IS FT i

GROUND PLAN OF SCRATCHING-SHED
HOUSES, MASSACHUSETTS EXPERI-
MENT STATION

Practical Poultry Houses

267

HOUSES AND YARDS, MASSACHUSETTS EXPERIMENT
STATION

are merely frames made from two-inch strips, suspended from the rafters
by wires. Under the perches are the platforms for the droppings, which
are also suspended from
the rafters. Underneath
these platforms are the
nests. The accompanying
cut shows the general ar-
rangement and appearance
of the houses.

We show an illustration
of the colony poultry house
with scratching-shed which
is used at the Hatch Experi-
ment Station, Amherst,

Massachusetts. These houses are 12 x 18 feet, having a scratching-shed
8x12 feet and a roost- and nesting-room 10 x 12 feet. There are two full-
sized windows made to open up and down in the roosting department, while
the scratching-shed is provided with double doors which open nearly its
entire front. These houses are very substantially built, are nine feet high
in front and six feet high in the rear. The walls and roof are shingled.
The doors to the scratching-shed each contain a twelve-light window
in the upper half. These doors are made to open inward, as shown in
the illustration. The houses have earth floors, which are perfectly dry, as

the buildings are located
on w^ell-drained land. Each
house is provided with a
yard, as shown in the illus-
tration.

The colony houses of
the Connecticut Experiment
Station are cheaply built
scratching-shed houses, six-
teen feet long and five feet
nine inches wide, six feet
high in front and four feet
high in the rear, a little less than one-half of which is made as a roosting-
room and the balance a curtained-front shed. The front of the roosting-

SCRATCHING-SHED HOUSES AT THE CONNECTICUT
EXPERIMENT STATION

268 The Poultry Book

room has a two-foot-wide door and one double-sash window. The
curtain of the scratching-shed is stretched upon a Hght frame, which is
hinged at the top, and may be raised or lowered by a cord which passes
through the outside front of the shed. The scratching-shed has an earth
floor and a board floor is provided for the roosting-room. Each of these
colony houses has a yard sufficiently large so that there is good grass in
them for the fowls all summer long.

Practical Colony Houses

A colony house suitable for growing stock, a breeding-pen or a brooder
house was described by Arthur G. Duston, a practical poultryman of
Massachusetts, in the Reliable Poultry Journal as follows: "I have been
in the poultry business for many years, and have seen and tried many
houses, but I have never seen the equal of the house shown in the accom-
panying illustration. This house is ten feet in length and five feet in width.
The height in front is five feet three and a half inches and in the back is
four feet two inches. A large double window furnishes light. It is placed
low^ in the house, as you will see, being but one foot from the board floor.
When the door is open the sun shines in as though it were an open shed.
The door is 21-2x41-2 feet and is made in two sections. The inner
section is hinged to the outer, thus making a door within a door. The
opening in the door proper is covered with one-inch-mesh wire netting.
This permits of the opening of the panel door. Throughout the winter,
except in stormy weather, this outside door is left open all day. When
closed the building is tight and waiTn. The first year there is no need of
papering the sides, but after that the openings from shrinkage make
drafts, which, of course, the birds cannot stand. The roof is covered
with any good roofing fabric.

"This convenient colony house is durably built of 2 x 3 studding
and seven-eighths-inch matched stock. About 68 feet of studding and
230 feet of boards are required. The house is built on two pieces of 2x4-
inch stufl^, rounded at the ends. I can take my work horse and haul one
of these houses all over the farm. I can hang three- or four-foot wire
netting on stakes driven in the ground and in a few minutes have a house
and yard ready for occupancy. I have kept breeding-pens in buildings of
this type with splendid success and have housed sale cockerels in them
until late in spring. What better can be found than a house of this size for

fS.

Uo^lxaiui^-^ 'tUiiO^

AUSTRALIAN-BRED MALAY COCKEREL

Practical Poultry Houses

269

service in the spring, with either chicks just hatched or with growing stock ?
With a bran sack I divide the house into two pens and into each put hens
with chickens. They do splendidly; if the mothers are shut in small
coops formed by placing a board across each back comer, the chicks have
the range of the whole floor.

"A brooder may be put into this house in early spring when the weather
IS too changeable to allow the use of any brooder out-of-doors. When a
brooder is in a house like this your chickens have practically outdoor

MR. DUSTON's colony HOUSE

exercise when they could hardly run out on the ground. Last spring I
placed a brooder in this house and cut a hole in the end of the house for a
lamp. This brooder gave entire satisfaction. The large window, and the
door always open, furnished an abundance of sunlight and air, which had
much to do with the success of the brooder.

"The general usefulness of the house is what has appealed to
me most. Last season I had several of these houses for summer
quarters for yearling hens distributed through the fields. The hens
so housed have molted better than any I have ever had before.
The doors are not shut at all at night, and the hens have been free
from every malady. I have twenty of these houses and intend to
build more. If one can do the work oneself, one can build such a house

270 The Poultry Book

for $9.61 This estimate does not include the cost of paper for covering
roof and sides.

" There are many uses for such a house on any poultry farm. It cannot
be bettered as a summer shelter for growing stock. If one has but little
room he can haul this house eack week to a fresh plot of grass, as he would
do with a small brooder, thus allowing the grass on the old place to grow
again. The brooder, however, cannot be compared with this colony
house when the chickens have reached some size."

A CURTAINED-FRONT POULTRY HoUSE

At the Maine Experiment Station fresh air was the main consideration
in their new poultry house. Its chief pecuharity was a curtained-front
roosting-room and a curtained front to the house proper. The developing
of a new idea in poultry-house construction, and the test proving it a most
practical one, certainly justifies a feeling of satisfaction, and this success
has come to Professor Gowell at the Maine Experiment Station. Although
the experiment was tried with great misgiving, the success was beyond
question, and when the fifty birds not only continued in high health but
contributed a steady supply of eggs throughout the winter, it would seemi
as though the conditions were substantially right. The chief point of this
poultry house is that only two cloth curtains are between the birds and all
outdoors at night, and it's cold weather up in ]\Iaine, the mercury often-
times going away below zero. A remarkable feature of this house is that
the birds were tight-shut within the small roosting-pen on decidedly cold
nights, with only about four cubic feet of air space for each bird.

A point that we want to keep in mind is that the Maine Experiment
Station is in a very cold country, being located some ten or a dozen miles
north of Bangor and almost up to latitude 45. When we see that Ottaw^a,
Ontario, is only 45 1-2 north, that j\Iinneapolis, Minnesota, and Portland,
Oregon, are 45 plus; Chicago 42 minus; Cleveland, Ohio, 41 plus, and
Buffalo, New York, 43 minus, we realize that a poultry house which does
good work at the ]\Iaine Station will do equally good work anywhere in
the northern States and the more thickly settled portions of Canada.

The house is twenty-five feet long by ten feet wide, and as the roost
platform is three feet above the floor the whole of the 250 square feet of
floor space is available for exercise room : five square feet of floor space
for each of fifty birds.

Practical Poultry Houses

271

A decidedly important factor in this curtained-front house is that
straw to the depth of six or eight inches was over all the floor, and some
kernels of grain were thrown in the straw overnight, so that the birds went

II !l

THE CURTAINED-FRONT HOUSE AT THE MAINE EXPERIMENT STATION

immediately to scratching (exercising) as soon as they came off the roost
in the morning. It would be unwise to open the curtain of the roosting-
pen and let the birds out into the very cold atmosphere of the house
without their having an inducement to work ; the air within the close-shut
roosting-pen would be warm (comparatively), and that of the house very
cold, with only a muslin curtain between the inside air and the below-
zero air outside. The air inside would be down toward zero some morn-
ings, and far below freezing many mornings, and yet by that simple pre-
caution of having them go immediately to work kicking the straw about,
the warm, snug air of the roosting-pen and the sudden change to the
cold air of the scratching-room induced no colds nor any troubles of a
similar character. We would build such a house with a shed roof, the
front seven feet high and the back five and one-half feet high. In
describing this house Professor Gowell says :

"The roost platform is three feet above the floor and is three feet
two inches wide (clear). This width gives sufficient room so the back
wall and front curtain are not soiled by the discharges from the birds
while oh the roosts. I do not like to have the platform nearer the floor
than three feet. If the space is three feet high it is Hght and clear and is
really a part of the room ; if but two feet high it is only a hole into which
the hens can go, to be sure — and a man has to crawl in search of the eggs

272 The Poultry Book

sometimes laid there. It is dark, and you have to make excuses ( ?) to
yourself about it every time you go into it. Don't make it less than
three feet for me ! The roosting-room is three feet two inches wide in the
clear (from wall to curtain), and averages three feet high from the plat-
form below the roosts to the roof above. The house is clean, light, plain
and inexpensive, and with so much open front it gives room for a large
number of birds on small floor space.

"The walls and roof about the roosting-room must be double, must
be tight and well packed, and the curtain must fit very close to prevent
currents of air. Don't put in any ventilators ! When the curtains are
first shut down, on the first cold night, they are not allowed open another
night until cold, freezing nights are over, unless we have a long winter
thaw, in which case we use our judgment about leaving curtain open."

The curtain for front of roosting-pen is 3 x i6i/^ feet, and there
is a "broody" coop (in which to imprison broody birds) at the left
end four feet long. It is essential that the broody birds have a
similar closed roosting-room as those not imprisoned, hence the curtain
front of broody pen should be opened and closed, same as the other.
For convenience make the front of roosting-pen in two curtains of 3 x 8 1-4
feet, setting a stud in center of front. For the front of the house have
two curtains each four feet wide by eight feet long, which gives 4x16
feet of curtains, and three windows as shown.

All of these curtains should be tacked to well-made frames of i x 3-inch,
hinged at top so as to swing up to the roof rafters, where hooks and screw-
eyes secure them, and there should be a cross-brace to stiffen the frame.
The front curtain, which is exposed to the weather, should be of oiled
muslin such as gardeners use for covers for their coldframes ; the curtains
for front of roosting-pen and broody pen are of a good quality of muslin.
The curtains should fit tight to prevent currents of air. The roost platform
is made of two thicknesses of inch boards put together so as to break joints,
the upper thickness being an inch within the lower, and the curtain frame
shutting down close against it. The door to house should be in the
west end, sufficiently far front to clear the broody pen curtain; as
the front curtain does not come to the end of the house, the door will
clear that. The three windows are of twelve lights each, 8 x 10 glass,
and in winter for very cold latitudes have an outside ("storm") windo^\'
on each, the chief advantage of it being to prevent the windows frosting

Practical Poultry Houses 273

over. As that size of outside windows costs but about $1.25 each, they
soon pay for themselves.

There should be a double wall, tightly packed with straw or swale
hay, back of roosting- and broody pen and up the roof to front of same ;
in other words, the roosting- and broody pens are double-walled throughout.
Covering roof and walls with a good quality of prepared roofing, such as
Flintkote, Rubberoid, Neponset, Swan's Felt, etc., the outer wall would
be wind- and frost-proof. To make inner wall about roosting-pen air-tight,
put tarred sheathing paper upon inside of studding before boarding up.
The roost platform is continued to the east end, making a nest-box plat-
form four feet long. The nest boxes I would make three feet long by
fifteen inches wide and high, five inches at the back closed up to enclose nest
material ; the front is closed by a door which is secured by a simple button
and can be opened for collecting the eggs. To facilitate the fowls reaching
the platform an inclined stairway could be put in leading up to an opening
at the rear. The nest-box flats are partitioned into four apartments each.

The house used at the Maine Station had a board floor, with two or
three inches of dry earth on it. I would prefer an earth (fine sand) floor,
and to get absolute dryness would build houses with sills eighteen inches
above ground-level, filling up inside to base of sills and sloping up the
ground outside to same pomt. The slope outside would turn away the water
and insure inside ground being bone-dry, for absolute dryness is essential
to the best health of the flocks. Many poultry houses are damp and
unhealthy because they are tight-shut, and the moisture condensed from
the breath of the birds cannot escape; it collects on the ceiling and walls
(in the shape of frost if the weather is cold) and drips upon the fowls
and scratching material below. This curtained-front house would be
wholly free from that trouble, and a part of the secret of the excellent
results with it is that there is "ventilation" every day, and ventilation
without drafts. Fresh air and a reasonable amount of exercise are a
necessity if we would have good health and egg-production, and those
quaHties are combined most excellently in this curtained-front house.

Successful and Practical House

Writing of the "New Idea" laying- and breeding-house, Doctor C.
Bricault, of Massachusetts, says: "We are firm believers in fresh air for
our hens. We have had ample opportunity to note its good effects upon

274

The Poultry Book

-^'^■:.

DR. BRICAULT S NEW IDEA POULTRY HOUSE

the health of the stock and the egg yield. The open scratching-shed
gives us fresh air but not enough comfort, and it takes up too much
space. It was in thinking about these things that we planned the house
illustrated here.

" The large doors in the south front were the solution of the problem.
With correct handling, the doors allow us to give our hens all the fresh air
necessary, and still we are able to close them at night during the extremely
cold weather and give them a comfortable place to roost in. During mild
weather the upper part of the door is left open at night and a cloth curtain
put in the opening, as can be seen in the illustration. When the sun is well
up in winter the door is open and the whole floor is flooded with sunshine.
How the hens appreciate this can be best understood by noting their
contented appearance as they stretch out to sun themselves. The size of
each pen is lo x 12 feet, which will easily accommodate fifteen females
and one male for breeding, or twenty-five females for laying.

"The frame is 2 x 4 for sills, plates and rafters and 2x3 for studding.
It is five feet high in rear and seven feet in front. The sills are laid on
cedar posts about one foot from ground-level. We take a six-foot post,
cut it in two, and set it two feet into the ground. It is boarded up with
cheap hemlock boards, first by imbedding the bottom board four inches
into the ground, and havmg the bottom board come up to half the thick-
ness of sill. Then the upper boarding begins at this point on the sill.
This makes a tight joint near the floor and prevents cold drafts striking
the hens and producmg colds. The house is filled inside to level of sills

Practical Poultry Houses

275

with gravelly sand, which makes a dry floor. To make the house tight
along the upper part of the back wall, the rafters are cut even with plates
and boarded up even with top of rafters.

"The boards are covered with a cheap building paper, then with
sheathing quilt, and over these a prepared roofing. The roofing paper
is held in place with tin caps and nails. In laying the paper we begin
at the back, laying it up and down and lapping it well on the roof boards.
This makes a perfectly tight joint just where the roosts are placed. The
paper is then laid on all four walls, but the roof paper is laid lengthwise
of the building. After the paper is laid on the back wall, we lay a course
of shingles projecting from the house about five inches and another on
top of this one. This we do in order to allow the roof water to be carried
away from the building. Right over these shingles, but leaving about
five inches of them to the weather, we begin to lay the roof paper.

"The south front contains a large door in the middle of each pen,
with a window on each side of it. This door is 41-2x6 1-2 feet; it is
divided into two parts; the upper part, which is 21-2x41-2, is hinged
to the plate, swings upward against the rafters, and is held in place by two
hooks. On stormy days or at night in mild weather this part of the
door is left open and a cloth curtain placed in the opening. The lower
part of the door is hinged at the side, and swings. The cloth curtain is
a two-inch frame on which oiled muslin is tacked. The windows are ordi-
nary two-sash twelve-light windows, and can be opened up and down at
will. When the weather is settled we leave both windows and door open

FRONT OF HOUSE, SHOWING MOVABLE GATES DOWN

276

The Poultry Book

all the time; the house is then practically an open shed, and the most
comfortable place possible for the hens in summer. A small opening
about a foot square allows the hens access to the yard when the lower
part of the door is closed.

"The divisions between pens are made solid, except the doors, which
are two-inch wire netting nailed to four-inch frames. A good-fitting door
is our hobby, and ours fit well ; they are hung on double-spring hinges,
and work perfectly both ways. Gomg through the pens with a pail in

SHOWING ARRANGEMENT OF ROOSTS AND NESTS IN NEW IDEA

each hand, it is no trouble to push the doors with the foot going
or coming, and we economize the room which the passageway would
occupy. x^long the back wall, eighteen inches from the floor, is
placed the droppings board, and six inches above this two roosts,
which are 2x7,, with corners rounded off and laid on the two-inch
side. Sixteen inches above there is a row of coops the length of the
pen. These coops we use for spare males, broody hens, or for a trio
preparatory to shipping. Under the droppings board are the trap nests.
In the division between pens are the drinking vessels, raised ten inches
from the floor. These are made of galvanized iron and are fourteen
inches in diameter and six inches deep."

MALAY COCK AND HENS.

Practical Poultry Houses 277

An Excellent Canadian House

The poultry house of L. H. Baldwin, of Canada,* is well planned and
has given good results. The point of excellence in if is that the fowls are
allowed exercise in the open air and are at the same time protected from
the wind. It also furnishes a warm roosting-pen.

It is a frame building seventy-two feet long and ten feet deep, and is
divided into four scratching-sheds and four roosting-pens. The ground
plan is shown in Figure i. The sills are 4x4 cedar, resting on large stones.
The studding is 2 x 4 hemlock. The top of the sill is one foot above the
surface of the ground, and a base-board is fastened on the inside of the
sill ; the floor of the house is filled with sand to the top of the base-board,
and the earth is banked up on the outside to the same level. The stones
upon which the sills rest are placed at varying distances to meet the joists
and at intervals of about eight feet. The north wall is four feet high from
the top of the sill, and the south wall seven feet high. In the north wall
the studding is placed at each corner of the roosting-pens and an additional
one in each center, also at the corner of each scratching-shed, and an
additional one in the center. In the south wall the studding is placed so
as to accommodate the window. At the east end an extra stud stands as
a doorpost, and one at the west end, in the center. The rafters are 2x4
hemlock, placed at two-feet centers. On the outside of the studding
and rafters ordinary lumber is used, running the boards lengthwise.
The ends of the building, the north wall and the south fronts of the roosting-
pens are covered with a two-ply "ready roofing," and for the roof
three-ply "ready roofing." A scantling 2x4 reaches from the north sill
to the south sill at the base of each division. The division wall between
the scratching-shed and the roosting-pen is made of rough lumber on the
scratching-shed side, with a lining of tar felt nailed on the interior of these
boards, and battened closely with laths to make the joints of the tar felt
complete. The division wall between the roosting-pens is made of seven-
eighths tongued-and-grooved flooring, and the other interior walls of the
roosting-pens are lined with seven-eighths tongued-and-grooved dressed
material-. The ceiling is of the same. Before putting on this dressed
material, a second layer of tar felt was placed between the sheathing and
rafters, so that there is a dead-air space. The large doors between the

♦Described in "Bulletin No. 127," Ontario Department of Agriculture.

278

The Poultry Book

scratching-sheds and the roosting-pens are about three inches thick, made
of two thicknesses of seven-eighths tongued-and-grooved dressed material,

FiR.
1.

^ n

J u

J U I

u ■ ■-

Scra-tchincj
Shed

JO f jO

n r

J

V±i

"f

O5zsss2ozns

o

n

ROOF

JSocytci-

Fig. 3. Fig. 4.

DETAILS OF MR. BALDWIN'S SCRATCHING-SHED HOUSE

with a space of one inch between, and Hned with tar felt on the inside.
These doors are raised a foot above the level of the sills, and in this
space, near the south wall, is cut openings ten inches wide, furnished
with sliding doors.

The droppings board is three feet wide and eighteen inches above
the top of the sills. Tw^o roosts, each 2x3, are placed on the fiat side,
fastened together by a cross strip which is hinged to the north wall. Two
legs support the roosts on the outer side. The roosts being hinged, they
can be lifted up and fastened to the roof so as to leave a clear space
when making the daily cleaning. The roosts come short of each wall by
about two inches. Three nests each eighteen inches square are allowed
to each pen. Against the inside division, between the roosting-pens,
a twelve-inch board extends on the level of the droppings board to within

Practical Poultry Houses

279

twelve inches of the door, and an upright twelve-inch board is fastened
to the end of this and runs up to the ceiling. To correspond with
it, a board is placed against the opposite wall, and a cotton curtain
on a two-inch roller is fastened to the ceiling. This curtain is shown
by the dotted lines across pens in Figure 4. When this curtain is down it
comes to about two inches below the level of the droppings board. The
purpose is to protect the fowls on very cold nights. Mr. Baldwin has
found that it is not necessary to use it when the pens contain more than
fifteen birds ; but if the number is reduced, and the thermometer drops to
the neighborhood of zero, it is well to let it down.

The windows in front of the roosting-pens are each three feet wide
and two feet six inches high, containing six panes 10 x 12 inches each.
The windows are placed high in the front wall and slide to the right and
left. The windows being placed high up, the sun in winter, when it is
low in the heavens, shines upon the roost and droppings board. The door
between the roosting-pens, which is also a foot above the level of the sills,

Phofos;ynph by Prof. IV. G. John
AN ORCHARD RANGE ON THE POULTRY FARM OF WHITE AND RICE, NEW YORK

is of seven-eighths-inch stuff, the upper half being made of wire netting.
The front of each scratching-shed is divided in two by the center studding,
on each side of which there are cotton screens hinged at the top and reach-

28o The Poultry Book

ing down to within one foot of the top of the sill, and, when down, close
upon the top of a rain-board which slopes to the outside, so that rain beating
against the cotton screen is carried outside, thus keeping the interior dry.
These screens swing up to the roof and are there caught by hooks from the
rafters. The front of each scratching-shed is closed with two-inch mesh
wire netting. (One-inch mesh should have been used to keep out the
sparrows, which now get in and fly off with a lot of grain.) An eaves-
trough runs the length of the building, distributing the water east and
west. Drinking fountains are placed on the end of the board that runs out
from the droppings board, and on the wall opposite hang the boxes for
oyster shells and grit. The windows of the roosting-pens are open every
day. Of course, when the weather is stormy or bitterly cold they are
open only for from fifteen to thirty minutes in the middle of the day.
When the sun is shining brightly they may be left open for some hours.
This thoroughly ventilates the house, dries up all moisture, and keeps
the place clean and sweet. The screen in front of the scratching-shed
is let down only on very cold days and when the weather is cold and
stormy, the idea being to keep the open shed dry where the birds take
exercise in the open air.

This method of housing poultry keeps the stock in the most vigorous
health, and this is the secret of success in obtaining a plentiful supply of
fertile eggs in winter.

The Scratching-shed House

A practical poultry house with curtained-front scratching-shed was
recently described by the writer as follows : We give herewith plans for a
continuous poultry house with alternating pens and sheds, the sheds
having curtained fronts and all the space within the house being utilized.
]\Iany years' study of poultry-house problems has convinced us that this
alternating-shed-and-pen plan is the best, all things considered. No house
plan is perfect ; we have to balance advantages against disadvantages, and
should choose the plan which combines the greatest number of advantages
with fewest disadvantages, and so firmly are we convinced of the general
excellence of this pen-and-shed plan that if we were erecting a poultry
plant for 200 or 300 (or 2,000 or 3,000) head of fowls that is the plan we
would use.

Each combined pen and shed is 18 x 10 feet, the curtained-front shed

Practical Poultry Houses

28r

being lo x lo and the closed roosting-pen being 8 x lo — room sufficient
for twenty-five fowls of the American or thirty of the Mediterranean
varieties; no walk is required because the walk is through gates and doors,
from shed to pen and pen to shed, and so on to the end of the house and
out the other end. We have seen this plan given with a roosting-pen at
the end, then two sheds and two pens, etc. Don't do that ! By bringing
the closed roosting-pens together in pairs they contribute to each other's
warmth, and every pen has the protection of the shed beyond; the end
apartment should always be a shed. The ventilation (so much desired)
is very varied, and can be adapted to the different seasons in half a dozen

CONTINUOUS, CURTAINED - FRONT SCRATCHING SHED POULTRY HOUSE .

Curtain EC -Front
Scratching Sheid

JO X JO FT

Curtained - Front
Scratching- Shed

A

OS

KoosTiNa Room
X JO FT

Roosting Room
a X lOFT.

lO X JO FT

O'B

/^

L

Ground Plan of Pens and Sheds

THE CONTINUOUS SCRATCHING-SHED HOUSE

different ways. In summer the doors and windows are all wide open,
excepting the door between two pens, and the curtains all hooked up
against the roof out of the way

When the nights begin to be real frosty in the fall, close the windows.
in fronts of pens, but leave shed curtains hooked up and doors between
sheds and pens open. When it begins to freeze at night, close the curtains
in fronts of sheds, but still leave doors between pens and sheds open.
These doors (including slide door A) are never closed excepting on nights
of solid cold, say from five to twenty degrees above zero; and for zero
nights (five degrees above to away below) close the curtains in front of
roosts, and all doors and windows should be closed. An additional pro-

282

The Poultry Book

~""^^ ^ <X Front or Scratching Shed -^//owa/,? Ci/rtains , one DOWN.

•^ ^ ONE HOOKED UP fO ROOF

Nest Boxes. entrance in rear

Feed Trough

DETAILS OF SCRATCHING-SHED HOUSE

tection against cold in extremely cold latitudes would be to double-wall the
roosting-pen from the sill up to the plate and then four feet up the roof,
packing the spaces with straw or swale hay (seaweed, where it can be had,
as it is vermin proof) ; then have a hinged curtain to drop down to within
six inches of front of roost platform, going a foot below it; this curtain
we would close only on zero nights.

Sills and plates are all of 2 x 4 scantling, halved and nailed together
at joints. The rafters, the corner studs and studs in centers of fronts of
sheds are all 2 x 4 ; the intermediate studs are 2x3. Set the sills on stone
foundation, or on posts set into the ground below the usual frost line,
the posts being set five feet apart excepting in front of pens, wdiere they
would come four feet apart, there being a post at comers of each pen and
shed and one between ; the rafters should be two feet apart. The sills we
would set a foot and a half above average ground-level ; put hemlock
(or some hard wood) boards from bottom half of sill down to ground,
nailing it securely to sill and foundation posts, then fill up inside to bottom
of sills and slope up the ground outside to same height. Toe-nail studs
to sills firmly, plates to studs ditto, and rafters to plates. ]\Iake front
studs seven feet (or at least six and a half feet) in the clear, and back studs

Practical Poultry Houses

283

five feet (or four and a half feet) in the clear; of course, studs in front of
pens will be set to take window-frames (or the window-sash, if no
frames are used), and in partitions the studs will be set to take the
two-and-a-half-feet-wide doors. All of this framing is simple, and any
man who can saw off a board or joist reasonably square and drive nails
can build such a house, the slight bevel at each end of rafters being
quite as simple. All boarding is lengthwise, the boards being firmly
nailed and close joints made everywhere. Cover the boarding, both roof
and walls, with a good sheathing paper (or sheathing quilt) and then put
on the outside a covering of some good roofing material.

The prepared roofings come with nails and tin-heads inside each roll,
the price at which they are sold covering everything of that kind. As a
general rule, these roofings should be applied lengthwise of roofs and
walls, and where doors and windows are set in walls bring the covering
material out over top of door or window-frames. A twelve-light window of
3 X 10 glass is set in front of each pen, and all doors and gates are two
and a half feet wide by six feet high. Have plenty of hooks and screw-
eyes to secure doors and gates back against the walls and curtains up
against the roofs, each large curtain in front of shed needing two hooks

COLONY HOUSE AND OPEN RANGE ON POULTR

Photograph by Pre/. IV. G. J. hns
TE AND RICE, NEW YORK

284 The Poultry Book

and screw-eyes, one at each lower corner, to prevent it from twisting.
All windows should be protected by two-inch-mesh wire nettmg tacked
to inside of frame to keep fowls from dashing against it if startled
and keep varmints out when window is left open at .night. To keep the
fowls enclosed when curtains are raised, cover the front of shed with wire
netting, having one section of it made as a gate to open and let the birds
out into yards. This large gate will be found very convenient when
bringing in coops of birds from the fields.

The frames for the curtains are made of good, sound i x 3-inch furring,
halved and securely nailed at corners, and a brace set diagonally across
back of frame to firm it. Care must be taken that gates between sheds
do not come m conflict with these curtains when they are hooked up; as
they are left up seven or eight months in the year and taken down nights
and stormy days four or five months, care must be exercised to have the
gates swing clear. The doors from sheds to pens swing into the pens
and are out of the way of the curtains. Another point to be considered
is carrying off the drip from the curtains in case of a driving rain from
the south. As there is usually (in winter) six inches of scratching material
in the sheds, the curtains should not come down to the sills, and a board
eight or ten inches wide should be set slightly slanting in from the sill to
just inside the bottom of the curtain fram^; such drip-board secures the
scratching material within the shed and conveys the drip outside the sill.
The roost platform should be three feet wide and the full length of roosting-
pen, excepting that it should be short enough to lift out easily for house-
cleaning ; strong cleats should be nailed t-o each end wall to support it,
and the platform should be two feet above sill level.

Make the platform of matched boards, secured by two cleats across-
bottom, an "edge" of two-and-a-half-inch-wide furring being a decided
improvement, keeping the droppings enclosed; for convenience, a space
a foot in length can be cut out of middle of front edge through which to
scrape the droppings. The two roosts are made of 2 x 3 scantlings, slightly
rounded on top and cut eight inches shorter than platform, so ends of roost
come four inches within the platform. Set roosts fourteen inches apart,
which will bring them eight inches within the platform front and rear.
Two cross-arms are hinged to wall at back eight inches above platform
and terminate with legs eight inches long leading to platform ; the roosts
are swung up and hooked against the wall while cleaning off droppings.

CORNISH INDIAN PULLET

From a drawing by Harrison VVi

Practical Poultry Houses

285

Describing the scratching-shed houses with double runs, the Reliable
Poultry Journal says: "The laying houses with scratching-sheds, illus-
trated herewith, are used extensively on egg farms and by many breeders
of exhibition stock throughout New England and the East. It will be
noted in the illustration that these houses are provided with yards on both
sides of the house. The short yards can be used for the fowls of either
row of houses and as alternate runs, so that the regular yards can be

SCRATCHING-SHED HOUSES W

By courtesy o/" Reliable Poultry journal"
MI DOUBLE RUNS

plowed up and planted to corn in order to purify the soil. This insures
also a supply of green food for the stock birds throughout the year. We
especially recommend this style of yarding. The dimensions of the houses
and yards shown are as follows: The closed part of the house 10 x 15,
scratching-shed 10x10; the main yards 25x75 feet and the short
yards 25x25 feet. Each of these houses, with yards connected, will
accommodate from ten to fifty fowls, depending on the object for which
they are kept. If intended for breeding birds, flocks of from ten to fifteen
birds will be large enough.. If the fowls are kept solely for the production of

286

The Poultry Book

market eggs, from thirty to fifty hens can be kept in each closed house and
will do well. Green food, like rye, oats or blue grass, can be kept growing
in these yards the entire season — the rye if planted in the fall will supply

ARDANneKcnr or Roosrs

J

~]

7

,

i

H

\

FPOrsT VltW WITH WIRE SCREEN &DOOH TO 5HED.

.^**f^' 111 , .•J'>

'

'

-*,

1 c

■0

c

J

—

4

1 1 1 1 nil

OROUND PLAN.

MRAmEM[NT or N£iTJ.
DETAILS OF SCRATCHIXG-SHED HOUSES WITH DOUBLE RUXS

^

green food throughout the winter and in the early spring whenever the snow
is off the ground. We recommend gates as shown in the cut — large gates
next to the house, so that a wagon may be driven in, thus facilitating
changing the litter and cleaning out the house.

"The windows of these houses should be comparatively small, say
2i^ X 5 feet — that is, windows made of two six-light sashes, one sliding to
the right and the other to the left. These half -sashes are inexpensive. A
still better plan is to hinge them at the top so that they can be swung
outward, thus keeping out the rain when open in the siimmer time. Prop
them one-third open. It is a good plan to whitewash them with a view
to keeping out a portion of the heat during hot weather ; have them clear
and clean in cold weather.

" In a majority of cases the housgs of this style that exist in New
England and the East are covered with roofing fabric held in place by
wooden battens, but we recommend a shingled roof. For roofs having
a steep pitch shingles will be found cheaper and more satisfactory in the
end. Twelve-inch-wide boards will do for siding, and the house should
be snugly lined with good building paper held in place by laths, or should

Practical Poultry Houses 287

have double walls and the inside of the outside wall lined with building
paper or tar felt. There is no danger whatever of making a poultry house
too warm. On the other hand, it is unwise to go to unnecessary expense.
Make sure that no draft can get in through cracks to strike the fowls
when at roost, for this is certain to result in colds, which may end in roup.
Do not worry about ventilators, provided the houses are kept reasonably
clean. Plenty of fresh air will find its way in, especially during the
winter, when it is most needed. No ordinary poultry house is likely to
be built tight enough to keep out the necessary fresh air.

"The detail plan shows an enlarged front view of this plan of house
with scratching- shed, giving dimensions. Any person who is handy with
tools can by consulting these illustrations build a house of this style and
equip a poultry plant on this plan.

"The sectional view shows the style of partition recommended for use

By couytesy of White and Rice Photograph by Prof. jr. G. Johnson

GENERAL VIEW OF AN OPEN RANGE ON FERNWOOD FARM, WESTCHESTER

COUNTY, NEW YORK

in dividing each closed section into two apartments and for use between
the scratching-sheds. It is advised that these partitions in both locations be
built up solid from four to six feet, so that there will be no fighting through

288 The Poultry Book

the wires by the birds either when on the roosts or in the scratching-sheds.
Furthermore, this plan will make the houses and sheds warmer and will
lessen the danger of drafts blowing over the fowls at night.

The ground plan shows the laying house with scratching-shed
attached, also location of roosts and nests. The detail shows arrangement
of nests. These should be located on the ground underneath the windows.
It will be understood that this plan can be added to or enlarged as desired.
A single house with scratching-shed can be built, or a double house with
two scratching-sheds and yards, or any number of the double houses,
as shown in the illustration."

A LOXG HOUSE AT THE WHITE LEGHORX POULTRY YARDS

A Continuous Poultry House

The long, continuous poultry house is in use at the White Leghorn
Poultry Yards of New York State, and was especially designed for housing
White Leghorn breeders. It is 250 feet long by 16 feet wide. It
has a floor of matched seven-eighths-inch boards. The outside walls are
first boarded, then covered with sheathing paper and clapboarded. The
inside of the building is boarded up with matched stuff on the inside of the
studs, making a four-inch dead-air space between the walls. The ceilings
are made of matched boards laid at the level of the plates. In this ceihng
there is a trap-door two feet square over each pen, connecting with the
attic chamber above.

In each gable end of the house there is a full-sized window, and, as
shown in the illustration, there are three ventilating cupolas at regular
intervals from the peak of the roof. In this way provision is made for proper
ventilation of the pens without any direct drafts. If desired, straw
can be placed in this attic, covering each of the trap-doors when open,
and this will provide an effective means of getting rid of all moisture in the

Practical Poultry Houses

289

INTERIOR OF LONG HOUSE, SHOWING PARTITIONS BETWEEN PENS

poultry house in the winter. On many poultry plants this system of
using straw above the ceiling to afford diffusive ventilation is practised
with great success.
There is a door at
each end of the
house opening into
an alleyway which
is three and a half
feet wide and ex-
tends the entire
length of the build-
ing on the north
side. This passage-
way is separated
from the pens by a
tight matched
board partition.

The pens are twelve feet square, with two windows in the front (or
south) side of each pen. A door opens from the alleyway into each pen,
and there is a door in each partition between the pens. The roosting
platforms and nests are placed as shown in the accompanying illustrations,

which also show
the construction of
the partitions be-
tween the pens, the
location of f o o d-
trough and water-
dish, the windows,
and the slide door
which connects with
the runs. A long
house of this de-
scription, while
somewhat expensive
to build, possesses
many advantages, and on a large, permanent poultry plant will more
than make up for the first cost in the ease and economy of feeding, the

INTERIOR OF LONG HOUSE, LOOKING TOWARD THE WALK

290 The Poultry Book

Avarmth of the house, ease of caring for the fowls, and the simpHcity
of ventilation. If there is any tendency to drafts in the building, this
can readily be controlled by using burlap curtains over the wire partitions
between the pens. Burlap bran sacks cost about two and a half cents
each and will cover about ten square feet.

This style of house has been in use on the White Leghorn farm for
several years and has been found both practical and economical. It com-
bines very completely the laymg house with the breeding house. The 144
square feet of floor space in each pen affords ample accommodation for
twenty-five laying fowls or from fifteen to twenty breeders and a male.
On this plant, where the alternating system of handling males is practised,
a small coop for the extra male is located on the wall in one corner of the
pen. The male bird is confined in this coop for a few days while his
partner runs with the birds, then the males are exchanged at night, the
one w^iich has been running with the flock being cooped up and the other
set at libert}^

HoT-wATER Pipe Brooder House

Most large poultry farms make use of brooder houses in which to raise
the chicks, the heat being supplied by a hot-water heater and conveyed
to the brooder pens by a bank of hot-water pipes. We give illustrations
of one of the best types of these brooder houses, by courtesy of the Lake-
wood Poultry Farm, of New Jersey. This brooder house is no feet long,
six feet high at the back and five feet high in front, with a long and short

r a

HOT-WATER PIPE BROODER HOUSE, LAKEWOOD I'oT

roof, the apex of the roof being over the partition between the walk and
the hover pens. Ten feet of the house are occupied by the heater

Practical Poultry Houses

291

pit, containing heater, chimney and coal-bin, and the 100 feet of brooder
hovers is divided into twenty-three pens, each calculated for fifty chicks,

INTERIOR OF HOT-WATER PIPE BROODER HOUSE, SHOWING DETAIL OF PEN
PARTITIONS, HOVERS, ETC.

making a capacity of more than 1,000 chicks in 100 feet of brooder house.
The baby chicks need the highest temperature, hence are placed in the
three-feet-wide pens nearest the heater.

These first five small pens are succeeded by fi^'e pens four feet wide
by twelve feet long, and the balance of the house is divided into thirteen
pens each five feet wide. A bank of two flow and four return pipes extends
the entire length of the house, rising slightly from four inches above the
floor next the heater to eight or ten inches above the floor at the farther
end. The pipes are covered by "hovers," a covering of boards two feet
wide and as long as the pen is wide, a strip of felting being tacked along
the front and rear edges, this felting being slit into ribbons each about
three inches wide.

A few years ago these brooder houses were built with the hovers
close up to the walk, and all feeding and watering was done in the pens
in front of the hovers; the later method is to put the hovers out three
feet from the walk partition, giving a space for feeding and watering next
the walk. This plan has the further advantage of giving a better circu-

292

The Poultry Book

lation of air under the hovers, and should the temperature be a bit too
warm for comfort under the hovers the chicks stretch their heads and
necks (and frequently their whole bodies) out into the pens. By this plan,
also, there is no possibility of a weak chick being crowded back into a
corner and smothered; if crowded, he is simply pushed out from under
the hover and runs back under it again at another place.

The illustrations well show the details of pen partitions, which are of
boards for one and a half feet of the height and wire netting above ; there
is a slide door in each partition which is opened for driving the chicks
through from one pen to another, and a small trap-door, operated by a
cord leading back to the walk, opens into a small yard (or runway) out-
of-doors. Two cleats about six inches out from the hovers secure a
board for confining the chicks close to the hovers in very cold weather,
and are useful to prevent the chicks hiding beneath the pipes when being
driven through from pen to pen.

A half -window is set in the south front, at end of each pen, just above
the trap-doors ; these windows are hinged at top, and may be swung up

BROODER HOUSE HEATER, WITH WALK AT THE REAR

Practical Poultry Houses

293

m§m ''^f^^ ^''^^^^

5REEDIXO-HOUSES FOR DUCKS, WITH HALF THE LENGTH OF YARDS IN WATER

against the rafters by cords operated from the walk. They should
be screened by one -inch mesh wire netting to exclude chick enemies
during warm weather, when it is well to leave the windows open (or partially
open) . A serious defect in hot-water-pipe brooders in the past has been lack
of sufficient heat in extremely cold weather. To make the house abund-
antly warm there must be a heater of sufficient capacity for the maximum
of cold; and to insure that the atmosphere of the whole house shall not
fall too low a bank of pipes is put along the wall at the back (sometimes
along the front beneath the windows), and these are operated in very
cold weather to keep the temperature of the house at about 60 degrees.
A shut-off valve disconnects these pipes when the weather has become
mild and they are no longer needed.

Another decided improvement in brooder house construction is an
electric regulator, which can be so attached to the draft-dampers of the
heater as to open them if the temperature of the thermostat (set beneath
one of the hovers) falls below the point desired to be maintained. With
a brooder house properly equipped with hot -water heater and electric
regulator the problem of raising chicks in winter is greatly simplified.

Houses for Ducks

Growing ducks for market has developed into a business of con-
siderable magnitude, in- some instances ten, fifteen or twenty thousand
dollars being invested in the buildings of 'a single plant. Twenty, thirty,

294

The Poultry Book

forty or fifty thousand ducks, weighing about ten pounds to the pair,
are marketed from some of these plants each year. On the eastern end of

Long Island
are grouped
several great
duck plants.
While Long
Island ap-
pears to be a
favorable
location for
duck growing,
there are
many large
duck plants

located inland, one of the largest in America being in Massachusetts;
while in Pennsylvania are other great duck ranches. In the latter State
Messrs. McCormick and McFetridge recently established a large plant,
and this has been selected for illustrating in this article the construction
and arrangement of duck houses.

This Pennsylvania farm was chosen especially for a duck ranch
because of its combining the essential qualifications in an unusual degree.
The land is slightly rolling, giving excellent drainage; on the rear half

HI. l.\L I B \.

) L ^ L A .\ U

tROODER HOUSE, 250 FEET LONG

there is a snail brook well adapted for water-yards and sheltered on
the north and west. Here about a thousand head of breeding ducks are

Practical Poultry Houses

295

kept. About half of these are in small, semi-detached houses, each 8 x i6
feet in size, set about thirty feet back from the pond formed by damming
the small brook. Each flock of fourteen ducks and three drakes occupies
a pen 8x8 feet and has a yard about i6 x 6o feet, half of the yard being
in the pond. A tramway for conveying food to the pens extends along
the front of the houses. Other laying houses, i6 x 30 feet and accommo-
dating fifty ducks each, are built lower down the brook, and the ducks
are given large yards extending some 200 feet across the little valley.

[NTERIOR OF NURSERY BROODER, SHOWING HOVERS AND ALLEYWAY

The 48 360-egg incubators are housed m the basement story of a build-
ing 42 X 44 feet, the second story of which is a feather-drying loft. The
incubator cellar is set eighteen inches below the ground-level and has a
brick foundation three and a half feet high; the ground outside is sloped
up to top of foundation. The wooden walls of the incubator rooms are
of three thicknesses of boards with sheathing paper between, and twelve
half -windows, hooded to exclude the rain, give light and air to the room;
three cupolas give ventilation.

From the incubators the baby ducklings are taken to a brooder
house 25x250 feet, in the ce^iter wing of which are set the large
hot -water heaters to give the necessary heat to the brooders. The first
one hundred feet, of this house contains the ''nursery brooders." This
section is divided into pens 4 x loj^ feet, a walk four feet wide extending

296

The Poultry Book

COLD BROODER

through the entire length of the house giving access to the hover pens for
feeding and watering. The illustration of the interior of the nursery-
brooder house shows the hot -water pipes and hovers set three feet in from
the walk, which gives feeding and watering space between the hovers
and the walk; this part of the house is well lighted by windows in the
monitor top, which windows also serve for ventilating. Small nms, 4 x 10
feet, give outdoor air and exercise room in favorable weather. From these
nursery brooder pens the ducklings are driven through to the second
brooder house, 150 x 25 feet, where the pens are 6 x loi^ feet and outside
runs 6x15 feet. Here are hot -water pipes and hovers, and the four-foot-
wide walk extending the full length of the house ; but the temperature is

FATTENING SHED AND YARDS

Practical Poultry Houses

297

lower, and the ducks are gradually moved along with a steadily lower
temperature, until, when about five weeks' old, they are graduated into one
of the cold houses, which have no artificial heat. Of these there are several
200, 250 and 300 feet in length by twenty -five feet in width, with yards
outside for exercise and fresh air and simple pens within for sleeping-
rooms. These cold houses, also the large fattening houses, are practically
great sheds for shelter at night, and in stormy weather they are chiefly
roofs to turn off the rain. Pekin ducks reach market maturity in about ten
weeks, and there are about two and a half weeks each of nursery brooder,
second brooder, cold house and fattening pens on the way to market.
On such a great duck plant as this the buildings are located and built to
facilitate the necessary work in the most efficient manner, to the end
that no steps be wasted. Everything is reduced to a businesslike system.

Incubator Houses

Incubator houses are best made in half-cellars, and when possible should
be put up early in the season, so they will become thoroughly dry, and should
be located on high, dry ground. It is often desirable to hatch late in the spring
or even in the summer, and a house entirely above ground then gets too warm
for the best
work. With a
half -cellar the air
strikes the wall,
which the outer
ground keeps
cool, and the
temperature can
be kept down
to sixty or sixty-
five degrees,
excepting in the
very warmest
weather. A row
of windows is
placed on either

side, well up toward the ceiling, so that a window can be opened on either side
of the house to afford ventilation without a draught striking the machines.

^i

By courtesy of Cyphers Incubator Company
FRONT ELEVATION OF INCUBATOR HOUSE

298

The Poultry Book

By courtesy o_f Cyphe
GROUND PLAN OF INCUBATOR HOUSE

Incubator Company

All things considered, the half -cellar herewith shown is one of the best
that has been devised for the purpose. The temperature keeps very even
and there is just enough natural moisture in the air to give the best results.
To build it requires an excavation three feet deep and the building of a
wall four feet high, with an additional three feet of woodwork above it.
Bank the earth up against the wall so as to make the cellar four feet deep.
The door is in one end of the building, and the stairs are inside, so that
they are safe from the weather. Three half-windows are used on each
side, and are double glass, being placed on each side of the window-frame.
The inside of the room of the cellar is sealed with matched stuff. The
sealing runs inside of plate, up studs and rafters, to a point ten feet from
the floor, where it crosses on the tie beams. The roof, ends and sides may
be either shingled or papered. In such an incubator cellar it is well to have
the incubators lefts and rights for greater convenience in the care of them.

The ground plan shows a half-cellar arranged for ten large-sized
incubators, but the size of cellar can obviously be adapted to the number
of incubators it is intended to run.

The incubator cellar is best set three feet in the ground, with a one-
foot banked wall above, making four feet in all under ground. There
'should be eight feet head room from the floor to the plates or ceiling.
Do not build a lower ceiling, as a lower room will not give sufficient cubic
feet of air space to allow the air to be kept always fresh.

Practical Poultry Houses 299

The Brooder House

A practical, sensible and economical house for brooding chicks or
ducks is described as follows by Charles A. Cyphers, president of the
Cyphers Incubator Company : ' ' The most popular brooder house in use
to-day is the hip-roof, single house. This house may be seven feet at the
back, eight feet at the ridge, and five feet at the front. It is usually put
up sixteen feet wide. It has a three-foot-eight-inch walk in the back,
with the hover runs twelve feet long, divided off in five-foot sections.
To each five feet of hover run there should be one six-light 8xio window
set in the center of the front, about two feet from the floor, and facing
the south. Do not put more glass in a brooder front than this, as
it makes it too warm in summer and too cold in the winter, and there is
positively no advantage gained. It is well to put at least two windows in
the back, or north side, of each twenty-five feet of brooder house. These
should be double windows for use in the winter time; the outer sash can
be removed in the summer, and the inner sash should be hinged so that
it may be let down to keep the building cool in the summer time. It is
well, also, to hinge the front windows at the bottom, so that they, too,
could be opened during the warm weather. This is all the ventilation that
it is necessary to provide."

THE COMMON DISEAvSES OF POULTRY
Dr. Nathan W. Sanborn, Massachusetts

iHE twentieth-century poultryman is not satisfied with the
knowledge of ten years ago. He wants the results of
the investigations of the times in which he lives, and
insists on getting them while they are fresh and new.
This applies not only to breeds, varieties, methods of
housing, and feeding, but to the diseases he must meet from year
to year. It is a sign of promised success when a poultryman insists
on knowing causes and prevention of disease rather than cures.
Sure-cures for the ailments of poultry are only too many — and it is well
known to some of us that dependence upon these "medicines" has ended
in the failure of more than one poultry plant. It is the man who looks
ahead, learns the causes of disease and prevents their beginnings, who
gets real satisfaction out of the keeping of healthy poultry. So you will
understand at the outset why I lay so much emphasis upon prevention
of poultry ailments. Understand thoroughly the pitfalls of disease,
that you may take your birds safely around them, rather than sweat
in the unsuccessful attempt of getting them out of the pit that you
probably have dug.

The most common factor in causation of poultry diseases is filth.
This may be impure water, foul air from crowded houses or contaminated
air from dirty droppings — boards or floors. A yard that is bare of grass
and foul with the accumulated droppings of several years may lead to
diseases of more than one kind. While filth alone does not surely lead
to disease, it is of great importance to success with poultry that the
bird's life is passed in clean quarters. Catarrhs, roup, cholera, and
several other common diseases of poultry, are intensified if they are not
fully caused by filthy conditions.

Another cause of disease is improper feeding. Too much of the
corn products, to the exclusion of foods that w^ould balance up the com-
plete ration, unduly fattens the bird, and is often followed by liver disease

302 The Poultry Book

and breakdown when the bird gets to be over twelve months of age.
Too large a proportion of meat tends toward rheumatic condition, and is a
common cause of winter diarrhea in laying stock. Even the absence
of grit is sufficient to cause indigestion, and I have seen large flocks supposed
to be dying from cholera, when careful study of the situation made
sure that the one thing wrong was "no grit in reach." Many soils
are deficient in grit ; most hen-yards contain only old grit that has passed
through the birds' digestive system and has lost all grinding properties.
Oyster shells fill a place in the birds' needs, but they do not do the work
that grit will do.

Lice and mites have a part in the starting of disease. Lice irritate
the birds, make them uneasy, and multiply rapidly when disease is present.
Red mites (spider lice) weaken the birds by sucking the blood, thereby
lowering the birds' vitality and furnishing better breeding-ground in which
the disease can work.

Dampness is not conducive to heaitny poultry. Birds may keep
well under wet conditions, but it is a factor in disease that should be kept
in mind. A leaky roof, a damp surface soil, a foggy valley, have led, in
my knowledge of poultry plants, to more than one serious epidemic of
disease. Dampness combined with any of the filth conditions I have
mentioned in this article is usually followed by some disease of the
mucous surfaces.

Crowding of birds, whether in the laying house of winter or in the
brooder of the springtime, is dangerous. The overfull brooder soon has
the right number of chicks through the death of many, but this is not an
economical method of chicken-raising. The crowded chicks sweat, chill,
take cold, and die of catarrhal troubles of different names. The overfull
roosts of the laying house seldom pay. The birds are not rested by the
night's roosting; they foul the air of the house, and overload the drop-
pings boards with a product which contaminates the air they breathe.

Extremes of temperature are hard for the bird to bear, and tend
to produce some of the winter ailments. Better have a house cold all
the time than one hot at noon and near the zero mark at midnight. Our
birds are well dressed for cold, but have no way of adjusting their clothes
to the hot air of a glass-front house at noonday. The change from a
temperature of eighty degrees at one o'clock in the afternoon on a sunny
winter day to zero or below in the early morning hours is too much for

The Common Diseases of Poultry 303

most birds to stand. It is followed, more often than is commonly under-
stood, by the lung diseases, such as bronchitis and pneumonia. Better
have the cloth-covered window-frames, that give a cold house both day
and night, than a building with a front largely of glass. This glass-lighted
house will be too warm by day and too cold at night, unless some means
are provided for the proper ventilation and equalization of the temperature.
An even temperature of day and night will do much to avoid some of the
common diseases of winter.

The improper use of food and condiments will help toward the pro-
duction of disease, if, indeed, they do not directly cause poultry ailments.
A ration too rich in starchy food, or containing a large proportion of
indigestible elements, too much meat and bone, will upset the digestion
of birds that are off a free range. Birds running at large will do quite
well on almost any kind of food, but the yarded stock must be carefully
fed for good results. The overuse of spice does positive harm, and it had
better be let alone altogether than used carelessly.

Some Common Diseases

The diseases that appear in the flock of the average keeper are those
connected with either the digestive or the breathing systems, the first
as the result of faulty feeding, the second because of improper housing.

Indigestion usually shows itself in the loss of appetite and possibly
some diarrhea. The bird is "off its feed." It mopes in corners of house
or yard, and is slow in all its motions. Its feathers are dull, and the
comb is lighter in color than normal. These birds need a light diet of
simple feeds— half starved, in fact — and a grass range in summer and a
clover diet in winter. They should be made to work for all grain, feeding
it in deep litter. No work, no food ! If the birds have anything wrong
with the bowel discharges, whether constipation or diarrhea, a tablespoon-
ful of castor oil in mash for four birds will help get rid of some of the
irritating material. Other medicine than this I should not advise. A
better diet and good care will cure most of the sick birds.

The crop may get inflamed as the result of eating some irritant poison
and the organs beyond may become involved. Paris green (and other
arsenical poisons) is the usual poison that our birds have access to. So
much of it is now used for spraying orchards and other crops that we
have become careless in its use. Birds suffering from inflamed crops —

304 The Poultry Book

gastritis, we call it — seem to be in pain and are very thirsty. They are
seen to be going to the water-dish every few minutes. Give these birds
clover tea in which arsenite of copper, one one-hundredth of a grain for
each quarter-pint, has been dissolved, and let this be their only liquid.
The diet should be little except a baked mash of cornmeal and bran.
The ideal diet would be that to be had from a run in a grass-covered orchard.

Diarrhea and cholera are two diseases that have similar symptoms
at the start. Diarrhea is slightly infectious, while cholera is one of the
easiest diseases to take from bird to bird and from farm to farm.
Diarrhea is usually a mild disease. Cholera runs a rapid course, with
high fever. Diarrhea is caused by wrong feeding, bad hygienic sur-
roundings, or lack of grit. Cholera is due to a disease germ that
puts in its work in healthy birds just as surely as in debilitated stock.
Most of the so-called " cholera cases" of the poultry papers are bad
diarrheas. Cholera is seldom cured. Many of these so-called cases
recover — and this fact is against the diagnosis.

The well-fed bird on farm range seldom has diarrhea. It is the
yarded bird, that looks to the owner for every particle of food, that is
reported as having a bowel discharge. Good feeding, as put forth in
the prevention of disease at the opening of this article, will prevent this
trouble and cure mild cases. Sulphocarbolate of zinc, ten grains to
each pint of drinking water, will do good service in overcoming the
irritation in the intestines.

Cholera always comes unexpectedly, runs a rapid and fatal course, and
is attended by intense pain. There are fever, total loss of appetite, and a
bowel discharge that is more watery as the hours go by. The bowel
discharge is fairly normal in colour at first, but soon changes to a light
color, yellow and red in streaks, that may be all red in twenty-four hours.
You know that birds that were well two days before are decidedly sick,
and you decide mighty soon that the chances of recovery are slim. Cholera
is brought from a neighbor's flock of sick birds without effort on the
shoes of any one passing from place to place. It is passed from pen to
pen, from house to house, in the same way. There is no good cure for
cholera. Treat all birds as you would for a bad diarrhea, and if many
of them recover you may be sure that you have not had cholera. All
sick birds should be kept by themselves and away from the rest of the
flock. This is true of any sickness that may visit your yards.

The Common Diseases of Poultry 305

Gapes. — This is the one parasitic disease that is hkely to be at all
common to many poultry yards. This condition, known to us by the
peculiar gaping of the chick, is not found in all yards in sections of the
country where it is common. A worm makes its home in the windpipe
of the bird a.nd causes the irritation of the mucous lining. In turn the
bird tries to get rid of it by swallowing or coughing. This parasite or worm
has its home also in the earthworm. Strange as it may seem, the earth-
worm is, therefore, the source of trouble. But the gapeworm must be
present in the earthworm or no gapes results. A few gapeworms do
little injury, but when the number is large the bird suffers intensely.
Hiindreds of thousands of chicks die of gapes in some of the sandy regions
of the eastern United States. Chicks seem to contract this disease easily,
while adult birds on the same place are free from it. When it is once
introduced into a yard it is seldom exterminated, except by putting new
chicks on fresh soil in new yards.

