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OKNAMENTAL

DOMESTIC POULTEY.

ORNAMENTAL

DOMESTIC POULTRY:

HISTORY AND MANAGEMENT.

The Rev. EDMUND SAUL DIXON, M.A.,

EECTOR OF INTWOOD-WITH-KESWICK, NOEFOLE.

REPRINTED

FROM THE " gardeners' CHRONICLE AND AGRICULTURAL GAZETTE,'

WITH ADDITIONS.

SECOND EDITION, REVISED AND ENLARGED.

PUBLISHED
AT THE OFFICE OF THE "GARDENERS' CHRONICLE,"

5, UPPER WELLINGTON STREET, COVENT GARDEN, LONDON.

LO?!DON:
EEADBUET AND KVAXS.PBIXI

, WBITKFKIAKS.

THE MEMORY OF THE FAITHFUL WIFE,

DURING WHOSE BRIEF COMPANIONSHIP ON EARTH
THESE ESSAYS WERE COMMENCED ;

THEY ARE NOW, IN THEIR AMENDED FORM, WITH DEEP SORROW
INSCRIBED, BY

THE AUTHOR.

Epops. — " Epopoi ! popopoi ! popoi ! popoi !

Flock hither, flock hither, flock hither,
HiUoah! Hilloah!
All ye of like feather.
Wherever ye he,
"Whether barley ye gather,
Or seed on the lea;
With a skip and a bound.
And a song of sweet sound.
Flock ye hither to me.
Ye that twitter the clod around,
Tio, tio, tic, tio, tio, tio, tio, tic,
Or in ivy-bush dwell
'Mid gardens ; in mountain or dell ;
Who dip the beak, or who brush the wing,
In reedy pool, or in plashy spring ;
On berries of wilding-olive feed,
Or strip off the arbute's scarlet seed.
Come along, come along
To the voice of my song,
Trioto, trioto, tiioto, tobrins ;
Or on wide fenny flats,
Flitting after the gnats,
When they 're twanging their horn,
Snap them up ; or at mom,
Where the dew lies, are seen
Glancing over the green
Of sweet Marathon's mead ;
And with pinion so bright.
Hazel-hen, hazel-hen •,
Or whose tribes take a flight
On the tumbling sea-billow,
Where the king-fishers pillow,
Come hither and hear.
What news we have here ;

For all our tribes are gathering,
Fowls of evei-y plume and wing :
And there is amongst us brought
An elder shrewd of subtle thought.
That plans new counsels for our state.
Come all, and aid the deep debate:
Hither, hither, hither."

Cary^s Birds of Aristophanes, Act I.

PREFACE TO THE EIRST EDITION.

The history of the present volume is very simple, and,
it may he, runs parallel with that of many other works
on higher subjects. The Author, with his Wife (now
removed from worldly trouble), and his Child, were living
in a small suburban house, that had a little back-gar-
den attached to it. As a harmless amusement they
procured a few Fowls to keep, although totally ignorant
of their ways and doings. In aid of this ignorance
books were procured — to little purpose. The difficulty of
obtaining instruction from others led to closer observa-
tion on our own part, and a more eager grasp at the
required knowledge. By degrees, a few water-fowl were
added to the collection ; but the only watering-places on
the spot were tubs and milk-pans. A neighbour, how-
ever, obligingly permitted the flock of strange fowl to be
driven to a small pond, a few score yards ofi". They
throve, and duly increased ; but still little help was to
be had from books. Encyclopaedias, though in them the
Natural History department is almost always well executed,
were little satisfactory. " Anser, see Goose ;" " Goose,

VIU PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION.

see Anser," is scarcely an exaggeration of what often fell
out. Several current Poultry-books were purchased,
which proved to be compilations of matter, valuable
indeed in the hands of an editor practically acquainted
with his subject ; but these works are full of errors, grossly
evident even to learners, and of contradictions that must
strike any attentive reader, even though he had never
seen a feathered creature in his life.

But a student is sometimes the best teacher of any
branch of knowledge, as far as he has himself advanced
in it, because he has a fresh recollection of the questions
which gave him the most trouble to solve ; and therefore
notes were made, mentally, and on paper, from time to
time. It was afterwards encouragingly suggested that
the publication of them might be ventured upon, as being
possibly acceptable to people requiring such information.
They were offered to the editor of the Gardeners^ Chro-
nicle, readily accepted, favourably received by the readers
of that valuable paper — a class of persons whose good
opinion I must think it an honour to have obtained —
and the reader now holds in his hands the entire results
of my present experience in that department of Natural
History, in addition to what has been already published
in the Agricultural Gazette. It is hoped that the need
of some attempt of the kind, from some quarter, will
conciliate a lenient criticism of the many errors and
deficiencies with which the Author may doubtless be
chargeable, whatever pains he may have taken to guard
against them.

Poultry has been too much undervalued as a means of

PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. IX

study and a field of observation. Insignificant, and to us
valueless wild animals, brought from a distance, about
whose history and habits we can learn little or nothing,
are received with respectful attention by men of educa-
tion and ability, are embalmed in spirits, treasured in
museums, and pourtrayed by artists ; but a class of crea-
tures inferior to few on the face of the earth in beauty,
useful, companionable, of great value in an economical
point of view, are disregarded and disdained. It is pos-
sible that any one claiming to be considered as an edu-
cated gentleman, may be thought to have done a bold
thing in publishing a book on Poultry, and giving his real
name on the title page. Moubray, who has written per-
haps the best modern treatise on the subject, only ven-
tured to meet the pubhc criticism under the shelter of an
assumed title.

But some very important speculations respecting organic
life, and the history of the animated races now inhabiting
this planet, are closely connected with the creatures we
retain in Domestication, and can scarcely be studied so
well in any other field. Poultry, living under our very
roof, and by the rapid succession of their generations,
afi'ording a sufficient number of instances for even the
short life of man to g-ive time to take some cofrnisance of
their progressive succession, — Poultry aftbrd the best
possible subjects for observing the transmission or inter-
ruption of hereditary forms and instincts.

I shall, no doubt, at the first glance, be pronounced
rash, as soon as I am perceived to quit the plain task of

X PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION,

observing, for the more adventurous one of speculating
upon what I have observed. I can only say that the
conclusion to which I have arrived respecting what is
called the " origin " of our domestic races, has been, to
my own mind, irresistible, having begun the investigation
with a bias towards what I must call the wild theory,
although so fashionable of late, that our tame breeds or
varieties are the result of cross breeding between undo-
mesticated animals, fertile inter se. It will be found, I
imagine, on strict inquiry, that the most careful breeding
will only fix and make prominent certain peculiar features
or points that are observed in certain families of the same
aboriginal species, or sub-species, — no more: and that the
whole world might be challenged to bring evidence (such
as would be admitted in an English court of justice) that
any permanent intermediate variety of bird or animal, that
would continue to reproduce offspring like itself, and not
reverting to either original type, have been originated by
the crossing of any two wild species. Very numerous
instances of the failure of such experimental attempts
might be adduced. The difficulty under which science
labours in pursuing this inquiry, is much increased by the
mystery in which almost all breeders have involved their
proceedings, even if they have not purposely misled those
who have endeavoured to trace the means employed.

As to the great question of the Immutability of Species,
so closely allied to the investigation of the different
varieties of Poultry, as far as my own limited researches
have gone — and they have been confined almost entirely
to Birds under the influence of man — they have led me

PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. XI

to the conclusion that even siib-species and varieties are
much more permanent, independent, and ancient, than is
currently believed at the present day. This result has
been to me unavoidable, as well as unexpected ; for, as
above mentioned, I started with a great idea of the
powerful transmuting influence of time, changed climate,
and increased food. My present conviction is that the
diversities which we see in even the most nearly allied
species of birds, are not produced by any such influences,
nor by hybridisation ; but that each distinct species, how-
ever nearly resembling any other, has been produced by
a Creative Power : I am even disposed to adopt this view
towards many forms that are usually considered as mere
varieties. As far as I have been able to ascertain facts,
hybrids that are fertile are even then saved from being
posterityless (to coin a word) only by their progeny rapidly
reverting to the type of one parent or the other : so that
no intermediate race is founded. Things very soon go
on as they went before, or they cease to go on at all.
This is the case with varieties also, and is well known to
breeders as one of the most inflexible difficulties they
have to contend with, called by them "crying back."
This circumstance first led me to suspect the permanence
and antiquity of varieties, and even of what are called
"improvements" and "new breeds." Half of the
mongrels that one sees are only transition-forms, passing
back to the type of one or other original progenitor. At
least, my own eye can detect such to be frequently the
apparent fact in the case of Domestic Fowls. Any
analogies from plants must be cautiously applied to
animals ; but even in the vegetable kingdom the number

XU PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION.

and reproductive power of hybrids is apparently greater
than it really is, owing to the facility of propagation by
extension, by which means a perfectly sterile individual
can be multiplied and kept in existence for many hundred
years ; whereas a half-bred bird or animal would, in a
short time, disappear, and leave no trace. I have not
met with one authenticated fact of the race of Pheasants
having been really and permanently incorporated with
Fowls, so as to originate a mixed race capable of con-
tinuation with itself; but with many that prove the
exti'eme improbability of such a thing happening. The
vulgar notions, that Hens kept at the sides of plantations
therefore become the mothers of half-bred chickens, by
whom Pheasant blood is again transmitted to their pro-
geny ; and that Hens, whose plumage in some measure
resembles that of the Cock Pheasant, are therefore hybrid
individuals — are too vague to be listened to, in the
absence of clearer evidence, which is not yet forthcoming.
But it will not be easy to eradicate this prejudice from
the popular mind. Mr. Darwin's discovery, the result of
his great industry and experience, that " the reproductive
system seems far more sensitive to any changes in external
conditions, than any other part of the living CBConomy,"
confirms my suspicion of the extreme improbability of the
origination of any permanent, intermediate, reproductive
breed by hybridising. It would thus seem, that so far
as those organs are not much changed from their normal
condition in one or other parent, (which we may suppose
shown by the fact of their producing young resembling,
not themselves, but their oiyn parents,) they are fertile;
but, when so changed as to be incapable of producing

PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. XIU

such young, tliey do not produce at all. At least, this
is the way in which I must interpret the fact. The
dissection of a fertile hybrid, and the comparison of its
reproductive system with that of either parent, might
throw light upon the question ; but it would be a nice
undertaking. Mr. Darwin suggests, " If you ever had it
in your power fairly to test the possible fertility of the
half-and-half birds inter se, I certainly think you would
confer a real service on Natural History." I have there-
fore proposed to myself to test the fertility of various half-
bred Geese, one with another, avoiding as far as possible
near relations, and confining myself to that genus espe-
cially, because almost any species of Goose will breed
with any other. Geese, therefore, give greater promise
of instructive if not successful experiments by the inter-
marriage of hybrids, than any other bird with which we
are acquainted. If my suspicion be correct, that many
varieties of Fowls (and perhaps of Dogs) are aboriginal,
and not the results of Domestication, the mere fertility of
hybrids (partial or complete) must cease to be a test
between species and varieties. That, however, is a
question of words, rather than of things. It may be
observed that a sufficient number of lusus and hybrids
have been produced, in the course of ages, to stock the
world with an infinite variety of forms, had not that
class of heterogeneous beings been in themselves of an
unprolific and transitory nature. But the number of
existing forms is diminishing instead of increasing. It
is not too much to say, that if the history of the
world goes on as it now does, every fifty years, for
some time to come, will witness the extermination of

XIV PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION.

at least one species of creature from the face of tlie
globe.

The reader will perceive that a description has been
given, in most cases, of the newly-hatched chicks of
each species of Poultry. The idea of doing this was
suggested hy an inquiry, which had for its object to
ascertain the amount of differences in the very young
of our supposed domestic races, compared with the dif-
ference of the mature animals, in relation to the general
belief that, in youth, species differ very little from each
other ; it being really the fact that the embryos, of even
distinct orders, are closely and fundamentally alike each
other. But if these embryotic similarities between birds
and any other class of creatures be sought for, the time
of the exclusion of the chick from the egg is far too late
in its existence to look for them. Observant persons,
who have themselves been practically engaged in the
rearing of Poultry, will immediately recognise the newly-
hatched chick of each variety with which they are
acquainted. Nay, when an egg has been accidentally
broken after a fortnight's incubation, I have myself been
able to decide of what breed it would have been, had it
survived. I believe that a comparison of the newly-
hatched young of all wild birds would lead to the like
result. The only chance of finding any such analogies,
or rather confusion, would be obtained by examining the
embryos of birds, reptiles, and fishes, two or three days
after the hatching of the ovum had commenced.

But it is now time to say a few words on matters of
more general interest.

PEEFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. XV

As regards the money profits derived from Poultry,
I have been reproached with confining myself to general
statements, with avoiding details, abstaining from figures,
and checking enterprise by mere assertions. But I had
rather receive the praise of having deterred one sanguine
speculator from obtaining an uncertain profit, than incur
the blame of having urged twenty bold adventurers to a
certainly unprofitable outlay. In consequence of recent
discoveries and new modes of management, we are to
have companies formed for the production of poultry on
a grand scale ! When the apparatus is got together, and
the capital .expended, and it is found that, after all, the
chickens cannot be reared, except by twos and threes,
instead of by scores and hundreds, the bubble must
burst, like thousands of others ; meanwhile, we, pro-
phets of evil, premise that the more densely poultry
are congregated, the less profitable will they be : the
more thickly they are crowded, the less wiU they thrive.
Could I put together in figures a statement of great
profits that would satisfy my own mind, and that T
could honestly recommend as a guide to others, I would
most gladly undertake so agreeable a task. Many of the
debtor and creditor accounts of Fowl-keeping that have
been published, will not bear close examination by
those acquainted with the minutiae of the matter. It is
not supposed that such accounts are put forth with a
wilful intention to deceive ; but they are no more to be
relied on, for practical purposes, than would a ship-
owner's account of his herring-fishing, if it made no
allowance for an occasional bad catch, the loss of a
boat, or a set of nets worth 1001. ; to say nothing of

XVI PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION.

wear and tear, and the widows of drowned fishermen to
assist. Nothing is so likely as specious detail to mislead
those whose experience is insufficient to detect its
incompleteness, not to say its error.

Thus, one writer (in the Agricultural Gazette, Sept. 23,
1848) tells us, that by adopting the regimen advised by one
good Mrs. Doyley, Hens may be made to sit four times in
the season. Each time they sit, they are to hatch two
broods, by the withdrawal of the first clutch of chickens,
and the replacing them with fresh eggs. The kidnapped
chicks are to be reared by an artificial mother ; we are
told how. If the Hen hatches only ten chickens from
each set of eggs (which is considered a low estimate) this
gives eighty chickens per annum from each Hen. Let
us work the scheme out a little further. If one Hen will
produce eighty chickens, for the expense of maintaining
five hens, (and, we suppose, a Cock, though he, poor fel-
low, is not mentioned), we get four hundred chickens in
the course of the year, or more than one a day upon
our table. Who would not keep five Hens, and even
submit to the additional cost of a Cock, if necessary ?
But, alas ! if we reckon, eight sittings of three weeks
each amount to twenty-four weeks, or nearly half the
year. Now the Hen that incubated twenty-four weeks
in one twelvemonth, and hatched only fifty chicks during
the same period, would deserve a gold medal and a
pension for life from the Royal Agricultural Society.
Hens are made of flesh and blood, not of wood, hot
water, iron, and mackintosh. Whenever I have over-
tasked the incubating powers of Hens, they have invariably

PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION. XVll

suiFered for it afterwards : it has taken tliem the whole
autumn, and perhaps the winter also, to recover their
health. One fine Dorking Hen, who had been over-worked
in this way, never sat afterwards, and laid but indifferently,
though we kept her for the two following summers.

Another gentleman, having read somewhere that certain
Cochin China Fowls attain great weights, and that the
Hens lay two, sometimes three, eggs a day, declares his
intention of speculating in the purchase of a large number
of them, with the hope of eventually forming a Poultry
Company, without knowing either how old these very
heavy Fowls were, if they existed, and without making
sure that these feats of laying were ever performed,
except upon paper. These are the sort of details which
I certainly am cruel enough to cast cold water upon, and
disrespectful enough to treat with ridicule.

But the Reader has listened long enough to this prse-
ludium ; we will strike the final chords, which sound
harmoniously to our own ears. Thanks are the burden
of our closing song. Without great help, this volume,
though small, could not have been written at all ; without
great encouragement the writer would certainly not have
ventured to send it forth. It is scarcely possible to
mention by name all the persons to whom he is indebted
for hints, and answers to inquiries. The addition of
initials to many paragraphs is an attempt to avoid some
part of the reproach of strutting in borrowed plumes ;
they will also perhaps serve as props to sustain his
own otherwise tottering edifice : but it would be an

b

XVIU PKEFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION.

ungrateful omission not to mention specially the obli-
gations under which the Author feels himself bound
to the Editors of The Gardeners^ Chronicle and the
Agricultural Gazette.

Cringlefoed Hall, Norwich,
October, 1848.

PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITiqN.

The Prefaces to the First and Second Edition of any
Book are written under very different feelings and cir-
cumstances. In the one case an Author is on the eve
of submitting his labours to the tribunal of criticism, not
always good-natured or impartial ; in the other, he has
passed the ordeal, surviving the several cuts and burns
that may have been inflicted upon him ; that best Censor
of the Press, the British Public, has stamped the ap-
proving Imprimatur upon his fly-leaf ; he may then be
allowed to rejoice and congratulate himself, if he do but
cherish, as he ought, due gratitude to those who held out
a helping hand while the success of his venture was yet
uncertain ; for he may at length calculate upon the votes
of those who wait to hear what opinion others shall pro-
nounce, as well as of those who have the courage and
intelligence to think for themselves.

Exclusive of the fact that a large impression has
already been disposed of, this Edition, it may be hoped,
will meet with a favourable reception, from having been
carefully revised throughout, and enlarged with additional

b 2

XX PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION.

matter to the full extent that the space allowed by the
Publisher would permit. The opportunity of attending
the Great Birmingham Show of Cattle, Sheep, Swine
and Poultry, at which the Author had the honour to be
selected to act as one of the Judges, enabled him to make
a careful inspection and comparison of those breeds of
Fowls whose nomenclature and arrangement were most
confused ; and by the kind and able assistance, both
previoHsly and since, rendered by the Gentlemen con-
nected with the management of that important Meeting,
it may be said, without vain boasting, that a fuller ac-
count is given of the Domestic Fowl, as at present kept
in England, than is to be found in any other treatise on
Poultry.

The original passages from Greek and Latin authors
have been omitted, and translations only retained, with
references. In such cases where the Translator's name
is not given, the writer of the volume is responsible for
them. The learned reader will make allowance for any
errors he may suspect, by remembering that middle-
age latinity is often ungrammatical, and Greek prose
obscure.

The addition of an Index much increases the practical
utility of the work. As to the theoretical views pro-
pounded, the Author is not vain or confident enough to
say that he has hit upon the truth point-blank ; but he
sincerely believes that his limited attempts to explore
the labyrinthine subject of Domesticated Birds have been
made in the right direction ; and abler and more ex-
perienced persons than himself are beginning to think

PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. XXI

60 too. A Sequel Volume, to comprise the history and
habits of many birds not mentioned in this, may perhaps
one day show what additional light a wider survey of
species throws upon this interesting and really important
subject. For the point at issue is no less than this ;
whether Man, as he floats down the current of time,
has the power of greatly modifying the natures of the
humble fellow-creatures that are borne on alongside with
him (although he has not the power of modifying him-
self— " which of us by taking thought can add one cubit
unto our stature?") ; also whether gradual and progressive
changes are, by some innate self-acting power of Nature,
constantly taking place in animated beings, so as to
render Natural History an eternal series of phantas-
magoric, perpetually-dissolving views ; — or, whether
such notions are not greatly exaggerated ; whether this
progressive system of Creation be not the result both of
a false inference from correct data, and of a true infer-
ence from incorrect data ; whether a Higher Power than
either Man or a mechanical worldspring of Nature, have
not originated, and do not maintain, the course of things
which we see around us.

A great argument is, that the earth we now inhabit
has contained successive races of plants and animals,
differing from those now existinfj, which have succes-
sively ceased to exist, and have been replaced by others,
till the present order of organic life began. True ; it is
60 ; it has been so. Therefore, say they, fir?;t came the
semi-animate polypus, from that grew the articulate worm,
from that the fish, from that the reptile, from that the

XXU PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION.

quadruped, from that the monkey, from that the race
which reasons about, and bears dominion over all, — the
race of Man. From sundry of these, or their interme-
diate progressive forms, branched off, at various epochs,
the insect and the bird, aquatic, terrestrial, and aerial.
But Man is not the final ruler of the world ; from him,
by some fortunate conjunction, will proceed a still supe-
rior race, as the law of the series is to continue advancing
in perfection.

The views alluded to may thus be not fully nor pre-
cisely, but are certainly not unfairly stated.* They are

* Lest the reader should doubt that such doctrines really can find
advocates, a late specimen shall be given from the Annals and
Magazine of Natural History for January, 1850, p. 10. Mr. W.
Clark, one of the Contributors, " became fully convinced that the
foot, (of one of the boring Molluscse) having finally performed its
terebrating functions, the animal, consequently, having arrived at its
full growth, had become absorbed ; on the well-known principle, that
an organ from want of use is often, especially in the lower animals,

followed by its total disappearance This phenomenon stamps

with additional consideration the Lamarckian doctrine of the progres-
sion and advancement of animality resulting from a want requiring to
be supplied, which is effected by the concentration of the whole mass
of vital energies, the circulation, nervous influences, aided by caloric,
the gases, electricity, &c., in forcing and producing the supply of the
particular want. That great philosopher instances the addition of
tentacula to the Helices in explanation of his views ; and this doctrine
is strongly corroborated, if the fact of the obliteration of the foot in
Pholadidea papyracea is considered, e contrario, as a retrocession in
animalisation. This phenomenon also proves that nature never per-
manently retains what is superfluous, or refuses, as far as its power
extends, to supply urgent requirements.

" This important proof of the soundness of the laws promulgated
by M. Lamarck, that nature mechanically produces the progressive
march of animal improvement, almost makes us incline to assent to

PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. XXllI

plausible, attractive from their simplicity, and have some
true and many false facts to support them. Bict, ■we
want the evidence that the changes which have taken
place in the vegetable and animal inhabitants of the
earth have been gradual and self-originated ; there is
much to the contrary, showing that they have been vio-
lent and convulsive, — works of the fire, the earthquake,
and the deluge. For the re-creation of the chaos, for
the refilling of the void of life, for the re-peopling of the
desert, there is but one Power that we can look to, and
that must be an Omnipotent Intelligence. In the exist-
ing oi'der of things a gradual extinction of certain species
is going on, but no reconstruction that we can perceive,
no modification except within prescribed and impassable
limits. The more rigorously the steps of the construction
of these assumed new forms are demanded, the more do
they fail to stand the gaze of inquiry. And if an ad-
vance of an inch span cannot, under scrutiny, be made
to afford a firm footing for the progressive theory, how
shall the scientific speculators on the self-born origin of
created things be allowed to stride from mountain-top to

the high and metaphj'sical researches of that great naturalist, that the
doctrine is not without foundation, that the first sparks of vitality
arise from gravitation and molecular adherence, aided by the gases put
in action by caloric, electricity, &c." [We would respectfully decline
following our correspondent in these speculations. — R. T.] " //" loe
adopt this view, we admit that the genn of vitality communicated to
matter arises from the mechanical poiver intrusted to nature ; but"
[then what meaningless words are these !] " we must not for a moment
forget that nature can do no more than perform the high behests of
the Deity, nor exceed those limits of action confided to her by the
Great Ruler of the universe, who is the ens entium, and the first
cause of all that exists."

XXIV PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION.

mountain-top? It is here that such humble pursuits as
the present Volume is intended to illustrate, are the in-
struments wherewith to shackle the wings of reckless
and over-daring fancy. For instance, a great deal is
huilt upon the notion of producing a new species by the
intermingling of two old ones, and so one mode of recon-
structing a fresh Fauna is indicated ; which let those
believe who have great credulity and little practical ex-
perience. The result of what the Author has heard,
and seen, and tried, leads to quite a contrary conclusion.
It is well credited that certain Fowls owe their origin
(their creation, in short, as the French writers express it)
to the coupling of Pheasants with barn-door Hens : the
notion is an absurdity, as, it is to be hoped, is shown in
the proper place. Socialism may answer with the hu-
man race ; it certainly is not the natural order of things
in the Class Aves. But many people are still anxious
ioY further experiments, and urge them to be made, — a
request that should be complied with were patience and
simple good-nature inexhaustible : but let the chemical
amateur think how he would act, were a grave professor
to desire him to institute a new set of experiments with
the object of discovering the philosopher's stone, or
potable gold, the elixir of life ! A hybrid can sometimes
be obtained in such cases ; but what of that ? It is the
permanent intermediate progeny which is required by the
progressionists. The usual result of such unnatural
crosses amongst birds is male offspring only, females
being rare ; the principle of life in the female embryo
produced by a forced union, seems too feeble to advance
into actual existence. When the parents of the hybrid

PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. XXV

are of widely separated species, these males are as good
as sure to be sterile, and grow large and fat, like
Capons, or barren Cows and Hinds. But not here alone
is the progressive theory at a stand-still.

Certain stars called nebulae, beheld with the best
telescopes, have an ill-defined cloudy look ; others are
less and less so, till we arrive at the perfect, point-like,
glittering star, or cluster of stars, shining like diamonds
in the sky. Hence it has been concluded that these
groups of suns are in a state of transition, passing from
a vapoury chaos of inconceivable heat into the coolness,
arrangement, and order of our own system. But, to the
destruction of these etherial castles. Lord Rosse builds a
telescope of unprecedented power, and those cloudy stars,
the imagined chaotic burning nebulae, are beheld as
groups of gold-dust, each grain a sun, doubtless with its
attendant worlds.

Again ; an car of Wheat is plucked in the fact of
transmuting itself into Oats. (See Gardeners^ Chronicle,
October 6, 1849). Dr. Lindley dissects the ear, and
finds that the unhappy kernel which had caused the me-
tamorphosis, and from which so many wonderful conclu-
sions were to be drawn, was simply an entanglement
during growth of one head of corn accidentally brushing
against its neifihbour.

Mr. Baily, dwelling in the heart of the London fashion-
able world, has Fowls sent him to prove what unnatural
vagaries Pheasants will play, for the sake of establishing

XXVa PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION.

Oil earth a novel form of bird ; but the novelties are old
friends of the experienced poulterer, and can be matched
any day from Holland, or Lancashire, or from places
where Pheasants, in the life, have not been seen for
years. And in this way, not the finger of the Creator,
but the vestiges of created things, are attempted to be
tracked without fault or check !

In these reasonings, as observed in the first Preface,
reliance is too apt to be placed on inapplicable analogies
drawn from experiments in hybridising plants. Corporal
Trim said, " We are not stocks and stones ; " Birds will
exclaim, "We are not vegetables and shrubs." For,
rejecting the many ways of propagating a new plant by
extension, i. e., by cuttings, grafts, suckers, ofi'sets, (fcc.
— and we cannot make a cutting, graft, or layer of a
hybrid Hen — we must remember that every seedling,
except in the limited case of dioecious plants, is a prolific
hermaphrodite, instead of an incapable male. But even
that grand favourable circumstance is often unavailing to
perpetuate the novelty &y seed, as the writer was once
astonished to discover when he had raised a new cab-
bage and took great pains to continue it "true;" but
alas ! the new cabbage disappeared like a shadow,
leaving representatives of one only of its parents, the
sturdy Savoy.

The agency which climate is made to exert in the
transmutation of species, is here dismissed by referring
the reader to the White Peacock and the Rumpless
Fowl. To deny that animals vary at all, in either a

PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. XXVU

wild or a domesticated state, is of course erroneous, and
would, in fact, go to the extent of denying all individuality;
but a strong suspicion may be reasonably entertained
that such variations occur in prescribed cycles, and within
certain limits, backwards and forwards, for which there
exists a law, if we could but find it out, and that there
is no progression or transmutation out of one species into
another ; just as, if the comparison be allowed, the Moon
has her librations, and though a slight variation takes
place, we see, upon the whole, the same disk ; or, as the
orbits of the planets, though liable to perturbation, still
do not deviate far from their general track, nor strike off
into open space. If this limitation of variation in animals
were either proved or disproved, it would be a strong
argument either one way or the other.

In searching after the original condition of existing
forms, it may be suspected that the circumstance of
finding various series of forms has been made to prove
much more than it ought to be allowed to prove. Laplace's
comparison of the nebulas, in what are supposed progres-
sive stages of forwardness, to the trees of different ages
growing in a forest, has always struck the writer as
assuming: too much.* If what is said of Lord Rosse's

* " From absolute vagueness, to distinct structure, and then on to
the formation of a defined central nucleus, the nebula seems growing
under our eye ! The illustration of Laplace, reproduced by Mr. Airy,
here forcibly occurs to me : ' We look among these objects as among
the trees of a forest : their change in the duration of a glance is
undiscoverable ; yet we perceive that there are plants in all different
stages ; we see that these stages are probably related to each other in

XXVlll PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION.

telescope be true, and that the nebulge are likely to prove
all resolvable with improved instruments, and not to be
in different stages of growth, which we can prove, the
simile fails, and we see how little trust we ought to put in
this interpretation of a series, namely, that any one
individual form must have passed in succession through
those which are nearest below it in the chain. The
minds of children are too acute to reason in this way.
No little girl, surveying a toy-shop, would take the six-
penny doll that is offered to her to be the juvenile state
of the shilling one that she covets. A truer comparison

the order of time, and we are irresistibly led to the conclusion, that
the vegetable world in one case, and the sidereal world in the other,
exhibit, at one instant, a succession of changes requiring time, which
the life of man, or the duration of a solar sj'stem, may not be suffi-
cient to trace out in individual instances.' And the progression
advances until it is complete." — Nichols' Architecture of the
Heavens. Ath Edition, f. 133.

" Of course, when I speak of progress, I shall be understood to
signify progress as seen through a series of related contemporaneous
objects in different and connected states — not that progi'ess which has
never been observed — the passing, viz., of one nebula from an inferior
into a higher condition. But is the conclusion rash, that this latter
progress is possible .'' Is it not darkly, but impressively intimated by
the unbroken integrity of the series ? Wliat principle of philosophy
hinders the supposition, that each of these varying (various ?) bodies
holds with those on both sides of it also the relations of progenitor
and descendant, that the unbroken contemporaneous series is also a
picture of youth, ripening, and manhood — in short, that the principle
of attraction has actually brought such distinct round nebulae as are
seen clustering together, and also collections of stars imbedded near
each other on a whitish light, from the bosom of masses like those
looming elsewhere — still all indefinitely — among the masses of the
firmament?" Idem, p. 130. A more eloquent begging of the
question it would be difficult to adduce.

PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION. XXIX

of the varied appearance of the nebulse may be, that such
a series resembles not the assemblage of young and old
trees of the same species in a forest, (which we see, and
are told by our forefathers, change their proportions from
the seedling to the stag-headed timber tree), but a
herbarium, containing a classified collection of all the
jylants in the same forest, from the mould-fungus to the
oak, arranged each in its proper place in the series, but
by no means losing its character for permanence, in con-
sequence of that arrangement. If the nebular theory
falls to the ground (as we may assume it has fallen), will
not the arguments for gradually-progressive physical
organic changes in other departments of nature, and
which are mainly supported by the analogy of the
nebula as the first grand step in Creation, — will not
those arguments be greatly weakened by Lord Rosse's
resolution of many hitherto unyielding nebulse ?

The only apology that is offered for this tedious
preamble, is that it seemed desirable to show that what
may be called crotchets have not been entertained with-
out some shadow of reason. An abler writer than the
present, with equal practical study, could easily make
the ground taken far more tenable. It may be difficult
to explain all points connected with his position in the
argument, but the advocates of progression are defied to
prove the accuracy of theirs, minutely, and step by step.
Let them carry out their theory ; let them use synthesis
as a test of their analysis ; let them make us a new
species, by combination strictly evidenced, not by impor-
tation, nor by a constant interdashiug of foreign blood.

XXX PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION.

This will have a far more convincing effect than to go on
working laboriously at mere hypotheses, and requiring
the opposing counsel to bear the burthen of proving a
negative.

Cringleford,

February, 1850.

CONTENTS.

PAOB

Pea Fowl 1

Mute Swan, (Cygnus Olou) .15

Turkey 34

Canada Goose 53

Egyptian or Cape Goose (Chenalopex Egyptiacus) . Gl

Musk (commonly Muscovy) Duck 66

Guinea Fowl 77

China Goose (Cysnoides) 88

White-Fronted or Laughing Goose 96

WlGEON 103

Teal 109

White China Goose 115

Tame Duck 124

Domestic Goose 142

Bernicle Goose 156

Brent Goose 161

Eggs 164

Domestic Fowl 187

Rearing and Management of Fowls . . . . 224

Classification of Fowls 2G7

XXXXl CONTENTS.

PAGE

Spanish Fowl .... . . 271

Dorkings . 279

Cochin-China Fowl 289

Malay Fowl 299

Pheasant Malay Fowl . . . . . . 304

Game Fowl 316

Hamburgh Fowls ... .... 342

Cuckoo Fowl 355

Blue Dun Fowl 357

Lark Crested Fowl 361

Poland or Polish Fowl 364

Bantam Fowls 375

EuMPLESs Fowl, or Rumkin . .... 387

Silky and Negro Fowls 391

Frizzled or Fbiesland Fowl . ... 394

ORNAMENTAL POULTRY.

PEA-FOWL.

" Were it known, tliat a paradise or a liumming-bird could be seen
alive in an)' of our zoological gardens, — birds which, however beautiful,
sink into insignificance before this, — half London would flock to see
them ; nay, if one of those monstrous abortions — a double-headed
chicken, which we have more than oiice read of — could have been fed
and reared, the owner would have made his fortune ! Thus does
curiositv, in minds essentially vulgar, predominate over the lasting
sense of beauty ; and the glories of the visible heavens, no less than
the splendours of the peacock, are passed with indifference by
unreflecting millions, because both are every-day sights." — SwaInson.

So charming is the perfect combination of grace and
splendour displayed by these most lovely creatures, so
excellent is their flesh, so hardy are they in their adult
state, that, were it not for certain inconveniences
attendant upon keeping them, and also, perhaps, for the
indifference with which everything not rare is apt to be
regarded by us, they would be sought after as never-
tiring objects wherewith to gratify the sense of sight.
Who does not remember the thrill of delight with which,
in childhood, he first gazed upon their brilliant gorgeous-
ness ? Peacocks and gold fill our youthful imaginations
as fit elements of the magnificence of Solomon ; and no
fable more fitly chose its decorations than that which
attached these feathered gems, in association with the
many- coloured Iris, to the train of imperial Juno. Even

2 PEA-FOWL.

the hen of the Pea-fowl, though sober in her colouring, is
most harmoniously shaded, and every movement is
coincident with the line of beauty.

The causes which disincline many persons from
indulging themselves with the daily spectacle of this
inapproachable model of beauty, are, in the first place,
the depredations that it commits upon gardens. For
this there is no help. The dislike which these birds have
to enter a fowl-house, and their decided determination to
roost on trees or lofty buildings, prevents our exercising
a control which should restrain them from mischief till
an eye can be kept upon their movements. At the first
dawn, or at the most unsuspected moments, they will
steal off to their work of plunder. With great conve-
niences for keeping them in their proper places, T wsls
compelled to choose between the alternative of banishing
a very perfect and familiar pair, or of depriving my
children of strawberries. A friend, who has been well
acquainted with their habits for years, informs me, as the
result of his experience, that their cunning is such, that,
if frequently driven away from the garden at any par-
ticular hour of the day or evening, after a certain time
they will never be found there at that special hour, but
will invariably make their inroads at daybreak. As a last
resource I have tried ejecting them with every mark of
scorn and insult, such as harsh words, the cracking of
whips, and the throwing of harmless brooms. Most
domestic animals, and I believe many birds, are sensitive
of disrespectful usage, and would feel as a severe rebuke
the manner in which they were thus turned out. But
Pea-fowl are incorrigible marauders.