Prevention is everything in this trouble. It is hard work to get a
wire into the windpipe of a small chick, yet it is common to introduce
a wire and entangle the worms in a twisted horsehair on the end of the
wire. In this manner a few worms are dislodged and more of them are
coughed up later by the chick. Some poultrymen put the chicks into a
box covered with burlap ; air-slaked lime is then dusted through the cloth
cover and is breathed by the chick. This irritates the bird and is followed
by coughing, which gets rid of some of the gapeworms. Whatever method
is resorted to, one cannot remove gapeworms without hurting the chicks.

Catarrh and Roup. — The diseases of the breathing apparatus are
catarrh, roup, canker, diphtheria, bronchitis, and pneumonia. Of these
six, catarrh and roup are the most common to all sections and yards,
and present the same symptoms at the commencement of the sickness.
The first case that appears cannot be named for a few days. All start
with a slight running at the nose, probably sneezing, and some watering
at the inner corner of the eye. Catarrh seldom presents more symptoms
than these. On the other hand, roup passes from these symptoms to
those of mor5 severity. The disease is intense. There is swelling of the
sides of the head, the breath is strong-smelling, and the nostrils are tightly
closed with thick mucus. If you have a flock of birds that present the
catarrhal symptoms, with the addition of that rotten odor to the air of the
roosting house in the early morning, you may know you have roup to treat.

3o6 The Poultry Book

All these ailments call for arsenite of antimony in the early stages.
Catarrh will soon clear up and roup be made more mild. The dose of
this medicine is small. It is one one-hundredth of a grain for each sick
bird, added to the drinking water for one day's use. Prepare fresh
each day. If several cases are on hand it is well to add a half-dose
to the drinking water of each well bird.

Roup needs more energetic treatment. After all the trials of new
drugs, I have come back to the old, well-tried remedy, common kerosene.
Put a tablespoonful of kerosene on the top of a pailful of cold water and
dip the head of each bird through the film of oil into the water, hold for an
instant and then withdraw. Do this twice a day, and use the arsenite of
antimony in the drinking water of every bird on the place.

All sick fowls should be put by themselves, lest the well ones contract
the disease. All drinking vessels should be scalded. It is through the
vessels and water that the disease is largely spread. When the disease
is eliminated, clean up all yards and pens, lest it appear another
season from germs that stay on the premises. It has always seemed
to me that catarrh is quite likely to pass into roup whenever the
pens are in a filthy condition. Catarrh, filth, and wet combined lead
to the roupy outbreak.

Diphtheria and canker are winter ailments. They appear generally
in fowls that have been exhibited at shows, and have been exposed to long
express trips, or have roosted in a cold house near a crack in the wall.
Canker is more local in its action than diphtheria. A patch or spot in
the throat or mouth is a prominent symptom. In canker this spot is
yellow, while in diphtheria it has a leaden cast. The membrane in canker
IS thicker than in diphtheria, and is not bound so tightly to the mucous
surface underneath. Both diseases respond to similar treatment. Possibly
the diseases are the same. Swabbing the patches with a full-strength
solution of peroxide of hydrogen twice a day, and the internal use of a
one-grain pill of calcium sulphide three times a day, will give best results.

Bronchitis is a catarrhal condition of the mucous lining of the bronchial
tubes. The fowl rattles in its breathing, is dumpish in all its movements,
and quite likely shows some catarrh of the nostrils. Bronchitis calls for
aconite. One-drop doses of the tincture, three times a day, with the birds
kept in a dry, sunny house on a Hght diet, will help cure these late-fall
and early-winter troubles.

The Common Diseases of Poultry

307

Pneumonia is rarer than any of the common diseases. Pneumonia is
so fatal that it is seldom recognised by the average poultryman. The
bird has some difficulty in breathing. The number of breaths per minute
is large, and the air exhaled is hot to the hand held near the mouth and
nostrils. One's ear held against the bird's chest may reveal a sound
similar to the movement of thin parchment paper. The bird has no
appetite, is feverish, and usually very constipated.

Pnetimonia is fairly common in the winter. It is the single cases
appearing often that make this one of the dreaded diseases of the cold
season. Treatment should be prompt. The man who is with his fowls
is more likely to recognise this disease and treat it early than is the
person who sees his flock only morning and night. The early use of a
tablespoonful of castor oil, with drop doses of tincture of aconite every
two hours, will usually help the fowl. While this disease is not easily
passed from fowl to fowl, there is danger enough to call for quarantine.

"WHITE LEGHORNS RANGING ON FAIRVIEW POULTRY FARM
(Owned by H. J. Blanchard, New York)

PRINCIPAL INSECTS INFESTING POULTRY

A. F. Hunter, Massachusetts

LL poultry-keepers realize the very great importance of
keeping their flocks free from parasites. Sometimes fowls
become so badly infested with parasites that they are
totally incapacitated for work; brooding hens frequently
^^1 die upon their nests; newdy hatched chicks are lost in
very great numbers as the result of carelessness in keeping the fowls
and their nesting and roosting places free from lite and mites.

There are several distinct species of Mallophaga, or Hce, as they are
popularly known. The various species are partial to particular parts
of the body, as the rump, under the wings, between the wing feathers,
and upon the head and neck. They subsist upon the productions of the
skin, devour fragments of the feathers, and even feed upon the barbs of
the feathers, especially attacking those of the saddle and hackle, the
latter sometimes showing curiously jagged and notched edges when birds
are severely infested. Often lice are present in great numbers on fowls

FIG. I FIG. 2 FIG. 3

DIFFERENT SPECIES OF BODY LICE

Fig. I . Lipeurus ■variabilis: primary and secondary feathers and wings in chicks. Fig. 2: Mettopon biseratum; large wandering
hen louse; common to all parts of the bird. Fig. 3: Goniodes eytts/ordii; head and neck feathers of fowls and chicks.
Fig. 4: Menopon paUidiim: common pale wandering hen louse.

suffering from diphtheritic roup and gapes. By their debilitating effects
the constitution of the fowls becomes impaired and rendered more sus-
ceptible to any infectious disease. Darkness and filth are especially

Z'^9

310 The Poultry Book

favorable to the development of lice and mites. They thrive best in
dark, damp, badly ventilated and dirty runs and houses.

Cleanliness is the first step toward prevention, and the most powerful
aid in the extermination of the pests when once established. If facilities
for dust-bathing are furnished, and the quarters kept clean and well venti-
lated, there will be little difficulty with lice, as the fowls will keep them-
selves pretty well freed from them. The quarters should be thoroughly
whitewashed twice a year, preferably spring and fall. The floors (if of
wood), walls, nests, perches, etc., should be well washed with a whitewash
sufficiently liquid to flow freely and run into every crevice. A little
carbolic acid solution or kerosene oil added to the whitewash will make it
still more effective and cleansing. The addition of a little soft soap (or
potash lye) will make the solution more destructive to the parasites. The
addition of a handful of sulphur and lime mixed in the road dust provided
for the dust-bath makes the latter more effective.

Dusting the sitting hens with powdered pyrethrum, known also as
Persian insect powder, or bubach, is an excellent remedy. All dusting
remedies, while efficacious, cannot reach the eggs, commonly called nits,
which in a few days hatch out another lot of lice. Therefore, sitting hens
should be dusted several times at intervals of about eight days. Usually
three applications will suffice. If the dusting is thoroughly done the
chicks hatched by these hens will be practically free from lice and should
be kept from infected birds.

The Chicken Mite

The chicken mite is scientifically called Dermanyssns galUncc Redi.
It is commonly known as "red mite," or "red spider louse." Unlike
the lice, it does not live in the feathers and upon the bodies of fowls,
but inhabits cracks and crevices of the roosts, nests, walls, etc., coming
out at night to prey upon the birds upon the roosts or attacking
them while upon the nests. Instead of feeding upon the body
excretions, feathers, etc., of the fowl, as do the lice, the food of mites
is blood. It is only when engorged with blood that they are red. Their
natural colour is a light gray, with tiny dark spots showing through
the skin. In many respects they are worse than lice, and poultrym.en
should do everything in their power to destroy them if they find a
lodgment in the houses.

Principal Insects Infesting Poultry

311

In a recent bulletin (No. 69) issued by the Iowa Experiment
Station the following interesting and practical facts are given: "The
mites are of peculiar and stealthy habits of life, rather unlike that which
one naturally expects from a parasite. Indeed, they are only semiparasitic,
and, as a rule, remain upon the fowl only long enough to secure a meal.
They are very active in their movements, and seem to be ever on the
lookout for a victim. On account of their vigorous and vicious habits
they may be styled the wolves of the insect parasites of fowls. The

f:g. I FIG. 2

FORMS OF THE CHICKEN MITE
Young chicken mite, lower view. Fig-. 2: Adult cliicken mite, upper view. Both g-reatly magnified

mites hide in crevices and under objects in the henhouse during the day-
time, while the chickens are outside, and lie in wait for their return. They
lay their eggs and the young are hatched in these hiding places. A barrel
affords an excellent hiding and breeding place, as the mites lodge between
the staves and imder the hoops. In the nests they are to be found under
the straw or other nesting material. It is a noteworthy fact that a place
which shows only a few mites on the surface may contain vast numbers
in the crevices or under objects. Often they become so plentiful that
they overflow the hiding places and appear in hordes upon the exposed
surfaces.

312 The Poultry Book

A Reliable Remedy

"The most effective exterminator found was kerosene emulsion,*
made as follows: Take one-half pound of hard soap, shave it into
a gallon of soft water and put it on the fire and bring it to a boil. By this
time the soap will have dissolved. Then remove the soap solution from
the fire and stir into it at once, while hot, two gallons of kerosene. This
makes a thick, creamy emulsion, which is made read}^ for use by diluting
with ten volumes of soft w^ater and stirring well. It can be utilized as a
spray, dip or wash.

"It is necessary to use soft water, for hard water decomposes the
soap and destroys its emulsifying power. We used white laundry soap,
but any good hard soap will do.

" ]\Iake up as much of the stock emulsion as it is thought will be
needed. This can be kept in a suitable vessel and a portion taken out
and diluted as needed. If the bucket or holder attached to the spray-
pump holds five gallons, one-half gallon of the stock emulsion should be
put into the bucket or holder and four and one-half gallons of soft
water added and the whole well stirred. It is then ready to be sprayed
on the places occupied by the mites. A beginning should be made at a
particular place and the whole habitation of the mites sprayed in a regular
order, of which account should be taken so that the same order may be
followed in subsequent sprayings. The spray should be directed with
special care into all crevices, holes, joints, or other hiding and breeding
places of the mites. The first spray of kerosene emulsion v/ill kill within
five minutes all of the mites and eggs with which it comes into contact,
but many mites will be left in the hiding places unaffected by the spray.
Hence the spraying should be repeated as soon as the first spraying is
completed. Even this will not kill all of the mites, hence a third spraying
should be done as soon as the second is completed. At each spraying
the beginning should be made at the same place and the same order followed

* There is now upon the market a combination spray-pump for mechanically mixing
oil and water. By putting the kerosene in one tank and the water in another, any per-
centage of the two combined can be obtained by simply setting a gauge and pumping out
the mixture. This apparatus, simple, cheap, and effective, does away with the somewhat
troublesome method of making kerosene emulsion by hand. Every well-established
poultry plant should have either a knapsack or hand combination oil-and-water sprayer.
The same apparatus can also be used for whitewashing by substituting a coarser nozzle. — ■
EDiroR.

Principal Insects Infesting Poultry 313

as in the first. These three sprayings, done in one day and in rapid suc-
cession, will destroy nearly all of the mites, but, as my researches have
shown, many eggs are left in places untouched by the spray. If mites
are seen crawling about the building the next day, it should be sprayed
again.

"One might ordinarily suppose that he had now exterminated the
mites ; but such is not the case, for in about three days a crop of young
mites will be found hatched from the eggs which escaped the first spraying.
If these should be allowed to go undisturbed it would not be long until
the building would be as badly infested as at the beginning. Therefore
the spraying should be repeated once every three or four days, spraying
two or three times on each occasion, for about two weeks. The spray
should be applied to every part of the building that is likely to contain
the mites. In a two-story building they will crawl up a post and find
lodgment upon the second floor, even if chickens do not go there.

"The procedure described will, with very little doubt, be effective in
ridding a place of mites, but we would advise that a constant watch be
kept, and the spraying repeated when mites are seen at any subsequent
time. Extermination of the mites* may be hastened by dusting the
fowls with pyrethrum powder after they have gone to roost the evening
before the spraying. The powder will drive the mites from the birds, and
as a result few, if any, will be carried out upon their bodies the next day."

* Mites are not easily destroj^ed by the use of insect powders. In fact, these creatures
are not insects at all, but belong to a different group. They are allied with the spiders,
and, unlike the true insects, such as the lice, have a peculiar breathing apparatus character-
istic of their class. The various insect powders prove valuable in certain cases by closing
up the breathing organs or spiracles, situated along either side of an insect's body, when
dusted upon them. But if dusted over mites or spiders it would not necessarily destroy
them, even though it made them uncomfortable for a short time and forced them from
the body of the fowl. — Editor.

Q ^

3 I

^*%..:

THE FORKED-TAIL JUNGLE-FOWL. COMB ANU WATTLE HAVE CHANGEABLE

COLORS
Owned by Homer Davenport

THE JUNGLE-FOWL

HE Jungle-cock [Galliis bankiva] is about one-third the size
of our domesticated races, measuring from point of
beak to the extremity of flattened tail about two feet
four inches, and nearly fifteen inches in height from the
level of the feet to the top of the head, not including
crest on indented comb. The wattles resemble those of the domestic cock,
the deaf ear in some being red and in others a light greenish-blue,
though they are larger in some breeds of domestic fowl. The female is
smaller than the male, with scarcely any comib or wattles, but the throat is
covered with feathers forming a remarkable distinction from the domestic
hen, the throat of which is usually nearly naked. The females do not differ
in color among themselves in plumage, like those of the tame varieties.
The cry of the Jungle-fowl is in some measure different from that of our
domestic species, but there is much resemblance in their habits. Captain
Skinner, in his " Excursions in India," says: " In some parts of the forest
we saw several Jungle-fowl ; they have exactly the same habits as domestic
poultry. The cock struts at the head of his hens and keeps a strict watch

315

3i6

The Poultry Book

over their safety. Whenever disturbed by us, he flew to the highest
branch of some tree beyond our reach and crowed with all his might,
while his dames ran into holes and corners to escape ; they are so cunning

INDIAN JUNGLE-FOWL

that we found it impossible to get within shot of them, with all the
caution we could use."

The Shecarries, or low-caste, in India, catch Jungle-fowl by the fol-
lowing method: "Two or three men go together and proceed in this
manner: A line thirty or forty yards long is fastened to the ground, with
wooden pegs at each extremity, and is then elevated by props to the height
of about eighteen inches. To this prop nooses of horsehair are fastened
about two feet apart. When the birds attempt to pass under the line

The Jungle-fowl

317

riiotografk by A. R. Dui;more.
GRAY JUNGLE-FOWL —WILDEST AXD HANDSOMEST OF THE SPECIES
OF JUNGLE-FOWL
Owned by Homer Davenport

they are caught in the noose by their necks. Sometimes a similar Hne
is fastened to the ground and left lying there with all the nooses spread,
and as the birds pass over them they are caught by the legs; these lines
are never spread where there is much jungle. When the lines are ready,
the men go a considerable distance and beat the bushes, thus driving
the game toward them." This method is precisely the same as that used
by many of the savage tribes of the South Sea Islands. It is also put

photograph by A. R. Dugrnu
THE RED JUNGLE-FOWL (GALLUS FERRUGINEUS OR BANKIVUS), THE
PROTOTYPE OF ALL BREEDS OF DOMESTIC CHICKENS
Owned by Homer Davenport

3i8 The Poultry Book

into practice for catching pheasants, etc., by poachers in England. The
Mussulman natives of Hindustan are in a degree fond of cock-fighting.
The Hindus, on the contrary, do not tolerate the existence of poultry;
a Hindu would sooner forfeit his life than wear a fowl's feather. In the
Bay of Amphila, in Abyssinia, Donakei, also in Adaiel and Sanauli, the
inhabitants entertain a prejudice perhaps against the common fowl, the
flesh of which they hold in abhorrence ; this may tend to the idea of these
tribes having sprung from an Egyptian origin.

A fine specimen of the Galliis bankiva in the collection of Mr. Harrison
was brought from the northern circars of India ; whether this is the original
stock from whence all our domestic varieties have sprung I leave others to
determine ; personally, I do not incline to that opinion. There is a reference
in "Dampier's Voyages" to a small species seen at Condor; and at the
same place (in "Cook's Last Voyage,") a "wild hen, of splendid color, but
less than ours in Europe, " is described as having been shot.

ROMAN COCK-FIGHT
From a painting on a vase in the Gregorian Museum, Rome

ANCIENT AND MODERN GAME-COCKS *

'Heaven from all creatures hides the book of fate." — Pope's Essay on Man.

|HE existence of the Game-cock is almost prehistorical.
It is mentioned in the earher records of China. Cock-
fighting is commended, with other amusements, in the
codes of Manu more than a thousand years before the
Christian Era. Dempster states the Game-cock was
indigenous in Persia, and conveyed thence to other countries. Athenaeus,
indeed, quotes from a work of ]\Ienodolus some hnes b}^ which this
assertion is confirmed; and Aristophanes in two places calls the
domestic cock a Persian bird. It is proved by more modern accounts that
this species of fowl is at present found wild in the East Indies and many
neighboring countries. Sonnerat found them in Hmdustan; and they
were seen by Cook and Dampier on Pulo Condor and many islands of the
South Sea. According to the testimony of Gemelli Careri, the Game-
fowl was indigenous in the Philippine Islands. Morolla states that it was
to be found wild in the kingdom of Congo ; and it is asserted by Neineggo
that it was to be met with in Georgia in a wild state as late as 1797. The
account, therefore, of the Greeks that they obtained domestic fowls
from Persia may be admitted, but as in cock-fights one Persian overcame
another, how could they convey the idea of victory of the Greek over the
Persian ? The Jungle-fowl is the accepted progenitor of the Game -fowls.
That cock-fighting was a favorite pastime long ago is proved by the
frequent mention of it by various authors. Pliny says it was exhibited
annually at Pergamus in the same manner as the combats of gladiators.

*This part has been read by the following experts on Games: George S. Barnes, of
Michigan, and John Glasgow and John Filkin, both of New Jersey. It was finally revised
and partly rewritten by the American editor.

319

320

The Poultry Book

According to Petronius, a boy was promised a fighting cock. From this
it appears that even boys kept fighting cocks for this pastime. Cock-

HIMERA COINS

ch enlarged to show form of birds

fights are dehneated on vases found at Pompeii, on ancient sculpture in
Rome, and other places, ^sdinus reproaches Timaichus for spending
the entire day in gaming and cock-fighting. Plato complains that not
only boys, but "grown-up" persons, instead of laboring, had birds for
fighting, and employed their whole time in idle amusements.

Coins of Persia, Himera and Afghanistan have their effigy of cocks.
Cock-fights were represented also by the Greeks on coins, as we are told
by Pollux; and this seems to prove that these people were as fond of the
sport as their neighbors of Pergamus. Mr. Pegge had engravings made
of two gems in the collection of Sir William Hamilton, on which is seen

a cock in the humble attitude of defeat,
with his head hanging down, and another
in the attitude of victory, with an ear of
corn in his mouth as the object of contest.
On the other stone are two cocks fighting,
while a mouse carries off the ear of com
for which they are contending. Two cocks fighting are represented on
a lamp found in Herculaneum.

Ancient and Modern Game-cocks 321

The Rhodian fowls were celebrated fighters, as were those of Medea,
Chalcis, and Tanagra ; the last were said to be large, powerful birds of
great courage. Hieroglyphically (Baily's Diet., 1736), a cock signifies
a noble disposition of mind, there being no bird of a more generous or
undaunted courage at the sight of imminent danger. "While the cock,"
says another, "is the emblem of strife, of quarrels, of haughtiness, and of
victory, because he rather chooses to die than yield, therefore he is called
a bird of Mars."

" He is likewise an emblem of jealousy and vigilancy."

"The cock crows when he is conqueror, and thus gives notice of his
conquest."

"Cock-fighting appeared on the coins of Dardania, and under the
presidency of love. The battles were often fought in the presence of the
god Terminus (Hermes among the Greeks), and the palms destined to the
conqueror were placed upon a pedestal." — Gentlemen's Magazine.

"Upon a coin of Athens we see a cock crowned with palm." — Ency-
clopedia des Antiq.

"Polyarchus gave public funeral and raised monuments to cocks, on
which were placed epitaphs in praise of the birds." — .-Elian, Vai, Hist.,

vni. 4.

"The sport passed from the Greeks to the Romans, and Caracalla
and Geta were great cock-fighters."

" It is said that the gafile, or modem metal spur attached to the legs
of the cock before being put down to do battle, is a modern invention.
This is not so, as it is mentioned in the Anglo-Saxon Synod, and was some-
times made of brass." — Lyes Diet. Sax., v. Geaflas.

There is great reason to believe that the Game-cock was held in
such high estimation by the Romans as to become almost a deity. They
were not infrequently buried with some degree of honor, as is partially
proved by a discovery of a Roman urn at Lewes in 18 14 by Doctor Gideon
Mantell, when digging in his garden near the castle. An account and
description of the find are given at some length in "Horsfield's History of
Lewes."

Markham, describing a Game hen, says: "If she have weapons she
is the better." Mr. Brent speaks of spurred Game hens in the Journal
of Horticulture; and that excellent authority, John Harris, informs me that
he has somewhere read that the Ancients possessed spurred hens. From

322 The Poultry Book

the foregoing it may be seen that it is possible, though not very
likely, that some of the bones here figured are those of hens rather
than cocks.

The old English Game-cock has held its own against all comers.
Bright and beautiful he stands to-day, as he stood with eager, bold, dilated
eye, full of defiant gaze — a monarch bird, clad in lustrous feathery garments
of the brightest sheen — when, unflinching and undaunted, he faced his
foe, while old Roman warriors made the ring in which he fought on English
soil. Though they beheld with w^onderment his high prowess and daring
deeds, not even then was he more cherished and better cared for than
now. On the grassy mead he leads forth his hens to meet the rising sun,
and with voice clear, loud, and shrill he proclaims " 'Tis day."

The universal diffusion of the bird is also surprising. j\Ir. Lesson
asks if it is not remarkable to find the domestic hen, differing in nothing
from that of other countries, in all the islands of the South Sea and among
people with whom Europeans have certainly never communicated. Cocks
and hens, he tells us, were very common at Qualan, for example, though
the natives were ignorant of the fact that they were good to eat. They
may have obtained themt from some other nation with whom the\' had
held communication.

Take Cornwall, in England, as an instance. It is said that the
poultry bred and grown there, more particularly Game-fowl, were all of
a white-legged breed, and that until of late years such a thing as a yellow-
legged bird was not to be seen. Another curious fact is that the hens
were mostly " spurred " like the cocks, as are many of the five-toed hens of
Kent, Sussex, and Surrey farm fowls to this day. Those in Cornwall, called
"the Persian bird," may possibly have been brought by the Phenicians,
and perhaps bartered for tin and other metals from the mines. However
this may be, there are plenty of the white-legged breed still to be found
in Cornwall, though, as John Harris, of Liskeard, informed Mr. Weir,
now that the yellow-legged fowls have been imported breeders are not so
particular, but at one time they would not have been tolerated.

That the Greeks used artificial spurs, like the English at present, is
denied by Pegge, though the contrary seems to be proved by a passage
of Aristophanes. They were said to have used a cap on the spurs called a
telum.* As the English are supposed to have procured the best fighting

* See drawing of the silver spur discovered in Cornwall.

Ancient and Modern Game-cocks

323

cocks from
other countries,
and sometimes
from Germany
through Ham-
burg, the
Greeks in hke
manner ob-
tained foreign
Game-cocks for
the same pur-
pose, the most
celebrated
breeds being
mentioned by
Columella ,
VIII. 2 ; Pliny,
X. 21 jGeofron,
XVI. 3. 30.
Varro mentions
. the birds most
sought after in
Greece, but
adds that
though they
might have
been good for
fighting they
were not fit for
breeding, but
gives no
reasons for
this latter
statement.
Had the breed-
ing of Game-
cocks been an

COCKS BONES FOUND IN A ROMAN URN AT LEWES, BY
DR. GIDEON MANTELL, IN 1814

324

The Poultry Book

■^

:>\^^-^ ^

*^"'^^ -^ >> \-

Frotn a dfa^ving by Harrison Weir, after a picture by II'. Jfard. R.A,
OLD WHITE GAME
The old Cholmondely white cock. The Ghost. Winner of many mains. He was twenty years old when the picture
was painted, and still mated to hens

employment, he would have spoken of it in a different manner. Columella
also ridicules the breeding of these cocks as a Grecian custom, and prefers
the native race to all others. Eustathius remarks that the Romans
preferred quails to Game-cocks. It has been stated that the Roman
Emperor put one of his subjects to death for killing a quail that had
been victorious in combat.

Since the time of the Romans in England the earliest mention of cock-
fighting is that by William Fitz-Stephens, who lived in the reign of Henry

Ancient and Modern Game-cocks 325

II., and died in 1191 ; this reference is also quoted by Stow in his " History
of London." Cock-fighting was put down as unlawful in the reign of
Edward III., and again during the reign of Henry VIII., in 1569, although
this king built a cockpit in Whitehall. It was again a popular sport in the
reign of Elizabeth ; and though Roger Ascham wrote against it,* he is said
to have loved it at last. James I. is said to have been so entertained at
least twice a week ; and his son. Prince Henry, had a stud of his own, there
being an entry in his household expenditure to that effect. In the town
archives of Lincoln there is on record that during the visit of James I. to
the town, "at the Sign of the George, 161 7, on Wednesday, he made
merry at a cock-fight." It was forbidden again by Act of Parliament
during the time of Oliver Cromwell ; though, judging from the copy of the
act or proclamation, it was not suppressed on account of any cruelty,
but as a gathering together of disorderly persons.

During the reign of Charles II. it was again revived, and was a very
favorite sport of the "Merry Monarch"; so much so, it is stated, that on
more than one occasion at Newmarket the horse-racing was postponed for
some hours until the mains of the cock-fighting had been fought out.

Charles II. is said to have invented, or rather brought into notice, the
Red Pile cocks. But they most likely existed long before, as they are
mentioned in Gervase Markham's book, which was published many years
previous to the reign of Charles II. From the time of the Restoration
until the act passed about 1834 for its suppression the sport had not been
interfered with.

In Beckmann's "History of Inventions" it is stated that "cock-
fighting in France was forbidden by Order in Council, A. D. 1260, on account
of some mischief to which it had given rise " Though at the present
time, I believe, there is a law against it in that country, it is still carried
on, as, also, it is in Spain.

Whatever may be or has been said for or against cock-fighting, it
is certain that to it we owe — at least in a great measure, if not entirely —
the preservation of a most extraordinary breed of fowls, peculiar and
remarkable in every way, besides being of great value from a culinary
point of view.

Writing of a certain breed or strain of Game-fowl some time ago, Mr.

* Mr. Weir says: " I have never seen a copy of this book, nor can I learn anything
about it, further than one old English 'cocker' saying that he had seen a copy."

326 The Poultry Book

Weir urged its claims to public and general recognition in the following
words : " Fine in form, graceful in carriage, beautiful in color, small in bone,
with white shanks, feet, and toe nails, plenty of white fie::h of imsurpassable
quality, skin thin and white, fat white, with an absence of offal to a remark-
able degree, good layers of delicately colored delicious eggs; while both
the young and old birds seek their living far and wide." And to this may
be added a courage strong, high, and enduring. Such were, and I trust
are, "the Derby Reds." Yet these are but one type, and are proof to us
of the present day of the care, consideration, thought and judgment in the
selection for breeding purposes that ever actuated our forefathers to
produce the highest excellence attainable in "cocks of the Game."

The very fact of their training and being fought demonstrates without
doubt the survival of the strongest, the most hardy, healthy, best formed,
and, in short, to use Darwin's words, "the survival of the fittest." Indeed,
had cock-fighting as a sport never existed, it can scarcely be doubted that
such birds as we now write about would be in evidence. Thus our poultry-
yards would not have been graced, as they now are, with a bird as useful to
man as it is preeminently beautiful.

What other bird has the stately walk, the symmetrical form, the bold
alertness, the daring, haughty look, the graceful pose and carriage ? " Where
is there one so agile ? W^here another so rich in colors ? " or of more befitting
texture of "plume " ? Erect, bold as a chief from battle with glory crowned
a natural ruler — a bird without a peer ! And this because from genera-
tion to generation and century to century the best, strongest, healthiest,
truest, and of the purest breed have been kept, while the weak and ill-
formed or ill-conditioned were set aside. " I have found," says Mr. Weir,
" that tuft as often means a fleshy comb as feathers."

For a clear and accurate enumeration of the points of excellence
the Game-cock of the present century should possess, we are much indebted
to the well-known veteran, John Harris, of Liskeard, Cornwall, whose
knowledge is indeed great of the breed "that has braved a thousand
years the battle and the breeze." We quote his description of the points
of the English Game-cock: "The beak big, boxing,* crooked, pointed,
and hawklike; eye bold, fiery, large, fearless; head small and tapering;
throat and face very loose and flexible ; neck large-boned, round and strong;
back short, broad at the shouklers, and tapering to the tail ; breast broad,

* The upper mandible shutting close over the lower.

Ancient and Modern Game-cocks

327

full and prominent, with well-developed pectoral muscles to give the neces-
sary action, power, and force to the wings. Breadth and fulness of breast
are most essential to Game-fowls, whether regarded from a sporting or edible
pomt of view. In a table fowl it is indispensable." Mr. Weir's " Derby

BLACK-BREASTED LIGHT RED PRIZE OLD ENGLISH GAME
BreJ and owned by Mr. Weir

Reds," after coming to the yard to feed, nearly always used to take wing
and fly across a two-acre field into an adjoining wood, thus proving their
strength of flight.

Mr. Harris maintains that "the wings should be large and long, with
the quills strong and of a powerful description, so as to impart additional
force in action ; tail large, up and spread. The up-spread tail is indicative

328

The Poultry Book

of spirit and of high courage." And yet he says "we frequently read of
tail too high. Whoever saw a Game-cock's tail ' too high ' ? A low, droop-
ing tail is a sign of
weakness and consti-
tutional debility."

There is a grow-
ing propensity among
some of those acting
as judges at shows of
calling all fowls
carrying their tails
high, as in many
breeds they should,
"squirrel-tailed."
Nothing, in the
opinion of Mr. Weir,
in many cases shows
more want of charac-
ter than ' ' a drooping
tail " ; we are glad to
find so ardent an old
fancier as Mr. Harris
agree with Mr. Weir.
But to resume Mr. Harris's description of the Game-fowl: " Belly small and
tight ; thighs very short, round, and muscular, not ' straddling,' but the thigh
crooked or bent, following the line of the cone-round breast ; this would make
the cock as he stands close-heeled. No one with knowledge of the true Game
shape would approve of a cock standing with his legs wide apart.* Legs
strong, clean-boned, and not at all gummy like some other fowls, or stiffly
upright, having small spurs set very low down, and having a good bend or
angle at the hock; color black for black reds, whitey yellow, or carp for
other black-breasted reds." This bend of the hock — or, more correctly,
the junction of the metatarsal bone with the tibia — may aptly be com-
pared to the bent hocks and muscular thighs of the hare or kangaroo, as

BLACK-BREASTED SILVER DUCKWING

* How true this is the practical Cocker knows, but of which so many modem writers
are lamentably ignorant, yet, assuming a knowledge they do not possess, they too often
advance a fault as a point of excellence.

Ancient and Modern Game-cocks 329

furnishing them with such wonderful propelhng power. In cocks of this
perfect conformation there is nothing wasted in these individual bones,
which are constructed so as to enable all to move with velocity exactly
commensurate to their distances from the center of action. " Feet fiat, thin,
with long taper nails ; in hand evenly balanced, v/hat 'cockers' term 'clever' ;
firm, but corkey and light-fieshed, mellow and warm, with strong con-
-traction of the legs and wings to the body."

A finer description of a Game-cock could not well be made ; every
touch shows a master hand.

Mr. Sketchley, in The Cocker, puts the most serious defects as —
Flat-sided and thin generally, Thin thighs,

deep keeled, Crooked or indented

Short legged, breasts.

Short, thin neck, Duck- and short-footed,

Imperfect eye, Unhealthful,

which may easily be seen when "up" for the purpose of handHng.
Mr. Sketchley further says: "Cocks that do not bear coneHke shapes
are for the most part straddling in their walk, and as they walk they fly ;
whereas in the cone shape the legs are more inverted and narrow." These
remarks do not agree with those laid down as "the points" of beauty to
be attained in the modern Game, though manifestly better.

Mr. Robert Howlet said on the title page of his book (1709), "That
the sport is both ancient and honorable." He divides the breed into
two classes, the ' ' Game-cock ' ' and ' ' match cock. ' ' We do not find any
writer before his time so observant or so careful in distinguishing the
varieties of size and form.

"Having furnished yourself with a breed that is stout and sure, see
then to the shape, and know that here you ought to be very nice and
circumspect, strictly examining every part; and if by severest scrutiny
you find the cock to be foul-grown or disproportioned, reject him as a bird
unfit to breed from, and consequently unworthy of your care or least
regard, notwithstanding the stock be ever so good from which he is derived."

After describing the shape, which is almost identical with that given
by Gervase Markham at a much earlier date, he proceeds: "As to the
color of your cock, that is best which you fancy most — black, white, red,
dun, gray, or piled, or any other color whatever; for, though Captain
Markham makes a great difference in the color of the cocks, there is nothing

330 The Poultry Book

in it, for the world affords no better birds for the Game than many c f your
duns and white prove.

" ' The scarlet-colored cock my Lord likes best,

The next to him the gray with the thresle (thrush's)* breast,

This knight is for the pile, or else the black,

A third cries, " No cock like dun with yellow back,"

The milk-white cock with golden legs and bill,

Or else the cuckoo, choose vou which vou will.

But this all mere fancy is, and no more.
The color's nothing, as I said before.'

"And, therefore, without taking any notice of color, I shall only
hold you close to the aforementioned shape, as being 'the all and only
part necessary to make up a complete cock.'" Yet in many cases the
old Game men prided themselves on the colors and uniformity of their
studs ; still, with such a full and excellent description as just given, no
breeder of "the Game" can be at a loss as to which is the old English
Game, and having the high qualities of shape, if not possibly color.

Howlet continues: "Having obtained a cock that is hard, sharp-
heeled, and handsome shape, it remains then for you to pitch upon a fit
size for your purpose, otherwise you will still be at a loss. Now, though
there are as many different sizes as there are several cocks" (which
difference in size is often produced by the early feeding, as Mr. Richard
Stamp has fully demonstrated), "yet are these birds reduced to two sizes
only, and distinguished by these two general terms — that is to say, the
great Game-cock or "Shake -bag," and the little match cock or "battle
cock," which last is now called "the old English Game."

The Giant or Herculean was called the Shake -bag by the English
and Dutch ; by the Indians it was known as Mag Chantille Champone, and
Mag-Gal by the Scotch. Baden assures us the word signifies great or
mighty. Doctor Wilde, writing in the seventeenth century, gives the
reason why they are called shake -bags: "Here in England," says he,
"they are so termed from a Scottish custom, and that 'the Dutchmen
have, who are great admirers of large cocks, and these being fought c t a
venture,' the bags in which the birds are being taken by the bottom, t ley
shake the cock out at the mouth upon the pit, from which custom they ire
called 'shake-bags.' " In some parts, as in Kent and Sussex, where a bag

* A throstle (local^ .

Ancient and Modern Game-cocks 331

is often called a "poke," they are called "turn pokes," and "turn-out" in
other places.

These large Shake -bags were not only well known but plentiful previous
to the year 1709, at which date Mr. Howlet's book appeared, though
Mr. John Laurence (Mowbray), writing more than one hundred years later
(181 5), speaks of them as rare and only kept by the Duke of Leeds. He
says: "Shake-bags, formerly the largest variety, has in all probabihty
been entirely worn out for some years. It was called the Duke of

BL; CK-BREASTEI) GINGER RED, EIGHT MONTHS COCKEREL
Owned by Harrison Weir

332 The Poultry Book

Leeds's breed, His Grace, more than fifty years since, being a great amateur
breeder of them " ; but it does not appear whether His Grace first raised the
variety, or whether it arose merely from improving the size of the common
Game or the "dunghill kind," or from any foreign cross. The former
is the most probable conjecture, on account of the whiteness and fineness
of the flesh in the genuine Shake-bag. "The only one I ever possessed
was a red, in 1784, weighing about ten pounds." At that period the
real Duke of Leeds's breed had become very scarce, which induced
dealers to put Shake -bag cocks to Malay hens, by that means keeping
up the original standard size, but entirely ruining the color and deli-
cate flavor of the flesh.

Air. Harris remembers the Duke of Leeds's breed, as it was called, all
of which he says had much of the unmistakable Alalay stamp about them ;
but, according to the" statements of old men, especially Smytherum, who
fed for Lord Rodney, and Bidgood, feeder to Admiral Duckworth, the
original breed of "the Leeds" Shake -bags had pure white legs, w4th the
flesh and skin as white and delicate as any Game-fowl, though some had
carp legs and colored skin, which showed evident traces of Eastern blood.

We have given these descriptions at length, for many writers of poultry
books of the present day quote Mowbray, often without any knowledge
of the word or meaning of the name "shake-bag," some authors even
spelling it "shakbacks."

Mr. Weir remembers that very large Game-fowls were kept by some
of the Kent and Sussex farmers and landholders, mostly, if not all. with
white shanks, though a few were dark or deep yellow, according to plume.
The duckwing Game-cock in Herring's picture of "Feeding the Horse"
was painted from a very heavy bird he knew well. It was fully nine pounds
or more in weight. Yet possibly the original very large birds might have
come from the Low Countries, for they are still plentiful not only on the
Continent, but also in England, Scotland and India. There is an opinion
existing among cockers, from the mode of attack and general demeanor
in the pit, that they have much of the Malay blood in their composition,
as previously stated.

Centuries ago the lesser Game-cock, as now, was preferred. The
little cock, as is well known, is full of dash, activity and courage, while
the old Shake-bag was slow and cruel. All this tends to show that at
least some of the ancestors of the Shake-bag were Chittagongs or Malays.

Ancient and Modern Game-cocks

333

This is but the usual effect in breeding for size; most, if not all, large
fowls are longer in attaining their full growth or in "filling out" to what
will be their more permanent bulk. It is so with geese and ducks of the
"improved" varieties, these last seldom attaining their full form under
the second year, whereas the goose of three years is not as big as it will
possibly attain.
We are disposed to
think that those of
the Duke of Leeds
were only the ordi-
nary farm Game-
fowl bred to a large
size by ample feed-
ing and selection.
Others are of the
opinion there was
much of the Malay
blood infused t o
obtain the larger
growth. Looking
back at the old
prints of the Malay,
we find them
delineated as large,
upright birds, with
by no means small
tails, and very
different to the
form in which they
are now bred.
Even in India there are varieties
Malay a breed or a family?"

UNDUBBED

5LACK-BREASTED GINGER-RED OLD DERBY

Bred at Weirleigh by Mr. Weir

which causes us to inquire "Is the

Breeding Game-Cocks

Regarding the breeding of the Game-cock, Howlet says : ' ' First, know
that the cock from which you intend to breed is a bird well descended,
rightly shaped; he must be healthful, fresh, and full of feather."

334

The Poultry Book

Referring to the Game hen, the same author says: "She must be
either the mother or sister of some admirable cocks known to signahze
their valor in the field of honor, and not only they, but their progenitors.
She must be rightly shaped, healthful, fresh, and full of feather; her age
ought to be different from that of the cock ; if the hen is old then the cock
must be young; but if the cock is old the hen should be young."

It must be borne
in mind that this
was written in the
days of the pit. It
will be observed
that, though Howlet
was an experienced
and thoughtful
breeder, his mode
differs from others.
His observations, as
well as those of a
later date, have been
quoted here to show
what care and ex-
actitude in all
details our old
Game-cock masters
endeavored to excel
in the production of
the most healthful,
strongest, and best
fowls. To this ex-
cellence the breeder
of the present day
has scarcely pro-
gressed. It may be
doubted whether
we have better or
even as good fowls as the breeders of more than a century ago.

The Sportsman, 1797-98, says: " Be certain the hens from which you

GAME
After a drawing by Marshall— 1790

Ancient and Modern Game-cocks 335

intend to breed are sound. Use the same methods as those for the cock.
Be assured that there has not been a taint in their race for many generations.
The breeding place should be at least half a mile from where dunghill
fowls are kept. In February, put the cock and hens together. If a cock
disagrees with a hen, take her up. Breeders differ much as to the food
given to chickens the first ten or twelve days ; they grow best when fed
with bread and egg mixed, as for young canary birds. If the weather
is wet and you are obliged to keep them in a room, give them bones of raw
mutton or beef to pick once a day. When a fortnight old, begin feedmg
barley, wheat and oats, and see that they have gravel."

Early feeding with barley or hard food of any kind is, in Mr. Weir's
opinion, wrong. Soft food of various kinds is the proper feed, he thinks,
until the chicks have passed their first feathering at least, and even then
it is best to be sparing of hard grain unless well crushed or broken.

"See that the perches are round, and not thicker than the fowls can
grasp. When they are flat or large, as some advise, it tends to distort
the feet, the outer toe often twisting. If they can grip the perch, the foot
is seldom deformed. Put the perches high to make them fly, but not too
high. Have the floor soft." Mr. Weir says he uses pine sawdust at least
six inches thick on the floors of his houses.

As to the perches, the old breeders had somewhat different opinions,
but mostly the approved perch was Jow, seldom more than two feet from
the ground. High perches and hard soil for the chickens or fowls often
produces lameness, crooked breasts, and other deformities.

Speaking of inbreeding, Howlet says: "By no means let them be
too near of kin. Out of brother and sister, or father and daughter, seldom
or never good cocks are bred. They either prove thin, weak and ill-shaped,
or else dull and false-heeled — especially if they are great cocks, for one must
be much more cautious in breeding them than the little match cock."
Howlet 's opinion, however, does not agree with the views of Mr. Sketchley
and Richard Stamp. The latter, one of the very best breeders of his day,
advises breeding "in-kin" thus : "In all cases the hen bird should be the
oldest, mother and son, aunt and nephew, half-brother and sister, cousins
and half-cousms, grandmother and grandson, and the more crosses in that
way the better." John Harris, in his description of the method of breeding
adopted by the most celebrated cockers, states that "the breeding-walks
generally contain six hens, full-blooded sisters, with one stag cock,

336

The Poultry Book

so that the produce would be full-blooded 'brothers or sisters.'" Mr.
Stamp further says: "I have many a time thus bred seven to ten
crosses, and by so doing the cross appears like fresh blood in the strain.
I have bred from a hen fourteen years of age and got good feather, size
and weight, appearing just like the former type. I bred from a hen ten

BLACK-BREASTED RED GAME COCK, ISO?
From Ree's " Cyclopedia "

four mains and

In

years of age, and got some good birds, one wmnmg
another seven."

Like most men of his type, Mr. Stamp was full of observation
one of his notes he says: "I have reared birds to as far as eight or nine
pounds in weight by following them up with nourishing food," but
he adds that they did not improve by that means, showing that selection
and matching was the surest method. He further states: " By doing so

Ancient and Modern Game-cocks 337

I got weight, but no more strength, and lost a good deal of action. When
I reared a bird on natural food up to six pounds, good size to weight,
and good type, I could match him against any bird any size in the
world." This from such an authority carries conviction, and is worthy
of all consideration. He also notes that strong-boned birds generally
grew thicker and longer spurs. We suppose by this he means close-
textured bone, and by no means "spongy." If so, this would most
likely be the case, the spurs themselves would be of a finer texture
and less liable to get broken off. It will likewise be seen from the
above that, although Mr. Stamp bred closely "in-and-in," he not only
maintained great stamina in his birds, but could also gain size as well,
when he wished to do so, adding several pounds weight simply by selection
and feeding ; yet we are told that crossing out is absolutely necessary to obtain
size, and " in-and-in ' ' breeding reduces it. Failure possibly attends those who
are ignorant of methods, whether of " in-and-in ' ' breeding or of crossing out.
But as doctors differ, so does "the Fancy," even on the question of
breeding "in-and-in." Mr. Sketchley says, writing in 1 814: "To promote
the means of keeping these fowls in their wonted health and valuable
acquisitions, if you are in possession of stags and pullets, as well as cocks
and hens, select the blooming of both, and put stags to the two-year-old
hens, and cocks to the pullets, and you may for years continue- in the
same blood, observing to put them invariably together in the above-
recited manner, never on any account making use of either cock or hen
after their being two years old ; for by adhering rigidly to present youth to
youth you can scarcely fail of success." Here is a decided difference of
opinion as to never breeding from an old bird, and yet both show equally
good results. Mr. Sketchley deprecates most conclusively the breeding
from old birds over two years, while Mr. Stamp proves the contrary —
that when necessary for the purpose of retaining certain blood it may be
adopted with success. The former speaks of several sisters running with
one cock, but then he points out that all must be of full and robust health,
and watched as to any deterioration in this respect, and the cock must
have and retain —

" The standard ruddy bloom of health,
That his feathers are not dry or loose,
But mellow in feel, bright and firm;
His flesh firm and compact ;
His legs well under him, and his crow clear and sound."

338 The Poultry Book

Then all ought to go well, and the progeny be strong and hearty ; but
if the breed fails, though bred from sisters in health with a cock in good
health, simply from deterioration in some way, he says " that a cross away
is never necessary, but frequently robs them of some rare qualifications
they had formerly enjoyed. A general failure wants no cross, but total
eradication."

However, " in-and-in " breeding is by no means of modern date, but was
practised centuries ago. Judiciously managed, it is the most ready method
of securing any particular type. As Richard Stamp and J\Ir. Sketchle}^
.clearly demonstrate, "when in master hands" it does not in any v/ay
weaken or injure the constitutional strength of the birds so bred. Our
forefathers knew this, and it also appears to have been their practice.

This mode for the perpetuation of certain qualities was continued by
the later cock masters. It was adopted by such men as Doctor Bellyse,
who was considered one of the best breeders of the old fighting strain of
Game-cocks. He was celebrated far and wide as the owner of some
wonderful piles.

John Harris remarks: "There were the renowned in-and-in bred,
mealy grays of Hugo Maynell's and Sir Charles Sedley's, which beat every-
thing that could be pitted against them in their day." Particular attention
is called to the fact of these strong and valorous birds being bred "in-and-
in" as they were, yet possessing such wonderful vigor and constitution
which they by demonstration clearly showed themselves to possess. This
goes a long way to prove an assertion Air. Weir often made and
maintains, that the mode of "in-and-in" breeding, if properly understood
and used with care and judgment, is one, if not the very best, method of
perfecting any desired quality, form or color, retaining it without deteriora-
tion of the constitution. Mr. Harris says in his remarks: "Until crossed
out after the decease of their masters, so powerful were they that even
the ' killing smocks ' (white) and ' light pyles ' of the Warburtons, Raylences,
Molyneuxs, and Egertons, whose heels were wont to bring down death
suddenly, could not live a battle through with them"; and only when
those black-legged warriors of Maynell and Sedley were opposed to each
other did either find their equal. By this same system of breeding Maynell
produced the most perfect pack of foxhoimds the world had ever seen. We
again wish to impress this method for attaining perfection thoroughly on
the notice of all breeders of stock, also bearing in mind the fact which should

BLACK HENNY OLD ENGLISH GAME
Owned by Mr. Weir

Ancient and Modern Game-cocks

341

HEAD OF OLD ExNGLISH GAME COCK WHICH
WON A WELSH MAIN

never be lost sight of — it requires a good eye for properties, a keen and

experienced judgment, and a more than ordinary development of natural

talent and aptitude for matching only those birds that are likely to produce

in excess those properties which are

lacking in those to which they are

mated; thus it is that more points

are gained tending toward perfection,

and with more certainty of a good

and even result. We have purposely

quoted their prowess to show that

they neither wanted vigor nor courage.

Mr. Harris informs me that Stamp

bred for seventy years with two

crosses, Bellyse more than fifty years,

only going back to the original on

two or three occasions. The crosses

in the Derbys from Lord Germain,

the Whit worth "Doctor's," and one

or two others were the only ones used up to the death of "the old Earl,"

from the time when Lord Strange first made them. He also adds that

if he wished for first-rate qualities, "I should take a cock from a strain

I had sixty years ago, although I have had such strains for crossing as

Bourne's, Weightman's, Baily's, Brough's, Callicote's, Daughberry's,

Rendleson's, and many others."

Writing some years ago, John Harris says: "I have just seen one,
if not the very last, of the pure-bred Parkhouses (Tassels) on a brood
walk, where he has got fine chickens this season, although he is from
fifteen to twenty years old, and is a true and good type of the breed, having
a long, narrow tassel." Another proof of stamina in a breed was in that
of Mr. Morris's well-known "grays," one of which, after winning in eleven
mains, had thirty-six sons fight in a main at the Royal pit, and only four
of them were beaten.

At the present day, most of our fowls are considered old and past
usefulness when about four, five or six years of age, and this with all the
modem methods of crossing "out" and recrossing "out." We have pur-
posely mentioned the birds of "the pit" as showing that there was no
loss or any deficiency of courage unless they were crossed out.

342 The Poultry Book

After reading Mr. Darwin's remarks on the "in-and-in" breeding of
poultry, it appears that he was by no means sufficiently supphed
with the actual facts of Game-cock breeding, nor of their condition after
a continuous course of many years of "close interbreeding," with, we may
almost say, scientific selections; but in this, as in other cases, he had to,
and did, rely on the knowledge of others, who possibly were not themselves
sufficiently well informed, or rejected much that did not assimilate with
their views on interbreeding. We are fully aware that some men have
such preconceived opinions as to believe in no proof, nor in any one but
themselves. Of course, it requires much judgment and attention to pedigree
to breed "in-and-in" with success, and it is considered almost necessary to
have walks on different soils, and, if possible, wide apart or even in different
counties, good soil and environments — all being of value, each in their degree.

With all care we can never be positively certain in what proportions
the desired combination may be brought about ; the advantages to be
gained by cross breeding fowls appears to present so great a hazard of
injuring pure breeds that few beyond those to whom the test of experiment
is sufficient to interest will be likely to take shares in the lottery.

The introduction of a "pile" Game-fowl into a strain of black-breasted
Reds is said to have made its appearance after a lapse of fifteen years, when,
moreover, for many generations not a symptom of it had been apparent.
This is but one case ; several have come under my own observation. But
further, the editor remarks: "All we contend for, as in other crosses
between the different breeds of fowls, amounts to this: that it cannot be
said that such produce generally will exhibit in form, feather, or properties
any very near approach to the proportion of the parents' features to which
their origin would entitle them."

One of my points is the first cross, which it is said should be half of
each parent, shows often so strong evidence of the one that the other part
of the cross is scarcely perceptible; and when this is the case it as often
again shows itself, though it is supposed to have been "bred out."

An instance of this is to be found in the old Derby Reds ; these were
kept intact for very many years (it is said a century), when, about ten
or fifteen years before the Earl's death (1835), they were crossed with
the "toady-breasted" grays, with which he fought many battles latterly,
and these frequently produced wheaten hens; before this they were
unknown in the stud.

Ancient and Modern Game-cocks

343

Mr. Sketchley so strongly deprecates a slovenly way of matching
for breeding "incongruous colorings" with, in his estimation, most perni-
cious results. He says : "A regular, well-chosen system to breed uniformly
not only in feather but in each character respectively is the best mark
and criterion of an experienced breeder." (That is so, doubtless, and
any one that decries color as not being a "part and parcel" of the life
and constitution of a bird has, I think, yet something to learn besides
the lack of uniformity in the " livery.") "When a main exhibits a regular
set of brothers that require minute discrimination to distinguish one from
the other, it meets with the general plaudits of the surrounding pit."

GAME DE BRUGES iSHAKI

344

The Poultry Book

The art of breeding true in color, in plume, shanks and feet seems
to rest with very few, judging from what poultry shows give us as types.
Take the Derby Reds as an example. So ignorant are the breeders
of the present day of the method adopted by the Earl of Derby that
these fine old servitors are fast losing their identity as " reds " and becoming
mere splashes and pieds, these sometimes miscalled spangle, and often

even with discolored
shanks and feet. And
in the richer, brighter,
light-colored forms the
lamentable falling off
in the last quality is
most grievously observ-
able and deeply
regrettable. This
comes, undoubtedly,
from the want of
knowledge, not only
of how to match, but
only too often from
the outside remedy
being tried in the way
of an alliance with
some other breed or
strain, the Derby "light
reds" having been got
originally from piles
(Smock-breasted reds)
and the old black-breasted black reds, and so bred and selected
until the black under-color was bred out and a white substituted.
This white "splashing," therefore, is merely atavism of color, and
in some localities disappears, while in others the white is so aggres-
sively persistent as to become the ruling color; but one curious
fact, noticeable throughout, is that although it may be said the color is
weakened, yet neither the strength, health, vigor nor courage is in any
way impaired.

And, further, it has been stated that none of the old warrior strain

CAPTAIN HORNBY S BLACK*BREASTED LIGHT RED
DERBY GAME-COCK

From an old pencil drawini;. 1853

Ancient and Modern Game-cocks 345

were without some white; this may be the case generally, but not with
all. Having kept the breed for many years, it was seldom Mr. Weir
could breed either a cockerel or pullet whole colored, though the latter
were less difficult to produce; yet sometimes he was successful.

Of all colors, the most attractive is the black-breasted, dark, blood-
red, with pure white shanks, feet and beak; being at once not only the
most beautiful, but also the most useful for all purposes, the yellow
shanks in England being objected to for table.

In some cases the white in the Derby Reds is so much in evidence
as to make it a white bird, somewhat lightly splashed with red, purple
and black, in variegation more like a tulip than a fowl. Such splashed
birds are too often miscalled spangles, a real spangle having a colored
groimd, each feather being tipped only w4th white. There are red,
brown, yellow, blue, dun and black spangles. (A spangle is foul in feather
that has nearly or wholly white or black feathers in the tail or wing primaries
and secondaries ; yet such are erroneously given precedence by the modern
so-called Game judge over black-breasted reds pure in color, and so with
black-breasted, silver and other duckwings.)

The Cornish light reds were an offshoot of the Earl of Derby's and
Mr. Taylor's strain, which were one and the same family. Coath kept
these birds carefully bred, and was very successful for upward of forty
years, until he crossed them to gain bone with those of more sturdy make,
when they were just as unsuccessful in the pit as "they proved good
before" — another instance of the value of "in-and-in" breeding; and here
is one more:

The Earl of Derby's strain had been bred at Knowsley for many and
many a long year ; some aver for much more than a century. They were a
beautiful strain, though a few of the old fanciers objected to their dun or daw
eyes. Beesley was His Lordship's first feeder; on his decease. Potter took
office, followed by Potter, junior. For a great number of years His Lord-
ship's breeder was Roscoe ; and who does not remember the son, "Thomas,"
that next took charge of the Knowsley stud? And "what a stud!"
For a number of years he placed out more than three thousand chickens
annually, and from these it was an easy matter indeed to pick out many
and many a faultless bird, fine in color, good in shape and constitution.
Well do I remember the grand, the noble and stately appearance of these
beautiful "flame-black and purple" colored birds, as they walked and

346 The Poultry Book

crowed among their hens amid the bracken of the old deer park, with a
dauntless mien and a majestic carriage, well poised on their ivory, stainless
shanks, their jetty breasts, their large, full-feathered flowing tails, some
few having a white feather or two or a half- white sickle, others "without
this blemish" of color, though perhaps "blanched winged." The stag
was perfect in all ways, without a streak of white, as were the partridge-
colored hens.