A mansion, therefore, whose fruit and vegetable garden
is at a distance, is almost the only place where they can
be kept without daily vexation. The injury they do to
flowers is comparatively trifling ; though, like the Guinea-
fowl, they are great eaters of buds, cutting them out from
the axillcE of leaves as cleanly as a surgeon's dissecting-
knife would. They must also have a dusting-hole, which

PEA-FOWL. 3

is large and unsightly ; but this can be provided for them
in some out-of-the-way nook ; and by feeding and encou-
ragement they will soon be taught to dispose themselves
into a tableau vivant, at whatever point of view the
tasteful eye may deem desirable. No one with a very
limited range should attempt to keep them at all, unless
confined in an aviary. But, where they can be kept at
large, they should be collected in considerable numbers,
that their dazzhng effect may be as impressive as
possible. Many gardenless castles and country-houses
on the Continent would lose their semi-barbarous and
semi-ruinous appearance, by employing these birds as an
embellishment. For they are not less pleasing to the eye
than the Stork, which is so much encouraged ; and they
would render in great measure the same services, namely,
the destruction of small reptiles, with the advantage of
remaining at home all the year round. Willughby gives
a ludicrous quotation from Johannes Faber in reference to
the serjaent- eating propensities of the Pea-fowl, which is
too coarse, both in idea and expression, for modern
republication, though not otherwise objectionable. Some-
thing of the kind is popularly believed, perhaps not utterly
without truth, respecting Herons and eels. But to these
Continental residences it should be understood that no
vineyard be at hand. The greenness and sourness of the
grapes, which caused the Fox to refrain, would be but a
weak argument with them. A Peacock that was suffered
to go at large in the dirty back lanes of a town struck me
as being more out of its place than any I had ever seen.

A charming instance of the ornamental use of Pea-fowl
was to be seen a dozen years ago (and perhaps may still)
at the Palace of Caserta, near Naples. There is an
English garden,* admirably laid out, on a slope com-
manding the most enchanting views. In one part is a
small piece of water, in the midst of which is an island
planted with trees and shrubs, and inhabited by numerous

* The gravel for some of the walks was brought fiom Kensington.

B 2

4 PEA-FOWL.

Pea-fowl.* Of course they must be pinioned, to prevent
their escape. My own birds had no hesitation in flying
to and fro, in order to visit an island similarly situated,
and which is cultivated as a kitchen-garden. People
may talk about Humming-birds, Sun-birds, Birds of
Paradise, or any other feathered beauty, but nothing can
equal the magnificence of a Peacock in full flight, sweep-
ing across a sheet of water, or glancing in the sunbeams
among the topmost branches of a fir-tree.

A second objection to them is their alleged wanton
destructiveness towards the young of other poultry,t a
propensity respecting which I have heard and read | such
contradictoiy statements, that they can only be reconciled
by the hypothesis that the Peacock becomes more cruel
as he advances in life, and also that males of this species
vary in disposition ; that, as the human race has pro-

* " Therefore this genus of fowls is most easily kept in the small
woody islands which lie before Italy. For since they can neither fly
very high nor for a long distance, and since there is no fear of loss by
thieves or vermin, they can safely go at large without a keeper, and
find themselves the greater part of their food. The Peahens, indeed,
as if freed from slavery, will of their own accord feed their young with
greater care ; nor should their keeper do more than call the flock
toward the farm at a certain time of the day by a known signal, and
throw them a little barley as they assemble, so that the birds may not
be famished, and their number may be told. But the opportunity of
using this kind of landed property is rare." — Columella, lib. viii.
cap. xi. This is very like our pheasantries in alder and osier carrs.
The whole chapter is curious and worth reading.

"f* Columella gives a fanciful reason for keeping Hens that have
families of chickens from coming near Peahens that have broods,
which relieves the latter at least from all blame. " Authors are suffi-
ciently agreed that other Hens, which are rearing young of their oyra
kind, ought not to feed in the same place. For after they have seen
the brood of the Pea-fowl, they cease to cherish their own, aud desert
them while still immature, clearly hating them because neither in size
nor beauty are they comparable to the Peacock." — Book viii., chap. xi.

+ See the "Penny Cyclopa;dia," article Pavonidse : "I have never
kept Pea-fowl, nor seen chicks just hatched, but have witnessed the
abominable cruelty of the father of the family in knocking a whole
brood of them on the head, when nearly a quarter grown."' — H, II.

PEA-FOWL. 5

duced examples of such diverse tempers, so the Peacock
family includes individuals of different degrees of blood-
thirstiness. My own bird, three years old, was perfectly
inoffensive ; others have been mentioned to me equally
pacific. On the other hand, the list of murders undoubt-
edly committed is long and heavy. The friend before
mentioned says. " I have known them kill from twelve
to twenty ducklings, say from a week to a fortnight old,
during one day ; but if they came across a brood of
young chicks or ducklings a few days old, they would
destroy the whole of them." And yet, in the face of all
this condemnatory evidence, we now and then see a
favourite bird, with neck of lapis lazuli, back of emerald,
wings of tortoiseshell, and tail outshining the rainbow,
in some old-fashioned farm-yard, the pet of his mistress,
who is perhaps the most successful poultry-woman in the
neighbourhood, and whose stock shows no sign of any
murderous thinning. The Peahen, who, when she has
eggs or young, seems really a more guilty party, is not in
general even suspected. So true is it that one man may
steal a horse, while another must not look over the
hedge.

The hen does not lay till her third summer ; but she
then seems to have an instinctive fear of her mate, mani-
fested by the secresy with which she selects the place for
her nest ; nor, if the eggs are disturbed, will she go there
again. She laj'^s from four or five to seven. If these are
taken, she will frequently lay a second time during the
summer, and the plan is to be recommended to those who
are anxious to increase their stock. She sits from twenty-
seven to twenty-nine days. A common Hen will hatch
and rear the young ; but the same objection lies against
her performing that office, except in very fine long sum-
mers, for the Pea-fowl as for Turkeys ; namely, that the
poults require to be brooded longer than the Hen is able
conveniently to do so. A Turkey will prove a much
better foster-mother in every respect. The Peahen should
of course be permitted to take charge of one set of eggs.

6 PEA-FOWL.

Even without such assistance she will be tolerably suc-
cessful. Those students of poultry who carefully read
the " Guinea-fowl " and the " Turkey," and industriously
carry the instructions there given into practice, will have
no difficulty in rearing Pea-chicks. A friend writes,
" As soon as the young could be decoyed into a shed or
house, we always caught them, and gave to each poult
three black peppercorns." I only mention the practice
for the sake of condemning it ; and must most decidedl}',
though deferentially, recommend that it be omitted,
according to the rational theory of poultry-rearing. They
are engaging little things, most elegant in appearance, and
veiy tame and confident. I have heard of one reared
under a Hen, that would sit upon the hand to peck flies
from a window. The same wise provision of nature to
be noticed in the Guinea-fowl, is evinced in a still greater
degree in the little Pea-chicks. Their native jungle, tall,
dense, sometimes impervious, swarming with reptile,
quadruped, and even insect enemies, would be a most
dangerous habitation for a little tender thing that could
run and squat merely. Accordingly they escape from the
egg with their quill feathers very highly developed. In
three days they will fly up and perch upon any thing
three feet high ; in a fortnight they will roost on trees or
the tops of sheds, and at a month or six weeks you would
see them on the ridge of a barn, if there were any inter-
mediate low stables or other buildmg that would help
them to mount from one to the other. It must be a
clever snake that would get at the cunning little rogues
when they were once perched on the feathery branch of
a bamboo. Old birds received from a distance are diffi-
cult to settle in a new home. Housing they do not like,
and will scarcely bear. Most liberal feeding is the best
bond of attachment, but even with that they will unex-
pectedly be ofT, and will perhaps be stopped on the high
road, like other suspicious vagrants. Were I myself to
recommence keeping them, I would procure a sitting of
eggs, place them under a Turkey lien, and have the

PEA-FOWL. 7

pleasure of watcliing their whole progress, literally ah ovo.
Those who are impatient to have a full-grown stock, should
still select birds not more than three years old.

The Peacock is capable of considerable attachment to
man ; and, as might be expected of a bird that has
been reared in captivity for several thousand years, may
be rendered very tame. By regular feeding he may
easily be made to take his place as a liveried attendant
at the front door, to show himself, and await his meal
with great punctuality. My own bird would come
instantly to my call, and not only eat from my hand,
but, if I held a piece of bread as high in the air as I
could reach, would fly from the ground to take it. The
hen was more timid, and could never be induced to give
such proofs of confidence. She occasionally erects her
tail like the hen Turkey, nor does such display appear
to denote the absence of any feminine virtue.

Tlie natural disposition of the Peacock is selfish and
gluttonous, and it is only by pampering this weakness
that he can be persuaded into obedience and attach-
ment. He is vain, and at the same time ungallant.
He is far from manifesting the politeness and attention
which the common Cock shows towards his mates. The
Peacock will greedily snatch, from the mouth of his
hens, those titbits and delicate morsels which the Cock
would either share with his favourites, or yield to them
entirely. The Peahen, in return, cares less for her lord
and master, and is more independent of him when once
her amorous inclinations have been indulged. She then
regards the display of his tail, his puffings and struttings,
and all the rattling of his quills, with the coolest indif-
ference. Nor does he seem to care much about her
admiration, or to make all this exhibition of his attrac-
tions to secure her notice, but is content if he can get
some astonished Hen, or silly, bewildered Duck, up a
corner, to wonder what all this fuss is about. Like
other vain coxcombs, he expects the lady to make the
first advances.

O PEA-FOWL.

Although occasionally cruel, the Peacock is shy of
fighting, particularly when in full plumage ; nor do they
so frequently engage with each other as with birds of a
different species, such as Drakes, Cocks, &c. One, out
of feather, was seen to keep up a three hours' struggle
with a Musk Drake ; had it been in full plumage, it
would not have shown fight at all. Their probable term
of life is eighteen or twenty years. They may be eaten
as poults at nine months old. If fatted, they should be
shut up together with any Turkeys that they may have
been in the habit of associating with, and fed exactly the
same. If confined alone, they pine. They are, however,
an excellent viand at a much more advanced age, and
without any fatting, provided they have been w^ell fed,
and killed at a proper season (that is, when they are
not renewing their plumage), and are hung up in the
larder a sufficient time before cooking. A disregard
to these points has probably led to their being so little
appreciated as a dainty dish.* Shotten herring, black
salmon, pork in the dog days, and illegal oysters, might,
in a similar manner, give a bad repute to other good
things, did we not manage them better. When dressed
for table, they should be larded over the breast, covered
with paper, roasted at a gentle fire, and served with
bread-sauce and brown gravy, exactly like Partridges
or Pheasants. When moulting, extra diet and variety

* With the ancient Romans they were esteemed as first-class
delicacies :

" Should hunger on j-our gnawing entrails seize.
Will Turhot only or a Peacock please ? "

Horace, Serm. I. 2. — Francis, Trans.

" Quintus Hortensius was the first who gave the Romans a taste for
Peacocks, and it soon became so fashionable a dish, that all people of
fortune had it at their tables. Cicero pleasantly says, he had the
hol(hiess to invite Hirtius to sup with him, even without a Peacock.
' Sed vide audaciam, etiam Hirtio caenam dedi sine pavone.' M.
Aufidius Latro made a prodigious fortune by fattening them for sale."
— Francis, A'ote to Serm. II. 2.

PEA-FOWL. 9

of food, including hemp-seed and animal substances, is
most desirable.

In general the Peahen makes her nest on the bare
ground, amongst nettles or rank weeds ; sometimes she
chooses the shelter of a young fir tree. The egg very much
resembles that of the Ostrich in miniature, being smooth,
but indented all over with little dimples, as if pricked
with a strong pin. It is somewhat bigger than a Turkey's
egg, bulging considerably at the larger end, of a dull,
yellowish white, and occasionally, but not always, spotted,
or rather freckled, with a few small reddish brown marks.
The new hatched chicks are striped on the head and neck
with alternate stripes of dingy yellow and pale brown;
their legs are of a dusky yellowish tinge. The under
parts and breast are simply yellowish, of a colour some-
thing between gamboge and ochre. The first wing feathers
are pale cinnamon, barred with brown, like those of a
young hawk. The Peahen has a very pleasing low kind
of note, like a common Hen, when she has young. At
this time she often puts herself into curious attitudes,
walking about with the head stretched out as far as pos-
sible, erecting the neck feathers, and frequently giving
one the idea of a wooden bird.

There are two varieties of the common Pea-fowl,
namely, the Pied and the White. The first has irregular
patches of white about it, like the Pied Guinea-fowl, the
remainder of the plumage resembling the original sort.
The White have the ocellated spots on the tail faintly
visible in certain lights. These last are tender, and
are much prized by those who prefer rarity to real
beauty. They are occasionally produced by birds of
the common kind in cases where no intercourse with
other White birds can have taken place. In one instance,
in the same brood, whose parents were both of the usual
colours, there were two of the common sort, and one
White cock and one White hen. The old notion respect-
ing them, which has given rise to serious theoretical errors
and to many false inferences, is, that they originated in

10 PEA-FOWL.

the north, in Norway or Sweden ; the climate in which
Ptarmigan, Snow Buntings, Alpine Hares, <kc., annually
put on a white livery, having made them permanently
white. From some minds this false idea has yet to be
eradicated ; it was the foundation of several of BufFon's
boldest speculations respecting the influence of climate on
the forms of animals, leading him to hazard the assertion,
among others, that the Silver Pheasant is only the Com-
mon Pheasant changed to a lighter hue by migration to a
more northerly region, vt^hile he forgot that the Silver and
the Common Pheasant are both natives of the same dis-
tricts of China and India, and that Aldrovandi, from
whom he gleaned the error, instantly refutes it, by stating
that White Pea-fowl are frequently hatched in Madeira
and the neighbouring islands. Temminck has well dis-
cussed the Paon blanc in his Hist. Nat. des Gallinaces,
tom. ii.

Nervous and fastidious persons object to their cry or
call, which, indeed, is not melodious ; and a strip of
woollen cloth is sometimes hung round their neck in the
fashion of a collar, to silence them ; the appendage, how-
ever, is anything but an ornament, and the effect is not
permanent. But I must take it to be an unhealthy
symptom, when any natural or rural sound is displeasing
to the ear. The cawing of rooks, the pattering of rain,
the hum of bees, the pealing thunder, the laughter of
children, the breezy rustling of a grove, the lashing of
wintry and the sighing of summer waves, have all been
felt by listeners in their happiest moods to be most musi-
cal— to have an effect more touching than any music ;
and should, therefore, be welcome, instead of distasteful,
to the healthy sense. And even the screams of Pea-fowl,
ringing from a distance on a summer's evening, will sug-
gest an abundance of images and recollections that cannot
fail to interest any but the most dull and unimaginative
minds.

The common Peacock was, till lately, supposed to be
the only species of its genus ; but both preserved and

PEA-FOWL. 11

living specimens of the Aldrovandine Pea-fowl, which for
a long while was supposed fabulous, have recently been
introduced into this country. But there is also a third
sort, which, on account of the confusion of synonyms,
has not received from naturalists the attention it deserves.
The difficulty has been increased by the conversion of
" Japan," into " Japanned," by some writers. Japonensis,
or Japonicus, are not, however, synonymous with Java-
nensis or Javanicus ; Java and Japan are countries sepa-
rated by many hundreds of miles of distance, even by
many degrees of longitude and latitude. Yet Sir W.
Jardine, in the " Naturalist's Library," gives the Pave
Javanensis as the same as the Japan Peacock. His figure
imperfectly represents the Java bird, as also does that
in Griffith's edition of Cuvier's " Animal Kingdom,"
although the title " Japan Peacock" is added to it. It is
possible that both species may be indigenous in one or
both of these respective countries, in which case the spe-
cific names are not wrong, but only confused.

I am not aware that any figure of the real Japanned
bird has yet been published. Living Japan Pea-fowl are
now (June, 184S) to be seen in London. In the Zoolo-
gical Gardens they are labelled " Pavo cristatus,'' as if
they were only a variety of the common sort ; but Mr.
Hunt, the intelligent and experienced head keeper, is
inclined to consider them as specifically distinct, an opinion
which is also strongly maintained by the Messrs. Baker,
the eminent dealers in rare birds. It is for naturalists to
decide the point ; but if the Japan breed be only a variety,
it is a very marked and permanent one, not departing
from its character for generation after generation. The
Japan Peacock is somewhat less in size than the com-
mon, the white patches of naked skin on the cheeks are
smaller, the wings are blue-black, edged Avith metallic
green, instead of being mottled like tortoise-shell, the
imbricated feathers on the back are smaller and less con-
spicuous, and the whole colouring of the bird is of a
darker tone. The hen, on the contrary, is very much

12

PEA-FOWL.

lighter than the common sort, with a tendency to span-
gled, perhaps even ocellated, plumage all over her body,
and she has scarcely any glistening feathers on the neck ;
her size is also inferior, and her proportions more slender.

The records of the introduction of the Java Pea-fowl
into Europe are clear and satisfactory ; not so with
respect to the Japan sort. By some the credit of the
importation has been given to Lord Amherst. Sir Robert
Heron, quoted in the " Penny Cyclopaedia," states, " The
japanned breed are, I believe, a variety originating in
England. In Lord Brownlow's numerous breed of com-
mon, white, and pied, the japanned suddenly, in my
memory, appeared amongst them. The same thing hap-
pened in Sir J. Trevelyan's flock of entirely the common
sort ; also in a breed of common and pied, given by Lady
Chatham to Mr. Thornton : and in both cases to the
extinction of the previously existing breed.'' (Zool.
Proc. 1835.) This would appear conclusive did we not
know the misadventures that have to be encountered by
any newly imported rarity in the interval between its
arrival in England and its safe delivery into its owner's
hands. For instance, at the time when Chrysanthemums
were being introduced from China at great trouble and
expense, the first known specimen of the Paper-White
variety, a novelty then, though nearly discarded now, was
bought in Covent-garden market for sixpence ; and the
unique Ocellated Turkey, the glory of the Paris Museum,
after surviving the voyage from the West Indies, was
killed on the Thames by some one who, doubtless, intended
to pluck and roast it. I must, therefore, attribute the
sudden appearance of the Japan Pea-fowl to other causes
than to a mere freak of Nature.

The Paon spicifere of Temminck and the Aldrovandine
Peacock are the same. Aldrovandi's rude woodcut is the
most truthful figure I have yet seen. The Earl of Derby
is possessed of living specimens, forwarded from Calcutta,
to which place they are brought from Burmah, and there-
fore where they bear the name of Burmese Pea-fowl, the

PEA-FOWL. 13

common kind being known by that of Indian or Jungle
Pea-fowl. His Lordship has for many years been in the
habit of breeding a considerable number of the " Japan"
or " Japanned" birds, and, like most other persons, long
laboured under the state of confusion in which their
denomination is involved, but is now convinced that the
last is really the correct one, from the extreme blackness
of the shoulder portion of the wing feathers, which, in
them, appear as if covered with a coat of the best japanned
blacking ; but in the common kind, which is the wild
bird of the jungles of Continental India, this same part
is clothed with feathers of a rusty brown, barred with
dusky colour, and sometimes with a tinge of greenish.
That the Japanned birds have a right to be considered as
a distinct species, and not a mere accidental variety of
the common Indian kind, appears to be clearly proved by
the fact that not the male birds alone, but the hens and
the chicks vary completely from the Indian or original,
supposed, stock ; and this, in the similar case of the
Polish Swan, has always been acknowledged to be a proof
of distinction. Both the hens and chicks are always
white, and yet perfectly different in degree from the true
White variety. I will, therefore, propose that the Ja-
panned Pea-fowl be allowed a place in scientific zoology
by the name of Pavo picatus.

The common kind has, probably, been tamed and
domesticated ever since there have existed human eyes
to admire it. Here is one tradition of its transmission
to us : —

" The Pea-fowl is said to have been brought from the
barbarians into Greece ; and being for a long time rare,
it was then exhibited for money to the admirers of beauty ;
and at Athens both men and women were admitted to
examine it every new moon, and a profit was made of
the show, and, as Antiphon says in his speech against
Erasistratus, the male and female were valued at 1,000
drachmae." — JElian, lib. v. c. xxi. — which, if we take
the drachma at l\d., is 31/. .5s. the pair, a high price

14 PEA-FOWL.

certainly, but not more than a pair of very rare birds,
such as the Ocellated Turkey, or the Apteryx, alive and
in health, would fetch now in England, at the first bidding.

The remarkable point in this account is that the creature
"was not gratuitously exhibited, like the triumphal spoils
of conquered nations, but was made a wild beast show,
fiiadov, for a consideration, and as a matter of gain. One
would like to know the price of admission, what sort of
brass band performed before the doors, and whether the
pictorial representations hung outside at all rivalled the
brilliant display now made by Mr. Wombwell.

But the most extraordmary Peacock in the world,
altogether unique, and likely to remain so, whose value
reduces that of the Athenian birds to a mere nothing,
and which is only to be approached in this respect by the
goose which lays golden eggs, if we could find her, is kept
at Windsor Castle ; and long may Her Majesty Queen
Victoria continue in possession of it. Not being larger
than an ordinary Hen, it consumes but little food ; and
does no mischief in the gardens, being rarely permitted to
go abroad. It would be cheap at 30,000/. : for indepen-
dent of its worth as a trophy, and the strange history
attached to it, its tail is made up of diamonds, and the
rest of its body is composed of other costly materials, of
which gold is the least precious. It is a specimen of
Ornamental Poultry, not unsuitable to the monarch of
Great Britain ; but if we may presume to guess at the
tastes of the royal owner, more pleasure is derived from
the sight of its living models than from the inanimate
splendours of this glittering toy, although it does so far —

" Outsliine the wealth of Ormus and of Ind,
Or where the gorpreous East with richest hand
Showers on her kings barbaric pearl and gold."

THE MUTE SWAN.— (Cygnus Olor.)

" The peaceful monarch of the lake." — Scott.
" Solituclinem faciunt, pacem vocant." — Tacitus.
" They make a solitude, and call it peace."

The Swan is, beyond all question, the bird to place,
as a finishing stroke of art, on the smooth lake which
expands before our mansions. It is perfectly needless,
however delightful, to quote Milton and others, lauding
the arched neck, the white wings, the oary feet, and so
on. Its superb beauty is undeniable and acknowledged ;
and, to borrow an apt metaphor, we do not wish, in the
present volume, to thresh straw that has been thrice
threshed before, to repeat how lovely the Swan is on the
silver lake, " floating double, swan and shadow ;" for we
might thus run, scissors in hand, through the whole
Corpus Poetarum. Our object, in short, is simply to
point out the best mode of managing them and keeping
them.

Any one who lives on the banks of a moderately sized
stream, and has a Swan-right on that stream, will pro-
bably also have the means of keeping a Keeper, who will
save him every trouble. But there are a great many
people, occupiers of large farm-houses, villas, country
mansions, or moated residences, persons, perhaps, of con-
siderable wealth, who have no manorial rights, no ancient
Swan-mark belonging to their estate, but who would
willingly pay for the maintenance of a pair of Swans and
their annual brood of Cygnets, on inclosed or artificial
waters, if they knew but how to order them aright.

16 THE MUTE SWAN.

Imprimis, then, they are called " Tame Swans," " Do-
mestic Swans :" never were ejiithets more inappropriate,
unless we agree to say, " tame Hyaena, tame Wolf, tame
Rat, domestic Pheasant, domestic Swallow." They will
come to their keeper's call, and take food from his hand ;
they will keep at home, when they are completely
prevented from ranging out of bounds abroad : so far
they are tamed and domesticated, but no further, and
never will be. To compare the relations which exist
between them and man, with those by which we retain
the Goose and the common Fowl, is about as correct as
to believe that the same temper and disposition influence
the faithful Dog and the wildest Jackal of the wilderness.
I put the case thus strongly, in order that it may be
understood clearly. The comparisons may be a little
exaggerated, but they will serve to raise the real truth into
bolder and higher relief. Many systematic naturalists, of
deserved reputation, have not been aware of the fact. Pro-
fessor Low, speaking of the effects of domestication on
birds, says, — " The Swan, the noblest of all water-fowls,
becomes chained, as it were, to our lakes and ponds, by
the mere change of his natural form." — Domesticated
Animals of the British Islands. Introduction, p. liv.
Chained, indeed ! I should like the learned professor
to see a pair of unmutilated Swans cleaving the air with
extended pinions. He evidently takes the Swan to be a
domesticated bird, and that it will not fly away, instead
of that it cannot. Listen to this : — " I have never kept
Swans myself, but those of some relatives a few miles off
sometimes pay us a visit, performing their flight in an
incredibly short time." H. H. — Waterton, who speaks
only so far as he has seen, in his vivid essays gives a
similar account of the proceedings of a Swan, whom he
indulged in the free use of his wings, for the gratification
of observing his graceful evolutions in the air,* But, at

* " Its powers of flight were truly astonishing. It visited all the
sheets of water for many miles around. On taking its excursions into

THE MUTE SWAN. 17

present, the discovery, and introduction, and dispersion
of a species of Swan, that would be really tame, and stay
at home without being tied by the wing, as prolific, and
having as valuable plumage and flesh as the common
sort, would be one of the most valuable boons which the
great London societies could now offer to the proprietors
of limited portions of fluvial and lacustrine waters.

The following extract may give a valuable hint ; unfor-
tunately it does not state whether the pinioning knife had
been used. " At the residence of the Governor of the
I^rovince at Calix, I saw three Swans, which, having been
taken when young, were as tame as Domestic Geese, to
which these birds are so much alike in every respect, that
I can have no doubt of their belonging to one genus.
Their bill is flat and black at the extremity, as well as on
the margins, convex and somewhat angular in the middle,
so far at least that the swelling part terminates in an
angle. The middle is fleshy where the oblong nostrils
are situated ; the base flat or quadrangular, with two
sinuses pointing upwards, and pale-coloured. The mar-
gin is toothed, just like the Concha Veneris (Cyprsea)."
— Linnauss Tour in Lapland, vol. ii. Mr. Yarrell,
who, of all naturalists, is perhaps best acquainted with
the nice distinctions that separate the various species of
Swans, seems to refer the above account to the Hooper
or Whistling Swan.

A service might thus be rendered to economical orni-
thology by fairly trying the Hooper, of whose tameability
Linnaeus speaks so highly ; it is less graceful, however,
bearing more resemblance in its attitudes and carriage to
the Canada Goose. There is also the Polish Swan, that
produces white Cygnets ; and Bewick's Swan, if to be
procured alive, might originate a stock of great value for
limited pieces of water, since it averages in size one-third

the world at large, I ■would often say to it, in a kindly tone of voice as
it flew over ray head, ' Qui amat periculum, peribit in illo' ; as I too
clearly foresaw that foes would lie in ambush for it." — Essays, 2nd
Scries, p. 122.

C

18 THE MUTE SWAN.

less than the Cygnus Olor. Npne of the species can be
less domestic than the Mute Swan, if it would really
open its heart to us ; but, being a " game" bird, of great
pluck, it carries off matters with a high hand, and tem-
porarily conceals its hatred of the trammels in which it is
compelled to live ; the very webs of its feet being some-
times slit, to retard it in its unkind chase after other
water-fowl. It does not shrink from the severest weather
which we experience, but faces the pelting storm, as if
anchored, in the most exposed parts of the lake. For
those to whom amount of purchase-money is of little
importance, there is the Black Swan, a creature of much
gentler manners, less in size, less tyrannical to other birds,
and indeed altogether taking in its ways. It is strange
that their price should still continue so high, as they
breed in this country, frequently, though not abundantly,
under circumstances that must be considered unfavour-
able. I suspect from the localities in Australia where
they were originally found, that they would thrive all the
better for an occasional marine diet, and, like the Shel-
drake, enjoy now and then a treat of cockles and shrimps,
with perhaps a barrowful of seaweed as the joint on which
to cut and come again.

Those who wish to make themselves acquainted with
the habits and dispositions, as well as the mere figures
and descriptions of animals, should be informed that all
living creatures cannot be divided into two distinct ranks
of Wild and Tame, as, for example, the Horse and the
Zebra among quadrupeds, and the Blue Eock Pigeon and
the Ringdove among birds, just as they would separate
the red and the white men on a chess-board, but that there
is a most perplexing intermediate multitude, neither wild
nor yet tameable, but usually spoken of as " familiar " or
" half-domesticated," a term without meaning — dodging,
like camp-followers, on the offskirts of human society, but
determmed never to enhst in the drilled and disciplined
ranks, playing the game of "off and on," but always
ending with the " off." Such are, among many others,

THE MUTE SWAN. 19

the Partridge, Rats and Mice, the House Sparrow, the
Water Hen, and at a still greater distance, I believe and
fear, the whole genus of Swans proper.

Is there nothing resembling this amongst the human
race ? The mention of the word " Gipsy " will set
thought-capable persons a-thinking. " Oh ! but they
have been neglected, uneducated, ill-cared for ! Educate !
Educate ! " say well-intentioned persons, who seem to
declare that the soul of man is a cmie blanche, and who
would thereby, unthinkingly, deny the doctrine of Origi-
nal Sin, as asserted by the Church of England. But I
have seen enough both of bird and mankind to know that
the heart of neither is a carte blanche — you cannot write
on either, whatever it may be your j^leasure there to
inscribe. Your duty, in both cases, is to take them as
you find them, and make the best you can of them for
their interest, which will be found eventually to coincide
with your own.

Swans, then, are ferce naturce to all intents and pur-
poses ; of that there is no doubt, whatever the law of the
matter may be : but, although capricious birds, wild in
their very nature, like most living creatures they have
some attachment to place. The first point, therefore, is
to settle them agreeably in their destined home. Old
birds are less likely to be contented with a new abode,
unless very distant from their former one, and are seldom
to be obtained in the market. Cygnets may be procured
ever)'^ autumn ; if they have been put up to fat for some
time, so much the better, as they will the sooner become
tame, and contented with a small range — which I am
supposing to be the thing required. The disadvantage of
having Cygnets to begin swan-keeping with, is, that they
are less ornamental till they have attained their perfect
plumage, and the proper orange colour of the bill, and
that they do not breed till their third year. It is not,
however, generally known that the male is capable of
increasing his kind a year earlier than the female ; so that
a brood may be obtained from an old hen, and a cock-

c 2

20 THE MUTE SWAN.

bird in his second year. In selecting a pair, the great
thing is to make sure of having two birds of opposite
sexes. Two cock-birds will not live together, and their
mutual aversion would soon show that all was not right ;
but two hens will — which is the case also with Pigeons.
A friend of mine procured a couple of Swans ; they were
affectionate and happy in each other's society : in due
time they made their nest and laid. Great were the
expectations ; such a plenty of eggs ! both Swans assiduous
in sitting — rather suspicious that — the produce addle-eggs.
The two ladies could not raise up a family between them.
In selecting any water-birds whose plumage is alike in
both sexes, and which cannot therefore be distinguished
with certainty, the best rule is to see them in the water,
and take that which swims deepest for the female, and
that which floats with greatest buoyancy for the male,
remembering that all creatures of the masculine gender
have the largest lungs in proportion to their size. The
neck of the cock-bird is usually thicker. An experienced
eye will, besides, detect a certain feminine gentleness and
modesty in the one, and an alacrity and boldness in
the other, which is a tolerably safe guide, as well as an
appropriate and becoming attribute to the creatures them-
selves. It is cheaper in the end to give a fair price for a
pair of old, well-seasoned birds to begin with, than to
undergo the care, the delay, and perhaps the disappoint-
ment of nursing Cygnets through their youth of three long
years' duration. Brightness and clearness of the orange
on the bill, and full development of the knob or "berry,"
indicate the complete maturity of the bird. Supposing,
however, the reader to have obtained two Cygnets
that are not mere friends, but actually husband and wife,
he will recollect that those reserved for fatting are never
pinioned, lest it should check their progress, and he will
request the operation to be performed before he has them
home, in order that they may have the fewest possible
disagreeable reminiscences connected with the spot where
they are to spend their lives. There are two ways

THE MUTE SWAN. 21

of pinioning birds ; at the elbow joint, and at the wrist.
The amputation of the part of the wing which corresponds
to our hand is quite sufficient to prevent the flight of the
short-winged species, as far as migration is concerned,
disfigures them less than the closer pruning, and still
leaves them the means of escape from a dog or a poacher,
allows them now and then in their gambols to fancy they
are free, and to enjoy a sort of half-run, half-fly from the
lawn into the water. Kindness, comfort, and good feed-
ing must be employed to keep them at home as far
as possible ; but the loss of the last joint only of the wing
will not be enough to prevent Swans from joining any
travelling companions who are on the way to the Arctic
circle. I should recommend the female to be pinioned at
the wrist, the male at the elbow, trusting to their mutual
attachment to keep the less-maimed bird from deserting
her mate. But however it be done, let it be set about in
a workmanlike manner ; no chopping nor hacking, nor
hewing, nor butchering. Many Cygnets are annually
killed by the clumsy way in which their wing is lopped
off. They suffer from the shock to their nervous system
as much as from the haemorrhage.

A skilful operator will feel for the joint, divide the skin,
and turn the bone neatly out of the socket. I will allow
him to shed just one drop of blood — no more. I would be
as hard upon him as Portia was upon the flesh-cutting Jew.

** This bond doth give here no jot of blood;
Tlie words expressly are a limb of swan ;
Take then thy bond, take thou thy limb of swan ;
But, in the cutting it, if tiiou dost shed
One drop of cygnine blood, thy clumsiness
Shall brand the name of ' Bungler' on thy back.
Therefore, prepare thee to cut off the limb,
Shed thou no blood ; nor cut thou less, nor more
But just the very limb ; if thou tak'st more
Or less than just the limb, thou shall bewail
The consequence."

If any brook runs into and from the pond where they
are to remain, their escape through that channel must

22 THE MUTE SWAN.

be prevented by sheep-netting, hurdles, pales, or other
fencing, which should be continued some distance inland,
lest they should walk away, if they cannot swim away.
This precaution will be found particularly necessary if
there is any main stream in the immediate neighbourhood.
A feeding trough may be fixed for them in the pond, in
the part where it is most desirable that they should be
accustomed to display themselves. Those who are
fastidious about the sight of such an object, or who wish
to have it thought that the Swans keep so much in view
from purely disinterested motives (from simple affection
to their masters, not from the greedy love of corn) may
contrive to have it hid beneath a bank, or behind a tree
or shrub. The trough must be fixed in the pond on two
firm posts, within arm's length of the shore, raised high
enough from the water to prevent Ducks from stealing
the food contained therein, having a cover which lifts up
by hinges, and so forms a lid, to keep out rats and
sparrows, and open only in front. Many persons, however,
feed their Swans by simply throwing the corn into shallow
water. They will skim the surface for the light grains
which float, and then submerge their heads in search of
that which has sunk. Should any Carp (that fresh-water
Fox) be occupants of the same lake, it will be found that
they soon learn the accustomed hours of feeding, and will
come to take their share along with their feathered friends.
But it is cruel to locate a pair of Swans, for the sake of
their beauty, in a new-made piece of water whose banks
and bottom are as barren and bare as the inside of a
hand-basin. A load or two of water-weeds should have
been thrown in, the previous spring, to propagate them-
selves and afford pasturage. Sometimes after an old
established sheet has been cleansed at a great expense, it
is thought that Swans would now look well there, and
they are forthwith turned in, to be starved ; whereas they
would thankfully have undertaken the cleansing task for
nothing. Swan-food exists in proportion to the shallow-
ness and foulness, not to the extent and clearness of the

THE MUTE SWAN. 23

water. A yard of margin is worth a mile of deep
stream ; one muddy Norfolk broad, with its oozy banks,
labyrinthine creeks, and its forests of rushes, reeds, and
sedges, is better, in this respect, than all " the blue rushing
of the arrowy Rhone," or the whole azure expanse of the
brilliant Lake of Geneva.