Those most preferred in bygone times were: (i) Black-breasted
black reds; (2) black-breasted reds; (3) black-breasted Birchen duckwings;
(4) brown-breasted Berry Birchens; (5) piles (these really should be
designated "white-breasted reds," or yellows, duns, blacks or blues, as
the capping might be) ; (6) black-breasted silver grays ; (7) white or smocks ;
shaded-breasted mealy grays; (8) black-breasted dark grays; (9) ginger-
breasted reds; (10) black; (11) brass-backed blacks; (12) spangles; (13)
smock or clear whites ; (14) duns and blues. Although some were esteemed
more than others in different localities, their merits were pretty generally
admitted in the order named. This being so, then it would seem there
was something in color after all, there being better cocks for "the pit"
of the darker colors than mostly of the lighter; and it appears to be so
thought by universal consent, although "the smocks" in their times have
borne themselves m a true and knightly way, and the red-and-white liveried
piles have maintained and upheld the honor of royalty.

After the black-breasted black-reds few if any of the old English Game-
cocks stood so well in the opinion of the many, or were more daring, more
full of life and vigor, or had a more fearless, haughty carriage than the
blacks, the very blacks — "Satans" or "Demons." Fine upstanding
birds, somewhat tall, yet strong, and big in girth, fierce in look, with large,
round, defiant, bright black eyes, black combs, faces, beaks, shanks, feet,
and toe nails, while their plumes of black intensity, with sheen of crimson,
purple, blue and green, as they moved in quick or deliberate motion,
caught the sun's rays and flickered and flashed in varied hues, as though
the very color lived. Full-tailed and big- winged, which they clapped,
then crowed, stopped, gazed and crowed, they were of the Game-birds
once seen never to be forgotten ; but they are past, and other colors and
forms are now the vogue; and so with the azure-breasted blues, lovely in
color, bright and beautiful, and their congeners, the blue duns, with their
mellow -toned and softened, tinted feathering, looking bright by contrast.

Ancient and Modern Game-cocks

347

photograph by Harrison Weir.

OLD-ST\LE GAM]

Where now are the charming yellow-breasted, red-breasted and ginger-
breasted reds, with their glowing, fiery-flashing colors, the robin -breasted,
the old black-and-white piles, and the lovely mealy grays, with the chestnut
wing bar — all these and more were "the liveries" of the dukes, lords and
squires in the old times gone before us. These and sttch as these were of
the highest type of vigor, health, strength, beauty of form and color that
art, care and knowledge could possibly achieve as was maintained and
evinced by some yards having this remarkable uniformity in all respects.
When cocks were entered for the pit they were weighed and described
most carefully in every way, but perhaps it is not generally known that
at some of the more northern pits they were also named on the ma'tch bill,
of which, being interesting, I give an example:

"Cock-match bill, to be fought at the old Galloway Pit, at
Newcastle-on-Tyne, Easter Meeting, commencing April i, 1850."

At all the matches the birds were numbered as well as named, and it
is ctirious to note the odd and strange names given, and under which these

348 The Poultry Book

feathered warriors fought. Here are a few which may some day prove
to be historical : " Gay Deceiver," " Laplander," " Blue Bonnet," " Steeple
Chaser," "Lord Hill," "Bob ]\lust Take Care of Isabella," "Kill Him, So
I Will !" "Trial Is the Best Proof," " Billingham Lass" (this seems some-
what wrong for a male bird), "Tip, the Daisy," "Bella Wants Him Back
Again," "Paul Jones," "Peep o' Day Boy" (this is fairly descriptive of
"the early bird"), " Plodge the Burn," "Horn of the Chase," "He Is-
Waiting in the Village," " Robert Is a Plucked One." "Jane's My Darling,"
"The Bonny Pit Lad," "Free Trade," "Proud and Saucy," "Teaser,"
"Fair Play," "Jenny's Fancy" (this is entered as a dun pile), "Little
Devil" (it is to be hoped this did not survive the combat), "Hark to
Thunder," " Hark to the Lark" (does this in any way indicate the musical
crow of this entry?), "Slashing Harry," "The Tout," " Beny's the Best,"
"White Stockings" (perhaps a white-shanked Derby Red), "Through the
Wood, Laddie," "More Whisky" (this is suggestive of having at least
some spirit), "Hairy Leg," "More Brandy," "Wanton Willie," and
a large number of others, thus illustrating by their names the peculiar
"whims and fancies" of their owners. After reading through this
old cocking-bill, and the number of birds mentioned, one cannot
repress a feeling of depression and extreme sadness, knowing these
encounters were a matter of life and death, and they, too, in all their pride
of youth and beauty, with apparently more life than the body could well
contain, stately in step, haughty in carriage, and beautiful in contour and
color. Yet how many of all these lovely birds were alive at the end of
this seven days' meeting, where it was no doubt the lot of some to fight
and fight again, and yet again, before they gained the oft -contested right
of "going home," and there to end their days as brood cocks among flowery
meads near rippling rills, in peaceful walks, proud of their ever-prating,
cackling hens, and then with loud voice rousing the rested world to begin
anew its work and daily life.

Of mains and Welsh mains nothing need be said, as what they were,
and are, is so well known, but it is not so with the battle royal, which
is most imperfectly understood, so many writers of fiction designating a
furious fight between two as — "hereupon 'a battle royal' at once ensued,'"
which in no way gave any idea or represented that which occurred in the
days of "the cockpit'-'; indeed, even then it had long been in disuse, and
was only resorted to when a few birds were left over, and time was pressing.

Ancient and Modern Game-cocks

349

This may be so, but it is a well-known fact that such exhibitions at the
most celebrated pits were conspicuous by their absence.

The battle royal was for a time a favorite mode of fighting among
cockers of the lower order, who, upon the old maxim of "the more danger
the more honor," became practical advocates for general destruction in
the following way:

"A battle royal may consist of any number of cocks, but it is hardly
ever known to exceed eight, the owner of each having made good his entry
by paying the stake-money, or previously contributed his share of the
prize or purse (sometimes the cocks were handicapped, great winners
paying more entry money, and untried cocks or stags somewhat less).
All parties being ready, the battle or fight for the prize is begun by turning
out into the pit all the cocks (that are to do themselves honor) at one
time ; a general melee commences like to the old jousting times, when every
knight's weapon was against that of the one next him, and every one
his enemy." The scene in the cockpit can better be imagined than
described. " Here, there, and everywhere birds rose and fell, the last often
to rise no more — carnage at once revolting, inhuman, and disastrous to all
the combatants save one, and generally not one lived till the pit was cleared.
Often the gallant conqueror of birds
as brave and strong as himself had
barely time to scramble on to the
heap of slain and crow his last crow
of defiance ere sinking wounded
unto death" — or, perhaps, "A
scuffling, racing, tearing, crucial
bandying of blows, vigorously
dealt, a restless rushing from side
to side, a savagery of killing without
science or art of attack or defense,
at times two or three springing
high over the others, alighting again
amid the battling throng with deadly
effect as they buried their burnished
weapons into the throbbing mass
them. Now and again a pause, a
blast

From a dra-u.i>i!; by Han
OLD ENGLISH GAME HEN

of contentious combatants below

shrill, ringing crow like a trumpet

and the living dash on their nearest foe, and over the heaped-up

350 The Poultry Book

dead or dying another falls, another, and yet another. Two are left,
which, though bleeding from many a vein, are yet undaunted; they meet,
they rise, they fall, and, as they lie, strive yet to rise again to strike. One
is up, he staggers, falls dead on a heap, an manimate mass. There is a
movement, the other feebly lifts his head, struggles to rise, and falls!"
Is it sport? Is there any sport in this sort of thing, this "battle royal" ?
Truly the last survivor, if any, wins — wins what ? Credit, renown, lasting
honors, a happy life to the end of his days, or what? All this slaughter,
this . . . the winner wins the stake-money for his owner. "But,"
says the editor of the Sporting Dictionary, writing as long ago as 1803,
"this species of sport is but little practised now, and that in the most
distant' and remote corners of the kingdom." And it may be added
happily now — nowhere.

Facts About Spurs

The artificial metal spur as an appliance in cock-fighting is by no
means a modern invention, though its use has been in abeyance for a
considerable period, especially in England, if not in other countries. As late
as the seventeenth century it could scarcely have been the custom, for
Gervase Markham, writing on the subject of Game-fowl combats, distinctly
states "that having so far prepared your cock by trimming, you shall with
a knife scrape his spurs to points, and then put him down to try his for-
tune." As to when it became the common practice to cut off the natural
and to arm the birds with artificial spurs is an undecided question, yet
there is but little doubt that at the Cockpit Royal weapons both of silver
and steel were at once the usual and necessary arming in the struggle for
life or death. The use of these, instead of the natural spurs, has to the
thinking mind somewhat too hastily and recklessly been called barbarous,
when in point of fact it really is not so, tending, as it does, greatly to shorten
the conflict, the striking power by such means acting with more deadly
certainty, every blow telling in a far more conclusive way than the softer,
natural, less efficient young spurs of the scarcely year-old "stag," they being
weak and less hurtful. This possibly would not be so with the older,
fully matured cock. Yet even here the artificial spurs would end the fight
sometimes at the first stroke, and if not, then after a few passes had been
exchanged. Therefore, reasonably speaking, the use of the metal weapons
is less punishing than without, and the term barbarous certainly has been,
and IS, misapplied.

Ancient and Modern Game-cocks

351

The artificial spurs were sometimes in the remote past made of brass,
iron, steel, or silver. Those that have been discovered are not only of
the two latter metals, but also differ much from the modern make, inso-
much as they more resemble elongated protective cappings than abso-
lutely lengthened natural forms for defense or destruction, while not a

1. Manila spurs, native workmanship, recently s

2. A very old drop-socket steel or iron spur.

3. A pair of steel spurs of Kendrick, Kennick, <

nebyj. Hancock, C. E.

4. A pair of Watling steel or iron spurs.

5. A pair of Singleton steel spurs.

6. A pair of long drop silver spurs.

few of the spurs made in the eighteenth or nineteenth centuries have
varied from tw^o to six inches in length from the heel to point ; though the
size of the latter is with me but a matter of hearsay, yet, being on good
authority, it is given as fact. Not all were made of metal, some of the
continental being bone or horn.

The making of cockspurs was a great art, and by no means one of
easy production; while as often many hundreds or thousands of poimds

352 The Poultry Book

depended on the battle, it is not surprising that the manufacture received
every care and attention, both in the material, shape, bend, curve, and
fitting, the metal being of the highest temper, welded into form with
thoughtful touch and practical nicety. Birds of a certain length of limb
required one make, others another; while the mode of attack, varied
action of hitting, striking, or blow-delivery had, or should have, appropriate
lengths, inclines, or well-considered curves. The practiced setter knew
this, and the spursmith could and did make to the requirements with an
exactitude scarcely to be excelled. With such perfection of material and
knowledge of the craft but few names were associated, and of these their
handiwork was treasured, valued, and carefully kept. As heirlooms,
many exist at the present time, with oft-told stories of battles won by the
gallant warrior birds which wore them, aye, and that long ago. Yet even
these, of high courage and with desperate fighting power and endurance,
when armed with steel would, as cravens, turn from "silver," though of
the same size and make. This is so well known that when a match was '
made the terms used were for steel or silver. j

The illustrations show the different makes of some of the most cele- i
brated cockspur armorers, and, more conclusively than words, their ^
varied forms for usage.

^.

OLD ROMAN SILVER SPUR

Found in Cornwall

The property of Mr. John Harris

TRANSATLANTIC GAME-COCK
Photographed and owned by Dr. H. P. Clarke, Indiana

AN AMERICAN COLLECTION OF COCK-SPURS

Dr. H. p. Clarke, Indiana

iN THE illustrations reproduced herewith are shown what is
undoubtedly the most varied assortment of artificial spurs
in the world. Numbers i, 3 to 6, 8, 14, 15, 35, 36, 43
to 46 were made at Indianapolis, Indiana. The other
specimens are freaks and foreign spurs collected from many-
different parts of the world. Of the forty-eight specimens here shown,
each one represents a pair excepting the slashers, which come singly and
are used only one at a time.

Numbers 3, 6, 8 and 36 are the famous "Gold Spurs" which have
attracted considerable attention in some of the largest cockpits of this
country and Europe. They are triple plated with gold. These are the
" Armes Americaines" which in 1894 revolutionized spur-making in France
and Belgium. Number 3 were used at the International Concourse of
that year, and with No. 6 was won what was in some respects the most
important main ever fought in Europe: America against France and
Belgium combined.

Numbers i, 3, 4, 5, 6, 36, 43 and 44 are Full Drop Sockets of various
lengths from one and a half to three and a half inches, the longest
(Number 36) being a pair of shake-bag size made expressly for slugger
cocks and locally known as " Soul- Searchers."

Numbers 8 and 46 are Regulations. Number 45 is of Cincinnati style.
Numbers 14 and 15 are Half-Drops, Front Drops or " Jaggers," as they are
called in different sections of the country.

10. Drop Sockets made in England.

II and 12. Ordinary French gaffs.

13. From southern Belgium.

17. Typical English steels, made by J. Tepin.

19. Very old gaffs from Scotland.

21. Meat-ax Slasher of American make.

22. Texas Slasher from San Antonio.

355

356

The Poultry Book

23. Ivory "haip"
from Scotland.

24. Very old tin spur,
early history unknown.

25. Scottish "haip";
natural cock-spur with metal
socket.

26. Round-socket
Slasher, American make.

28. Horn spur from a
Belgian settlement in this
State.

29. Horn spur from
northern Belgium.

3 1 . Bronze socket , iron
blade. Very ancient relic
from pays dWrtois, or
"country of Artois,"
France.

27. 30. 32, ?>?>, 39. 40.
Slashers from various parts
of Mexico.

34. Australian gaff ;
Brisbane, Queensland.

35. American 50-
millimetre gaff", made
to conform to the

newly adopted International Standard of Europe.

37. From Manila, Philippine Islands, U. S. A.

38. Filipino Slasher in sheath.

41. One of the famous old silver spurs of England. ]\Iade of silver
with copper alloy and yet has a temper equal to the finest steel. Spur-
making of this kind is a lost art, as no man alive knows how to temper
pure silver.

42. "American style" spur from France.

47. Three-inch Slasher from Central America.

48. Five-and-a-half-inch Slasher from southern Alexico.

AN AMERICAN COLLECTION OF SPLRi
Reproduced by courtesy ..f the owner, Ur. H. P. Carke

An American Collection of Cock-spurs 357

American Contests

There are three different kinds of cocking contests in this country :
short heels, inch-and-a-half heels, and long heels. In the northern States
east of the Alleghanies and also west of the Rocky ]\Iountains the inch-
and-a-quarter Regulation, No. 46 in collection, is the only spur which
local pit rules allow. In the remaining portion of the North the popular
spur is one inch and a half in length, without restriction as to style. This
means the use of steels such as Numbers i, 5, 8 or 14, though the Drop
Sockets are objected to in some localities.

In most parts of the South "long heels" prevail, the only requirement
being that blades be round from socket to point. Each man may use
any style and length he choose, and the spurs most in vogue are Full
Drops like Numbers 4, 6, 43, 44. Occasionally one will see Half-Drops,
Number 15, and more rarely still such spurs as Number 35. Numbers 9,

41, and the gaffs shown :' _

in Mr. Weir's pictures
would never be used in
the United States. Those
old English spurs of silver
and steel are interesting
as curiosities, but of no
value for practical purposes
in this progressive age,
being almost as far behind
the American Drop Socket
as the ancient flint-lock is
behind the modern Krag.

The Frenchmen of the
Province of Quebec use long
gaffs, all the rest of Canada
short ones. In Mexico and
Central America there is no
fighting now except in
slashers or navajas, the
latter word being Spanish ' -

-. T /• AMERICAN COLLECTION OF SPURS

for razors. In former ow„ed by d. h. p. aar.e

358

The Poultry Book

times birds were often fought "naked heel" in the valley of the
Rio Grande, until a couple of Chinamen came along with a string of
Oriental cocks, some six or eight years ago, and killed that kind of sport,
likewise numerous pit fowl. The Cubans and Puerto Ricans fight almost
exclusively in natural spurs or their artificial equivalents, zapatones,
somewhat similar to the Scottish "haips." In Spanish-speaking South
American countries the rule is either naked heels or slashers, never round
blades, while the Brazilians match their birds in blunt natural spurs, just
as do the Japanese.

Across the Atlantic

In Scotland, where the steel (Number 19) was once in vogue, the
natural spur or its substitute, the "haip," now reigns supreme. Ireland
is about equally divided between naked heel and old-time Singleton.
Northern and eastern Belgium employ a spur of horn, Number 29.
Southern Belgium and northern France formerly fought in steels like
Numbers 11 to 13, then tried to copy the "American style," which resulted
in Number 42, then barred Drop Sockets and adopted a spur similar to
Number 35, and finally at the Regional Congress of Cockers of the North,
June 29, 1 90 1, called for a steel whose blade shall be absolutely straight
and horizontal, with a length of fifty millimetres, or about one inch and
seven-eighths. This last has not proven entirely satisfactory, and although
vigorously upheld by the organ of the fancy, Le Journal des Coqueleitrs,
it is noticeable that many mains the past season were fought amies lihres,
or, as we would say, "long heels."

From a photograph

..-tsSf ■-*^ ''^^

• ,^L)f'^

CAPTAIN HEATON'S CHAMPION MODERN ENGLISH GAME STAG-COCK.

Photograph by Dr. H. P. Clarke.
GAME-COCKS TETHERED ON THE LAWN
An old Mexican method adopted in Indiana

THE MODERN GAME-FOWL

alOTHING stands still; all things change and are ever
changing. The admired of yesterday is thought less of
to-day, and, where "fancy" leads, will be of the past
to-morrow\ What is now "a property" is in time called
"a defect," — not that it is so, but so "young fashion"
wills it. The flaunting dame toys with to-day and yet sighs for
the changeful morrow — w4th her, only novelty charms. - And thus
fancy has out-fancied the old English warrior Game-fowl — the
sturdy, strong, and valiant bird of ages. It has been singularly
interesting to watch the process and the ever-moving change. One at
this time can scarcely realize how or why it was done. It is not as if
no standard existed of what the Game-cock should be; this standard had
been recognized, and bred to, from time without date. The good type of
the Game-cock was held in high esteem. Power and symmetry were not
only sought but found, for in the pride of beauty, strength, courage and
undaunted valor he was peerless and unequaled, much less surpassed —
the admiration of all beholders. The change was effected slowly. It
was the work of certain judges of birds. One liked less hackle, another
not so much tail, a third agreed with both, while the fourth wanted a longer
"reach," even though the fighting days were past. The reachey bird
was developed. There was a joining of hands, a little ]\lalay crossing,
more selection away from the true old type. On and away year by year,
passing on and becoming less of the one and more of another, the modem

359

360 The Poultry Book

Game resulted. Still, "the old" warrior is as grand as he was fifty, nay, a
hmidred years ago. The standard of what he then was is what he must
be to-day.

Mr. Weir says: "Whether the change is for the better is really, in a
sense, a, matter of opinion. Happily, we have the old, as well as the new,
consequently there comes to our aid these standards for comparison. We
are, however, asked to disregard the old in favor of the new ; quite a difTerent
style and type, yet still to be called and known as the English Game-
cock. There are those who go so far as to say that the improvement is of
such high quality that the new breed has not an ounce of superfluous flesh."

In the meager, tall, attenuated form now in vogue with some few
highly respected and notable fanciers we have a bird that has been changed
from one with a large, full, gracefully feathered and "sickled" tail to one
of the scantiest and almost ludicrous dimensions. This is partly achieved
by Malay or Indian crosses and careful continuous selection in the
direction needed. Turn to the illustrations given of the old-style "Game- "
fowls, either on coins, vases, etc., many of the former dating back thousands
of years, and not one will be found with a small, thm, narrow tail. Those
old breeders knew the many advantages of an extra-sized tail with hard,
well-developed feathering. Where are the thick, strong, full and rounded
pectoral muscles for the active use of the big, impennous wings — wings
of unusual form and strength ? These must, of necessity, in the new be
reduced, as muscle is flesh. It is very remarkable that at the present
time there is a craze for short tails.

Our horses are docked and their tails made ridiculously small to meet
the so-called modern ideas of fashion. Irish, Scotch and English terriers
and spaniels have more or less mere stumps as tails. There is also the short
or bob- tailed sheep-dog; and, far worse than all, the "novelty dog," the
Shipperke, a tailless, walking exhibition of modern "fancy." Our Malays,
Cornish Indian crosses and Langshans are disproportionately limb length-
ened, like our warrior Game. Let us return to the modern ideas of what
a Game-fowl should be, with its weakened, stilty, thin, storklike legs, and
thighs with shanks to match ; the more slender these are the more a lessening
section of fanciers prize and value them. When killed and trussed as
table fowls these thighs and legs make a fleshless, ugly show. Yet breeders
of the new, almost nude — so short and close are their scalelike feathers —
tell us this is the same breed that our forefathers loved and cherished.

The Modern Game-fowl

361

The fancier of the new Game pretends to ignore the pit, while he carries
some of the old warrior bird's points of excellence to an almost ludicrous
excess. To a great extent he neglects those of positive utility that were.

CAPTAIN Hornby's old English game cockerel, 1858

Winner of I500 sweepstake

and rightly are yet, to be found in the true old breed — a breed that has
descended to us intact as an heirloom from the time of the Romans in
England until our poultry shows of about 1851-55-58, at which date the
modem heresy feebly began its growth.

More than forty years ago we had the true old long-pedigree breeds in

362

The Poultry Book

plenty, yet even then Mr. Weir noted that when some of the more modern
"cockers" caught up a bird, after making a half circle to steady it, they
would rest it on one hand and draw the hackle quickly through the other
to take out "the spread," as they called it. At the earlier shows of
Birmingham and elsewhere it was no uncommon thing for accusations
to be made of "hackle-drawing" to fine up the neck or plume hackle
so that it should appear "thin and fine." A reaction in favor of
the old English birds has arisen. Common sense has asserted itself,

as in the end it always
will. Thus it is that
the length of head,
neck, and limb, com-
bined with the paucity
and shortness of
feather, has become
such as to border on
absurdity, while
beauty of form and
natural proport ions
were on the verge of
extinction i n Eng-
land's most favorite
fowl. Happily, the
admirers and breeders
of the true "old
English Game" re-
sisted this innovation ;
clubs were formed,
and a stand made
against a change.
.; .^j ^ Yet, for all this, it

% _. ^,^^,^ 'mm mm ^ must be admitted that

BBfr"^ '"'' ^^ ^^^..^iMMWitttfMIMiMMHIHMSH^Mfl in the hands of some

j;i •t'-^n-aph by courtesy 0/ Dr. H. P. Clarke.

.N HENNY GAME thcrc is a gracc and

beauty pecuhar to the
The absolute failures are numerous, but the few

bird as it now is.

that are good are justified by the result.

These, in the hands of such

The Modern Game-fowl 363

men as Captain Heaton, bred as he breeds them, shown as he shows
them, are widely different from the general rut of weak-legged nonentities.
With him may be classed the names of Ainscough, Briarly, and others.
In such hands there is something beyond the bird to admire not only in
production, but the wonderful way in which they are conditioned, and
the faultless style, vigor, and fulness of life in which they are shown.

Points of Beauty

Head, long and narrow; beak, straight, with a light curve and finely
yet strongly set on the head ; the eye large, full and fiery ; the neck long
and thin, yet strong shoulders; wide in the body, deep, but rounded,
and flesh on breast full and hard, with a slight tendency to length ; thighs,
long and thin, or slender, slightly bent inward ; the legs long, feet long and
well to the ground, with sharp toe-nails, spur set on rather low ; tail narrow,
small, and carried low, the whole of the feathers short, hard, almost like
scales, yet moist or cool to the touch; general carriage somewhat of a
tendency to be upright, yet not so much so as the Indian Game, or Malay.
In appearance, when good, it is light and elegant (but this is the exception
and not the rule). The hen is built, to use a modern expression, on the
same lines.

It is recorded that Captain Heaton, one of the very best fanciers of the
day, has by no means reluctantly paid 300 guineas for three cockerels,
while, on the other hand, many of his own breeding have realized as much.
He, of all the modern Game fanciers, is the winner of champion cups.
Yet the interest wanes. There are so few prizes and so many blanks,
unless the birds are bred, handled, and conditioned, not only by the
practical, but, it may be well said, the highly gifted fancier. Such men
are not of an e very-day occurrence, as a reference to the "show-pen"
clearly proves. Whether the new creation will be in existence fifty years
hence is a moot problem which only time can prove, but a reference to the
entries of the Crystal Palace Shows leads to the supposition that the bird
is gradually subsiding.

Locating the Range

The range, if possible, should be beyond the hearing of the hourly
challenge of neighboring cocks. "A thing," says Mr. Howlet, "which
is apt to stir up their choler. It is, as Captain Markham (1620) so much

364 The Poultry Book

commends, a lodge, grange-house, or mill, because, for the most part, such
places are remote from neighbors. Choose a walk that is graced with
solitude, having green fields or pleasant meadows on one hand and moun-
tainous, hilly, dry ground on the other. A murmuring brook, rivulet, or,
in their stead, some pleasant pools of clear sweet water is desirable. Avoid
ha\'ing too many hens in your walk. Indeed, had the cock but two or three
hens it is enough, and the walk would be better than wdien a larger number
is kept. ]\Iany hens make a cock too lustful, and greatly debilitates a bird
of the Game, though length of turn and good feeding will much restore a
cock that is decayed."

Many of the old breeders varied the number of the hens according to
the time at which they will put up. This system is the best to adopt.
In January, two or three hens, according to the age of the cock ; in February,
four hens, or at the end of the month five. With Game hens never
add a new one, but continue with the original number. A fresh hen
would most likely have a sorry time, if not killed, before the hens in
possession became friendly. It is well to get hens used to each other before
the introduction of the cock. In a measure it prevents favoritism, but
the cock is sure to have a preference in this respect.

If there is a wood or shade to which the birds can retire during the heat
of the day in summer it will be of great service in keeping them in health.
Game-fowls, in particular, like to perch in the trees either in damp or hot
w^eather. If circumstances will permit of their being roosted out, it is
far preferable to a hen-house. It contributes to their often becoming
exceedingly wild, and, if frightened, they often fly beyond their allotted
bounds and are lost.

When Game-fowls can have full liberty and a wood to fly in and
about they have much stronger wings, legs, and better feet. Alert
moving about in high grass, underwood, among the boughs and leaves of
bushes and trees, gives a gloss and color to their plumage that can be
obtained in no other way. Neither do their feathers or shanks ever
present that sunburnt hue that must be with those kept more in the open
and devoid of such cool and invigorating shelter.

Game-fowl will do well in an uninterrupted run of a stack-yard.
The ordinary farm buildings and straw-yards, where proper nest places are
provided and where they can roost, will suit them even in winter. Fowls
having such full liberty are seldom, if ever, in any way diseased. With

The Modern Game-fowl

36s

this freedom one essential is clear — clean water in a shaded place twice
daily, and a pile of sand and wood ashes under cover close by for a dust
bath. Care should be taken to feed them, when possible, on different
ground day by
day, thus pre-
venting any
particular spot
being stenched.
If two
clutches of
chickens are
required of the
same hen in
one season, it
is best effected
by putting her
first eggs under
another fowl of
the same breed.
The Game hen
should be kept
imder a coop
among the
other hens
until the pro-
pensity to sit
has passed
away. If she

is taken away while the "heat " lasts she will be fresh again to the run,
and there will certainly be considerable fighting and perhaps much dis-
figurement on her return. On the next occasion of the Game hen wanting
to sit, it is advisable to let her do so, otherwise she will get a weakened
constitution. It is argued that by continually preventing hens from sitting,
after a generation or two the inclination becomes less frequent. This may
be so, and is possibly correct. Mr. Weir has prevented hens of the Game
from sitting the whole year. They continued laying well. The second
season they w^ere found less inclined to sit and more regular in laying.

BLACK-BREASTED DERBY OLD ENGLISH GAME

Bred and owned by Harrison Weir

366

The Poultry Book

Sometimes the cock will take a dislike to a brood hen. This is par-
ticularly so among Game-fowls. The hen must be removed in such a case ;
otherwise serious consequences, possibly death, are likely to occur to the
hen. Some breeders remove the cock for a few days, putting him with
the hens a short time each day, during which time the hen, if broody,
is taken up.

vary according to the season ;
nine is sufficient in February,
thirteen at the end of March.
The Game hen, being small,
is unable to cover with
proper warmth as many as
twelve or thirteen in cold
weather. She cannot well
mother the chickens if
hatched. For want of
warmth they are likely to
be weakly. Should the
chickens hatch unequally,
those first out should be
gently removed, so as to
disturb the hen as little as
possible, and placed in a
well- warmed flannel-lined
basket near a fire. When
all are hatched they should
be returned at night ; other-
wise, it is possible the hen may kill them. The next day the hen and
brood should be taken to a dry place, put under a coop, and left at liberty
in a room or under a shed. Nothing is more likely to kill little chickens
than wet, dirty, or long-grass runs. Many fine, healthy broods are destroyed
by being confined on damp floors, wet straw, or long grass. As a rule,
young chickens cannot be kept too dry, though they may be too hot.

Game chickens, like Hamburgs, require special attention for a week
or two — in fact, until their heads are feathered, after which they have
passed the most critical time. At first they are best fed on stale bread-
crumbs and hard-boiled eggs chopped small and well mixed. Crushed

AMERICAN GAME STAG

The Modern Game-fowl 367

and broken wheat later on, with a very httle raw meat cut fine and mixed
in with chopped lettuce or tender young grass, with cheese crumbs rubbed
small in ground oats can be used ; occasionally a meal worm may be given.
Mr. Weir does not advise whole oats or wheat until they are at least six
to seven weeks old. Ground oats or maize meal may be given, slightly
mixed with boiled potatoes and some thinly sliced fresh cabbage ; naturally
fowl do not get grain in the spring. Above all, clean water is essential,
but many old breeders prefer barley-water for the first week or two. Some
advantage is gained by the chickens being brought up under ordinary
barndoor fowls, because they are generally excellent mothers, and rarely
quarrel with other hens.

With Game chickens, the young cocks, if well bred, prove to be most
pugnacious at a very early age. To a certain degree this can be somewhat
remedied by removing all the young pullets. Thus on one occasion a
clutch of twelve little cock chickens were running together with the hen.
Being of varying sizes, they seldom fought. Neither did the other sex,
removed at the same time. This is more easily managed when the eggs
are hatched in an incubator. Old "cockers" used to select the most
promising chickens from the broods and destroy the rest, thinking that a
less number would thrive better. Mr. Weir does not agree with this
practice, provided the number does not exceed ten or twelve. They help
to keep each other warm.

There are three ways of cutting the comb, says Mr. Weir: The first
is close to the head, which is called the low cut; the next is that slanting
upward toward the back of the comb, called the slant cut ; and the third,
the more ancient, cutting on a curve, leaving the comb higher in the middle
and so round to the hook of the beak, called the high cut. The latter is
practised in America, though at present in England the secoiid is thought
to be the best. In all cases the cockerels should be shut up for a day or
two on low diet before the operation, after which, if young, they may be
dubbed without loss of blood. After a week or two their wattles may be
removed. The bird is thus saved from much possible after-mutilation,
torn combs and wattles by fighting. But is it necessary ? I have been
credibly informed by an old cocker that many of the birds of the cockpit in
the old times had entire combs. They generally appeared to have more
stamina, and were more daring and absolutely ferocious. The red combs
of their adversaries, acting as an incentive, tended to enrage them in the

368

The Poultry Book

same way that a red flag does a bull. The comb and the wattles of the
cock are not only ornamental, but by their elastic resistance are natural
buffers to break the force of a blow. As such, though vascular, they are
almost devoid of feeling. Of this I am convinced after many years of
close observation. I am also of opinion that if the combs of the cockerels
are cut off when young — that is, as soon as they arc of sufficient size and
in the way stated above, the operation is not painful. Instead of being, as
some aver, cruel, it is, on the contrary, a merciful act under the conditions.

The havoc and
[ j disfigurement that

ensues when young
cockerels are kept
together un-
dubbed is not
only lamentable
but often very
destructive; there-
fore, on the side
o f humanity, i n
cocks of the Game
it is a matter of
necessity. If every
bird could be kept
separate this would
be another matter,
but where twenty,
forty, sixty, a
hundred or more
I are raised, such
I isolation becomes
' impossible.
_ , ^Mien a cock

is put up to be con-
ditioned for show,
it is often necessary to cleanse the system. The following pill or condi-
ment is said to be of service and is recommended by Robert Howlet
in the "Royal Pastime of Cocking," 1709: "Take of white sugar-

MR. FLETCHER MOSSES OLD ENGLISH GAMI

The Modern Game-fowl 369

candy, rosemary, feverfew, and ground ivy bruised; mingle these with
sweet butter; let the sugar-candy be finely powdered, and let these
be well incorporated together. These will cleanse a cock of grease and
add to his strength."

Recipes for Making Cock-Bread

Mr. Weir gives the recipes of several kinds of cock-bread, most of
which were generally considered to conduce largely toward getting a farm
cock mto the highest possible condition. If this be so, it is possible that
something of the kind may be found preeminently useful in preparing
birds for the show-pen, though, m Mr. Weir's opinion, good outdoor
feeding, with an unlimited walk, cannot be surpassed. Some fancy
that the common baker's bread is as good as any. Instead of plain
bread, Mr. Weir found toast and a little ale once a day or at night, just
before exhibiting, highly invigorating.

The following is another recipe for making cock-bread, given by
Howlet: "Take of wheat, pease, beans, and oats of each a like quantity
m meal or flour finely dressed, with the juice of liquorice and a little sack-
wine, or strong stale beer with brown sugar-candy, aniseeds and carroway-
seeds mixed together; but if the season be hot, you must put white wine
instead of sack, and as much common ale as will make the flour up into
dough, with the whites of ten or twenty eggs, and a yolk or two amongst
them ; and this they take to be the best sort of bread to feed cocks withal.
There are those that think the finest wheat-bread with good store of hot
spices in it, and soaked or sprinkled only with simple water or juice of wood-
sorrel, to be the best food for a cock. And some again heed not what
bread they have, so that they have good store of flesh to give their cocks,
crying that up for the best and strongest food. But in my opinion, these
extremely err in fancying flesh food to be fit for a cock ; these carnivorous
feeders understand not the nature of these valiant sort of birds who force
such unnatural food on them."

A little meat may be given to advantage with other food, but vege-
tables should, in some way, be mixed with it. Mr. Weir prefers in summer
ground oats, with a very little ground barley, wet with milk or water,
some finely chopped bullock's liver, and cabbages.

"Some feed their cocks," says Mr. Howlet, "twice a day, and others
three times, and water them between each feeding, and that for the most

370

The Poultry Book

part with common fountain water; but the following barley water is best,
especially in summer, and indeed all the year long, when the climate is
anything hot and sultry; for this water excellently cools and wonderfully

refreshes the vital spirits that labor
under heat; it has also a cleansing
quality, and is highly restorative when
feverish distempers afflict the body,
therefore preferred before common
fountain water: Take barley and boil
it in spring water. Let it stand to
cool and settle; then pour off the
settlings and give this to your feed-
ing cocks.

"But, in my opinion, there is yet
a better sort than any of these, and I
make it thus, viz. : Of the best and
finest wheat-meal I take three-
quarters of a peck and one-c|uarter of
oatmeal of the purest sort, and first
of all mix these well together; then
add the whites of twenty new-laid
eggs, four yolks, an ounce of the
best extract of liquorice, and as much of the fine powder of brown
sugar-candy, a quarter of an ounce of aniseed and carroway-seed,
grossly bruised, with a lump of good sweet butter as big as your
fist at least, and a quarter of a pint or more of the best white wine
that can be got for money, with three or four spoonsful of syrup of
clove-gilliflowers put into it, and a date or two, with some candied eringo
roots cut very small, so that it may be scattered into every part, and let
these ingredients be well worked together in some tub or pan for that pur-
pose with your hands until you are satisfied that they are properly and
thoroughly incorporated. Then take wood-sorrel, ground ivy, feverfew,
dandelion, and burrage, of each a little quantity, and distil them in a
cold still; add three or four spoonsful of the pure juice of lemons to every
pint of distilled water, and add as much of thin julep as will serve to make
all into a good stiff paste; let this be wrought quick and made into little
fiat loaves, which ought to be a day or two old before you open them, and

Photograph by Dr. H. P. Clarke.
TRAXSATLAXTIC STAG
)f two battles at national tournament in 1898

THE REV. H. H. HUTTON's BLACK-BREASTED BRIGHT RED OLD ENGLISH GAME
Bred by Mr. Herbert Atkinson

The Modern Game-fowl

373

then, being well rasped or pared so that none of the brown or burned
outside remain, they may then be cut and given to the cocks as aforesaid.
And this I take to be the best and fittest sort of bread for English cocks,
it being a food that does greatly strengthen and exhilarate them, and at
the same time cools and keeps them temperate in their bodies, provided
you have regard to the season, for in hot weather, or when the climate
is more than ordinary hot, there must be more of the cooling ingredients
added, and fewer, or a less quantity, of those that are hot in nature."

The Muffled Game-fowl

In the Muffled Game-fowl we have a very distinct form of the old
fighting-cock, though perhaps it is not so apparent to the uninitiated.
It differs much in form, carriage, weight, and in the bearding and
muffling; it is generally a much heavier-framed bird, stouter and broader;
the head is thicker and shorter, the base of the skull wider and rounder,
the beak larger and much curved, especially in the upper mandible, the
point or end being down-turned and hawklike ; the eye is usually dark, full,
and fiery ; the feather muffling often
extends behind the skull, thus
thickening the head and neck
hackle, while at the sides it covers
the cheeks and becomes an almost
profuse beard about the lower part
of the beak, almost hiding the
wattles; the comb is stout, and
in some cases semidouble, and
there is mostly a fierce, cour-
ageous expression, and an un-
daunted bearing, almost amounting
to ferocity. The general make is
sturdy and strong, the girth being
large; the breast is roimd and
broad, while the full-sized wings
are up-carried and almost touch

at the quill ends under the tail, so devoid of oftal is the hinder part;
while the grand flag-tail has an upright, almost forward carriage — a
sure mdication of high-mettled stamina, vigor, and bravery; it has a

Mk ^ jr

By courtesy of Dr. H. P. Clarke.
TRIO OF TRANSATLANTIC PRIZE-WINNERS
Owned by Dr. H. P. Clarke, Indiana

374 The Poultry Book

lofty, upstanding carriage, and is well balanced on stout muscular thighs,
legs, and strong shanks, with well-formed feet. Usually it is somewhat
heavier than the old match cock, weighing as much as seven or even more
pounds, still it is active, alert, and has a style of going and, it may be
added, doing all its own.

The hen is a female counterpart of the cock, and has a peculiar and
attractive appearance, the head often having, besides the muffling, a neat
rounded topknot, though this is not considered a point of excellence.
They are good layers of fair-sized eggs, careful and protective mothers.
If anything, they are the most hardy of all the varieties of the different
races of Game-fowls, and certainly deserve, if only as table fowls, much
more attention and favorable estimation than is at present accorded
them. As to color, the best, or at least those that have come under Mr.
Weir's observation, are the black-breasted dark reds, crow -winged, black
in beak, shanks, and feet.

The Tasseled Game-cock

The crested Game-fowl is not a modern creation, but of ancient,
though unknown, origin. It is one of the birds mentioned in " The Treatise
on Poultry," 1810, thus: "The EngHsh tufted fowl does not surpass
ours (French) in size, but it stands higher on the legs. The cock, which
has rather an aigrette than a tuft, and the bill and neck of which are of a
more open shape than in the common breed, is superior to ours for fighting."
Other writers, both ancient and modern, have referred to it as being a
distinct breed. In form and feathering it closely, if not entirely, resembles
the ordinary Game-cock, excepting that it is generally of somewhat stouter
make, and has a more hawklike beak. The lark-crest at the back of the
comb is small, and about one inch and a half in length; the feathers are
hard, crisp, narrow, with loose web and rounded at the ends; the colors
are mostly very rich, and black-breasted reds with yellow or orange shanks
and feet are considered the best, and are the truer breed, j

In their style and habit they are bold, active, and vigorous, and have the
reputation of being of the warrior blood that fought for life and limb in the
old pit days. One of the best strains, and famous for strength and courage,
was that of Richard Stamp, which at his death passed into the possession
of John Harris, in whose company Mr. Weir saw some twenty to thirty
in unlimited range in 1894. There, among the then flowering gorse, and

The Modern Game-fowl

375

Front a drawing by Hamso7i H t

OLD ENGLISH GAME COCK, 1856

amid the far-extending rocks and greenery, they looked the perfection of
the Game-fowl, and were by their reputed prowess worthy of the name.
It is possible that, such services as theirs being no longer required, ere long
the breed wiU become extinct. The hens inherit much of the fire and

376 The Poultry Book

dash of the master-birds. They are strong, well made, and fantailed,
like the cocks, and as Game-fowls should carry them high and not low,
which gives a soured, craven look, although it is now thought to be a point
of excellence by those who profess to be judges of the Game, and yet are
ignorant of the very nature, habits, and lofty bearing of the birds of a
thousand years. The true breed of the tasseled Game had, and should
have, large tails, and these should be carried high.

Spanish Game-fowl

The Spanish Game-cocks are mostly small, and their fighting weight
seldom exceeds four pounds and a half, many of the most fiery and of
dashing courage being less than four ; these are exceedingly active and very
game. They are generally black reds — that is, black-breasted black reds,
with crow wings, and some are black ; though small in bone, they have the
true English Game stamp, and are believed generally to have descended
from birds taken out by or sent to our officers during the Peninsular war.
Many have been exported from this country during the last sixty years.
As the small size was preferred, some of our best match cocks, weighing
but three pounds four or five ounces, found ready sale in Andalusia, at
prices highly favorable to the seller. Alike at Cadiz, j\Ialaga, and Algeciras,
]\lr. Weir saw several that were unmistakably of the English type. They
were seldom cut out for fighting, but their faces were decorated with
emerald-green ornaments, or markings, a color much admired in Spain;
they are yellow- or carp-shanked, very few being white. They are fought
mostly about carnival time, and also at other times should opportunity
offer, excepting during Lent.

The Hexxy or Hen-feathered Game-cock

There are few kinds of fowls about which there has been more con-
troversy, or so many unsupported statements, than those respecting the
Hen-cock or Henny Game, one believing that they are a degenerate
section of the old English Game, another that they arose from an occasional
sport, being cultured and then bred for, while others declare they come of
some worn-out stocks that have been too far bred in-and-in. Many hold
that they are not only a pure and distinct breed, but a strong, healthy,
exceedingly heroic, hardy race or section of the old fighting cocks of
England.

The Modern Game-fowl

377

They are mostly of a larger size than the match cock, weighing from
seven to eight and occasionally nine pounds ; yet even then there is no coarse-
ness; they are thick in girth, though somewhat long in body; in shape and
contour handsome ; quick and alert in their movements, yet wanting the
proud, aristocratic, stately carriage that is so conspicuous in their sickle-
tailed brethren. Shy and retiring, they are difficult to approach, running
for cover to any hiding bush or shelter near at hand, and yet with this
apparent timidity they possess in fighting a courage unsurpassed and
almost, if not quite, invincible, which conclusively shows that there is no
lack of health, endurance, strength and vigor, being as full of stamina as
any other breed. So like
are the cocks to hens, both
in style and plumage, that
an old Derby white-shanked
spurred hen often looks
the very counterpart of a
Henny-cock.

The

azeel the

Game*

Indian

This, as its name
implies, is the true Indian
fighting-cock. It is the
high-class Game-fowl o f
India, and has been known
as such ever since the Indian
life of Lord Clive — the
word Azeel indicating true
and noble. The breed is
one of the oldest, and the
pureness of blood and
pedigree have been most
carefully preserved for
centuries on centuries of
years. The origin of these warrior birds has been lost in the dim vistas of
the past. It has long been kept as, and is, a royal fowl in India, treasured
beyond expression as such. It is of the highest value, being almost

* See page 417, Dr. H. P. Clarke's " General Remarks About Game-towls "

YORKSHIRE HERO, 1823

Trimmed. The winner uf 27 battles

378

The Poultry Book

impossible to procure specimens of the purest blood — the warriors of
to-day — the descendants of such renowned in story. " Moorgah " is the
Hindoo for cock, while the Mohammedans call it " Mooruh" and "Azeel
Mooruh," which is, the exceeding noble cock, or the cock that fights nobly.

As Game-
f owl they are
game. They are
called so because
they are em-
phatically
known to be so,
with a world-
wide reputation
as such ; a reputa-
tion rightly and
honorably won,
theirs by con-
quest. Game
ages ago and
Game to-day,
not called so for
commercial pur-
poses, but for
their steadfast,
fiery valor; not
for their beauty,
which is great ;
not for their
strong, well-knit
frames ; not for
dashing attack,
vigor, and

strength, nor for their varied loveliness of color and beautiful intricate
markings, nor their sturdy make, general contour, fierce eye, squared, wedge-
shaped head and powerful beak — no ! Not for any or all of these are they
Azeel Indian Game, but because they are the true, the high-class, the
blue blood of Indian bird warriors, the veriest Game of Game, the Indian

' hy Harrison Jf'ei

OLD ENGLISH GAME, BIRMINGHAM, iSsS

The Modern Game-fowl 379

Game, and the only proper and rightful owners of the well-earned
appellation ; pure in blood and pure in reputation, theirs is a world-wide
fame. Those who have seen them in India — birds such as never reach
our colder land — have told of their prowess, of their ungovernable,
unwearying, unconquerable tenacity in battle; with them, as with our
English Game of old, it has ever been — death or victory. Such are the
Indian Game, the Azeel, the true, noble, thoroughbred — Game.

Sir John Astley, in his very interesting book, "Fifty Years of My
Life," 1894, gives valuable information on many things, and so, respecting
the Indian Game-fowl, he says of his brother that "When he came home
he brought with him some of the higher type of Indian Game-birds, and
I was surprised to learn the value set on those birds by the native sportsmen
and the trouble to procure and land them in this country; yet some of
them had succumbed on the homeward journey. I noticed one black
hen particularly, and upon asking if she was of a high-class tribe, was
assured she was the very top of the pedigree class, and that no money
could buy her; in fact, he would have lost caste had he put a price on her
in particular, when he had been offered ;^2o each for her eggs." She
never laid in England ; but Sir John Astley states she returned to
India, and laid on board the ship, and he dryly adds, "My readers will be
satisfied that it would be very difficult to set a price on such a bird."

These Indian Game have a wider, fuller, rounder head than our
English, and are shorter and broader in the back; the product of a cross
from the two breeds sometimes turn out well, but are not to be depended
upon to be like either — pure. From the foregoing it will be seen how
highly the natives of India value pedigree, and it is but a haphazard,
unwise proceeding the breeding without it; whilst with it, even with the
greatest care in the matching, disappointment only too often occurs;
and yet it is saddening to hear some people, ignorant of Nature's laws,
restlessly advocating a cross, a breed out and in, after which they can
never know, nor others with the very least certainty, what can or will
come of it. Such has been the case with the Azeel; in no cross has it
proved a success.

A friend of Mr. Weir's had some very high-class Indian Game, long
in pedigree, from Madras, in color black and some a soft blue, and yellow
in the shanks; and although he was a fairly good ordinary breeder of
poultry, by unscientific matching he not only lost the beautiful purity

38o The Poultry Book

of feather coloring, but he also found that it was most difficult — in fact,
almost impossible, to retain the orange yellow of the shanks and feet;
they would come stained. If this were so in the pure breed, what would
he have had to contend with had he crossed "out " and "in " ?

Captain Robert BuUer Young, writing to Mr. Weir of this breed,
says that " The ordinary fighting-cock of India is very different from what
we know here as the Azeel, which, from what I gather, is of the highest
class, and I have heard it termed the rajah's Game-fowl."

Of the ordinary fighters he says: "To begin with, many of the
cocks are hen-plumed — that is to say, an absence of sickle feathers, having
a square tail and scarcely any bright feathers, either on the shoulder or
hackle, with a fair comb, but for which otherwise it might pass for a
hen." "Here is another proof," says Mr. Weir, "that our Kennies are
distinct breed, and possibly originated in India, as our fine old English
Game is said to have done many centuries ago."

In color the Azeel is variable, but always more or less beautiful.
Like most of the Indian domestic poultry or pigeons, there is a finished,
refined, almost poetic, touch about both the cocks and hens, the spanghng
tints being generally brightly and charmingly arranged, widely dift'erent
to any European breed. In habit they are peculiar, being wonderful
scratchers, almost burying themselves in the deep holes so made in their
runs. Mr. Weir's would most industriously turn over, to a great depth,
all the available ground continually; and were scarcely contented, if ever
so, unless they were digging or delving, their extra-strong hmbs and feet
making the process a light matter of exercise, though presumably they
were in search of insect life. Again, though fierce in combat to a remarkable
degree, both sexes were unusually tame, allowing themselves to be caught
up and put down as desirable at his will or pleasure; they would feed
from his hand, and perch on his shoulder in the most trustful way
imaginable, which rendered them enjoyable pets to keep.

As a table fowl it is of wonderful shape, the breast being a counterpart
of the red grouse, or between that and the partridge, plump, broad, full,
and rounded ; the skin is thin, and the flesh very fine in grain, and close,
but rather dry and somewhat hard, for the reason that it will not put fat
on the breast nor between the layers of the muscles, though it does some-
what about the thighs and legs; the bird, however, fattens inwardly.
One cock that Mr. Weir had was very fleshy, particularly so on the breast,

The Modern Game-fowl

381

though apparently lean, but it died from apoplexy, when, on examination,
the inside was found to be — to use a common expression — one mass of fat.
If the breed could be got to assimilate more fat on the breast, it would be
undoubtedly one of the best table fowls that we have. Grouse-breasted
to a degree, it, like the grouse, is thin — lean.

BLACK-BREASTED BLACK RED OLD ENGLISH GAME
Owned by Mr. John Harris

'• CROW ALLEY

382

The Poultry Book

What power there is in the short, thick, bony, straight shanks, covered
as they are with stout, large scales ! What strength in the feet, with
their strong, thick-made toes, horn -tipped with stout, curvicular nails,
all-powerful for attack, defense or scraping ; the thighs hard and muscular,

well apart, and sparsely feathered;
the head broad and thick; beak
strong, stout, and well set on,
slightly curving from a triple pea
comb to the point ; eyes deepset,
yet in themselves bold and
prominent, pearl-colored, pink-
cornered; face glowing purplish
red, slightly beset at the sides with
bristles ; deaf, or earlobe small and
hard; wattles small, both red;
point of breast naked and red;
shoulders broad, stern narrow,
making the body almost trian-
gular; wings very strong, w^ell out
at the butts or shoulders, carried
level, showing the big first joint
bare; neck round, powerful and
medium length, if anything rather
short than long, rising curved or
bending in the ele^^ation; tail
carried low, fiat, the feathers
narrow and hard, w4th slender
sickle feathers, thin and sharp in
point, but wiry in substance ; tail-
covert fine, evenly laid on, close,
firm, and compact — that of the hen
a little short, but not too much so, carried low, and tapering ; oil the plumage
hard, almost scaly, yet feathery, but devoid of fluff; body heavy for its
size, well-boned, close in texture, and strong; the carriage somewhat
upright, but runs with a stooping gait; general appearance combative
and dauntless, moving quickly and fearlessly. Fortunately, there is no
standard for color, nor should there be, so many of our best breeds being

MODERN OLD ENGLISH GAME-COCK
A great winner — cut out for fighting. This cock won at Lille a few

The Modern Game-fowl

383

OLD ENGLISH GAME HEN — PRIZE PARTRIDGE
Bred and owned by Mr. Weir

more or less sacrificed to a slavish craving for certain colors to the exclusion
of others, often quite as beautiful, and in the opinion of some more so.
The so-called colored Dorking is a notable example of this, the dark and
silver-grays now only obtaining notice, while the black-breasted reds, the

384 The Poultry Book

golds, the spangles, and the speckles are entirely neglected ; therefore,
well is it for a breed that it not tied to color as a point for or against.
In this matter the Azeels are preeminently beautiful, the formation of
the feathers lending an additional charm to the various blendings. The
white, with an undertint of lilac-gray, yellow shanks and beak, and silvery
eye, being one among the most approved. The black has its admirers,
and what a black it is ! How brilHant ! rich bronzy and purplish,
with an iridescent emerald-green, flashing to every movement of the
bird. Then the self-colored blood-reds, with black hackles, and these,
with a delicate black lacing, now claimed as a property of an alien
variety of fowl. Spangles and splashes, and almond-tinted tans almost
complete, but do not exhaust, the list of the varied featherings and
colorings of these rajah-treasured fowls.

Profitable poultry they are not; as charming and delightful pets or
hobbies, saving and except the old English Game and some few others,
and these very few, they have no peer. True, on account of their courage
they are somewhat difficult to keep, the hens even having their likes and
dislikes, mostly the latter; as a consequence, these end sometimes in the
death of one or the other, or the temporary maiming or disfiguration of
both, such being especially the case on the introduction of a stranger.
This may be partly remedied by cooping the newcomer within sight of
the other fowls for a few days. They are by no means prolific breeders,
laying but few eggs as a rule, but there is much difference in this respect ;
they are good and close sitters, excellent mothers, defending their little
ones with the utmost audacity and fearlessness. The chickens require
some attention for the first week or two, after which they shift for
themselves in the same way as our English Game-fowl ; they grow
slowly, feather well, but require a dry situation, well-protected from
cold winds. The eggs are small, of a dull light-brown, and the shells
are generally thick.

A cock of this breed, mated with a lightly feathered-shanked Shanghai
hen or hens, will produce some excellent table fowls, very hardy, and
easily fattened, the flesh thereby being rendered rich and delicious in
flavor. Though they cannot be said to be very hardy, still in some localities
and on certain soils they thrive; and where such is the case, they prove
not only an interesting but, being so different in most ways from others,
a very enjoyable breed to keep.

The Modern Game-fowl

38s

The Malay

This is one of the best known, though of doubtful origin, of all the
domesticated Indian birds ; it is more or less the Indian Game-cock, vary-
ing in size, color, and habits as it does, from the high-bred Azeel to Gallus
gigantiis. Mr. Weir has shown that the old fighting shake-bag was in some
instances probably partly, if not wholly, what is generally termed a Malay,
the name comprehending a large family of bony, tall, sparse, hard-
feathered, variously
colored fowls.

Any tall, large, tight-
feathered fowl without
wattles, with either a
knob, lump, or thick-made
pea-comb, is at once called
a Malay or Kulm fowl,
though the variations in
these are numerous. Con-
sequently, those wishing
to gain prizes at any of
our poultry shows must
breed them to certain
forms , colors, and
standard.

Although long known
in England, and probably
used in fighting, we have
no drawing or picture

of one antecedent to that given in Rees' "Cyclopaedia" since 1810. In
this one sees at once the Malay in England at the time, and
with its peculiar form and flowing tail there was but little difference
between them and those shown in the early fifties. Marsden observes
of the St. Jago cock "that this bird is so tall as to enable it to
pick grain off a common dining-table, and that it has the habit when
fatigued of resting its body on the hock or hind part of its legs,
and in this state is taller than the common fowl." Latham adds,
"we have not been fortunate enough to see this bird, but that it must

IRCHEN YELLOW, 1 792

386

The Poultry Book

be a giant of its race can easily be imagined from the figure of a leg of
the natural size sent to Mr. Temminck from Batavia, at the back of which
is a tremendous spur, two inches in length, and stout in proportion."
Here we have the habit and leg-bone of the Fancier's Malay.

"Lieutenant-Colonel Sykes, in his 'Memoir of Birds found in the
Dukan (Deccan) States,' states that it is only there met with as a

'm

>^3X-

^■^^^^

MR. ASTLEY S PRIZE AND CUP OLD ENGLISH GAME WHEATEN PULLE'l

The Modern Game-fowl 387

domestic bird, and that he has reason to beHeve that it is not a native
of India, but was introduced by the Mussulmans from Sumatra or Java.
The iris, he says, of the real Game bird should be whitish or straw color."
(This is the same, or nearly so, of the Azeel, and some strains of the old
English Game, and is also the not unusual color of the eye of some of
the imported fowls called Langshans.) "The Colonel landed two cocks
and a hen in England in June, 183 1, and they bore the winter well; the
hen laid freely, and by September, 1832, had reared two broods of chickens.

"The cock had not the shrill pipe of the domestic bird, and his scale
of notes appeared to be more limited. A cock in the Colonel's possession
stood twenty-six inches to the crown of the head, but was said to attain
a greater height. The length, from the tip of the beak to the insertion
of the tail, was twenty-three inches. Hen one-third smaller in size than
the male." (Zoological Society Proceedings, 1832.)

Jardine's notes, with some additions, give a true picture of the Malay
as known here : "It often stands more than two feet high from the crown
of the head to the ground. The comb extends backward in a line with
the eyes; it is thick, a little elevated and rounded at the top, and has
almost the appearance of being cut ofT. The wattles of the under
mandible are comparatively small, and the throat is bare. Pale goldish-
reddish hackles ornament the head and neck and upper part of the back,
and some of these spiny ; from the bare part of the throat, middle of the
back and lesser wing-coverts deep chromes; the webs of the feathers
are disunited. Pale reddish-yellow, long drooping hackles cover the
rump and base of the tail, w^hich last is very ample and entirely of a glossy
green" (this description by Sir William Jardine shows the bird before
the modern innovation and peculiar fancy of lessening the tails of all
our domestic fowls, and thus much of the green is lost as well as the utility
of the tail), "of which color are the wing-coverts; the secondaries and
quills are a pale reddish -yellow on their outer webs; all the under parts
deep black and glossy green, with high reflection. The rich chestnut
of the base of the feathers appears occasionally, and gives a mottled
appearance to these parts." Such was the description, and from this
even as far back as the teens of the last century there were numerous
variations, such as the tufted, the whiskered, and bearded (as now),
besides that of form and habit.

The following letter from Singapore, November 12, 1823, Straits of

388

The Poultry Book

Malacca, by Beruga Ayam Saborg, is of especial interest, throwing light,
as it does, upon the whiskered Malay, etc., and perhaps on our English
muffled Game, and more on the Azeel: ". . . having frequently
read notices relative to the Malay and Chittagong crosses which appear
to me to be erroneous, as the writers proceed on wrong data. One writer

BLACK-BREASTED LIGHT-ORANGE DUCKWING OLD ENGLISH GAME COCKEREL
Owned and bred by Mr. Weir

complains of the muffly heads, another of the great weight and clumsiness
of the Malay Game-cocks, which when well bred have very seldom indeed
any top-knot, and seldom weigh more than four pounds. The Jungle
cock, which inhabits many of the islands in the Eastern seas, is a perfect
Game-cock, high on the leg, light fleshed, hard feathers, a fine eye, and
the most beautiful plumage conceivable — in fact, a perfect Game-cock,

Photograph by Walter Gardiner, Worthing

AMERICAN EDITION

VERY person in this country who has given the subject of
poultry serious study, either as a professional or an amateur,
is familiar with the writings of the venerable and highly
esteemed English writer, Mr. Harrison Weir. It is a great
satisfaction to all lovers of poultry to know that the results
of his observations and personal experiences, covering more
than half a century, have been preserved in the present volume. In very
few instances do we find so keen an observer and such a close student of
Nature the possessor of such rare artistic ability. The work is therefore
all the more valuable, containing as it does his sketches and drawings, and
it will remain a standard in its class of literature.

The poultry industry in America has been one of gradual develop-
ment. On account of peculiar conditions, the methods in vogue here
differ considerably from those followed in England. Therefore, to make
this work of more peculiar interest and value to American breeders, each
part has been thoroughly revised and, in some instances, entirely rewritten,
by an expert American authority.

The insertion of photographs and drawings representing typical fowls
from an American point of view adds to the great value of the work as
one of reference. In fact, it constitutes, in its present form, a standard
for all lovers of poultry. In each instance the name of the authority is
printed at the head of the chapter, and he alone is held responsible for the
comments and revision. Where no individual credit is given, the editor
is authority for any changes in the original English edition.

Willis Grant Johnson.
New York City, May i, 1903.

The Modern Game-fowl 389

This bird I look upon as the father of the true-bred Game-fowls. The
Malays frequently secure their eggs, hatch and bring them up, or put
them in the way of Jungle cocks.

" The English Game-cock has no doubt reached the acme of perfection,
but at the same time the Malay birds are equal in blood, as perfect, and
even deeper Game of the two. The Chittagongs cannot be called Game;
they are large, heavy, and out of all repute as Game. It appears to me
very odd indeed how good Game-cocks (Malay) could have been seen in
England. The only places which Englishmen, and more particularly
captains of ships, are in the habit of visiting, are Pulo Perring or P.W.
Island, the entrance of the Straits of ]\Ialacca, once or twice a year to the
west of the coast of Sumatra, and the island of Java. Now one thing is
clear, they have no cocking either in Java or P.W. Island, consequently
no good cocks. On the west coast there are some, but not what the captains
of ships would get by asking for {i. e., if good). The majority of importa-
tions have been most probably made by men who scarcely knew a cock
from a goose, often bought in the bazaar or market-place, where good
Game are not to be procured, for they are never exposed for sale if worth
having. I have myself seen worthless dunghill cocks sent to England as
fine savage Game-cocks; by this means no doubt their credit is sullied,
and that muffly heads, top-knots, clumsiness, dark skins, etc., are raked
up against them ; but it certainly arises more from the kind of bird called
in England a Malay Game-cock than from the actual bird itself."

It appears from Mr. Saborg's letter that the high-class Malay is small,
and is most likely the one we now term Azeel; and this view is borne out
by the opinion of others, who put the lesser bird as the one of the highest
class. Yet, nevertheless, the larger is the one known as the Malay, and

ithe Azeel is of later importation; and though of fine quality in all
respects, still there are lovers of the old Kulm or Malay — the Giant.
The wings of the Malay should be long and carried high, almost
touching over the back, with powerful shoulders, and be large in girth,
breast-bone somewhat long with strong-made keel; the breast meat hard,
muscular, and well-developed, flesh firm in grain but rather inclined to be
dry, as the Malay does not fatten well on the breast, the angle part of
which generally shows red in flesh between the feathers. Captain Robert
Buller Young informed Mr. Weir that the ordinary fighting-cocks of India

390 The Poultry Book

distinct from the Azeel, and that pointed steel tips, or blade spurs, are
used in the fighting. The natives of Java and the Malayan Archipelago
are the most noted cock-fighters of all the Asiatics. The Malay is in India
called the Galium or Kulm fowl. The number of Malays that are continually
imported from India, Mauritius, the Philippines, and other places, of
varied forms and colors, give a wide opportunity of selection ; thus it is
that some are exceedingly tall, while others are lower and more square
in body, more sturdy, and much less liable to leg weakness.

The Malays now exhibited are in no way superior to those of half a
century ago ; some perhaps may be a little taller, one being said to be over
thirty-three inches, but whether this is an improvement is a matter of
taste and opinion ; for utility, the shorter-legged birds are the more hardy
and in all ways more preferable. These and the so-called Cornish Indian
are almost identical excepting in color, the latter being formerly known
as Pheasant Malays. The Malay is a cruel, long, and persistent fighter,
but lacking entirely the fire and dash of the English Game-cock; there is
a sort of cool, old hidalgo, stately mode about him that is not found in
other Game birds, and this renders such as he a troublesome adjunct to
a farmyard where other cocks are kept.

In the Gentleman s Magazine, as far back as 1770, it is stated that "The
inhabitants of the islands to the eastward of Bengal, such as Sumatra,
Borneo, and the coast of Malay, are very famous for cock-fighting, in which
they carry gaming to a greater excess than the customs of Europe can
admit. They first stake their property on the battles ; these lost, then
their money and effects; these gone, then their wives and children."

In Sumatra they do not trim their cocks for fighting, as was the practice
in England and is now in America, Spain, France, and Belgium. At
^Manilla, in the Philippine Islands, cock-fighting is regulated by law, and
has been taxed since 1779. It is only permitted, under a code of regulations,
on Sundays and Feast days, at places officially designated for the meet of
the combatants. The cock-pit is called the "gallera," and the tax is
rented out to the highest-bidding contractor, who binds himself to pay
a fixed sum per annum. The laws of the cock-pit are very strict.

In the French colony of Martinique cock-fighting is still a national
sport, which usually takes place on Sundays. ]\Ialay cocks are used,
and they fight with their natural spurs, which are sharpened for the purpose
by the setters, who suck the spurs afterwards to show that they are not

The Modern Game-fowl

391

poisoned; the plumage is then ruffled, the Hmbs are moistened by passing
them along the setter's open mouth, and the birds are then put down

^^^^^^Jfl! %^

'''^ "^'-.A^f"

W i,-. f~- ^ '">

ZT --■■'-' ;/"1^-

Bypermissioi

•I 0/ the prof rieto

CUSTARD DUCKWING OLD ENGLISH GAME, I

:853

0«nedby Mr. Thurnall

for combat. The Malays fight their cocks with only one spur. It is like
the blade of a penknife, only more curved. Sometimes, but seldom,
artificial spurs made of horn are used.

There are white Malays or Game in India — pure white, white beaks,
shanks and feet, with pearl eyes; but they have not been imported, those
m England having yellow skin, shanks and feet, with the lightest of a
light primrose tint pervading the plumage.

As layers they are not good, the eggs generally being small and of a
dull color. Their numbers are few, besides which they lay only during
the spring and summer months. On dry soil the Malay thri\es. It can
he bred and kept like the Azeel in small enclosures, even m the heart of
towns. The chickens are hardy but slow in feathering, and require warm.th
also when moulting, as much as good feeding, the thin skm and lean

392 The Poultry Book

breasts not producing oleaginous matter and other requirements in sufficient
quantity to give the necessary moisture for the proper feather growth.
After the chicks have their heads covered all goes well, but both the
young and old are subject to leg weakness, especially in cold or wet weather.
One noticeable peculiarity is their manner of resting on their hocks (heels)
and shanks, the body being somewhat upright; but this is the habit of
most long-thighed, long-legged and long-shanked fowls, as witness the
modem or Club Langshan. Whether the Malay proper will ever regain
its former position in public favor is a moot point, although an offshoot
under the appellation of the Cornish Indian is held by some — at least, for
the present— in considerable estimation ; but how long this will be so only
time can determine.

The Indian Chittagong

Is what might be generally termed the Indian barn-door fowl, being
a mixed kind and of various sizes, forms, and colors, some partaking
of the Azeel character, others of a Malay cross with a sem.i-Dorking
appearance. Captain G. Duller Young's experience with the Chittagong
is as follows:

"During the latter part of the sixties and the greater part of the
seventies I was stationed at Point de Galle in Ceylon, then a garrison
town and the main port of all our mail steamers, and a calling port for
vessels from many parts of the world, being a coaling station as well.
It was during this period that I gained my knowledge of the Chittagong
fowls. They used to be brought over in the native rice-laden vessels
and allowed to run loose between the decks on the bags of rice ; conse-
quently they landed in Galle quite fat, and in such quantities that they
were hawked from door to door, and also brought to the port, so that I
had many opportunities of purchase. The fattest and biggest cost
one shilling or eighteen pence each, the cheaper ones being bought by
the dozen.

' ■ The Chittagong is a mongrel breed of fowls that have been perpetuated
m the locality of Chittagong and the surrounding districts for generations,
possibly from the fact that most of the inhabitants are Mussulmans;
though, with the upper classes of the Hindoo fowls, are an abomination,
and the rearing of them studiously avoided.

"The Chittagong is of various colors, much the same in this respect

The Modern Game-fowl

393

as the English barn-door fowls, and in size would compare with a small
Dorking or Leghorn. The combs of the cocks vary in size and shape;
there is the single erect comb, the 'rose,' and the short stump like the
Malay, with rather full but small wattles. The crow of the male bird
resembles that of the English, but is shorter ; the hen cackles when she lays
eggs; in color the eggs of larger kinds are of a dark smoky-brown, with a

ILUE-BREASTED DUN OLD ENGLISH GAME COCKEREL

most beautiful plum-like bloom when just laid. The chicks are rather
slow in feathering for about the first six weeks, especially on the shoulders

394

The Poultry Book

OLD ENGLISH BLUE-BREASTED BLUE GAME COCKEREL

Aquarium Fishery Show, 1892

and rump; the young cockerels are pugnacious and fight courageously,

often until blinded. , t f tho

"One curious complaint from which these and other fowls of the

East sufler is smallpox." (This is rare in England ) "The adult birds

The Modern Game-fowl 395

are fully, not to say abundantly, plumed, and the more scanty the feathers
on the growing chick the stronger the assumption that it will be a big
fowl — ' budda Murghi, ' in Hindustani.

" The hens are not prolific, usually laying between eighteen and twenty-
five eggs; and it is the native belief that if untouched by hand they will
produce about the same number of chickens, with rarely more than two or
three failures. But it is always better to set the eggs of a w^ell-developed
and matured hen than the first eggs of a young pullet ; in point of fact,
in the East this is an invariable rule, and I can from actual experience
prove the correctness of the surmise. Taking the Chittagong as an ' all-
round' bird, I have no hesitation in pronouncing it one of the hardiest and
most easily reared of any in India. It is quite a poor man's fowl as well.
The expense of production is small, and if properly looked after the
profit is considerable.

"The Chittagong is a clean-shanked fowl, having no shank feathers.
As to size, there is as much difference between the true Malay and a Chitta-
gong in height, etc., as there is between a Dorking and a Bantam, the
Chittagong being nothing of the size of the Malay in bulk or height."

The Australian Game-fowl

This is another variation of the Game or fighting type of fowls. With
all poultry, the cocks more or less have a combative propensity, some
to the death of one or occasionally that of both, while with others there is
knowledge of when they have had enough, and they suddenly end the battle
by a somewhat hasty retreat, perhaps being possessed with the idea that
discretion is the better part of valor; but no craven is respected, or should
be, and thus it is that the warrior tribes of our poultry, both by their
daring and courage, as well as their high and lofty mien and generally
acknowledged beauty, are considered not only to be the blue blood, as it
were, but rank as much above the common as the racer does above the
slow, slaving cart horse. Thus it is that the Australian Game -fowl,
though a new combination, already has many friends.

"The origin of this fowl," says a writer in the American Fancier of
September 8, 1897, "rests solely with the Malay and the old-style British
Game -fowl, but being bred to an ideal for so many years it has now become
a definitely fixed breed, often being exhibited of immense size (it is a
common occurrence for cocks to scale twelve pounds, hens ten pounds).

396

The Poultry Book

As a table fowl they are, par excellence, of extraordinary hardy consti-
tutions, easily reared, and thoroughly suitable to our trying climate

(Australia), with beautiful
hard, short, lustrous plumage,
and possessing great physical
beauty. They combine the
great reach, strength and size
of the best Malay with the
magnificent plumage of the
old-fashioned G a m e - f o w 1 ;
however, not being nearly so
coarse-looking or angular as
the former, nor nearly so
feathery as the latter, they
find great favor on all sides
for their economic qualities,
which are of a very high order. ' '
Mr. Weir says he can
offer no opinion further than
that in England, both in the
past and the present, the
]\Ialay pure and simple has
not been thought a desirable
cross with the old English
Game. When such has been
tried, it has generally proved
to the disadvantage of both
breeds, being from its size a
shake-bag of an inferior
quality in all respects. Still,
the hearsay reports, as well
as those from actual observation, are highly favorable to the new
comer; and judging from these there appears to be a brilliant future
for the new-made breed by the poultry fanciers. Daily we are told
that the gallant beauties are becoming more beautiful and perfect,
and their coloring brighter, their forms more compact and shapely;
that they breed truer and more true, and they may now be fully considered

CROSS BETWEEN MODERN GAME AND OLD

ENGLISH GAME

Owned by Mr. Flecher Moss

The Modern Game-fowl

397

to have maintained if not surpassed their newly acquired fame, and
thus among the many of our poultry varieties have established a right
to recognition.

Cornish Indian, Miscalled Game

This breed is said to have been first exhibited at the Crystal Palace
and elsewhere in 1858-59 in the classes for " any other breed," and at once
attracted attention,
besides being the
winners of prizes and
commendations. Later,
at another Crystal
Palace Show, Mr. Weir
handled a cock and hen
both surprisingly heavy,
considering their size
and appearance. One
old poultry breeder
remarked that they had
so much meat on their
backs as to be what
he should call "double-
breasted." These were
shorter in the leg and
shank than the present
miscalled Indian Game
— more square and
compact. Here is a
description given at the
time by Mr. J. Lloyd:
"Their peculiarities
consist in the tail being
set on in a horizontal
position in a similar
manner to the
pheasant's, so that the

saddle hackles fall over and mix with it, this fowl being the only one I know
that is unable to elevate its tail. The feathers on the head have all the

MODERN GAME HEN

398 The Poultry Book

appearance of being brushed up so as to meet at the crown. The comb is
something similar to the pea of the Brahmas, but more elevated behind. In
color the cock is a mixture of green, black, and dark red ; the hen is rather
of a browner tint; both have a strong metallic lustre." Mr. Lloyd further
notes its pheasant-like ways and mode of action. Evidently they partake
more of the character of those known a% the Azeel. The birds exhibited
were decidedly more like Azeel than the Cornish-bred Indian of the present
time, which often resembles the Malay so closely that one of each breed
might easily be picked out of the same brood, yard, or run. In fact,
cases have been known where birds from one brood have been sent for
exhibition in separate pens from the same breeder, and have won both in
the Malay and the Cornish-Indian classes.

There is little doubt, if any, in the mind of Mr. Weir that the present
form of bird emanated from a cross between the Pheasant Malay and the
pheasant-breasted old English Game, or the latter w4th a pure Malay.
He has seen them pure black with orange shanks and beak, and of an
orange-colored ground, marked on the breast and sides with black precisely
of the same half -moon form as the pheasant's, as was the old Pheasant
fowl and the pheasant Game. Of the same clutch of chickens have come
cockerels of a bright blood-red with black tails, while the pullets were of
the same deep red with black hackles and tails. In both cases the shanks
and beak were yellow, while others were of a deep red or bay color, with
laced markings with an inner lacing; but these are not nearl}^ so bright in
appearance as the single-laced variety, though the last, for the present,
is preferred by the fancier.

On damp ground Mr. Weir has found them to be delicate, subject
to leg weakness, and inclined to colds. Some are said to be fairly good
layers ; but with the exception of the Azeels and Malays, they are nearly
if not quite the worst domestic fowls for ordinary use. In size and color
the eggs closely resemble those of the ]\Ialay.

For a considerable period the breed was generally known as the Pheas-
ant Malay. At the Crystal Palace Show in 1896 the Malay and the Indian
Game classes adjoined. In the pens next to each other stood a cockerel of
each said-to-be-distinct breed. One of the best fanciers of the day, consid-
ered one of the keenest and most unbiassed observers, looking tov/ard them
said, quietly, "Which is which?" They have the leg weakness pecuHar
to the Malay, and the long shank and "the big bone" which so many

The Modern Game-fowl

399

GAME-FOWL DURTN-G THE TRANSTTION PERIOD

now insist on having. The points of difference, then, between them and
the Malay have been mainly in the coloring and markings, but these
existed when ihey were the Pheasant Malay in an appreciable degree. Had
this name been retained, little could or need have been said as to their
nomenclatuie. But to call them Indian Game is a misnomer. It is

400 The Poultry Book

foisting them on one of the oldest breeds in the world — one that was in
full possession, and the rightful possessors, of the name of Indian Game,
now known as the Azeel, the pit-birds of India. They were of wonderful
and lustrous beauty, of lengthened pedigree, and of such value that it has
been said that a lac of rupees has been refused for one cock. These are
the true, the real Indian Game-fowls; but these Cornish, which Enoch
Hutton said "may be fairly called English," are not, and have made such
reputation as they have by being "boomed" under a false name, as an
inferior article is sometimes imposed on the unwary public under a trade-
mark not its own.

Origin of Cornish Indian

Here is what a friend of Mr. Weir's says regarding the breed: "The
true Indian Game-cock has a history ages before any record can be found
of the English Game-cock — of which Englishmen are so justly proud.
In England the Indian Game-cock has been known and used, where, as
well as in his native land, he has proved himself the gamest of the game.
But it is with the spurious breed, not Game — which modern fanciers have
manufactured and named Indian Game during the past few decades —
with which we have now to deal. If a multiplicity of names was any
criterion of their merit, then would they be the most valuable fowl, as they
have been known by the various cognomens of Injees, Indians, Pheasant
Malays, Spotted Malays, Malay Game, Himalayan Game, Cornish Game,
Indian Game, and Cornish Indian Game (where is Cornish, India ?) ; and
probably there has been even more diversity of opinion as to their quality,
classification, and origin than even as to their correct nomenclature, for
while their admirers laud them to the skies as the most profitable and
best table-fowl on earth, their detractors brand them as the most worth-
less, producing very few eggs, and a long, lean, though plump breast,
close-grained yellow or yellowish skin and flesh; in addition to the large
quantity of food they consume, which produces immense bone and inside
fat, mere worthless offal. Exhibitors assert that they are Game; the
votaries of the sod, both here and in America, prove them the most abject
cowards that ever crowed in a cock-pit. Interested fanciers claim that
they are a pure breed imported from India by Colonel Gilbert. Sportsmen
who have had the most extensive experience with Game-fowl in India
declare such fowls are totally unknown in India; while those who know

The Modern Game-fowl

401

their origin also know that they were first bred in Cornwall from a cross
between two distinct varieties of fowls which Colonel Gilbert never saw.
Neither did he take any interest in nor import any other breed of
fowls except Game
or Azeel.

'"East India-
man ' was the
term usually ap-
plied to any of
that magnificent
class of ships
formerly engaged
in carrying on the
trade of the old
East India Compa-
ny, and Falmouth
being the first port
on entering the
Channel, they
usually waited
there for orders.
Those Indiamen,
locally pronounced
'Injeemen,' fre-
quently had on
board strange
and new birds and
beasts from the
East, among
which were fowls,
mostly of the
Malay type, and

often very good Malays, too; but whether shipped from the Bay of
Bengal or the Philippine Islands, or black, white, red, or gray in color,
they were termed ' Injees ' or Indians in Cornwall, from the name of the
country they were brought from, although the officers and crew often
called them ' Chittagongs,' the word Malay, or the new term Azeel, as applied

MODERN GAME COCKEREL

402

The Poultry Book

to fowls, being quite unknown or unheard of in Cornwall until the advent
of poultry shows. Not only were there a large number of these fowls

(Injees) kept in the Fal-
mouth district, as stated
by the author of a modern
poultry book, but their
short feathers, large size
and immense bone induced
many breeders of Game-
cocks in other parts of the
country to cross them with
their own Game-fowl in
order to obtain additional
strength and bone. The
produce of this cross between
the ' Injee ' and true Game
were simply termed ' Injee '
and 'Game,' which,
shortened, became perverted
into 'Injeegame,' or Indian
Game; and perhaps the
handsomest birds ever
produced by crossing our
pure Game-fowl with those
Injees (more correctly
Malays) were those bred
from the celebrated white
cocks of Captain Maunsell,
of Falmouth. These active, elegant cocks had not only won a
local reputation second to none in the county, but for many years
after the Truro cockpit was closed (it has very recently been
converted into a spirit store) fought in the crack mains in London
with equal success. They were ' smock-breasted white ' cocks, with
bright yellow legs and beaks, perfect in symmetry and shape, and
so wary, fast and furious in fighting that their battles were generally
short, sharp, and decisive when crossed with the 'Injee,' like all other
Injee crosses."

■ droning by Harrison IVcir

G.\ME-FOWL CHICKS

The Modern Game-fowl 403

First Appearance of Spurious Indian Game at Shows

' ' Their produce proved worthless as they were not Game ; but those
who saw them in the pens of the first large poultry shows will not easily
forget their pure white feathers and stately forms. They were the admired
of all admirers, and a grand future lay before them had it not leaked out
that they were not Game, followed by the assertion of Anglo-Indian
sportsmen that such fowls were unknown in India; and as poultry shows
were introduced for the avowed purpose of improving pure -bred poultry,
purity of breed in a prize-winner was a paramount consideration at our
early shows. Consequently inquiries were made by the secretary of the
Cornwall Poultry Society and others as to their origin, when that excellent
naturalist and friend of Yarrell's, J. J. Tratham, C. E. Rook Hunt and
other breeders sealed their doom by frankly owning that they were a cross-
breed variety between white Game and Malay, alias ' Injee. ' Banished
from the show-pen, useless for the pit, hard and dry in flesh, and, compared
with English Game, worthless for the table, they became neglected, and
at present they are nearly if not quite extinct in Cornwall. But years
before this white Indian and Game cross had been tabooed, or even appeared
in the show-pen among other colors of the same cross, the Pheasant Malay
had been produced by the noted Sam Diamond and his trusty friend
Joseph Clemens.

" Those who purchased them for the pit soon proved they were a fraud ;
those for the table found them coarse, hard, and dry, and of inferior qual-
ity compared with the excellent Game-fowls then in the Cornish markets
— so much so that the higglers refused to take them except at a reduced
price : thus they quickly became unpopular ; and Mr. Palmer, who has kept
them more than forty years, recently stated, in an excellent article in a
poultry paper, 'that at one time they had nearly become extinct.' " Then
it was that by dexterous manipulation, here and there letters of praise
and advocacy, vaunting them as having qualities of excellence which they
had not and never have possessed, they were, to use an expressive American
phrase, "boomed." Like the Cochins and the Brahmas, all that could be
said in their favor was said, and more than should have been, for many
were thus induced to buy. Some not only kept them awhile, until their
deficiencies became apparent, but also unwisely crossed them with such
breeds as the old Kent, Sussex, and Surreys — this not only hardening

I

404

The Poultry Book

I

!

PRIZE MALAY COCKEREL

the breast meat of these superb table fowls, but also lessening to a marked
degree the fine quality they possessed of fat distribution over and above
the pectoral muscles. There was further deterioration in the way of long
thighs and legs, frequently with yellow or horn-colored shanks, yellow

The Modern Game-fowl 405

flesh, skin, and fat. "Thus this Malay cross," says Mr. Weir, "through
the tact of some and the reckless advice of others, has caused and is
causing more permanent injury than can possibly be imagined to our
best table fowls."

An American Point of View

One of the most experienced poultrymen in America on Games is
John Glasgow, of New Jersey, whose comments are as follows:

"Reading from an American standpoint Mr. Weir's several chapters
on the Game-fowl, the reader need not be told that the author is an old-
time cocker and breeder of Game-fowls for the pit. He exhibits
considerable bias in favor of the old English Game in comparison with
what one is accustomed to call Standard, Modern or Exhibition Game
at the present day.

"The writer of this criticism is also an old-time fancier of some forty-
five years' standing, and the first Game-cock he ever owned, when a lad
of fifteen, was a brassy-winged black, of the old type and of a famous
fighting strain, in a mining district of western Scotland. About this
period or shortly afterward a ban was put upon cock-fighting in England,
an act of Parliament being passed making it a punishable offense to engage
in cock-fighting. Mr. Weir claims that a standard existed of what the
Game-cock should be, at the time when what he terms the * new breed ' was
launched on the fancy, viz., the modern Game-fowl — and had been bred to,
from time without date. This may be so in regard to formation of body
characteristics, but could not possibly be so as far as feather property
and colors went, because not one cocker in a hundred cared a fig for colors,
and does not now. Through crossing of strains that were known stayers
and good fighters, irrespective of colors, the progeny of a single mating
would come of a variety of colors, not only in plumage but in color of
legs as well.

"The advocacy of the old-fashioned in comparison with the modem
Game -fowl by Mr. Weir is past my comprehension. That there is any
comparison in points of beauty between the get-up of a fighting Game
and the 'race horse' of the feather fancy, the modern Game, I candidly
confess I cannot see. There is just as much difference as there is between
that of a prize-fighter and a blue-blooded aristocrat. This even Mr. Weir
admits where he says, 'in the hands of a few keen, clear, thoughtful, and

4o6 The Poultry Book

strongly practical men the new variety stands forth in the new fashion,
form and dress, a thing of beauty.'

" To evolve this ' thing of beauty' to the high perfection it has attained
is a monument to the men to whom we are indebted for it. Although
yir. Weir mentions Captain Heaton, Ainscough and Brierley in particular,
there is no man living or dead in England to-day who has brought to bear
more skill in perfecting the aristocrat of the feathered fancy, ' the lordly
modern Game-fowl,' than George Furness, Hugo Ainscough 's present
manager, who exhibits birds in such superb condition.

" Mr. Weir makes much of the supposed advantages of the extra-sized
tail and hard, well-developed feathering of the old-fashioned Game-fowl.
If of so much advantage, I should like to know why 'cockers,' when
preparing to fight their champions, divest them of the flowing neck-hackles,
tails and wing-feathers before going into action ?

"The modern Game-fowl is harder by many degrees, in feather and
flesh, than any old-fashioned Game I have ever handled, and in general
formation more symmetrical. That they are a difficult fowl to breed to
perfection is to be admitted. There are lots of weedy specimens raised
every year ; so there are of every variety of fowls in existence, but that is
the fault of the breeders and not the variety, and only adds zest to their
operations. Some fanciers, as a rule, are as game as their birds and make
up their minds to conquer. That the modern game is inferior to the
old-fashioned Game as utility fowls I do not admit. A good judge of a
modern Game has no use for spindled-shanked specimens either in England
or America. They want a well-developed thigh, plenty of bone, and not,
as Mr. Weir asserts, 'weakened, stilty, thin, stork-like legs and thighs with
shanks to match; and the more slender these are the more a lessening^
section of fanciers prize and value them. When killed and trussed as
table fowls, these thighs and legs make a fleshless, ugly show.' This
statement is at variance with facts, as our best breeders can substantiate.
There is no plumper, short-fleshed, juicier fowl in existence than the
modern Game ; or one carrying less offal for weight and flesh — not even
the old-fashioned Game-fowl.

"The reason why there are so many weeds exhibited in the modern
Game classes in England is because exhibitors send out their youngsters
to shows long before they are well matured. As a consequence, they
undermine the constitution of the bird to such a degree it never makes

The Modern Game-fowl

407

the development it otherwise would. You don't find such breeders as
Captain Heaton or George Furness following that plan. Moreover, they
would not think of mating up a specimen that has a tendency to a weakened
constitution ; hence the success they attain at the principal fixtures, such
as the Palace and Birmingham shows, against all comers. That the
fighting or old-fashioned English Game as exhibited at Enghsh shows
are counterparts of the
same variety as they
were fifty years ago I
am not prepared to
admit. I remember well
about thirteen years
ago, when clubs were
formed to resuscitate an
interest in the old-type
Game -fowls.

"They were altogether
too fleshy and soft to
handle, and lacking in
the characteristics of the
Game-cock of half a
century ago. They may
have improved since then
for aught I know, still I
hold the opinion that
the show-room is not
the place to adjudge the
qualities of a fighting
Game-cock. The only
place is in the cock-pit.
As the fighting of Game-cocks is a cruel relic of the past, and punish-
able as an offen:e in nearly every civilized country, all self-respecting,
law-abiding citizens should set their faces against it and use their birds
exclusively for domestic purposes, either pure bred or, better yet, as a
cross on some other pure breed.

"The commercial value of the old-fashioned Game as compared with
modern or exhibition Game, either in England or America, is very striking.

OLD ENGLISH BLACK GAME HENNY COCK
Owned by Mr. -Weir

»

4o8

The Poultry Book

It will be a long time before a hundred guineas (a little over five hundred
dollars in American money) is paid for an old-fashioned Game. That sum
is by no means a record one for an exhibition or standard modern
Game in England."

/.

CORNISH INDIAN COCKEREL, i8q2

l»

CHAMPION MODERN GAME
Owned by Captain Heaton

BLACK-BREASTED RED TRANSATLANTIC
The winner of three battles. Bred and owned by Dr. Clarke

ORIENTAL GAME FOWLS
Dr. H. p. Clarke, Indiana

Who is he who sets the world in motion, the holy, strong Sraosha, a
mighty-speared and lordly god ? It is the bird named Parodars, the
cock that lifts up his voice against the mighty dawn. — Vendidad, ancient
sacred book of the Parsees.

O DIFFERENT are these birds from every native European
race that one can scarcely think of them without being
brought to consider the whole subject of the origin of
domestic poultry. The old idea that all fowls are direct
descendants of Galliis hankiva is not tenable when one
knows the nature of this Oriental type, its prepotency, and the persistence
with which it reproduces its kind under varied climates and conditions.
It may seem almost incredible that the Game-fowl of England could be
more closely related to the feather-legged Shanghai than either is to
the Aseel of India, and yet there is apparent testimony to this effect.

The statement of early authors that all domestic breeds tend to revert
to the Bankiva type does indeed hold good of European and African races,
and also of many Asiatic varieties, but think of the Game birds of Brazil,

412

The Poultry Book

which have been raised and fought there for at least a century and are
stronger in Oriental features to-day than our exhibition Malay.

The S h a m o of
Japan is well
known as the
very acme of
Orientalism, and
the fowls of
Madagascar, re-
ferred to in the
next chapter,
bear even greater
evidence that this
Oriental or
Malayoid type is
a natural and not
an acquired one.
Lack of time
and space forbids
full treatment of
the subject here,
but let us briefly
consider a few
points. American
soldiers who have
been stationed in
Mindanao and
Jolo say that the
natives of those
islands are too lazy to raise poultry, so they tame and pit the
jungle cocks, and that these wild cocks are absolutely game during
the breeding season — that is, they will fight to the death in either
natural spurs or steels. These fowls of the southeyn Philippines are
closely akin to the Bankiva and Sonnerat of India, also game cocks,
and doubtless all descended from one common ancestor, for the peculiar
feather-formation of the Sonnerat offers but few difficulties to a natu-
ralist. That remote ancestor, or possibl>' the immediate parent of

SHA.MO JAPANESE GAME

Oriental Game-fowls

413

present-day Bankiva, must have been the progenitor also of the Old
English Game and other European races, the genuine Game being the
only real thoroughbred which has retained its original type and courage,
the dunghill races having lost their primitive traits through degeneracy
in domestication.

Now having noted the probable antecedent of the Old English, and
having observed that a domestic game-fowl, even such a bird as the Flemish,
differs but little from its primitive wild type, we are led to the conviction
that the present existence of a game Aseel almost certainly indicates that
some such fowl as that described by Temminck under the name Callus
giganteus did once

live in the wild ~1

state. There are
only two real ar-
guments against
this theory : one
is the fact that
all domestic fowls
are fertile when
bred one with
another, which
seems to be fully
explained by the
well-known " Pal-
lasian doctrine"
exemplified in the
feline and canine
tribes, viz.,
descendants o f
species which,
when first do-
mesticated,
would, if crossed,
probably have
been in some
degree sterile, become perfectly fertile after a long course of domestication.

The other, and the one upon which Darwin rested his belief, is the

AN AMERICAN GAME-COCK, W

Phot.-'Z'-nph hy courtesy of Dr. Clarke
TH JUST A TRACE OF ORIENTAL BLOOD

414 The Poultry Book

fact that no such wild fowl has ever been found, and its extinction he con-
sidered "an improbable hypothesis, seeing that the four known species
have not become extinct in the most ancient and thickly peopled regions
of the East." But reasoning from analogy, and going upon the theory
that Old English Game as closely resembles Bankiva as the Aseel or the
Shamo Jap does its own wild prototype, let us try to picture the primitive
Oriental. Think of the short wings and heavy build, and consider whether
after all it would not be "an improbable hypothesis" to expect such a
wild fowl to survive "in the most ancient and thickly peopled regions of
the East." Would it not rather have been a matter of wonder if such a
fowl in the wild state had failed to go the way of the dodo and the
great auk?

Returning to the subject of classification, it will be found that
all domestic fowls, both game and dunghill, may be grouped under
two headings or distinctive types, one of which for convenience sake
we will call the Bankiva, the other the Malayoid or Oriental. Game
fanciers sometimes recognize a third, the pheasant* type, but this last is
generally thought to be either a slight variation from the Bankiva or
the same with a small infusion of Oriental blood. It embraces such
varieties as the Minoshki of Japan, our old-time Sumatra, and some
of the slasher fighters of the Far East as illustrated in the "Ayam
Jallak" of Wright's first edition.

The Chittagong of India, named after a city near the mouth of the
Brahmaputra River, is the common farm fowl of that country. In blood
it may be considered a grade Aseel, strongly Oriental in features, though
without any fixed character of form, size or plumage. The fowl known
in England and the United States as Malay is simply a standard-bred
Chittagong, its present perfection and uniformity being due to British
art rather than to anything East Indian. It is not an original or pure
breed, but very distinctly Oriental, and consequently quite different from
all European and from many Asiatic varieties.

Mr. Weir appears not to distinguish between the Malay and the Malay
Game. The former is a heavy-weight farm fowl or show bird of strong
Oriental features. The latter is a light-weight fighting fowl, not Oriental,

* In America the term " pheasant " refers to shape and carriage, in England to color
of plumage This difference in usage is what caused Lewis Wright to confuse the
Pheasant Malay with the Sumatra Pheasant, two varieties quite dissimilar.

Oriental Game-fowls

415

but rather pheasant type. The birds mentioned as being fought at Manila
and those described by Mr. Saborg are evidently Malay Games, not Malays.

English fanciers are in the habit of referring to Aseel as "the true
Indian fighting-cock," and the expression is perfectly correct as applied
to the north of India, in the region of Patna, Cawnpore, Lucknow, Agra,
and Delhi. But there are other varieties of fighting-fowls in other parts
of India, and some of them quite unlike the bird we now know as Aseel.
"India Game," as they were formerly called, have occasionally appeared
in this country since long
before the poultry show era,
and it may be possible that
some of those early importa-
tions were of Aseels. The
first birds brought to the
United States which actually
bore this name were imported
by the writer some seventeen
years ago. They did well in
our climate and proved quite
a valuable acquisition ; too slow
when bred pure, but of great
value for crossing, and the
blood may now be found in
several of America's most
successful pit strains.

How strange it is that
almost every author who writes

on the subject of Cornish Indian tells a different story as to the fowl's origin,
and stranger still that nearly all these stories may be correct, for the truth of
the matter seems to be that the modern Cornish, like the White Plymouth
Rock, came from several sources. Similar birds exist in the Deccan. This
has been denied by some English fanciers, but it is noticeable that " Poultry
Keeping in India" (a very pretentious cloth -bound volume lately pub-
hshed at Calcutta) uses a number of old British and American cuts of
Cornish fowls to illustrate "Hyderabad Game." Many of the crosses
named by poultry authors contain too large a proportion of real game
blood, and this fault may be found with some of the statements given by

Photograph by i
JAP-ASEEL CROSS

<rtesy 0/ Dr. Clarke

4i6

The Poultry Book

Mr. Weir's informants. The disposition and soft feathers of most modem
Cornish would seem to indicate a mixing with something rather more on
the order of the Langshan or Dorking.

Our new American Standard credits the Cornish with being composed
of Derby, Aseel, and Black Sumatra. The trouble about this is that a
melange of five-pound birds could hardly turn out ten-pound offspring,
and the Sumatra was not known in England at that time anyhow. The
sum of it all is that if you mate a laced Aseel cock with hens of almost any
large-sized smooth-legged race you will be able to pick some Cornish out
of the progeny. Birds more or less of this character have been known
in the United States for many years, but the first true Cornish were
introduced to the American public at the Indiana State Fair in the
autumn of 1887, and next exhibited at the Indianapolis Poultry Show
in January, 1888.

I

CORNISH INDIAN COCK

FOWLS KNOWN AS "FIG-PUDDING," or "PLUM-PUDDING" GAME FOWLS,
BUT MOBE PROPEELY " ALMOND MOTTLES."

l-yoin ci pnolograpn /'y J'r. H. P. Clarke, hid.
FLEMISH GRAY STAG AND COMBATTANT DU NORD HEN
Owned by Dr. H. P. Clarke, Indiana

GENERAL REMARKS ABOUT GAME-FOWLS*
Dr. H. p. Clarke, Indiana

Leporem et gallinam et anserem gustare fas non putant: haec tamen
alunt, animi voluptatisque causa. — De Bello Gallico.

CASUAL reader of the ordinary poultry paper might form
an idea that there were not many Game-fowls in this
country, but after learning of the six monthly journals
and one weekly publication devoted exclusively to Game
he would begin to realize that this branch of the fancy
forms a little world all to itself. There are several distinct breeds of
Game-fowl, and almost as many sub-varieties as there are non-Game
kinds in the Standard. The pure American Games, as distinguished from
crosses of the Jap and Aseel, are mostly made up from Irish, English,
and Spanish elements, the proportions being probably as in the order

* In this chapter. Dr. Clarke, one of the closest students of Game-fowls in America,
has covered the subject in a general way. He has touched matters of special interest to all
breeders and fanciers in this and other countries. — Editor.

417

4i8

The Poultry Book

named, for the land of "Kelly and Burke and Sheay" has contributed
to us much of its fighting blood in cocks as well as men.

The "modern" Game of Great
Britain is rapidly passing from view-
in its native home and being
replaced in poultry shows by the
Old English. This same trend of
the fancy is becoming apparent
in the United States, and possibly
by the time the American Poultry
Association is ready for another
revision fanciers may be clamor-
ing for the Pit Game standard
which was adopted and after-
ward thrown out by the American
Poultry Association at Indianapolis
in 1888.

The Transatlantic fowls
shown in the accompanying illus-
trations are descended from, or
closely related to, the first-prize
pen in the Pit Game class at the
World's Fair, Chicago, in 1893, and
are of the same breeding as the first pen at the Pan-American Exposition.

GRAY THREE-QUARTER TRANSATLANTIC
A four-time winner

Belgian

There are in Belgium three distinct varieties: Flemish, Liege,
Bruges. The "Flamand," as it is called in French, is the steel-spur
fighter of West Flanders and Hainaut. Cocking is prohibited in
Belgium, and as a consequence no publicly advertised mains are
held, but that historic borderland which Napoleon called "The
Cockpit of Europe" is alive with fighting fowl. From ]\Ions and
Main vault; through Tournai and Templeuve — i. e., Templiim-Jovis,
a relic of the Roman times; Courtrai of the ancient prison;
on, almost, to the city of Bruges, whose belfry our own poet
Longfellow celebrated in verse — throughout this whole region, in fact —
cock-fighting is the common pastime of the people, and the number

General Remarks About Game-fowls

419

of birds used in small mains and private matches during each year
is something enormous.

Nearly all colors are to be found, but light and dark grays are the
most common and apparently bred to the highest point of excellence.
Many elegant mottles, blues, brass-backs and reds are also seen. Fowls
have single combs, and are heavily feathered, with long wings and full
tail. Cocks usually w^eigh between eight and ten pounds, and are very
active, considering their size — much more so thanBritish Game of even
approximate dimensions.

Closely related to the preceding, and, indeed, differing but little except
in such points as naturally distinguish a naked-heeler from a steel fighter,
is the Combattant de Liege^ or coq du pays, as it is commonly called in the
north of Belgium. The fashion there is to match cocks in natural spurs.
Little circular straw pits about six feet across are set up at almost any
convenient place, two birds are thrown in, and the ftin commences. Liege,
Hasselt and Tirlemont are centers
for this kind of sport, and much
of it may be seen in the old
Flemish town of Borgerhout, a
separate corporation, although
inside the fortification walls of
Antwerp, and to be reached by
street-cars from the old cathedral
where hangs Rubens's most
famous painting, "The Descent
from the Cross." These cocks
average about two pounds heavier
than the Flamands and are slower
in action, stronger, tougher, and
more rugged. Common colors,
dark red, iron-gray, blue-red.

The name Bruges is some-
times applied by poultrymen,
seldom by cockers, to both Game
varieties of northern Belgium.
Strictly speaking, Liege is the true pit-fowl and Bruges the ]\Ialay-cross ex-
hibition bird. They bear about the same relation one to another as the Old

Photograph by courtesy of Dr. H. P. Clarke

BLACK RED TRANSATLANTIC
Owned by John T. Maunder, of Ontario, Canada

420 The Poultry Book

English and the modern or standard Game. The Bruges is a tall, coarse-
looking fowl with pea-comb, heavy brow, comparatively scant plumage and
small tail, usually some kind of a blue in colour, either blue-red or blue-
gray. Hens, blue with lacing, similar to Andalusians. Being part
Malay in blood, it is not a real Game bird, and consequently of no value
for pit purposes. In this connection there is cause to remark that if any
cross be made between Game and non-Game, the offspring may be line-
bred to the Game parent for countless generations and will never produce
a genuine Game-fowl.

French

The Combattant dii Nord is practically identical with the Flamand
of southern Belgium, the two being often bred together or crossed one
upon the other. Yet some few minor differences may be noticed. The
French fowl averages about half a pound lighter in weight than the Flemish
and shows some feather markings not often seen in that variety. Fully
one -half of the French birds are yellow-legged, black-breasted, bright
reds, the remainder being blue-legged dark reds, green-legged golden
duckwings, yellow-legged pyles, and yellow-legged pure whites. Fowls
with white legs are occasionally seen, but rare. The two adjoining depart-
ments of Nord and Pas-de-Calais are a kind of cock-fighters' paradise.

Game is the common fowl of the country, and in nearly all the larger
towns and cities cocking contests are advertised on the bill-boards and
mains fought every day in the week between St. Eloi and ist of ]\Iay.
Roubaix has the largest cockpit in Europe, with a seating capacity of
two thousand. It is here most of the grand concourses take place. At
Lille there are more than twenty public cockpits, besides a fine big hippo-
drome where entertainments of this sort are sometimes held. The best
birds of Britain have there fought and lost.

Another cocking community exists at St. Malo, Ille-et-Vilaine, and
extending into Brittany. Here the birds are mostly medium weights,
fought with rules and steels not unlike the American. One other cocking
center is in Ariege, near the Spanish frontier, and the sport is not unknown
at Marseilles. From all that can be learned, it would seem as if Game-
fowl had been bred in France since before the time of Caesar's invasion.
They are known to have existed in Britain at that early date, and it
certainly appears more reasonable to suppose the birds were taken across

General Remarks About Game-fowls

421

the channel from the Gauls of the mainland, who held many customs and
practices in common with their island neighbors, rather than imagine
the birds carried over sea all the way from the Levant by the tin-hunting
Phoenicians and then dropped among the semisavage nomads on the
wild and dreary coast of Cornwall. Prior to about the year 1830, when

it was put under

ban, cocking was a :: ^^''i.A*- -.ib-:'m'^\

popular pastime at

the French capital.

Since then the gay

Parisians " know not

Joseph," but get

their excitement

through such

channels as the

naughty can -can

and the ''danse du

ventre."

Two foreign
breeds found in
France may well
be considered under
this heading. One
is the "Race de
Barbarie," or fight-
ing Bantam, and
the other a naked-
n e c k fowl called
MalgacJie ' ' or

"Denude'' from Madagascar. The name Barbary was once applied to
the five states of northern Africa: Egypt, TripoH, Tunis, Algeria, and
Morocco, all then under the suzerainty of the Sultan of Turkey,
and the presumption is that these Bantams came originally from
one of those countries, just which one is not now known. Of late
years no Game-fowls have been discovered in northern Africa except
a few among the Spanish settlements at Ceuta, Melilla, etc. The
Barbary cocks of France usually weigh from two to two and a half

t-sy of Dr. Clarke

AFTER HIS SIXTH BATTLE
ing the American method of heeling and trir

422 The Poultry Book

poiinds, greatly resemble in style the newly produced Old English
Game Bantam (some strains of the latter being unquestionably
of Barbary blood), and run through the usual variation in colors. The
handsomest are mille-fLeiirs, what we might call tri-color spangles. They
are fought in funny little steel spurs about one inch in length, can fly
almost equal to pigeons, and the pure breed is said to be absolutely game.

The Alalgadie is much like a Shamo Jap whose plumage has been
all plucked out excepting wings, tail and a small tuft on top of the head.
Too slow for any use excepting naked-heels — and fowls are not fought
that way in France — but of very greatest interest to the scientific breeder
and naturalist. All Oriental Game-fowls are scant in plumage and often
show spots of bare red skin upon breast and shoulders, so it is easy to see
how this tendency could be followed up, by selection in breeding, imtil
a bird were produced almost destitute of feathers. But think where this
chicken, as illustrated on page 423, comes from — that is the most remarkable
thing — from the Island of Madagascar. The dominant native tribe there
is the Hova, whose language as well as racial characteristics show a
relationship not with the nearby coast of Africa, but with the Malay
countrv^ more than three thousand miles away.

Think how remarkable that such a man should have been able to
cross the Indian Ocean centuries ago, even before its waters were ruffled
by European craft. Think how much more wonderful still the fact that
he took his domestic fowls with him, that the Oriental type remained
imchanged in its new-found home — not all varieties are lacking in plumage
— and that real Malay chickens may be had to-day as easily in Madagascar,
Reunion, and Mauritius (see Mr. Weir's remarks on Ravenhill's Malays)
as at Pinang or Singapore.

Spanish

The Spaniards as well as their descendants are notoriously poor
breeders, so it would not be surprising if the fowls of Spain were very
frequently infused with a bracer of English blood, just as the strains of
Mexico are kept up by importations from this country. But that Game-
birds and cocking were unknown in the Peninsula before the campaigns
of Wellington and his soldiers — a view almost universally held in Great
Britain — seems very difficult to reconcile with the well-known fact that
Spanish Game, " Gallos de pelea Espanoles" have been fought in Cuba

General Remarks About Game-fowls 423

ever since the island's first settlement. Spain is one country in the world
where the royal sport is undoubtedly on the decline. There is no longer
a pit at Cadiz — formerly one of the great cocking centers — and very few
birds are now to be seen at Algeciras, Marbella, Cartagena or Valencia.
Malaga still has a fair supply and seems to be about the only city on the
Mediterranean so provided.

Of the different lands where cocking flourished in early historic
times — Italy, Greece, Asia Minor, the Island of Rhodes, Egypt, Persia — not
one contains a native race of Game at present, and the sport surv^ives
only in the last-named country in the form of small boys' amusement,
matching common cocks in nature's weapons.

Phocogrnph taken igoi and reproduced
by courtesy of Dr. Clark

ISLAND OF MADAGASCAR GAME

OLD KENT AND SUSSEX BARN-DOOR COCK

THE FARM OR HOAIESTEAD FOWL*

1

1

" Let me embrace thee, good old chronicle,
That hast so long walk'd hand in hand with time." — Troilus and Cressida.

HE time and origin of our domestic fowl will never be
known; surmises have been made, and indefinite con-
clusions have been arrived at, but the foundations of
belief are such as to leave considerable doubt as to the
stability and strength of the theory, though said to be
based on natural sequences. Whether the domestic fowl was derived
from one source only, or whether there were others that have passed from
the earth leaving no trace behind, is a moot question, and one that must

* As the three following chapters deal largely with English breeds, Mr. Weir's text as
it appeared in the English edition has been but sHghtly changed. It is printed substantially
as he wrote it, except where condensation and revision were necessary to meet American
ideas and conditions. — Editor.

425

426 The Poultry Book

be left undecided. No absolute proof exists, yet there are peculiarities
and differences that were noted centuries ago, that I for one can scarcely
reconcile, as to our domestic fowl having but one common origin, that of
G alius hankiva. It being so well known, it is needless to say that thousands
of years ago poultry was not only one of the valued adjuncts of the farm,
but, from descriptions of them still in existence, there were other numerous
forms, sizes, and varieties ; though as to what they were, or how differing
from each other, we get no insight until about the first year of the Christian
era, and that from the pens of Lucius Junius, Moderratus, Columella,
Varro, and Pliny the younger. Nor do any of these write as though
the varieties were something new, or that the fowls of the period were
merely the reclaimed of the wild, but distinctly point to the fact by their
descriptions that there was at that time little or no resemblance between
the varieties then enumerated and the slightly made, brilliant-colored
inhabitants of the Indian jungle. True, they WTite of the courageous
fowls of Tanagra, and they note also the fatting of a different kind of
poultry at Delos, etc. ; while Columella gives at length a description which,
taken as being correct, tells of a fowl for the homestead and for the table
of even superexcellence. Nor are these mentioned as in any way peculiar
or strange ; but such, among others, in the beHef of the writer, being the
best of their kind and the most desirable for profit beyond all others.
Thus at that time the fowl as a household bird was plentiful, of the highest
quality, and not only in great variety, but even then held in the greatest
esteem, as much for its dignified bearing and courage as for its culinary
usefulness.

Pliny the younger, having a naturalist's knowledge of the fowl as it
then was, writes enthusiastically of the noble bird. In the tenth book
of his great work he says : " These birds about our houses are our sentinels
by night. Nature has created them to awaken and call men up to do
their work ; they have also a sense and understanding of glory ; moreover,
they are astronomers and know the course of the stars; they divide the
day by their crowing from three hours to three hours ; when the sun goes
to rest they go to roost, and like sentinels they keep relief of the fourth
watch; in the camp they call men up to their careful labor and travel.
They will not suffer the sun to rise and steal upon us, but they give warning
of it ; by their crowing they tell us the day is coming, likewise by clapping
their sides with their wings. Ye shall see them march stately, carrying

The Farm or Homestead Fowl

427

their necks bolt upright, with a comb on their heads hke the crest of a
soldier's helmet, and there is not a bird besides himself that so oft looketh
up to the sun and sky; and hereupon it is that, advancing proudly as they
do, the very lions, which of all wild beasts are the most courageous, will
not abide the sight of them."

This is the general outline of "the bird" as Pliny saw it, and for which
he has no stint of
admiration. But
long before his time
— ages, perhaps — its
valor was known,
and in the far-away
centuries it was
appreciated ; and
one section at least
was kept almost as
warrior retainers for
strife and "wage of
battle" only. Of
these, distinctive as
birds of a higher
grade, different as
is the mettled racer
or the Arab steed
from the massive
Clydesdale cart-
horse, was the
Game -fowl of
Tanagra from that
of the farm, so well
described by
Columella as the
fowl that lacked
nothing to make it
perfect in form,
size, and utility; he also tells what it should be and no doubt then
was: "They should be of a plumage red or tawny, with black wings.

CORNISH INDIAN PULLET, SHOWING PHEASANT MARKINGS
First prize, Crystal Palace, 1893

428

The Poultry Book

Let the whole be of the same color, or a near approach. Let white
fowls be avoided, for they are tender and less robust; neither is it

easy to find those
of that color
that are prolific.
Let the breeding
hens be of a
choice color, of
robust body,
scjuare- framed,
large and broad-
breasted, large
heads, with small
erect combs and
white ears ; and
of those thus
characterized let
the largest be
procured, and not
with an equal
number of claws.
Those hens are
reckoned the
purest bred which
are five-clawed,
but so placed

that no cross spurs arise from the legs, for she that hath this malelike
appendage is rarely fruitful, and when she does sit she breaks the eggs
with her sharp spurs or claws."