In confined waters Swans require a liberal supply of
food in the autumn, when the weeds run short. It
should be remembered that at this season they have to
supply themselves with a new suit of clothes, as well as
to maintain their daily strength. If they have not been
taught to eat corn, and have not acquired a notion of
grazing, they will perish from starvation as undoubtedly
as a canary bird neglected in its cage. Young birds are
apt to be fanciful or stupid, and have not sense enough
to come on the bank and eat grass, or pick up the
threshed corn that may be thrown down to them.
Sometimes they may be tempted with a lock of un-
threshed barley or oats, thrown, straw and all, into
the water, which they will instinctively lay hold of and
devour. Cygnets which have been previously put up
to fatten, will give little or no trouble in this respect,
besides the advantage of being accustomed to the near
approach of a keeper.

In one week I lost two Swans, a Cygnet, and a year-
old bird, from the consequences, I fear, of a few days'
short diet at moulting time. Suspecting foul play from
some ill-natured person, I caused a post mortem examina-
tion to be made of that which died last ; but, in a literal
sense, nothing could be found. The poor thing was
empty and emaciated, though it had been fed with corn
two or three days before, and though it had only to ascend
a bank a foot high to enjoy a plentiful feast of good grass.
It had been seen sailing about in apparent health and
spirits the previous evening, and my mind is not yet quite
satisfied about the subject. The following remarks may
perhaps a{l:brd some clue in similar cases.

" Swans wandering by night, in search of watercresses

24 THE MUTE SWAN.

chiefly, are always in danger from the different vermin
which prey upon pouUry and game — weasels, stoats,
polecats, &c. And Swans thus destroyed exhibit no
wounds or marks upon the body ; but upon the head and
neck, where, on a minute inspection, the wounds are
discovered through which the vermin have sucked the
life-blood, leaving the bulk so little affected that the
feathers are unruffled. The wounds appear scarcely the
size of a pin's head, but are generally above half-an-inch
deep. Geese and Turkeys are also liable to be destroyed
by these nocturnal marauders, which, like all beasts of
prey, sleep throughout the day." — Moubray on Poultry,
8th Edition, p. 128.

One would doubt the fact of so large a bird as the
Swan falling a victim to a wretched little weasel. But a
relation of mine had a pair of Canada Geese, birds
little inferior in size to the Swan, which in the breeding
season were suffered to shift their quarters from the farm-
yard, their usual abode, to a neighbouring broad, where he
had rights. After a time one bird returned home alone,
and its missing mate was at length discovered, half-
decomposed, on a sedgy islet in the broad in such a posi-
tion as to indicate that it had been surprised and killed by
one of the larger weasels, a stoat or a polecat.

Considerable difference of opinion has been entertained
respecting the diet of the Swan ; some supposing it to be
exclusively vegetable, others believing that fish enter
largely into it. My own observations tend to prove that
a very considerable part of their nutriment is obtained
from minute insects and molluscs. The sluggish, weedy
waters, where Swans thrive best, abound with such crea-
tures ; and the Whale is a sufficient example that the size
of the prey is no index to the magnitude of the creatures
that subsist on it. Swans fall off in condition very
rapidly in autumn, however liberally they are supplied
with corn, immediately that the temperature drops to any
extent, and the minor inhabitants of the pools disappear
into their winter retreats. A very small fisli might now

THE MUTE SWAN. 25

and then not come amiss to them, and spawn would be
greedily devoured. A Swan must be considerably more
destructive in this respect than the poor little Water
Ouzel, which is so bitterly persecuted along the salmon-
streams of Scotland, for the alleged injury it does to the
ova of the fish. The seeds of grasses, and the soft starchy
parts of aquatic plants, are no doubt a considerable
portion of the daily ration of the Swan. It seems to
prefer sloppy, half-decayed vegetation, to that which is
fresh and crisp. Spare garden-stuff", spinach, and such
like, thrown out for them, is liked all the better for
having lain soaking at least twenty-four hours, that is, in
such time as it has become sodden and attacked by
small fresh-water shell-fish. If their mode of feeding
is watched, it will be found to countenance the popular
belief that many birds live "by suction ;" they appear to
suck down the pappy food, which pleases them best,
rather than fairly to crop and swallow it.

Consequently, there is no bird in the least comparable
to the Swan as an agent for clearing a pond of weeds. It
does not, however, eat all weeds indiscriminately ; it seems
scarcely to touch the water-lilies, white and yellow, except
perhaps in a very young state, though it no doubt checks
their increase by seed. These, when too numerous, may
be uprooted by means of a long pole armed with an iron
claw, and used either from the shore or from a boat ;
once detached from their moorings they may be floated
away. Swans seem to prefer, first, what we call the
lower forms of vegetation, the Confervas and the Chara-
ceae, then the Callitricha aquatica, or Water Starwort,
and the long list of Potamogetons, or Pond-weeds : the
rhizomata of all sorts of reeds, rushes, arrow-heads, &c.,
are greedily torn up and devoured. A lake of half an
acre in extent is quite large enough (with the assistance of
corn, refuse vegetables, and grass-clippings, when the
weeds run short) not only to maintain a pair of Swans,
but to supply an acceptable lot of fat Cygnets every
autumn. Swans have been kept successfully in a much

26 THE MUTE SWAN.

more limited space. But in one instance within my
own knowledge, where the extent of water is not
a quarter of an acre, the annual brood, as soon as
they entered the pond in company with their parents,
were devoured by some enormous pet pike that equally
shared their owner's favour — a hint that one cannot
breed Swans and fresh-water sharks at the same time and
place.

The Swan, consuming the submerged refuse of plants,
is thus the scavenger of the waters, as the Hysena and the
Vulture are of the land. In such countries as Holland,
and still more about the deltas of large rivers in the south
of Europe and western Asia, their influence must be very
beneficial. Indeed, we are compelled to believe that they
have been bountifully created to fulfil this office of
cleansing the half-stagnant water-courses. Unlike the old
dragons that could exhale a pestilence and infect a whole
district with their breath, these winged tenants of the
marsh swallow many a plague and fever up. Not a little
miasma has travelled harmlessly down the throats of
Swans, They can fatten on poisons, although ignorant of
King Mithridates, his antidote.

A curious instance of the animal diet of the Swan
once occurred to myself. The conmion brown shrimp, it
is well known, inhabits, and thrives in waters less strongly
impregnated with salt than the open sea, which is not the
case with several other species : and I was desirous of
tiying whether it were possible to stock with them a piece
of water absolutely fresh. A quantity were procured
and brought home in a fish kettle of tidal river-water ; but
the heat of the weather at the time was much against the
success of the experiment. On arriving at their journey's
end, the great majority were dead. They were all, how-
ever, turned out together : a few swam off apparently
unaffected by the unwonted element, and were never seen
or heard of afterwards ; the rest sank to the bottom ;
when one of my Swans, expecting her feed of corn, sailed
up, and began feasting on the dead shrimps, crushing

THE MUTE SWAN. 27

them in her bill before she swallowed them, and appear-
ing much to relish her meal.

The difficulty there sometimes is in getting Swans to
eat corn, or to graze like Geese, shows that either diet is
with them an acquired taste.

At the proper age and season they will show a dispo-
sition to breed, if well fed, although restricted within
comparatively narrow limits. As soon as they have
decidedly fixed upon the spot for their nest, it will be an
assistance to take them two or three barrowfuls of coarse
litter. Sedges and rushes are the best, with perhaps a
few sticks, which they can arrange at their own pleasure,
The number of eggs laid will vary from five or six to ten,
but the number of Cygnets hatched seems, like the fall of
lambs, to depend much upon the season and the weather
of the few preceding months. One year the three pairs
of Swans nearest to me had each a brood of nine —
twenty-seven Cygnets in only three families. But this is
above the average. I have, however, seen seven reared
on a very small moat. It is better not to gratify any
unnecessary curiosity respecting the eggs ; indeed the
parent birds will hardly allow it. The cock makes great
show, and often more than show, of fight against inter-
lopers. A blow from his pinion on land is better avoided ;
and in the water he would bother the strongest swimmer
to escape from his fury. I was once attacked by a Swan
when walking too intrusively near his lady's lying-in bed ;
he was keeping guard by sailing in short tacks backwards
and forwards before her, but he left the water to give me
a forcible hint to go about my own business. The only
thing was to meet the threatened danger ; so seizing his
neck in one hand and his outstretched wing in the other,
I tossed him as far into the middle of the stream as I
could. He seemed a little astonished for a few moments,
but lashing the waters into foam he would have renewed
the attack had I not speedily withdrawn from his domin-
ions. Coming to close quarters with them is the surest
mode of defence. The blow of a Swan's wing, to take

28 THE MUTE SWAN.

effect, must hit from a certain distance. It is clear they
are mischievously minded at such times ; but I think that
the real danger to be apprehended has, from policy, been
exaggerated, that it may act as a sort of guardian dragon
to the tempting fruit of the Hesperides. There are pos-
sibly persons living who would not be unwilling to have
it believed that Hares and Pheasants are most formidable
creatures to encounter especially on moonlight nights.

The Cygnets when first hatched are of a slaty grey,
inclining to mouse colour. The time of incubation is six
weeks, or thereabouts. A common notion in Norfolk is
that the Cygnets cannot be hatched till a thunder-storm
comes to break the shells, and that the hen will go on
sitting till the birth of her young ones is complimented
with that portentous salute. A Swan might boast with
Owen Glendower —

" At my nativity
The front of heaven was full of fiery shapes,
Of burning cressets ; know, that at my birth
The frame and the foundations of the earth
Shook like a coward."

Let us not reply in the contemptuous language of
Hotspur, nor altogether reject the popular idea ; the close
sultry weather which sometimes for two or three days
precedes a tempest, would hasten the development of
chicks that were nearly arrived at the hatching point.
What effect electrical oscillations have on animal life we
as yet know not, but our own feehngs tell us they have
some.

The happy parents will charge themselves with the
entire maintenance of their tender young, if they have
but the range of a large extent of river banks and
shallow water ; will lead them up the quiet ditches, point
out the juicy blade, the floating seed, the struggling insect,
the sinuous worm ; will then steer to shoals left by some
circling eddy, and, stirring up the soft sediment with
their broad feet, show that minute but nutritious particles
may thence be extracted. As hunger is satisfied and

THE MUTE SWAN. 29

weariness comes on, the mother will sink in the stream
till her back becomes an easy landing-place, and the
nurslings are thus transferred in a secure and downy-
cradle to fresh feeding-places.

But in a restricted beat they must not be left altogether
to themselves. A gently sloping bank will enable them
to repair at pleasure to the grassy margin. The old ones
must have plenty of corn, which they will by and by
teach their young to eat ; tender vegetables from the
kitchen-garden, such as endive, lettuce, or cress, will
help to sustain them, besides attracting those soft-bodied
water-creatures that are of all food the most needful.
Pollard frequently scattered on the surface of the pond
will be of material assistance ; and whatever it is found
that they will eat, let them have in the greatest abundance.
Their growth is rapid ; their weight should be considerable,
with but little time to acquire it in. The period cannot
be extended much longer than from June to the end of
November. By Christmas they must all either be eaten,
oT have emigrated, when the parents will begin to direct
their thoughts forward to a succeeding family. Confined
Swans sometimes get a sort of quid of mud, fibres, and
gravel under their chins, which it is as well now and
then to examine and clean out.

A fat Cygnet is a capital dish, and deserves a higher
repute than it generally obtains. Its stately appearance
on the table is alone worth something. Those who have
only a good-sized pond — say from a quarter to half an
acre of water — may rear and fat an annual brood. In so
small a space, the old birds must of course share with
their young the extra supply of fatting corn ; but they
will get through the winter the better for it, and be more
prolific in the spring, Neither they nor their Cygnets
should at any time be allowed to become poor.

When Cygnets are removed from their parents to be
fatted in a regular Swan-pond, it is usual to separate them
at the end of August or the beginning of September. At
first, grass is thrown into the water to them twice a day

30 THE MUTE SWAN.

with their other food ; but this is not continued for more
than a fortnight. A coomb of barley is the estabhshed
allowance to fat each Swan. The corn is put into
shallow tubs set just under water. The birds are con-
sidered worth from 10s. to 12s. each when they are
"hopped" or "upped"frora their native streams ; but
when brought into prime condition, 21., formerly 2/. 2s.
They may occasionally be had for less, in which case they
make a cheap as well as a handsome dish to set before a
large dinner party. Their weight in the feathers varies
from 25lbs, to 28lbs,, and sometimes, though rarely,
SOlbs. They are never better than in the month of
November, when the gastronomical enquirer, who is as
yet unacquainted with their merits, is recommended to
give them a fair and impartial trial. They may be had
till Christmas, after which they are good for nothing.
A bird weighing 28 lbs. before Christmas, has been
known to shrink to 17 or 18 lbs. by the end of January,
in spite of high feeding. Therefore, make hay while the
sun shines, Mr. Epicure. As, in the spring, the snowdrop
gives way to the primrose and the violet, so, in autumn,
the Swan yields its place on the board to the Turkey
and the Guinea-fowl. If to-day is lost, to-morrow the
opportunity will have flown, in higher concerns than
mere eating and drinking. Now — or, perhaps, never.

The Swan-feasts that seem to have left the most
pleasing impressions on the palates of the partakers have
been solemnised as early as the month of September.
As to the mode of dressing, those artists who are skilled
in the treatment of venison will easily cook Swan, viz.,
with a meal crust over it to keep the gravy in. Instead
of stuffing it with sage and onions, like a Goose (vulgar
condiments to vulgar birds), use rump-steak chopped fine,
and seasoned with cayenne and salt. When browned,
and served to an admiring circle, let it have rich gi-avy
and currant-jelly, the latter hot as well as cold, in
respectful attendance. — And is that all ? No ; the best
remains behind. The liash next day is worth riding

THE MUTE SWAN. 31

twenty miles to eat. Nay, more ; the giblets make soup
before which ox-tail sinks into insignificance. The mere
writing about it has made me hungry. Mr. Yarrell gives
some information on the subject, which I will not wrong
him by pirating. See "British Birds," vol. iii. p. 127.
He has also collected a curious list of swan-marks.

I will mention two instances of Swans doing well in a
very small scope, as an encouragement to those who are
inclined to establish a couple of these fine birds where
there may be but little apparent accommodation for them.

The first occurred some years ago at Bircham Tofts in
Norfolk. A single Swan, driven out or wandering from
Houghton, it was supposed, but never known exactly,
took possession of a pond, and not being claimed remained
there several years. It was not fed, but we may believe
that in hard winters some charitable farmer threw it
a little dross corn ; and so it continued happy and well.
But in the same parish there was, at a short distance,
another and a smaller pond, to which the Swan would
occasionally walk when provisions fell short in his original
residence. In one of these removals he was stoned by
the village boys, and so much injured that he died.
Being desirous to know whether there was any peculiarity
in the aquatic vegetation of the pond, which rendered it
capable of supporting such a large bird so constantly,
I requested to have a sample of weeds taken from it
at random, and was most obligingly supplied by the
occupier. But there was nothing which may not be found
in every other pond in the county — brook-lime, persicaria,
myosotis, and the commonest weeds. How far worms,
larvae, and small molluscs may abound, I am unable to say.

The second case, which must be well remembered by
all travellers from Norwich to London by the Bury road,
is at Long Stratton, in Norfolk, where Swans have for
some years been kept in the smallest piece of water I ever
saw occupied by them, and yet they have always appeared
healthy and contented. The water is exposed to the
high road without any fence whatever, but an iron railing,

32 THE MUTE SWAN.

and the Swans became so tame as to eat from the hand
of casual passers by. But owing to ill-nature, or mere
mischievousness, perhaps, there has been a sad succession
of individual specimens. About thirty years back a pair
of Swans were put into this very small pond or canal,
which lies before the mansion of the Rev. Ellis Burroughes.
This pair remained there about fifteen years, but never
bred, probably on account of their limited scope and con-
fined and exposed situation. However, they kept the
water quite free from any weeds, and also fed upon the
grass that grew by the water's edge. They were besides
constantly supplied with a quarter of a peck of oats
every morning during the summer months, and in winter
their supply of dry food was increased in proportion to
their wants. They also got many odd bits of bread from
the neighbours, which they would eat if thrown into the
water ; they were very fond of the leaves of crowfoot,
and were familiar enough to take them from the hand.
After this it is grievous to be informed that one of them
was stoned to death (as was believed), and that at the end
of a few months the survivor met with a similar fate. It
is melancholy to reflect that there should be in the world
envious and malignant people who mutter to themselves
in this sort of spirit : " Ah ! you're a very great person,
keeping Swans and so on ! You think they look very
grand sailing before your house ! You're getting up very
fast ! Other people can't keep Swans, but other people are
just as good as you. You think nobody can let you down a
peg, do you ? We '11 see ! " And next day the ornament
of the neighbourhood is found mutilated or murdered.

It is needless to go through the list of fresh arrivals
that were successively maltreated and destroyed, but we
will hurry on to the last, a beautiful and majestic bird, of
which after a residence of four or five years, my informant
writes, * ' for shame be it spoken, some villain broke his
neck, and now (March 1848) there are none."

This last instance enables us to make a rough estimate
of tlie cost of maintaining a pair of Swans. Those at

THE MUTE SWAN.

33

Stratton had a quarter of a peck of oats a day in summer.
But in less incommodious places, and where garden rub-
bish was supplied, two pecks a week would be a fair
allowance for all the year round. This amounts to 6^
coombs per annum. Take the oats at 15s. per coomb, as,
if they are to be bought, the best are the cheapest, and
the annual expense is 4/. 17s. 6d. — a sum soon spent in
clearing an artificial lake by human labour. On the other
hand, half a dozen Cygnets ought to be reared, and cannot
be set down as worth less than 10s. each. Any farmer
who has plenty of tail corn, will have no occasion to buy
anything for them, as he can send a little of that to be ground
for the Cygnets, and it
will be better than heavier
meal, that would not float
sosurely. But if the swan-
keeper be hospitably dis-
posed, and choose to eat
the Cygnets with his
friends, instead of selling
them to the dealers, the
brood cannot very justly
be brought over to the
credit side, of his cash
account at least.

The learned have dis-
covered a number of mys-
terious convolutions of
the trachea in this genus,
but it is doubtful whether
all their researches have
enabled them to match
the subjoined amusing
instance from the "Ortus
Sanitatis," or "Garden of
Health," a rare old book

printed in 14-91, and enriched by numerous illustrations,
that are attributed to Albert Durer.

THE TURKEY,

" There is no poor animal so beset with ignorant and destructive
empiricism, on its first introduction into life, as the Turkey." — A. W.

If we call to mind the many and valuable acquisitions,
from both the animal and vegetable kingdom, which have
been made subservient to the use of Man -within compara-
tively a very recent period, it is not too much to believe
that others, of nearly, or quite equal value, still remain
to reward the labour and pains of a persevering search.
There is the whole of central Africa, central Australia,
great part of China and northern India (which have
already afforded us so much), and innumerable half-
explored or unexplored islands, all waiting to be ransacked
for our benefit. And without depending on those distant
regions, we know not yet what we may find at home ;
seeing that the delicious Seakale — an esculent whose
merits are yet unknown to many a family of competent
means living in retirement — has only within the last few
years sprung up under our very feet ; and the Capercali,
by an easy importation, has been rescued from extinction
in Great Britain.

Among the living tributaries to the luxury of Man,
the Turkey is an example of the results yet to be expected
from the exploring spirit of our day. It is the most
recent, and, except the Hen and the Goose, the most
valuable of our domesticated birds. We may, indeed,
call it quite a new introduction ; for what, after all, is a
period of three hundred years compared with the time
during which Man has had dominion over the earth and
its brute inhabitants 1 The obscurity which hangs over

THE TURKEY. 35

the transmission of the Turkey from America, and which
there is Httle chance of clearing away, except by industri-
ous ferreting amongst old family records and memorandum
books, shows that those who brought it to the Old World
had no idea of the value of what they were importing ; but
probably regarded it like any other remarkable production
of nature — a IMacaw or a Tortoise. The young would be
distributed among friends with the same feeling that
Golden Pheasants and such like are with us ; these again
would thrive and increase, and the nation would suddenly
find itself in the possession of a race, not of pleasing jDets,
but of a valuable, prolific, and hardy stock of poultry.
Such I take to be the history of the Turkey in England ; *
and the Zoological and Ornithological Societies may here-
after find that some creature that was disregarded, or
undervalued, or even yet unobtained, will prove unex-
pectedly domestic and profitable (it may be the Cereopsis,
some of the Indian Polyplectrons, or the elegant Honduras
Turkey) ; to further which great object of their associa-
tion they cannot do better than communicate spare speci-
mens, on the most liberal and encouraging terms, to such
persons as they believe competent fairly to test their
value.

The varieties of the domesticated Turkey are not very
distinct. The most so is the Norfolk ; others may nearly
all be swept into what is called the Cambridge breed
(thus including the Bustard breed and the Dutch copper-
coloured), which, however, is as much cultivated in Nor-
folk as the old local stock, and birds of which kind often
pass for true Norfolks, because they have been procured

* The Norfolk Arcbaiology, Vol. I., gives a bill of fare of the Coro-
ration dinner of King Henry VI., a. d. 1429, communicated by the
Rev. G. H. Dashwood, and one dish in the third course is " Great
Birde;" of which he remarks, " ])crhap3 the Bustard. The Turkey
was not introduced into England till about the year 1524. I recollect
being told some years since by one of the family, that an ancestor of
Sir George Strickland, Bart., brought the first to this country ; what
truth tlicre is in the claim of the introduction of this delicacy, I know
not, but the Stricklands bear a ' Turkey- cock in his pride' for their
crest." D 2

36 THE TURKEY.

from that county. The real Norfolk Turkey is more
hardy, but less ornamental than the others, and of smaller
size. It is entirely black, except the red skin about the
head, and a brownish tip to the feathers of the tail and
some of those of the back. This gives the bird a rusty
appearance, like an old piece of well-worn cotton velvet.
The Cambridge sort, when black, have a beautifully
shining bluish tinge, like a well polished boot. The
chicks of the Norfolks are black, with occasionally
white patches about the head ; those of the Cambridge
variety are mottled all over with brownish grey, and are
of taller and slenderer proportions. The plumage of the
Cambridge breed varies very much ; sometimes it is
entirely made up of shades of reddish-brown and grey,
when it is called the Bustard-breed ; sometimes of grey,
black, and white, but frequently it approaches very nearly
to what we see figured as the wild bird. Owing to the
early age at which our birds are mostly killed, the tuft on
the breast of the hen is seldom so conspicuous as is repre-
sented in the hen of the Wild Turkey, in the " Naturalist's
Library," copied from Audubon.

The pure White Turkeys are very elegant creatures,
and though the most tender of all to rear, are not so in
anything like the same degree as the White Peafowl. It
is well known that most birds, wild as well as tame,
occasionally produce perfectly white individuals, of more
delicate constitution than their parents. We cannot
doubt that the selection and pairing of such is the way
in which the breed of White Turkeys has been estab-
lished and kept up. However, with all care they will
now and then produce speckled birds, and so show a
tendency to return to the normal plumage. It is remark-
able, that in specimens which are else snow-white, the
tuft on the breast remains coal-black, looking, in the hens,
like a tail of ermine, and so showing as a great ornament.
The head and caruncles on the neck of the male are, when
excited, of the same blue and scarlet hues. Thus the
creature, with small portions of black, blue, and scarlet

THE TURKEY. 37

relieving his snowy and trembling flakes of plumage, is
truly beautiful ; and some few farmers keep tnem, in
spite of the disadvantages attending them. A merit is,
that they dress most temptingly white for market. But
they are un suited for miry, smoky, or clayey situations,
and show and thrive best, when they have a range of
clean, short pasture, on a light or chalky subsoil.

The American Turkeys are merely a recent importation
from the New World, of birds whose progenitors were
not many generations back in a state of nature : they are,
in short, fresh blood from the primseval forests. The
most striking point in which they differ from the best
plumaged of the Cambridge breed, is the extreme bril-
liancy of their changeable metallic tints. In all the
coloured Turkeys these glancing tints depend much upon
condition. An experienced eye will at once see whether
poultry is in good or bad condition, from the look of the
plumage, just as a groom would pronounce upon the
smooth or staring coat of his horse. But the American
Turkeys are ever pre-eminent in this respect. They are
also more hardy, lively, game-like, and self-dependent,
searching for their food like Pheasants. Those who have
kept them, pronounce them to be the most profitable and
best-tasted breed, as well as the handsomest. The
metallic hues of their back feathers, when seen in the
sunshine, are quite dazzling. The Rev. W. D. F., to
whom we are indebted for admirable specimens, says,
" I have always believed these birds to be descendants of
the true wild breed brought immediately from America.
The owners of them have constantly laid claim to this ;
in proof whereof I may mention an anecdote which
occurred some years since. At that time Earl Powys
was reputed to be the only possessor of these, and I
believe he imported them. On one occasion the earl
presented George IV. with a fine black charger, which
was graciously received ; but the king is said to have
remarked to those in his confidence, that a horse was of
no use to him, as he could not ride, but that Earl Powys

38 THE TURKEY.

did possess something which he should much value.
This was reported to his lordship, and after some diffi-
culty it was found out that a pair of American Turkeys
would be most acceptable, and they were sent. I merely
mention this to show that their wild descent was believed
in high quarters. The late Lord Leicester was also said
to possess the wild breed ; and I well remember his tell-
ing my father they were so, and remarking that they got
their food so much more readily than the tame kinds.
I originally had my breed from Lord Leicester, and have
since crossed them with Earl Powys's. The two breeds
differ in the latter having the wing feathers, or rather
quills, barred with white, while Lord Leicester's are
wholly dark. Both cocks and hens are beautifully metallic,
far more so than any breed that I know. The shape
of the hens is also more elongated, and there is a spright-
liness about the head, which is also better shaped.
Audubon's plate of the Turkey strongly reminds me of
my own. Much of this may be fancy ; yet I have not a
doubt upon the subject, but believe that they are genuine
wild American Turkeys. They also invariably lay later
than the common breeds."

A great point in this account is, that the birds are
descended from recently wild ancestors, and have not
merely been lately brought from America. For this
query suggests itself to our mind : Are the majority of
the American farm-yard Turkeys the progeny of indi-
viduals domesticated from the forest ; or, is it not possible
that some at least of the colonists may have taken out
with them tame Turkeys from England as stock, and so
founded a farm-yard race for parts of America ? Such
a plan would most likely be less troublesome than the
task of taming fresh-cauglit birds or their chicks. If this
has ever been the case, it will be a curious return for us
to have made, of an enslaved race, to the continent to
which we owe the original existence of the species
amongst us. Some slight notice of the Crested Turkey
may be expected in these pages, as Temminck {Pigeons

THE TURKEY. 39

et Gallinaccs, vol. ii. p. 387) says that it is " only a
variety or sport of nature in the species ; it only differs
in that it has a crest of feathers, sometimes black, some-
times white ; and these crested Turkeys are sufficiently
rare. Mademoiselle Backer formerly kept in her mag-
nificent menagerie, near the Hague, a flock of Turkeys
of a beautiful Isabelle yellow, approaching to chesnut ;
they all had an ample crest of pure white." Albin,
publishing in 1738, gives (vol. ii. p. 30) a coloured print
of the white-crested Turkey, and says, " This bird I saw
in the possession of Henry Cvrnelh/son, Esq., beyond
Chelmsford in Essex: it was of the Bigness of the com-
mon Tiirkies, having a beautiful large white Copple on
its Crown or Top of the Head." We do not see such
freaks of nature now ; nor does a Turkey's head, with its
moveable and erectible skin, look a likely place for a
plume of feathers to start from. Such a lusus has never
occurred in the great Turkey-breeding counties of Norfolk,
Suffolk, and Cambridgeshire, and the appearance of the
monster would be sure to be observed there, if it took
place. We therefore may suspect the Crested Turkey to
be, like the Crested Guineafowl, a distinct species, and
that it has failed to propagate, and so is no longer to be
seen amongst us. The suspicion is confirmed by finding
in " Wild Life in the interior of Central America, by
George Byam, 43rd Light Infantry," at p. 154, and the
following, an account of the discovery of Crested Turkeys
in a state of nature, which is too long to extract. But
the subject is most perplexing, and interesting from its
very mystery. A solution may possibly be effected by
the noble efforts which the Earl of Derby is unceasingly
making to further the advance of zoological knowledge.

One reason why the Turkeys seen in our poultry yards
do not vie in splendour of plumage with their untamed
brethren, is that we do not let them live long enough.
For the same cause we seldom witness the thorough
development of tlieir temper and disposition. A creature
that does not attain its full growth till its fifth or sixth

40 THE TURKEY.

year, we kill at latest in the second, to the evident
deterioration of our stock. But let three or four well-
selected Cambridge Turkeys, or the before- mentioned
Americans, be retained to their really adult state, and
well fed meanwhile, and they will quite recompense their
keeper by their beauty in full plumage, by their glancing
hues of gilded green and purple, their lovely shades of
brown, bronze, and black, and the pearly lustre that
radiates from their polished feathers. In default of wild
specimens, birds like these are sought to complete
collections of stuffed birds.

The demand for such large birds among the fowl-
dealers, and the temptation to fat them before they arrive
at this stage, are so great, that few farmers' mves can
resist sending their eighteen or twenty pound " stag" * to
market, while a young cock of the year, they think, will
answer every purpose next spring as well. Some even
deem it an extravagance to keep a Turkey-cock at all, if
they have not more than two hens, which they would send
on a visit of a day or two to a neighbour who has a male
bird. A case is recorded in which such a visit, made in
the July or August of one year, was available for the eggs
of the succeeding April. The time when the hens require
this change of air in spring, may be known by their lying
down on the ground, as if they were unwell ; doing so
immediately again, if taken up and made to walk on,
which apparent languor is accompanied by a lack-a-daisical
love-sick expression of countenance. One Christmas we
ate or gave away all our Turkeys (including a magnificent
stag, whose image haunts us still), except a single hen.
The above-mentioned plan was necessarily adopted ; and
the result was, from eleven eggs, eight chicks so strong as
almost to rear themselves. The same system has been

* In Norfolk, Turkey-cocks are called stags from their second year
upwards. A bird of the same year weighing, when dressed at Christ-
mas, 16 or 171bs. is unusual and considered very good. The extra
weighty birds shown by the London poulterers are of a correspond-
ing age.

THE TURKEY, 41

occasionally tried with Fowls, and has been found not to
answer.

When the hen has once selected a spot for her nest,
she will continue to lay there till the time of incubation,
so that the eggs may be brought home from day to day,
there being no need of a nest egg, as with the common
Fowl. She will lay from fifteen to twenty eggs, more or
less. If there are any dead leaves or dry grass at hand,
she will cover her eggs with these ; but if not, she will
take no trouble to collect them from a distance. Her
determination to sit will be known by her constantly
remaining on the nest, though empty ; and as it is
seldom in a position sufficiently secure against the
weather or pilferers, a nest should be prepared for her
by placing some straw, with her eggs, on the floor of a
convenient outhouse. She should then be brought home
and gently and kindly placed upon it. It is a most
pleasing sight to witness the satisfaction with which the
bird takes to her long-lost eggs, turning them about,
placing them with her bill in the most suitable positions,
packing the straw tightly around and under them, and
finally sinking upon them with the quiet joy of anticipated
maternity.

In the south of England from fifteen to twenty eggs
may be allowed ; but with the Norfolk variety, which is
the smallest, and in a northern or eastern county, it is
found that moderation succeeds better than over-greedi-
ness of chicks. In this case thirteen eggs are enough
to give her ; a large hen might cover more ; but a few
strong, well-hatched chicks are better than a large brood
of weaklings that have been delayed in the shell, perhaps
twelve hours over the time, from insufficient warmth.
At the end of a week it is usual to add two or three
Fowls' eggs, " to teach the young Turkeys to peck."
The plan is not a bad one ; the activity of the chickens
does stir up some emulation in their larger brethren ; the
eggs take up but little room in the nest ; and at the end
of the summer you have two or three very fine Fowls, all

42 THE TURKEY.

the plumper for the extra diet they have shared with the
little Turkeys.

Some ladies believe it necessary to turn the eggs once
a day ; but the hen does that herself many times a day.
If the eggs are marked, and you notice their position when
she leaves the nest, you will never find them arranged in
the same order. A person who obtained ninety-nine
chicks from a hundred eggs, took the great trouble to
turn each egg eveiy day with her own hand, during the
whole time of incubation. The result a2')2^ears favourable ;
but, in fact, only amounts to this, that such officiousness
did no harm with a good, patient, quiet creature like the
sitting Turkey, but it would probably have worried and
annoyed any other bird into addling her whole clutch.
We will at once reject, as utterly absurd and unnatural,
all directions to immerse or "tr)'^" the eggs in a pail of
water, hot or cold.

In four weeks the little birds will be hatched ; and
then, how are they to be reared ? Some books tell you
to plunge them in cold water, to strengthen them : those
that survive will certainly be hardy birds.* Others say,
"Make them swallow a whole pepper-corn;" which is

* Sir J. S. Sebright exposes the folly of endeavouring to make
young creatures robust by undue exposure to cold and hardship, an
experiment which some men and women are cruel enough to try upon
their o%^-n offspring. Air and exercise increase the strength of any
growing animal, but cold and hunger only dwaif and weaken. We
see robust children in extremely poor families, not because they are
poor, but because if they were not robust, they would not be alive at
all. Sir John, in his " Treatise on Improving the Breeds of Domestic
Animals," pp. 15, 16, says, " In cold and barren countries no animals
can live to the age of maturity but those that have strong constitutions ;
the weak and the unhealthy do not live to propagate their infirmities,
as is too often the case with our domestic animals. To this I attribute
the peculiar hardiness of the horses, cattle, and sheep, bred in moun-
tainous countries, more than to their having been inured to the severity
of the climate : for our domestic animals do not become more hardy by
being exposed, when young, to cold and hunger ; animals so treated
will not, when arrived at the age of maturity, endure so much hardship
as those who have been better kept in their infant state."

THE TURKEY. 43

as if we were to cram a London pippin down the throat
of a new-born babe. Others, again, say, " Give them a
httle ale, beer, or wine." We know, unhappily, that
some mothers are wicked enough to give their infants gin,
and we know the consequences. Not a few advise that
they be taken away, and kept in a basket by the fire-side,
wrapped in flannel, for eight or ten hours. Why take
them away from her 1 She has undergone no loss, nor
pain, nor labour : she wants no rest, having had too
much of that already. All she requires is the permission
to indulge undisturbed the natural exercise of her own
affectionate instinct.

Give them nothing ; do nothing to them : let them be
in the nest under the shelter of their mother's wings at
least eight or ten hours ; if hatched in the afternoon, till
the following morning. Then place her on the grass, in
the sun, under a roomy coop. If the weather be fine
she may be stationed where you choose, by a long piece
of flannel list tied round one leg, and fastened to a stump
or a stone. But the boarded coop saves her ever-watchful
anxiety from the dread of enemies above and behind —
the carrion-crow, the hawk, the rat, the weasel ; and also
protects herself — she will protect her young — from the
sudden showers of summer. Offer at first a few crumbs
of bread : the little ones, for some hours, will be in no
huriy to eat ; but when they do begin, supply them con-
stantly and abundantly with chopped egg, shreds of meat
and fat, curd, boiled rice mixed with cress, lettuce, and
the green of onions. Melted mutton-suet poured over
barley-meal, and cut up when cold ; also bullock's
liver boiled and minced, are excellent things. Barley-
meal, mixed thick and stiff v/ith water or milk, nettle-
tops, leeks, goose-grass, or cleavers, and many other
things, might be added to the list ; but it is probable that
a few of these may now and then be refused by some
fanciful little rogues. I think I have observed that little
Turkeys do not like their food to be minced much smaller
than they can swallow it ; indolently preferring to make

44 THE TURKEY.

a meal at three or four mouthfuls than to trouble them-
selves with the incessant pecking and scratching in which
chickens so much delight. But, at any rate, the quantity
consumed costs nothing ; the attention to supply it is
everything.