Here it will be observed that as far back as two thousand years
Columella speaks of the pureness of breed ; this is evidence that there were
others with which they might be mingled or crossed, but he does not
consider it advisable, as he expressly mentions that the hens should be
of the "purest breed"; and if the hens were of such form and color
it would be difficult to either improve or equal, much less surpass
them, just in the same way and for the same reason that the Kent,
Sussex, and Surrey fowls of fifty years ago were pronounced by

OLD AZEEL COCK
Owned by Mr. Weir

The Farm or Homestead Fowl 431

competent judges to be of such excellence for the table as was
"unsurpassed and unsurpassable."

Columella continues: "The cocks should be lustful, colored like
the hens, with the same number of claws, but taller, proud of carriage,
with combs erect, and of blood-red; eyes brown and black, beak short
and hooked, ears very large and very white, wattles looking white for
their shining and hanging down like a beard; the feathers of the neck
varying, but preferably yellow or golden, and spreading down over the
shoulders; the breast broad and muscular, the wings brawny, like arms;
the tail lofty and composed of a double row of arching feathers, legs sturdy.
not long, but armed as it were with dangerous spurs. Even when not
prepared for fighting or triumph of victory their temper should be shown
to be highly generous, haughty, active, watchful, and given to crow often,
also not easily alarmed, for sometimes it may be needful for them to
repel attacks and protect their conjugal flocks." ■<

From the foregoing may be noted the great resemblance between
these and our old Kent, Sussex, and Surrey five-toed fowls of half a century
ago. Chaucer, writing in the fourteentli century, tells of a similar fowl.

Maister Prudens Choiselat (in 1586) describes the farm fowl
of that period, and the profit to be gained by a poultry farm tc be "five
hundred pounds of honest profit, all cost and charges deducted." He
states that "fivescore cocks shall suffice for twelve hundred hennes;
for one cock may suffice for ten hennes." And as for their age, those
of "one yeare and a half unto two yeares are the best."* The color is
like to that described by Columella: "You shall consider the plumage or
feathers; the black, red, and tawnie are the best, also they have their
crests or combs upright and double, or divided ; their eyes red and glistening,
their beaks short and hooked, well spurred, their going haughtie and
proude, their voice strong and sounding, and a crow much representyng
such a majestic as the cock of the Persians, which among them was rever-
enced for a 'Kyng,' as reciteth Aristophanes."

It appears that in those days women were employed "to increase
and govern them well": "You must have foure servants or maides
with large eares, well to conceive and understand your commandments,
and the feete of hartes, with diligent expedition to execute the same,
and a right trustie right hande to be faithful, loiall, obedient, and of few

* Then as now.

432

The Poultry Book

wordes; for, as saith Terentian Parmenis, 'it is a great fault of servants
to be babblers and not to keep their master's counsel ' ; their office shall
be bringing the hennes into their houses every day at five of the clock in

LEG OF TAWNY OLD KENT FIVE-TOED FOWL
lireii and ovvneii by Mr. Weir

the evening in summer, and at three of the clock in winter; also they
shall be diligent to close the entries and windows of the henne-houses,
that in the nighte the foxe* (the natural enemy of the henne), weaselles,
and polecats, mai have no access, and in the morning open the entries
and windows that they may come forth, and then make clean the perches
and lathes ; also refresh their pottes and troughs with clean water, for
filthy and corrupt water engendereth pippe and other sicknesses."

Here it should be noted that the hen-house is to be cleansed every
morning, and further, that fresh water is to be given in all the pots and
troughs; showing how careful the poultr3^-keeper of that period was for
the comfort, health, and cleanliness of his fowls. But I am somewhat
in doubt whether it would be possible to get "four maides with large
eares" to undertake the management of twelve hundred hens and five-
score cocks at the present time.

All the writers on the subject seem to agree with Columella as to
what a good fowl should be. Leonard Mascall, writing in 1581, speaks

* It will be observed that both in this century and the subsequent no mention is made
of the rat, which is now the bane of nearly all our poultry yards and houses.

The Farm or Homestead Fowl

433

precisely in the same way as to the signs and figure of a good hen : "And
these to be of a tawny color, or of a russet [reddish black], which are
counted the chiefest colors ; and those hennes next whiche hathe ye
pens * and hackled not all blackish but in parte, as in the greye and white
hennes, are nothynge so profitable. The henne with a tuft of feathers
on her head is reasonably good, and of feathered hens also keep the grey,
the brown, and the red." This is the first mention of top-knots. He
adds: "Chickens lay in seven months."! Our present early layers lay
sometimes at five months, but this is an exception ; so in this respect we
have now a slight advantage wdth some breeds, but not in all. Further
he says: "The redde cocke is counted on as the best."

Thomas Cogan, Maister of Artes, in "The Haven of Health" (1595)
points to the fact that "the fleshe of those fowles which trust most
to their winges and to breed in high countries is lighter than the
fleshe of such as seldom or never flies and be bred at home."

This is a
truism that is not
sufficiently recog-
nized now. Any
one keeping fowls
for the table must
be aware that
unless they have
their liberty and
freedom to fiy,
and so exercise
their wings, it is
useless to expect
to find a large
muscular system,
such as the pecto-
ral, as when the
wings are used
freely and often.

FEET OF OLD KENT FOWL
Once owned by Mr. Weir

With poultry kept only for the production of eggs it

* The primary wing feathers.

t Several of my old gray-colored Kent and Sussex have laid this year (1902) before
they were six months old.

434 The Poultry Book

matters little, as fleshy muscular development is not needed, nor is it
generally in such existence when the hens are prolific egg-producers.

In the translation from the French by Surflet of "The Maison
Rustique," 1600, occurs the following; "As concerning and ordering
of pullen, which is the cheapest thing that a good housewife is to regard,
there must care be had that the hen-house be every day made clean, even so
soon as the pullen be out, and the dung put aside for fatting the meadows."
Again, cleanliness in the hen-house is considered to be one of the chief
points tending to success, and the frequent destroying of insects most
essential, nor is it nearly often enough put into practice by the modem
hen wife or poultryman ; but, says the old writer : " It is always preferable
to have baskets for your hennes to lay in, inasmuch as you can take the
baskets, and by having a large lead tank or cistern, put them into any
liquid you may like to destroy the insects, then dry, and put them back
again in their proper positions. You will find this a very excellent plan."

And again the importance of fresh, clean, clear water is urged on
the housewife, not simply as a want, but as an actual necessity, and as
not only one, but as the most prominent means of keeping the poultry
flock healthy. "Their water-pots to let them drink must be kept clean,
and filled with clean water every day, and that twice in winter and thrice
in summer. Let their water be good alwaies." The extreme wisdom
of following this advice must be manifest to the most careless, for it
is well known that the germs of typhoid fever, which are so fatal to the
human species, are generally present in dirty or sewage water. "Let her
[that is, the housewife] cause to be cast out upon the dunghill oftentimes
fresh straw, right over against the barne, where the pullen used to scratch,
and neare unto the same place let her cause to be put sand, dust, or ashes,
to procure them the pleasure of dusting themselves in the sunne and
preening their feathers." This is quoted to show that all these things
were as carefully attended and looked to over three hundred years ago
as now, and it might be added generally more so. Nearly all our modern
methods are only the old ones re-substituted, even that of the incubator.
In the olden time they kept fowls and bred chickens with a greater certainty
and in better health than many of the now professed poultrymen of
the day.

And still further, writing of the dunghill cock (1630). Gervase Markham
says: "You shall understand that the dunghill cock (for the fighting

The Farm or Homestead Fowl

435

cock deserveth much larger and particular discourse) is a fowl above all
other birds, the most manlyest, stately, and majesticall, very tame and
familiar with man, and naturally inclined to live and prosper in hospitable
houses."* This was in Markham's time possibly the case, or at least
before that, because the kitchen was not infrequently a roosting-place
for the poultry. Chaucer mentions this in the "Nun's Tale," as regards
Chanticlere. But further, Markham describes the cock as "hot and

DARK OLD KENT AND SUSSEX FOUR-TOED PULLET

strong for generation, and will serve ten hens sufficiently, and some twelve
and thirteen; he delighteth in open and liberal plains, where he may
lead forth his hens into green pastures and under hedges, where they
warm and bathe themselves in the sun, for to be penned up in walled
places or in paved courts is most unnatural to them, neither will they
prosper therein."

"Now for the hen," says Gervase Markham, "if she be good, she

*May not this have reference to "household pieces," which too often are plentiful
when provisions are abundant?

436

The Poultry Book

should not differ much from the nature of the cock, but be valiant, and
laborious, both for herself and her chickens." (This is self-evident, and
should be an almost indispensable quality in every barn-door hen.) " Her

shape — the biggest
and largest are the
best, every pro-
portion answering
those described of
the cock, only
instead of her
comb she should
have upon her
crown a high,
thick tuft of
feathers ; to have
many strong claws
is good, but to
want their hinder
claws is better, for
they oft break
their eggs, and
such hens some-
times prove unnatural." (Perhaps he means by this that the spurred
hens crow, which is not infrequently the case, but nevertheless they lay
well and are excellent mothers.) He continues, however, "It is not good
to choose a crowing hen."

■ by Harrison fVtir

OLD-STYLE KENT FIVE-TOED HEN

Old Barn-door Fowls

Having traced the red, tawny, black, and gray fowl through the
Middle Ages in reference to color, form, and usefulness, it will be well
to show its importance as part of the live stock of the farm, and as the
luxurious food of the lord, the landowner, or the wealthy. As stated
before, there can be but little doubt, if any, that the Romans bred both
Game- or fighting-cocks, as well as the magnificent domestic fowl which
have been so carefully and minutely described by Columella and Pliny.
Each author quoted gives the outHne of form and color of the particular
and much-to-be-desired breed of his time as the best, in terms almost

The Farm or Homestead Fowl 437

identical with the Game-cock. Though possibly not proved, still it is
rightly supposed that the Romans, when in England, had this very breed
about their farms and villas, while it is a most curious fact that only the
bones of the Game- or fighting-cock have been discovered. Later, the
Anglo-Saxons must have kept them, as the bondmen, "borderius," or
small farmers had the care of the poultry to supply the table or "board"
of their lord and master, and their farms they held as bordlands, from
whence they furnished eggs, poultry, and other cibarious produce. Rent
was likewise paid either in service or land-produc^, as was also the case
in A.D. 1066. It w^as, however, found far easier to collect the manorial
dues once for all in coin than to ensure the various services of work, and
boon work, and the payments of seed, fowls, geese, or eggs — though they
were faithfully rendered. Of such importance were fowls as articles of
food and commerce that from very early times they are to be found
included as part of the fines and rent-charge of lands and tenements,
numerous documents being still in existence attesting the fact. As notes
from some of these may prove interesting, I will give some extracts from
the "Kent Archaeological Society's Transactions" (though there are
entries of fines elsewhere of a much earlier date), giving simply the number
under which they are tabulated, and omitting details foreign to my purpose :

Vol. XIII. 8th of King Edward II.

(384) ;^i IIS. 6d. rent, and rent of lo cocks and 30 hens and appur-
tenances.

(421) ;^4 75. 4tl rent, and rent of one ploughshare, 7 cocks, 48 hens,
2 geese, and 392 eggs and appurtenances.

(438) 35. rent, and rent of 5 hens and pasturage for 15 two-year-old
sheep.

(445) The fourth part of 57^. lold. rent, and rent of a fourth part
of 19^ hens and 190 eggs.

Vol. XV. 17TH of King Edward II.

(753) At Westminster, i messuage of 250 acres, 10 acres of wood,
2 15. rent, and rent of 17 hens with appurtenances.

(761) ;^4 rent, and rent of 4 cocks, 100 hens, and 100 eggs.

(771) Sixth part of 35. M. rent, and rent of i cock and 3 hens with
appurtenances.

(805) 34.S. rent, and rent of 20 hens, etc.

438

The Poultry Book

(806) 3s. rent, and rent of 4 hens and 36 eggs, etc.

(892) 20s. rent, and rent of 2 cocks- and 10 hens with appurtenances.

(894) loos. rent, and rent of 21 hens and 200 eggs, etc.

These are a few covenants out of many, and are only given to show
that there must have been a certain evenness of quahty, size, and value in
poultry throughout this period, so as to be a recognized staple for barter,
purchase, or rental. Some of these entries are quaint, such as that relating
to a fourth part of 19^ hens, rendering the division somewhat difficult
in the way of dividing., the half a hen into four parts. Other entries are
even still more interesting, for Hume, in his " History of England" (which
is reproduced in the "Tunbridge Wells Guide" of 1701). states that
"the Lady of a former Lord of Abergavenny offered the King a
bribe of two hundred hens if she might be allowed to be with her

KENT BARN-DOOR SPURRED HEN

The Farm or Homestead Fowl 439

husband but a short time, who it is presumed was confined or
imprisoned for some reason."

The tithes of Yaldham, Kent, from 140 acres of land were given by
Godfried de Cos to the monks of St. Andrew, Rochester, and continued
m tlie possession of the priory until its dissolution. They were afterward
presented to the dean and chapter, who let them for twenty-one years
for 65. 8>d. and two fat capons.

Again, in the twelfth year of the reign of Henry VIII. (De Banco Roll,
Michaelmas term) : To wit, Henry Ffynche [now spelled Finch] in his
proper person demands against Thomas Grovehurst and Joan his wife,
the Manor of Ore, Gondhurst,* and Hadlow, w^ith appurtenances, also
300 acres of land, 40 acres of meadow, 200 acres of pasture, 40 acres of
wood, 300 acres of marsh, and 40s. rent; also rent of 5 cocks, 20 hens, and
200 eggs, etc., etc. — "Kent Archccological Society's Transactions,"
Vol. XIII., page 330.

This is given in extenso to show the curious distinction made between
land, meadow, and pasture. One more illustration of the strange way
the farmers paid their rents at the beginning of the last century is from
Chambers' s Journal, September 4, 1897.

Abstract of rental of the real estate of James, late Earl Panmure:

£ s. d.

Money rent payable in money 1,843 ^7 "^

Then follows botts of wheat, barley, oatmeal, etc .... 1,586 1 8J

Geese, 8, at is. each 8 o

Capons, 458, at bd. each 11 9 o

Chickens, 456, at i \d. each 217 o

Hens, 31 2 J, at 3(i. each 318 i\

etc., etc.

Here again we get half a hen rendered and valued. How could this
have been accomplished? It must have been a difficult task to dispose
of such stock to advantage. Yet the method of payment partly in kind
still existed in the nineteenth century, and does so in a few cases at the
present time. However, these excerpts show our poultry was by no means
a neglected farm product during the Middle Ages, but was carefully
selected, tended, and used as being of a certain monetary value or exchange.

In a "Treatise on Husbandry," written by Maystre Groshede (Great-
head or Grossteste), sometime Bishop of Lyncoln, entitled " Reules Sayns
Robert," made and translated out of the French into English, and con-

* Now Gotidhurst.

440

The Poultry Book

sisting of twenty-eight practical maxims — compiled by the learned bishop
for the guidance of Margaret, Countess of Lincoln, who was left a widow

A.D. 1240 — it
appears that
instructions
were to be
given t o the
farm bailiff.
From the
wording it is
conclusive a s
to the yield
and profit that
were expected
from w e 1 1 -
selected poul-
try, which were
to be rented :
Fy ve hennes
and a cocke for
III5-. in a yere,
and there be
some baylyfs
and d e y e s *
that may say
nay to thys
prouff}'tes.

But I shall preue it by reason, for in halfe a yere be XXM weeks,
and in those XXVI weeks IX score dayes, and in eche of these
dayes shall have an egge of eche henne in that half yere, it is a feble
sale, and XXX eggs be not worth a penny." As before remarked,
the fowls kept for many centuries, and described by writers on the
subject, were apparently imequaled in form, flesh, and large full
breast by any cross-breeds of this half of the present century. Yet
we have had these same old English farm- or dunghill fowls described

OLD SUSSEX COCK
Owneii by Mrs. Iillis

* A female servant that had charge of the dairj^ and all pertaining to it,
cases a man seeing to the same work.

The Farm or Homestead Fowl

441

as delicate, bad layers, and unfertile; but here is Bishop Groshead telling
of the poultry of A.D. 1253, that besides these excellences of size, form,
and colors they were also good layers — 180 from a good table-fowl in
half a year is a number that most of our modern hens fail to produce.

Nor does it appear that they were much inclined for incubation, for
the Bishop puts in by way of parenthesis : ' ' And yf ony of theym syt in
that half a yere or in some daye in defaulte of lyenge, ye shall be recom-
pensed therefor, and of VI more to bere out the ferme ye cocks and wt
the sale of chikens y"^ syttynge hennes brynge forthe in that other half
yere." Evidently from this the first half-year's eggs were by no means
all that were laid, and if not, these "old-time hennes" are not equaled
by our modern mongrels in any respect. He concludes: "Every henne
shall answere you of IX score egges or of chikens to ye value."

As regards the prices of poultry in a.d 1261, capons were 2'hd., cocks
^d., hens i^d. In A.D. 1326 they rose to — capons T,d., cocks ijd., pullets
id. ; and in the
time of the
famine , A.D.
1368-70—
capons 4J.,
cocks 2^d.,
hens 2d., pul-
lets i^d. These
prices ruled
with only a
little deflec-
tion until A.D.
1400-20, w^hen
food again
becoming
scarce they
rose; and
Kentish capons
are frequently
quoted at a

higher price than the ordinary capons, in some cases being of
double the value. No mention is anywhere made of Sussex as being

^^,^

OLD SUSSEX HEN
Owned by Mrs. Ellis

442 The Poultry Book

good, nor is "Dorking" accredited with fowls of any particular merit —
in fact, with none at all.

Perhaps it would be well to give an idea of the general state of agri-
culture and farm produce of England over three centuries ago. Here
are some passages of a book entitled "A Compendious or Brief Exammation
of certayne Ordinary Complaints of divers our Countrymen in these our
Dayes." It was written by W. S. (William Stafford), gentleman, and
was for a time erroneously ascribed to Shakespeare. It bears the date of
1 581, and treats in dialogue of the depressed state of the country at that
period, and of the great dearth then existing, and its supposed causes.
Here is the gentleman's (a knight) complaint against the husbandman,
in which we get the value of farm stock at this period :

"And I say it is long of you husbandmen, that wee are forced to
rayse our rents by reason wee must buy so deere all things that wee have
of you: as corne, cattell, goose, pig, capon, chicken, butter, and egges.
What thing is there of all these but that yee sell it now deerer by the one
half than yee did within these XXX yeares ? I could in this towne [London]
buy the best pig, or goose, that I could lay my hand on, for fourepence,
which now costeth twelvepence, a good capon for threepence or four-
pence, a chicken for id. [one penny], a hen for iiJ. [twopence], which
costeth me double and triple ye money; it is likewise in greater ware,
as biefe and mutton." The husbandman answers: " I graimt that, but I
say you and your sorte, men of lande, are the first cause hereof by reason
you rayse your landes. " The knight offers to lower the rent if the other
will reduce the price of the food, which the latter ultimately refuses.

Further on it is interesting to note the profit the husbandman attributes
to his live stock in comparison to his corn, for he answers: "And to say
the very truth, I that have inclosed little or nothing of my grounde, could
never be able to make up my lorde's rent were it not for a little herd that
I have of neate,* sheepe, swyne, geese, and hennes, that I do rear on my
ground; whereof, because the price is somewhat round, I make more
clear profit than I doe of all my corne." Thus it will be seen that even
over three hundred years ago corn-growing was not looked on with more
favor by the farmers than at the present, though they grew, besides
their cattle, poultry to advantage, as doubtless may yet be done.

Presently the Doctor (scholar and parson) speaks, and after enumer-

* Cattle.

The Farm or Homestead Fowl 443

ating the value of various goods says: "Then the more husbandry there
is occupied, the more universal breede should be of all victuals of meate,
sheepe, swine, geese, hennes, capons, and chickens; for all these are reared
much on corne." It appears, then, that the argument for the breeding
and rearing of poultry would be equally apphcable at the present time;
and it is my firm belief that this particular live stock of the farm was
then more even and finer in quality than those of the ordinary farmer
of to-day; which if more imderstood, as a high-class food production,
better prices would be realized, consequently a larger degree of profit. As
to the value of poultry, and the quantity provided at the numerous feasts
of the middle and later ages, it will be best to follow up the fine old EngHsh
breeds of fowls gradually with regard to their marks, value, and locality.

Horsham was a parliamentary borough from the year 1295, and a
market-town. In 1697 (more than two hundred years ago) "The Traveller's
Almanack" mentions the market as being held on Saturday; and in 1770
a gazetteer describes it as having been granted, by King John, and having
great store of poultry, usually bought up for the London market. The
Horsham poultry market in 1837 was held on Mondays at "The Black
Horse," where a considerable number of poultry changed hands.

"Kent was celebrated for its capons centuries ago, and in a lesser
degree Sussex. Dorking became known as a fatting center about the
middle of the eighteenth century, the fowls for which it afterward became
so celebrated mostly coming from Kent and Sussex, and it, like these
also, may have derived the white breed for which the district became
noted from the Romans.* The great causeway called Stoney Street
passes through Dorking Churchyard. Dorking was destroyed by the
Danes, but was rebuilt by Canute or the Normans. This place is famous
for its meat trade and its market for poultry, particularly for the largest
geese and the fattest capons, which are brought hither from Horsham
in Sussex; and the whole business of the people, for many miles, consists
in breeding and fattening; its market is on Thursdays."

An old friend of long ago, who lived at Dorking and well knew its
history, once mentioned to me the fact that incredible numbers of fowls
were sold in Dorking. Upon my questioning him as to what they were,
etc., he said that mostly they were not bred at Dorking, but came from
Sussex, and Horsham market in particular.

* Vide "Environs of London," A.D. 1761.

444 The Poultry Book

From this and what is to be gathered from various other rehable
sources it is pretty certain that Dorking was only a fattening station Hke
Uckfield, Waldron, Heathfiekl, Handcross, some places in Kent, and
Boston in Lincolnshire; and the fowls coming from these might just as
well, and with the same propriety, be called Heathfields, Waldrons, etc..
Or Bostons; they are so in the dead markets, but not as a distinctive breed.
The Dorkings, as a breed, have got a reputation entirely from the slovenly
writings of several authors, who have simply echoed the previous one
without inquiry or verification, while the Kent fowls are historical. Of
Kent, centuries ago, it was said : " The Weald for wood ; East Kent for com ;
Romney for meadow ; Tenham for an orchard ; Sheppey and Reculvers for
wheat; Thanet for barley; and Headcorn for the brood of big, fat, and
commended capons" ("British Curiosities in iVrt and Nature," 1728).

Mr. Ferguson, in his excellent book on fowls, 1854, gives the following
item of interest : " That a breed bearing much resemblance to our Dorking,
both for external appearance and internal qualities, as well as possessing
the additional claw, has long been propagated in the town of Dorking is
conclusive. I have before me a list of the fowls remitted to market by a
farmer living there, from June to August, A.D. 1683, comprising:

1 7 dozen 5 claws, dead stock

I " 4

I " 5 " live stock"

From this we observe the five-clawed fowls were well known in that
locality, and at that comparatively early date appear to have been more
numerously kept than the four-clawed ones, at any rate by this individual.*
I also discover from the original manuscript that the price for the one
dozen five-clawed ones (alive) was ijearly three times the amount of the
dead stock. It was therefore at that time, as until lately has been the
case, "the breeders were determined, if possible, to monopolize the trade."
Here Mr. Ferguson does not seem to be aware, or has not taken into con-
sideration, that all the southern fowls at least were more or less five-
clawed, and thus described by Gervase Markham in the early part of the
same century; so the argument of the five-clawed being a breed peculiar
to Dorking utterly falls to the ground. The four-toed birds were most
likely a cross between the old English Game and the ordinary barn-door,

* This confutes the oft-repeated statement that four-toed fowls were unknown in the
real and old "Dorking" breed.

The Farm or Homestead Fowl

445

SUSSEX BARN-DOOR FOWL
Sixty years since

many white-shanked Game-cocks being "at walk" about the farms and
homesteads of Kent, Sussex, and Surrey. The live fowls being sold
for more than the dead is no criterion of price, the first possibly being
matured and good breeding stock, while those dead were the refuse, and
killed as being of no value ahve. "Stih," continues Mr. Ferguson, "it is
evident that the town of Dorking and its suburbs are now, as heretofore,
not only more suitable, from the nature of the soil, to the rearing and
breeding of this class of fowl, but every other thrives unusually well there."
In this there is the error that this breed of five-clawed fowl throve better
at Dorking than elsewhere ; for Kent produced better, and Sussex, as noted,
reared large quantities, which, being taken to Horsham market, were

446

The Poultry Book

purchased to be fattened at Dorking and then sent away as the particular
breed of the town ; and when, as further proof, the breed was sought for
to exhibit (circa 1850), the best southern birds came from Kent and Sussex,
and in the north some from Lancashire and even Scotland. It is indeed
surprising how long and persistently it has been the endeavor of some
writers about our poultry to attach an undue, an undeserved and inaccurate
importance to the town of Dorking m connection with fine and excellent
white-shanked, five-toed, colored fowls, and those of Kent and Sussex,
when, as has been shown, most of these were bought at Horsham. And
further, history points to the fact that such fowls have for centuries always
been plentiful in our southern counties, and not only used as food, but
also as articles of barter and commerce.

WHITE-SHANKED AND SPANGLED PARTRIDGE GAME HEN
Style often used to cross with the old four ined an 1 other barn-door fowls

The Farm or Homestead Fowl 447

In Italy five-toed fowls have long existed ; also m France, as several
French writers affirm, and who are quoted, so in Norway, Sweden, and
Spain ; and yet with regret one sees it asserted that these, and more especially
those m England, in some way owe their origin to the town of Dorking,
the writers failing to see the absurdity of the theory. It is an entire
misnomer and an utter fallacy to call our fine old Kent, Sussex, and Surrey
fowls all Dorkings, nor were they thus called until about 1850, previously
only the rose-combed whites being so considered. Even now so little
is known concerning our poultry by those "in office " that not infrequently
schedules are made out and prizes offered for Sussex and Surrey fowls
with those of Kent omitted, which was one of if not the very best breeds,
and quite equal to anything in the former counties. Such omissions,
wilful or otherwise, lead to the strong suspicion that many of our best
show-prize birds are the outcome of a combat of interests.

In the "General View of Agriculture in the County of Kent, 1805,"
Mr. John Boys writes of the Kent poultry thus: "Geese and turkeys,
fowls and ducks, are bred in the county sufficiently to supply the inhabit-
ants, and a few to spare for the supply of the shipping that sailed from
Faversham and the Downs." He goes on to say that the price of poultry
is very much increased within the last few years ; turkeys now sell as high
as 65-. and js., geese * 4s. to 55. each, and ducks and fowls at 35. 6d. to 45.
I believe I am correct in saying that this Mr. John Boys was an ancestor of
the Reverend John Boys, who became, with his "old Kents," a prominent
prize-winner in the early fifties of the last century. This brings the breed
of the Kent, Sussex, Surrey, and Dorking fowls down to the institution of
poultry shows, and to the time when such fowls, which have been carefully
noted and described by numerous authors, were those so long cherished
and kept in the southern counties. It will be my next duty to show what
they then were, and how they at once not only took a high position, but
were eagerly sought for on their merits as high-class fowls, being raised in
Kent, Sussex, and Surrey by the farmers' wives and daughters from genera-
tion to generation ; and many is the time I have heard wordy altercations
as to the particular qualities and values of certain birds to be bred from
or not. My own relatives had stocks of such good and true old Kent and
also Sussex fowls as it would be almost impossible to find now ; and there

* These then were small, seldom weighing more than nine to twelve pounds; the
last being considered a very good goose even so late as about 1830-40.

448 The Poultry Book

was nothing on the different farms and homesteads that received and
merited more attention. Some of the land, both in Sussex and Kent,
having been family property for centuries, the poultry was as jealously
guarded — almost as heirlooms. The colors at one farm were nearly
white, with black in the hackles and tails; another flock was entirely
cuckoo-colored; two kept to the old red and tawnies; three had mealy
grays (these were very large) and one had light browns; all were very
white in the shank and feet, with five toes and white toe-nails ; the ear-lobes
were large and nearly white, with a pink weather-tinge at the lower part.
Until the importation of the Cochin there were no farm fowls with red
ear-lobes as now — they were truer bred ; a red ear-lobe shows decidedly a
cross-breed. These were kept by farmers — friends of mine — who, one
and all, were equally proud of their other stocks of poultry. One family
in particular often boasted that they had kept the same breed over a
century; they were dark reddish browns. Others kept black speckles;
some red and some gray speckles, and mealy grays, with a variety nearly
black. On the grass land about the house might be seen in early spring
long lines of the old style of Sussex-made coops with the hens under them,
and quantities of strong, healthy chickens running about or creeping in
to nestle beneath the full-breasted, well -feathered," kindly mother hen;
such were our Kent and Sussex farm fowls much more than sixty years
ago as I knew them, saw them, fed them, and sketched them at our own
home. Some of the breeds had been for centuries carefully mated and
bred — not neglected, as has been erroneously and ignorantly stated ; but
to my own knowledge their shape, color, and qualities as table, egg-
layers, and high-priced market fowls were well attended to, the owners
being as proud of their poultry, and possibly more so, as nine-tenths of
the prize-winners at the now fashionable poultry shows.

There were several reasons for this, of which nearly all the writers
on the subject are obvious — namely, that in the corn -growing districts
especially the "tail-wheat" sif tings and winnowings were the perquisites
of either the farm housewife or the daughters, and by them used for the
keeping and rearing of poultry; for generally it was the proceeds from
the sale of chickens, poultry, and eggs that they relied on as the source
not only of pocket-money, but of actual clothing and other wants. These
were by no means isolated cases, while not infrequently the general
expenditure of the house was provided for entirely by the sale of dairy

The Farm or Homestead Fowl

449

J

WHITE-SPANGLED, BLACK-BREASTED, BRIGHT-RED OLD KENT AND SUSSEX FIVE-TOED HEN

produce and of the fowls. Thus it was that our southern farm poultry
received such considerable attention and was so carefully bred. In some
districts only certain colors were to be found, though all bore the same
analogy to each other in point of form, being square, full-breasted, with
good legs and thighs, large-winged and strong flyers, and were like to,

450

The Poultry Book

in almost every respect, those described by Columella nearly two thousand
years ago; and this was not to be wondered at so much, for, if introduced
by the Romans, the belief of Kent and Sussex men is that they were not
crossed and spoiled with other and foreign varieties, as is the craze now
to do. For this reason they bred their birds chiefly " in-and-m " or not out
of their district, as they had not the means of either hearmg of, seeing,
or getting any other kmds but their old breeds, that had been kept on or
about the various farm holdings or independent lands

From a phuiigrupit

DARK DORKING COCK
Owned and bred by Herbert Keeves. The winner ot many priz

WHITE DORKINGS.

KENT, SUSSEX, SURREY, AND DORKING FOWLS

"Old fashions please me best; I am not so nice,
To change true rules for odd inventions." — Taming of the Shrew.

ONNINGTON MOWBRAY (John Lawrence), writing in
1824 of the Darking (or Dorking) fowl, says: "It is so
called from a town in Surrey, where probably the variety
was first bred, and where and m its vicinity they are to be
foiind in great plenty and perfection. It is in a third degree
the largest of our fowls, well shaped, having a long, capacious body and
short legs, and is a plentiful layer." *

This is precisely the description of the Kent, Sussex, and Surrey
fowls given previously, which is not in any way peculiar to the Dorking,
nor is the fifth toe. Mowbray states; "The genuine color, entire white;
chief distinctive mark, five claws upon each foot." He adds that "the
white is not so pure as certain of the dunghill fowls, nor is the flesh, that
inclining to yellow or ivory shade ; the Darkings are the species generally
made into capons."

Any one reading this would doubtless be led to believe that the cock-
erels of this breed were those principally used for caponizing, whereas the
Kents and other southern breeds were so noted for centuries; and the
prices also for such capons are given in Professor Thorold Rogers's excellent
book of "Ancient Mediasval Values of Farming Stock," occurring as far
back as the thirteenth century. Again, Mr. Mowbray states that an
attempt was made to deprive Dorking of the honor of the breed, etc.
"The surveyor pretends that the Dorking fowls were all raised in the
Weald of Sussex, and that Horsham is the chief market for them."

This, as has been shown, was undoubtedly the case. Further he
says: "No doubt it is probable that having five claws accidentally
brought certain fine and well-formed individuals into notice, but from
these proceeded a distinguished permanent variety, and that variety

* Here it should be noted that Mowbray mentions the Dorking as in the third degree
the largest of our fowls.

451

452

The Poultry Book

bearing the name of Dorking seems a sufficient proof of that town and its
neighborhood." This is fairly jumping at a conclusion. As to the five
toes, they were the common appendage, not only of the fowls of Kent,
Sussex, and Surrey, but also of other breeds, of France, Spain, Italy,
etc. How, then, could this form be noted as distinctive? To make

COCKEREL AND PULLET, OLD-STYLE PRIZE DORKING OF 1S53

the Statement even more doubtful, presently, when writing of the Polands,
he asserts: "Perhaps the genuine sort has always five claws,* and as
the Poland cock will produce occasionally white stock from white English
hens, it is not impossible, the similarity of form Hkewise considered, that

* I have seen Polands not only with live toes, but also "spurred" like a cock. A
hen at the Crystal Palace Show, in 1900, had a very large spur on one shank only, and no
indication of one on the other.

Kent, Sussex, Surrey, and Dorking Fowls 453

our famous Dorking breed may have been originally from that cross,
and, supposing such speculations groundless, the Dorking, differing as it
does from the common, may have been an imported breed."

This is what Mr. John Timbs, F.S.A., author of "Things Not Generally
Known," and who lived some years at Dorking, says in his valuable
description of Dorking, 1824: "An incredible quantity of poultry is
usually sold at the weekly markets. This trade is chiefly in the hands
of a few individuals, who regularly attend and supply the London dealers.
There is also a breed of fowls with five claws, well know^n among the poul-
terers of the metropolis by the appellation of ' Dorking fowls ' ; one sort
is perfectly white and another of a partridge color. Columella, in his
'Husbandry,' describes fowls of this kind; and it is conjectured that they
were originally brought here by the Romans." Knowing Air. John Timbs,
I asked if these fowls were all bred at or about Dorking, when he told
me that many were brought from long distances to the town to be sold,
and that by no means all or anything like it had five toes, and he fully
agreed with me that they were precisely the same breeds as the Kents
and Sussex, and that they also were brought over by the Romans.

Mr. Walter B. Dickson, writing of this bird in 1847, says: "These
fowls, which form the principal supply of the London market, are dis-
tinguished by having five toes instead of four on each foot." Nor does
he stand alone in this statement, for it is the common assertion of most
modern writers on poultry even to this day; but it is more difficult to
understand how Mr. Dickson could have fallen into so great an error,
when he quotes Temminck, Buffon, and Bechtien, who surely, when writing
on the subject of fowls with five toes, were fully aware of numerous breeds
that have the extra toe not belonging to the widespread variety now
commonly and erroneously called the "Dorking." For there are other
breeds, quite different in their general aspects, that also possess the fifth
toe. Therefore I dismiss the subject so far as it is a criterion of the breed
to be found in the so-called Dorking only, and have little or no hesitation
in believing that it was the ordinary large fowl of the southern parts of
England, so numerous in the counties of Kent, Sussex, and Surrey, which
are all eminently celebrated for the excellent quality of their poultry.
It has also been averred that a property of the so-called Dorking is the
large size and generally bulky appearance of those denominated "colored
Dorking," and which have given place of late years at poultry shows to one

454 The Poultry Book

variety — the dark gray, the hens especially being almost black, with
white quills, stems, or mid-ribs to their feathers, and also the very beautiful
cross-bred silver-grays. The double or rose -formed crest has been sus-
pended in favor of the high, deeply serrated single comb. A writer
in Rees's " Cyclopaedia " (Vol. XXVIII.) thus gives his opinion of a Barking
breed, as the town was sometimes called:

"Dorking fowls, as they are called, are all raised in the Weald of
Sussex, but the finest market for them is Horsham. The five-clawed
breed have been considered the best sort ; this is, however, a great mistake,
and it took its origin in some fowls of this peculiarity that happened to
be very large and fine, which laid the foundation of what has since been
called the Dorking or five-clawed fowls, and considered in other parts of
England as the prime stock, but such a thing is hardly known in Sussex;
it is a bastard * breed which is used at the table of Lord Egremont, and
have very frequently, it is said, astonished the company by their size."

Here again error creeps in, the five-toed being by no means confined
to Dorking, and those of Lord Egremont were simply the true breed.
After the most searching inquiry, I am led to fully beheve that the four-
toed varieties of barn-door fowls were the bastard breed, and were most
probably a cross with the English white-shanked Game-fowl, which was
resorted to sometimes to give increased vigor. Again, the Dorking
fowls proper, if any, were a smaller breed, and, as Mr. W. B. Dickson
observes, were almost always white, their legs short and remarkably
smooth. In the engraving of the Dorking fowls, from a drawing by
Edwards in Rees's "Cyclopedia," the birds are white with rose combs
and shght "lark" crests, and it is generally admitted that these albinos
were the breed of fowls for which the town of Dorking was, if ever, held
m such repute; at the same time, and which must not be overlooked, it
IS also a fact that it was one of those large "fattening" centers for which
the south of England was and is to this day so celebrated, and to which
I shall hereafter allude; also that most of the poultry so fattened were
bought principally at the Horsham poultry market, which is even now
one of considerable importance. And formerly, as I have shown, instead
of Dorking being the most celebrated breed of fowls, it appears the Kentish
were considered superior. AVilliam Lambarde, in his "Perambulations
of Kent" m 1576, after eulogizing the cattle as being the largest of their

* How bastard ? If so, how bred ?

Kent, Sussex, Surrey, and Dorking Fowls 455

h A i

COCKEREL AND PULLET, PRIZE-BRED OLD KENT
Showing fine form and breast

kind, states: "The like whereof also Polydore * in his history confesseth
of the Kentish poultry." Izaak Walton, also, in his book on "Fishing,"
mentions that the Kentish poultry were even then of unusual size. The
old "Tunbridge Wells Guide Books" state that the fowls sold there were
large and good. Nor is this to be wondered at, for if Dorking is said to
have obtained its breed from the Roman period, is it not as much or
more likely that Kent, possessing as it does a Roman road throughout,
should also have had some of the ancient breed mentioned by Columella ?
And indeed the five-toed varieties, as stated, are not by any means confined
to England,
* Virgil.

456

The Poultry Book

As conceded, Dorking may have had the credit of a certain breed of
white fowls with rose combs, but to say that all the white or colored
varieties of fowls are Dorkings, or that the latter have emanated from
them, is simply absurd; for all the Dorking fowls were not even five-toed,
though many undoubtedly were ; but so also were the Sussex, Surrey,
and Kent. Over fifty years ago it was well known, and often stated,
that breeds of fowls with five toes were kept in the same neighborhood,
both in Kent and Sussex, from generation to generation. Dorking, as
far as can be ascertained, was a place chiefly for table fowls, obtained
from several breeders living many miles away, and carried there by
"higglers" to fatten for market, but not bred there.

Mr. Arthur Young, writing on the subject of poultry in the beginning
of the last century, among others mentions a Mr. Boys * as possessing a
fine breed of fowls; and it is a curious fact that the Reverend J. Boys, of
Biddenham, Kent, was among the first to take prizes under the name of
"Dorkings." When the Zoological Society instituted poultry shows
prizes were offered for Kent, Surrey, and Sussex fowls; many with five
toes were exhibited, and foolishly disallowed by the judges calling them

From a rirawing- by Har

VOUNG DORKING COCKEREL

Dorkings. Where did Mr. Lewry get the Dorking fowls he won with at
the poultry shows but from the farmers of Kent and Sussex ? Not from
Dorking. One of the greatest evils that befell the splendid, large, well-
* See notes on Mr. Boys in previous chapters.

r

Kent, Sussex, Surrey, and Dorking Fowls 459

formed, active, and profitable table fowls of the southern coiinties was the
introduction of the Shanghai or Cochin. The "higglers" procured cocks
of this breed, and prevailed on many of the Kent and Sussex farmers to
cross them with the grand old fowls that were before the perfection of
the barn-door breeds. One of the greatest sinners in this respect was
this Mr. Lewry ; and many were the Dark Cochins that he has been known
to sell or exchange with the Sussex and Kentish men for some of their
very best fowls, and with which he stocked a number of now high-class

OLD KENT DARK-RED HEN AND TWO OTHERS

poultry yards ; but with some of these he also gained a " Dorking " notoriety
and prizes as a successful breeder, while the old stocks from which he
drew his supplies were (for the time, at least) utterly ruined by the Cochin
cross; for though it possibly somewhat (which I deny) improved the size,
it was at the cost of flesh quality and increase of bone and offal.

Having at various times visited several "out-of-the-way" places in
Kent and Sussex and noted "here and there" some of the old short-
legged breeds that once were so common in almost every farmyard (bright,
lively, active, square-made, large-breasted birds, light of bone, good
foragers and hardy), to-day I scarcely know where to look for these;

460 The Poultry Book

nor where are the old speckles or spangles (truly beautiful fowls), or the
reds or cinnamons, the light grays with speckled breasts, or the browns,
many with bright rose combs; or the old single-combed whites, with thin
white shanks, the cocks with large flowing tails. (The portrait of a
cockerel of this breed, from one of mine, appeared in the "Poultry
Book" of 1852-53.)

Where are all these? Where are to be got the snow-white, fine-
flavored eggs, whiter than the cloth they were wrapped in ? Gone !
"Nobody buys any but brown eggs now," said a hen wife to me a few
weeks ago, when I remonstrated with her on the breed of fowls she kept.
The mongrel things were fairly good layers of light-brown eggs, and so
her old south breed had been parted with ; for living near a coimtry town,
she could make more money of her brown or tinted eggs; and as to her
fowls, as table fowls, well! "it made but little difference that way," for
but few of her town customers realized whether they were good, bad
or indifferent when trussed for cooking, with broken ribs and crushed
breast-bone.

And all these colors, forms, and varieties are now scarce or gone —
at least, I know of but few; true it is there is the "Show Dorking," as it
is called, a large, heavy, cumbersome bird, bigger in bone, meaty, deep-
breasted, and as some aver hardier; it is a grand bird, doubtless, and
worthy of great praise; but "is it a better bird in all respects than the
old stock bird of the Kent, Sussex, and Surrey farmyards?" Does it
forage so well ? That is a point worth noting. Is it not more coarse in
flesh and feather? Does it not "go wrong" in its feet frequently ? while
such a thing was scarcely or ever known in "the old five-toed" fowl.

The old breed could fly well, and generally roosted in the trees, stood
up and crowed at the "proper times" as old English fowls should — "they
of the olden time." I have had a cock weigh thirteen and a half pounds,
and a hen of eleven pounds when taken up from the poultry run; and
these, as far as I know, never had a taint of the Shanghai or Cochin blood.

Why was the term ' ' Colored Dorking ' ' taken out of the show schedules
and "Dark Dorking" substituted? Why was one color made to take
precedence? Why should the speckles, the reds, browns, and other
colors be stamped out of existence by the "whims and fancies" of certain
judges, etc., and no other five-toed fowls of the old English breeds be
considered worth keeping but the cross-bred dark, colored, and gray,

Kent, Sussex, Surrey, and Dorking Fowls 461

the silver-gray, and the white ? Were poultry shows only instituted for
such as these?

At one time the four-toed Surrey fowl was greatly in demand ; where
is it now? We are told, by those who are said to know, that the fifth
toe is the cause of the lameness of the so-called "Dorking"; if so, why
then was the old English Game-fowl lame from gout, as the old books on
' ' Cocking ' ' testify ? There is no doubt that the real and simple
cause of the gouty or "bumble-foot" in the exhibition Dorking comes
principally, if not altogether, from feeding, food- "forcing," and high-
perching. Long experience and close observation make it difficult to
believe that the fifth toe has but little, if anything whatever, to do with

A' )

:^\ /('//'

f:ii . A^'^^

Dm-wn by Harrisot
A PAIR OF WHITE DORKINGS

Rees's " C'^ clopcedia '

462

The Poultry Book

From a drawing by Harrison
PRIZE DORKING HENS
Bred by Fisher Hobbs and sold to H.R.H. Prince Albert

the foot disease, which was unknown among barn-door fowls, though
having the fifth toe, but kept in a natural way ; yet the hind toe was then,

as now, largely and very fully
developed, as also spurs on the
hens of considerable size and
sharpness.

Nor are these modern crosses
better for early chickens; for in
1 81 5 Mrs. Adams, of Shipton-on-
Stour, always had chickens ready
for New Year's Day. This is
remarkable, but by no means
uncommon with the old Kent and
Sussex hen wives, the birds being
reared in the dry sheds about the
farmyards. As late as May, in
1827, the price of poultry ruled
high in London markets, young
fowls being sold at i^s. the couple
and ducks equally dear. To remedy this, shows for dead poultry
were instituted for fattening, those of Earl Spencer being the most
successful; and it is a common fact, which should not be lost
sight of, that the points of excellence noted in the schedule for
prizes are almost identical with those taken from Columella and
other writers of 1580, 1581, 1600, 1616, 1670, and so until 1790,
1810, 1820, and 1827, as: "The fowls should be plump, deep, long,
and capacious in body, with short white legs of small-sized bone,
of very white, juicy, fine-grained flesh, the fat and the skin equally
white and of delicate flavor."

"All the birds to have been bred in Northamptonshire and to be
shown alive." It concluded with this instruction:

"Small-boned, well-proportioned poultry greatly excel the large-
boned, long-legged kind in color and firmness of flesh and delicacy of
flavor; for it is held good that of all animals of the domestic kind, those
which have the smallest, cleanest, and finest bones are in general the
best proportioned and are covered with the best and purest meat ; besides
being, in the opinion of good judges, the most inclined to feed, and fatted

Kent, Sussex, Surrey, and Dorking Fowls 463

with the smallest proportionable quantity of food to the greatest com-
parative weight and size."

After a while these shows were followed by other utility shows at
the Zoological Society's Gardens, Regent's Park, when again the excellence
and variety of our "utility" fowls were duly recognized, and all the
before-named requirements were taken into consideration.

At the first live poultry show held at the Society's Gardens, Jime 6,
1845, there were classes for Speckled Dorkings (then plentiful), Surrey,
Kent, and Sussex fowls, all for table purposes — the Dorkings and Kents
being awarded first prizes, Messrs. Baker, of Leadenhall Market and
Chelsea, winning for Hamburgs, Black Spanish, and Madeiras ; they were
also commended for Chinese and Madeiras. I was present; and these
latter appeared to be nothing else than a variety of what is called the
Minorca and the Black Spanish. The Bakers also won with their feather-
legged Bantams ; Mr. Tyler,

of the Surrey Zoological ' " n

Gardens, winning a first
prize with "Polish"; Mr.
Nolan was second with
Malays; these were very
different from Messrs.
Bakers' Chinese. Several
varieties of Bantams were
exhibited, including gold
and silver spangled as then
called, not laced and true
black Bantams, nor pygmy
black Hamburgs now
known as such. The show
was held on the left-hand
side of the long walk at the
back of the bear pit, near
the boundary of the
gardens ; there was no tent
or covering. The exhibi-
tion was well attended, and considered to be successful. The judges
were Mr. John Baily, who afterward took a prominent place at

'%a»

From a drawing by Harrison Wt
PRIZE DORKING COCKEREL
Bred by Fisher Hobbs and sold to H.R.H. Prince Albert

B.
C.
H.

E.
E.

E.

464 The Poultry Book

the many and various shows, the offspring of this the first attempt
at a utiHty and fancy gathering, and who for so many years strongly
advocated the merits of the so-called "Dorking" as the very best
of table fowls ; Mr. George Fisher, well known as an excellent judge of
pigs; and last, but by no means least, the gentle and kind-hearted Mr.
William Yarrell, V. P. Z. S., the author of "British Birds and British
Fishes, and Monograph of the Salmon." Here are the names of some
of the prize-winners:

Prize I . Speckled Dorking Class A.

" 2. Surrey (Bartlett)

" I . Kent (Miss Cooper)

" I. Hamburg (Bakers)

I. Black Spanish (Bakers)

" I. Polish (Tyler)

" 2. Malay (Nolan)

" I. Chinese (Bakers).

(commended) (Bakers).

I. Spangled Muffled Fowls, Bantams, etc.

Also varieties of coops were exhibited.

This was considered to be a step in the right direction, as the show
was instituted for the purpose of insuring the purity of breeds, and the
more careful production of poultry of the greatest utility and perfection.
At the same time, it was admitted that our southern white-legged farm-
yard stocks were, in many instances, exceptionally good, and as table
fowls unsurpassable ; nor was it possible for these to be more carefully
selected, mated, bred and reared; to which the vast number of market
fowls, both in form, color of flesh, skin, fat, and shanks fully testified.
Moreover, if a " Game cock ' ' was taken ' ' to walk, ' ' it was contended that
he must correspond somewhat in color with the home birds, and have
white shanks, etc. The farmsteads, too, would not keep any mixed
variety that was not considered to be of the best for sale to the higgler,
and good early layers, as they were looked upon not only as farm-house
luxuries but also as channels through which considerable profit was derived.
When the first show was held at the Zoological Society's Gardens, the fowls
from Kent, Sussex, Surrey, and the so-called Dorking gave ample proof
that they were to be had in plenty and of a quality which left little to be
desired. It has often been stated that our barn-door fowls were small;
this might be the case in some instances, but those of Kent and Sussex
were not usually so, the cocks often weighing more than ten pounds, and

Kent, Sussex, Surrey, and Dorking Fowls 465

the hens eight, and in some instances even more. Latham writes of a
Dorking in the last century that weighed more than fourteen pounds.

In 1847 the Zoological Society held another show in their gardens,
which was again successful, and, indeed, led the way toward and induced

By permission oj the proprietors of the "Field'
■HE HONORABLE MR. ASTLEY's GRAY DORKINGS

the Birmingham Cattle Show Club to add poultry to their Christmas
exhibition, which they did in 1849.

At the Zoological Society's show the most approved were Sussex
(which had in some cases five toes), Surrey, and Kent, and the so-called
Dorking, nearly all of which were of excellent quality and of rich coloring,
but mostly shown young, the exhibitors being under the impression they
were better as table fowls. They were immature birds, not having full-

466

The Poultry Book

grown tails, etc., and so not presenting the grand appearance that the
southern barn-door cock usually attained in his second year, nor having
the massive frames so characteristic of these much-prized birds; yet
Messrs. Baker, of Chelsea, had an extra prize, while Mr. Lewry,* of Hand-
cross, Cuckfield, Sussex, was the winner of two prizes, with very fine
large-framed, well-formed, short-legged fowls, very clean and white in the
shanks. In point of fact, all the table poultry was good in quality excepting
the White-faced Black Spanish. The lofty-standing Malays of Messrs.
Baker received much attention, they being very rich in color.

The chief object of the show was the encouragement of the breeding
of the most approved sorts of table fowls; therefore, as might have been
expected, the Dorking, Surrey, Sussex, and Kent barn-door formed the

OLD ENGLISH BLACK-BREASTED RED DORKINGS
Once owned by Mr. Weir

principal and most interesting part both of this and the former exhibi-
tion; and the improvements in showing, in size, quality, and pureness

* Mr. Lewry was of a family of "higglers" and poultry "falters," and frequently
bought fowls and chickens of my friends and relatives before-mentioned, some of his best
and purest-bred prize birds coming from their farmyards and homesteads.

Kent, Sussex, Surrey, and Dorking Fowls 467

of breed elicited from the judges a very decided opinion of high approba-
tion. It was also a matter for much congratulation to find that our farm-
yard produce was in so satisfactory a state, so much so that the society
thought that they had done enough to demonstrate the fact, and that
in future poultry would be found a worthy and profitable adjunct to
farming, especially in what is termed the home counties, as indeed at
this time some of the best fowls ever sent to market came from the English
homesteads, grown by farmers' wives and daughters, not by mere fanciers,
but as good and serviceable stock, and by no means to be neglected as
sources of income. Then came the Shanghai fowls and the craze for size,
novelty, and colored eggs; and ill it fared with our old breeds. The
Shanghais were taken to the English homestead as desirable crosses to
get size and, as some said, hardiness, whereas no one ever complained
of any tenderness in the old birds but those ignorant of the proper treat-
ment of chickens and how to rear them. Seldom was it that broods were
seen of less than eight or nine, while they often numbered ten, twelve,
sixteen, and I have known twenty all hatched by one hen. The Cochin
or Shanghai craze was the first blow that our ancient and almost perfect
farm poultry received; though every effort was made by such men as
Mr, Baily, Captain Hornby, and others to keep the breeds from con-
tamination, the wave came on nevertheless, and in too many cases the
damage became irreparable, while fortunately in others some few of the
Kent and Sussex breeders would have none of them.

1850 AND i860

" O , what men dare do ! What men may do !
What men daily do, not knowing what they do."

— Much Ado About Nothing.

At this time the Shanghai "took the lead and kept it," and its merits,

greatly exaggerated from the first, were still further extolled, until it was

averred that there was no property that a good fowl should have but

this possessed it ; it was delicious roasted or boiled, and the hens laid two

or three eggs a day. All this tended for a while toward the depreciation

of the fine old English fowls of Kent, Sussex, Surrey, and Dorking. Nor

was this the worst, for many farmers, poulterers, and others, finding the

Shanghai so much in request, and stimulated to do so by writers on and

about poultry, imhesitatingly crossed the old breeds with the new and

coarser birds ; and to such an extent was this done that many, if not most,

468 The Poultry Book

of the larger five-toed fowls were more often than not half Shanghai ; not
a few were seen in the show-pens with unmistakable scars on their shanks
and toes where feathers had been removed and in some cases filled in with
wax, while the sides of the shanks, though clear of feathers, were too often
of a deep pink or red color, as though they were in some way suppressed.
Such crosses were also visible in the combs, being more of the Shanghai or
Cochin shape. Yet through it all the grand old English birds held their
own, and with the exception of the White-faced Black Spanish and the
Cinnamon or Btiff Cochin, had prizes of the same value offered, and for
table purposes were pronounced by the best judges not only able to main-
tain their high position, but when pure bred were unrivaled — the magnifi-
cent birds of Captain Hornby, Towneley Parker, Reverend J. Boys, L.
Lewry, Sir John Cathcart's speckles, Christopher Rawson and Thomas Potts,
Mrs. Arkwright and, later, Lady Holmsdale, with those of Mr. Fisher
Hobbs, who latterly spoiled his strain by the Cochin or Shanghai cross;
though this was denied, yet such was the fact, Mr. Fisher Hobbs * himself
telling me that he had used a Dorking cock to a Partridge -colored Shang-
hai hen, and from these some of his prize-winners were bred. At this time
(1853) the Dorking, etc., were again coming slowly to the front and
winning favor entirely on their own individual and collective merits,
though the rose-combed birds, the brilliant reds (of which Mr. Tegetmeier
once wrote that a cock of this breed was "indeed a beautiful sight"), the
tawnies, and the ancient breed of speckles were pushed out by the cross-
bred silver duckw4ng grays and whites, until the old and lovely color was
never seen in the show-pen, but only found in some of the homesteads of
the better class of Kent and Sussex farmers.

Thus it was that the real and wonderful merits of the southern birds
became more and more recognized, and for a while were in request, when
Mr. John Douglas f bought a white-shanked, very dark-colored, nearly
black Malay cock at the London Docks, and by crossing this with some
Dark Dorking hens again brought more foreign blood into the old English
breed ; his boast was that he got much darker and richer colors and heavier
birds. Though this has often been asserted, still the fact remains, before

* Mr. Fisher Hobbs sold his Dorking eggs at 5s. each, packing included.

t Mr. W. B. Tegetmeier states that Mr. Douglas obtained the Malay from the Zoulogical
Society's Gardens, but Mr. J. Douglas told me himself that it was not so, but that the
cock was bought at the docks; and as he was the buyer, owner, and raiser of the cross-breed,
I prefer to take his statement rather than that of Mr. Tegetmeier.

Kent, Sussex, Surrey, and Dorking Fowls 469

mentioned, that there is a record of a Dorking weighing fourteen pounds
as far back as the beginning of the nineteenth century, and cocks weighing
more than twelve pounds and hens more than ten pounds, and these of the
pure old farmyard breed without a cross, were in evidence. This crossing and
recrossing had the baneful effect of rendering the breed unreliable. Then
it was that the mongrelization became apparent in dark and sooty shanks
and feet, and that being more often in the larger birds than the old and
true, the judges

gave the prizes to [ ' '

avowed cross-
breeds, although
the shows were in-
stituted for the
perpetuation of
"pureness of breed
and fineness o f
quality, mere size
not to be con-
sidered." Here is
Mr. John Baily writ-
ing in the Poultry
Chronicle, 1854: "It
may seem at first
sight that two
combs dissimilar as
possible should be
equally pure, but
it is not the less
true. I do not

object to a cup comb, and the fact proves it, while the contrary is
only supported by bare assertion. Some have said that the rose
combs arise from a Malay cross; but if there be any truth
in this, can its supporters explain how every indication of the cross
has been got rid of?" Further he says: "There is no color for
Dorkings, and only two are excepted: they are the black and white;
the latter are a distinct breed." (Just so, it is said that the latter are
the only true, if any.) "Yet," adds Mr. Baily, "while every color is

,- jP^^

From a drawing by Har
OLD KENT FIVE-TOED HEN

470 The Poultry Book

admirable, care should be taken to match the birds composing a pen with
due regard to uniformity."

Here is the opinion of Mr. Baily, who was considered to be one of the
best judges of table fowl at that time (1854). He knew well that certain
breeders and farmers had colors and strains which they preferred and
which they kept true; his knowledge was of fact, and his, like my own,
was from actual observation, not merely stating from hearsay, like far too
many writing on the subject both then and now, most of whom never saw
the old stocks of red and brown or other colored birds that were numerous
even then in Kent, Sussex, and Surrey — men who were "writers" only,
and not, as Mr. Baily, of long, sound, practical experience as poultrymen
and poulterers ; had his advice and dictum been attended to, as it should
have been, we might still have had in table fowls the fine rich colors of
the more olden times, besides retaining the full-fleshed forms and square-
made, short -thighed legs and medium-shanked birds, with all their attend-
ant good qualities. Mr. Baily goes on to say: "One of the most popular
colors for hens in the present day is that known as Lord Hill's. These
are ' silver -grays ' ; in point of fact, they are duckwing silver-grays, and
were a cross between the old duckwing silver-gray, white-shanked, pearl-
eyed old English Game-cock and the gray Surrey, Kent, and Sussex. The
silver-gray 'proper' has no steel-black bar on the wing. The next class
is the grays, and," continues Mr. Baily, "with all these the most desirable
match for a cock is one with light hackle and saddle, dark breast and tail;
I advisably say dark in preference to black because I think servile adher-
ence to any given color too often necessitates the sacrifice of more valu-
able qualities." (This is quite right, and in a table fowl especially so.)
' * I look on a fine Dorking with no less admiration if his breast is speckled
and his tail composed of a mixture of black and white feathers, and such
a bird is a fit and a proper match for any gray hens." This is precisely my
own opinion; the Kent, Sussex, Surrey or colored Dorkings should be
shown now and then of any colors that suited the fancy of the rearer,
provided that the whole "pen" match in comb, color, form, shank, and
feet. This Mr. Baily said in 1854, and so acted one of the best judges of
table poultry ever known. He then notes the chocolate and the black
white-speckled of Sir John Cathcart*: "Another speckle — a grayish-
brown spotted with white, and brown hens with black-breasted red cock

* White-spangled blacks, others white-spangled of colors.

Kent, Sussex, Surrey, and Dorking Fowls 471

cuckoos, etc." It is well to bear in mind that this is the unbiassed opinion
of so eminent a judge both of Hve and dead poultry, and goes to show that
the old colors could be shown with success as late as the fifties, and even

From a drawing by Harrison U\

PRESENT-DAY PRIZE DORKING

The winner of a silver cup

later, before "fancy" and other committees unwisely interfered by restric-
tions made to meet the darker hues and feathering brought to notice by
the larger Asiatic crosses. Here is Mr. Baily's description (1854) of the
other form of one of the finest breeds of table fowls ever produced, and
which is identical with that bred for centuries in England :

"In shape, the body, divested of head, tail, and legs, should give a
square * The head should be fine and intelligent, the face plump and
round, the legs short, the tail ample and carried cheerfully; neck short,
increasing in bulk till it is lost in the breast ; it is not placed on the shoulders
as m some breeds, but loses itself in the body, helping to form the
prominent and full breast for which these fowls are famous."

All this was true — perfectly true and accurate, and with such a breed
or breeds it might be deemed impossible to improve it by adding to or
crossing in with the coarser-fleshed Cochin or Shanghai. Loud and long

* Not a long, but plump, meaty breast, far the best form of all both for appearance
and quality.

472 The Poultry Book

were the protests made by the best utihty-fowl breeders, but these were
written down by the ghb pen of the ignorant but ready writer, and so the
credulous were led to spoil, more or less, with a foreign blend so grand, so
good, and so ancient a breed. Nor was this all, for another candidate
appeared for mongrelizing honors in the so-called Brahma Pootra, itself
a cross-breed. This, like a new doll with a child, for a while possessed all
the charms of novelty; and the fine old southern breed were not crossed
to improve " the Brahma," but by a curious obliquity of mental and
intellectual vision it was said to benefit the already nearly perfect old
English favorites, the Dorkings, etc., etc.

Thus another mongrel race of fowls came into existence, a semi-
Asiatic breed with red ear-lobes instead of white tinted red on the outside
rim or edge, shank and feet sometimes horn-colored or sooty white, often
almost red, sometimes light yellow, with feathers, thicker bones, shorter
wings and tails, less alert and different habits; even the very crow of the
cocks was ' ' strange and new. " So a fresh standard of points of excellence
was thought needful, and the red ear-lobes were substituted for the white,
and sooty shanks and feet passed as correct or allowable by the judges ( ?)
of the newer mongrel, and the depreciation of the old and true was, by the
more modern poultry-breeder, unblushingly called "progress."

And further, by these being interbred with coarser and, though larger,
far inferior fowls, the quality was deteriorated for the table, and the colors
were altered. From the steel-gray Brahma came the bluer-gray Dorking
and the Partridge Cochin, the dull-brown dark- grays ; while from the nearly
black Malay or Kulm of Mr. John Douglas came those since-named Dark
Dorkings, the silver-grays being mated with the Light Brahmas ; these last
a different breed from the Dark, having but little alteration in the color.
The old variety, known as the "cuckoo," for some time had a class and
notice; but it, like the browns, the reds, speckles and spangles and the
rose-combed, became neglected, uncalled and uncared for; and so it was
that some of the most beautiful and useful types of our English farmyard
or barn-door fowls gradually became "things of the past."

Mr. Nolan, writing in 1850, then said of the colored Dorking:
" What we want and expect is size, and the colored birds have it in perfec-
tion." This was before the Asiatic mongrelization began. He derides the
Reverend Saul Dixon, who wrote that "fine Dorking fowls" weighed only
seven pounds, while the roadside Irish ranged from seven to nine each.

THE CELEBRATED GRAY DORKING COCKEREL AND PULLET
Once owned by Captain W. W. Hornby, R.N.

Kent, Sussex, Surrey, and Dorking Fowls 475

Mr. Nolan says: "The cock figured above, now in my possession out of
condition and in heavy molt, weighs ten and a quarter pounds; if fed
and over molt it would be at least two pounds more." The editor of the
Farmer s Gazette verifies the truth of the above. Mr. Nolan also quotes
the Dorkings of Mr. William Ogilvy, then late Honorary Secretary of the
London Zoological Society, a promoter of the breed, and who kept them
for his own use and the benefit of his tenants, and that he (Mr. Nolan) had
chickens from this stock that weighed eight pounds at the age of six
months. "The hens," says he, "are from seven to nine poimds; they
stand low on the legs ; the cock is about twenty-two inches high, the hen
twenty inches, with short, roimd, plump body, wide on the breast and
back, with abundance of white, juicy flesh; nothing to surpass them as a
table fowl." Here again is another tribute to the wonderful breed we
had, and another proof of the mischief done by reckless crossing. He
adds, "their plumage, gray, speckled, or striped, and sometimes red; and
further, there cannot be any fowl better calculated to add to the profits of
the farmyard, from their abundance of flesh and small offal ; they are hardy,
naturally climatized, and are, as their progenitors are described, 'good
layers and sitters, but heavy on the nest.' " Need more be quoted to show
what our breed was before the mongrelizing, by in-breeding it with such
coarse and bony all-foreign fowls as the Cochin, Shanghai, Brahma, and
Malay? and yet at this time (1850-53) for table fowls these were of surpass-
ing excellence. But, like much assertion, only the truth lives ; and so the
old English fowls are still to be found, but with a blot on their escutcheons.

The Rise of the Dorkings

Thus writes Sylvanus in the Poultry Chronicle, Vol. I., page 303:
"If 1853 saw the decline of the Cochins, it saw the rise of the Dorkings.
These latter have occupied for centuries the pinnacle of the poultry temple,
but, unfit for towns and possessing few of the startling points of plumage
or shape, they remained to a certain extent unnoticed, and their good
qualities were only appreciated when an unusually delicious fowl on the
table caused a look-up, inquiring whether the fifth claw did not at once
explain the cause of excellence. Till last year these meritorious birds were
to be had for a few shillings. Witness the beautiful hens exhibited four
years since by Lord Hill, which were sold for lo^. 6d. each ; next, the excel-
lent ones of the Honorable and Reverend S. W. Lawley, which were put

476

The Poultry Book

at ;^i ; and many others, till the Birmingham show of 1853 and the Hitchin
show ot the same year. At the latter place the Reverend Mr. Boys sold
his prize hen for £^0. At the Midland Counties show, the Reverend S,
Donne lost his prize birds, although protected by * twenty guineas.' At the
Metropolitan show, ]\Ir. Fisher Hobbs sold his birds for seventy-eight
guineas; Mr. Terry, of Aylesbury, sold his for five guineas each. Captain
Hornby protected his pen by a reserve of ;^5oo; but it is beyond a doubt
they would have been claimed at ;!^ioo. This was the rise of the Dorkings,
but their rise partakes of the quiet, every-day, and useful character of
the birds themselves. AVhile the best make the best prices, there are
plent}^ of good, useful, pure-bred birds to be had at moderate sums.

"The increase does not spread over the whole race as it did in the
Cochins; these will never go out of favor as a really good fowl for the
table. It seems almost impossible that the Dorking of last year can ever
be surpassed; if it can, then he would be a bold man who would fix

limits to its capabilities."

At this time, also, I may
add that Captain Hornby was
selling his Dorking eggs at £t,,
and even ;^4 a dozen, while £2 2s.
was almost a common price.

Again I quote : ' ' The common
sense of the public has brought
back the Dorking fowl to its
wonted preeminence. At the
sale after the ]\Ietropolitan show,
and also at the Birmingham
exhibition of this year (1854),
the Dorking* fowl met with
readier disposal at large prices
than any other bird. The public
voice has recognized it as the
bird for the English farmyard;
it is altogether the pet of John Bull, as possessing great and good
qualities without ostentation and clamor. The history of our county

Froui a drawing by Harrison IVei
FRONT VIEW OF A DEAD DORKING,
SHOWING BREAST

* I only use the word "Dorking" as indicating the old Kent, Sussex, and Surrey
five-toed fowls.

Kent, Sussex, Surrey, and Dorking Fowls 477

town [Derby] records no less than three poultry sales by public auction,
and at each of these the Dorking fowl obtained the highest bidding — good
hens selling for as much as t,os. each; and further, the most successful
breeder of Dorking fowls is, at this moment, selling his eggs readily at
three guineas per dozen. These and the Game-fowl are the true British
poultry. They are racy of the soil, and come down to us, like many other
good things, from a remote antiquity. If it were possible to engraft the
hardihood and quality of the latter upon the size and early maturity of
the former, perfection would be obtained. The veriest gourmand would
ask no more, for there would be quantity and quality enough to satisfy
the m_ost capacious and capricious of appetites. Tenderness and plumpness
would go hand-in-hand with juiciness. The Dorking fowl stands pre-
eminent as the fowl for the table. Those persons, and those only, who
saw and studied Pen i6o at the Birmingham show of 1853 can form an
accurate idea of the size, quality, and beauty of a first-rate Dorking fowl.
They were the birds of the exhibition, and before them the whole tribe of
Spanish, Cochins, black, white, brown and buff, 'paled their ineffectual
fires.' . . . Thirty-five pounds' Vv^eight of the most delicious meat
under heaven were there enshrined in their beautiful forms, and robed in
plumage in which richness and grace struggled for ascendency." — Tlie
Derby Reporter, 1854.

After i860, the Dorkings were said to be more massive ; certainly they
were larger in bone, coarser in flesh, rough and loose in feather; dark grays,
silver-grays, and dark, almost black, hens with gray breasts became the
fashion, and gradually classes were for these only ; even in those for color,
if any reds or browns were sent for competition, they were said to be in
the "wrong class," though not disqualified, and as a rule "passed"; thus
the craze of " outer" breeding grew, and the Malay was brought into requi-
sition again and again. The most curious part of all this was that the
different breeds engrafted on the Dorking, Kent, and Sussex fowls, as I
have pointed out, was not done to improve the Cochin, the Brahma, the
John Douglas black, white-shanked fowl, or lastly the dry -fleshed, scaly-
feathered Malay ; but with a fatuity seldom, if ever, excelled it was said,
no matter how erroneously, that it was done to benefit the old English
fowl — the perfection of centuries.

As is well known, by long experience, to breeders of any stock, cross-
breeds bred inter se will sooner or later revert to one or the other of the

478 The Poultry Book

varieties used to produce them ; and thus it was that in some cases the old
EngHsh form was extinguished by the Cochin or the Brahma, and the
progeny became at last like to an inferior one of either ; but the old type
of breed was sometimes the strongest, and the Asiatic element to some
extent expelled. So it might have been, and in some instances it was, the
best in form and the whitest in flesh and fat, and by other careful selections
the old form was partially retained. Thus the sooty shank color was
being gradually eliminated, and would possibly by this time have been
nearly or quite so had the judges acted as true to the old breed as honest
John Baily endeavored. But this was expecting too much; the lumpy
coarseness of the cross-bred larger fowl still prevailed to the almost total
extinction of the old and finer quality. Aye ! and even Baily was obliged
to give in to others. Breeders of experience know that when fowls with
yellow shanks, feet, etc., are crossed with those of white it is to the detri-
ment of both. If yellow is to be the outcome, it is browned or blacked ; if
white, it is almost the same, being blurred and stained ; but if bred inter se,
the one or the other color prevails. And so it was that when real Dorking
fanciers refrained from further intermixtures of foreign blood, the old
English fowl again partially asserted itself; and in some cases, where the
white-shanked pit-Game-cocks were used, the produce somewhat nearly
resembled our poultry of the farm before the arrival of the Shanghai,
Cochin, Brahma, or the Malay crossing. Again, in the show-pens the
closer-feathered, better-formed, and finer -fleshed birds were getting once
more "in evidence." But this happy state of things was not allowed to
last long, for, what with neophyte judges, lecturers and a press ever ready to
publish the opiniones fallacioscc of every agitator of variability and crossing
as needful to progress or said-to-be improvement, those that upheld purity
of breed as the flrst and chief consideration had a sorry time of it, many of
whom, grown gray in the fancy, were scoffed at and flouted by those who
had yet to learn the strength and value of the natural forces that are ever
present and at work, enlarging or reducing either one quality or the other.
Gradually and by careful selection the Dorking has become or is
becoming more valuable, and is likely to be one of our best table fowls.
Again we are sometimes getting the soft-scaled, flesh-colored shanks and
feet, and the general massive appearance is being regained, ample in form,
but almost too much so in looseness in feathers, yet the Dorking is rising
in public estimation. At present the breast -keel is too deep, as it gives

Kent, Sussex, Surrey, and Dorking Fowls 479

From a photograph

CHAMPION SILVER DORKING COCK.
Owned by Arthur C. Major

a flat-sided appearance that it formerly did not possess, being in breast
more the shape of the old English Game, which to the uninitiated looks
flat, and wanting, as they say, depth ; but experience and knowledge of
the fowl when stripped for table show it to be far otherwise.

Of late no fowl has made more progress, both in beauty and utility,
than the Silver-gray Duckwing Dorking (1887); it is truly a grand and

480 The Poultry Book

handsome bird and generally of excellent quality, being finer than its
congener, the dark-colored exhibition variety, which is decidedly coarser
in bone, flesh, and feathering. Still, the breed is a valuable one, though
differing much from the old type; both were and are good when
the latter can be found true. For my own part, I have a preference for
the old style, liking a close-feathered, compact, square-made, smaller-
boned fowl, and one which generally is both hardy and prolific.

Besides being good table fowls, the Dorkings are good mothers, and
the chickens, when understood, are easily reared,* as witness the healthy
flocks of chickens in our southern homesteads half a century and more ago,
before the coming of the Asiatic Shanghais or Brahmas.

Now I will take what Mr. Tegetmeier says in the official report on the
dead poultry exhibited for competition at the show of the Dairy Farmers'
Association, 1892 : " It is stated that the judge, Mr. John Baily " (grandson
of the John Baily before mentioned), "is convinced that there is no fowl
equal to the pure Dorking" (and in this he was right, as will be presently
shown). "The value of this remark may be inferred from the fact that
the medal for the best entry of dead poultry exhibited at the show was
awarded to Miss Gubbins, of Cork, for cross-bred fowls between the Indian
Game and Dorking breed, f and in the manner I have advocated for so
many years. The success of this lady is not exceptional with the same
strain ; she has always maintained the very highest position whenever her
fowls have been exhibited."

It so happened that I saw these birds, and, having the advantage of
my early training, I pointed out that, although the breasts were meaty,
they were lean, and that most likely they fatted in the wrong place, viz.,
inside. To prove whether I was right, I bought the pair. They were
very carefully weighed, measured, etc., and I now turn to my notes on
them. They weighed, when I got home, one, six and a quarter pounds,
and the other six pounds, and were to the ordinary observer a very fine
pair. They were sent to the kitchen, and my cook was told to bring me
the offal, etc., to be weighed and inspected; she came up and said that in

* Here at Appledore (February 3, 1902), I have ten Dorking chickens well and
healthy, although the weather has been intensely cold, rainy, and windy, and the soil is
of clay, and wet.

t An illustration of this prize fowl will be found on page 22 of the present work,
■where it was wrongly described as a Dorking and Plymouth Rock instead of Dorking and
Indian Game. The error first occurred in the English edition. — Editor.

Kent, Sussex, Surrey, and Dorking Fowls 481

all her experience— and she had had much— she had never found so much
fat in the inside of any fowl. The fat alone inside * the one of six and a
quarter pounds weight was just over two pounds, and with the head,
neck, legs, intestines,
etc., made just an-
other pound; so this
desirable fowl lost
nearly half its weight
in offal. I directed
the cook to skewer
the fat over the lean
breast to help "baste
it." The smaller one
also had nearly two
pounds of fat and
offal inside, etc., and,
as I anticipated, the
breast meat was dry
and hard when cooked.
The other details are
too long to go into.
So much for Miss
G u b b i n s ' s cross-
breeds, quoted as
better than the Dork-
ings. Mr. Baily was
right, and "a long
way right."

It will interest
my readers to know
that I wrote Miss
Gubbins, pointing out
the loss in offal in

the Cornish Indian cross, and, after reading Mr. Tegetmeier's
remarks. Miss Gubbins's reply will probably surprise others, as it

* Very fat gizzard and liver, with the pure fat elsewhere, the intestines being laid in
masses of fat.

From a drawing by Harrison Wei:
DORKING COCKEREL
Dairy Show, 1888

482

The Poultry Book

certainly did me. She informed me that "she did not keep any
particular fowl or breed of them, as she only had a small back yard, and
that her French cook bought such fowls as she liked and fatted them up
for her own table — that was all; and she never sold any."

Afterward Miss Gubbins won with a pure Dorking, and she sent me
as a present a half-bred Dorking and a Plymouth Rock, fairly fatted, of
which I have notes, etc. "The French cook" sent me her method of
fatting, which I have; it is all in French. I must be pardoned if I have
not been greatly influenced by Mr. Tegetmeier's remarks about Miss
Gubbins and her breed of fowls.

Now, lastly, I will give what I deem to be a most truly valuable

PRIZE DORKING COCKEREL OF lOO.i;

Kent, Sussex, Surrey, and Dorking Fowls 483

opinion regarding our Dorkings as table poultry, and with which I most
heartily and entirely agree, for it is true. Here it is. It is Mr. Teget-
meier's own opinion of the Dorking in his book, "Profitable Poultry,"
which I illustrated in 1853-54. Yes; it is one of the most valuable
opinions he has ever given, and the honest truth, as I know by a
lifelong experience.

Page 42 (1854): "For market fowls for table use the colored Dor-
king is unequaled.

"Many persons recommend cross-breeding fowls for this purpose of
improving certain varieties. It is difficult to see by what cross the qualities
of Dorkings as table fowls can be improved.*

"I have myself, however, never seen any cross-bred fowls equal for
the table to the pure Dorkings."

This from the 1853 edition:

"The plan of crossing breeds for the purpose of improving them is
fallacious in the extreme. By what cross can the good qualities of the
Dorking be improved ?

"It is said that the hardihood of birds is improved by crossing. If I
state the result of my own experience, it would be precisely the opposite
opinion. I have found that my half-bred chickens (of which I have reared
for curiosity several varieties) have been less hardy than those of pure
race which have been carefully bred from parents not related to one another.
Another serious evil attending cross-bred birds is the uncertainty in the
color, form, and general character of the chickens. After one or two
generations they are certain to throw back toward one or the other of
their parent stocks, producing worthless specimens of mongrelism."

This is true, and "the people" are now finding it so, and how cruelly
they have been deceived by worthless advice as to crossing "this" with
"that," and thus our very best table fowls are being ruined — permanently
ruined ! Here is more of Mr. Tegetmeier's advice, all true and good ; but
not what he advocates now.f

"I would strongly recommend persons who are at present breeding
from common fowls not to attempt to improve them by introduction of one
or two good male birds into the yard, but to obtain a good stock either by

* This was in 1853, of which time Mr. Lewis Wright wrote that I wished to ruin the
Dorking by bringing it back to what it then was.

t See his edition of "Poultry Book," 1867.

484 The Poultry Book

purchase or eggs and breed from them alone, avoiding, of course, all
intermarriage between blood relations."

This is Mr. Tegetmeier at his best, and this is good advice. ]\Iy
readers — for the good of our poultry, for the good of our country — follow it !

If the Utility Club would take up the matter with due earnestness,
and try to restore the old breed, and help to maintain pure breeds of known
usefulness, instead of simply wandenng among "boomed" and varying
mongrels, they would then achieve something that might gain the appro-
bation of the thinking and experienced breeders of poultry either for the
table or egg-production.

It has been truly said that Dorkings, etc., if kept in confinement
deteriorate in size, bulkiness, and quality ; but none have pointed out the
reason why ; the fact being, that both it and the old English Game, or any
other good table fowl, must have liberty of action — such as flying,* jump-
ing, scratching, with any or every kind of exercise to fully develop the
muscles (flesh). If this is denied, then the shrinkage, for want of use, of
that development ensues, and no matter how good and true the breed is,
the birds if well fed become gouty, bumble-footed, inert, idle, and diseased.
They are essentially in all ways a farmyard fowl of the best, and should,
nay must, have to keep them always in perfection wide grass ranges, sheds,
stacks, and stock-yards, with trees and coverts to roost in.

If on the farm it is needful to keep them shut up at night, then the
poultry -house should be made large with tolerably high perches, so that
they must fly up to roost, with a soft material for flooring, such as peat
moss, or well-loosened, not gritty, mold, at least six inches deep, on which
to descend ; the perches must be so placed that they can fly down obliquely.
In my own fowl-house I prefer four or five inches of yellow deal sawdust,
which is cool and soft for the fett, and destructive of insect life. This
also is used for the nest-boxes, with good eft'ect, for the same reasons,
while straw, heath, or hay has an opposite tendency in regard to vermin.

In mating Dorkings, Kents, etc., it has always been found by experi-
ence that two- or not more than three-year-old hens, of large frame, short
legs, and medium shanks, are the best for the stag cock — that is, a cockerel
in his second year, a full cock being in his third year. In either case he

* My present fowls fly over a six-foot wire partition easily, and the cock, wishing to^
come straight home from an adjoining meadow, flew across some of it and cleared a five-
foot hedge by at least three feet.

Kent, Sussex, Surrey, and Dorking Fowls 485

should be very compact in shape, hearty, strong, and full of life. If a
little less in size than usual it is not a fault, for big, bony, heavy birds are
generally lethargic, and are by no means so useful, nor are they so prolific.
Let the shanks and feet be of a pure white or flesh color, with all white
toe-nails; even one dark toe-nail must he strictly avoided as well as those of
a yellow tendency, as it is an indication of cross-breeding, and will almost
certainly eventually produce Eooty shanks and feet.

Present-Day Dorkings

The so-called Dorking is (1898-99) gradually, and it is to be hoped
surely, winning its way again into the position as one of, if not the best of,
all fowls for table purposes. Much has yet to be done to restore the old
form — the fine rounded breast, high quahty of flesh, and the early propen-
sity it had for fattening and finishing at a few weeks or months old. There
was a fulness and plumpness in the yoimg birds possessed by no other
breed, with the exception of the old English Game, and with which there
is plenty of proof that it was not
infrequently interbred, losing',
nothing thereby, but somewhat in
size, and even this rapidly enlarged
when left among "the usual run"
in the farmyard, though the vigor
and alertness imparted by the
Game-cock cross was long apparent.
Thus it was that the old southern
fowls, as before noted, were close-
feathered, hearty and good feeders
and foragers, and none the less
so in such localities where Game-
fowls were much in evidence. But
even without any such admixture
the old English breed were of
super-excellence, of large size,
fleshy, well feathered, full tailed,
and particularly handsome.

It was with the Shanghai cross that the looser plumage first appeared,
and that as far back as 1849-50. Then again, with the advent of the so-

;/

SILVER DORKING PULLET
Crystal Palace, 1891

486

The Poultry Book

called Brahma, more crossing and less compactness, deeper keel to the
breast-bone, and coarser, darker flesh ; then the John Douglas black fowl
cross, and more and more mongrelism, and so on again and again with
Cochin, Brahma, and others, until the red ear-lobe self -testified the fulness
of foreign bood, while the length and want of closeness in feather told but
too truly the general source of the long-fiber flesh deterioration. It is
with this that the Dorking fancier of the present has to combat, and from
such endeavor to restore the finer texture of the breast -meat that the
far too liberal use of the Asiatic breeds has so materially and so lastingly
injured. This will have to be done by a reversion to the old southern

breeders' tactics of choos-
ing the best-breasted,
closest -feathered, pure
white-shanked, having
white feet and toe-nails,
with white ear-lobes, or
that of infusing the
blood and purest breed
of the old English white-
shanked Game-cock. I
know of no other satis-
factory means, or any
"restful" w^ith so much chance of

success in restoring the
fineness of flesh as this, still retaining, as it will, the full-breasted
plumpness so characteristic of the grand old breed.

A short time ago I had the pleasure of inspecting the fine flocks of
Colored, Silver and White Dorkings of Mr. Herbert Reeves at Emsworth,
Hants. Here was a double attraction, for this ardent and well-known
Dorking fancier had just purchased the whole of Air. Padwick's * stock of
colored birds, which when united with those of Emsworth made an aggre-
gate number of over five hundred cocks, cockerels, hens, and pullets, all
well housed and carefully tended. On entering one meadow a score
or more of black-breasted, silver-gray cockerels came running toward us,
each and all good in form, short-shanked, and fine in color, putting one
in mind of a troop of yeomanry cavalry, with their dark uniforms, white
* With these Mr. Padwick incorporated Mr. O. E. Cresswell's strain of dark birds.

Kent, Sussex, Surrey, and Dorking Fowls 487

braidings and facings; while of Dorkings no group of " silvers" ever showed
to better advantage than they in the bright light of the morning sun when
"halted" on the green turf in varied attitudes of quiet surprise. Not
many yards could show their equal, as was abundantly proved at the
Crystal Palace a few weeks afterward, when Mr. Reeves made "the
record" in the Silver-gray Dorking cockerel class by winning all the prizes,
five in number, and a V. H. C. From photographs kindly taken expressly
for me I am enabled to give pictures of some of the best, also of several
silver hens and a few of the darker-colored show champions. And here
it would be well to observe that the difference between the two breeds was
well defined, the former still showing clear evidence of the old English
Game cross, used so many years ago to obtain the quality and color which
they now possess in such a remarkable degree; while their heavier and
darker brethren told us unmistakably, by the length and looseness of
feathering and smallness of tails, with largeness of bone, how much the
eastern blood still prevailed. And yet, what noble, massive, big birds
they were, with a character of grandeur that no other breed possesses.
In weight, many of the cocks exceeded twelve, while several hens were
well over ten pounds — quite large enough for any table purposes, and for
such, where coarseness is to be strictly avoided, perhaps a little more than
full-sized.

In conversation with Mr. Reeves I learned that, as I anticipated, he
still had some difficulty in breeding to the old style of pure white shanks
and feet, though he had gone zealously to work in that direction, with the
full intention of making the breed revert to what once was not the
exception, but the rule.

One fact to be noted was, that the birds of the purest color and best
shanks were those that had the ear-lobes of bluish-white. It was most
instructive to note the peculiarities of individual birds, though all were
bred to "a type"; yet, as seen daily in human beings, no two were pre-
cisely alike. To the ordinary observer the slightly apparent differences
were but small, though to the fancier remarkable; while out of such a
large number it was surprising how well the quality sought for was main-
tained, both as to size and body color. Much of this was no doubt due
to careful "weeding" when in the chicken or younger state, and it is alone
by such revision that anything like success can or ever will be achieved.

The Captain Hornby of to-day (perhaps a relative ?) worthily sus-

488 The Poultry Book

tains the high character and prestige of the " Knowsley Cottage" poultry,
so far-famed half a century ago, then the home of Captain Hornby* (after-
ward "Admiral"), who possessed in "the fifties" some of the very best
close -feathered, clear white-shanked colored Dorkings then in competi-
tion. Whether the Captain of to-day holds any descendants of these I
know not ; but one thing is certain, and that is, he has among modem
Dorkings some of the best, and not only that, but has repeatedly protested
against the craze for size in the Dorking as actually depreciating the value
of the breed. With this I heartily agree.

In the Dorking Club standard of excellence, recently published, there
is a foot-note which for the guidance of the to-day Dorking fancier points
out that the true breed should have red ear-lobes. Who is responsible for
this I know not ; but of this I have no doubt whatever — in fact, I am
perfectly certain, that no one would make such an assertion unless they
were lamentably ignorant of the origin of the true old breed. Never,
until the red-ear-lobed Cochins and Brahmas were crossed into the southern
five-toed fowls, was such a thing seen ; and further, not any one of the
show birds of the very early fifties had red ear-lobes, though slightly stained,
until the time of the Douglas cross ; and then but few years later the
original Dorking standard of perfection says "ear-lobes whitish." It is
this utter ignorance of facts that has led this and other clubs besides the
Dorking not only to commit errors, but to persist in them. The so-called
Dorking is a European — an old English fowl, and as such never had a red
ear-lobe nor ever was so described. It was a good omen, that of whitish
ear-lobes birds winning at the last Palace show, but it is to be hoped the
Dorking Club will correct without delay their utterly erroneous declara-
tion in their standard of excellence as to the red ear-lobe. It may be "a
fad" of some foolish person who "likes to see a red ear-lobe," but to say
it is the only correct color shows but too clearly a want of knowledge in
those who would teach that which is not only absolutely deplorable, but
must prove disastrous to the breed in many ways.

The Dorking of to-day is a large, five -toed composite fowl, the foot

* In 1858 Captain Hornby was an exhibitor at the Birmingham Christmas Poultry
Show. His first-prize pen of four Dorking chickens, though in lean condition, weighed
thirty-five pounds; and he also won the first prize with his Dorking hens. At this show
White Dorkings of increased size were much admired; altogether, the Dorking entries
consisted of 188 pens. In 1852 there were separate classes for Dorkings with rose and
also with single combs.

Kent, Sussex, Surrey, and Dorking Fowls 489

From a photograph hy NightinznU &■ Langley, Bucks
CHAMPION DARK DORKING HEN
Owned by Arthur C. Major

formation being considered by some of very limited knowledge as a proof
of purity of breed ; whereas it is no criterion whatever in that respect, there
being hosts of the veriest mongrels having the five-toe appendage. What
showed, and should not show, the true breed of Kent, Sussex, and Surrey
five-toed fowls was the clear white fleshy shanks and feet ; and of these,
purely so, there was at one time such an abimdance that at the poultry
markets they might be seen by the score, in this respect "perfection";
while in form and quality there was nothing left to be desired. Another
sign of their "blue blood" was the white ear-lobe. These were not merely
"fancy points," but distinctive, unmistakable indications of the race, and

490 The Poultry Book

were then and before any poultry show existed known throughout the
world as the very finest table fowls. In every respect they differed from
others in make, quahty of flesh, and general habits; but beyond all
they were — I say "were" advisedly — with the exception of the white-
shanked old English Game, the only pure white-shanked, white-footed
fowls in existence. As such, apart from all other considerations of utility,
one would have thought that every endeavor would have been made to
keep such a superb variety intact, instead of which they have been more
beset by the crossing-mongrel craze than any other, as though they lacked
that which they possessed in extreme degree — "excellence."

There is not much more to chronicle than has already been said.
But little, if any, advance has been made in quality, though the general
outcome of somewhat more careful selection is an evenness of form and
character that has been so long earnestly desired not only by the Dorking
fanciers themselves, but by the commimity at large. In a neighborhood
where the Dorking is "the fowl" there will most certainly be foimd
the finest early chickens, for these, even when very young, fatten more
quickly than any other, and they feather better — at least, this is my experi-
ence. The Buff Orpington is one that has been eulogized as having such
properties in excess, but with my Dorking chickens of the same age they
proved themselves no laggards in this respect, the five-toed true birds
being ready nearly a fortnight in advance, while the color of the flesh
and the fulness and plumpness of the breast made them a much more
presentable table and market fowl. They had a fair trial, but being less
than an improvement on the old stock the latter was found to be not
only more profitable but far superior in other ways. Still as time wears on
the pernicious advice is given that crossing the Dorking improves it as
a table fowl, and the yellow-skinned, somewhat yellow-fleshed and fat
Cornish Indian is the one yet unblushingly put for^vard as the breed tend-
ing to perfect that which already has no peer. Most breeders of the finest
table fowls who have tried the blend have truly said that the yellowing
of the chicken flesh and fat made them less salable than the Dorking
pure and simple.

Another point noticeable is that the Dorking judges are now instructed
to look for squareness of form more than the elongated absurdity that
was at one time considered to be a better table fowl, when, in reality, it
was a worse, for certain it is that a broad, deep breast is far better than a

PRIZE DORKING COCKEREL
Dairy Show, 1895

Kent, Sussex, Surrey, and Dorking Fowls 493

longer one, the end portion being so shallow as to be dry in fiber and gener-
ally fatless. Again, it must be clear to the reflective and reasoning mind
that as the whole of the breast flesh consists of muscular development
necessary to move the wings, therefore that quantity of power must be
better when placed in the front part of the fowl, and if so it is thicker,
also more juicy, richer, and flavory than when the breast cut is long,
narrow, and thus dryer. Nature always provides that which is the best,
and the short, square-made form, like that of the breast of the grouse, is
infinitely superior to any out-lengthened and unnatural formation. A
really good Dorking should be heart-shaped, like the old English Game,
and any divergence from such is a loss, or at least by no means a gain.
A fowl to have a long and deep breast is a physical impossibility, though
there are those ignorant of Nature's laws who yet advocate such as having
more flesh than the square-made bird, irrespective of the fact that the
strong, short-winged, quick-flying birds ever have the greatest chest
muscular development. Besides which, experience teaches that long-
bodied fowls have generally the weaker constitutions ; therefore to advo-
cate such shows a want of knowledge, due consideration and understanding
of Nature's absolute laws and requirements, which by themselves produce
a desired form of the greatest utility value.

Of the general show Dorkings, the silver-gray has decidedly advanced
in quality to what it was some twenty years ago, when sooty shanks and
feet were awarded prizes as though they were worthy of them, while their
owners grew irate when told of the impurity of their stock. Such birds
would now be imnoticed by the judges, and deservedly so. Therefore it
is gratifying to find almost the whole class not only fine in form and color,
but with shanks, feet, and toe-nails of the old ancestral white. Opinions
differ on the subject, but it is none the less right that the silver-gray Dor-
king hen, like that of the silver-gray old English Game, should not have
any other color but black, gray, and white, and the presence of buff' or
salmon color on the throat and chest denotes that it is the hen to the
custard duckwing cock. Silver is a pure, light, steel-gray, or, more properly,
the tint of that metal ; any other color whatever, therefore, displaces the
pureness of tone and it is no longer silver. It is this preference by some
for the salmon breast on the silver hens that destroys the vivid brightness
of the ground color. This is so whether the majority of the silver-gray
fanciers think so or not, and one is generally met by the assertion, "Well,

494

The Poultry Book

I like to see a salmon throat," instead of carefully considered argument.
Thus it is that the silver cock is one color and the salmon -throated hen
decidedly of another. My own Gray Dorkings are pure grays, without the
slightest tint of any other color but black, gray, and white. This being
so, if a hen with a salmon throat is put among them the difference in
the tone of the gray is at once apparent, and the gray shows the want of
blueness that is present in the white-throated spangled grays. Another
noticeable fact is that the silver-gray Gray Dorking of 1902 is more com-

From a photograph

PRIZE DARK DORKING HEN
Owned and bred by Herbert Reeves

Kent, Sussex, Surrey, and Dorking Fowls 495

pact, and the feathering is closer and of moderate length, which was not so
twenty-five to thirty years ago, at which time the yellow-shanked Brahma
cross was conspicuous by the coarser bone and longer, looser feathers;
and the consequence of the Asiatic blood was proved by the sooty shanks
and feet and dark or yellow-tinted toe-nails. Happily these are of the past
or nearly so, and it is to be believed that the Silver-gray Dorking fancier
is doing his best to make and maintain not only a beautiful breed of poultry,
but one as near perfection as it is possible that the forces ever present in
Nature will admit of. The breed of to-day is in far better hands than it
was at the time mentioned, and faults are called by their right name —
defects, and not smoothed as "blemishes" only, and the mongrelized
Dorking called good and valuable because it was — big.

Now as to the Dark Dorkings of 1902, not nearly so much can be
advanced in their favor as ' ' the silvers ' ' ; they are decidedly more ungainly
and clumsy both in progression and their general habits. In form there
is a sort of rambling line that is neither graceful nor pleasing ; also there is
a looseness of feathering, which is of abnormal length ; they are more bony
and heavily made, and in all ways coarser, with a decidedly sour expres-
sion about the head ; even the texture and spiking of their over-large
combs is rough and granulated by comparison with the lighter, brighter
breed. Nor does careful examination of the flesh fiber when prepared for
the table give any points in their favor. There is nothing, perhaps, that
makes faults of contour more clearly visible than "the camera." Photo-
graph the two breeds and place the results side by side and the difference
can be easily yet perfectly noted. The two are said to be Dorkings, yet
devoid of their feathers the difference is wide, the dark generally being of
the ugly, reprehensible, elongated form, while the silver is shorter, thicker,
and has a plumpness of breast that is generally absent in the former. Why
is this? for undoubtedly it is so. The reason is that it has been more
mongrelized by Asiatic and other alliances to gain size at the expense of
quality, and which is still unmistakably shown by the dark toe-nails and
soot -tinged feet. Still it is a grand fowl, and by some considered handsome,
but, as said before, in such, as in many other poultry matters, tastes differ.

The neglect of these charming varieties of our poultry is the more
inexplicable when so many new-made breeds are sought and extolled
for their alleged high qualities and gay coloring. There is no way
of accounting for this other than that novelty seems for the time to possess

496 The Poultry Book

more attraction than proved sterling merit. The Buff Dorking has long
been put aside, though the form is superior in most ways, and imdeniably
so as a table fowl. (The Dorking breeds that have been before the American
fanciers' public are the white-colored and silver-gray, with an occasional
"cuckoo" marked (Dominique plumaged) specimen.)

The craze of to-day is for bone and size ; and the very cause and reason
of the establishment of poultry shows — that of purity of breed and superior
quality to be the first consideration — is scornfully derided, coarse and
clumsy bigness being more prized by the semifancier, half-commercial
judge of to-day. As long as this is so, the best and most desirable
table fowl can scarcely hope to hold with the public, fanciers, or
farmers that estimation that it most justly and incontestably is
rightly entitled to.

A fowl to be good for culinary purposes must not only be of good
form and fleshy, but one that will fat not only readily but evenly, and
more particularly on the breast. It has already been observed that where
the feathers are longest there are tracts of fat formation ; thus it is that the
back is well covered, and generally much accumulation about the lower
part of the neck. The Dark Dorking, being particularly long in feathers,
fattens more readily on these parts than the silver-grays ; but this latter is
by no means deficient, while the former would be greatly improved by
the flesh being of finer fiber or tissue, and this to a certainty by a judicious
cross with the old English white-shanked Game-cock, the hens being two
years of age and the Game a stag. This cross has so often been used with
excellent effect that with gourmands it is greatly in request, though of
course it is not so perfect a fowl as the true-bred old English Game. One
of the worst crosses in my opinion is that with the Cornish Indian, for
the reason that it not only does not fatten so well on the breast, but fre-
quently the whole body is stained with a golden yellow, which renders it
perfectly unsightly and unsalable as a boiling fowl. (In many places
in the United States dressed fowls of the yellow color are preferred.)

Therefore it is more desirable for general purposes to keep the Silver-
gray than the Dark Dorking, especially so if exhibiting is contemplated;
but if not, and prize-winning is u'ncared for, but beauty and utility the
first object, then the black-breasted silver-spangled, the black-breasted
reds, and the old gray black-spangled will at all times not only give pleasure,
but add a most enjoyable charm to the home surroundings ; also the white

Kent, Sussex, Surrey, and Dorking Fowls 497

with thin double or rose-form coral red combs must not be forgotten, nor,
by way of variety, the cuckoos and cuckoo white spangles.

The Dorkings or old Kent, Sussex, and Surrey five-toed fowls are

DARK DORKING COCKEREL
The winner of many prizes. Owned by Herbert Reeves

said to be tender and difficult to rear ; this is distinctly untrue. Had they
been so, they would not have held their own as our farm poultry for hun-
dreds of years, and then were the very best of fowls. My own (old grays,
black-spangled) are kept on a somewhat low-lying meadow, with a reten-
tive clay subsoil, yet the chickens thrive, grow quickly, and are out and
about in all weathers, seldom or ever roosting in the house ; but, whether
wind, rain or snow, they are more often resting on the outside of their
house in a row along the top ridge.

They lay as well as most of the poultry kept in the neighborhood,
and in some instances better, often helping to fill the egg basket when
there is both frost and snow. For table the Dorking is unequaled. Other
breeds, because they are new and eulogized far beyond their deserts, have
become prime favorites with the many in consequence; but as the fowl

498 The Poultry Book

is good, right, and proper for the EngHsh homestead, there is, take
it for all in all, nothing to equal our old, pure-bred, white-shanked,
five-toed native beauties.

The White Dorkings

In the article on " Poultry," in Rees's " Cyclopaedia," 181 9, it is stated
that "The Darking [Dorking] fowls are all raised in the Weald of Sussex,
but the finest market for them is Horsham, the five-clawed of them being
considered the best sort; this, however, may be a mistake,* and it took
its origin with some of this peculiarity that happened to be very large and
fine, which laid the foundation of what has since been called the Darking
or five-toed fowls, and considered in other parts of England as prime stock;
but such a thing is hardly known in Sussex — it is a bastard breed. ' '

This is strange reading after all that has been quoted from the old
writers as to our poultry having five toes, and shows clearly how little
trouble was taken to verify the statements respecting "our poultry. " To
my certain knowledge the fifth claw was prized and noted as the best to
keep, both in Kent and Sussex, long into the last century; for when young
I have heard this variety spoken of by very old people as "the true," and
their own breed; also the whites were by no means uncommon. Then the
writer of the above said, and most likely very truly, that "the Darking
are all raised in the Weald of Sussex."

Mr. B. P. Brent, writing in the Poultry Chronicle, Vol. I., page 595,
insists that the White Dorking is a distinct breed from any other fowl,
and that it must have a rose comb, and that no other is true bred. He then
describes the fowl as he knew it : " Comb rose, square-shaped, and evenly
sprigged and terminated in a single point behind, and not falling on either
side ; gills and wattles moderate ; ear-lobes whitish (moldy) ; beak, shanks
and toes white; shanks short; toes five in number, the hind ones being
double, well-defined, and raised sHghtly on the shank; plumage spotless
white ; neck short and full ; wings and tail ample ; back broad, stout across
the loins; breast full and large, and the nearer the body approaches a
parallelogram the better.

"The White Dorking is an excellent farmyard fowl, being a good layer,
a close sitter, and an attentive mother; the chickens grow rapidly, and

*The mistake lies with the writer. The five-toed fowls have been noted as a breed for
any number of years, and so kept and described, as old books and records prove.

Kent, Sussex, Surrey, and Dorking Fowls 499

From a photograph

PRIZE DARK DORKING HEN

Owned and bred by Herbert Reeves

are most excellent on the table. The pure White Dorking may also be
considered as fancy as well as useful, because they will breed true to their
points."

This is what the White Dorking was in 1852-53. Mr. Brent has
given a fairly accurate description not only of what it was, but what
it should be ; still it cannot be conceded, after what has been said as to
the origin of Dorking fowls, that it is "a distinct breed" from that of the
Kent, Sussex, and Surrey fowls, or does not derive its existence either from
these or Roman importation. There is no doubt that there was a white

500

The Poultry Book

breed of fowls kept there or thereabouts, but to say that they were of a
different ancestry from our others of a similar form is, in my opinion,
advancing too much, and is in some degrees contradicted by the various
statements already quoted, particularly those of Mowbray (John
Lawrence). Moreover, there were from time immemorial white fowls in
Kent, etc., with rose or single combs; and many of the old writers, after
describing the five-toed fowls of the period, warn their readers against
having white as being of less worth, etc.

Not a few of the old Kent and Sussex farmers were proud of their
breed of white fowls, and even ducks. The former mostly had a rose
comb, as indeed did many of the colored, but they generally were not
in favor, and the old single comb was preferred.

Colors of the Dorkings

Of these there is not much to be said, for the reason that they mostly
follow those of the old English Game already enumerated and described;

From a photograph

PRIZE SILVER-GRAY DORKING HEN
Owned by Herbert Reeves

Kent, Sussex, Surrey, and Dorking Fowls 501

but perhaps it would be better to give a few notes regarding them; the
Dorking or southern fowl being, as it is, one of our oldest and the best
of European breeds.

The White. — This should be a clear dead white, without the slightest tint
of yellow or any other color. Some prefer the eye to be pearl in color. I do.

The Gray. — In color this is like the old black-breasted or gray-
breasted Game-fowl. Dark-gray breasts were allowable in the cock when
heavily streaked with black; these have no black wing-bar, but a black
lacing of the wing coverts. The hens are gray, with black tips to their
feathers, which should have white mid-ribs and shafts, white and gray
on the upper part of their breasts.

Dark Gray. — These resemble the black-breasted birchen grays, with
a black w^ing-bar. Hens gray with dark tip to their body feathers, breasts
white with the feathers gray to dark edging, with white mid-rib.

Reds. — Cocks, black-breasted reds, with large full tails, mostly black
with emerald sheen. The hens deep, bright-chestnut red, with black tips
to their body feathers, hackles dark -purple black, wing primaries and
secondaries black on inside web, red on outside web, the shaft and mid-rib
of the body feathers a light bright-yellow or orange.

Brown. — The cock the same as the foregoing, but of deep brown or
rich bright ruddy tints, with dark chestnut-colored breast. Hens brown
partridge, upper part of breast a reddish-brown, with dark tips to feathers,
with white mid-ribs.

Darks. — The cock black-breasted, with black tail and wing-bar; the
hackle, back, saddle, and wing bow a light gray, with a tint of black down
the center of the hackle feathers. The hen to be a glossy black with the
exception of the throat and breast, which should be a rich gray, slightly
laced with a dark color.

Spangles. — The same in coloring as the old English Game. Each
feather tipped with white ; but if black spangles, then black.

Speckles. — These are the same as the old English Game spangles.
If a red speckle, each feather should be tipped with white, and so if a black
and gray speckled. These, when good, have a very fine, rich, bright
appearance, a flock of the reds and blacks being as bright as a tulip bed.
Any pure white feathers in this or the foregoing should disqualify.

Cuckoo. — A well-known color of a light gray ground transversely
striped with a darker gray. There are also brown and golden cuckoos.

502

The Poultry Book

Barred and Spangles. — Cock white, black spotted on the breast,
black wing primary and secondary, wing feathers black or inner webs
white outside; hackle, back, saddle, and wing-bow ticked with round
black spots. Hen white, spotted, or barred with black throughout; tail
black. There is, or was, another variety of these in which the ground

BRIGHT RED AND KLACK-SPANGLED DORKING HEN

was orange, the marking the same ; these were called the old Kent barred
spangles. Another variety was laced instead of being spotted with black.

Very Light Grays. — These were nearly white, w4th full rich black
markings on the hackles and the wing primaries and secondaries blact.
on inner webs; tails black, in point of colors resembling w^hat are now
called Light Brahmas.

There are many with moderate colors, as in the old English Game.
In all, the shanks and feet were white, combs double or single, wattles

Kent, Sussex, Surrey, and Dorking Fowls 503

red, deaf ear pinkish-white or white-edged pink, as though (and possibly)
weather-stained .

Here is an excerpt from Varro, translated by the Reverend J. Owen,
M.A., 1800, page 223, giving a description of the farmyard cock of about
two thousand years ago, with form and color, etc. It appears the red
were thought the best, for he says those "who wish to have a perfect
poultry yard are to choose the villatic hens chiefly, in procuring which
they must select such as are the most prolific, generally with red plumage,
black pinions, iinequal claws, large heads, erect large crest, for these are
better qualified for breeding. They must choose the cocks that are
muscular, with a red crest, a short, full-pointed beak, gray or black eyes,
bright-colored red wattles, a variegated gold-colored neck, the inside
of the thighs hairy, short legs, long claws, large tail, close pinions, which
are also erect, and crow often." Here is a description of the then red,
five-toed fowl. One peculiarity mentioned is, thighs hairy. This is an
almost exact description of the old Kent and Sussex fowls, and goes far
to prove that they were an ancient and pure race, and most probably,
as before stated, brought to this country by the Romans; for not only
were many of our five-toed southern poultry of this form and color,
but they had also the long hairs on their legs and thighs. Among my
own old Kents, many, both cocks and hens, had coarse hairs nearly
two inches long on their thighs, and some few an inch or so more. On
pointing out this peculiarity to my man (a man of Kent), he said that it
was nothing uncommon, and that years ago most of the cocks about
were more so. Is not this some proof of the antiquity of the five-toed
Kent breed ?

By way of conclusion, I will call attention to the peculiar coloring
of the old Kent and Sussex five-toed breed. In the first place, they varied
in this exceedingly, being bred chiefly to the fancy of the owner, and in
certain localities. Though some varieties were much more scarce than
others, perhaps the white with nearly black penciled hackles, wing primaries,
secondaries, and black tail were the most uncommon. A near relative
of mine had three or four flocks of these. Possibly it may not have been
noticed by other fanciers that this is a colored form of the albino, and
exists in many animals as well as birds. The East Indian rabbit is white
with black ears, tail, and legs, and has pink eyes. The Siamese cat is
the same. There are Guinea-pigs so marked, and the Chillingham cattle,

504

The Poultry Book

besides others. Therefore, being as it were a freak of Nature, it ought
not to be difficult to perpetuate, mostly coming true. But in these fowls

there is the
peculiarity of the
white mid-rib or
shaft of the
feathers; no
matter the
colors, this i n
the pure breed
remains white or
nearly so, and
with the richer
tints produces a
most brilliant
effect; and there
is another differ-
ence, namely,
that generally
the feathers are
tipped with black
or a black color
o n almost any
kind of ground. Thus in the red the hens are black spangled, so
in the browns, the grays, light or dark, and others; and often
this is so in all shades; but when the black tip is changed to white,
this then is the speckled or white spangled one of the many colors
for which the old Kent, Sussex, and Surreys were fancied. If
crossed out, as the silver-gray is an example, then a mossy smooth
appearance is often the result, but even colors are the exception and not
the rule, and are not typical of the race.

At the present time it may be justly said that no one has a truer
stock of the White Dorking, or one that has endeavored by all legitimate
means to uphold the breed and to restore it to its original purity, than
that highly respected fancier, O. E. Cresswell, Esq., J. P., of ]\Iorney Cross,
Hereford.

Mr. Cresswell began keeping the breed in 1868, with chickens hatched

From a photograph by C. Reui

SILVER-GRAY DORKINGS

Kent, Sussex, Surrey, and Dorking Fowls 505

from eggs that he got from Mr. B. P. Brent, then, as he says, residing in
Sussex (but later of Bessels Green, near Sevenoaks), well known by his
excellent book on pigeons and his various articles on poultry; he was
also a good naturalist. These chickens were the foundation of Mr. Cress-
well's well-known and highl}^ successful strain. Of these he says in the
Feathered World, January 9, 1900: "My original Sussex birds were,
as far as I can recollect, very pretty and pure white ; but they were by no
means massive enough nor deep enough in the breast to be first-class
table birds, and nowadays would stand no chance in a show-pen. I have
always suspected that they had some slight taint of White Game blood,
for single combs were common among their immediate produce, and the
hens laid pale-pink eggs, as did many of their descendants for several
generations." I quote this for more than one reason; firstly, because the
old and original breed of white Dorkings consists of strains with both
rose and single combs; also there
were rose and single combs among
the colored varieties.

Other White Dorking fanciers
have contributed largely toward the
refinement of the breed besides
Mr. Cresswell; but none, or few,
have so well succeeded in returning
to the old type. A few years ago
Mr. Joseph Pettipher showed some
exceedingly nice birds of high com-
mendable form of character, but he
does not seem to have kept pace with
Mr. Cresswell ; and the AVhite Dorking
Club has rendered lasting service,
though it does not appear to be aware
of all the points and excellences of the
old breed. I can fully realize, and
know how often it is said, that elderly
people think there is nothing like or
equal to the past, and that such
assertions are merely that and are not borne out by facts ; but in this case at
least the statements can be well substantiated, for there is the drawing

From a photograph by C. Reid
SILVER-GRAY DORKING HEN

5o6 The Poultry Book

of my white cockerel in the 1853 edition of the " Poultry Book," and which
gives an original drawing, with that of a pullet made at the same time,
and which in character and form, fleshiness and quality, is, I maintain,
unsurpassed by any of his age at the present time. The cock had a single
comb, that being my preference, as well as many others at the time. If
I had preferred a thicker and more clumsily made bird, it could have been
bred easily from the same stock by feeding the hens on more forcing
food. This bird was heavy for his age — nearly ten months — and with full,
rounded breast; the deep form, as to keel, does not carry any more than
the moderate, while according to the size of the wings and their frequent
use is the sternum thickly covered with pectoral muscles. The bird
weighed about ten pounds at the time he was selected by the editors of
the "Poultry Book" as one typical of the breed.