The young of the Turkey afford a remarkable instance
of hereditary and transmitted habits. From having been
tended for many generations with so much care, they
appear naturally to expect it almost as soon as they are
released from the shell. We are told that young pointers,
the descendants of well-educated dogs, will point at the
scent of game without any previous training ; and so
Turkey-chicks seem to wait for the attention of Man
before they can have any experience of the value or
nature of those attentions. Food which they would
refuse from a platter, they will peck greedily from the
palm of a hand ; a crumb which would be disdained if
seen accidentally on the ground, will be relished from the
tip of a finger. The proverb that "the master's eye
fattens the horse," is applicable to them, not in a meta-
phorical, but in a literal sense ; for they certainly take
their food with a better appetite if their keeper stays to
distribute it, and see them eat it, than if he merely set it
down and left them to help themselves.

I believe this to be the case with more domesticated
animals than we are aware of, and appears natural enough
if we remember how much more we enjoy a meal in the
society of those we love and respect, than if we partook
of it in indifferent or disagreeable company.

However, there can be no doubt that young Turkeys,
pampered and spoiled for about three hundred generations,
have at length acquired an innate disposition to rely on
the care of Man. Sir Humphry Davy, in his " Salmonia,"
believes that a like hereditary instinct is engendered even
in fishes, believing that the trout, &c., in unfrequented
rivers, are more unsuspicious of artificial flies than those
in the streams of Great Britain. " This," he says, " may
be fancy, yet I have referred it to a kind of hereditary

THE TURKEY. 45

disposition, which has been formed and transmitted from
their progenitors.

" P////sicus. — However strange it may appear, I can
believe this. When the early voyagers discovered new
islands, the birds upon them were quite tame, and easily
killed by sticks and stones, being fearless of Man ; but
they soon learned to know their enemy, and this newly
acquired sagacity was possessed by their offspring, who
had never seen a man. Wild and domesticated Ducks
are, in fact, from the same original type ; it is only
necessary to compare them, when hatched together under
a hen, to be convinced of the principle of hereditary
transmission of habits, — the Wild young ones instantly fly
from Man, the Tame ones are indiiferent to his presence.*

"Poietes. — No one can be less disposed than I am to
limit the powers of living nature, or to doubt the capa-
bilities of organised structures ; but it does appear to
me quite a dream to suppose that a fish, pricked by the
hook of the artificial fly, should transmit a dread of it
to its offspring, though it does not long retain the memory
of it himself.

"JJalieus — There are instances quite as extraordinary
— but I will not dwell upon them, as I am not quite
sure of the fact which we are discussing ; I have made
a guess only, and we must observe more minutely to
establish it ; it may be even as you suppose — a mere
dream." — (Pp. 221-2). At any rate, it is neither a
dream nor a guess with young Turkey-chicks, to which
we will now return, A sitting of wild Turkey's eggs
does not often fall into the hands of an American
gamekeeper, if such a person there be, but I am afraid he
would find his brood more shy and troublesome than the
shyest of Partridges or Pheasants.

The Turkeys, then, are hatched, and we are rearing
them. Abundant food for the mother and her young,

• The young of rabbits, -wild and tame, show this contrast more
strongly than any other creatures with which I am acquainted.

46 THE TUEKEY.

constant attention to their wants, are the grand desiderata.
An open glade in a grove, with long grass and shrubs
here and there, is the best possible location. A great
deal is said about clear and fresh water for fowls ; but I
have observed that if left to their own choice, they will be
as content and healthy, in rural situations at least, with
the rinsings of the scullery, or the muddiest pool, as with
the purest spring. The long grass will afford them cover
from birds of prey ; the hen will herself drive off four-
footed enemies with great courage. I have been amused
with the fury with which a mother Turkey has pursued a
squirrel, till it took refuge in the branches overhead :
what instinctive fear urged her I know not. Insects, too,
will abound in such a situation. When the little creatures
are three or four days old, they will watch each fly that
alights on a neighbouring flower, fix it with mesmeric
intensity, and by slow approach often succeed in their
final rush. But in the best position you can station
them, forget them not for one hour in the day. If you
do, the little Turkeys will for a time loudly yelp
" Eicordati di me," " 0 then remember me," in notes
less melodious than those of a prima donna, and then
they will be sulky and silent. When you at length
bring their delayed meal, some will eat, some will not.
Those that will not, can only be saved by a method at all
other times unjustifiable ; namely, by cramming : but it
must be done most gently. The soft crumb of bread
rolled into miniature sausages should be introduced till
their crops are full. For drink, many would give wine.
I advise milk. The bird wants material, not stimulant.
It has been actually wire-drawn. It has grown all the
hours you have neglected it, without anything to grow
from. Like a young plant in the fine spring season, it
will and must grow ; but it has no roots in the fertile
earth to obtain incessant nourishment. The roots which
supply its growth are in its stomach, which it is your'office
to replenish. Prevention is better than cure. Such a case
ought never to occur in a well cared-for poultry-yard.

THE TtTRKEY. 47

Young Turkies are sometimes attacked by Fasciolae, or
worms in the trachea, but not so often as chickens.
Cramp is the most fatal to them, particularly in bad
weather. A few pieces of board, laid under and about
the coop, are useful : sometimes rubbing the legs with
spirit will bring the circulation back again.

When two hens hatch at or near the same time, the
two broods may be given to one mother, and the other
hen turned out to range. If kept from the sound and
sight of her little ones for a few days, she will not pine
like the common Hen, but will shortly recommence laying,
and so produce a later hatch that will be very acceptable
the following February and March. Sometimes two
hens will choose to sit and lay in the same nest, like the
wild birds mentioned by Audubon ; but it is better not
permitted. They will not quarrel, but alternately steal
each other's eggs, and run the chance of addling all. A
frecjuent practice is to hatch spare Turkeys' eggs under
common Hens. This answers well in fine dry summers,
but not in wet cold seasons. The Turkey-poults require
to be brooded much longer than chickens ; the poor Hen
v/ill be seen vainly endeavouring to shelter and wami
young Turkeys nearly as big as herself, till she gives up
the task in despair, and leaves them to shift for them-
selves. It is better to transfer the chicks as soon as
hatched to a Turkey, and give the Hen some Fowls' eggs
to go on with another three weeks. The improved and
less rambling disposition of Turkeys that have been reared
by a Hen is, unfortunately, all imagination, notwithstand-
ing what Cobbett has so beautifully written on the subject.
There may now and then occur an occasional apparent
exception, before the real innate propensities of the bird
have had time to manifest themselves. But the instinct
of the Turkey is no more altered by this mode of educa-
tion than the migrations of the Cuckoo are checked by its
being brought up by a Hedge Sparrow. The only way to
keep Turkeys from rambling, is to feed them well and
regularly at home.

48 THE TURKEY.

The following sensible communication is well worth
attention : — " Living in a cold, damp climate, such as
Ireland (Londonderry), I found so much difficulty and
disappointment in trying to rear Turkeys that I determined
to give it up, when a farmer's wife told me that I killed
my birds with kindness, and that if I would insist on her
directions being followed she would ensure me success.
I determined on one more trial, and under five Turkey
hens brought out fifty-four young birds. They were fed
for the first week on chopped egg and bread crumbs, and
kept in the house ; after this they were put out daily in
a pasture-field, andjed every hour with two kinds of food
alternately : first, with stirabout made of half Indian and
half oaten meal, well boiled ; a large piece of this was
dipped in buttermilk and given to the birds froin the
hand ; this manner of feeding prevents the birds clogging
their feathers with the food : the next meal consisted of
the young leaves of the dock shred very fine, and mixed
with oatmeal and buttermilk, not wet, but a sufficient
quantity of liquid to make the meal mix with the green
food. After this I give them as much buttermilk as they
like to drink. I only lost four birds, two of them by
accident, and my flock of Turkeys are the admiration of
every one, from their peculiarly healthy appearance and
size ; they are now (October) daily in the stubble fields,
and are only fed morning and evening. When the
roosting- time approaches, they run and fly homewards a
considerable distance, and, I should say, in boldness and
daring they much resemble the Turkey in its wild state.
These birds were never brought into shelter, except on a
decided wet day, and then they were so troublesome to
the Cocks and Hens, that we were forced to turn them
into the stock-yard, and let them seek shelter for
themselves." — H, M.

The time when the Turkey-hen may be allowed full
liberty with her brood, depends so much on season, situa-
tion, &c., that it must be left to the exercise of the
keeper's judgment. Some, whose opinion is worthy of

THE TUEKEY. 49

attention, think that if the young are thriving, the sooner
the old ones are out with them the better, after the first
ten days or so. A safer rule may be fixed at the season
called " shooting the red," a " disease," as some com-
pilers are pleased to term it : being about as much a
disease as when the eldest son of the Turkey's master
and mistress shoots his beard. When young Turkeys
approach the size of a Partridge, or before, the granular
fleshy excrescences on the head and neck begin to appear ;
soon after, the whole plumage, particularly the tail
feathers start into rapid growth, and the " disease " is
only to be counteracted by liberal nourishment. If let
loose at this time they will obtain much by foraging, and
still be thankful for all you choose to give them. Cara-
way seeds, as a tonic, are a gi-eat secret with some pro-
fessional people. They will doubtless be beneficial, if
added to plenty of barley, boiled potatoes, chopped vege-
tables, and refuse meat. And now is the time that
Turkeys begin to be troublesome and voracious. What
can you expect else from a creature that is to grow from
the size of a lark to twelve or fourteen lbs. in eight or
nine months 1 " Corn-sacks, coffers for oats, barn-
swallowers, ill neighbours to peasen," are epithets
deserA'edly earned. They will jump into the potato
ground, scratch the ridges on one side, eat every grub,
wireworm, or beetle that they find, and every half-grown
potato. From thence they will proceed to the Swedes ;
before the bulbs are formed they will strip the green from
the leaves, thereby checking the subsequent growth of the
root. At a subsequent period they will do the same to
the white turnips, and here and there take a piece out of
the turnip itself. They are seldom large enough before
harvest to make so much havoc among the standing corn,
as Cocks and Hens and Guinea-fowl, or they have not
yet acquired the taste for it ; but when the young wheat
comes up in October and November they will exhibit
their gi-aminivorous propensities to the great disadvan-
tage of the farmer. The farmer's wife sees them not, says

50 THE TURKEY.

nothing, but at Christmas boasts of the large amount of
her Turkey-money. One great merit in old birds (besides
their ornamental value, which is our special recommenda-
tion) is, that in situations where nuts, acorns, and mast
are to be had, they will lead off their brood to these, and
comparatively (that is all) abstain from ravaging other
crops. It is, therefore, not fair for a small occupier to
be overstocked with Turkeys (as is too often the case,
and with other things also), and then to let them loose,
like so many harpies, to devastate and plunder their
neighbours' fields.

Soon after Michaelmas, it will be time to think of
fatting a portion of them. Some families require Turkeys
very early inthe season ; but they are like every other
immature production, inferior in quality. To eat Turkey-
poults is a wasteful piece of luxury ; those who order
them are occasionally deceived by a small hen of the pre-
vious year. In the Roman markets hen Turkeys sell for
a bajocco (halfpenny) a pound more than the cock ; and
there are Turkey-butchers of whom you may buy the
half or a quarter of a bird, A hen will be five or six
weeks in fatting, a large stag two months or longer, to
bring him to his full weight. The
best diet is barley-meal mixed with
water, given in troughs (see fig.),
that have a flat board over them,
to keep dirt from falling in. A
turnip with the leaves attached, or a hearted cabbage,
may now and then be thrown down to amuse them.
Some use plain oats, but barley-meal is preferable, acting
more quickly. Cramming is unnecessary, though it may
hasten the progress. In some parks, where there are
immense quantities of mast. Turkeys will get perfectly
fat upon them ; but this, although no doubt profitable to
the gudewife, is by no means pleasant to every palate
after the bird has been on the spit. In the olive grounds
of Corfu, Turkeys devour such an abundance of dropped
and refuse fruit as to become rankly fat, and scarcely

THE TUKKEY. 51

eatable. Beech-mast, however, in small quantities, and
as the substratum of fatting, rather improves the flavour
than otherwise. The windfalls and gleaning of hazel-
nuts, which they swallow whole, do not come amiss.
When they have arrived at the desired degree of fatness,
those which are not wanted for immediate use must have no
more food given them than is just sufficient to keep them
in that state, otherwise the flesh will become red and
inflamed, and of course less palatable and wholesome.
But with the very best management, after having attained
their acme of fatting, they will frequently descend again,
and that so quickly, and without apparent cause, as to
become quite thin. Cock-birds play this game oftener
than hens. The Turkey differs from the rest of our
poultry in being fit for the table after its youth is past.
Very few of the large Turkeys that are brought to market
are less than eighteen months old ; many are double that
age. Nor are they the worse, provided the lady of the
house be informed of the circumstance, and so enabled to
leave a due interim between the killing and the cooking.
The hen Turkey, contrary to the statements of some
writers, does now and then erect her tail and strut like
the male, and that too without any diminution of her
feminine virtues. The manners of the cock are not pre-
possessing ; he is vain, ungallant, careless of his young, a
bully though not always a coward, the most selfish crea-
ture in the poultry-yard except the Musk Drake, occa-
sionally even ferocious to weaker birds, sometimes also
apt to be seized with odd fancies that render him useless ;
from which the only moral that I can draw is, when you
are in possession of a quiet, handsome, and serviceable
bird, do not greedily eat nor rashly part with him.
Their supposed antipathy to the colour of red or scarlet
I believe to be an unfounded prejudice ; or one about as
well grounded as the alleged fear that a Lion entertains
of a Cock. " That the Lion is afraid of a Cock, cannot
endure the sight of him, yea, is terrified by his very
crowing, hath been delivered and received by Ancients

F. 2

52 THE XUKKEY.

and Moderns with unanimous consent and approbation,
and divers reasons sought and assigned for this antipathy :
When as the thing itself is by experience found to be
false." — Willughby, p. 155 : a writer who, for the age
in which he lived, is remarkably sceptical. The courtships
of Turkeys are conducted with a degree of indecorous
publicity and protracted vehemence, very objectionable in
so large a bird. They display less individual attachment
to Man than most other poultry, though they have equally,
or more, thrown themselves on the protection of the race
of mankind. They are called stupid, but mark the intel-
ligence and amiability displayed by every look and action
of a hen with her young. And yet little real alteration
of her former manner is apparent. The strut that seemed
foolishly pompous, now strikes us as justly proud and
cautious ; the eye in which only affectation was apparent,
now glances with anxiety and beams with tenderness.
The discordant voice has now an object in its call, and
may be heard almost to whisper in subdued notes of gentle
affection. Whether in the faithful wife whom we cherish
as ourselves, or in the poor bird that we rear, admire, and
kill, a higher charm and elevation is added by the exer-
cise of those holy affections which the beneficent Creator
of all has given us for our comfort.

THE CANADA GOOSE.

" The fine proportions of tliis stately foreigner, its voice, and flavour
of its flesli, are strong inducements for us all to hope that ere long it
will become a naturalised bird throughout the ■whole of Great Britain.
I stop not to give a detailed description of its plumage ; that has
already been performed by many able hands. Suffice it then to say,
that its beautiful black neck and white cheeks render it so particularly
conspicuous, that those who have seen it once will never be at a loss
to recognise it when viewed amongst all other species of the goose
tribe." — Watf.rton's Essays, 2nd Series, p. 107.

One would think, indeed, that to see the bird, and
those confounded with it, would be at once to know it
again, but owing, perhaps, to the compiling system of
Zoological literature, the Canada, Bernicle, and Brent
Geese, are all occasionally mistaken for each other.
Aldrovandi, with Frank Forrester after him at an interval
of more than 250 years, amalgamate the Bernicle with
the Brent Goose. Albin, who in 1738, had the enter-
prise to publish figures of several birds for the first time,
engraves and describes the Bernicle for the Canada
Goose ; and the error has not yet quite vanished from
our modern libraries.

The history of the Anser Canadensis, in a state of
nature, and in captivity, has been so well and so fully
written by the ablest Ornithologists, both of England and
America, that for me to attempt giving complete details
would be either to restate the same facts in less appropri-
ate language, or to commit a wholesale plunder of com-
pilation upon the stores of preceding authors. But
although unwilling to be guilty of this kind of pillage,
I must necessarily make some reference to the labours of

54 THE CANADA GOOSE.

others. The bird is far too important, in every respect,
to be entirely omitted in the present series ; and there
are a few points respecting it which ought to be brought
into more prominent notice. Our poultry books mostly
call it a variety of the Common Goose. But it is no more
a variety of Goose than the Swan is a variety of Goose.
Cuvier seems to doubt whether it is a Goose at all, and
says that it cannot be properly separated from the true
Swans. Audubon kept some three years, and though the
old birds refused to breed in confinement, their young,
which he had captured together with them, did. He
states their period of incubation to be twenty-eight days,
which is a shorter time than one would have imagined.
That circumstance alone, if correct, mai'ks a wide
distinction ; and every statement of his, which I have had
the opportunity of testing, has proved accurate. I suspect
that at a future time our scientific naturalists will deem it
advisable to institute several new genera, for the reception
of various water-fowl, that are now huddled into one or
two ; particularly if they allow the diet and habits of the
birds, as well as their external form, to influence the
rules of classification.

Canada Geese eat worms and soft insects, as well as
grass and aquatic plants, which the typical Geese never
do ; with us they do not breed till they are at least two
years old, and so far approach the Swan. Like the Swan,
also, the male appears to be fit for reproduction earlier
than the female. But Audubon says, " that this tardiness
is not the case in the wild state, I feel pretty confident,
for I have observed, having broods of their own, many
individuals, which, by their size, the dullness of their
plumage, and such other marks as are known to the
practised ornithologist, I judged to be not more than
fifteen or sixteen months old. I have therefore thought
that in this, as in many other species, a long series of
years is necessary for counteracting the original wild and
free nature which has been given them ; and indeed it
seems probable that our attempts to domesticate many

THE CANADA GOOSE. 55

species of wild-fowls, which would prove useful to
mankind, have often been abandoned in despair, when a
few years more of constant care might have produced the
desired effect." The Canada Goose, in spite of its original
migratory habits, which it appears in almost every case to
forget in England, shows much more disposition for true
domestication than the Swan, and may be maintained in
perfect health with very limited opportunities of bathing.
The manner in which these birds are usually kept
here is neither consistent with their natural habits nor
calculated to develope their usefulness and merit. They
are mostly retained as ornaments to large parks, where
there is an extensive range of grass and water : so far all
is as it should be. But they are there generally associated
with other species of Geese and water-fowl, all being of a
sociable disposition, and forming one heterogeneous flock.
In the breeding season, they neither can agree among
themselves to differ seriously, nor yet to live together in
peace ; the consequence is, that they interrupt each
other's love-making, keep up a constant bickering, without
coming to the decisive quarrels and battles that would
set all right ; and in the end we have birds without
mates, eggs unfertilised, and now and then a few
monstrous hybrids, which, however some curious persons
may prize them, are as ugly as they are unnatural, and by
no means recompense by their rarity for the absence of
two or three broods of healthy legitimate goslings. Many
writers, Audubon amongst others, from whom one would
have expected a more healthy taste, speaks highly of the
half-bred Canada Goose. They are very large, it is true,
and may merit approbation on the table ; but with what-
ever other species the cross is made, they are hideously
displeasing. An old-fashioned plan of sweeping chimneys
was to tie the legs of a Goose, pull her up and down by a
string, and let her dislodge the soot by the flapping of her
wings. This sounds cruel, and is not humane. But is it
more barbarous to send a Goose down a chimney, than a
child up it ? This by the way : but all half-bred Canada

56 THE CANADA GOOSE.

Geese, that I have seen, look as if they had kindly under-
taken to act as substitute for the poor little climbing boy
or girl.

Not only are they suffered thus to herd with other
varieties, but the broods of successive years are allowed
to remain, and annoy, and encroach upon the privileges
of their parents, which would be made all square by their
natural migrations, till the park gets evidently overstocked
to the most unpractised eye — it has really been so long
before, — and then a few surplus individuals are disposed
of, mostly at an age and season when they are good for
little except their feathers, if for them. This mode of
mismanagement accounts for the low esteem in which the
flesh of the Canada Goose is held in England. I never
met with any one who had tasted it here, that did not
pronounce it detestable ; though a gentleman who had
lived on it for weeks in Canada, still remembered it with
relish. In one instance within my own knowledge, the
extra stock were given to the poor, who could not or
would not eat them. But it is impossible that the
thousands of people who eagerly destroy the bird in its
passage to and fro, can be mistaken in the opinion they
have for years held of its value as an article of diet.
Audubon gives the clue to our error ; he says : " the
goslings bred in the inland districts, and procured in
September, in my opinion, far surpass the renowned Can-
vas-back Duck" — the most famous tit-bit that America
produces. He adds, " Every portion of it is useful to
Man ; for besides the value of the flesh as an article of
food, the feathers, the quills, and the fat are held in
request. The eggs also afford very good eating."

Instead of this slovenly mode of breeding and feeding,
which no one would think of adopting with the most
ordinary Goose that ever grazed upon a common, I would,
not unadvisedly, recommend every flock of Canada Geese
to be in November immediately reduced to two (in order
to guard against accident to one), or, at the most, three
pairs, in the very largest park, and greatest extent of

THE CANADA GOOSE. 57

water, possessed by our nobility. Such pairs should be
retained, as differ as much in age, as may be consistent
with their breeding powers ; and also, if possible, those
should be selected which have been observed to entertain
a mutual dislike, in order that they may fix their nests at
a distance from each other. They should previously have
become attached to their keeper, though not to their
co-mates, that they may suffer him to approach and feed
them and their goslings liberally, and so bring them into
thoroughly good condition by killing time.

The stock-birds ought to be well supplied with corn
during winter, when the grass grows little or not at all,
to promote early laying ; but they usually have just
half-a-dozen kernels of barley thrown down to them now
and then. No one can blame them, if they occasionally
stray out of bounds in search of food ; but they are then
accused of restlessness, shyness, and so on. They have
been literally starved out. It is no migratory impulse
that sets them on the move, but over-crowding and under-
feeding ; in proof of which, they will generally return of
their own accord. I am speaking of birds that have been
bred in captivity for several generations. Give them
room and food enough, and they will stay contentedly at
home. Curtail their supplies, and they become like
" darkness" in Spofforth's well-known glee ; "flies away"
is ever and again the burden of their song. The Canada
Goose is a very large bird, and cannot be expected to
live and get fat upon air. If a farmer's wife were to
treat her Turkeys as the Canada Goslings are usually
served, they would at Christmas be just as tough, stringy,
and uneatable, if indeed they survived the pinching regi-
men so long. Many people in the country make the same
difference in their treatment of their ornamental fowls and
their ordinary stock, that they do between their garden
and their farm. The garden goes without a spadeful of
manure from one end of a seven years' lease to another ;
the turnip-field is glutted with guano and all sorts of good
things. And so, exotic birds, procured at considerable

58 THE CANADA GOOSE.

expense, or received as highly valued presents from friends,
are turned out in a grassy wilderness, to shift for them-
selves as best they may, while the Turkeys and Goslings
are taken as much care of as their master's children. To
a late inquiry after the fate of a pair sent to a distance, I
got for answer, " One flew away, and the other the Swan
killed." The growing Canada Geese must sensibly miss
the abundance of their native breeding-places, when
confined to these short commons ; and it is not just in
us, after such neglect and penuriousness on our part, to
complain that they neither fat well nor reproduce at an
early age.

From each pair of Geese, properly looked after,
between six and nine goslings may fairly be calculated
upon ; which, killed in the autumn, when really plump,
would be very acceptable at home, or as presents to
unprejudiced persons. Managed thus, they would be
little, or, according to Audubon, not at all inferior to a
fatted Cygnet. And their picturesque effect, as accessaries
in landscape gardening, would surely be greater in distinct
uniformly tinted groups, moving here and there across
the scene with a decided object, namely, the conducting
of their young, than as a motley crowd of diversely-
coloured, variously-shaped creatures, huddled together in
unmeaning confusion. The woodland-park should be
stocked on different principles to the aviary and the
menagerie. Thus it is as a spot of pure white that the
Swan gives such a sparkling brilliancy to the picture ;
and the point of deepest shade (an adjunct of no less
importance to the painter) may be made more intense and
effective by the judicious employment of the Canada Goose.
When a pair are received from a distance, the best
way of settling them in their new abode is to confine
them with hurdles and netting, as near as possible to
the spot where it is wished they should eventually
make their nest. Those from the hands of dealers will
generally be cowed or timidly tame ; but young birds,
fresh taken from their parents, or adult ones that have

THE CANADA GOOSE. 59

been removed from their old home to a new one, will
sulk and be shy. For the first few hours they need
have nothing to eat, only plenty of water to drink.
Their keeper should show himself to them, and speak to
them kindly, as often as his leisure will permit ; when
he guesses that they begin to feel the cravings of hunger,
a small handful of corn may be thrown down to them, a
cabbage or two, and half-a-dozen earth-worms. It is, of
course, supposed that they have been located on the grass.
It is likely that at first they will not eat in the presence
of a stranger ; they may be left for an hour or so, when,
if they have availed themselves of his absence, he may
give them a little more from time to time. Proceeding
thus by kindness, familiarity, and very frequent visits, he
will soon secure their confidence, and be able to form his
own judgment when they may be suffered to range at large.
The young are active, self-helping little things. Their
down is of a dirty grey, a colour veiy difficult to describe,
with darker patches here and there, like the young of the
China Goose. Their bill, eyes, and legs are black. They
give no trouble in rearing. The old ones lead them to
the places where suitable food is to be obtained. The
keeper, by a liberal supply of corn, can bring them for-
ward for the table better than by shutting them up to
fat ; and before Christmas the parents should be again
alone in their domain. They will continue to increase
in size and beauty for some years, and should have been
pinioned at the first or second joint of the wing (reckon-
ing from the tip), according to the scope they are to be
allowed, in the manner described for the Swan : the
young that are to be eaten had better remain unmutilated.
I believe that old birds killed in the autumn after they
have recovered from moulting, and before they have begun
to think about the breeding-time, would make excellent
meat if cut into small portions, stewed slowly five or six
hours with savoury condiments, and made into pies the
next day. " 'Tis the soup that makes the soldier," say
the French. By roasting or broiling similar "joints" we

60 THE CANADA GOOSE.

lose the large quantity of nutriment contained in the
bones and cartilages, besides having to swallow tough
what we might easily make tender. The young (as well
as the old) are in America salted and boiled ; they would
probably please most English palates better if cooked and
served Swan-fashion. A Committee of Taste having
assembled on January 22, 1S50, to investigate the edible
merits of a well-conditioned Canada Goose, pronounced
them to be of a high order, rivalling those of Swan, which
must be taken as the standard of excellence, if we at all
defer to the opinion of the Churchman entertained by
Chaucer's Franklin :

" Now certainly lie was a fajTe prelat ;
He was not pale as a forpined gost;
A fat Swan loved he best of any rost."

Audubon's description of their manners is most vivid,
and, as far as I have observed, quite accurate, and not
at all exaggerated. The young male has a frequent
disposition to neglect his own mate, and give himself up
to unlicensed companionship. We had one that deserted
his partner, to her evident grief, and made most furious
love to one of a flock of Tame Geese, separating her from
the rest, not permitting any other water-bird to swim
near her, stretching out his neck stiffly on a level with the
water, opening his red-lined throat to its utmost extent,
hissing, grunting, sighing, trumpeting, winking his bright
black eyes, tossing his head madly, and all kinds of folly.
We did not choose to permit such conduct ; but as often
as we killed and roasted the object of his affections, he
immediately selected another leman, invariably the ugliest
of the surviving females. One short, squat, rough-
feathered, ill-marked Goose, with a thick bill and a great
grey top-not, was his especial favourite. When the
Michaelmas murders had extirpated the whole race he so
admired, he returned reluctantly and coldly to his former
love. The best remedy in such a case is to divorce
them at once, and exchange one out of the pair for
another bird.

THE EGYPTIAN, OR CAPE GOOSE.

(CHENALOPEX EGTPTIACUS).

" The Goose-Fox has had its name compounded, and rightly, from
creatures that are like and of one nature with itself. For it lias
indeed the outward appearance of the Goose, but might most justly he
compared to the Fox in being up to everything : and it is smaller than
a Goose and stronger, and a terrible one for a set-to. It drives off at
least the Eagle, and the Cat, and the rest of such things as are hostile
to it."— ^LUN. Lib, V. c. 39.

This bird is one of the most desirable and interesting
pets that an ornithologist can possess. Its mature plu-
mage is gay and striking ; its habits and all its ways are
so odd and amusing, as to excite the curiosity of any
who have once caught a glimpse of it. Its Greek name,
" Chenalopex''' (Goose-Fox), is most appropriate ; for, to
the conjugal fidelity (as reputed, at least), long life, and
other qualities of the Goose, it joins much of the cunning
of the Fox, added to a certain degree of sly fun and
humour, such as we find developed in iEsop's Fables.
One that I had was very fond of insulting a large Turkey-
cock, in the midst of his gobbling, strutting, and display,
by laying hold of him by the tail, and twisting him
round, or pulling him backwards, in the presence of his
hens and all the other assembled poultry.

Indeed, the Eg}'ptian Goose, with much apparent
timidity, really fears no other domesticated fowl what-
ever. By its odd noises and strange grimaces it puzzles
and frightens and worries them all, driving the heavy
Canada Goose before it with as much of a matter-of-
course air, as a farming lad would drive a lot of bullocks

62 THE EGYPTIAN, OR CAPE GOOSE.

to marsh. If, by any chance, it be itself attacked, it
discreetly slips off in a curve — discretion being the better
part of valour — and returns shortly to enjoy the joke,
if the danger be, in its opinion, no more than trifling ;
but if a dog, or a gun, or any other really serious enemy
be apparent or audible, it steals away with long strides
of its red stilt-like legs, and disappears and squats till
none but friends are at hand. No tame bird would be a
greater puzzle to fowl-stealers than the Egyptian Goose,
if suffered to range at large, after it was once settled and
acquainted with the premises which were to be its home.

In extreme cases of danger their cunning leads them
to feign death, like the landrail and some species of
beetles. A man who undertook to pinion a brood of
four that had been brought up with a Hen, was much
alarmed by finding that he had operated too severely on
one of them, and " kilt'' it by the operation. The patient
had apparently died under the knife. He handled it
and turned it about ; it dropped its neck, hung its wings,
and suppressed all signs of life. Deeming the case past
remedy, he tossed the poor thing into a pond close at
hand ; when, presto ! down dived the Gosling — no Goose
• — after an exercise of self-command not surpassed by
the most patient subjects of mesmeric practice, thinking,
doubtless, that it had done the old gamekeeper, and saved
itself from some still more severe treatment.

Their powers of voice are also remarkable. The
ordinary conversation of a pair with each other is a low
internal whispering, very distinct, but very faint, with
much the effect of ventriloquism. They will also
address these confidential sort of remarks to the persons
to whom they are attached by feeding and other acts of
kindness, cocking their yellow eye in the driest way
possible. Their cry of alarm is a short reedy note, of
considerable loudness, which somewhat resembles the
snappish barking of a cur dog. They make use of this
to scold other animals, and to express their disapprobation
of what is going on about them. ]\Iine sometimes took

THE EGYPTIAN, OR CAPE GOOSE. 63

it into their heads that poor Cheny, our only cow,
had no business in the meadow or on the lawn while
they were present ; and one of them, the male bird, kept
up this incessant barking by the half-hour together,
walking round and round the creature, or scolding into
her very ear as her head was down grazing, but pro-
ducing no more apparent annoyance to the patient and
philosophical cow, than the cawing of the rooks from the
neighbouring rookery. There is a hissing sound, seemingly
expressive of mutual confidence, which is very like the
escape of steam from the boiler of a steam-engine. They
have a fashion of standing opposite to each other, face to
face, on tip-toe, as high as their webbed feet permit, with
their wings displayed and expanded, as if they were about
to embrace and hug one another — a gesture, as far as I am
aware, peculiar to, and characteristic of, the species ; and
during this demonstration of affection, which it undoubtedly
is, one (the male 1) keeps up the bark, and the other
(the female ?) the hissing noise ; so that it suggests the
idea of a carrier's cart-dog making love to a safety-valve.

Among the ancient Egyptians the Chenalopex was
typical of parental affection.

" And these same Egyptians pay honour to Goose-
Foxes and Hoopoos, since the former are fond of their
young, and the latter are pious towards their parents." —
^lian, lib. x., c. 16.

" The Goose-Fox is a creature very fond of its young,
and acts in the same manner as Partridges. For this
bird sets itself down before its young ones, and inspires
the fowler with hope in order that he may advance : the
young run off in the meanwhile, and when they are
advanced on the way, the parent, rising on its wings,
escapes." — Idem., lib. xi., c. 38.

The fury with which they defend their offspring from
real or supposed danger is extreme. It is much more
blind and violent, and less reasoning than that of the
Hen. When they have young their jealousy is like King
Herod's : they indiscriminately attack and slay the

64 THE EGYPTIAN, OR CAPE GOOSE.

innocent young of other poultry, as well as of their own
species ; on which account it is better not to let them
hatch the eggs they have produced, but to depute that
office to a common Hen, by which plan also a chance is
given of obtaining a second laying.

Two pairs of Egyptian Geese had been permitted to
hatch ; the young of each brood were thrifty, and were
conducted by their parents to the same pond. The two
families met. The Capulets versus the Montagues did
not manifest a more bitter hatred. Each couple insanely
set to work to slaughter the rising hopes of the other.
In a few minutes all was over ; the eggs might as well
have been addled or eaten. All the unhappy Goslings
were floating dead on the water, and the rival Goose-
Foxes had each had their revenge, — a good moral lesson
for their betters.

The time of incubation is a month ; but the duration of
this period varies slightly in probably all birds according
to circumstances. The young are marked similarly to the
old ones, but with duller colours. Brown back and tail,
ash-coloured belly, a whitish band behind the ears, and a
smaller one at the base of the bill. They may be reared
in the same manner as those of the common Goose. If
a Hen be selected for their nurse, she will not have the
instinct to lead them to the tender grass by the water-
side, and it may be as well to cram them for a time, once
a day, with " pegs," or long pellets made of egg and flour
dried before a slow fire. After the first month or two
they become perfectly hardy, but must be pinioned, lest
they be seized with a migratory fit. They are said to be
very good eating ; but it may be supposed that a bird, for
which the London poultry-dealers ask i Si. a pair, and
which when roasted would not be much larger than a fine
duck, does not often appear at ordinary tables. They are
no doubt creatures of great longevity. Instances are not
unfrequent of individuals remaining domesticated for
fifteen or twenty years, and then being shot by mistake for
wild birds, in consequence of having wandered from their

THE EGYPTIAN, OK CAPE GOOSE. 65

usual haunts during some heavy gale or peculiarity of
weather. In hard winters, when the ground is covered
with snow, they are apt to stray in search of soft marshy
spots and open water ; and at such seasons it is desirable
that their keeper should have a more careful eye over
them than usual. They do not attain their full plumage,
nor breed, till their third year, and they continue to
increase somewhat in size after that period — circum-
stances which, in birds, are, I believe, uniformly united
with great length of life, probably as much as eighty or
a hundred years.