Here it would be well to call attention to a curious fact that has
escaped the notice of the numerous writers on poultry, especially those
who call themselves experienced and practical; namely, that before the
time of the shows all farmyard and other poultry was considered, for
table purposes, to be at its prime in its first year, and stags, as cocks,
the best for breeding in the January and February of their second year.
Early hatched pullets of the previous years that had laid in the autumn
were good also, but none after the spring of the third year for breeding
stock. It was always a young stag to an older pullet or third-year hen
which kept up the freshness and vigor of the strain. Well, this being
so, when the Zoological Society of London held their first exhibition, all
shown were yotmg birds — fowls, ducks, and geese. The second show
was the same, the poultry men believing their' birds to be at that time at
their very best, both for winning and selling. And so it was in selecting
types of breeds for illustrating the "Poultry Book"; all, with very few
exceptions, were birds of the year. Any one having the 1853 edition
can easily arrive at the truth of this statement by examining the shanks
and the bud-like spurs of the cockerels and pullets. Mr. Sturgeon's
cockerel Shanghai was under ten months, so were Mr. Balance's Malay,
]\Ir. Gilbert's yellow Shanghais, Mr. Sturgeon's cinnamon pullet. Captain
Hornby's Game and his colored Dorking, my own White Dorking cockerel,
and all the rest, with the exception of Mr. Sturgeon's biiff Shanghai "Queen,"
which was in her second year. I am able to certify such as a fact, for I
painted, handled, and examined them all. Possibly this has made

Kent, Sussex, Surrey, and Dorking Fowls 507

much confusion of ideas as to wtiat our poultry was at that date. The
poultrymen of the present, comparing their old birds with the chicken
pictures of the past, are rather more than apt to sit down in an elated
state of self-glorification, and to plume themselves into the belief as to
the variations of the breed of to-day being "progress." This showing
of yoimg birds was the general practice for some time, until old and young

classes w e r e ^

formed, and
the boasted
weights of the
older began
to tell seriously
against the
younger, when
all sorts of
crosses were
resorted to to
get size, how-
ever rough in
chara c t e r ,
and this was
naively termed
early matur-
ity." So it is
that nearly all
the illustra-
tions made of
the shows at
the Zoological

Society, those at Birmingham, London, etc., are portraits of young
birds; therefore those in the "Poultry Book" must be regarded as
such for comparison. And thus it is that such a number of "ready
writers" commit somewhat serious blunders in their description of
"the past and present"; and not the least pretentious of them, as to
knowledge, are those who, having perhaps bought a few birds or a stock
or pen of some noted winners and breeds, show and win with them, not
their own raising, and then claim knowledge that they really do not possess,

DORKING AND LANGSHAN HEN

5o8

The Poultry Book

though generally ever ready to inform and opinionize on every quality
and detail.

Breeding Old Kent, Sussex, and Surrey Fowls

It has been urged against the old Kent and Sussex five-toed fowls,
times and often, that they deteriorate in size and color, and some come
with four toes only. If true bred, the latter is never the case, as I know
by experience; nor do they deteriorate in size or vary in color if rightly
managed, as they were on our farms seventy to a himdred years ago,
and probably more.

While admiring Captain Hornby's Dorkings in 1852-53, he told me
that they bred as true as "Game" in color. But he afterward made a

contrary state-
1 ment in the
Poultry Press,
and said that
some came four-
toed, though
they were pure
bred. How
could this be,
when ''the
silvers " were
got by crossing
with Lord Hill's
silver- gray
Game-fowls, and
these were inter-
bred with the
darker kinds?
It was stated by
others who kept
the so-called
Dorkings, and
beHeved as correct, though this breed of fowls was bred by the
Kent and Sussex farmers as true as any other race of fowls, and
that while the modem fancier mostly failed, not from the mere

ROSE-COMBED WHITE DORKINGS

Kent, Sussex, Surrey, and Dorking Fowls 509

non-purity of the breed, but from an absolute want of knowledge of
the right way to obtain success ; and thus, from such lack on their part, to
shelter themselves, they said it could not be done, and this with plenty
of flocks of uniform colors still in and about the old southern homesteads.
How was it done? Why, on the same principle as the best Game-fowls
were bred — "youth to youth." Mr. Edward Hewitt, in the Cottage
Gardener, 1857, page 223, adverts to it, when to the question, "Could you
favor me with the cause why the chickens I now breed are so infinitely
inferior to those I obtained a year or two back from the same old birds?"
he answers, "I am confirmed in this opinion, by oft-repeated trials,
that the gradual decline of individual constitution in the size of such
poultry tends incredibly to produce such results; that while the most
uncared-for fold-yards of our agriculturists are free from such calamity,
the infinitely more highly esteemed flocks of our amateurs, who let no
expense deter them from adopting every available advantage, are constantly
the subject of this most vexatious discomfiture. " Here I must join issue
with Mr. Hewitt when he says "the most imcared-for fold-yards of our
agriculturists." If this were so, the result would not be what he claims
for it. The farm poultry were cared for and bred on certain principles,
and they the most ancient — that is, the selection of the largest and best.
After noting "natural selection," etc., he further says: "We continually
find instances in our fold-yards where a cock that has maintained inviolate
his supremacy one full season has the next spring been subjected to
maltreatment and oppression from a stronger and a younger bird, his
own former victim; thus treated, he becomes 'a changed bird,' literally
'henpecked.'" This would be so, doubtless; but it was not the practice
to keep such cocks until the third year, but to rear the largest, strongest,
the most vigorous "stags" or second-year cocks, and these were changed
every year; and indeed to such an extent was the custom carried that it
became proverbial —

"Never keep a cock nor a servant more than a year." *

And the hens bred from were in their third year, seldom the second year
(or pullet hens, as they were called), unless they were unusually large,
"roomy," and forward; and all were chosen for bulk, health, and quality,
especially so when the stock was "inbred" or a "cockerel or two" was

* A variant is, "A cock and a servant are good but a year."

5IO The Poultry Book

got in exchange from neighboring farmsteads. Thus it was that the
poultry of certain farms and locations became of an even coloring and
character, and, as is admitted by ]\Ir. Hewitt, the method was successful,
while that of the fancier was a failure. But further, from his remarks:
" The truth can be soon told. Amateurs are directly prone to two equally
ill-advised practices. First, if a male bird has been able to gain high
position at poultry shows, combined perchance with the production of
extraordinary chickens, he is retained long beyond the timeitw^as advisable
to keep him as 'a stock bird.' The other error is equally mischievous.
From possessing some much-desired peculiarity of feathering, a cockerel
is most unwisely selected, puny, and without constitution. ... I
am confident when any race of poultry has arrived at all the required
features fancy dictates as the uncompromising rule of absolute perfection"
(and they certainly are acquired by long-continued attention to careful
mating of the parent birds), "progress itself is not more unattainable
than the perpetuity in all respects of the 'points' so long coveted. They
must, in this case, be crossed with strange blood, or they will infallibly
breed out altogether." AVith this I disagree, as I have known the same
strain to be not only maintained in perfect health and size by proper
selection and judicious management, but have also known the work of
many years destroyed by the crossing-out with "strange blood" — it has
generally proved to have the most disastrous effects, and was seldom
or ever resorted to by the "henwife" of the best poultry on the Kent,
Sussex, and Surrey farms; and yet, as Mr. Hewitt has admitted, "they"
(the farmers) bred successfully. But further, he says: "A friend of
mine purchased some unexceptionable gray Dorkings. For three years
the produce was equally large with the parent birds, and true likewise
to a feather as to general coloring." (This might be expected if the
parents were of the right stock, but would probably be the limit as to
age for breeding strong, vigorous birds, and the sequel proves this, as it
has done in very many cases before and since then.) "The chickens the
next two years ' sported all colors ' and in size degenerated exceedingly,
no additional brood stock having been obtained in the interim." (Nor
would there have been need had the old southern plan of breeding a fresh
young cock (stag) been resorted to; and these fanciers were those that
published the erroneous statements that the Dorkings could not be bred
true, when it was their own ignorance of the natural way and proper

Kent, Sussex, Surrey, and Dorking Fowls 511

■3> ■ - »^-. .

OLD KENT WHITE GROUP

methods that brought about the deterioration.) But further of Mr.
Hewitt: "To the old hens, a son of one, bred two years previously, was
repurchased and turned down in lieu of his own male parent; every
chicken produced to him was equally good in color, as they had formerly
been in the youthful days of his sire, but did not attain so good a size."
Here it should be observed that there was no change of blood, but close
"inbreeding"; and yet the value of youth and vigor was demonstrated
by the fact of the cock giving color, as it is said to do, while the hens
being old the size was not again increased; had they been sisters of his
own age the result would most likely have been entirely satisfactory.
But further, "At four years old this latter bird produced chickens of
'all colors,' and was this spring removed to make way for a yoimger

512 The Poultry Book

one, a cockerel of last year. This last bird's chickens, so far as can yet
be seen, are true silver-grays without any spangling in the breast, or indeed
any deterioration of color." He adds, " To me I admit it is strange,
though true, that such want of general uniformity of plumage should
accrue simply from age in the male bird ; but of this I am equally aware,
that an excessively old cock Sebright Bantam invariably begets chickens
with most imperfect 'lacings,' though himself strongly marked on his
own plumage, while no such imperfection is general from long life on
the hen's side. From what I have advanced, I think it is pretty apparent
that the most vigorous cockerels should always be the selected ones for
'breeding,' even where it is still considered desirable to retain an especial
good old cock simply for exhibition; it w411 prevent many troubles." I
have quoted Mr. Hewitt because he was recognized at the time (1857) as
an old, true, and ardent poultry fancier, and one whose opinion was valued ;
and yet, probably, like most, if not all, of the fanciers of the period, he
was unacquainted with the natural forces always present, not only in the
breeding of poultry, but of other domestic animals, that was a traditional
knowledge of the Kent, Sussex, and Surrey farmers for many generations.

SOME SCOTCH FOWLS*

The true friend is to be more esteemed than kinsfolk." — Cicero.

ANIEL, in his "Rural Sports," 1813, under the heading of
Roxburghshire, writes: "Poultry, in this district, are
reared in vast quantities, and several cartloads of the
eggs of dunghill fowls are annually collected by egglers, who
sell them in Berwick for the London market. A certain
practice to make hens lay plenty of eggs is to feed them frequently with
boiled potatoes and a small portion of oatmeal, a little heated ; in winter,
to forward the same purpose, the hens are kept in as dry and warm a
place in the house as possible ; in cottages, they generally, during the night,
sit at no great distance from the fireplace ; the consequence is that farmers
whose poultry are in the night-time confined in places without a fire
obtain no eggs; the poor people have them in abundance."

As far back as 1862-64 I spent much time in Dumfriesshire, grouse-
shooting, etc., and can therefore bear testimony that about Moffat and
on the hills the cotters still acted on the same plan. In many cases the
byre for the cow was also a part of "the hoose," and the fowls would
come in and sit near the fire, or walk about the table at the meal times ;
even a hen and chickens found a warm comer for the night, undisturbed.
The eggs were collected and brought in by barelegged lads or lasses,
who often came long distances ow're the hills, carrying a basket of eggs
and — their shoes.

But few old birds were kept at the shanties, seldom more than five
or six hens and a cock, and in the early morning these would roam away
some distance, mostly to the damper or moist part of the hills, in search
of insects, etc., but they were sure to be back at feeding time, which was
about 10 A.M., as a shepherd told me was the right time, as the grouse fed
then or a little before; and, said he, "Nature is Nature, and if ye'll do
weel ye mon abide by Nature. Besides," he added, "they been at it

* This chapter is substantially as it was printed in the English edition. — Editor,

513

514 The Poultry Book

all the mom, and noo they'll sleep a' the sun awheel," and then in a lower
tone, "like thee grous."

The fowls then kept "there and thereabouts" were quite the old
sort — square, plump, short in leg and thigh, with medium length of shank,
the heads rather large for the size of the body, with upright combs on the
cock and a drooping one on the hens; the eyes were full and intelligent
and dark or red ; the ear-lobes white to a light pink, which last was, perhaps,
but a w^eather tint ; the shanks and beak were white ; the carriage somewhat
upright; large tails, full-feathered, and mostly of a dark gray or mottled
black and white, seldom with red, but more often with straw color; the
bodies of the hens were brown, or a gray brown with dark hackles, and the
cocks had mottled gray and black breasts. The cuckoo grays, one old
man told me, were called about there (out by St. Mary's Loch) Shepherd's
Plaids; this, possibly, was mere "pleasantry," with a leaning toward the
truth. All laid snow-white eggs of a somewhat oval form and good in
flavor. As table fowls they were excellent, being extremely fleshy,
and this very white and sapid, not being used to much grain food ; when
cooped or well fed they fattened quickly, and were then delicious eating.
The same breed was kept at the "big hoos" where I was staying; and
the fowls of Craiggieburn were for the table of the host; these were the
old, old breed, and none else were kept about there at the time of my
visit. Though not of the same color generally, they much resembled in
form, but somewhat shorter in the body, the breed that is now to the
front and called

The Scotch Grays

This is a very old breed, and, like the ordinary old Scotch fowl kept
by farmers, keepers, and cotters, is particularly hardy. Though it is
said to be distinct, it has always given me the impression that its origin
lies almost, if not entirely, with the ancient dunghill breed of the country,
with the exception that the true old Scotch Gray was a trifle more Gamey
and upright in its carriage ; but its habits were precisely the same as those
I noted in Dumfriesshire round about Moffat, Loch of the Lowes, St.
Mary's Loch and the adjacent hills, villages, and cotters' homes. Although
there were grays among these, yet they were not looked on as anything
beyond "the ordinary," nor were they sought for more than other colors.
Still, in some districts, an attempt had been made to breed for form, flesh,

^1

WHITE DORKING PRIZE HEN

Some Scotch Fowls 517

and color; and over forty years ago, when at Kelso, I was shown some
examples that showed not only careful breeding, but also an evenness
in general appearance and utility that was highly favorable, and went
far to prove that they were a good and true strain of an ancient and original
type of fowl.

I give the standard as proposed by the Scotch Gray Club, 1885-86,
with some of which it will be seen I am not in full accord, nor do I think
that the bird of to-day possesses the numerous high qualities of that of
forty to fifty years since, having, as it has, a mixture of foreign blood not
observable in the old Scotch farm and cotters' breed.

General Characteristics
Cock

Comb. — Single, medium size, fine in texture, perfectly straight and
upright and with well-defined serrations, bright red in color, free of side
sprigs and come well down on the head behind.

Beak. — Strong, well curved, white in color, or white streaked with
black.

Head. — Neat, long, and fine.

Eye. — Large, bright, and clear.

Ear-lobe. — Medium size, fine in texture, and bright red in color. (I
say "white" emphatically.)

Wattle. — Aledium length, bright red, well rounded on lower edge.

Neck. — Medium length, finely tapered, well arched, and having hackle
flowing down on shoulders and back.

Breast. — Broad, deep, and full, and carried well forward and upward.

Body.— Medinm length, compactly built, and full of substance.

Wings. — Medium size, carried well up, distinctly barred bow and tip,
covered by hackle and saddle feathers.

Tail. — Medium size, carried well up and receding from body — not
squirrel — with flowing sickles and secondaries nicely and evenly barred.

Thighs. — Long, straight, wide apart and strong; not quite so promi-
nent as in Game.

Legs. — Strong and rather long, white in color, or white mottled with
black; not sooty.

Feet. — Four-toed, straight, and strong; same color as legs; toes
Straight and well spread out.

5i8 The Poultry Book

Size. — The larger the better if combined with quaHty.

Shape. — Neither Dorking nor Game, but a blend of both — i.e., having
features allied to both.

Carriage and Appearance. — Erect, lively, active, bold, and graceful.

Pliunage. — Cuckoo-feathered, grand color of body; thigh and wing
feathers should be bluish- white, w^hile that of hackle, saddle, and tail
feathers may vary from bluish-white to light gray. The color of the
barring must be glossy black with a metallic luster. The barring in body,
thigh, and wing feathers should be straight across, while that on hackle,
saddle, and tail may be slightly angled or V-shaped, and the alternating
bands of black and white should be equal in width and proportioned to
size of the feather. The bird should read throughout — i.e., be the same
shade from head to tail, and be free from red, black, white or yellow
feathers; and the hackle, saddle, and tail should be distinctly and evenly
barred, while the markings all over should be rather small, even, distinct,
and sharply defined.

Hen

Comb. — Medium size, evenly serrated, either erect or falling slight!}^
over.

Beak, Head, Eye, Ear-lobe, and Wattle. — Same as cock.

Neck. — Rather long; hackle distinctly marked and same shade as
body.

Breast, Body, and Wings. — Same as cock.

Tail. — Medium size, well marked, receding from body; not squirrel.

Thighs. — Long, strong, and well shown.

Legs. — Rather long, pinky white or slightly mottled ; not sooty.

Eeet, Size, Shape, Carriage, and Appearance. — Same as cock.

Plumage. — Same as cock, but markings rather larger, even, and
distinct, producing an appearance like a shepherd's tartan.

Points in Scotcli Grays
Size, 5 ; comb and head, 3 ; tail, 3 ; color of plumage, 5 ; symmetry, 5 ;
condition, 4. Total, 25 points.

Value of Defects in Judging Scotch Grays
Standard of Perfection.^A perfect bird in shape, style, color, condi-
tion, etc., to count 25 points.

Some Scotch Fowls 519

Defects to he Deducted. — Bad comb and head, 3 ; bad shape and carriage
of tail, 3 ; want of size, 5 ; want of symmetry, 5 ; want of condition, 4 ; faults
of plumage, 5. Total, 25 points.

Disqualifications

Fraudulent dyeing and trimming, any bodily deformity, and distinct
characteristic of any other breed not applicable to the Scotch Gray.

Scotch Bakies or Dumpies — Jumpers

Although aware of the existence of this breed in Scotland, I had never
seen any until visiting Mr. John Fairlie, of Chevely Park, near Newmarket,
in 1852-53. The flock consisted of some twenty-five or thirty, and all bore
the stamp of being a separate and distinct breed from any other European
fowls. In many ways they were particularly interesting, much so in
their general habit and walk, which was sometimes diverted into a jump
or hop ; though not a series of hops like the progression of the sparrow, but
simply one or two occasionally, then a short w^alk, and again possibly
more jumps, according to any impulse or need they had for moving. After
much careful observation and study of the cocks, hens, and some few
chickens, I came to the conclusion that they were most likely a variant
of the old English short-shanked fowl named "Grigs," mentioned by Rae
in his edition of " AVilloughby," 1678, and that being so short limbed they
were probably found unsuitable for our Enghsh homesteads, and had thus
become scarce. Although those of Mr. Fairlie came from Scotland, I could
not learn of any others being there ; and therefore there was no conclusive
proof that they were by any means entirely a Scotch breed. Nor could
this be considered at all likely, when taken in conjunction with the old
English " Grigs" ; though, at the same time, this being a mere surmise, it is
not needful to suggest any alteration of the name by which they are known,
or that there should be any prefix or addition to it, for though the resem-
blance by description is great, they may not be identical.

Besides making several pencil studies, I painted a cock and two hens
for Mr. Fairlie. The birds of the whole flock throughout were very similar,
the difference of form and color being very sHght. This evenness of
general character and appearance fully impressed me as demonstrating
the pureness and possible antiquity of the breed. All were particularly
healthy and strong on the wing, and if frightened they, being very timid,

520

The Poultry Book

would fly very rapidly some distance. Curiously, though short in their
thighs, legs, and shanks, they were rather long in the body, or appeared to
be so, yet were full and plump-breasted ; the feathering, though somewhat
long, was close and compact, the tails being large and well spread, the
sickle feathers broad, curved, and lengthy, as were the large tail coverts;
the neck hackle or plume and the saddle hackles were full and long. In
color they were red and black, or yellow, gray and black, splashed with
white, in some instances quite "gayly" so. The head was broad at the
back and tapering toward the front ; the comb medium size, single, upright,
and deeply serrated or spiked ; the wattles rather large, long, and pendulous;

CUCKOO BAKIES, OR JUMPERS
Owned by Mr. Weir

Some Scotch Fowls 521

ear-lobes full and pinkish white or white ; eyes light reddish-orange, though
in some cases inclining to pearl or daw color; the crow of the cocks
resembled that of the Game-fowl; the eggs were somewhat oval in shape
and white; the hens were fairly good layers. The weight of the cocks was
between seven and eight poimds ; the hens, five and a half to six and a half
poimds, or even more. The beak, shank, and feet were stout and strong ;
the shanks very short and all of a flesh- white ; toe-nails white. The hens
w^re good sitters and mothers ; the chickens when very young were tender
to rear, being susceptible to colds from damp ; even when five or six weeks
old a run in long grass was sometimes fatal.

As a breed they were particularly active, being fond of perching on
trees, flying up with great agility. As table fowls they were said to be
excellent, while for household pets their quaint odd appearance gave an
attractiveness that was pleasurable.

The Dumbartonshire Fowl

The following is a peculiarly interesting excerpt, taken from Daniels's
"Rural Sports," 1813, Vol. III. Of Dumbarton it says:

' ' This county produces a variety of the dunghill fowl which has some-
times been found in the mosses and domesticated by taking the eggs from
the wild birds and hatching and rearing them by a common hen. This
variety is called the ' heath fowl, ' and is but rarely found either here or in
the northern counties of Scotland. It is not so large as the common sort,
but the eggs for the most part are of the size of the duck's, and are very
fine. The hen continues to produce eggs for a long time, and seldom
inclines to hatch. When the eggs are hatched by another hen, care must
be taken to burst the shell after it is chipped, it being frequently so hard
that the young bird cannot disengage itself. The color of the chick
very much resembles that of a partridge, but in fowls come to maturity
it is commonly red or brown, mixed with spots of white or gray. Both
male and female are round-crested, and often the tufts are so large as to
hang over the eyes, and must frequently be clipped. They are smooth-
legged, and the length of the leg is in proportion to the body. The heels
of the cock are short, and not well adapted for fighting; yet both sexes
fight keenly with the bill, which is thick, short, and crooked. Although
fully tamed, yet they are fond of swamps and woods, and extremely
greedy of worms and other reptiles, in quest of which they wander to a

522

The Poultry Book

considerable distance. They sometimes leave the dunghill fowls and,
for the sake of insects, follow any plow that is going in the neighbor-
hood. This breed is more easily supported than the common, and their
eggs bring nearly double the price of those of ordinary fowls."

As this was written as far back as i8 12-13, it seems curious that in
these times, when every variety of fowl, worthy or unworthy of notice, is
being hunted up and lauded, rightly or wrongly, that this, which appears
to have its own, if peculiar, merits, is entirely lost, or at least is not con-
sidered worthy of notice ; yet, accordmg to description, it appears to pos-
sess much that should render it highly acceptable to the general fancier
or the one seeking a utility fowl of some excellence.

M'^OhKN ROSE-COMB WHITE DORKING COCKEREL
A prize-\vinner

a

WHITE COCHINS IN OPEN RANGE
Bred anil owned by J. D. Nevius, New Jersey

THE SHANGHAI OR COCHIN FOWL
Thomas F. McGrew, New York

Allow not Nature more than Nature needs." — King Lear.

0 domestic animal or bird has created more general enthu-
siasm than did the Shanghai,* now called Cochin, fowl.
From the hour of its first coming into both England and
America it has been prime favorite with the expert
fancier, amateur, and the general public ahke. No
aspirant for stage honors was ever better presented than were the
imaginary qualities of this wonderful breed of fowls. It was not a question
of laying one egg per day — any fowl should do as well as this — but the
new-found breed, the Shanghai, could and would produce at least calcula-
tions two or three per day. These same false declarations were heralded
in this country as well as in England. I\Iany imagined them as large as
the ostrich or nearly so.

In 1879 the writer began to gather information for a work on Cochin
fowls. The following is from the pen of Joseph AVallace, who spent several

* It will be ncticed that in speaking of the Coehin fowl Mr. Weir calls them Shanghais.
Those who are interested in the full history of Shanghais, Chittagongs, and Brahma Pootra
fowls will find them more fully treated in the English edition of this work.— Editor.

523

524 The Poultry Book

years in China and India. Being a thorough poultryman, he quite well
understood his subject. I quote him just as he wrote over twenty years
ago: "With the exception of the domesticated native Game of India,
the Cochin and its relatives, Brahmas, Chittagongs, Javas, etc., are perhaps
the oldest distinct race of fowls. This may appear strange and perhaps
doubtful at first thought, far-fetched, and wholly imsupported by compe-
tent authority on Chinese galliniculture, owing to our limited knowledge
of the great Chinese empire and surrounding countries. But we antici-
pated this and have accumulative proofs from Chinese records, missionaries,
naturalists, and educated Chinese fanciers to support our theory."

The Reverend Jean Baptiste Proulx, a distinguished linguist and
naturalist of Louvain, Belgium, who traveled through China in the first
quarter of the present century and spent many years instructing the
natives in the arts and sciences, says: "I was astonished, when I first
came here, at the slow and patient industry of the people and the num-
ber and size of their domestic fowls. Not but there are small fowls in
China, like as in Europe, but size is a behest, a specific religious injunction.
In no other quarter of the globe is found so large and distinct a race of
domestic fowls. This land is really the paradise of gallinaceous birds. The
giant race one meets with everywhere have outgrown the records of
time."

Father Tachard (or Sicard), the noted missionary and scientist,
300 years ago penetrated into Cochin-China and Tonquin. In addition
to his studies, he collected a large fund of information regarding
the history, ethnology, zoology, and industries of the country. His
observations of the domestic fowls of Cochin-China and Tonquin at that
early day are much the same as observed by recent travelers. "From
what I have learned," says he, "in many parts of the country the domestic
fowls receive the greatest care and solicitude, this especially so among
the Brahmo-Buddhists and the followers of Khoung-foo-tsee and Leo-tsee,
who worship the spirits of their ancestors and believe in the immortality
of all forms of life. They will not suffer a fowl to be killed or injured in
their presence, and it is enjoined on them by their religion to propagate,
increase their size, and care for them in sickness and health, as they are
the living, moving temples wherein the spirits of their departed ancestors
and relatives dwell, by whose wings they are wafted to eternal life after
a certain probationary period on earth."

The Shanghai or Cochin Fowl

525

r

1

-

^^"^a

^^^^v

~^

^g^ ^^ ^

\

'^: :>•..

/ ' . ■ ,

^

f^^

\

This belief is supposed to account for the number and size of the
domestic fowls of China and parts of India, and the encouragement to
propagation is intensified by the hope of a departed relative taking up
his abode in a fowl under the care and guardianship of one of his kin.
The eggs from each fowl may be sold or bartered for other articles, and
those who hold different religious views breed them for their own use and
for sale. They
also constitute the
chief meat food
for those who can
afford to use them,
so this giant race
has a large geo-
graphical area.

The religion,
tradition, and
superstition of
some of the primi-
tive races of China
show that domestic
fowls were coeval
with their religion
and institutions.
In support of our
theory of antiquity
and distinctness
of the Cochin race,
we will quote from

a learned Chinese naturalist and writer : ' ' The Chinese entertain odd
notions regarding the cultivation of animals and plants. Anything
peculiarly unique, contorted, or abnormal they try to develop and evolve,
dwarf or enlarge, to excite curiosity and turn a ready penny. Young
chickens, goslings, and cormorants are often bound to young bamboo
stems. The plant grows so rapidly that they are stretched out of all
due proportions."

In the populous empire of China habits of industry are necessarily
enforced. Breeding fowls and domesticating wild birds are favorite

v.?

^

COCHIN PULLET

526

The Poultry Book

pursuits among the people. Local governments aid and encourage industry,
as the taxes are paid in produce of the land, whether it be in rice, fowl, or
goats. Artificial incubation is thoroughly mastered by a class of pro-
fessionals who travel from one leading part to another plying their vocation
on flat boats, but where the pursuit is carried on largely and also naturally
is in the nii-aits, or retreats, corresponding to the monasteries of Christian
lands. They are invariably long brick buildings one story in height,
simple and solemn in architecture. The grounds for the cultivation of
flowers and wholesome food are ample. Around the buildings are windowless
walls symbolic of the busy life forever shut out from view. In the grounds
and surrounding lands poultry enjoy undisturbed freedom. They are
allowed to make their nests under gnarled trees and beneath creeping
vines. The finest specimens of the Chinese race of fowls are bred in these
places, and there is an attempt at breeding them to an ideal standard.
There are more than ii,ooo mi-aus in the Celestial Empire, exclusive
of caravansaries, lambsories, and distinctly religious establishments. The

number of inmates varies;
r the highest is that of Tal

Sin, with a roll-call of 600,
and the lowest is that of
Lanchow, with only two
brothers. The imperial
census shows they aggre-
gate 200,000 men who
have renoimced the world
forever, and have taken
up the pursuit of poultry
and vegetable cultivation.
In many of these
retreats thousands o f
specimens of Buff
and Partridge China
(Cochin) fowls are annually
raised, and in other places
the colors are mixed. The
kinkee (gold flower) colored birds are the most esteemed, both as
regards antiquity and purity. After supplying the wants of the brother-

Drawn from life by L. P. Oraha
FIRST-PRIZE BUFF COCHIN PULLET
Oakland Farm. Massachusetts. New York Show, 1895

The Shanghai or Cochin Fowl 527

hood and distressed travelers, the others are sold for the gupport of the
retreats. Hoang-ho is the oldest mi-aus, and its records show that this
same race of fowls was cultivated by the brotherhood 1,500 years ago.

Biiff and Partridge Cochins are indigenous to the temperate and
more southerly portions of the empire. This is corroborated by natural-
ists and travelers. Mr. Gabb, the well-known English naturalist, says:
"According to my view, a black or white Cochin is an improbability, if
not an impossibility, as a natural product of a tropical or subtropical
region. The natural color of the feathers of the poultry in the zone of
Cochin-China would be buff or yellow, or some of the varieties of these
colors, but never black or white, except by accidental variation."

George E. Haight, an American well known to the fanciers of this
country, visited China and the Straits Settlements a decade ago, and wrote
to the Poultry World as follows: "I believe in my last letter I promised
to let you know if I found anything new in southern China in relation to
poultry. Although there are no distinct breeds of fowls bred or known in
China by the Chinese, there are yet a great many specimens to be seen
in all parts of the empire, and so closely do they resemble each other in
general appearance that it is quite difficult to understand why distinctions
should be made; but I find that the different names of all the Chinese
fowls have been given them by the different foreigners who have brought
them from various places in Asia, and that if they have procured them at
Shanghai they have called them Shanghai fowls (Red, Gray, and Buff, as
the case may be), and if from Hong-kong the Hong-kong fowls, and so
on until we have a dozen or more different names for the same variety.
That they differ in some minor details is true, for no two can be found of
exactly the same color. Some are a chestnut color, others darker, and
some quite light, yet they can all be seen in the same yards together,
bred at random, and producing many different colors; but in size and
shape they are about the same and are known simply as the Chinese fowl.

" In various parts of China (and intermixed with other fowls) can be
seen a large, faded, buff-colored fowl, the male bird being a light buff
with black penciled neck-hackle, dark wings, and black tail with a greenish
cast. Some of them have single combs, others resemble the pea-comb.
Their legs are yellow and well feathered. The hen is two or three shades
lighter (in fact, almost white), and has a heavy body, short, yellow, well-
feathered legs, black hackle, dark-gray wings and tail. These fowls will

528

The Poultry Book

weigh about eighteen or twenty pounds per pair. From fowls of this
description I am convinced the Light Brahmas originated. I have
talked a great deal with old residents of China, some of whom know what

our Light Brahmas are and
have seen and raised them,
and they all agree that they
came from the fowls I have
described. I am convinced
that Doctor Brown was the
first to notice them in China
and keep them separate as
far back as 1840, and that
he was one of the first (if
not the first) to introduce
them in America when he
left China on a visit to his
father in Connecticut in
January, 1847, bringing a
number with him.

" There is an impression
in the minds of many
breeders at home and abroad
that all our present varieties
of Cochins are descended from the original Cochin-China fowls sent
by the British Ambassador from China to Her Majesty Victoria of
England in 1843. This is hardly possible, for the Queen did not
exhibit her Cochin-Chinas until April, 1846, at the Royal Dublin
Agricultural Society, though prizes were offered for Malays and other
Asiatic breeds at the English poultry show held at the Zoological
Gardens, London, in 1845. Between 1843 and 1846 several private
purchases were made from ships coming from Chinese ports. Sir Richard
Ansley O'Donnell, of Newport, Mayo, Ireland (father of the present Sir
George O'Donnell), had in 1846 a nice flock of deep golden Buffs with
small single comb and wattles, black penciled hackles, short black tails,
smooth yellow legs, large size of body and slightly tapering to the tail.

"At the same time William Mairs, a Scotch gentleman living two
miles from Newport, had a few Chinese fowls, known afterward as Gray

OLD-STYLE SHANGHAI COCHIN, l8!;6

The Shanghai or Cochin Fowl 529

Shanghais. Our informant, Joseph Wallace, v/hile temporarily residing
at Newport, received a present of the Shanghais, and many a time, with
young Sir George, they tried the mettle of the Buffs, as they were pugna-
ciously inclined. The Buffs possessed the same general characteristics as
those bred by J. Joseph Nolan, of Dublin, to whom Lord Heytsbury, Lord
Lieutenant of Ireland, gave the first pair that were presented to him by
the Queen in 1846. The Gray Shanghais were more rangy in form, the
feathering soft and loose, and a few downy feathers appeared on their legs.

" In connection with the royal Cochin-China fowl, it may be surmised
that the original stock was in the hands of others besides those of Her
Majesty before 1846, though Mr. Dickson, the English poultry author
of that time, in his work published in 1847 makes no allusion even to the
Queen's fine fowls. This strange fact is accounted for by an old English
fancier, who says that ]\Ir. Dickson's work was prepared several years
before the advent of the Queen's Cochin-Chinas, and that owing to the delay
of publication, absence and sickness of the author, it went to press without
mention being made of these rare and grand fowls, for on no other reasonable
grounds could such palpable inadvertency be excusable.

' ' Some writers seem to cast doubt on the name Cochin-China being
an appropriate one for the Queen's fowls and those which subsequently
came from China and now classed under the general name Cochin. In
Wingfield's 'London Poultry Book,' issued in 1853, illustrations of noted
Chinese fowls appeared under the titles ' White Shanghai,' ' Buff Shanghai,'
'Lemon Shanghai,' 'Partridge Shanghai,' etc. In a subsequent issue
(1867), under the editorship of Mr. Tegetmeier, the word Cochin is sub-
stituted for Shanghai under the illustrations, evidently a more appro-
priate name, better liked, better understood, and better for the class of
fowl, as the name Shanghai, where it became generally known, served as
an epithet of ridicule."

The above statement describes the actual conditions as they seem to
have existed. We rest the origin in these words and proceed with the
Cochins as they were when described by Mr. Weir, who tells us they were
very accommodating as to form and feather. A few were rather tall,
some of medium height ; with others the shanks were short ; while those
fanciers that were averse to feather-legged birds could have them clear
and clean on those parts and with skins and scales of rose-tinted yellow.
Rice and maize were their prescribed food, but being coarse feeders they

530 The Poultry Book

would eat almost anything and, what was a great desideratum, fatten on
what they had. They never wanted to fly and cared but little for walking ;
being of such a contented nature, they never attempted to scratch or
scrape for their living; given a grass plot surrounded by a wire
fencing two and a half feet high, they would stroll and graze their fill and
then seek repose and be restfully happy.

As to color, here, again, all could be satisfied. They varied from
white to black, from light buff to cinnamon, with many shades of yellow
admixture. While the Partridge and Grouse were of the richest hues, the
Silver Cinnamon claimed to be the most beautiful. Of the feathers and
fluff, it was said that the former surpassed those of the goose for bedding
and the latter swan's-down for pillows. The flesh was mellow, flavory,
rich, juicy, tender, and plentiful. True it was that in the breast meat
there was a deficiency, but then there was the thigh and leg of a sheep in
size by way of compensation. No, there never was such a fowl. By its
advent a new era in British poultry began. The sanguine prophesied
active improvement, while the far-seeing and experienced almost timidly
hinted at disastrous deterioration.

At what period or date the Shanghai fowls were imported to England
is not very clear. In the early forties, Mr. Weir says, some were said to
have been landed in Cornwall, others domiciled in Wales, and Captain
Heaviside, of Walthamstow, had some sent to him by Captain Elder,
whose letter accompanying them was dated ' ' Oft' Canton , August 2 1 ,
1842." Mr. Weir says he never saw any of these. It was in 1843 that
Her late Majesty Queen Victoria received five pullets and two cockerels
under the name of "Cochin fowls." A drawing of these appeared in the
Illustrated London News, December 23, 1843. This picture w^as made
from the birds by Samuel Read, an architectural artist of high repute;
but never having attempted the task of delineating along this line, and not
in the least understanding poultry, the result bears but a small resemblance
to the actual birds. In a sense the drawing is useful, giving as it does the
carriage of the two cockerels. In a conversation with Mr. Read respecting
the fowls, he described them to Mr. Weir. He said they were very bright
and lively, quick and alert, and to his idea very much resembled in form
and carriage what he had been shown as Malays. The cockerels were a rich
red, with dark marks on the upper part of the breast ; the pullets were red,
with redder or browner pencilings, and the legs (shanks) of a bright yellow.

The Shanghai or Cochin Fowl

531

Some time after Mr. Weir had occasion to go to the Windsor poultry
yards. Asking to see the Cochin fowls, he was told the cocks were dead,
but that two of the hens were alive. One of the cocks had been stuffed,
and so preserved. Examining the two hens, Mr. Weir foimd they did
compare somewhat favorably with the drawing made by Mr. Read.
They were upright in carriage, decidedly of the Malay type, with fairly
long tails and no cushion. They had scarcely any fluff on their thighs,
but were clean, as shown by Mr. Read. The combs were single, clear red,
and small, as were also the wattles. The ear-lobes were larger; the neck
hackle somewhat sparse and Malay-like, though the whole of the feathering
was very much longer than any Indian fowl he had hitherto seen. In

TYPE OF SHANGHAIS IN li

532 The Poultry Book

fact, says Mr. Weir, they in no way resembled the feather-shanked
fowl called the Shanghai. The stuffed specimen cock was very bright
and rich in coloring, the hackles, back, saddle, and wing bow^ being of a
rich, deep, varying orange-red, much deeper on the back; there was no
horseshoe in the breast, which was a deep yellowish-chestnut, with here
and there a dark feather ; the tail was black with a green sheen ; the sickle
feathers were longer than the others, while the whole tail was by no means
small, but full; the tail coverts, especially the lesser ones, were bronzy
brown edged with orange; the shanks and feet were strongly made and
the spurs large and sharp. It was evidently a bird in at least his
third year.

When Mr. Weir went to Windsor again to sketch the Gray Shanghais
sent by Burnham in the early part of 1853 he inquired after the Cochins,
and learned that all were gone. Not a single pure -bred one remained.
The stuffed skin of the cock was still standing in the window, but being
without a glass covering it was almost in the last stage of decay. j\Ir.
Weir told this to IMr. Baily, and desired him to go and see the specimen,
as it would prove to him that there was no resemblance between those of
Her late Majesty Queen Victoria and Messrs. Moody, Sturgeon, and
Punchard's Shanghais. He did go and see the fowl. Later, when he
met Mr. Weir, he said as far as the specimen stuffed cock was concerned
a\Ir. Weir was right. Samuel Read's drawing shows how widely different
the birds were from the Shanghai in build, fluff, feathering, and upright
carriage, having clean, rather small-boned, but strong shanks. Thus
Mr. Weir is of opinion that these possibly might have been Cochin fowls.
Later, at the Zoological Society's show, Regent's Park, those shown by
Messrs. Baker, of Chelsea, much resembled them; and though by some
said to be Malays, tl.e Messrs. Baker assured Mr. Weir that certainly
they were not, but imported by them direct from China. It was John
Baily 's opinion also that they were not Malays as we knew the breed,
but a Chinese breed. George Landseer drew one set of these for the
Illustrated London News and Mr. Weir the other.

Writing of the modern Cochin, Mr. Weir, when referring to vulture
or falcon hocks, states that at one time there might be seen in England
birds with hocks having long, stiff quilly feathers, both in size and form
equalizing those of the primary and secondary wing feathers; then
more on the shanks and more on the feet, longer, looser, and more

The Shanghai or Cochin Fowl

533

THOMAS sturgeon's BUFF SHANGHAI COCKEREL " JERRY
Showing the shape, hocks, and feathering of the bird in 1853

fluffy everywhere, until the birds looked is if they were a moving mass of
colored softness of utter uselessness. With all this it had and has its
own peculiar beauties — its lines of elegance, its placid habits, its gentleness
and entire domestication, which rendered it, and does still even as a curiosity
in bird life, worth having and observing. After all, as it is now there is
something charming and attractive in this wonderful variation by selection
from that of the wildly natural.

But the large, strong hock coverings had their day. Like many
other absurdities, they were decried and said to be wrong and unsightly,

534 The Poultry Book

but having been the fashion it was difficult to get rid of them. In many
cases in exhibition birds this was done by the simple process of pulling
them out. Even to this day the deteriorating disfigurement exists in a
large degree. What was the first outcome of this feather exaggeration?
The more of feathering the less the number of eggs; less inclination or
ability in the bird to move about in search of food or even to graze; the
flesh became coarser and dryer, and less of it, because much of the muscular
system was unused. The feathers took the lime that the bones should
have, and so arose twisted breasts, etc. Still, though it has lost utility, it
is a fowl apart from all others, singular in aspect, and yet, to Mr. Weir's
way of thinking, much to be admired. As they now are, ]\Ir. Weir says,
possibly he would not care to keep them, as they require so much care
and attention to keep their plumage in condition ; but in the hands of others,
to whom such careful study is a pleasure, Mr. Weir still thinks the breed a
desirable and peculiarly interesting one.

It would be tedious to follow the varying fortunes, the varying colors
and forms of the ancient breed. Sometimes their value increases, and
again there is a lull in the demand; then a rise, then a fall; but always
there are at least a few who want and will have only the best; $50 to Si 00
or more is now given, not only for the pleasure of seeing, but of having.
These are the fancy forms and featherings, but widely diftering from the
early imported birds which Mr. Weir saw and some of which he kept ; they,
as Miss AVatts describes them, had merely a strip of feathers down the
outside of the shanks; these were feathery and cushiony, some of them
being well-breasted and meaty birds, while most, if not all, were very
excellent layers, but now it is not so with the fanciers' fancy.

In America falcon hocks are a disqualification, yet the hocks must be
well and heavily feathered, with plenty of soft incurving plumage, also
with the shanks and feet thickly clothed. Still, even this militates against
the flesh formation and the fecundity in egg-production.

Yet the Shanghai of to-day is a wonderful fowl, a grand exemplification
of the poultry fancier's art, and the marvelous outcome of careful, thought-
ful breeding, wise selection, and in no way deviating, but steadily keeping
on in the only but narrow path that could possibly end in the full attain-
ment of the desired object — that of perfection. This the Shanghai fancier
has attained. He can go no further. He has bred for an ideal which,
unprofitable though it may be, still has a certain class of beauty that is

The Shanghai or Cochin Fowl 535

worthy of our admiration. There is a poetic charm about these gentle
domesticated fowls that is not possessed by any other; they have a way
so confiding and trusting that they seem to belong more to the household
than to the poultry-yard. What they were once is one thing and what
they are now is quite another. Though they certainly have lost much of
that fecundity for which they won fame and notoriety, still the change
has not been all loss, for in the Shanghai as it now is we have a breed of
domestic poultry grandly handsome and widely differentiated from all
others.

These notes relate chiefly to the Buff, and this is a color, as is well
known, that has many hues and tints. Formerly a yellow or canary held
sway, then a deeper, then a cream, then richer; again paler, tending to
a red; again a more solid color, and to-day a vivid yellowish-red, both
pleasing and
bright. A flock in
a green grass-field ^^-^^^\

in its best attire is ^^hf'

a sight long to be ■^'^V'' ' ^

remembered. This
color from the first
has ruled the fancy,
and for all pur-
poses it is generally
known as the Buff
Cochin, though
none of it but the
Shanghai.

The dark,
black-breasted

\

■

./■

brown-reds are ■ " ^ '""^ '" />^

noble, heavily f^—^

booted, massive :
birds. They and
their Partridge-
colored hues claim attention and thoroughly merit it; while those
similarly marked and known as Grouse, the Brown Grouse also, being
of a rufus color, were, when in the hands of Mr. Tuddman, most attract-

pyom a drawing by Harrison Wi
COCHIN PULLET

536 The Poultry Book

PRIZE BUFF COCHIN PULLET

ive, as the brilliant cinnamons — the silver cinnamons — the silver grays,
without a tint of brown, red, or yellow. These looked, if not so, near
akin to the Brahma. Mr. Weir says he has never seen any blues, but
thinks there is no reason why there should not be.

In the fifties the black were somewhat in evidence. They were
superb, with a rich purplish-black sheen on their dense colored plumage.
Some were imported. They were bred mostly from a buff and a white
or, better still, a black and a white. Generally they would come whole
colored, either white, brown, or black. A few cockerels of these blacks
so bred turned brassy-winged in their second molt, but not all. The
hens scarcely ever changed. All had yellow shanks, though some were

The Shanghai or Cochin Fowl 537

slightly sooty, while others were of a rich orange. Of the best were those of
Captain John Fairlie, of Chevely Park, Newmarket, and were of a deep
purple-black. None of these had the jewel emerald-green of the Langshan,
and until their importation such was conspicuous by its absence. Then
it was that this latter was declared by the ignorant of both breeds to be
nothing more than a Black Cochin, and this with a dogged determination
not to be convinced to the contrary. But as dripping water w411 wear the
hardest stone, so it was that the gentle pressure of fact overpowered
an ill-conceived obstinacy that should never have existed. But the worst
was that these Cochinists advised the Black Shanghai fanciers to throw
aside the yellow shank and breed black. Then came muddle and mixture
and their enlightenment. Now the black are again yellow-shanked, as
they were and should be.

There were two distinct shades of white. One was the pure albino,
and the chicks, when hatched, were a light straw color; these had gray
eyes and were, when feathered, very white. This variety, when bred with
Buffs, never threw dark birds, but mostly mealies or silver cinnamons.
The other white was a gray chicken when hatched, and got more sooty,
but molted apparently pure white. It was from these mated with blacks
that the best blacks were bred. Mr. Weir had some of both varieties
nearly fifty years ago; whether such exist now in England he does not
know, for the whole of his stock was bought by a Mr. Butler and brought
to America.

Mr. Weir thinks the Buff Shanghais will again come into favor,
though possibly never to realize their former high position and prices;
but their simple habits, quiet, tame, gentle ways, their color and singular
beauty must, he believes, again reassert their presence and, however
reluctantly, bring them many admirers. Perhaps it is the trouble and
difficulty of showing them in high condition, the washing, etc., that has
somewhat tended toward their neglect. Even if that is so, might they not
be kept about our grounds as ornaments and as fowls usefully so? for,
being non-scrapers, the damage, were they to attempt it, would be so
slight as to be almost if not quite imnoticeable.

The Cochin Fowl in America

There cannot be any compromise between the types of modern
English and American Cochin. While both have the same general origin.

538 The Poultry Book

the}' are so different in form and feather as to be almost a separate family
Early in the nineties there was an effort put forth to introduce the English
type into this country as full-feathered Cochins. Thousands of dollars
were spent to push them into popularity, but the venture was a failure
and the supremacy of the American type of Cochin was fully established.
The main difference is in the length of legs, hock feathering, and the shape
of breast. We favor the short legs, full, soft fluff and hock, full, round
breast and forward carriage, while the English Cochin has long legs, long,
stiff vulture hocks, and flat, high-carried breast.

The early-day Cochin in America was not so fully feathered as now;
in fact, the Cochin of fifteen years ago, for shape and feather, was quite
like the present-day New England Brahma; but with the coming of the
full-feathered Cochins mentioned above came the ambition and determina-
tion to have equally as much fluff and feather as they without the vulture
hocks, long legs, and flat breasts. Along these lines have been built the
beautiful Cochins of to-day. They have all the much-admired feather any
one could wish, and none of the objectionable points raised against the
English type. We now have them far in advance of ten years ago and
far ahead of the whole world in form, feather, and color.

When the American standard was first compiled we had the pale or
lemon, the dark or cinnamon, and the true buff colors. In the face of
this and the fact that three separate classes had been the rule for shows
prior to this time, the standard of 1868, the one original as compiled by
A. M. Halstead, declared for the one buff color, then termed for males
"rich, deep golden buff"," for females "uniform, clear, deep buff through-
out." This was changed somewhat by the American Poultry Association
in their standard of 1875,* which called for rich, clear buff'. Since that
time the tendency has been for a uniform color of an even shade of golden
buff throughout, the male and female as nearly one color as it is possible
to have them, now described as "rich golden buff."

The original of all Cochins as they came from China were pale or
lemon buff, dark red or cinnamon buff', and brown or Partridge color.
Whites and blacks came later, but were very scarce. The pale or lemon
Buff's and the pure white had originally the most feather and the more

* A. AI. Halstead compiled and owned the original American .standard of 1S6S, 1870,
and 1 87 1. This was absorbed by the Poultry Association standard of 1875, now "The
American Standard of Perfection."

The Shanghai or Cochin Fowl

539

rotund or Cochin form. We noticed this from the very first. It is recorded
that Mr. Sturgeon selected the pale or lemon from all the rest for their
beauty of form and feather. This might naturally be, for the Buff is the
favored color of the Chinese empire, and would, through preference,
have the most
care and atten-
tion bestowed
upon them. This
condition would
improve or finish
them to a truei
type than might
be with the
others.

From the
very earliest im-
portation, a cin-
namon cock and
hen and a Par-
tridge -colored
hen (she in reality
a brown-penciled
hen), there were
produced speci-
mens, some of
which were
lemon- colored,
while others
were Partridge-
colored and still
others cinnamon

in color; all three shades from the one deep cinnamon-colored pair
and the brownish or Grouse-colored hen. This seems to show plainly
that all colors must have been bred promiscuously, as was our
early-day barnyard fowls and the Rhode Island Reds prior to their
separation into exclusive varieties. We have seen Cochins in the
show-pen of the then-called Cinnamon variety of about the same shade

I

.:^^^^

BUFF COCHIN COCKEREL

540

The Poultry Book

t

■': i' ■■■ ' *.' *• "^

1

■■- ''■'■

im

Is 1 ."'k* vt-;- % \ ^bBPi ^

•INlf-^i*- ^^ ;^'^'''*„''

L ■

1

•» H 1 T*!*

^S-.v-a!

"^

'^^^

n

Photograph by courtesy o/ Mr.
WHITE COCHINS IN THEIR SUMMER QUARTERS
Bred and owned by J. D. Nevius, New Jersey

of color as are many of the Rhode Island Reds of to-day, and they
did not reproduce much better at that time than do the Rhode Island Reds
of to-day. We have seen two or three shades of color, all from one
clutch of eggs laid by a single hen and mated to but one male throughout
the season.

The writer has constantly bred Cochins for nearly forty years, but not
in all this time have I known of a strain of Buff Cochins that would not
show from time to time the early day evils of cinnamon color, red wing
bows, black in wings and tail, and black marks or stripes in neck hackle.
It was not unusual in early days to have female Buff Cochins show quite
as much striping in hackle as did the Brahmas of the time. This striping
is shown in a colored picture made by Mr. Weir prior to 1853. Our
standard of 1875 mentions that black at end of hackle is not a disqualifica-
tion. This fact I made prominent as a connecting link between all our
Asiatic fowls. Mr. Weir would add to this the pea-comb of a variety
called "Pea-Comb Partridge Cochins," but I rather think that strain
was produced through a Dark Brahma cross.

In early days we had the Shanghai, the Chittagong, and the Brahma-
Pootras, all of which came from the Asiatic countries. They must have
been related one to the other, as are the Chinese of the several provinces,
who differ quite as much as did the early-day fowls from their land. Each
has been guided into its separate form, differing much in the same breeds
and varieties, not only in this country and England, but in the extreme
localities of China. If this is true of the present-day fowls as we find them

The Shanghai or Cochin Fowl

S4I

after years of care and breeding, we should not wonder at the several
forms and colors, combs, smooth or feathered shanks in earlier times.

The true Cochin is a bird of feather. The more profuse they are in
plumage the better Cochins will they be considered, providing they are
rotund of form and true to Cochin type and variety color. They
should be deep and massive of form, strong and vigorous, with an at-
tractive dignity of poise that is so suited to their form. They have a
natural tendency to lean rather downward or forward, which gives them
the low carriage of breast. With the breast carried low and the cushion
well up, you have the great depth of body through these sections. This,
with the full fluff, leg and toe feather, unites to build out the massive form
in feathers of the true Cochin.

The massive form of feathers is built out by the excess of down or
under fluff of the Cochin plumage, which largely overbalances the web.
This excess of fluff builds out each section into the rotundity of form that
gives to the well-feathered Cochin the appearance of a ball of feathers.
With all this there should not be any stiff or vulture hocks. Plenty of
feathers may be obtained and maintained without the extended stiff
plumage at hock, and plenty of form and feather may be had with good
liberal size and a full round breast. All of this is an absolute necessity
for the true Cochin, and any deviation from these lines detracts from true
quality and desirability.

In type, shape, or form all Cochins should be the same, no matter
what the variety color may be. The shape must be the same in all.

542 The Poultry Book

The head, broad and deep and full over the eyes, where the head and neck
join, is plainly shown by a slight ridge or juncture as called. The head is
ornamented by a nice, even, well-balanced comb. It roiands off to conform
to the shape of the head. The finish of comb is smooth and free from all
unevenness, supplemented with full pendant wattles and ear-lobes that
hang almost even in length. The former the largest and longest; eyes
bright and attractive, bay in color; the head gracefully placed upon the
short, full, handsomely arched neck with its long, flowing hackle that
sweeps well over the back. This rounds up the one-fourth of the
specimen in what may be called the introduction to Cochin beauty.
There is seldom seen upon a fowl a more attractive portion than is
presented by the true Cochin head and neck, the form and carriage of
which is grace itself.

The back, saddles, and cushion unite with the tail to build out Cochin
form ; the full-flowing hackle that comes so far down over the back of the
male unites with these to build out or round up the shape and shorten its
appearance. The saddle, or cushion, should begin to take form just where
the flowing hackle ends ; the dense under fluff of the plumage of the back
builds out the cushion into almost a perfect half -globe; the spread of
the main tail feathers under the coverts backs up or maintains the
shape of the cushion as if the entire cushion and tail was one and
the same. The tail of the male should be short and spread at
base, and well filled under and between with a profusion of soft
feathers, the whole hidden away beneath a profusion of coverts
and lesser sickles; the more of these the better, so as to almost hide
from sight the main tail feathers. The beauty and finish of the
Cochin male depend very much upon the length of feather about the
cushion and tail. The longer and more flowing these can be the greater
the beauty and finish.

The breadth of shoulder is of vast importance, as is the cupping of
the wing bows ; the filling out of the muscles under the wings rounds up
same and adds to the rotund form of body. With this goes the full, round
breast of both width and depth; these supported by a long, full under-
body give the massive form so much to be desired in the Cochin. Great
breadth between the thighs and shanks allows the body to fill in and
settle down between them; the long, flowing or profusely fluffy feather-
ing about abdomen and thighs entirely hides from view the hock

The Shanghai or Cochin Fowl

543

joints without the presence of any stiff hock feathering. About the

hocks should be profuse feathering that rounds up about same, but

no vulture hocks; the feathering of shanks should join in under the

hock plumage so as to

avoid any appearance of

a break between the thigh

and shank plumage. All

this profusion of long,

soft feathers above the

hock joint should be

upheld by strong, heavy

shank and feet that are

entirely hidden by shank

and toe feathering.