The Eg}'ptian Goose seems to be a connecting link
between the waders and the gallinaceous birds in one
direction, and the anatides in another. In its outline
and attitude it bears considerable resemblance to that
rare and curious bird, the Spur-winged Goose ; also a
native of the same continent. It is very fond of standing
up to the knees in water, like a heron. It eats worms,
which, it has been remarked, the genuine and typical
Geese never do ; and I have no doubt that any small
eels or fry that came in its way would be swallowed. Its
chief diet, however, is grass. It takes its share of grain
when the other poultry are fed, and at that time amuses
itself with teasing and chasing them, but more through
fun than mischief — unless, indeed, it has a young family
to protect, then it is a feathered tiger. It keeps itself
from intimate society with other fowls, not joining the
Geese in their gregarious disposition to form one common
flock, nor yet, like the Muscovy Duck, attaching itself to
the Hens and Turkeys, but maintaining a very independent,
fearless, and somewhat haughty exclusiveness.

THE MUSK (commonly Muscovy) DUCK.

THE CAIRO DUCK OF ALDROVANDI.

" At Makaaka, we saw some Muscovy Ducks feeding in the garden,
and offered to purchase one ; but they said they were rearing them for
their landlord, and could not part with any ; they furnished us, how-
ever, with a fowl, with which, and some biscuit we had with us, we
made a tolerable meal." — Ellib's Missionary Tour through Hawaii.
p. 187.

" Can a Duck swim ? " is a pert question sometimes
asked with little expectation of an answer in the negative,
Here, however, is a Duck, which if it cmi swim, performs
that action in such a clumsy way as hardly to deserve the
name of swimming. Those who expect that its singular
appearance " would render it a curious, if not an elegant
companion, among the more attractive Ducks of our
aquatic preserves," will be disappointed ; for it will never
go near the water, if it can help it, but will prefer the
farm-yard, the precincts of the kitchen, or even the
piggery itself, to the clearest stream that ever flowed. In
fact, it hates water, except some dirty puddle to drink
and drabble in. When thrown into a pond, it gets out
again as fast as it can. It does, indeed, sometimes seem
to enjoy an occasional bath, but so does a sparrow or a
canary bird. Its very short leg does not appear to be
mechanically adapted for the purpose of swimming. It
waddles on the surface of a pond as much as it does on
dry land ; it is evidently out of its place in either
situation. Its proper mode of locomotion is through the
air : its congenial haunts are among the branches of
trees.

THE MUSK DUCK. 67

The early Voyagers and the old Ornithologists are
constantly referring to these habits. Observe, for instance,
the description of "A wild Brazilian Duck of the bigness
of a Goose. — Marggrave. It hath a black Bill, dusky
Legs and Feet. It is all over black except the beginnings
(setting on) of the Wings which are v^^hite ; but that
black hath a gloss of shining green. It hath a crest or tuft
on its head consisting of black feathers, and a corrugated
red mass or bunch of flesh above the rise of the upper
Mandible of the Bill, It hath also a red skin about the
Eyes. It is very fleshy, and good meat. They are com-
monly shot sitting on high trees : For after they have
washt themselves in cold water, they fly up high trees,
for the benefit of fresh air and Sun." — Willughhy.

A pair that were given to me by a friend came home
very dirty, and, as at the end of three or four days they
still had not washed themselves from their coating of
filth, they were driven towards the water to bathe and be
clean. In vain — they flew back over our heads to the
poultry-yard ; and we were obliged to catch them, put
them into the pond with our hands, and give them a
ducking whether they would or not.

Another curious fact is, that great part of the feathers
of the Musk Duck do not resist the wet so well as those
of other water-birds ; but the quill feathers particularly,
and those of the tail, become soaked and matted in a very
few minutes, like those of a Hen or Turkey ; so that if
compelled to make any long voyage, at a certain distance
they would sink and be suffocated. It would not be a
humane experiment to try to make a Duck drown itself;
but such would probably be the result. We have here,
then, the strange anomaly of a web-footed bird, whose
feathers do not repel water ; which may be matched by
another case, the Water-Hen, a bird whose feet have no
web whatever, which yet swims safely though not quickly,
and whose feathers are waterproof. Woodcocks, also,
have been said to rest on the surface of the sea during
their migrations : the common Heron has been stated by

68 THE MUSK DUCK.

Mr. Yarrell, on good authority, to swim occasionally ;
and Audubon positively affirms that he has known a flock
of wild Turkeys cross an American river by swimming.
The correctness, however, of this last account has been
called in question, but, as it is impossible to prove a
negative, not disproved. Mr. Darwin also, whose name
is a sufficient guarantee for the accuracy of the fact, states,
I think, the same thing of an American Ostrich,

The cause of this difference in the wet-repelling power
of the feathers of different birds remains yet to be dis-
covered. The old idea of the function of the oil-gland
on the rump needs no further refutation. The quantity
of oil secreted is quite insufficient to smear the whole
plumage of any bird. The actions of the creature, which
are presumed to be the smearing itself with this unguent,
are nothing more than the process of combing, and
preening, and arranging its feathers. The rumpless Fowl
has a coat just as glossy as any other variety. The
necks of some birds, as Owls, are too short to reach the
gland that is to supply the natural Macassar. In other
birds, of most aquatic and even oceanic habits, the rump
itself is but little developed. What function is performed
by these glands, remains yet to be demonstrated :
probably it will be found to be simply excretory. The
question of lubrication might very soon be set at rest
by amputating the rump of a common Duck or Goose
(were such cruelty at all justifiable — which it is not),
and if, at the end of a month, the mutilated creature
swam as buoyantly as ever, it would certainly not be by
the assistance of the oil-gland. I venture, therefore, to
suggest — and claim the credit of first suggesting — that
this cause may probably be found in some minute
structural peculiarity of the texture of the feather, which
the microscope can alone reveal to us. In geology that
instrument has afforded great and unexpected assistance.
A thin slice of a fossil tree tells us whether it was a
Palm, or whether it grew like our oaks and beeches ; a
minute fragment of a tooth has indicated the nature of

THE MUSK DUCK. 69

an extinct and gigantic reptile. Youatt, through its aid,
discovered the mechanical cause of the felting property of
wool ; and it is not too much to hope that it may throw
light on the reason why some feathers resist moisture, and
others do not.

Now, two conditions necessary for the repulsion of
water by small objects, are rigidity and smoothness.
The fur of a Water-Rat, that would be proof against all
damp while the creature was living, and the hairs remained
rigid and elastic, would become sodden as soon as death
ensued, and the coating became flaccid. " Insects which,
like the Gnat, walk much upon the surface of water,
have at the end of their feat a brush of fine hair, the dry
points of which appear to repel the fluid, and prevent
the leg from being wetted. If these brushes be moistened
with spirit of wine, this apparent repulsion no longer
takes place, and the insect immediately sinks, and is
drowned." — Dr. Rogefs Bridgewater Treatise, vol. i.,
p. 334. A hair that would sink if once wetted, will, if
dropped gently on the surface, float by means of the air
contained in the vacant space caused by its repulsion.
The same will happen with a dry and polished needle
of considerable size, although iron is so much heavier
than water. If, then, it shall be found that the minute
parts of waterproof feathers possess these qualities of
smoothness and rigidity, in combination with others yet
to be discovered, which qualities are not to be found in
feathers that are easily wetted, a step will be gained
which must lead to interesting results. We cannot hope
to find out the ultimate cause of attraction and repulsion,
any more than we can that of gravitation, but we may
endeavour to learn the conditions of both.

Dr. Roget has discovered, by the microscope, a charac-
teristic which distinguishes feathers intended for flight,
from those whose use is for mere clothing or ornament.
" The feathers of the Ostrich," he says, " are unpro-
vided with that elaborate apparatus of crotchets and
fibres, which are universally met with in birds that fly."

70 THE MUSK DUCK.

In those of the Peacock's tail this peculiar mechanism is
deficient. We shall probably, at a future time, be equally
able to point out the repulsive structure of feathers
destined to be in constant contact with water, without
being wetted by it.

One bird, the young of the common Duck, is water-
proof everywhere, except at the tail, the down of which
soon becomes soaked, while the rest of its body is dry.
The tail of the Duckling is, like the heel of Achilles, its
weak point, on which account many farmers' wives clip
it close before they suffer a brood to approach the pond.
But compare the stiff, elastic, brush-like down of a
common Duckling or Gosling, with the soft, cottony,
compressible covering of a newly-hatched Chicken or
Turkey, and it will unhesitatingly be granted that there
is room for further inquiry. And it is desirable that the
investigation should be pursued by some man of experience
and acquirement, who is in possession of good instruments,
and has the skill to use them. I am not aware of any
fossil feathers being catalogued in our museums, but
portions of them at least are as likely to be found 'hi sitity
if searched after, as the delicate tissue of plants. Thus
it may be possible to determine, independently of any
reference to webbed feet, or broad bill, which of the pre-
adamite birds delighted in the water, and which were
confined to the dry land ; some light may even be thrown
on the habits of the mysterious Dodo.*

The female of the Musk Duck has considerable powers
of flight, and is easy and self-possessed in the use of its
wings. It is fond of perching on the tops of barns,
walls, &c. Its feet appear by their form to be more
adapted to such purposes than those of most other
Ducks. If allowed to spend the night in the hen-house,
the female will generally go to roost by the side of the
Hens, but the Drake is too heavy to mount thither with
ease. Its claws are sharp and long ; and it approaches

* See Strickland's able Treatise, in wliich he demonstrates it to
have been a Pigeon.

THE MUSK DUCK. 71

the tribe of Rasores or Scratchers in an ?oz-scientific
sense, being almost as dangerous to handle incautiously
as an ill-tempered cat ; and will occasionally adopt a
still more offensive and scarcely describable means of
annoyance.

The voice of the male is a hoarse asthmatical sigh.
Its habits are gross, obscene, dirty, indolent, selfish.
It manifests little affection to its female partner, and
none towards its offspring. The possession of three or
four mates suits it, and them, better than to be confined
to the company of a single one. It bullies other fowls,
sometimes by pulling their feathers, but more frequently
by following them close, and repeatedly thrusting its face
in their way, with an offensive and satyr-like expression
of countenance. I have not observed it to sift the water,
as it were, with its bill, to extract minute insects and
worms, as is the custom of other Ducks. It is a great
devourer of slugs. A nest of half-fledged birds of any
moderate size would soon be swallowed.

The female appears to be mute, or nearly so, having,
in general^ only a faint cry while leading her young ; but,
as in other cases of assumed dumbness, a sudden fright
will sometimes extort the real truth.

" I discovered the voice of the female Musk Duck in
the following manner, having kept them for some years
without having done so. In 1842, I was at Swanage,
in Dorsetshire, where, for the first time, I saw some pure
white Muscovy Ducks. I bought a pair, and in taking
them home I found that the female, on being moved
from one basket to another, uttered a cry almost exactly
resembling the "quack" of the common Duck. I feared
I had bought a hybrid instead of a genuine bird, though
the external appearance assured me otherwise. On my
arrival at home I had all my female Ducks of the Muscovy
kind (of which I then had four or five) caught suddenly,
and held by one leg, when I found that they all made the
same noise." — A. W.

At the time of receiving the above communication, I

72 THE MUSK DUCK.

had only one Musk Duck, of the dark variety, and upon
her the experiment was tried. She was extremely tame,
and, frighten her as we would, we could only get a faint
cry ; it was impossible to squeeze out of her a loud honest
" quack ! " Like the obstinate Prima Donna whom the
Sicilian viceroy sent to prison, she seemed to say, " You
may make me cry, but you shall not make me sing." A
white Musk Duck, that subsequently arrived as a stranger,
manifested its alarm at being handled by loud quackings,
as above described. Willughby gives the white variety
as a distinct species. It is mentioned by Caius as early
as 1570 under the name of Turkish Duck. The eye is
smaller, and if the peculiarity of voice be found a perma-
nent characteristic, it wound tend to confirm the position ;
otherwise the differences are trifling. In both sorts the
female is very much smaller than her spouse, and the
couple suggest the idea of those unequal matches occa-
sionally seen in the human species, where a little dumpy
woman trips with evident satisfaction by the side of a
husband who is twice her length, and four times her size.

The tropical regions of South America are the native
country of the Musk Duck, which may account for its
dislike to a cold bath in our English winter. Its frizzled
crest is analogous to that of some Curassows, natives of
the same continent and climate. It is fond of warmth,
passing the night, not in the open air, but in the fowl-
house with the Cocks and Hens ; and selecting by day
the most sunny corner to bask and doze in. I believe
that, if permitted, they would soon learn to come and lie
before the kitchen fire in cold weather ; for they become
absurdly tame with those persons who treat them kindly,
and fly off a few yards, like pigeons, if any disagi-eeable
acquaintance appear. I have seen one (a male) that
would wait to be stroked, like a cat, by its owner, and
expressed pleasure when he took it up to caress it in his
arms ; but it did not permit such liberties to strangers.

The hatred of water which the Musk Duck entertains,
is taken advantage of by two classes of persons — those

THE MUSK DUCK. 73

who have too little, and those who have too much water
to rear the common Duck. The river or the pond is the
nuptial bed of the latter, as of most web-footed birds.
Ophelia-like, a fall " into the weeping brook " is mere
matter of indifference to her ; she bears it

" As one incapable of her own distress,
Or like a creature native and indued
Unto that element."

Not so with the Musk Duck : a damp bed does not
suit it. "Where there is any very great extent of lake and
stream, the common Duck can scarcely (except by cooping)
be prevented from leading her brood out of all bounds,
till they are destroyed by pike, carrion-crows, marsh-men,
barge-men, rats, and other water-thieves, and the Duck
returns home at last with only half, or perhaps none
of her progeny in her suite. The Musk Duck resists, or
feels not the temptation to ramble. On this account it
is kept in some parts of Norfolk, where extensive broads
and interminable drains form a watery labyrinth, from
which no common Duck would easily be recovered. The
same stay-at-home habit and indifference to water point
out the Musk Duck as a suitable inhabitant of the stable-
yards and open spaces of a town, or of a suburban villa.
Another advantage is, that it is not apt to lay astray, or
steal a nest in exposed or unsafe places, but deposits its
eggs in the fowl-house, and will afterwards contentedly
sit there. Occasionally it will establish itself on the
top of a stack, or in a hay-loft, or granary, and make its
nursery there.

The eggs are scarcely distinguishable from those of the
common Duck ; they are well flavoured. The time of
incubation is five weeks : but in all birds that I have
observed, the duration of that period varies so much
according to circumstances, that a mean of many observa-
tions must be taken to arrive at a correct standard. The
time required by the hybrid eggs between this and the

74 THE MUSK DUCK.

common Duck, is intermediate between the respective
periods. " I have never known five weeks exceeded
beyond one day ; and the difference between the incubation
of the natural mother and the common Hen I have found
to be rather in favour of the former, who, if she is not
quite so constant a sitter, makes more than amends by
the Hning of down which she gives to her nest, and by
covering her eggs whenever she leaves them, which, I
need not say, the Hen never does." — A. W.

If it is wished that the Duck herself should incubate,
it will be better not to remove the eggs, as laid, from
the nest.

The newly-hatched young also resemble those of the
common Duck ; their minute claws, however, are sharper ;
they are covered with down, the shades of which indicate
the colour of the future feathers ; and they do not for
some time show any appearance of the tuberculated face.
They are delicate, and require some care while young,
but are quite hardy when full grown. Their food should
be anything that is nutritious, and plenty and a variety
of it. How the little Musk Ducks that happen to be
hatched in elevated situations manage to descend, is a
curious point in natural history. My owm idea is, that
the force of gravitation is quite sufficient to effect the
transfer, and that seldom any other agent is employed.
They would suffer little more from a tumble off a
haystack upon the litter around it, or from the roof of a
country house to the elastic lawn beneath, than a child's
powder-puff, if tossed from the highest steeple in England.
When once on the ground, the Duck would collect her
scattered brood, in the same way as a Pheasant, a
Partridge, or a self-set Hen. I have been told, on good
authority, that in such cases the Duck carries them down
severally in her beak, a mode of conveyance which may
be occasionally practised, if we place any faith in similar
instances. Audubon, speaking of the American Wood
Duck, remarks, " they always reminded me of the Mus-
covy Duck, of which they look as if a highly-finished and

THE MUSK DUCK. 75

flattering miniature ;" and tells us that " they appear at
all times to prefer (for their nest) the hollow broken
portion of some large branch, the hole of our largest
woodpecker {Picus principalis), or the deserted retreat of
the fox-squirrel." ..." If the nest is placed immediately
over the water, the young, the moment they are hatched,
scramble to the mouth of the hole, launch into the air
with their little wings and feet spread out, and drop into
their favourite element ; but whenever their birth-place
is at some distance from it, the mother carries them to it
one by one in her bill, holding them so as not to injure
their yet tender frame. On several occasions, however,
when the hole was thirty, forty, or more yards from a
bayou or other piece of water, I observed that the mother
suffered the young to fall on the grass and dried leaves
beneath the tree, and afterwards led them directly to the
nearest edge of the next pool or creek. At this early age,
the young answer to their parent's call with a mellow
pee, ]}ee^ p>ee, often and rapidly repeated." — American
Ornithological Biography, vol. 3, pp. 54, 55.

The Musk Duck is excellent eating if killed just before
it is fully fledged ; but it is longer in becoming fit for the
table than the common Duck. Their flesh is at first
high-flavoured and tender, but an old bird would be rank,
and the toughest of tough meats. It is strange that a
dish should now be so much out of fashion as scarcely
ever to be seen or tasted, which, under the name of Guinea
Duck, graced every feast a hundred and fifty years ago, and
added dignity to every table at which it was produced.

The domesticated bird is most frequently parti-
coloured, with irregular patches of black, white, and
brownish grey, the black prevailing on the upper, and
the white on the under surface of the body. It has been
seen that occasionally they are white ; but their filthy
habits render these not desirable. Brown and white is a
more rare colouring. Sometimes they are met with
entirely black, which is by far the most ornamental
variety ; it is, moreover, as we are informed, the colour

76 THE MUSK DUCK.

of the wild bird ; and in a collection of ornamental
poultry it is desirable to select those individuals which
most closely represent the native appearance of their
species. The black is beautifully metallic, somewhat
iridescent and shaded with golden green. The feathers
on the back are broad, and exhibit a handsome imbricated
appearance. The eye is large, full, and clear ; and the
red tubercles and skin at the base of the bill are strikingly
contrasted with whatever coloured plumage the bird may
be clothed with.

THE GUINEA-FOWL.

" The Meleagris is a most beautiful bird, in size of body, figure, bill,
and foot, similar to a Pheasant ; with a horned crown sitting on its
head like the ducal cap of the most illustrious Doge of Venice. The
colour of its throat is exquisitely purple ; the rest of the body, if you
take an upper view, is as if any one had separately sprinkled it with
black and with white flour, ground finely but not mixed. You will
hardly distinguish the male from the female : its voice is a divided
creaking not more sonorous than the voice of a Quail. In running
it is swift." — Joannes Caius's Libellus on the rarer Animals and
Plants, 1570.

We have refrained from applying the term " Pintado"
to the Guinea-fowl : that word, signifying in the Portu-
guese language " painted," and having been first appro-
priated to the black and white-chequered Petrel {Pro-
cellaria Capensis) by the navigators who found them in
the South Seas. The Guinea-fowl is frequently called a
Gallina, especially in Ireland. But under whatever
denomination, it is no great favourite with many keepers
of poultry, and is one of those unfortunate beings which,
from having been occasionally guilty of a few trifling
faults, has gained a much worse reputation than it really
deserves, as if it were the most ill-behaved bird in
creation : — whereas, it is useful, ornamental, and inter-
esting during its life ; and when dead a desirable addition
to our dinners, at a time when all other poultry is scarce.

The best way to begin keeping Guinea-fowls is to pro-
cure a sitting of eggs from some friend or neighbour on
whom you can depend for their freshness, and also, if
possible, yro??i a 2>Iclcs where only a single pair is kept.

78 THE GUINEA-FOWL.

The reason of this will be explained hereafter. A Bantam
Hen is the best mother ; she is lighter, and less likely to
injure them by treading on them than a full-sized fowl.
She will cover nine eggs, and incubation will last a month.
The young are excessively pretty. When first hatched,
they are so strong and active as to appear not to require
the attention really necessary to rear them. Almost as
soon as they are dry from the moisture of the egg, they
will peck each other's toes, as if supposing them to be
worms, will scramble with each other for a crumb of bread,
and will domineer over any little bantam or chicken that
may perhaps have been brought off in the same clutch
with themselves. No one, who did not know, would
guess, from their appearance, of what species of bird
they were the offspring.

The young of the Guinea-Fowl are striped like those
of the Emu, as shown in the late Mr. Bennet's pleasing
description of the Zoological Gardens, as they were in his
days. Their orange-red bills and legs, and the dark, zebra-
like stripes with which they are regularly marked from
head to tail, bear no traces of the speckled plumage of
their parents.

Ants' eggs (so called), hard-boiled egg chopped fine,
small worms, maggots, bread crumbs, chopped meat or
suet, whatever in short is most nutritious, is their most
appropriate food. This need not be offered to them in
large quantities, as it would only be devoured by the
mother Bantam as soon as she saw that her little ones had
for the time satisfied their appetites, or would be stolen
by sparrows, &c. ; but it should be frequently adminis-
tered to them in small supplies. Feeding them three,
four, or five times a day, is not nearly often enough ; every
half-hour during daylight they should be tempted to fill
their little craws, which are soon emptied again by an
extraordinary power and quickness of digestion. The
newly-hatched Guinea-fowl is a tiny creature, a mere
infinitesimal of the full-grown bird ; its growth is conse-
quently very rapid, and requires incessant supplies. A

THE GUINEA-FOWL. 79

check once received can never be recovered. In such
cases they do not mope and pine for a day or two, like
young Turkeys under similar circumstances, and then
die ; but in half an hour after being in apparent health,
they fall on their backs, give a convulsive kick or two,
and fall victims, in point of fact, to starvation. The
demands of nature for the growth of bone, muscle, and
particularly of feather, are so great, that no subsequent
abundant supply of food can make up for a fast of a couple
of hours. The feathers still go on, grow, grow, grow, in
geometrical progression, and drain the sources of vitality
still faster than they can be supplied, till the bird faints
and expires from inanition. I have even fancied that I
have seen a growth of quill and feather after death in
young poultry which we had failed in rearing. The pos-
sibility of such a circumstance is supported by the well-
known fact of the growth of hair and nails in many
deceased persons.

This constant supply of suitable food is, I believe, the
great secret in rearing the more delicate birds, Turkeys,
Guinea-fowls, Pheasants, &c. ; never to suffer the growth
of the chick (which goes on whether it has food in its
stomach or not), to produce exhaustion of the vital powers,
for want of the necessary aliment. Young Turkeys, as
soon as they once feel languid from this cause, refuse their
food when it is at last offered to them (just like a man
whose appetite is gone, in consequence of having waited
too long for his dinner), and never would eat more, were
food not forced down their throats, by which operation
they may frequently be recovered ; but the little Guinea-
fowls give no notice of this faintness till they are past
all cure ; and a struggle of a few minutes shows that
they have indeed outgrown their strength, or, rather,
that the material for producing strength has not been sup-
plied to them in a degree commensurate with their growth.

A dry sunny corner in the garden will be the best place
to coop them with their Bantam Hen. As they increase
in strength they will do no harm, but a great deal of good,

80 THE GUINEA-FOWL,

by devouring worms, grubs, caterpillars, maggots, and all
sorts of insects. By the time their bodies are little bigger
than those of sparrows, they will be able to fly with some
degree of strength ; and it is very pleasing to see them
essay the use of their wings at the call of their foster-
mother, or the approach of their feeder. It is one out of
millions of instances of the provident wisdom of the
Almighty Creator, that the wing and tail feathers of
young gallinaceous birds, with which they require to be
furnished at the earliest possible time, as a means of escape
from their numerous enemies, exhibit the most rapid
growth of any part of their frame. Other additions to
their complete stature are successively and less imme-
diately developed. The wings of a chicken are soon
fledged enough to be of great assistance to it ; the spurs,
comb, and ornamental plumage do not appear till quite a
subsequent period.

When the young Guinea-fowl are about the size of
thrushes, or perhaps a little larger (unless the summer be
very fine), their mother Bantam (which we suppose to be
a tame, quiet, matronly creature) may be suffered to range
loose in the orchard and shrubbery, and no longer per-
mitted to enter the garden, lest her family shonld acquire
a habit of visiting it at a time when their presence would
be less welcome than formerly. They must still, how-
ever, receive a bountiful and frequent supply of food ;
they are not to be considered safe till the horn on their
heads is fairly gi-own. Oatmeal {i. e. gi'oats), as a great
treat, cooked potatoes, boiled rice, anything in short that
is eatable, may be thrown down to them. They will pick
the bones left after dinner with great satisfaction, and no
doubt benefit to themselves. The tamer they can be
made, the less troublesome will those birds be which you
retain for stock ; the more kindly they are treated, the
more they are petted and pampered, the fatter and better
conditioned will those others become which you design for
your own table, or as presents to your friends, and the
better price will you get if you send them to market.

THE GUINEA-FOWL. 81

At a certain period they will have got beyond the
management of their good mother-in-law, and will cast
off her authority. They will form what has appropriately
been called a " pack ;" prowling about in a body after
insects and mast, or grazing together (for they eat a great
deal of grass*) still in a pack ; fiercely driving away any
intruder on their society, and all giving tongue in one
chorus at the approach of any danger.

Birds thus reared on the spot where they are meant
to be kept, are sure to thrive better and give less trouble
than those procured from a distance ; which sometimes
will not remain in their new home, but wander about in
search of their old haunts till they either find them, or
are themselves lost, destroyed, or stolen. All the poultry-
books that I have seen are very meagre, and sometimes
erroneous in their directions for the management of the
less common fowls. For instance, not one that I am
aware tells you that the Guinea-fowl is a monogamous
bird, pairs with his mate, like a Partridge or a Pigeon,
and remains faithful to her (perhaps with one or two
trifling peccadilloes) so long as they continue to live
together. It is generally supposed that the male Guinea-
fowl, like the common Cock, is pleased with a plurality
of wives ; and the supposition is acted on with bad
practical effect. In the case where a Guinea cock and
two hens are kept — a usual number — it will be found on
close observation that though the three keep together so
as to form one " pack," according to their original instinct,
yet that the cock and one hen will be unkind and stingy
to the other unfortunate female, keep her at a certain
distance, merely suffering her society, and making her feel
that she is with them onlyon sufferance. The neglected
hen will lay eggs, in appearance, like those of the other,

* Mr. Swainson points out the analogy which exists between the
homed birds, the Cassowary, Curassow, and Guinea-fowl among the
feathered tribes, and the ruminants among quadrupeds ; the quantity
of crass eaten by the last-mentioned birds confirms his view of the
subject.

e

82 THE GUINEA-FOWL.

but not SO many ; probably, in the same nest. If they are
to be eaten, all well and good ; but if a. brood is wanted,
and the eggs of the despised one chance to be taken for
the purpose of hatching (and there is no possibility of
distinguishing them without breaking them, — unless, it
may be, the oxyhydrogen microscope could be made to
throw light through them, as well as upon them), the
result is disappointment and addle eggs. If the produce
of the favourite (or rather let us say of the lawful wife)
are selected, at the end of the month you have so many
strong chicks ; if a mixture of eggs come to hand, the
hatch is in proportion. I have known this occur repeat-
edly. Therefore let all those who wish to succeed with
Guinea-fowls, match their birds as strictly as the couples
in a country dance.

It is not every one who knows a cock from a hen of
this species. An unerring rule is, that the hen alone
uses the call-note " come-b?ick, come-back," accenting
the second syllable strongly, from which they are usually
called " come-backs," in Norfolk ; the cock has only the
harsh shrill cry of alarm, which, however, is also common
to the female. A widowed hen, whose husband had been
unceasingly and irreclaimably impertinent to a noble
Game Cock, and who lately lost her spouse in the duel
provoked by his own repeated insolence, is, while I write,
piping her melancholy cry, " come-back, come-back,"
under my study window.

" Te, dulcis conjux, te solo in litore secum,
Te, veniente die, te decedente canebat.''

^oi translated thus : —

" Restore, restore Eurydice to life :
O take the husband, or return the wife ! "

Back, however, he comes not, nor will come, in spite
of her plaintive invitation, which will, doubtless, continue
to touch our hearts, and grate our ears, tiU she is consoled
for her bereavement by a second union.

THE GUINEA-FOWL. 83

Their amours are conducted with strict decorum and
privacy. The . cock, however, is properly poHte and
attentive to his own hen in public, walking very close by
her side, so as to touch her wings with his own, offering
her tit-bits now and then, a worm or a grain of corn ; he
has also a habit of running very quick for a few steps, and
then walking affectedly on tip-toes, with a mincing air,
like the dandy in a Christmas pantomime, setting up his
back and increasing his apparent height. These latter
symptoms are less evident in youth, when it is necessary
to make the selection, and the call-note will be found the
safest guide.

Of all known birds, this, perhaps, is the most prolific
of eggs. Week after week, and month after month, sees
no, or very rare, intermission of the daily deposit. Even
the process of moulting is sometimes insufficient to draw
off the nutriment the creature takes, to make feathers
instead of eggs, and the poor thing will sometimes go
about half naked in the chilly autumnal months, like a
Fowl that had escaped from the cook to avoid a prepa-
ration for the spit ; unable to refrain from its diurnal
visit to the nest, and consequently unable to furnish itself
with a new gi'eat coat. As the body of a good cow is a
distillery for converting all sorts of herbage into milk, and
nothing else, or as little else as possible, so the body of
the Guinea hen is a most admirable machine for produc-
ing eggs out of insects, vegetables, grain, garbage, or
whatever an omnivorous creature can lay hold of.

From this gi-eat aptitude for laying, which is a natural
property, and not an artificially encouraged habit, and
also from the very little disposition they show to sit, I
am inclined to suspect that in their native country, the
dry burning wastes of Central Africa, they do not sit at
all on their eggs, but leave them to be hatched by the
sun, like Ostriches, to which they bear a close affinity.
That they do in this country occasionally sit and hatch is
no valid objection to this idea, but only an instance of
habits modified by a change of climate, similar to the

g2

84 THE GUINEA-FOWL.

cessation of torpidity, and to the brown, instead of white,
winter dress in animals brought from the arctic regions to
temperate cUmates. Even in Great Britain there are not
enough Guinea-fowls hatched by their actual parents to
keep the breed from becoming extinct in a few years. It
is certain that the sands of tropical Africa are more than
hot enough to hatch them, and that the young birds are
unusually vivacious and independent, if they have but a
supply of proper food, which they would find in the
myriads of insects engendered there. They are also
found wild on the Island of Ascension, but it is doubtful
whether any accurate account of their habits or mode of
increase there is yet extant.

Housewives complain that they are apt to lay astray
in the hedge-rows and copses ; but what does it matter,
if the people about you are but honest (and the way to
make and keep them so is to treat them kindly and
liberally), what does it matter whether you get one egg
a day, or seven at the end of a week 1 And nest-hunting
is always good fun for the children, and sometimes for
the master and mistress.

Guinea-fowl have another Ostrich-like habit. When
a nest is robbed of its eggs, it is generally deserted by the
birds, who never again make use of it from that time.
Occasionally, however, especially if it be among rough
herbage and low shrubs, at the end of three or four days,
it will be found partially refilled, and containing more
eggs than the bird could have laid in the interval. I was
at first puzzled to account for this, till I discovered that
the Guinea-fowl replaced her plundered property by
rolling into the nest outlying eggs that had been laid
previously.

When a Guinea-hen is known to be sitting, it is
desirable to have her watched, so that the moment the
young leave the shell she may be secured and placed with
her brood under a coop, where she will rear them as well
as a Hen. The Guinea-fowl hatches a large number,
when she does hatch at all. I have heard of as many as

THE GUINEA-FOWL. 85

thirty-two chicks, which were dragged about by the
mother, and lost in a field of wheat. Twenty- two have
been reared when she has been caught and confined.

The cock attends his own hen to the nest, waits for
her close at hand till she has made her daily contribution
to the treasure already there, and occasionally will betray
the situation of the secret hoard by his extreme solicitude
in announcing the presence of intruders.

" Eggs . . . distinct with points, as in the Guinea-
fowl." — Pliny, lib. X., clxxiv.

Eggs of the Guinea-fowl are occasionally produced
covered with wrinkles, as if the shell had shrunk in
the process of hardening. These sometimes are confined
to one (the smaller) end, and sometimes extend over the
whole surface. They are evidently the result of weakness
or over-exertion of the egg-organs, appearing in young
and healthy birds only at the close of their long laying
season ; in old and weak ones, showing themselves in the
first-laid eggs, and increasing in depth and extent as the
season advances. The same thing is less frequently seen
among Turkeys that are about to cease laying. Such
eggs are quite good for the table, but should not be taken
for the purpose of hatching. They appear to contain a
less proportion ofj^olk than the perfect egg.

Guinea-fowl are in season from the middle of Decem-
ber till April, but are usually reserved till the latter part
of that term, in order to occupy the gap caused by
the deficiency of game. And therefore the best time
of the year for the amateur to procure any particular
variety, is towards the close of the game season, at the
end of Februar)' and beginning of March. A walk round
the shops of the game-dealers vnll then give information
of what sorts are reared in the neighbourliood, and those
required may be ordered to be supplied alive. They
usually weigh from three to four pounds each, and fetch
from hs. 6d. to 7s. the couple in Norfolk. It is of no
use attempting to shut them up to fatten, unless they
have previously been made particularly tame, as they

86 THE GUINEA-FOWL.

would sulk, pine, and die before they became reconciled
to confinement, in spite of its extra diet. But if they
have become familiar, the whole pack may be confined in
company together in a roomy outhouse, and be supplied
with all the oats they can eat, with considerable advan-
tage. The sure plan, therefore, is to keep them in high
condition during the winter, byjiberal hand-feeding. The
practice is not to kill them with the knife, like other
poultry, but to dislocate their necks, leaving the blood in
them to remedy the dryness of their flesh, which is the
great fault an epicure vi^ould find with them. They should
also remain in the larder as long as possible before being
cooked. It was formerly the fashion for farmer's wives
and daughters to make tippets and muffs of the smaller
feathers, which much resembled chinchilli fur in appear-
ance, and were both elegant and useful.

The normal plumage of the Guinea-fowl is singularly
beautiful, being spangled over with an infinity of white
spots on a black ground, shaded with grey and brown.
The spots vary from the size of a pea to extreme minute-
ness. Rarely the black and white change places, causing
the bird to appear as if covered with a network of lace.

" Marggravius saw others brought out of Sien-a Lyona
like to the above described (Guiny Hen), whose Neck
was bound or lapped about with, as it were, a membranous
cloth of a blue ash-colour. A round many- double tuft,
or crest consisting of elegant black feathers, covers the
head. The white points or spots round the whole body
are variegated, as it were, with a shade." ( Willughbg,
p. 163.) A white variety is not uncommon, and is
asserted by a Yorkshire correspondent of the " Gardener's
Chronicle," to be equally hardy and profitable with the
usual kind ; but the peculiar beauty of the original
plumage is, surely, ill exchanged for a dress of not the
purest white. It is doubtful for how long either this or
the former one would remain permanent ; probably but
for few generations. Pied birds blotched with patches of
white are frequent, but are not comparable in point of

THE GUINEA-FOWL. 87

beauty with those of the original wild colour. The figure
in Sir W. Jardine's " Naturalist's Library " is evidently
taken from one of the pied varieties. The ancients seem
to have been acquainted with two or three species, the
description of which hardly answers to those we know at
the present day.

There exist, however, several little known species.

" The Africana, which most people call a Numidica,
is like a Meleagris, except that it bears on its head a red
helmet and comb, both which are blue in the Meleagiis."
Columella, lib. viii. c. 2,

The head and face of our birds are remarkable. The
scarlet wattles, naked skin, distinct mark of the eye-brow,
bright glancing eyes, and comical quick expression, make,
at a front view, a perfect miniature of a clown dressed and
painted for the circus or the pantomime.

I am informed that gun-dogs set or point at Guinea-
fowls that happen to stray in the fields, as if they were
Partridges.

THE CHINA GOOSE (Cygnoides).

" I see we still did meet each other's man,
And I was ta'en for him, and he for me,
And thereupon these errors are arose.
Methinks, you are my glass, and not my hrother ;
I see by you, I am a sweet-faced youth."

Comedy of Errors. Act 5.

There is a venerable joke about a Spanish Don who
knocked at a cottage door to ask a night's lodging. " Who's
there ? What do you want 1" said the inmates. " Don
Juan Jose Pedro Antonio Alonzo Carlos Geronimo, &c.,
&c., <kc., wants to sleep here to-night." " Get along with
you," was the reply : " how should we find room here
for so many fellows 1 " The China Goose is in the same
position as the Spanish Don. It has names enough to
fill a menagerie. China Goose, Knob Goose, Hong
Kong Goose, Asiatic Goose, Swan Goose, Chinese Swan
{Ci/pius Sinensis, Cuvier), Guinea Goose, Spanish Goose,
Polish Goose, Anas and Anser cygnoides, Muscovy Goose,
and probably more besides.

Confusion, therefore, and perplexity, are the certain lot
of whosoever attempts to trace this bird in our books of
natural history. Its place of birth has excluded it from
all monographs or limited ornithologies. In very few
systematic works is it mentioned at all, which is remark-
able of a bird so striking in its appearance, which there
is every reason to believe must have been domesticated
for a long period. The uncertainty that has existed as
to its correct name and really native country may be one

THE CHINA GOOSE. 89

cause of this. Like the Jews or the Gipsies, it has not
been allowed to claim a place among the natives of any
one region ; and like many others furnished with a variety
of aliases, it ends by being altogether excluded from
society.

The old writers call it the Guinea Goose, for the
excellent reason, as Willughby hints, that in his time it
was the fashion to apply the epithet " Guinea " to every-
thing of foreign and uncertain origin.* Thus, what we
at this day erroneously call the Muscovy Duck was
then called the Guinea Duck. Not long back it was
common with us to refer every strange or new object to
a French source. Spanish Goose is another title, probably
as appropriate as Guinea Goose. Bewick has given an
admirable woodcut of this bird, but he has evidently
selected the gander, which is taller and more erect than
the female, though to both may be applied Willughby's
description, " a stately bird, walking with its head and
neck, decently erected." Bewick calls it the Swan Goose,
The tubercle at the base of the bill, the unusual length of
neck, and its graceful carriage in the water, give it some
claim to relationship with the aristocracy of lake and
river. Cuvier (Griffiths' edition) goes further, calls it at
once Cygnus Sinensis, Chinese Swan, and says that this
and the Canada Goose cannot be separated from the true
Swans. A Goose, however, it decidedly is, as is clear
from its terrestrial habits, its powerful bill, its thorny
tongue, and its diet of grass. And therefore we have
determined to call it the China Goose, concluding that
Cuvier is right about its home,f and other authors about
its goosehood.

* The epithet " Indian" has also answered the same accommodating
purpose. " The lesser kind 1 coniccture to be the right, Mamhrine or
Syrian Goat, although some of the late writers call it an Indian Goat,
the reason is, because (as hath beene said) they cal al strange beasts
by the names of Indians, if they find them not in their owne
countrey." — TopseWs History of Foure-footcd Beasts, p. 2o6.

+ In journeying overland (in books of Travels), we meet with the
Swan Goose, more frequently as we approach Tartary and China.

90 THE CHINA GOOSE.

There is something in the aspect of this creature, the
dark-brown stripe down its neck, its small bright eye, its
harsh voice, its ceremonious strut, and its affectation of
seldom being in a hurry, which seems to say that it came
from China. It would perfectly harmonise in a picture
of Chinese still life ; or in a Chinese garden, with artifi-
cially arranged rocks, dwarf trees, crooked trellises, and
zigzag pathways ; or, in a more extended landscape, it
would group well on a broad river, beside a boat filled
with shaven fishermen, with their trained cormorants and
pig- tailed children. If it does come from China, it has
no doubt been domesticated for many hundred years,
perhaps as long as the Peacock or common Fowl. They
may be made to lay a large number of eggs by an increased
supply of nourishing food. This is very different from
the disposition to " lay everlastingly," as seen in the
Guinea-fowl, and some varieties of the domestic Hen —
the black Spanish, for instance ; because the China Goose
does in the end feel a strong desire to incubate as soon
as her protracted laying is done, whereas entire exemp-
tion from the hatching fever is the great merit of the
" everlasting layers." If liberally furnished with oats,
boiled rice, &c., tlie China Goose will in the spring lay
from twenty to thirty eggs before she begins to sit, and
again in the autumn, after her moult, from ten to fifteen
more. I have never observed any disposition to sit after
the autumnal laying. It is not, as in the Guinea-fowl, a
spontaneous flow of eggs, for which the ordinary diet of
the creature is sufficient, but is as much dependent on
feeding as the fatness to which a bullock is brought. A
Goose that I supplied with as much oats as she could
eat, besides grass, potatoes, and cabbages, laid eggs larger
than ordinary ; one of them (with a double yolk) weighed
seven and a half ounces, nearly half a pound. I need
hardly say that double-yolked eggs are very rare, except
among birds that are highly fed.

Another peculiarity is their deficient power of flight
compared with the rest of their congeners, owing to the

THE CHINA GOOSE. 91

larger proportionate size of their bodies.* The common
domestic Goose flies much more strongly than its brother
from China. Indeed of all Geese this is the worst flyer.
There is no occasion to pinion them. While the Canada
Goose thinks little of a journey from the North Pole or
thereabouts to Great Britain, while the Egyptian Goose
pays us occasional visits from Africa, while the merry
little Laughing Goose, if tamed and allowed the use of its
wings, is almost as much at ease in the air as a Pigeon,
the Chinese Goose' can hardly manage to flutter across a
lawn, to get out of the way of a frisky spaniel.

" Said the Tame Goose to the Wild one, ' on such a
day I shall fly away.' Said the Wild Goose to the Tame
one, ' I shall fly away on such a day, if it be the will of
Allah.' At the appointed time the Wild Goose performed
her yearly migration : the Tame Goose cannot fly to this
day." If China, instead of Egypt, had produced the above
fable, we should believe that the Anas cygnoides was the
vain boastful bird.

The large number of eggs laid by these birds has led
some persons to imagine that, like Guinea-fowls, they
were inexhaustible, so that when at last the Goose did
make her nest in earnest (which may be known by her

* " In opposition to this statement, permit me to say, that the
China Geese, if true bred, ily very well, at a considerable height and
long distances. As a proof that they fly, many years since, a labourer
coming to his work at Capesthorne, near INIacclesfield — Mr. Davenport's
■ — found an egg on tlie grass in the p.irk, evidently dropped by some
bird that had flown over, as no such Geese were known there. The
eeg was set, and produced a Chinese Goose, which lived more than
twenty years, having died about three years since, apparently of old
age. I have often seen the Goose, and sent a China Gander to
solace her declining years, but she would not allow him to come near
lier. Last year, I used often to admire the fine sweeping flights of five
of this breed near my house, I .am quite sure as to many of this breed
flying quite well and strong." — W. D. F. I can only account for this
by. the fact that there are more varieties of the China Goose than is
commonly suspected, as nothing like the power of flight here described,
the truth of which cannot be doubted, has ever fallen under my own
observation, at home or elsewhere.

92 THE CHINA GOOSE.

mixing her own down with the straw) no eggs had been
reserved for the poor thing to sit upon. The best plan is
to date the eggs with a pencil, as they are laid, and to
consume only those which are more than three weeks old.
They are usually very late with their broods, but will rear
them well enough if they are allowed to take their own
time, and do it after their own manner. My China Goose
has now (June 1848) laid thirty eggs, without intimating
any intention of sitting, but she has annually brought off
a family for the last five years, and I doubt not she will
again this season. When the fit comes, she will take
possession of her milk-pan, which stands in a large
boarded coop, like a dog-kennel. Once duly enthroned
there, she will maintain her seat with proper perseverance
and tenacity, A neighbour discarded his China Goose
because she was always found standing over her eggs,
instead of sitting upon them. But those were only the
preliminaries, the overture to the performance. Hurry
no man's cattle ; and you may as well try to hurry the
Emperor, as the Goose, of China. Their time of incu-
bation is five weeks. I have always found them steady
sitters when they once begin in earnest, and exemplary
parents. The Goose, on leaving her nest to feed, covers
her eggs carefully. Any difficulty in rearing them results
from want of proper management. If, for instance, when
the bird does at length sit, she is insufficiently supplied
with eggs, or with those which have been kept too long ;
or if she be permitted to be disturbed by dogs, &c. ; if she
be suffered to steal a nest, and sit on more than she can
cover — things will go wrong. The great number of eggs
laid may perhaps cause an uncertainty that each one is
properly fecundated. A China Goose, after sitting a
fortnight, was driven from her nest by a sow that had
been permitted to get loose : the eggs were eaten, shells
and all, and the poor bird expressed her agony of mind,
both by her cries and actions. After she became a little
calm, her nest was remade and supplied with fresh eggs.
She continued to sit for three weeks longer, as well as

THE CHINA GOOSE. 93

could be. At the end of the usual period of five weeks,
she gave up her task as useless, believing the eggs to be
addled, which they were not ; and we unfortunately
knew no language by which we could persuade her that
if she would only persevere for another fortnight, the
reproach of barrenness would be taken away from her.

These are annoying cases to practical ornithotrophists.
But even here the difficulty need not have been insur-
mountable ; and where there 's a will there 's a way. A
worthy old couple had the misfortune to have their sitting
Goose killed in one of her daily promenades, a few days
before the goslings were ready to leave the shell. What
was to be done 1 The eggs were cooling fast ; no time
was to be lost. Difficult emergencies excite brilliant
efforts of genius. In an instant the old man was un-
dressed and in bed. To him the orphan eggs were
transferred. When he grew tired of his lying in, the old
lady took her turn till the goslings were safely hatched.

The prevailing colour of the plumage of the China
Goose is a brown, which has aptly been compared to the
colour of wheat. The different shades are very har-
moniously blended, and are well relieved by the black
tuberculated bill, and the pure white of the abdomen.
Their movements on the water are graceful and swan-
like. It is delightful to see them, on a fine day in spring,
lashing the water, diving, rolling over through mere fun,
and playing all sorts of antics. Shght variations occur in
the colour of the feet and legs, some having them of a
dull orange, others black : a delicate fringe of minute
white feathers is occasionally seen at the base of the bill.
These peculiarities are hereditarily transmitted. But the
White China Goose, if it be not specifically distinct, is
a variety so decidedly marked as to demand a separate
notice.

The male is almost as much disproportionately larger
than the female as the Musk-Drake is in comparison with
his mate. He is much inclined to libertine wanderings,
without, however, neglecting to pay proper attention at

94 THE CHINA GOOSE.

home. If there is any other Gander on the same pre-
mises, they are sure to disagree : one of the two had
better be got rid of. Both male and female are, perhaps,
the most noisy of all Geese : at night, the least footfall or
motion in their neighbourhood is sufficient to call forth
their clanging and resonant trumpetings. This, to a lone
country-house, is an advantage and a protection. Any
fowl-stealer would be stunned with their din before he
captured them alive, and the family must be deaf indeed
that could sleep on through the alarm thus given. But
by day it becomes a nuisance to the majority of hearers,
and has caused them to be relinquished by many amateurs.
One is inclined to address them as O'Connell did the
uproarious fellow who was interrupting his speech, "I
wish you had a hot potato in your mouth." Or they
might take a lesson from .Chan's geese : — " The Geese,
when shifting about Mount Taurus, are afraid of the
eagles, and each one of them taking a stone in its mouth,
that they may not ciy out, as if putting a gag upon them-
selves, fly through their course in silence, and in this
manner generally quite escape the notice of the eagles." —
Book v., chap. 29. We, however, prefer that our Geese
should silence themselves with grass and corn.

The eggs of the China Goose are somewhat less than
those of the domestic kind, of a short oval, with a smooth
thick shell, white, but slightly tinged with yellow at the
smaller end. The goslings when first hatched are usually
very strong. They are of a dirty green, like the colour
produced by mixing Indian ink and yellow ochre, with
darker patches here and there. The legs and feet are
lead colour, but afterwards change to a dull red. If there
is anything like good pasturage for them they require no
further attention than what their parents will afford them.
After a time a little grain will strengthen and forward
them. If well fed, they come to maturity very rapidly.
In between three and four months from the time of their
leaving the shell, they will be full grown and ready for
the spit. They do not bear being shut up to fatten so

THE CHINA GOOSE. 95

well as common Geese, and therefore those destined for
the table are the better for profuse hand-feeding. Their
flesh is well-flavoured, short, and tender ; their eggs are
excellent for cooking purposes. I have heard complaints
of their being a short-lived species, from good authority,
and that the ganders at least do not last more than ten or
a dozen years. The instance above-mentioned does not
show them to be long-lived. I cannot verify the facts, as
my own experience with these birds extends only to
about eight years, but it is quite in opposition to the
longevity ascribed to other Geese. Hybrids between
them and the common Goose are prolific with the common
goose ; the second and third cross is much prized by some
farmers, particularly for their ganders :* and in many
flocks the blood of the China Goose may often be traced
by the more erect gait of the birds, accompanied by a
faint stripe down the back of the neck. With the White-
fronted Goose they also breed freely.

In the very clear and useful " Manual of British Ver-
tebrate Animals," by the Rev. Leonard Jenyns, this bird
is recorded as Cygnus Guineensis, or Guinea Swan,
another synonyme ; though it is hesitatingly added,
" Native country somewhat doubtful."

* " I can warmly recommend the cross of the China Gander with the
common Goose as producing finer birds and of much finer flavour ;
I have kept them for years. Indeed I like the cross better every sea-
son, and have given Ganders to several friends to adopt the same
plan." — W. D. F. "They frequently couple with our tame Geese,
and produce a bastard kind between both ; they are excellent meat when
young and fat, being of a different and pleasant taste from that of the
common Goose."— Albin, vol. i. p. 87.

" I cannot say that I admire the edible qualities of the Canada
Swan, for such it properly is. We tried one here a few years bacli,
and only voted it, I believe unanimously, extremely good for nothing.
The knob-fronted, or Swan Goose, is really a good bird, and I have
known some families which regularly kept them for the table in pre-
ference to the common bird." — E.of D.

" In the government of Penda, all kinds of poultry are of a large
size ; the Geese are mostly of a spurious breed from the Chinese, or
those with a swan-neck ; and in every village pigeons fly about in
abundance.' — Pallas, South Rwssia, vol. ii. p, 1 fj.

THE WHITE-FRONTED, OR LAUGHING
GOOSE.

" The watir Foulis have ther hedis laide
Togidir, and of shorte avisement,
Whan ereriche had his verdite ysaide,
They saidin sothely al hy one assent
Howe that the Gose, Tpith the faconde gent,
That 80 desirith to pronounce our nede,
Shal tel our tale, and prayed to God her spede."

Chaucer. — TJte Assemble of Foules, c. 552.

Ornamental Poultry may be divided into three classes,
not with reference to their beauty or their natural arrange-
ment, but in respect of their capabilities for domestication.
The first class comprises those that are really domestic
(if we derive the word from domus, a house), that unhesi-
tatingly confide themselves to the protection of Man, and
may be trusted with their complete liberty, in the certainty
that they will prefer the shelter of his roof, at proper
times and seasons, to a state of nature. This would
include Cocks and Hens, some Pigeons, Turkeys, the
Common Domestic, and the China Geese, the Musk
Duck, and a few others.

The Second Class includes those birds which are
restrained from resuming their original wild habits, more
by the influence of local and personal attachment, than
from any love they seem to have for the comforts of
domestication ; which may be trusted with their entire
liberty, or nearly so, but require an eye to be kept on
them from time to time, lest they stray away and assume
an independent condition. In this class we have the

THE WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE. 97

Pea-fowl, the White-fronted Goose, the Wigeon, the
Canada Goose, the Egyptian Goose, and others, including
perhaps the Common Duck.

The third class embraces all those birds which, however
familiar they may become, so as even to eat from the
hand of their keeper, are yet m their hearts as untame-
able as a fly ; and must, therefore, be kept in complete,
though to many eyes invisible restraint, lest they withdraw
themselves completely from all human control ; and
whose taste for domestication does not seem to increase,
though many successive generations of them have been
bred in captivity. In this class we have the Swan, the
Teal, the common Gallinule, the Pheasant, the Nycthem-
erus, and indeed all the inmates of our cages, aviaries,
and menageries, that are not included in the first and
second classes.

It is clear that from the second class alone can we hope
to obtain any useful and profitable addition to our stock
of poultry. A bird must be found to belong undoubtedly
to tliat, before it can be promoted into the first class.
The great difficulty in looking over this unhmited third
class, is to discover which species may be advanced into
the second. Some are decidedly hopeless cases. The
Swan, for instance, and the Pheasant, are no more likely
at this moment to become domestic than they were when
first discovered amidst the streams and copses of Western
Asia. Ages before the discovery of America, while the
Turkey remained yet unsuspicious of the settler's rifle,
they were as domestic as they now are, and as they are
ever likely to be. It is true Temminck speaks of the
Cygne Domestique, and says that it " lives in domesticity
in most countries, very abundant in Holland" — but the
term domesticity appears only likely to lead into error,
when applied to a creature that hates the confinement of
a house, pining and wasting if compelled to remain long
in one, the use of whose wings is obliged to be curtailed
by amputation, which is kept within bounds on a stream
only by mutual jealousy and the difficulty it has in

98 THE WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE.

travelling far by land, to say nothing of park-palings and
mill-dams.

It is doubtful whether the Collections of the Orni-
thological and Zoological Societies, valuable and most
interesting as we see them to be in St. James's and the
Eegent's Parks, are likely to do much in increasing our
knowledge of the capabilities of domestication inherent in
various birds. The specimens are so much under con-
trol, so completely circumscribed and dependent, that
it is impossible to say whether they belong to our third or
second class. If there were in these collections any
unsuspected first-class bird, all ready disciplined for full
liberty and domestication, its merits and claims could
hardly be discovered in the restraint of a menagerie : its
prolific powers would certainly be cramped and checked.
On the other hand, who, seeing the Water-hens there,
and knowing their familiar, approximately-domestic habits,
in situations of less restraint, would suspect how invinci-
bly they resist all real domestication 1 — being, as the Rev.
E. Lubbock says, in his delightful " Fauna of Norfolk,"
" a very difficult bird to retain in captivity, even when
deprived of the power of flight. A walled-in garden has
proved insufficient. The trees against the wall are made
use of, and the captive claws up by degrees to the top,
tumbles down upon the other side, and walks off with
the air of a Jack Sheppard."

Much ornithological information has of late been ob-
tained, though unfortunately little has been published,
by gentlemen who have the means of giving full scope to
a few favourites ; and if the Societies in question are
anxious to effect one of the objects of their institution,
namely, the domestication of new and valuable birds and
animals, they must enlist the aid of the educated Amateur,
the resident Squire, the intelligent and influential Steward,
the Farmer, and the country Clergyman.

The White-fronted Goose is an excellent example of
our second class, and well deserves the patronage of those
who have even a small piece of grass. Its natural history

THE WHITE-FEONTED GOOSE. 99

in a wild state is fully detailed in Mr. Yarrell's valuable
"British Birds ;" the figure also is very good, though it
is a pity that a pair of Geese were not given ; but as the
works of that gentleman, like eveiy other original book on
the subject, have been largely drawn upon, I refrain from
borrowing what he has written, particularly as the object
of this volume is, not to encroach upon the department
of the systematic naturalist, but merely to state what has
been observed of birds that have been reclaimed.

The first impression of every one who saw the White-
fronted Goose in confinement, would be that it could not
be trusted with liberty ; and the sight of it exercising
its wings at its first escape would make its owner despair
of recovering it. A pair of young ones that were bred in
this country were kindly supplied to me, and though they
were evidently not wild, their friskiness and vivacity were
such that it appeared best to shorten the quill feathers of
one wing, and so deprive them of the power of flight till
their next moult. Long before that time, however, their
confidence and attachment removed all hesitation as to
the future. Now, at the most distant sound of my voice,
they will come flying, like Pigeons, to alight at my feet ;
and occasionally, particularly in winter and spring, per-
form graceful evolutions in the air, that show great power
of wing and enjoyment in its exercise. They are perfectly
unrestrained, except that the kitchen-garden is forbidden to
them. During the severe weather in the winter of 1846-7,
while the herbage was buried deep under the snow, we
feared they might be tempted to join some of their tra-
velling relations that now and then passed overhead ; but
we swept a spot bare in the orchard, to amuse them with
the idea of grass, threw down a few Savoy cabbages, gave
them a little extra corn, and though they would fly over
the house to get at a spring where the water was still
unfrozen, they showed no wish to seek their fortunes
elsewhere, or desert their old companion, a China Goose,
who could only proceed on foot to take her draught at
the brook.

h2

100 THE WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE.

We have now had tliem more than three years. In
the spring of 1846 the Goose laid some eggs in an exposed
spot, and dropped one or two others here and there,
which were added to them, and she then sat as well as
Goose could sit. But owing to the persecutions of an
ill-natured Canada Gander, whose delight it was to drive
her from her nest, and waylay and beat her as she was
returning to it from grazing, the eggs were all addled,
and the poor bird, for some time afterwards, showed her
dejection and disappointment. Her mate did what he
could to protect her from the assaults of her enemy, but
his inferior size and strength rendered him powerless.
She did not produce a second laying, as is the case with
many birds under similar circumstances. In the mean-
while, the truculent Canadian had been banished, and
in the spring of 1847 she selected a better place for her
nest. She scratched a hollow in the ground, at the edge
of a grass walk, under a whitethorn, about eighteen inches
above the surface of the water. The eggs were removed
as laid, and, when she began sitting, restored to her, with
a bunch of straw, which she arranged according to her
own pleasure, and with which she could cover her eggs
whenever she had occasion to leave them. She began
sitting on the 7th of April ; on the 7th of May two very
pretty Goslings came forth, one of which promised to be
white ; the next day they were missing, and the rat-
catcher explained the cause of their disappearance by
extracting an enormous rat from a hole immediately under
the nest. The remaining eggs proved unfertile ; doubtless
from the Gander being permitted to enjoy the society of
the above-mentioned China Goose. After the loss of her
young, and the abstraction of her worthless eggs, she still
persevered in sitting with vain expectation on the empty
nest. To prevent this, we filled the hollow with thorns.
She then betook herself to watch the success of her rival,
the China Goose, who was still sitting. When the little
ones came forth from their shelly prison, she assisted in
affording them a mother's care, leading them to tlie

THE WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE. 101

tenderest herbage, brooding them under her wings, and
accompanying all their movements with their real parent.

The eggs are smaller than those of the common Goose,
pure white, and of a very long oval : whether this is a
specific, or only an individual peculiarity, I am unable to
say. The shell is also thinner than most other Goose's
eggs. The flesh, both of the wild and of the tame bird,
excellent. In hard weather, they are frequently to be
had at the poulterers' shops, and generally at low prices,
in the provinces at least, owing to an unfounded suppo-
sition that their flesh would be fishy, as in the sometimes
scarcely eatable Brent Goose. But those who are fond
of game, will find itj if hung up long enough, a dish for an
epicure.

If my own birds are to be taken as specimens, the
White-fronted Goose is a pattern of all that is valuable
in anserine nature, gentle, affectionate, cheerful, hardy,
useful, self-dependent. The Gander is an attentive
parent, but not a faithful spouse. Indeed, it is time to
contradict what has been published on this latter point,
and to caution amateur breeders that Ganders have not
the virtues of Scipio. Two treatises, now before me,
have the following passage, differing slightly from each
other in the wording.

" It has been ascertained, by M. St. Genis, that Geese
will pair like Pigeons and Partridges ; in the course of
his experiments, he remarked, that, if the number of the
Ganders exceed that of the Geese by two, and even by
three, including the common father, no disturbance nor
disputes occur, the pairing taking place without any noise,
and no doubt by mutual choice. Besides the common
father, he left two of the young Ganders., unprovided with
female companions ; but the couples which had paired,
kept constantly together, and the three single Ganders
did not, during temporary separations of the males and
females, offer to approach the latter."

Acting on this advice, I permitted pairs of four
different species of Geese to associate together during the

102 ' THE WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE.

season of 1846. Three Ganders of the four appeared to
think that each Goose, except his own, was at Uberty to
be unfaithful ; and that every Gander, except himself,
M'as wrong in committing an infidelity. What with their
jealousies before laying time, and their quarrels after it,
with plenty of eggs, we did not get a single Gosling of
any sort throughout the whole summer.

THE WIGEON.

" If any one tliinks that it is unsuitable for a great and grave man to
write about birds and the things pertaining to them, he appears to me
to blunder extremely, and, as they say, to have quite lost his road.
Illiberal and sordid is the mind of those, who despise those pursuits,
and labour at such sciences alone as are profitable to the household
merely, and who look everywhere after utility and gain ; truly they
may be compared to jEsop's cock, who preferred a grain of barley to
the jewel he had found, because he was ignorant of the use of the
jewel. Since, therefore, according to Aristotle, there is no animal so
little, so abject, that we cannot see in it something rare, recondite,
even (so to speak) something of the Divinity, so also the knowledge of
birds, which are perfect animals, and worthy of admiration, is not to be
rejected with contempt, but is to be embraced by every one according
to his powers." — Ulyssis Aldrovandi Prcefatio.

It must already have appeared that the object of
these essays is not merely to give some account of such
birds as are usually domesticated with us, but also to
endeavour to indicate others which there is a reasonable
hope of rendering subject to the rule of Man, and avail-
able to his use. But it is only after much patience and
many trials that we can expect to enslave and attach to
ourselves any creatures hitherto wild and unsubdued.
Even then failures will occur ; but I think there are j^rin-
ciples that may guide us in choosing the most likely
subjects for our experiments, which the^ollowing account
of my very limited dealings with the Wigeon may serve
to illustrate.

When a species of bird or animal has been for many
generations, perhaps for many hundred years, in the
neighbourhood, within the view, and under the partial
care of Man, and yet cannot be made to lose its innate
shyness, and to prefer the plenty and comfort of domes-

104 THE WIGEON.

tication to a wild and unrestrained mode of life, there is
little hope that further attempts on our part will have
any effect in bringing such creatures into closer intimacy
with us. The Water-hen and the Pheasant are two
sufficient instances among birds, the zebra appears to be
one among quadrupeds. But if, in an untried race, we
find an attached, confiding, and intelligent disposition,
hopes of success may then be entertained, in spite of
great apparent difficulties. One which would appear to
be a bar to all reasonable hope of domestication, is the
migratory instinct. But it is not so. The tame Duck
is popularly and hitherto undoubtingly believed to be
descended from the Mallard, which twice a-year crosses
the northern seas. One or two species of Geese have
been tempted to prefer the luxuries of home and the
friendship of man to their former periodical voyages
through the clouds ; and there cannot be a more settled
quiet creature than the common Goose, which is said,
with what probability we shall discuss hereafter, to be
the offspring of some one or two of these restless varieties.
It is not for want of means of escape that the dove-house
Pigeon does not betake itself to its native rocks ; for it is
said occasionally to come in the morning from the Low
Countries to the Norfolk coast to feed on certain crops,
and return home in the afternoon ; and an excursion
across the Wash of Lincolnshire is merely an agreeable
trip for exercise. Even the sheep is to this day a migra-
tory animal. " In Spain the number of migratory sheep
(Merinos) is calculated at ten millions. Their whole
journey is usually more than 400 miles. It is necessary
to exert great vigilance over the flocks during the last
three or four days, for the animals are eager to start away,
and often great numbers of them make their escape." *
The sheep of the patriarchs were probably not free from
a similar roving disposition. And therefore the circum-
stance that a bird visits in the Arctic Circle, or now and
then performs flights of 2000 or 3000 miles, is less

* Youatt on Sheep, p. 151.

THE WIGEON. 105

opposed to the possibility of its being domiciled in our
court-yards than if it haunted the very shrubbery before
our windows, displaying at the same time a certain shy-
ness, flightiness, suspiciousness of temper, well known to
the observant naturalist, that coquets with the authority
of Man, but will never yield to it. It may be said that
such untameables are wise ; that if we took them under
our protection, it would only be to kill and eat them.
But though we may devour the individuals, we multiply
and perhaps preserve the species. Were the Turkey as
wild and irreclaimable as the Bustard, it would soon be
as rare and as likely to be obliterated from the list of
existing species. What a pity, then, it is that we cannot,
before it be too late, rescue, by domestication, some of
those curious Australian birds and animals, whose extinc-
tion from the face of the earth Mr. Darwin, we may
fear, so truly predicts in his " Voyage of the Beagle round
the World."*

The Wigeon is a migratory bird, arriving here in the
autumn. A friend, the owner of a decoy, sent me a
couple that had just arrived. I cannot call them a paii",
because, being taken from a large flock, they might pos-
sibly have no more acquaintance with each other than a
gentlemen in the pit of the Opera need have with any
given lady in the boxes. After peeping into the hamper,
we were going to turn them out into an inclosed yard to
have a better view of them, when an acquaintance who
was present suggested that they were not pinioned. The

* " A few years since this country abounded with wild animals ; but
now the Emu is banished to a long distance, and the kangaroo is
become scarce ; to both the English greyhound has been highly destruc-
tive. It may be long before these animals are altogether exterminated,
but their doom is fixed. The aborigines are always anxious to borrow
the dogs from the farm-houses ; the use of them, the offal when an
animal is killed, and some milk from the cows, are the peace-offerings
of the settlers, who push farther and farther towards the interior. Tlie
thoughtless aboriginal, blinded by these trifling advantages, is delighted
at the approach of the white man, who seems predestined to inherit the
country of his children." — Journal, second Edition, page 441. See
also Dr. Ernest Dicffeubach's Travels in Ntw Zealand.

106 THE WIGEON.

operation "was performed. They each uttered a faint cr}',
looking at us imploringly with their large, clear, intelligent
eyes. This was no hospitable reception. They were
then put under a hen-coop on the lawn, within two or
three yards of the living-room window, and supplied with
corn and water. We were constantly looking at them,
and shifting their coop to a fresh patch of grass. They
did not then allow us to see them eat, but there is no
doubt that in the night they made up for the partial
abstinence of the day. After a week's confinement in this
way, I thought it time to give them greater freedom, by
inclosing a small square with wicker hurdles on an island
that I wished to become their future haunt, and by
removing them there. In a day or two the female had
disappeared ; but how 1 Some railway navies at work
close by were at first suspected ; quite unjustly, I believe ;
but the hen Wigeon was never after seen or heard of.
A few of the web-footed birds have the faculty of
climbing up perpendicular surfaces, which would hardly
be expected from their conformation, and it is most likely
that the escape was thus effected. The horizontal twigs
composing the hurdles would easily be laid hold of by
her claws and bill. A fence of reeds placed uprightly
confines water birds much more securely. Mr. Swainson
quotes a feat of climbing performed by the Gargeney
Duck, and Audubon relates the following still more
curious instance.

" A dozen or more (young Wood Ducks) were placed
in empty flour barrels, and covered over for some hours,
with a view of taming them the sooner. Several of these
barrels were placed in the yard, but whenever I went and
raised their lids, I found all the little ones hooked by
their sharp claws to the very edge of their prison, and the
instant that room was granted, they would tumble over
and run in all directions. I afterwards frequently saw
these young birds rise from the bottom to the brim of a
cask by moving a few inches at a time up the side, and
fixing foot after foot by means of their diminutive hooked
claws, which, in passing over my hand, I found to have

THE WIGEON. 107

points almost as fine as those of a needle." — Ornithological
Biography, vol. iii., p. bQ.

The hen having thus scansorially evaded, it was cruel
and useless (for breeding purposes) to retain the male
bird in solitary confinement. He was, therefore, set at
complete liberty ; but instead of following the example
of his companion — I cannot call her his mate — he ap-
peared determined to make himself comfortable where
he was, taking his corn with the Ducks, grazing fearlessly
at short distances from the house, and courting quite as
much as withdrawing from our notice. His favourite
position during the day, when he seemed fond of dozing
and sunning himself after he had had his fill of grass, was
to bask on the turf before the dining-room window, close
by the spot where he had been originally placed in the
hen-coop. As the spring advanced he became uneasy,
but by no means wild, whistling for a companion, with-
out finding one to answer his call. In April or May he
departed, a brook close at hand enabling him to do so.
I fear that in his mutilated state the vain search for a
partner ended only in capture or death.

From what I saw of these birds I must believe the
Wigeon to be domesticable. The experience of other
amateurs is concurrent. " The Wigeons that I turned
out some weeks ago have made their reappearance ; but
it is only in the evening, and in the morning early, that
they are to be seen." — H. 0. N.

A fairer experiment would be, if possible, to procure
birds bred in captivity, to keep them in a confined space
(grass is necessary to their welfare) feeding them highly,
and giving them officious attention for two or three gene-
rations. Unfortunately instances of their increasing in
captivity have hitherto been rare. Their appearance and
manners are extremely pleasing ; their flesh is excellent.
Although there is little fear of their being at present erased
from the catalogue of living creatures, as there is for the
Apterj'x and the Bustard, there is great probability that
they, and all other wild fowl will, before many years,
become very much scarcer in England. Railroads, drain-

108 THE WIGEON.

ing, and increased population, have already done some-
thing, and are daily doing more to diminish their numbers.*
They will find a refuge in the swamps of the north, but
it would be delightful, meanwhile, to provide some of them
with a settled home amongst ourselves.

Several cases are known to me in which the domesti-
cation of the Wigeon has gone as far as the point here
attained, but no further, except that the birds remained
permanently contented in complete liberty. Wigeon
that are taken prisoners seem to refuse to breed in cap-
tivity; but this is no more an argument against their
intelligence, than it is against that of the Elephant. The
surest way would be to obtain from Norway a young
brood that had been hatched under a Hen.

But Mr. C. St. John, in his Tour in Sutherland, lately
informs us that, " A great many Wigeon breed about
Loch Naver. I saw several drakes sitting on the grassy
points running out into the lake, shining brightly in their
beautiful and variegated summer dress. I also came upon
an old duck-wigeon, who kept fluttering round my feet. On
looking closely I found about seven young wigeon, two or
three days old, very like wild ducks of the same age, but
having, instead of the green colour of the young mallard, a
kind of reddish brown tinge over the whole of their down.
They soon scuttled away into the lake, and we presently saw
them swimming far out with the old bird." — Vol. i., p. 61 .

Still more recently, Mr. Baily, of Mount Street, says,
" I have known many instances of Wigeon breeding. I
have now by me a brood of three pairs, this year's birds.
I had a brood, bred by the same gentleman last year ;
and it may be encouraging to amateurs to know that I
have for some years past bought the duplicates of a col-
lection every year, and always bred in confinement,
comprising the following birds : — Summer Duck, Teal,
Garganey, Shoveller, Gad wall, Wigeon, Dunbird or Po-
chard, and Tufted Duck."

* " Thejelous swan, ayenst Lis deth that singeth."

Chaucer's Assemble of Foides.

THE TEAL AND ITS KIND.