The female must con-
form to the general
make-up of the male in
a feminine fashion; the
shorter hackle plumage
gives her a longer appear-
ance; the shape of cushion
makes it look larger; the
main tail feathers gathered
together in the center
of the rear of cushion
often droop a little, as if
weighed down by weight
of cushion ; the low-carried
breast and shorter legs
give her the very low
carriage so much to be
desired. The most com-
plete Cochin hen is almost round in form and so profuse in feather as to
be called a ball of down. Both the male and female must be round of
form in every section, without any fiat formations on either back or
breast ; well rounded up and profusely feathered in each and every section
is the rule for quality.

WHITE COCHIN
iie-winner at New York,

544 The Poultry Book

The Buff Cochin

No MENTION can be made of this variety of Cochins without bringing
to mind the names of Sturgeon, Moody, Baily, and Proctor, of England,
who have done so much to improve the Cochins of their country, as have
WilHams, Pool, Crosby, and Doolittle to establish the supremacy of this
variety of Cochins in America. Mr. Pool was the first to have the males
and females of the same shade of color of r. equality that stood supreme
in the show-room. The writer originated what was known as the "Gold-
Dust Strain," the first to have one even shade of buff throughout without
foreign color. To ]\Iessrs. Sharp Brothers, of Oakland Farm, belongs
the credit of the modern full-feathered Cochin of the present, they having
completed the work that had been started by the others, after a fashion
that has gained for them and their Cochins an international reputation.

This variety of Cochins was the first of all Buff fowls. From them,
it is claimed, has been drawn the color or start for all Buff breeds or varieties.
No color is more difficult to fully understand or handle, none more beau-
tiful than a perfect shade, and none less attractive than a bad shade.
To be near perfection the Buff Cochin must be of true Cochin shape and
one even shade of "rich golden buff" throughout, and free from other
foreign colors. The under color should be of a lighter shade than
surface color; surface color or the color of the web of the feather to
be so close or dense as to preclude the possibility of mealiness or white
ticking showing in the plumage. The thin or washy shade of color should
be equally condemned with foreign color. The true golden buff" is the
only shade that looks well and holds its own under all conditions. It is
the only shade that can be depended upon to reproduce good quality.

There has been a tendency to favor the thin or lemon shade in all
Buff fowls. This is an error; usually all such have white under color;
they cannot possibly reproduce even as good color as they possess, and
the greater part of their progeny will have white in the wings. This came
as the result of sacrificing all to a light surface color to be rid of the
black in plumage. The only way to gain or have true, even buff' color is
to use only such in your matings for the reproduction of better than you
may have. The presence of black in any part of plumage of the parent
fowls assures a deeper shade of plumage on their chicks, while white or
white under color also softens or reduces the shade.

^^«m\

/

r

^ .'

By permission of Messrs. George RoutUdse & Sons-
WHITE SHANGHAI COCK OF 1853
Bred by Mrs. Herbert. Owned by Mr. Sturgeon

The Shanghai or Cochin Fowl

547

There are two peculiar things about the buff color of fowls. The
males at two years old generally have a deeper or darker shade of surface
color than as cockerels. On the other hand, the hens have usually the
reverse. By inbreeding there is usually some loss in color between the
parent fowls and the chicks. For this reason we must mate to overcome
or allow for this. Naturally if unguided the males would be considerably
darker than the females. This was originally true of both the Cochins and
the Cochin Bantams. Only after years of constant care has this been
brought under our control, and to this time must be continually guarded
against.

There are three plans of mating for color, while there is but one for
shape, if we produce the best type of Cochins in size, form, and feather.

I

TYPE OF THE PRESENT-STYLE COCHIN

548

The Poultry Book

~1

"'"'^'^p^f!!!!?!;

PRIZE WHITE COCHIN

The necessary qualities should be present largely in the parent stock. Do
not hope to produce good size, shape, or feather from stock lacking these
quaHties. Size comes largely from the female, while color and finish
are transmitted through the male. Select only as producing-stock the very
best specimens. Pay special attention to head, comb, wattles, ear-
lobes, and eyes. Have the eyes bright and bay in color, indicating both
health and vigor. This is an important factor in obtaining good results.

In mating for color select the male of a shade or two darker than
the female. The breast color of the male should be a full shade darker than
that of the female. In under color the male should be rich and true to
the skin if possible; in both the shade or tinge the under color should
be some lighter than the surface color. Hens true in color shade when

The Shanghai or Cochin Fowl 549

pullets may be used, providing the under color is good. Hens that hold
their color at two or three years old invariably produce the most valuable
stock for exhibition purposes. I once possessed a hen that at four years
produced some twenty chicks, fourteen of which made presentable exhibi-
tion fowls. All her progeny were valuable producers. When bred in
line from such stock true color may be established and maintained.

Never make use of poor, thin, or mealy colored Buffs in hope of im-
proving stock. Better kill or discard as breeders 400 of poor quality and
stick to four of the proper quality. In selecting the male a shade or more
darker than the females with which he is mated, we provide against the
natural loss in color mentioned above. By so doing one should have
both males and females from this mating the proper shade of buff for the
exhibition room. This is what would be called single or standard mating,
or the producing of both males and females of exhibition quality from
the one single mating.

Some of the very finest exhibition specimens are produced through a^
system of double matings — that is, to mate separate pens, one to produce
males, the other to produce females. In this way are produced some of
the most beautiful pullets. For producing males the same rule as de-
scribed above is followed, only the shade of the breast color of both may
be uniform. For producing pullets they mate together hens, pullets, and
male birds, all of what might be called almost a lemon shade of bufi:. In
the pairing of these soft shades some beautiful pullets are produced, but
seldom a high-class exhibition male is gotten. It is true that some beauti>
ful males have come from such matings, but they are always a light shade.
Some females produced in this way have improved as exhibition
specimens as hens over what they were as pullets.

AYhen the double matings are followed the two Imes of breeding
must be kept separate and distinct in the standard or single matings,
but the one line must be kept up. In either or both the breeder should
always know the individual hen that produces each chick. Some hens
will not lay an egg that will produce an exhibition specimen, while almost
every chick from another hen may be of the highest quality. If one knows
the parents of each individual chick and reserves as breeding-stock only
those that have produced the best, a strain of producers will soon follow
that may be depended upon.

Line breeding, close breeding, and inbreeding should all be considered

550

The Poultry Book

in the handling of Cochins of all kinds. The breeding in line from a well-
selected lot of ancestors is called line breeding. This is breeding for the
purpose of concentrating into the stock all the good qualities of the selected
ancestors. In this way is established a strain that should have the power
or quaHty of reproducing better and better all the time. In this way only
can one have both good form and color. To hold or to continue this

From a photograph by It-'. Goshawk
BUFF COCHIN COCK
Owned by Messrs. Baily & Son, England
First prize. Birmingham, 1901 and 190Z, and second prize. Crystal Palace, 1902

The Shanghai or Cochin Fowl 551

reproducing power in a strain one must breed very close. To aid in this
one should at all times select the most vigorous for breeding-stock. The
most promising pullets should be kept for hens next year and mated with
the best cockerels. Never mate full brother and sister under any con-
ditions. For the introduction of new blood it is always better to obtain
the best female possible, mate her to one of your most perfect males, and
gradually work the result of this mating into your flock, providing they
are of good quality. If this cross does not give good results, better discard
them all and try again with another female. Violent crosses will ruin
any well-established strain of Cochins ; such are more injurious to Partridge
Cochins than with any others.

White and Black Cochins

All that has been stated above regarding the Buff Cochins may be
followed with confidence in handling the White and Black varieties. As
stated, form and feather should be the same in all; the color is simply
the variety distinction by which they are known. The very same laws
rule in mating these for size, shape, and color. There are certain set
rules for color that must be followed if we hope to produce exhibition
quality in these. It is quite reasonable to presume that no one would
select these of all others, the most exclusive of high-class fanciers' fowl,
unless their wish was for exhibition quality. We have known Cochins to
produce 140 eggs a year, but this is not usual with those of the highest
quality. The maintenance of their profuse feathering detracts somewhat
from the egg yield. We are familiar at this time with a flock of Cochins
bred for winter laying that do quite as well as any of the American varieties,
but with these exhibition qualities and feather have but little consideration.
All Cochins are fully the equal of our American breeds for table use. We
know this as a result of years of experience.

The White Cochins have continually possessed fairly good form and
feather. They have lacked somewhat in size and color, but these have
so improved in the past few years as to grade them close to the winning
Buffs. For some imexplained reason neither the Whites nor the Blacks
have gained public favor or attention as have the Bufl and Partridge
varieties. It might be said that there was a prejudice against their color.
This might be with the Blacks, but cannot be attributed to the Whites,
for there is and has been a continual increase of favor and attention

552 The Poultry Book

bestowed upon White fowls of all kinds. There are the same difficulties to
overcome with these as with all of our American White varieties — namely,
the influence the yellow skin and shanks have on the color of feather.
It is most difficult to have the pure white plumage where these influences
contend for supremacy.

Pure white plumage throughout is the absolute rule for color in this
variety. To have and maintain this at its best calls for great care in
selecting and pairing of stock. Pure and absolutely white to the skin
must be the entire plumage of the producing-stock, or one will fail in
producing pure white offspring. If either the male or the females show
creamy white or yellowish white in surface or under color, its influence
will be cast over or through the entire plumage of their offspring. It is
absolutely necessary to have pure white-plumaged Cochins for producers
to gain the best results; when breeding-stock for generations has been of
this true white plumage, the breeder may depend upon pure white chicks.
Following this line, one will lose some of the rich yellow color of shank and
skin, but this is of no importance, either for market or exhibition, so long
as a yellowish shade of shank is maintained.

By selecting as producing-stock those that have the very best form,
feather, and color year after year, you will build up a line or strain that
may be depended upon to reproduce of the best quality. Keep up this trait
by selecting continually the best for your own use. Maintain size and
feather in the same way by selecting the largest and best-feathered hens.
In addition to all this, hatch as early in the season as possible and feed
continually for size, bone, and plumage. It is of advantage to select
their food in reference to its influence on color. White corn is best at
all times for White fowls. Yellow corn will influence the color of plumage
if fed during the season of molt. Wheat, hulled oats, and white corn are
the best grains for White Cochins at all times. Never feed the mature
stock so much as to make them fat. Feed the growing stock all you can
get them to eat.

To obtain the proper shade of black, glossed with the rich beetle-green
sheen, upon Cochins, the greatest care in selecting and mating the parent
stock must be observed. At the present time it is desirable to have
Black Cochins as rich in metallic luster as are the Langshans. This has
been accomplished by mating of the richest-colored specimens to be had.
This may be continued as long as it does not bring markings of bronze

The Shanghai or Cochin Fowl

553

M-

^

or red into their plumage. The presence of too much color will have a

tendency to cast a purple or bronze finish through the plumage of both

males and females. The same may also bring red feathers into hackle and

wing bows. This is the natural reversion to the Black, Red, or Malay

influence. The males

that show these red : "^

markings are of

value to improve

color in strains of

Black Cochins of

dull color and

enrich the color of

the females.

The males of
the Black Cochins
have naturally the
richest color of
plumage. At times
it is necessary to
keep down the
producing of too
much color in the
males through the
use of females of a
dull shade of black.
Often the very best
males are produced
from rich-colored
males mated with
dull-colored fe-
males. The best
colored females will
come through the matmg of the richest colors in both males and females.
The darker the under color of the breeding-stock the more assurance of
good surface color. There is less chance of white showing in plumage
of the offspring of parent stock that has rich surface and dark under
color throughout than from stock with Hght or slate-colored under

»^/

COCHIN COCKEREL

Dairy Show, 1S93

- /'J Harrison IVeir

554 The Poultry Book

color. The darker the beak, shank, and under color the more assurance
of proper color of their produce. No matter how dark the color of
shank, the darker or blacker they may be the better for breeding good
color. Just so the bottom of their feet show the yellow color. The
absolute distinction of color between Black Cochins and Black Langshans
is as follows: Black Cochins, shanks and toes black or yellow, black
gradually shading into yellow preferred; bottom of feet yellow. Black
Langshans, shanks and toes bluish black, showing pink between the
scales; web and bottom of feet pinkish white.

The maintenance of these colors assures the yellow skin and meat
for the Cochin and the pinkish-white skin and meat for the Langshan.
The intermingling of the two destroys these features and makes it quite
possible to detect the mixing of the two. Some years back many of our
Black Cochins showed the influence of the Langshan blood that was intro-
duced to improve color. This is gradually disappearing, and we now
have by far the best Black Cochins ever bred in this or any other country.
They excel in all the Cochin qualities, including size, form, and feather.
The best Cochin cockerel shown in America during the winter of 1901 and
1902 was a Black of astonishing quality. No Buff had surpassed him
in quality up to that time, but during the winter of 1902 and 1903 Oakland
Farm exhibited a Buff Cochin cockerel that excelled any Cochin that has
been shown in this country. Always strive for the very highest Cochin
characteristics in every variety. Follow this with the very best possible
color and markings to be obtained in each variety. This rule has been
continually followed by American fanciers. Therein is the secret of
American successes in producing Cochins of the very finest form and
color.

The Partridge Cochin

The color of the Partridge Cochin is one of the most striking combina-
tions of shade and color found in domestic poultry. The 3tlalay or the
Games of the black-red tvpe must be responsible to some extent for the
foundation color. But the present-day finish of beautiful shades of
color — rich black striping of hackle and saddle of male and the mahogany
color of female so beautifully penciled all over with a darker shade that
conforms in its markings to the shape of each feather — is the result of
continued care and judgment upon the part of the careful breeder of this

-1M

The Shanghai or Cochin Fowl

555

variety. Not many years ago we had the salmon- or clay-colored breast
upon the females of this variety of Cochins, somewhat like the Brown
Leghorns have to-day, but now every feather of the body and breast is
penciled throughout. Formerly the color of both male and female

photograph by 11'.

PARTRIDGE COCHIN COCK

ize. IiirininL,'ham, 1902. Owned l.y Baily & Son

was not of the most pleasing character; to-day it is rich and beautiful
throughout.

There is a wide difference in the color of the English and American
Partridge Cochins. In both males and females the English types are of a
lighter shade of color. The top color of the male, according to the

5S6

The Poultry Book

English standard, is orange or golden red, while with us it is a bright red
or a dark orange-red. For the females the English fancy demands a
" light brown penciled with a darker shade." We have the rich mahogany-
red penciled with brown or black. The English style of color rather
leans toward the orange-red or even more of a dark yellowish shade than
an orange-red, while we prefer the deeper or dark cherry-red shades. At
times they show a shading or ending of dark orange in both the hackle
and saddle of male, while in females we aim for the deepest shade of
mahogany-red for ground or body color.

It has been almost an impossibility to produce the highest class
of exhibition specimens from a single mating. Some have been produced
from the single line, but few, however, have come in this way. To have
the bright-red top color of the male heavily overlaid or striped with bright

DARK BRAHMAS, 1853

The Shanghai or Cochin Fowl 557

metallic black in hackle and saddle and often on back debars the possi-
bility of having the dark or orange-red hackle and mahogany-red body
color distinct^ penciled with brown or black in the female. I will
describe the highest class exhibition specimens for color as preferred
by the American fancier, and follow this with a description of how they are
produced.

The top color of the male one even shade of bright red from head to
tail coverts, with a darker shade on back; the hackle and saddle heavily
striped with metallic black that has the appearance of having been laid over
or on top of the other color. Often the entire plumage of the back is
striped with the black, the shape of the black striping conforming to the
shape of the feather; coverts, sickles, main tail, and under filling glossy
greenish-black; some of the lesser coverts edged with red; under body
color a rich, deep black. If rich in sheen or metallic luster, so much more
desirable. The entire plumage throughout bright and lustrous. Some
highly meritorious specimens show some inclination to an orange shading
at end of hackle and saddle. This is undesirable, but may be overcome
by other high qualities.

The female bright red or dark orange hackle, striped with black.
Often this black striping is penciled, but the edge of red must be clean and
clear from dark or black shadings ; the entire body color mahogany-red
penciled with brown or black, this penciling to follow the shape of feather ;
wing primaries and secondaries darkish brown or blackish brown ; inner
web of secondaries penciled with the lighter color; main tail feathers
black, some of the upper ones penciled ; coverts penciled like back
plumage. It is not unusual to have the entire shank and toe plumage
penciled like body plumage, many specimens so rich in sheen as to
glisten in the light.

To produce such specimens demands the highest art at mating for best
results. The male strain must be kept separate and distinct from the
female line, but few if any exhibition females come from this sort of breeding.
The most elegant males, with the richest top color and heaviest striping,
mated to very dark females that have hackle color that almost equals
the males, will produce this style of males. These females must be bred
in the male-producing line the same as are the Barred Plymouth Rocks.
To establish the female strain, mate the son of the very best hen you can
obtain to a perfect exhibition female. Follow this line of mating year

558 The Poultry Book

after year; never introduce the male strain into this line of breeding,
but always introduce the new blood through the female.

Males for producing females should have the orange color in hackle
and saddle and rather light under color, but it is quite possible for this
to come with some of the specimens bred from the male line. For this
reason the only safe way is to know that the males used for producing
females are the direct descendants from hens of the highest character
that were mated to males rich in the true female line of breeding. In no
other way can or will you succeed. We stated above that a few exhibition
males had been bred and successfully shown that came from mating that
had been bred for years to produce exhibition females. This, I have no
hesitation in saying, is the most successful breeding-strain of Partridge
Cochins in America. They have been built up by years of continued study
and care by George W. Mitchell, of Connecticut, a life-long ardent lover
and fancier of this variety of Cochin.

There are a few important factors in the production of Cochins that
must never be overlooked. Never make use of females of small size.
Do not hope to produce good Cochins from medium or poor quality stock.
To succeed, the breeder must have the true Cochin type, including size,
form, feather, and color all combined in his producing-stock. True
Cochin characteristics cannot be gotten and maintained in any other way.

Photograph by courtesy of "Reliable Poultry Journal"
LIGHT BRAHMA PULLET

1

1

LIGHT AND DARK BRAHMAS
Thomas F. McGrew, New York

"Man is the measure of all things." — Claudian.

]HERE has been continued contention for years in England
as to the origin of the Brahma. Mr. Weir, in the English
edition of this work, holds strongly for what may be called
the Burnham "Gray Shanghais." Lewis Wright has
continually opposed such origin. It is quite true that
George P. Burnham had these Gray Shanghais, and that he sent
some of them to England, as mentioned hereafter. However, there are
other sources from which came better quality according to American
notions of what the true Brahma should be. Of this Mr. Weir says:
" Nine birds were sent from America in 1852, as a present to Her late
Majesty Queen Victoria, by George P. Burnham. None of their ante-
cedents were known, and only now by such revelations as Mr. Burnham has
deemed fitting to make in his book entitled 'The Hen Fever,' published
in 1855, and his later work, 'The China Fowl' (1874). It would be
well to make such excerpts from these as are necessary to show in some
degree the origin of the breed as first exported to England.

"The Gray Shanghais presented to Her late Majesty Queen Victoria
were the first arrivals. It must be at once apparent that from the name
then given them by Mr. Burnham it was possibly nearly the correct one.

559

560 The Poultry Book

He did not call them Brahma Pootras, nor did he pretend or assert that
they were aught else than what he represented them to be. What followed
this importation as to name, etc., had little or nothing to do with these
birds, which were sent as Gray Shanghais, and no reference whatever was
made to any other color or breed. He had some fowls of this gray color,
and as such he sent them to England. But let him speak for himself, as
he does in 'The Hen Fever' (1855): 'An ambitious sea-captain arrived
at New York from Shanghai, bringing with him about 100 China fowls
of all colors, grades, and proportions. Out of this lot I selected a few
gray birds that were very large and consequently very fine. I tried these
with other gray stock that I had at once. ' (Here it would be right to remark
that Mr. Burnham does not state what that gray stock was, but it is not
at all unlikely that they were from his pair of birds imported in 1849,
and which are spoken of in Doctor Bennett's 'Poultry Book,' 1854, as
Chittagongs.) 'I soon had a fine lot of birds to dispose of, to which I
gave what I have always deemed their only true and appropriate title
(as they came from Shanghai), to wit. Gray Shanghais.'"

Mr. Weir made a water-color drawing of these, and it has been used
for many years as "copied from the Illustrated London A^ews of 1853."
Mr. Burnham's statements and writings on poultry are scarcely considered
serious by Americans. There is no breed of fowls so near and dear to
the American fancier's heart as the original Brahma. The Brahma
preferred in America and selected as the true and only proper type come
direct in line from what are known as the Chamberlain origin. The
American fancier is exacting as to form and color, and to his notion the
Chamberlain stock is by far the most desirable in all Brahma qualities.
The English type of Brahma would not attract attention in this country.
They have more hock and feather than is considered desirable even for
Cochins with us. Just how the Chamberlain strain was started or from
where the originals came it will never, we presume, be truly known. At
the same time they have the full credit with us of being the original of our
American Light Brahma.

The original White or Gray Shanghais had single combs, while the
Chamberlain Brahmas have the well-established pea comb, much like
the comb of the Aseel Game. This comb is of vital importance to our
Brahmas, as is the overhanging skull, quite different from the head of
the Shanghai (now Cochin). These two features are cultivated and

Light and Dark Brahmas

S6r

admired as Brahma characteristics. They are features of beauty that
belong to the Brahma as their emblem of purity of blood and high quality.
Without them they are of no value as Brahmas. The more complete they
may be of finish the greater their value.

There is but one rule for shape or form in Brahmas, and both varieties
must conform to it or lose caste as Brahmas. The shape or type is absolute,
and tinless the specimen has this to a marked degree it will not be classed,
even though the color may be superb. Type and shape must have the
supremacy in the selecting of a good Brahma, but even in this there is
considerable of a difference of opinion. The leaders of the New England
Light Brahma Club favor a Brahma that has rather more of what is
called a Cochiny type than is selected as a preference by the Brahma
breeders throughout what is known as the Middle West. The difference
in these two types largely rests with the having of more underbody,
plumage, fluff, and toe feathering, with the shorter leg, and a sHght stoop
or a recline at the knee, the preference of the Middle West being for a
Httle more length of shank, a straight poise at the hock joint, no recline
or stoop, and less of fluff or under feather. While these two distinctions

From the " Illustrated London News '
QUEEN victoria's LIGHT GRAY SHANGHAIS, 1853

562 The Poultry Book

are plainly recognized in America, neither one of these forms leans toward
the English type as shown so plainly by Air. Weir's illustrations of Crystal
Palace winners. Their type of bird would not even be considered in the
Brahma class in this country. In fact, our Cochins would scarcely show
as much forward carriage and feather as Mr. Weir illustrates on their
Brahmas.

In pursuance of this Mr. Weir states: " Now, it must be admitted on
all hands that in this particular direction the Brahma fancier has got as
far as he can well go, and the differences between it and the Cochin have
been so lessened that, with the exception of the pea comb and the slight
variation of the skull, they are now so small in some cases as to be scarcely
apparent. With almost the same fulness of fluff, the heavy foot and shank
feathering, both have now hanging dewlaps or gullets, and both have the
Shanghai falcon hock; true, the one has a tail and the other scarcely any,
yet neither on their first importation had these — shall I say defects of
heavy feathering ? — neither the misnamed Cochin, the Shanghai, the Gray
Shanghais, afterward called (though not by their exporters) Brahma
Pootras, nor the Dark Brahmas that Mr. George P. Burnham sent over in
1853. I am willing to — in fact I do, and others do also — admit that both the
Cochin, Shanghai, or the Brahma Pootra of to-day are wonderful in their
way and in a sense beautiful ; but for all that, the judges have been highly
to blame in allowing such properties to become so far in the ascendant as
to almost, if not quite, annihilate their more valuable qualities.

"One of their peculiarities has not been impaired, and that is the
hardiness, feathering, and quick growth of the chicken. These, as far as
I can learn, still have that reputation, though it is said, and possibly
truthfully, that they do not carry the large and fleshy breast that, as among
the Asiatics, first brought them into notice; still, even this might yet be
remedied by careful selection for flesh instead of feather properties, and let
us hope that better counsels will prevail in this direction.

"In my opinion, the American Brahma is of better quality for the
table, and as a layer of colored eggs far surpasses our English improved
breed. The breeding for quantity of feather and feathering has rendered
ours much dryer and longer in the fiber of the flesh; then, again, the large
size of the falcon hocks is absolutely a positive waste of vital power, nor
does it add to the beauty; while it renders the poor bird's ambulatory
powers unsatisfactory and ungainly. If the Brahmas of the present are

Light and Dark Brahmas

563

compared with those of 1853, the loss of the round fulness of the breast
will at once be observed, while the thick necking of the hackle and generally
clumsy make will also be apparent, though they still retain the American
Chittagong head. Yet in most, if not all, other respects they have the
general appearance of the heavily booted and falcon-hocked English
strains of the Shanghai, which latter now appears in such an exaggerated
form, whether beautiful or not, as never was or could be anticipated by us

■^

PRIZE LIGHT BRAHMA PULLET

Crystal Palace Show

old Shanghai fanciers of 1851-53. Had the judges of the Dark Brahmas
adhered to the type of the 'hundred-guinea pen,' as it was called, sent to
this country by Mr. Burnham, we should have possessed a far handsomer
fowl, and one of much higher table qualities than the judges' notion of this
now too-heavily feathered fanciered bird of to-day.

" It must be admitted on all hands that the utility of certain strains
differs widely, some being more fleshy, others far better layers. This
must be reasonably expected when they are kept with care and intelligence
exercised as to the full development of the particular qualities that are

564

The Poultry Book

most desirable. As an instance of this, Mrs. Campbell, of Uley, Gloucester,
may be honestly quoted as deserving honorable mention, she having

succeeded in breed-
ing prize birds of
both sexes from
one pen. This is
as it should be, and
there can be nothing
more prejudicial to
the general fancy
than that of fanciers
who feel obliged to
have two pens of
fowls — one to pro-
duce cockerels and
the other pullets.
When this lady
went to live at
Uley, about 1891,
she had a few Dark
B r a h m a s . Five
eggs from the breed-
ing-pen were set
under a half-bred
Bantam hen, from
which resulted five
chicks — three pul-
2 e t s and two
cockerels. One
pullet was never
exhibited, but the other four achieved victories in the show-pen. The
handsome cock whose portrait is given and one of his sisters both gained
poultry-club medals, the former during the three years- of his existence
winning at twenty-nine shows the large number of thirty-seven prizes,
specials, and other honors. The pullet died in 1896, having won thirty-
six cups, prizes, and specials. On no occasion were they shown without
being noticed. The other brother of the brood, though not often shown,

VERY YOITNG LIGH":

By permission of the
BRAHMA COCKEREL, 185^

Light and Dark Brahmas

S6S

was sent to Redditch, where he gained a first. At the Bath and West of
England show he was third, when he was sold, afterward winning a second
at Dublin, Ireland. The other hen also won a number of prizes, so that
out of a brood of five, so excellent was the strain that four — two cocks and
two pullets — were conspicuous by their marvelous success as winners of
prizes or honors. Another curious fact should be mentioned, and that is
that all ]\Irs. Campbell's stock are descended from the before-mentioned
brood of five or their parents ; and yet she has frequently produced brother
and sister from the same pen, both being successful when exhibited at the
Royal Agricultural Show at Chester in 1893 — a brother and sister carried
off both firsts. AVhat is still more remarkable is that although the stock
has been close-bred, through proper management they have not deterio-
rated in size, nor indeed should they when inbreeding is rightly understood
and practised. Further, the cock with which ]\Irs. Campbell won at the
Royal show in 1899 was
one of the largest she
has hitherto sent to the
show-pen, showing in
an unmistakable degree
what can be done by
systematic selection and
matching, no foreign
blood having been in-
troduced, with the
exception of one hen.
Nor is this all. By
skilful attention she has
produced a strain of
non-sitting Brahmas, or
nearly so, some of her
laying hens not wanting
to incubate, while others
have been very easily
restrained. Her plan
was to take away all
eggs immediately after they were laid, with the idea — and most likely
a right one — that the birds, seeing no eggs in the nests, lost their

Ryper,niss>
VERY YOUNG LIGHT BRAHMA PULLET,

0/ the "Field'

566 The Poultry Book

natural inclination to sit. To this I can testify, having so treated
my old English Game hens, with the happy result that some have
never attempted to sit at all, and it is therefore probable that a non-
sitting strain of old English Game may be established. As to egg-
production, the strain of Mrs. Campbell's Brahmas * average about
170 to 180 a year. It should be added that the portrait given of the
Dark Brahma cock has been selected by this lady to show the difference
between her stock and those in America in the leg and shank feather, a
point in which this bird was remarkably good.

"As already stated, I am not in favor of either the heavily feathered
Shanghais or Brahmas, they being a deviation from the original breeds
sent here by Mr. Burnham from America in 1853-54. At the Crystal
Palace Poultry Show in 1899 I drew the attention of a Shanghai fancier to
a very heavily feathered, falcon-hocked White Shanghai cock, and then to a
Light Brahma near, equally so feathered, and asked where was the difference
between the two, with the exception of the combs, wattles, and the black
markings. He at once admitted that in all other respects he saw no
dift'erence. Both had dewlaps, were falcon-hocked, and heavily feathered;
carriage, bulk, wings, and tail were the same, but the skull was a trifle
broader. When the first imports of 1853 were exhibited some had single
combs. I made a drawing of a pullet. John Baily was asked if it was like ;
he answered it was exact. I took it home, traced and colored the copy
buff. This was again shown to Mr. Baily as a Buff' Cochin or Shanghai,
and he said it was very good and true. Shown side by side, he admitted
that he believed the Light Brahma and the Shanghai were identical at that
time. But when the dark birds of George P. Burnham came we both
changed our opinion, believing they were either American Chittagong
crosses or some of them, as before described by Doctor Bennett himself
in his book written in 1850-53, and when the difference between the Light
and Dark was more distinct than it is to-day, but even now to the critical
eye it is apparent.

"Since the foregoing was written, giving the facts that came under
my own observation regarding the origin of the Brahma as I knew it in
England in 1852-56, and later its present development, I am pleased
to find that one of America's most venerated fanciers, L K. Felch, of ]\Iassa-
chusetts, an old and reliable admirer of the Light Brahma, has published his

♦Mrs. Campbell's Dark Brahmas have been inbred for over seven years.

Light and Dark Brahmas

569

^^^

PRIZE LIGHT BRAHMA COCK

knowledge of the history of the breed and what he terms its purity. As
it differs somewhat from the statements made at the time and my own
of its first importation into England from America, it is but fair and just
to give the new record prominent attention. He says in his ' Notes of the
Origin of the Light Brahmas,' written expressly for the Reliable Poultry
Journal and published in June, 1902, that 'the breed which came to us in
America completed, if we may use that term. That is, it passed through
no mongrel, no transitory state. So perfected was it there that fifty years
have failed to make them one whit better. A breeder is not able to-day
to produce a bird with a higher score than those we had in 1876.'

"This is possibly true as to 1876, about a quarter of a century after
its introduction to public notice, which was in 1851-53, and certainly, as I

570

The Poultry Book

have already shown, there was much variation in those imported into this
country in 1852-53. Mr. Felch incidentally remarks that at that time
(1876) 'bne specimen has reached the remarkable score of ninety-seven.'
Possibly at the time in America, as was the case here at this date, but not
so in the fifties, when the pea comb was only too often conspicuous by its
absence."

Nothing could prove more conclusive than the above the vast differ-
ence between the fashion of form and feather of the Cochin and the Brahma
in Endand and America.

LIGHT BRAHMA HEN
Crystal Palace, 1896

Light and Dark Brahmas 571

The American Light Brahma

Those acquainted with the vast amount of testimony for and
against the several origins of the Brahma fowl will need no further
explanation at this time. Those anxious for more on this subject can be
fully gratified in the several English books that seem to be much more
interested on this subject than we Americans. It is a pleasure and a
satisfaction to the American breeder to give full credit to what is known
as the Chamberlain-Cornish original Light Brahmas. A slight reference
to this origin will suffice to trace the lineage of the present-day American
Light Brahma. It is stated that Mr. Chamberlain, who lived near Hartford,
Connecticut, purchased from an East Indian ship-captain some fowls, which
he took home with him, and from them started
the strain of Light Brahma fowls from which the
American fancier selected and bred in line for
years until there has been established the beau-
tiful form and feather of the present-day Light
Brahma.

Many of us know that several others made
the same attempt, and it is more than likely
that some of the blood from those early day Dra7.H by m,-. u-Hr

, -, 1 . , . ^ 1 -,1 ,1 HEAD OF LIGHT BRAHMA

attempts has been mtermmgled with the hen

Chamberlain strain. At the same time, it is

fairly well established within the mind of the American breeder, writer,
and investigator that the true origin of the American type of Brahma
must be credited to that line of birds that originated with Mr. Chamberlain.
The greatest consideration and respect is due others that have selected
and followed some other line. The American Brahma is an Asiatic fowl
which in form, feather, and color is considered to be the best of all the
large fowls for general-purpose and utility use.

The most striking individuality of the Brahma is the formation of
skull and comb. The head, which is broad, should project over the eye.
This makes the skull formation of such a character as to widen out the
width of the head. The comb of the Brahma is termed a pea comb,
described as a triple comb resembHng three small single combs placed
parallel one with the other and joined at the rear. Each of these three
distinct combs evenly serrated, the large serrations near the center create

572 The Poultry Book

the highest knobs or points in the center or midway from front to rear.
These combs should never be so large as to be out of proportion, nor should
they be small or delicate, the comb of the female conforming to that of
the male, though smaller and of finer texture.

The most beautiful Brahma head has the formation of the beautiful
rounded skull that declines gently four ways from the center. The front
rounds to the beak, the rear gently inclined to the juncture of the neck
with the head. From the center either side over the eye the crown projects,
forming a protection or covering, as might be, to the eye. As the birds
grow older, at times this skull formation, with the dewlap, tends to give a
rather coarse appearance to the head. This, being the result of age, can
readily be overlooked where a specimen is superb in other qualities. The
well-proportioned and nicely rounded skull that conforms to the size and
proportion of the entire bird is most to be desired. This manner of head
gives a depth and finish of elegance to the whole bird. The comb of the
Brahma should rest upon the head as if part, and not have the appearance
of being added or placed upon same. As the crown rests upon the head
of the ruler of an empire, so should the comb ornament the head of a
Brahma.

The comb of the Brahma, being so much of a distinctive mark to this
individual breed, should always be of the most perfect quality. Lower
and narrower front and rear, always following the shape of the skull, at
times a slight rising in the rear may be present without detracting from
same. The most beautiful comb formation is that which starts close to
the beak, following the shape of the head and resting rather low at the rear
of the head. The juncture of the head with the neck should be apparent;
ear-lobes and wattles full and well shaped; what is knowTi as the gullet
underneath the beak adds much to the appearance of the head, if not
too large or out of proportion.

A medium length of neck that is low-arched and rather heavy as it
approaches the body is most desirable. The hackle should widen or spread
out as it flows over the shoulders on to the back. The long, sw^eeping
hackle adds much to the appearance of both male and female, always
proportionately longer in the male. ]\Iuch of beauty depends upon the
true striping of the hackle of both male and female. This striping must
be of a rich glossy black. It should follow the shape of the feather and
not run out at the point. This black must be completely surroimded

Light and Dark Brahmas

573

with white, no taint of color of any kind permissible in the white edging
of the hackle feathers. The hackle of the female should be rather large
anti round toward the end, that of the male pointed. This provides for
a broad black stripe in the neck of the female, beautifully edged or laced
about with white. Each and every feather of the hackle, extending well
up to the juncture of the head with the neck and clear around in front,,
should be striped with black. The presence of white on stripe in any part
of the neck is most undesirable.

The back formation of the Brahma is one of the most distinctive
sectional differences between the formation of the Brahma and the Cochin.
It should be quite broad
and of fairly good length
and breadth across the
shoulders. There should
be a gentle rise from the
shoulder to the middle
of the back. Here, in
juncture with the saddle,
there is a slight curved
sweep to the tail. The
saddle very full; the
oval form of the main
tail feathers holding up
the sickles, saddle, and
coverts makes the full
formation of saddle about
the tail. This is the
same in both the male
and the female, that of
the male being the more
pronounced. It is permis-
sible to have some dark
striping on the saddle
of the male. Coverts

of both male and female laced about or edged with white, main tail
feathers rich glossy black.

The breast and body of the Brahma, both male and female, should be

Drawn from life by F. L. Sewell
FIRST-PRIZE LIGHT BRAHMA
Owned and bred by J. W. Shaw, Massachusetts

574

The Poultry Book

rather longer than these same sections in the Cochin. Breast very promi-
nent, broad, deep, and full, well rounded underneath, with full or prominent
abdomen and thighs. Under-body plumage and fluff rather full; shank

plumage well rounded over
about the hock joint, with
no inclination whatever to
stiff' hock feathers. In
fact, anything like a
vulture or falcon hock
should be disqualified.
Shanks straight and well
set under the body. As
mentioned above, there is
an inclination to a bend-
ing at the hock which
gives the Brahma the ap-
pearance of being shorter
in leg than should be.
This same has a tendency
to give the incline forward
of the body. While this
does not detract so much
from the appearance of
the female, it does detract
from the appearance of the male, creating a forward or stooped ap-
pearance which does not belong to the true Brahma. The shanks of the
Brahma should be straight and well placed under the body, the carriage
more erect than stooped.

It must be acknowledged that there is an inclination to have consider-
ably more feather upon the Brahmas than in former years. At the same
time there is a determinedly strong demand that they shall not be injured
through having too profuse fluff, thigh, and shank plumage. The present
determination to call a halt to this through the revision of the standard
will do away with any possible chance of the utility value of the Brahma being
injured. This is undoubtedly a move in the right direction. The Brahma,
being the most valuable of all of the meat-producing fowls, should not be in-
jured through the propensity for fancy points at the sacrifice of real value.

LIGHT

ry SI10W, 190:

From a photograph by IF. Goshaw
IR.\HMA HEN
Owned by Messrs. Baily & Son, England

Light and Dark Brahmas

575

The beauty and grandeur of the Light Brahma depend, first, upon
its stately formation, which must be true to Brahma characteristics;
following this is the richness and distinctive lines between the black and
white color ; this must be clean-cut and distinct, each free from all shadiness
or discolorations or intermingling one with the other. The clean, clear
white body color is of vast importance. While it is allowable to have a
slate or smoked under color to the plumage, every effort should be made
to keep this from tainting the surface color, which should be pure white.
The stripings or black centers of the hackle and the coverts should be rich
glossy black, the edging pure, untainted white. The beak and shanks
yellow; eyes bay, bright, and clear; the wings a beautiful white on the
outside or surface; flights black; secondaries black marked with white.
The neck plumage under the throat clear down underneath the body pure
white, running up to the under-
filling of the tail.

The back and body
plumage should be white,
with as little black striping
as possible upon the saddle of
the male. While there is a
tendency at this time to have
the saddle of the male almost
as heavily penciled as the
hackle, we think that this is
a mistake that will not be
continued or countenanced by
the most successful producers.
The prevalent appearance of
black in the web of the feather
upon the back of the female
is a disqualification. There
cannot be any possible ex-
cuse for permitting the
encroachment of black

into the surface plumage of either the male or the female. The
pure, clear white with the black in hackle and coverts presents a
beautiful combination, but so soon as this black is permitted to crop

DARK BRAHMA MALE

576

The Poultry Book

out into the back and body plumage the real beauty of the Brahma
will be gone.

The tendency is strong for solid black wing flights in both male and
female. No one can deny the beauty of this when opened up for ex-
hibition. The having of this has much to do with the encroachment of
more black into the body plumage. It is perfectly easy to have these
black flights in the cockerels, the same often found in the pullets, but it is

injurious to the producing
r~ IHHIB^' x^X^ '*" qualities of the Light

""^ ^ Brahma to have this black

so pronounced as to hold
its own or continue the
same in the old birds.
Flights that are black or
nearly so should have the
same consideration as the
solid black flights ; so long
as the black predominates
in the male and a fairly
even distribution of black
and white in the flights
of the female, you have
the safest condition for
the reproducing of proper
color.

The richer the black
and m.ore glossy in finish
the tail of both male and
female the better for appearance. The tail of the Brahma female
should not be so large as that of the male. It should be well spread at
the base, as called V-shaped. This spreading at the base widens out and
builds up the cushion into proper Brahma form. When this tail is nicely
filled in between the main tail feathers it adds to the finish and elegance
of the specimen. The same is true of the tail formation of the male, the
color of which should be very rich and glossy.

In the mating for the production of best exhibition quality in Brahmas
it is necessary to follow a few absolute rules. First of all, it should be

(R.'VHMA COCKEREL

Light and Dark Brahmas 577

remembered that no one can be successful in the producing of exhibition
Brahmas unless they have had years of experience in the studying of this
art. Those who desire to have reasonably fine exhibition quality combined
with good utility qualities should mate their Brahmas as follows : Always
select in your producing-stock the identical type which you desire to have
in the offspring. Have this as perfect as you can obtain it. This will
assure your having a fair proportion of the type or shape that you admire.
Have color that will be clean, clear, and attractive. Use females of ex-
hibition color mated with males that are rather dark in under color and
very pronounced in the color of hackle, saddle, and wings. With such
matings you may be reasonably certain of securing quite a large percentage
of fairly good specimens. As stated above, the producing of the highest
exhibition quality only comes as the result of years of study and experience.
Those who wish to work along these lines should select and secure the
darkest-colored females that are true and rich in color and pair these
with a male equally as dark, always guarding against the encroachment
of the black into the white where it does not belong.

The greatest danger along these lines comes from the use of males
where the black runs out at the point of the feather. This is always
certain to produce smutty or badly colored hackles in both the males
and the females. Many of the specimens that will be produced in this
way will be of no commercial value on account of their very bad color,
but through care in selecting, mating, and a study of the results you will
in time build up a strain that will produce what you desire. No one can
tell you better than this how to proceed. You must follow along these
lines and study out the problem for yourself after considering the results
that come from each season's work.

The Dark Brahma

The best authorities of the present describe penciling as being " marked
with fine lines, as if with a pen or brush, especially when concentric, as on
a breast feather of a Partridge Cochin." This pecuHar style of marking
belongs to the Partridge Cochin and Dark Brahma females, and other
varieties that have been originated through crosses with them and other
fowls. There are features of these markings that tend to disprove their
actual existence on an early day Jungle fowl in as good form as claimed;
these are that it is possible to have the plumage of an individual specimen

578 The Poultry Book

penciled as it should be with the lines following the shape of the feather,
other feathers lined almost directly across, and others stippled or marked
with small dots Hke a Brown Leghorn female. When, through neglect In
breeding, the Dark Brahma or Partridge Cochin begins to run out or lose
in color qualities, these several markings are more prevalent, especially
the stipple marking.

Among the Jungle fowl that might have been the ancestors of the
Asiatic breeds is the Ceylon Jungle fowl. Writing for The American
Poulterer's Companion (1856), Mr. Bissell states that "their general appear-
ance has much of the Shanghai character; they are exceedingly tame and
weigh about eight pounds per pair. There appears to be two distinct
varieties of color — one light, the other dark. The lighter-colored ones
resemble the body color of the silver-penciled Hamburgs, but on close
inspection the markings of the feathers are found to differ materially.
The edge of the feather is margined with white, then a brownish-black
inner line, then one of white, then a dark center." This describes the
present-day markings of our Dark Brahma females. From these may
have come the influence that has made possible the beautiful plumage
markings of the Dark Brahmas.

The Dark Brahmas have never had equal prominence with the Light
Brahmas in America, nor are they generally of as good quality. With
some — like Philander Williams, Newton Adams, and the late Charles A.
Sweet — the quality has always been excellent. They must be bred up to
the highest degree to maintain all the characteristics as well as proper
color and markings. There are equal troubles to overcome in both males
and females when aiming for proper color and markings. The producing
of the nice light steel-gray for females and the clear top color for males
is a task of no small proportions. The keeping out of the bro\vn shadings
in plumage that are said to have come from crossing with the Partridge
Cochins to improve the penciling demands close attention. No one can
hope to keep the Dark Brahma up to the highest point of excellence unless
the greatest attention is given to the selecting and pairing of the
breeding-stock.

For actual value as egg-producers and table fowls they are fully the
equal of the Light Brahma. If they had equal attention given them
that has continually followed the Lights, no one can tell how beautiful and
popular they might have been. There is not a fowl of all the many breeds

Light and Dark Brahmas

579

and their subvarieties in which there are more possibihties for beauty and
real value. They have the size, form, vigor, quick growth, and egg-
producing qualities. Their
color is suited to any or
all locaHties. None sur-
passes them for table
poultry. All they need
is cultivation to bring
them fully abreast of any
or all of our high-class
poultry. They can fill
almost any position the
fancier may select for
them, providing their
breeding is guided with
care and judgment. There
was formerly in England,
where the very best of
the early day Dark
Brahmas were grown, a
tendency for two shades
of color, the one a rather
white ground color closely
penciled with dark gray,
the other dark-brown
penciling upon dark-
brown ground.

In addition to this,
some cultivated the dark-
brown shadings upon the surface of wings. This tendency toward
the brown shade of color in former days has its influence even to
the present time over their color and markings. The American
demand is for the clear, clean top color and glossy black body
color for males and the clear, clean-cut silvery gray for the female,
as free as possible of all tendency toward brown shading. Yet with
all this many of the very finest hens show^n have the brownish cast in
their plumage, as have some of the pullets. To be rid of this, great

DARK BRAHMA COCKEREL
Bred and owned by J. T. Painter, Iowa

580 The Poultry Book

care and attention have been given to mating for pullets. This has
brought to the front again a marked tendency for the white or spotted
breasts in males from this line of breeding, making special matings for both
males and females almost a necessity. This counts against this breed
somewhat; at the same time it is necessary so to mate many of our most
popular breeds to succeed with them.

The fashion now in England is for a pure gray ground color, with
black or mealy black penciling, uniform throughout, but the massive
hock and underbody fluff has destroyed their value to American breeders.
Head points of the female specially have been neglected. This, joined with
bad hocks, spoils the English-bred birds for America when head points and
close hocks are so important. It is to be lamented that the two most
successful poultry-producing countries should be so far apart in the rules
for breeding such valuable fowls. The most surprising feature of it all is
that the English people have drifted so far away from market qualities,
in the pursuit of useless and unsightly hock plumage, and the utter neglect
of the most valuable meat portions of the fowl in the having of flat-breasted
Cochins and Brahmas — a feature most prominent in aU fowls that are
cultivated to an excessive extent for fluff and stiff hock plumage.

The question of producing exhibition males and females from the one
single pair has had considerable attention. That it has been done and that
it is a practical proposition is no longer doubted. In the doing of this it is
the safest to select the female-bred stock, or, in other words, select from a
strain that has been bred successfully in line for females. Select of these
the darkest of the males and the finest-colored females, and continue in
this manner of selecting year after year. Remember that white markings
on the breast of males are not proof positive that he is properly bred in the
female line. Know full well the breeding of all the stock you have, and
select from the full knowledge of their ancestors rather than for looks.
In this way only is it possible to have the quality that will produce the
best of exhibition stock.

The early day Dark Brahmas as bred in America differ considerably
from the present style. They had a very smoky color throughout the
back and body plumage, breast colors very light — often, in fact, almost
white in color. This has been built up and improved, as have the Partridge
Cochins, until now we have Dark Brahmas with one even shade of ground
color and penciling throughout, the neck hackle beautifully marked

Light and Dark Brahmas

S8i

with black, the tail coverts and several of the main tail feathers of equally!
good color. Males are constanth^ met with that have beautiful body
color, perfectly black underbody color, but with all this they are not a
favorite fowl with us nor are they as plentiful as they should be. The
very best of our American-bred Dark Brahmas are descended from fowls
imported from England, changed and brought within the rules of proper
characteristics under our standard.

The standard description for shape of the Dark Brahma is identical
with the demands in the same direction for the Light Brahma. In other
words, the Dark Brahma must be a counterpart of the Light Brahma, the
only difference being the color and markings. Having fully described
the type or form that is
demanded for a Brahma, it
is only necessary to give a
thorough description of the
color demands and how to
produce them in the Dark
Brahma.

The head plumage of the
male is described as silvery
white. While this same color
description is made use of in
describing the top color of
the Dark Brahma, it is not a
pure silvery white, but more
of a grayish white, in fact.
The hackle is also described
as silvery white with a black
stripe in the center of each
feather, that tapers to a point.
In other words, the hackle
should have the black center
entirely surroimded by a white
edging. This white edging
must be entirely free from

smoky or dark marking and edgings of any kind. This same is true
throughout the entire top color of the male. Wherever the white of

D.A.RK BRAHM.^ PT, LLET
: Chicago. 1903. Bred and owned by J. T. Painter, Iowa

582

The Poultry Book

the feathers is marked or marred with dark shading it makes the
dark, smutty appearance which is most undesirable.

The entire top color, including the back, saddle, and wing bows,
should be of the same clear silvery white, saddle plumage striped through-
out the same as the hackle. The saddle should be long and flowing well
down about the sides of the tail. When the entire top color is free from
dark marks and shadings other than the proper striping of hackle and
saddle, you have the ideal top color.

photograph oy <

One of the most attractive features of the Dark Brahma is the marked
contrast between the white and the black top color, the clear, distinct
markings of hackle and saddle, and the rich, brilliant glossy black tail that
comes up and is surrounded by the coverts and the saddle plumage. The
tail should be a rich glossy black throughout and of the same form and
finish as the tail of the Light Brahma. Tail formation is of great impor-
tance. A narrow, pinched tail is a great defect. The tail should be well
spread out at the base and run up toward the center, building out the
full saddle and cushion on the back, which makes the proper back formation.
Underneath the main tail feathers should be well filled in with curling

Light and Dark Brahmas 583

feathers of rich black color. Sickles and coverts glossy, greenish-black,
lesser coverts edged with white.

The breast and underbody color should be of a rich glossy black;
a slight sprinkling or speckling of white, while undesirable, is not a defect
that should count overly against an otherwise well-colored specimen.
It is quite natural that the males bred from the female line have these
markings, and while the white spots on the breast are not proof positive of
having been bred true to the female line, they are usually found upon males
that are bred in this way. While you cannot select the proper line breeding
from breast indications, it is very valuable to have the proper markings
of this kind from a truly bred male that descends from a fine line of
penciled females.

The primaries of the wings of the male are black, excepting a
narrow edging of white on the lower edge of the lower web;
secondaries black, except the lower half of the lower web, which
should be white till near the end of the feather, where the white
terminates. Shoulder coverts black, wing coverts glossy, greenish
black, forming a well-defined bar across the wing. Feathers on shanks
and feet black or black mixed with white — the pure black much
preferred; shanks and toes orange. While orange is the desirable
color for the shanks and toes, most frequently they are found with
what is called smoky yellow shanks.

The beak of the female is rather dark, head color silvery gray, neck
black edged with silvery white, the black running to a point near the end
of the feather. It will be noticed that the form of the black in the feather
of the neck of the Dark Brahma is different from the demands in the Light
Brahma. In the Light Brahma the black must run nearly parallel with
the edge of the feather, while in the Dark Brahma the black running to a
point near the end of the feather and conforming to the shape of the
feather is the color demand. In Light Brahmas we now have the neck
feathers of many of the females quite large and oval in shape, giving a
much larger black center than is usual with the Dark Brahmas;
this distinction of neck-marking is worthy of consideration. The
balance of the body plumage of the female, including the breast, should
be gray with a distinct dark penciling, the outlines of this penciling to
conform with the shape of the feather; any shafting, dark shading or
mealiness of color undesirable. While the standard describes the body color

S84

The Poultry Book

From ci photoglyph
LIGHT BRAHMA COCKEREL, I9OO
Winner of First Dairy Show Cup, Birmingham
Bred by J. Baily & Son

■of the female as gra^^ there are too many shades of gray not to select
among them. The most popular of these shades is known as the light
steel-gray; or, as it might be termed, a silvery gray body color is the

most admired in pullets.

When this color is attained throughout
and the entire plumage is nicely penciled
with a distinct dark penciling it makes the
most beautiful body color for the pullet.
We do not think that there is any kind of
a fowl more beautiful than is a rich-
colored Dark Brahma pullet. It is quite
usual for all of the hens to become darker
or more brown in body color as they grow
older. The lighter in shade the pullets are
the lighter in shade will they be as hens as
they grow older. The inclination to go
brown in body color must come from one
or two causes. Undoubtedly the Dark
Brahmas and the Partridge Cochins have
been crossed with each other to improve the penciling in either or
both. There was also an inclination at one time in England to
favor the brownish-colored females; all these may be responsible
for the inclination toward the brownish shade of color in females.
However, the fact exists, and as is natural that it should be the
lighter they are able to have the pullets, the lighter will they be as
they advance in years. A beautiful colored female carries the
richness of color throughout her entire body, including the leg and toe
plumage.

The primaries of the Dark Brahma female are black, with a narrow
edging of gray penciling on the lower web; secondaries the upper web
black, the lower web gray. Main tail feathers black, with more or less
penciling upon the upper edge of two or more of the upper feathers of the
main tail.

The producing of the best-colored Dark Brahmas makes it almost a
necessity to follow what is known as the double-mating plan. This is to
have one pen mated for the producing of males, the other pen mated for
the producing of females. When such manner of breeding is followed, it

Light and Dark Brahmas

58s

is an absolute necessity to keep the lines separate so as to make it utterly
impossible to intermingle their blood. A male bird bred under the double-
mating system will almost ruin the penciling of a well-bred female strain.

For the producing of the finest exhibition males, the best male possible
to be secured, one perfect in form and color, should be mated to females
of good size, shape, and of a dark shade of color. Above all, these males
should be bred in line for the producing of exhibition males. For the pro-
ducing of exhibition females exactly the opposite rule must be followed.
Use only the very finest-colored females that have been bred in line for
use for the producing of pullets, mated only with males bred direct in
line with the female blood. These two lines of breeding must be kept well
apart, and it will be found absolutely necessary to guard continually against
the loss of Brahma type and characteristics in the female line, as there
seems to be a tendency toward the loss of shape when paying so much
attention to color element.

Fairly good Dark Brahmas may be bred from a single mating by
selecting the very best-colored males that it is possible to secure and mate

Photograph by i
LIGHT BRAHMA COCKERELS
Bred and owned by J. W. Shaw, Massachusetts

rtesy of'^ReHable Poultry yo.

them with the very best-colored females to be had ; taking the males — the
best of them — from this mating and mating them again to the very best-
colored females to be obtained, you will gain a start of well-penciled

586

The Poultry Book

females and very good males. By selecting the darkest of these males
continually and always mating them with fine-colored females you will
be able to secure quite a number of very creditable exhibition fowls,
both males and females, from such matings. To continue this, always
select the very finest-colored females and mate them with the males
bred in this same line that are of rather the darker shades of color.
Always and continually keep in mind the proper type and shape of
the Brahma. Never be led astray in this. Do not allow vulture hocks
or excessive feathering to creep in. Hold continually to proper shape and
color and you will succeed. There are a few points of interest in the
general make-up of the Brahma that should be constantly considered. It
is not proper to have the Brahma stoop at the hock joint or knee, as do
the Cochins. The Brahma should stand up well upon his pins, more erect
than does the Cochin. The Cochin naturally leans or stoops forward and
bends at the knee. This is a defect that should not be allowed to creep
into the Brahmas. Keep Brahmas of true shape, proper color, and always
select them because they are Brahmas true and pure, rather than because
they have an inclination toward Cochin form and feather.

Photograph by courtesy of T. F. McGrciif
WHITE COCHIN HENS

,..f