" I cannot refrain, in this place, from calling the attention, not only
of the naturalist, but of the most inexperienced amateur, to tiiis simple
yet interesting specimen of ornithological biography (of the Gargeney
Duck). It is replete with facts which indicate the true nature of the
bird ; and of the circumstances by which its aiBnities, in a great measure,
are to be decided. What a fund of valuable information would a col-
lection of such anecdotes contain, if every one, who kept living birds
in their possession, would note their manners in the same way, and in
the same simplicity of style ; and how much might thus be done,
more especially by persons abroad, to inform us of the habits of exotic
species, of which we as yet know absolutely nothing !" — Swainson.

These pretty but provoking little birds, the smallest
of our Ducks, are to be seen in almost every collection
of water-fowl where there are means of complete inclo-
sure. Their movements are brisk and lively. The
winter plumage of the male is well-contrasted, and
cannot be closely inspected without admiration ; the
female, like most other Ducks, is what is called extremely
neat ; but there is little in their manner or disposition
to afford much interest in observing them. In this
respect the contrast is great between them and the intel-
ligent Wigeon ; for they are silly, unattachable things,
squatting on the ground for supposed concealment under
the very eye of the visitor, with the same foolish attempt
at cunning which would make an Ostrich hide its head
behind a tree or in a tuft of grass, thinking thereby to
conceal its whole body. On a large expanse of water
they are too small to be of any visible use as ornaments,
except in the shape of mere dots. Their escape, more-
over, cannot be prevented by mere pinioning alone ;

110 THE TEAL.

they will crawl along drains, wriggle their little bodies
through any accidental hole, and must be confined where
they are wanted to remain by upright iron railing, a fence
of reeds set perpendicularly, or something of the kind,
carefully fixed. Wire netting will not do, particularly
if it be intended to associate the Carolina Duck, or other
similar birds, with them, for the reason mentioned when
speaking of the Wigeon, namely, that these latter certainly
will climb over it as easily as a lamplighter runs up his
ladder. The railing should also be made rat-proof,
according to the very ingenious pattern which may be
seen at the gardens of the London Zoological Society.
Thus protected and restrained they will thrive and breed
in a very limited compass. The merest thread of running
water will be sufficient to supply a miniature pond for
them, which, with the addition of tasteful breeding-
boxes, low shrubs, a little rock- work, a few shells, some
water-plants, and half-a-dozen gold fish, would serve to
make an elegant toy in a lady's flower-garden. Part at
least of the bank of the pond should slope gently into
the water, to serve as a landing-place, and to afford an
easy exit and entrance to the Teal and their young. The
bottom should be partly gravel or sand, partly small
shingle, and partly mud. Very pleasing designs for these
inclosures, of tried practical utility, are to be seen in the
various receptacles for water-fowl in and about London.
The little isolated nesting-places, fixed on a stake in the
middle of the pond, at a level with its surface, are safe
from most vermin except rats and stoats (which will
readily take the water in search of a dinner), and seem
to please the birds, and to make them comfortably at
home. The style of the fittings admits of endless varia-
tion, according to the taste of the owner, hi such a
home they will breed freely ; but the little ones, as soon
as their wings are long enough, will be off, like a swarm
of flies, and never be seen more ; so that a person may
rear them year after year without being at all the better
for them, unless a timely check is placed upon theii;

THE TEAL. Ill

flight by the keeper's amputating knife. It is a pity not
to secure all home-hatched birds, as they may perhaps
turn out somewhat less intractable than their parents ;
and the loss of them as a savoury morsel is something ;
no Duck can compare with them in flavour, and their
price in the market is always high in reference to their
size and weight.

Mr. Yarrell says, " in confinement they require grain,"
which, with the vessel containing it, should be submerged
about an inch under water ; the corn will thus be steeped
and macerated, and at the same time secured from thievish
mice and sparrows.

Soft food, such as barley-meal mixed with water,
sopped bread, &c., suits them better. When they have
young, a little fine pollard or coarse flour scattered on the
surface of the water and suffered to spread itself, will be
found a convenient and natural mode of feeding them.
They will skim it off with their little bills, and suck it
down with great delight. The smaller sorts of grain,
• such as millet and canary seed make a suitable though
expensive variation of their diet. A few small fry and
minute fish, as minnows, loaches, and sticklebacks, intro-
duced into their pond, would afford them the amusement
of catching them, and would not come amiss when
caught. If there is not mud enough in the edges of their
pond to afford them a supply of minute insects and larvae,
some finely-chopped meat or small earth-worms may
occasionally be thrown down to them. I have found a
loaf of barley-bread a very convenient thing to have in
hand for feeding various birds. It may either be given
dry in small lumps, or soaked in water, and is nutritious
in either state.

Exactly the same domicile and management will suit
many other congeneric birds — the Summer Teal, the Caro-
lina Duck, and the curious and pretty Mandarin Duck,
which looks very like a piece of animated chinaware. Of
this last there are none now (May, 1848) in the country.
But as it is more than possible that the " Gardeners'

112 THE TEAL.

Chronicle" and this little volume also may circulate as
far as the Celestial Empire, we will warn those who
purchase these and similar curiosities to send to their
friends at home, against a trick that is now and then
played by unprincipled native dealers. The females of
the whole Teal family are so much alike in size, colour,
and markings, that it requires the eye of an experienced
naturalist to identify the different species ; and, whether
to save trouble, or to prevent us from increasing the
stock, the Chinese are said to couple dissimilar birds
and sell them as pairs, with little fear of the cheat being
discovered.

That most lovely creature, the Wood, Carolina, or
Summer Duck, Anas sponsa, must also, for the present,
be subjected to the same discipline with the Teal. From
all that I have seen or heard, on good authority, the hope
of their living with us on the same terms as the common
Duck must be regarded as visionary. The specimens
which are supplied to wealthy purchasers are furnished by
importation, not breeding. Numbers die on the voyage
from America, or soon after ; and, in short, the clearest
view of this class of ornamental poultry will be obtained
by considering them as aquatic cage birds, and by treating
them as such.

The opening paragraph of Audubon's account of the
Wood Duck is one of the most beautiful pictures of still
life that ever was written. The reader could not fail to
be delighted by it. Let him by all means buy the " Orni-
thological Biography," or hire it: for I cannot rob any
preceding author by stealing his '' beauties," and sacking
the valuables he has acquired by his talent and industry.
The form and colouring of this bird are both charming in
the extreme, and its size renders it a species much adapted
to these small inclosures ; but the high price they fetch
at the dealers is alone sufficient to indicate some insu-
perable difficulty in rearing them here, or elsewhere, in
any country from which they could be easily imported.
If their affinity to the Teal family affords a correct clue,

THE TEAL. 113

they are foolish, unimpressible, unattachable, and quite
incapable of complete domestication, in spite of Audubon's
hope to the contrary. Experience does not allow us to
encourage any such hope. Those he had obtained young
" grew up apace, when I pinioned them all" (a precau-
tion which does not show much confidence in their
domesticability), " and they subsequently bred in my
grounds in boxes which I had placed conveniently over
the water;" and so, as we have seen, will Teal, and be
off, never to return, the moment their wings are long and
strong enough to carry them. " I feel well assured that,
with a few years of care, the Wood Duck might be per-
fectly domesticated, when it could not fail to be as valuable
as it is beautiful." True, as to the latter half of the
sentence ; for in America, where alone ordinary folks can
afford to eat them, the flesh is said to be excellent — first-
rate, indeed. " But," it is added, " the young birds which I
raised never failed to make directly for the Ohio, whenever
they escaped from the grounds, although they had never
been there before," a trait quite enough to mark their
flighty character, without another single circumstance being
added. In Dr. Buckland's valuable " Reliquice Dilu-
vianae," this bird is, by a misprint, called Anas sponsor
instead of sponsa; but the difference is surely great
between a bride and a godfather.

Persons of wealth, with a permanent tenure of their
residence, will sometimes choose to inclose their whole
pleasure-ground and shrubbeiT with an adequate iron
fence, or a wall. A fountain discharging itself into a
basin on a level with the ground is all that is further
requisite for forming a collection of the smaller Ducks in
such a situation. The great objection to this arrangement
is, that it will be almost impossible to exclude rats, which
will prey upon the eggs and young, and harass the old
birds, if they do not now and then destroy one or two.
Incessant hostilities against these pests, and the mainte-
nance of a good out-door she cat, with her family, will
keep the nuisance in check. Regular hours of teeding

I

114 THE TEAL.

will invite the birds to the fountain ; and if the varieties
are at all numerous, few sights are more beautiful than
such an assembly after they have renewed their plumage,
and while their wedding dresses are fresh and brilliant.
They may justly rank among the most gaudy and sparkling
objects in Nature, with the advantage of brisk and lively
animation. Diving, splashing, wheeling about, disappearing,
emerging, some with pendent crests, others with glancing
eyes, all reflecting a thousand changeful hues in the rays
of the wnntry or the vernal sun, they afford a spectacle
which is outrivalled only in magnitude by the most
fashionable ball-room in Europe.

It is on this principle of general, instead of particular
inclosure, that the aquatic birds in St. James's Park are
brought to such a wonderful degree of familiarity and
apparent domestication. Nothing astonishes a country
visitor more than to see the almost indiscriminate tameness
of the specimens congregated there. But the pinioning
knife has not been idle ; even the webbed feet of some
have been curtailed of their propulsive powers ; and
the roar and traffic of the vast Babel around them, keeps
them to their islets, smoke-dried though they be, more
effectually than the most impervious fence that was ever
yet contrived.

THE WHITE CHINA GOOSE.

Euelpides. " Great Hercules ! Why, what a monster 's here.
What plumage ! what a triple tire of cresting !"
Aristophanes. (The Birds.)
Carey's Translation, Act I., Scene iii.

" Every like is not the same," is a principle that is
beginning more and more to influence the reasonings of
zoologists, and to affect their conclusions with respect to
icild animals. The important deductions derived from
minute differences, in creatures that are almost in juxta-
position together, both systematically and locally, may be
seen in the late " Voyage of the Beagle round the World,"
and in the *' Quarterly Review" on " Broderip's Zoologi-
cal Recreations " (March, 1848). But with Domesticated
Animals a diametrically opposite axiom would seem to
hold ; they are described and catalogued apparently on
the rule that " Things may be unlike, and yet the same."
The many different kinds of Fowl are supposed to be
varieties — by which, I presume, is meant transmutable,
or at least transmuted forms — of one or, at most, two or
three wild originals ; and the history of the Domestic
Goose is quietly settled by considering it as the result of
a fusion of three or four different species melted and
mixed into one. Believe it ! — those who think that the
Bernicle Goose originates from a worm engendered in the
sea from rotten wood — not I. Perhaps these Essays may
cause the real truth to be more closely investigated.

If, within the last half-dozen years, three different
sorts (I abstain from using a stricter word) of China
Geese, identical with those with which we are acquainted,

I 2

116 THE WHITE CHINA GOOSE.

had been discovered in three adjacent islands of the
Indian Archipelago, they would probably have been
formed into a separate genus, say Cygnoides, or better,
CEderamphus, of which the species might be, first, albus,
or paleatissimus, as typical ; the next riifipes, and the
third, perhaps, bceticus, retaining, though in a different
sense, one of its trivial names. We should have as a
generic character, " forehead surmounted with a large
knob, partly fleshy and partly osseous, increasing with
age ; beak powerful, highly ridged, adapted to the digging
up and division of roots and tubers, to which purpose it
is often applied ; " — they make short work with a potato
— " habits, more terrestrial than aquatic ; attitudes, in
the water graceful and swanlike, on land constrained and
usually erect ; voice, harsh and loud ; powers of flight
very limited and weak," and so on ; then would follow
the specific distinctions.

Now, we will further suppose that a stock of each of
these species was either brought to England, or retained
in domestication on the neighbouring Asiatic continent,
or both ; that the islands became thickly peopled, or
repeatedly visited by mariners armed with fowling-pieces,
and anxious for fresh meat, and also for sport. The birds
cannot escape by flight, nor by running away ; they can
neither swim so swiftly nor dive so far as to baffle a boat
and a crew of stout rowers ; they make no attempt to
conceal themselves, as a common Hen will if she be
hunted in a shrubbery ; their loud cries betray them when
unseen ; and, consequently, in their native home, they
undergo the fate of the Dodo : they are exterminated.
But their aptitude for domestication has preserved the
race : they survive in our poultry yards, artificial lakes, and
Zoological Gardens,* and, after a while, they are styled

* " The forethought and industry of Man assists in the preservation
and safety of not a few animals, and those things which the earth pro-
duces. For there are many, both of beasts and plants, that rould not
continue in existence, if depris-ed of the protection of Man." — Cicero,
De Naturd Deorum II,

THE WHITE CHINA GOOSE. 117

varieties of, nobody indeed knows what. If they had
refused to propagate in captivity, they would have become
extinct, like the Uri of the Hercynian forest.*

Is this an impossible or even an unlikely case ? "Where
are we now to find a wild Cereopsis ? Where will our
great-grandchildren be able to find a Wild Turkey a
hundred years hence ?

But before finally determining to fix the appellation of
species, or variety, to any particular race of animals, it will
be necessary first to settle the question of what is meant
by the terms Genus, Species, and Variety. They are all
understood to denote certain degrees of difference, that
are made use of to assist in classification ; but the precise
lines of demarcation of each are extremely difficult to
define. It is generally assumed that individuals of ditTerent
genera will refuse to breed together ; that the mules
between different species are sterile ; and that varieties
are merely accidental and recent examples of a slight
alteration in the external character of species, which do
not affect their continuance as a race, and, perhaps, disap-
pear altogether after a time. But in opposition to this,
hybrids have been produced between the Egyptian Goose
and the Penguin Duck, also between the common Fowl
and the Guinea-fowl ; prolific mules are constantly occur-
ring between all sorts of species of Geese ; and it is well
and practically known, that though varieties breed freely
with each other, nothing is so difficult as to establish a
cross that shall be a perfect amalgamation of two distinct
varieties. Even individual peculiarities are reproduced in
the course of generations.

In truth, species and varieties differ only in degree. If
we admit that the latter are merely recent changes of
organisation, we cannot refuse to allow that the former
are so likewise ; and thence proceeding backwards, we
must apply the same view to Genera and Classes, till we

* " But not even ■nhen taken very small can the Uri be reconciled
to the presence of man, aud become tame." — C^sab dc Bdlo Galilee,
lib ii. cap. 20.

lis THE WHITE CHINA GOOSE.

arrive at last at the theory of the development of all ani-
mated beings from Monads, as advocated by Lamarck,
and more recently by the author of the " Vestiges of
Creation." This is one mode of explaining the diversity
of Nature ; the other is by supposing that animals were
originally created as we now see them, and that any
apparent gaps in the chain or network are caused by the
extinction of certain races, not by the uprising of new
forms into existence, since the Creation of Man, at least.
Now we have indisputable proof of the extinction of very
many Genera and Species of innumerable Pre-Adamite
animals (and the reader is particularly requested to observe
that we have now existing amongst us many Pre-Adamite
animals,* — the Common Badger, for instance, of older
pedigree than all the Howards multiplied a thousand fold
— and I feel convinced many equally ancient birds also) ;
and we have, besides, records of modern exterminations

* Remains of the Aurochs (a species -which still survives by virtue
of strict protective laws, in extensive forests, which form part of the
Russian empire), are found in the superficial deposits of various parts of
Europe, some of which carry the antiquity of the Aurochs as far back
as the extinct Pachyderms of the newer pliocene deposits.

" That the present European Beaver is not the degenerate descend-
ant of the great Trogontherium, is proved, not only by the differences
in the dental structure, pointed out in the preceding section, but like-
wise by the fact that Beavers, in no respect differing in size or
anatomical character from the Castw EuropcEiiS of the present day,
co-existed with the Trogcmtherium. Remains of the Beaver have
been thus discovered by Mr. Green in the same fossilised condition,
and under circumstances indicative of equal antiquity with the extinct
Mammoth, in the lacustrine formation at Bacton.

" A fossil skull of a Badger in the Museum of the Philosophical
Institution at York, would seem to carry the antiquity of the Afeles
taocus to a higher point than the Cave epoch, and as far back as any
species of the Ursine genus has been traced. Should this specimen
prove authentic, the Meles taxus is the oldest known species of
Mammal now living on the face of the earth.

" My friend, Mr. Bell, has pleaded the cause of the poor persecuted
Badger, on the ground of its harmless nature and innocuous habits ;
the genuine sportsman will, doubtless, receive favourably the additional
claim to his forbearance and protection, which the Badger derives from
his ancient descent." — Owen's British Fossil Mainmals,passim.

THE WHITE CHINA GOOSE. 119

successively going on, from the Christian eera to tlie pre-
sent day. No undisputed record, liowever, is to be found
of the sudden emergence into life of a new tribe of crea-
tures. Foreign introductions there have been, but nothing
more, that there is any affirmative evidence to prove. I
am conscious that I may be contradicted by such examples
as the New Leicester Sheep, and the very remarkable
Rabbits that are now kept in a state of domestication ;
but Mr. Bakewell is asserted to have studiously concealed
and destroyed every trace of the means by which he
established his breed, and the secrets of the Rabbit Fancy
are as likely to be made available to the elucidation of
natural history as are the Eleusinian Mysteries. But
so long as our commercial relations continue as widely
extended as they are at present, the sudden and unex-
plained appearance of any living novelty in England, is
by no means of necessity its first appearance on any stage.
It may be as old as the hills — some of them ; older than
the English Channel, and have neither made a sudden
drop from the clouds in these latter days, nor have been
recently compounded, like Frankenstein's monster, from
the members of defunct creatures, nor yet electrified into
life in a pickle jar, like Mr. Cross's mites. Milton's noble
lines are no longer applicable : —

" Meanwhile, the tepid caves, and fens, and shores,
Bursting ^yith kindly rupture, forth disclosed
Their callow young ; hut feathered soon and fledge,
They summed their pens ; and, soaring the air sublime.
With clang despised the ground. * * And straight the earth,
Opening her fertile womb, teemed at a birth
Numerous living creatures, perfect forms
Limbed and full-grown ; out of tbe ground up rose,
As from his lair, the wild beast wliere he wons
lu forest wild, in thicket, brake, or den."

If such views be correct, it will follow that those who
are searching for the wild originals of many of our
domestic animals, are altogether pursuing a wrong scent.
They might just as well search for the wild original of the

120 THE WHITE CHINA GOOSE.

Mammoth or the Dodo. It is an assumption, unsup-
ported by any proof, to fix upon the wild creature that
nearest resembles any given tame one, and to say, " Here
is the wild original ; the differences which we see have
been produced by time and domestication ;" or, if there is
nothing wild coming within a moderate approach to it, to
say, as of the Common Goose, " It is a combination of
three or four other species." This is surely not philoso-
phical reasoning ; it is a begging of the question which
would not be admitted in the exact sciences. What
a daring leap at a conclusion it is, to get from the Asiatic
Argali, the American Argali, or the Corsican Mouflon,
any or all of them, to the Sheep at a single vault ! Such
ratiocination is like the knight's move on the chess-board,
hither and thither, but never straight forward. Nor has
the wide gulf between Cocks and Hens and the Jungle
Fowl been as yet bridged over by any isthmus to me
visible. But what may be said on this latter subject is,
for the present, reserved. The principle here sought to
be indicated as a guide for future research, is, that existing
varieties and species which cannot be exadly identified in
a wild state, are, in all probability, the remains of extinct
races, the fragments of a ruin, not newly-raised " seed-
lings," modern sports and freaks of Nature. Man, as he
extends his dominion over earth and ocean, is generally a
Destroyer, occasionally an Enslaver, and so far a Protector,
hence sometimes even a Selecter and Improver, but never
a Creator.

And now to the white China Geese, about whose
lineage the reader, we hope, is by this time interested.

My attention was first directed to these singular birds
by Mr. Alfred Whitaker, of Beckington, Somerset. " I
wish you could have seen the white variety or species, as
it is so far superior in every respect to the brown. The
period of incubation of the white China Goose was not
more than thirty days, i. e. not longer than that of the
common Duck. The white China Goose is of a spotless
pure white" — a very few grey feathers have since appeared

THE WHITE CHINA GOOSE. 121

— " more Swan-like than the brown variety, with a bright
orange-coloured bill, and a large orange-coloured knob at
its base. It is a particularly beautiful bird, either in or
out of the water, its neck being long, slender, and grace-
fully arched when swimming. It breeds three or four
times in the season, but I was not successful with them,
owing, as I fancied, to my having no water for them,
except a rapid running stream. A quiet lake I believe to
be more to their taste, and more conducive to the fecun-
dity of the eggs. I believe my birds are still in the
neighbourhood, as I lent them to a farmer to try his luck
with them. The egg is quite small for the size of the
bird, being not more than half the size of that of the
common Goose. This bird deserves to rank in the first
class of ornamental poultry, and would be very prolific
under favourable circumstances. You will see both
varieties of brown and white China Geese on the v/ater
in St. James's Park. My Geese were from imported
parents, and were hatched on board ship from China."

On visiting town in May, 1848, my efforts to get a
sight of any white China Geese were unavailing. There
were none left in St. James's Park ; there were not
any in the Surrey Gardens, choice as that collection is ;
nor were any visible at the principal places where poultry
is offered for sale. The Zoological Society had parted
from their specimens in consequence of being overstocked
with other things. Their head keeper seemed only to con-
sider them in the light of a variety of the Cygnoides, but
he spoke most decidedly of his experience of the perma-
nence, not only of this variety, but also of that of the
dark-legged, and the red-legged sorts of the brown kind,
thus indicating three races, which, I repeat, would be
considered as species were they now discovered for the
first time, on tliree islands even of the same group.

From this difficulty I was most kindly relieved by
receiving a pair of white China Geese through Mr.
Whitaker's means. They are larger than the brown
China Geese, apparently more terrestrial in their habits ;

122 THE WHITE CHINA GOOSE.

the knob on the head is not only of greater proportions,
but of a different shajDe. If they were only what is com-
monly meant by a variety of the dark sort, it is a question
whether the bill would not retain its original jetty black,
whatever change occurred to the feet and legs, instead of
assuming a brilliant orange hue. If the bird were an
Albino, the bill would be flesh-coloured, and the eyes
would be pink, not blue.

Mr. Knight, of Frome, in whose possession they had
been for three years, states that he has been unable to
obtain any young from the eggs of the Goose, but if he
supplies her with eggs of the common Goose, she inva-
riably hatches and rears the goslings. Separate trials of
each of the pair with the common Goose and Gander
have been made by him unsuccessfully, although the
white China Goose lays four times in the year. Another
gentleman (N. B.) who also had a pair of the same
lot, from China, says, " I had one good brood from the
young pair which I kept, but since that they have bred so
badly that I have parted with the females and kept a
male bird, and now get very good broods. My friends,
to whom I have given young birds from my pair, also
complain. The Geese sit remarkably well, never showing
themselves out of the nest by day, but whether they may
leave the nests too long in the cold of the night, I cannot
tell. The time of incubation I consider to be about four
weeks and three days. The young birds of the crossed
breed in appearance follow the mother, the common
English Goose, but they do remarkably well ; and we
have now (July 4) killed two really good and suflficiently
fat birds, which were hatched only on the 29th of March
last."

I find no mention of the White China Goose in any of
the older ornithologists to whom I have had access.
Willughby gives separate descriptions of the dark kinds,
but elsewhere seems doubtful whether he has not described
the same thing under different names. Indeed, in his
plates he has confounded the Guinea Goose with the

THE WHITE CHINA GOOSE. 123

Canada Goose. Some writers speak of a variety with
a pouch, or, according to others, lappets under the chin.
What comes nearest to a pouch is a doubhng of the skin
beneath the lower mandible in certain specimens. One
cause of the difficulty of recognising the China Goose from
descriptions and synonyms seems to have arisen from
the general similarity, yet fixed though slight distinctive
marksj of the two or three dark varieties.

THE TAME DUCK.

" It would be curious to know when tliis species was first domesticated;
but, Eeader, the solution of such a question is a task on which I shall
not venture. In the domestic state everybody knows the Mallard.
When young it affords excellent food, and when old lays eggs. A bed
made of its feathers is far preferable to the damp earth of the camp of
an American woodsman, or the plank on which the trained soldier lays
his wearied limbs at night. You may find many other particulars, if
you consult in chronological order all the compilers from Aldrovandus
to the present day." — Audubon.

Not so many particulars as we might fairly expect, are
to be found ready compiled respecting the Duck. One
leading opinion seems to run throughout them all, that
our farm-yard Ducks are nothing more than the tamed
descendants of old English Mallards. It is a pity to
disturb so plausible and general a belief ; but an attempt
to approximate to the solution of Audubon's problem,
" when this species was first domesticated," has raised
some doubts upon the subject which it is of no use to
suppress.

One thing, I think, may be demonstrated, i. e. that
the date of its first appearance in domestication on the
European continent is not very remote, however high
may be its antiquity in India and China. In pursuing
these sort of inquiries, which are daily becoming more
interesting and more important in their conclusions, one
regrets that untranslated works on natural history or
farming (if such there be) in the Oriental languages, are
sealed records to almost every one who has the leisure to
make use of their contents. It is extremely probable

THE TAME DUCK. 125

that great light might be thrown on the origin and history
of our domesticated animals by a careful inspection of
such works. As it is, we are left to obtain our evidence
from imperfect and (with the exception of geology) more
recent traces.

If the Swan and the Pelican were forbidden to the
Israelites, and their carcases to be held in abomination
(see Leviticus xi. 18), the Duck would probably be
included in the list of unclean birds ; or, rather, we may
without violence suppose that the Hebrew words trans-
lated " Swan " and " Pelican," are used generically for all
web-footed fowl. But, as Scott says, " here the criticks
find abundance of work."

I think it may be shown from negative evidence that
the Romans at the time of our Saviour, and subsequently,
were not acquainted with the domesticated Duck. I can
find no passage plainly declaring that they were, but
many implying that they were not.

Columella, after having given directions for the rearing
of Geese, which, with one or two laughable exceptions,
are more sensible and practical than are to be found in
modern works, proceeds to offer instructions for making
the Nessotrophion, or Ducker)'. He speaks of it as a
matter of curiosity rather than profit ; " for Ducks, Teal,
Mallard, Phalerids, and such like birds are fed in confine-
ment." Then it is to be surrounded with a wall fifteen
feet high, and roofed with netting, "that the domestic
birds may have no power of fli/incj out, nor Eagles and
Hawks of flying in." His mode of increasing his stock
shows that Ducks had not at that time become naturalised
and prolific inmates of the Roman poultry-yards. " When
any one is desirous of establishing a Duckery, it is a very
old mode to collect the eggs of the above-mentioned
birds (such as Teal, Mallard, &c.), and to place them
under common Hens. For the young thus hatched and
reared, cast off their wild tempers, and undoubtedly breed
when confined in menageries. For if it is your plan to
place fresh- caught birds that are accustomed to a free

126 THE TAME DUCK.

mode of life in captivity, they will be but slow breeders
in a state of bondage." — Lib. viii. cap. 15.

Cicero also speaks of hatching Ducks' eggs under Hens
(De Natura Deorum II.) ; but there is nothing in the
passage from which to infer that those Ducks were
domesticated, but rather the contrary ; as he remarks
how soon they abandon their foster-mother and shift for
themselves.

Pliny describes the flight of Ducks, as rising imme-
diately from the water into the higher regions of the
atmosphere (lib. x. 54), exactly as we see a wild Duck
rise now ; a performance that would make our Duck-
keepers uneasy. The very little mention that he makes
of Ducks at all, shows that he did not habitually see them
in domestication.

From what ^lian says about Ducks we may conclude
that he also was acquainted with them in the wild state
only. His positive evidence would not be worth much,
if the translator of Rabelais was justified in character-
ising the " Varia Historia " as the production of " ^lian,
that long-bow man, who lies as fast as a dog can trot ; "
but his negative testimony may prove something. In
Book V. 33, he describes how the ducklings, unable to
fly, and to escape by land, avoid the attacks of Eagles
by diving. Tame Ducks would hardly be in much
danger from Eagles, whatever mishaps wild ones might
be liable to ; although, from the frequent mention of
these plunderers in classic authors, there certainly is reason
to believe that they were much more abundant, while
the great part of Europe remained uncivilised, than they
are now. And in Book vii. 7, after having given the
signs of the weather denoted by wild birds, in which he
includes Ducks and Divers, he proceeds to mention
those afforded by Cocks and Hens and other domestic
birds.

Supposing it, however, to be proved that the Tame
Duck is a comparative novelty in the West, it by no
means follows that it is so on the Asiatic Continent and

THE TAME DUCK. 127

Islands, nor, as a corollary, that it is a tamed descendant
of our Mallard. If the skeletons of one and the other
were placed side by side, it would require, not a skilful
comparative anatomist, but only an observant sportsman,
or even an ordinary' cook, to point out which was which.*
Nor has sufficient weight been attached to the circum-
stance of one bird being polygamous, and the other
monogamous. When we come to speak of the Domestic
Goose, it will be seen how little such a difference is
likely to be the result of domestication. Let us not
forget too that the domestication of wild races is an art
that demands quiet, peace, patience, and superabundance,
not merely for its successful issue, but for its being
exercised at all, and was little likely to be much practised
by any European nation, in the interval between the fall
of the Roman Empire and the present day, with a
creature that required a course of generations to reclaim
it. I am inclined, therefore, to consider our race of farm-
yard Ducks as an importation, through whatever channel,
from the East, and to point out the discovery of the
passage of the Cape of Good Hope (1-4.93) as the approxi-
mate date. The early voyagers speak of finding them in
the East Indies exactly similar to ours ; and the trans-
mission of a few pairs would be a much easier task than
to subdue the shyness and wildness of the Mallard, and
induce an alteration in its hony structure. The admir-
able reasoning of Professor Owen respecting our present
domestic Oxen, is, to my mind, perfectly applicable to
the Tame Duck.

" My esteemed friend Professor Bell, who has written
the ' History of Existing British Quadrupeds,' is disposed
to believe, with Cuvier and most other naturalists, that
our domestic cattle are the degenerate descendants of the
great Urus. But it seems to me more probable that the
herds of the newly-conquered regions would be derived

• " Yon need not be at a loss to know a wild duck. The claws
in the wild species are 6/ac'i." — Col. Hawker.

128 THE TAME DUCK.

from the already domesticated cattle of the Roman
colonists, of those ' boves nostri,' for example, by com-
parison with which Csesar endeavoured to convey to his
countrymen an idea of the stupendous and formidable
Uri of the Hercynian forests.

" The taming of such a species would be a much more
difficult and less certain mode of supplying the exigencies
of the agriculturist, than the imiDortation of the breeds of
oxen already domesticated and in use by the founders of
the new colonies. And, that the latter was the chief,
if not sole, source of the herds of England, when its soil
began to be cultivated under the Roman sway, is strongly
indicated by the analogy of modern colonies. The
domestic cattle, for example, of the Anglo-Americans
have not been derived from tamed descendants of the
original wild cattle of North America : there, on the con-
trary, the Bison is fast disappearing before the advance of
the agricultural settlers, just as the Aurochs, and its con-
temporary the Urus, have given way before a similar
progress in Europe. With regard to the great Urus, I
believe that this progress has caused its utter extirpation,
and that our knowledge of it is now limited to deductions
from its fossil or semi-fossil remains." — Owen's British
Fossil Mammals, p. 500.

In like manner the Mallard, though not gone, is fast
diminishing as a permanent inhabitant of England : -the
tame Duck, so much larger and heavier, if its descendant,
can hardly be called a degenerate one. The Mallard is
very widely diffused over the continental part both of the
Old and the New World, and therefore its supposed
adaptation to domestic life is as likely to have occurred
in Asia as in Europe. Its dislike to salt water has made
it less cosmopolitan among the islands. Dampier, in his
Voyages, repeatedly mentions that in the East Indies
" the tame Fowls are Ducks and Dunghill Fowls, both in
great plenty ; " he does not describe the Ducks, except
as "the same with ours." He was doubtless correct in
believing them to be the same ; although we know that

THE TAJIK DUCK. 129

the old travellers, and many of the modern emigrants, are
not very precise in their zoology, and indeed might some-
times be excusably puzzled. For instance, when Captain
Wallis, soon after he had discovered Otaheite, saw animals
lying on the shore with their fore feet growing behind
their heads, rising every now and then, and running a
little way in an erect posture, he might naturally be
moved with curiosity to inspect them more closely : he
afterwards found that they were dogs with their fore legs
tied behind them, brought down by the natives as a
peace-offering and a festival dish.

I know of no instance in which any one has finally
succeeded in founding a permanent tame farm-yard race
of Ducks, by breeding from the Mallard, though the
attempts have been numberless, and a few parties have
been on the very brink of success. Crosses between the
Wild and Tame breeds have answered better ; but the
progeny have retained their full share of independent
temper and movements.

One of the most valid arguments in favour of the deri-
vation of the Tame Duck from the Mallard, is to be found
in the readiness with which the former returns to a wild
or a half-wild state. In Norfolk there is a breed called
" Marsh Ducks," more from their habits and place of
birth than from any peculiarity of race. They are mostly
of plumage generally similar to the Mallard, though an
ornithologist would immediately distinguish them ; their
size and the fineness of their bones are intermediate
between the wild bird and the common farm-yard Duck.
They are turned out on the marshes to forage for them-
selves : indeed it would be next to impossible to keep
them at home ; and of the number which are annually
lost to their masters, it would seem likely, at first sight,
that quite as many assume an independent condition, as
are killed by birds, beasts, or men, of prey ; but I doubt
the fact, and they do not appear to be ever found actually
and entirely wild. They are frequently sent to market
towards the close of summer, without being shut up

130 THE TAME DUCK.

at all to fatten, and afford a cheap and relishing addition
to the table.

Similar instances on a smaller scale are frequent. " A
farmer in our neighbourhood (Wiltshire) has a Duck, of
the conmion black and white sort, that every year takes it
into her head to abscond to the river, where she lays her
eggs. She does not, however, I believe, pair with any
Wild Drake, but remains the whole summer in a wild
state with her young ones, and then quietly returns to the
yard in autumn. When I have been taking a walk
sometimes about four in the morning, I have frequently
seen her on the Down, about a hundred yards from the
water. On being alarmed they would all run and dart
into the water with great rapidity : and this plan the old
lady has acted on for several years, escaping unscathed by
guns and dogs." — H. H.

There are several varieties of Tame Ducks, but their
merits are more diverse in an ornamental than in a
profitable point of view, and will be estimated very much
according to the taste of individual fanciers. Those who
merely want a good supply for the table, cannot do better
than just to adopt the sort most common in their own
vicinity. No country place should be without some,
especially in low situations. A Drake and two or three
Ducks will cost little to maintain, and will do incalcu-
lable and unknown service by the destruction of slugs,
snails, worms, and the larvae of gnats, and other annoying
insects. The only trouble they will give, is, that if there
be much extent of water or shrubbery about their home,
they will lay and sit abroad, unless the poultry-maid or
the boy gets them up every night, which should be done.
Otherwise, they will drop their eggs carelessly here and
there, or incubate in places where their eggs will be
sucked by carrion-crows, and half their progeny destroyed
by rats. In the neighbourhood of large pieces of water,
or wide spreading marshes, this will be either impossible,
or attended with more waste of time than the Ducks are
worth. In which case, and indeed in all cases with

THE TAME DUCK. 131

Ducks, I believe the slave-owner's maxim to be correct,
that it is cheaper to buy than to breed. The smaller they
are bought in, the more good service they will perform in
ridding a place of minute crawling and creeping nuisances ;
and the most profitable management of them is to let
them gorge all they can swallow as fast as they can digest
it, and to make them fit for table, and for the supply of
materials for feather-beds, at the earliest possible moment.
The quickest return will be the most remunerative.

As to cooking them, there is only one traditional old
English mode. We would gladly transfer, as an illustra-
tion to these pages. Leech's admirable " Romance of
Roast Ducks," from " Punch," June 24, 1848, although he
ought to have made the accompanying green peas more
distinctly visible.

" Lingo. — Ah, Cowslip, if you was a goddess ! Jove loved an
eagle ; Mars, a lioa ; Phoebus, a cock ; Venus, a pigeon ; Minerva
loved an owl.

" Cov:dip. — I should not have thought of your cock-lions, your owls,
and your pigeons ; if I was a goddess, give me a Roast Ducky

The Agreeable Surprise, Act 1.

In the Principality they have a delicate way of serving
them boiled, with onion sauce. On attempting to repro-
duce the dish after a tour in North Wales, the result
was utter failure, till the secret was discovered that the
Ducks must be salted a couple of days before being boiled.
Still more heterodox fashions have been practised in
former days.

" The Pottage of Ducks with Turnips, is made of
Ducks larded, and half fried in Lard, or which have took
three or four Turns on the Spit ; then they are put in a
Pot. The Turnips, after they have been cut in Pieces,
and flour' d, are also fried in Lard, till they are very
brown ; then they are put in the same Pot with the
Ducks, and left to boil slowly in Water, till the Ducks
are done. Before the Pottage is carried to Table, it may
be season'd with a few drops of Verjuice."

132 THE TAME DUCK.

" To make a ' Ragout of Ducks,'' tliey must be larded,
fried, very well season'd with Salt, Pepper, Spices, young
Onions, and Parsley, and put in a Pot to stew, with a
little of our best Broth,"

" Ducks are roasted with four Roses of Lardons, one
on each Wing, and one on each Leg : Some put another
on the Stomach."

" To make a Duck Pye, the Ducks must be larded,
well seasoned, and the Pye baked for the Space of three
Hours." — Dennis de Coetlogons Universal History, i^. 827,
et seq.

The reader will take his choice ; we only wish him a
good appetite and pleasant company ; the living birds
belong more properly to our department.

Of White Ducks, the best is the Aylesbury, with its
unspotted snowy plumage and yellow legs and feet. It
is large and excellent for the table, but not larger or
better than several others. They are assiduous mothers
and nurses, especially after the experience of two or three
seasons. A much smaller race of White Ducks is im-
ported from Holland ; their chief merit, indicated by the
title of Call Duck, consists in their incessant loquacity.*
They are useful only to the proprietors of extensive or
secluded waters, as enticers of passing wild birds to
alight and join their society. But in Norfolk, where the
management of Decoys is as well understood as any-
where, the trained Decoy Ducks are selected to resemble

* " The chief point to be attended to in England, is to get, if pos-
sible, some j'oung wild Ducks bred up and pinioned. Or, by way of
a mal<eshift, to select tame birds which are the most clamorous, even
if their colour should not be like the wild ones. But in France you
have seldom any trouble to do this, as the Ducks used in that country
are partly of tlie wild breed ; and three French Ducks, like three
Frenchmen, will make about as much noise as a dozen English. The
Italians, in order to make their call-birds noisy, for a ' roccalo,' bum
out their eyes with a hot needle, a practice at which I am sure my
Englisli readers would shudder ; though the translation of what they
say in Italy is, that ' these are the happiest birds in the world ; always
singing.' " — Colonel Hawlcefs Instructions, p. 367.

THE TAME DUCK. 133

the Mallard, male and female, as nearly as possible. Both
systems are found to answer ; the wild-coloured traitors
arouse no suspicion, while the conspicuous Dutchmen
excite fatal attention and curiosity. When the newly-
arrived immigrants, although bent on a pleasure excursion
from the north, are listless, or suspicious of their company,
and will not enter the Decoy, they may often be made to
do so by the sudden display of a red hankerchief, or the
rapid appearance and disappearance of a Spaniel. The
White Call Duck has a yellow orange bill, that of the
Aylesbury should be flesh-coloured.

There is also the White Hook-billed Duck, with a bill
monstrously curved downwards, not upwards, as some
writers have it, but Roman-nosed Ducks in short, with
features like Cruikshank's Jews, of a most grotesque and
ludicrous appearance. It may be superfluous to remind
the reader, that White Ducks make but a sorry figure in
towns or dirty suburbs, or any where that the means
of washing themselves are scanty. But Hook-billed
Ducks are nothing new. Albin, in 1738, published
coloured figures of both sexes, which look much as if
they had a right to claim the rank of a species. The
lines of small white specks on the head, as he describes
them, are remarkable. The bill has some resemblance
in its curvature to that of the Flamingo. He says,
" These Ducks are better layers than any of the other,
either wild or tame."

The cottagers living on the northern coast of Norfolk,
have one or two varieties that are very pretty, and are
not usual, — one of a slate-grey or bluish dun, another of
a sandy yellow; there are some also with top-knots*
which rival the Hook-billed Duck in oddity.

Of mottled and pied sorts there exist a great variety ;
black and white, brown and white, lightly speckled, and

• " Some of tlie tufted tame Ducks, near Salisburj', are very hand-
some, having crests as compact and spherical as any Polish Fowl; but
\vhcthcr this is, or was, any distinct variety, I will not undertake to
Bav."— //. H.

134 THE TAME DUCK.

many other mixtures. The Kouen Duck of Poultry-
books can hardly be separated from this miscellaneous
rabble, and ought to be permitted to return to its original
obscurity in the multitude. It is wrong to lead people to
pay high prices for them as stock ; and we are quite at a
loss to discover in them any unusual merit or other
describable peculiarity. They appear to be identical
with the commonest Ducks which we have everywhere.
The " Kouen," likewise " Rhone" Duck, is also written
" Rohan." I believe neither term to be correct, in
point of fact : that is, not exclusively : i. e. Rouen Ducks
are to be found, wherever there are Tame Ducks. The
words are similar in sound, but the two first are taken
from localities, the last from the name of a distinguished
family, one member of which, the Cardinal de Rohan,
was strangely implicated in the diamond-necklace affair
that caused such distress to Marie Antoinette. But we
might just as well call them " London" or " Thames"
Ducks, or " Mr. Smith's" Ducks. It would puzzle most
people to point out in what they differ from the every-
day brown, or brown and white, farm-yard Duck. We
should be told they were finer, a better sort, &c. An
inquiry of some of, not all* the Dealers for the authority
on which the name was given, would probably be met by
silence, or by anger at the public being told that birds,
for which thei/ charge six, eight, or ten shillings, may be
had of any country higgler for Is. 6d. I am even uncha-
ritable enough to suspect that incorrect names are
purposely given to unusual varieties by a few poultry-
merchants, in order to conceal the source from whence
they were originally derived. My notion that the title
Rouen and its aliases is only a trade name, intended to

• I beg to acknowledge the gentlemanly and ready manner in which
Mr. John Baily, of Mount Street, Grosvenor Square, has expressed
his willingness to impart information on a subject on which he is so
well conversant. He is able and trustworthy to execute orders for
choice specimens of poultry, and I should certainly apply to him, did
I want any select Fowls to be procured.

THE TAME DUCK. 135

elevate the common sort into a choice and more market-
able variety, is confirmed by the omission of such a
designation by Aldrovandi, and later by BufFon ; both
writers who swept everything into their net. Penguin
Ducks are nearly as strange as the Hook-billed. Their
peculiarity consists in walking uprightly, in feeble imita-
tion of a Penguin. But it is not strikingly apparent
when they are in an ordinary frame of mind. A sudden
fright makes them raise their heads, as it will many other
birds.

A variety not usually met with, but which deserves to
be better known, is that advertised by the Messrs. Baker
as the Labrador Duck ; the Zoological Society have had
it under the name of Buenos Ayres Duck, and received
it from that place ; in the south of England it is known
as the Black East Indian Duck. It would be difficult to
fix upon three more dissimilar and widely- separated spots
on the face of the globe. We may at once discard the
claim of Labrador, however rich in wild specimens, to
the honour of sending any new tame variety of bird.
Believing that our Tame Ducks are all importations from
the East, I should give the preference to the Indian title.
Nothing is more probable than that the Zoological Society
had their birds from the East, via Buenos Ayres. Whether
the stock had been introduced there a month, or twenty
years, previously, does not alter the main fact ; while
ships direct from India would be very Hkely to land a
few pairs at the first Channel port they touched at.

By some country dealers they are styled Beaver Ducks,
in allusion, perhaps, to a black beaver hat. These per-
sons esteem them highly, and usually send them to
London alive, where, if good specimens, they are even-
tually disposed of to Amateurs at the rate of eight or ten
shillings each.

But from whatever quarter obtained, they are hand-
some creatures. A little girl, at her first sight of them,
could not help exclaiming — " Oh ! what beautiful golden-
green Ducks ! " The feet, legs, and entire plumage, should

136 THE TAME DUCK.

be black ; a few white feathers will occasionally appear ;
but I had some birds that were immaculate, and such
should be the model of the breeder. The bill also is
black, with a slight under-tinge of green. Not only the
neck and back, but the larger feathers of the tail and
wings are gilt with metallic green ; the female also exhibits
slight traces of the same decoration. On a sunshiny day
of spring, the effect of these glittering Black Ducks sport-
ing on the blue water is very pleasing, especially if in
company with a party of the Decoy breed in strictly
Mallard plumage.

A peculiarity of these Black East Indian Ducks is,
that they occasionally — that is, at the commencement
of the season — lay black eggs ; the colour of those
subsequently laid gradually fades to that of the com-
mon kinds. This strange appearance is not caused
by any internal stain penetrating the whole thickness of
the shell, but by an oily pigment which may be scraped
off with the nail. They lay, perhaps, a little later than
other Ducks, but are not more difficult to rear. Their
voice is said to differ slightly — a fact I have not observed :
but they are far superior to others in having a high Wild
Duck flavour, and if well kept, are in just repute as being
excellent food when killed immediately from the pond,
without any fatting. My attention was first called to
them by a friend and neighbour, to whom I am indebted
not only for the information, but for handsome specimens.

The time of incubation of the Tame Duck is thirty
days.* The best mode of rearing them depends very

* Does the Mallard differ in this respect from the Tame Duck? I
think not. But, according to Audubon, "at length, in about three
weeJcs, the young (of the former) begin to cheep in the shell." Did
we not know his usual great accuracy, we should suspect some error,
and also be startled at the subjoined statement. " The squatters of
the Mississippi raise a considerable number of Malhards, which they catch
when quite young, and which, after the first year, are as tame as they
can wish. These birds raise broods which are superior even to those
of the old ones, for a year or two, after which they become similar
to the ordinary Duels of the poultry-yard. The hybrids produced

THE TAME DUCK. 137

much upon the situation in which they are hatched.* For
the first month, the confinement of their mother under
a coop is better than too much hberty. All kinds of
sopped food, barley-meal and water mixed thin, worms,
<fec., suit them. No people are more successful than
cottagers, who keep them for the first period of their
existence in pens two or three yards square, cramming
them night and morning with long dried pellets of flour
and water, or egg and flour, till they are judged old
enough to be turned out with their mother to forage on
the common and the village pond. Persons with exten-
sive occupations, over which the Ducks would stray and
be lost, will find it better answer their purpose to buy in
their main supply of Ducks half grown, than to rear
them, besides having the satisfaction of putting a few
shillings into the pockets of their poorer neighbours. A
few choice old favourites may still be retained for their
services as grub destroyers, for the beauty of their
plumage, and for the pleasure of seeing them swim their
minuets in the pond, bowing politely to each other — the
bows to be returned — before they take their afternoon's
doze on the grass, with their sleepy eyelids winking /3-ow
beloic, and their bills stuck under the feathers of their
back, by way of a respirator. The healthy heartiness of
their appetite is amusing rather than disgusting. A
cunning old Duck, to whom I tossed a trap-killed mouse,
tried hard to get it down in the rough state, but finding
that impossible, she toddled off with it to the pond,
where after a due soaking, the monstrous mouthful easily
shpped down. They are cheerful, harmless, goodnatured,

between the Mallard and the Muscovy Duck are of fp-eat size, and afford
excellent eating. Some of these half-breeds now and then xcander off,
become quite loild, and have by some persons been considered as
forming a distinct species. They also breed, when tame, with the
Black Duck (Avasfiisca) and the Gadwal, the latter connection giving
rise to a very handsome hybrid, retaining the yellow feet and barred
plumage of the one, and the green head of the other parent."

* According to Pallas, in the Crimea, the tame Duck is reared with
difficulty.

138 THE TAME DUCK.

cleanly creatures. As Audubon says, " They wash them-
selves, and arrange their dress, before commencing their
meal ; and in this, other travellers (in America particu-
larly) would do well to imitate them."

In rearing Ducklings it is usual, in the first place, to
dip their feet in water as soon as hatched, and then to
clip the down on their tails close with a pair of scissors,
to prevent their becoming drabbled and water-logged ;
and before their introduction to the pond, it is thought
adviseable by many good housewives, to let them have a
private swim or two in a small pan of water, to try their
strength and practise their webbed feet before venturing
upon a larger space.

A few original notes on the Mallard will not be out
of place here, though the facts they record show that the
Teal and such like water cage-birds have a truer claim
upon them, if disposition and habits are to guide our
arrangement.

" I have seen enough of the Mallard of England and
his untrustworthy progeny, to make me doubt of his
being the origin of our Farm Duck. That the Mallard
is becoming less frequent every year in our vicinity is
true, but we have attributed it chiefly to the exertions
of unbidden would-be sportsmen on our river. We still,
however, have them in certain places in tolerable abun-
dance. They are fond of frequenting the furze and heath
on our downs in spring, and sometimes breed there,
but oftener in willow beds and the thick grass in our
meadows, whence I have often had eggs brought me,
and set under Hens. These generally hatch well, if the
Hen's breast be dipped in water a few times during
incubation. There is a decided gain as to docility in
Ducks hatched in this way, over those caught on the
river, even if only a single day old. Young "Wild Ducks
are certainly some of the most cunning and slippery little
creatures extant, and the best way is to commence
handling them as soon as hatched, by which means, and
by confining them for some time within an inclosed place,

THE TAME DUCK. 139

they soon become more reasonable. In every case I
have not been able to trust them until the feathers began
to appear : but in several seasons that I have reared them,
they have been so distrustful, that it Was not safe to
allow them liberty, and as soon as ever their wings were
grown, they were oif. On one occasion I had two of
these birds, about a quarter grown, that grew exceedingly
slowly : they were very wild, and one night made their
escape to the river, where they remained until the evening
of the following day, when they were retaken. If I had
not previously marked them, nobody should ever have
persuaded me that they were the same. I could not
have conceived that less than twenty-four hours' immer-
sion in the river could have caused the growth it did :
but so it was. Another time I succeeded in making a
couple so gentle and sociable that when half grown they
would follow me, and eat out of my hand. Soaked
bread they are very fond of when young, afterwards
corn, &c. ; the seed tufts of the sedge are a great treat
when soaked in their water. The two birds above
mentioned were both ladies, and while I was trying to
procure a drake, (no easy matter) they vanished about
the end of November, being probably whipped up when
out in an adjoining road. One year I lost a fine brood
by turning them into an exquisite little pond (as we
thought), that had been lined with lime, whereby they
became immoveably stuck at the sides, and perished.
Another time, in our gi-eat kindness we procured some
river weeds, water crowfoot, &c., and placed them in their
pond, forgetting it was not a running water. The poor
little things became apparently tipsy, rolling and turning
about in all directions, and speedily coming to an end.
One set of docile creatures I succeeded in rearing turned
out to be four drakes, and so for one reason or another
none have remained over the winter — the more to be
regretted as I wished to verify Waterton's account of the
wonderful changes in dress the Drake undergoes in June
and July, the oddest part of which is that immediately

140 THE TAME DUCK.

on the completion of the bird's sober change of raiment,
he begins to shed those feathers again, to make room for
his gala dress.

" One cause of the diminution of numbers in the
Mallard here, is a Fox-preserver about half a dozen
miles off. These vermin seem to be fonder of Ducks
than anything else, and the Ducks are preserved for
them ! How they catch them has alvpays been rather a
mystery to me, but it must be by lying perdue in the
sedge for them. This, hovs^ever, would seem to be but a
poor chance.

" Wild Ducks rendered tame, and corn-fed, are cer-
tainly superior to any, having the fine wild flavour with-
out its fishiness. Beech mast are a good occasional diet
for Wild Ducks, if thrown into their piece of water.

" This season (1849), I have been particularly suc-
cessful in rearing the Mallard in a state of domestication.
Three different sets of eggs, from five to nine in number,
were brought in by our Mowers, and the greater part
hatched under Hens. The ducklings were shy at coming
out, but as soon as their first feathers began to appear,
they would eat from my hand, and follow me eagerly
about the garden if they saw me with a spade ; seeming
to understand that they were about to enjoy their grand
treat of worms. Small frogs also did not come amiss,
which they gulped down, regardless of the cries of the
poor creatures. I noticed that, after they attained their
quill feathers, though not previously, they began to eat
grass with avidity. Odd scraps at first, and soaked corn
and dry rice afterwards, formed their chief food ; and
this diet, I think, made them mild and agreeable ulti-
mately for the table. Out of many I reared there were
only two females — one of which had a singular habit of
attacking me with great spirit and much quacking, if I
attempted the capture of either of her gentlemen friends.
In domestic Fowls this trait is often observed, but I was
not prepared to find an instance of it in an unreclaimed
bird, some a great deal too young to possess any maternal

THE TAME DUCK. 141

impulse. Although these Ducks would often wander to
the river, they always returned at my call until about the
middle of November, when they became more uncertain,
and rather restless, and then were shut within an
enclosed garden. Wishing to tiy whether they would
breed in this state, I reserved a pair for that purpose ;
but soon after the Drake was mysteriously missing. For
three days I looked for him to no purpose ; and then,
thinking the Duck useless without him, had her killed.
Next morning to our astonishment the truant Drake
re-appeared, but where he had been wandering meanwhile
we could not discover. So ended my hopes of an
increase for next season." — H. H.

The assistance of duck-fanciers is requested for the
re-discovery of a sort unknown at present ; but described
and figured by Albin, in 1735, vol. iii. p. 93, as the
Madagascar Duck.

" It is something larger than the Tame Duck, the
Bill of a yellowish brown, the Irides of the Eyes of a fine
red, the Head and Neck of a dusky green, the Back of a
dark purple with a mixture of blew, the Edges of the
Feathers red, the Breast a dusky brown, the exterior
Edges of each Feather red, the lower Belly brown ; the
Scapular Feathers green, some Edged with red ; the
upper Scapulars dusky with a mixture of blew, as was
also the first Row of Coverts, and all the Quills their
Edges red ; the second Row of Coverts green, the Legs
and Feet orange colour ; this Bird was of so shining a
beautiful colour, as cannot rightly be expressed in words:
the Breed came first from Madagascar in liJast India,
and was in the Possession of a Merchant, at Ponders End,
near Enfeld, who was so good as to let me have some of
the Breed to oblige some Gentlemen that had a mind to
them." Albin scrupulously avoided the suspicion of
admitting into his book any doubtful or imaginary birds ;
and if the above be, as would appear, a variety of the
Tame Duck, its acquisition is to be desired.

THE DOMESTIC GOOSE.

" Daily use demonstrates what great and admirable services the
anserine race renders to us, what great and numerous conveniences it
affords. For even while living it abundantly supplies us with eggs
and young birds for food, with feathers to soften our couch, and with
quills as mute interpreters to express the thoughts that arise in our
minds. And more, it is a most secure guardian of our persons and
our dwellings, far more to be depended on than the Dog," &c. &c. —
Aldrovandi.

We apply the term " Domestic" to the Goose, using
only " Tame" for the Duck, to signify a much closer
intimacy with, and submission to the control of Man ;
and, as a further contrast, the domestication of the com-
mon Goose, like that of the Fowl, hides itself, as we
pursue it, in the remotest depths, and obscurest mists of
ancient history. We have already hinted that by the
Hebrews, as by many modern naturalists, it would
probably be classed generically with the Swan, and so be
included in their list of unclean birds. Among the Greeks
and Romans, it seems to have been the only really domes-
ticated water-fowl; and appears to have held exactly the
same place in their esteem, that it still retains, after the
lapse of two or three thousand years, in our farm-yards,
and on our commons. Indeed, a modern writer may
escape great part of the trouble of composing the natural
history of the Domestic Goose, if he will only collect the
materials that are scattered amongst ancient authors. A
very early notice of them occurs in Homer. Penelope,
relating her dream, says,

THE DOMESTIC GOOSE. 143

" A team of twenty geese (a snow-white train !)
Fed near the limpid lake with golden grain,
Amuse my pensive hours."

Pope's version is both flat and inaccurate. The
" snow-white train," (I would bet Mr. Pope a dish of
tey — as he rhymes it — that Penelope's Geese were not
snow-white, whatever the Ganders might be), the
" limpid lake," the " pensive hours," are not Homeric,
but Popeian. The literal translation of the Greek is, " I
have twenty geese at home, that eat wheat out of water,
and I am delighted to look at them." We omit the rest
of her vision, as little to our purpose ; but her mode of
fatting them, and her complacent chuckle at seeing them
thrive, could not be surpassed by the most enthusiastic
members of the Royal Agricultural Society. If she
entertained her numerous suitors with fat roast Goose, it
may partly explain why they stuck to her in so troublesome
and pertinacious a manner.

The alarm given at the approach of the army of the
Gauls by the Geese kept in the capitol of Rome, occurred
so long back as a. u. c. 365, or 388 years before Christ.
The passage is worth extracting.

" Thus they were employed at Veii, whilst, in the
mean time, the citadel and capitol at Rome were in the
utmost danger. The Gauls either perceived the track of
a human foot, where the messenger from Veii had passed,
or, from their own observation, had remarked the easy
ascent at the rock of Carmentis : on a moonlight night,
therefore, having first sent forward a person unarmed to
make trial of the way, handing their arms to those before
them, when any difficulty occurred, supporting and sup-
ported in turns, and drawing each other up according as
the ground required, they climbed to the summit in such
silence, that they not only escaped the notice of the
guards, but did not even alarm the dogs, animals particu-
larly watchful with regard to any noise at night. They
were not unperceived, however, by some Geese, which
being sacred to Juno, the people had spared, even in the

144 THE DOMESTIC GOOSE.

present great scarcity of food; a circumstance to which
they owed their preservation ; for by the cackUng of these
creatures, and the clapping of their wings, Marcus ManUus
was roused from sleep, — a man of distinguished character
in war, who had been consul the third year before ; and
snatching up his arms, and at the same time calling to
the rest to do the same, he hastened to the spot, where,
while some ran about in confusion, he, by a stroke with
the boss of his shield, tumbled down a Gaul who had
already got footing on the summit ; and this man's weight
as he fell, throwing down those who were next, he slew
several others, who, in their consternation, threw away
their arms and caught hold of the rocks, to which they
clung. By this time many of the garrison had assembled
at the place, who, by throwing javelins and stones, beat
down the enemy, so that the whole band, unable to keep
either their hold or footing, were hurled down the pre-
cipice in promiscuous ruin." — Livy, lib. v. cap. 47. —
Baker s Translation.

Lucretius, referring to this event (lib. iv. 686) attri-
butes the vigilance of the Geese to their fine sense of
smell : —

" The White Goose, the preserver of the citadel of the descendants
of Romulus, perceives at a gi-eat distance the odour of the human
race."

Virgil, alluding to the same occurrence (^n. viii. 655),
ascribes the preservation of the Capitol to an " Argenteus
Anser " (a Silver Goose). Both these poets, therefore,
inform us that the Domestic Goose of their day differed
as much from the Grey-leg or the White-fronted, as it does
at present, a circumstance which the reader is requested to
bear in mind.

Pliny, about four hundred years later, remarks, (lib. x.
26), " The Goose is carefully watchful ; witness the de-
fence of the Capitol, when the silence of the dogs would
have betrayed everything .... It is possible, also, that
they may have some discernment of wisdom. Thus one

THE DOMESTIC GOOSE. l45

is said to have stuck perpetually to the Pliilosopher
Lacydis, never leaving him, either in public, in the baths,
by night, or by day." And again at xxvii. — " Our folks
are wiser, vpho are aware of the goodness of their liver.
In those that are crammed it increases to a great size ;
when taken out it is laid to swell in milk mixed with
honey. And it is not without cause that it is a matter
of debate who was the first to discover such a dainty,
whether Scipio Metellus, of consular dignity, or M. Seius,
a Roman knight at the same epoch. But (what is certain)
Messalinus Cotta, the son of Messala, the orator, disco-
vered the method of cooking the web of their feet,
and fricasseeing them in small dishes along with cocks'
combs. I am ready heartily to attribute the merit to the
kitchen of either. It is wonderful that this bird should
travel on foot from the Morini (in the north of France)
to Rome. Those which are tired are carried to the
front ; so that the rest push them on by a natural crowd-
ing In some places they are plucked twice a

year." A great deal of this is the same as has happened
with us, with a slight change of names and places.

It is very natural to incjuire whence so remarkable and
valuable a bird was originally obtained ; but the conclusion
generally arrived at appears to me to be inconsistent, not
merely with truth, but even with probability — namely,
that it results from the crossing and intermixture of seve-
ral wild species. None of these ancient accounts indicate
any such fact ; but, on the contrary, declare that the
Domestic Goose M'as in the earliest ages (dating with
respect to Man) exactly what it is now. The very same
arguments that are used to show that the Domesticated
Goose is a combination of the Grey-legged, White-
fronted, and Bean Geese, would equally prove that the
Anglo-Saxon race of Men is derived from a mixture of the
Red Indian, the Yellow Chinese, and the tawny Moor.
I cannot, therefore, help suspecting very strongly that
we shall err in referring the parentage of the Common
Goose to any existing species. Mr. Yarrell hesitatingly

146 THE DOMESTIC GOOSE.

says, that " the Grey-legged Goose is considered to be
the origin from which our valuable domesticated race
is derived ; " and instances the union of a pinioned
wild Grey-legged Gander with a Domestic Goose that
had been assigned as his mate.* But those who have
kept many different species of Geese together, well know
what unaccountable attachments they are frequently
forming, and that they are quite as likely to pair, and
rear young, with individuals of a race apparently the
most alien to themselves as with their own stock. In-
deed, amongst Geese, it will be difficult to define the
limits of species, at least if the fertility or infertility of
hybrids be the test.

But the supposition that all our domesticated creatures
must necessarily have an existing wild original, is a mere
assumption ; and it has misled, and is likely to mislead,
investigators as far from the truth as did the old notion
about fossil organic remains, that they were Lithoschemata,
as Aldrovandus has it, sketches in stone, abortive efforts
of Nature, imperfect embryos, instead of fragmentary
ruins of a former state of things. Some naturalists
seem already to have had misgivings that such a theory
respecting domestic animals is not tenable ; according to
the Rev. L. Jenyns,

" The Domestic Goose is usually considered as having
been derived from the Grey-legged Goose, but such a
circumstance is rendered highly improbable from the
well-known fact that the Common Gander, after attain-
ing a certain age, is invariably (?) white. Montague, also,
observes that a specimen of the Anse.rferus, which was
shot in the wing by a farmer in Wiltshire, and kept alive
many years, would never associate with the tame Geese.
In fact the origin of this last is unknown." — Jenyns'' s

* These birds have produced young, ■which by breeding in and in
have again produced young resembling themselves ; thus giving sup-
port to Mr. Yarrell's conjecture. I record the fact. Many readers
may think it opposed to tlie views here expressed : it is the only one I
have ever met ^Yith at all tending to contradict lliem.

THE DOMESTIC GOOSE. l47

Manual of Vertebrate Animals, p. 222. The origin of
the Domestic Goose is indeed unknown, if we look to
]\Ian, or his influence, to have originated so valuable and
peculiar a species ; but not unknown, if we believe it to
have been created by the same Almighty Power who
animated the Mammoth, the Plesiosaurus, the Dinornis,
and the Dodo. For let us grant that the Grey-legged
Goose is the most probable existing parent of the domestic
sort. Now, even that is becoming a rare bird ; and the
more scarce a creature is in a wild state, the scarcer it is
likely still to become. Suppose the Grey-legged Goose
extinct ; by no means an impossibility. Then those who
vnist have a wild original from which to derive all our
domestic animals would be compelled to fall back on
some other species still less probable. It is surely a
simpler theory to suppose that creatures that were co-
temporary with the Mammoth, have, like it, disappeared
from the earth in their wild state, but have survived as de-
pendents on Man, than to engage in attempts at reconcil-
ing incongruities and discrepancies, which after all cannot
satisfy the mind, but leave it in as doubtful a state as ever.
Still less is the White-fronted the ancestor of the
Domestic Goose. Entirely white specimens of the Albi-
frons are indeed occasionally hatched in confinement, and
the Common Goose may now and then exhibit traces of
an admixture or dash of blood with it, as it certainly
does occasionally, of a cross with the China Goose
(Cj/cno'ides) ; but these are mere impurities which wear
out, and the race returns to the well-known domestic type.
And it will be allowed by most persons who have possessed
a variety of these birds, and who have watched and tended
them day by day, that the Domestic Goose is sufficiently
separated from the Grey-legged by the colour of its feet
and legs ; from the White-fronted by the extreme dif-
ference of its voice, manner, time of incubation, colour
of the eyes, greater thickness of neck, convexity of profile,
and many other little particulars that are more easily
perceived than described.

148. THE DOMESTIC GOOSE.

It might be urged, as a further essential difference, that
the Domestic Goose is polygamous, whereas all Wild
Geese that we are acquainted with are monogamous. It
is true that Wild Geese in captivity will couple with the
females of other species ; but that takes place by their
utterly neglecting their own mate for the time, not by
entertaining two or more mistresses at once. It will be
replied, that habits of polygamy are the effects of domes-
tication ; but what proof have we of such an assertion ?
Domestication has not yet induced the Pigeon and the
Guinea-fowl to consort with more than one partner ; and
the Swan, called Domestic by some writers, remains obsti-
nately and even fiercely faithful in its attachments.

The Domestic Gander is polygamous, but he is not an
indiscriminate libertine ; he will rarely couple with females
of any other species. Hybrid common Geese are almost
always produced by the union of a Wild Gander with a
Domestic Goose, not vice versa.

Of the Domestic Goose there really is but one variety,
individuals of which are found varying from entirely white
plumage, through different degrees of patchedness witht
grey, to entirely grey colouring, except on the abdomen.
The Ganders are generally, not invariably, white. Such are
sometimes called Embden Geese, from a town of Hanover,
famous also for groats. Fine white Geese may doubtless
be hatched at Embden, as well as in Middlesex, and if
actually imported may claim the name of their native place,
but cannot on that account be allowed to form themselves
into a separate clan. High feeding, care, and moderate
warmth, will induce a habit of prolificacy, which becomes
in some measure hereditary. The season of the year at
which the young are hatched (and in England they may
be reared at any season), influences their future size and
development. After allowing for these causes of diversity,
it will be found that the Domestic Goose constitutes only
one species or permanent variety.

Mr. Bagshaw, of Norwich, annually fats several thou-
sand Geese for the London market. He has sometimes

THE DOMESTIC GOOSE. 149

as many as 2000 Geese at once on his extensive premises.
The birds are collected from all parts, wherever, in short,
they can be most advantageously obtained. Some are
English, more are from Holland, but the greater part are
procured from Prussia. Having been obligingly per-
mitted to inspect this vast assemblage, I could find
nothing that had the least claim to be called a variety,
though they came from so many different quarters. The
nearest approach to it was that some had bills of a dull
black, others had the nail of the bill black, others again
had it white, but there was nothing either in form,
voice, gait, or attitude, to afford the least suspicion that
there exists any sub-species of the Domestic Goose. One
bird was pointed out by the proprietor as differing from
the rest. He was a half-bred wnth the China Goose.

The Toulouse Goose, which has been so much extolled
and sold at such high prices, is only the common domestic,
enlarged by early hatching, very liberal feeding during
youth, fine climate, and perhaps hy age. I am in pos-
session of Geese, hatched at a season when it was difficult
to supply them with an abundance of nourishing green
food, that are as much under-sized as the Toulouse Goose
is over-sized ; they are all Domestic Geese nevertheless.
It is for the sake of enlarging the growth of the Goslings,
not for the mere purpose of supporting their strength, that
the breeders cram them night and morning with flour-
and-egg pellets. Grass alone would suffice for their
sustenance, but extra nourishment makes extra-sized
birds. Toulouse Geese are fine, six-foot-high, grenadier
individuals of the Domestic Goose — that is ail. Some
were to be seen not far from the Horse Guards, in
proximity to their human representatives, in the autumn
of 1848.

The importance of feeding all growing creatures abun-
dantly and well, cannot be too often forced upon the
attention of the breeder, whether of fowls or quadrupeds.
A pertinent illustration of its effects even upon Man, is
given by the Kev. John Williams, in his " J\Iissionary

150 THE DOMESTIC GOOSE.

Enterprises," p. 512. " The men are strong and tall,
being frequently upwards of six feet high, with limbs
firm and muscular, but not heavy and clumsy. This is
especially the case with the chiefs, and more remarkably
so with those of Tongatabu and the Friendly Islands,
whose form and bearing are as stately as their movements
are natural and free. The women are inferior to the
men ; but yet they often present the most elegant models
of the human figure.

" Captain Cook attempted to account for the superior
size of the chiefs, by supposing that they were a distinct
race ; but in this we think he was incorrect. It may
perhaps be attributed in part to their progenitors, who
were probably raised to the chieftainship on account
of their physical superiority, or of some achievements
which resulted from it ; partly to their mothers, who
were generally selected by the chiefs for their form
and stature ; and partly to their treatment during the
years of childhood and youth. As soon as the son of a
chief was born, two or three of the finest and most
healthy women were selected to nurse it ; and while per-
forming this office, which they frequently did for three
years, they were provided vnth abundance of the best
food. A child of Tinomana, of Rarotonga, had four
nurses, and he was a little monster. With this com-
mencement, their subsequent training corresponded. I
think these causes sufficient to account for the superiority
of the chiefs, many of whom are certainly splendid
specimens of human nature." We think similar causes
sufficient to account for the superior size of the Toulouse
Geese, which really do look like common Geese, as they
would appear if seen through the long focused magnify-
ing glass of a raree-show.

The following will be pronounced a mere case of mal-
formation, not the springing up of a new variety.

" I have noticed that in a flock of Geese here, from
which many goslings are reared every season, there is
always one bird, and sometimes two, with tlie two farthest

THE DOMESTIC GOOSE. 151

joints of one wing growing as if they had been twisted
round out of their proper position. None of the old
Geese have this pecuHarity, nor, as far as I can ascertain,
does it arise either from ill-treatment, or the forcing them-
selves through narrow places. It seems rather to be a
natural h(stis of the wing joint, and one would think must
effectually prevent their flying." — H. H.

The value and usefulness of Geese is scarcely calculable.
We omit what is owing to them, as having furnished the
most powerful instrument wielded by the hand of Man.
But in a mere material point of view, and reckoning on
the very smallest scale, we will suppose that a village green
supports only fifty brood Geese. The owners of these
would be dissatisfied if they got but ten young ones from
eacli in the year, besides eggs ; this gives 500 Geese per
annum, without taking the chance of a second brood.
Multiply 500 by the number of village greens in the
kingdom, and we still form a very inadequate estimate of
the importance of the bird. And all this with scarcely
any outlay. The little trouble they demand of being
secured at night and let out in the morning, of setting
the Geese, and "pegging" the Goslings, is a source of
amusement and interest to thousands of aged and infirm
persons, in whose affections their Geese stand second only
to their children and relations. What a pity it is that such
cheerful commons should be ever converted into barren
thickets and damp Pheasant covers, to afford a school for
young sportsmen and rural policemen to practise their
several arts in.

The only damage they do, lies in the quantity of food
they consume ; the only care they require, is to be saved
from thieves and starvation. All the fears and anxieties
requisite to educate the Turkey and prepare it for making
a proper appearance at table, are with them unnecessary ;
grass by day, a dry bed at niglit, and a tolerably attentive
mother, being all that is required. Roast Goose, fatted,
of course, to the point of repletion, is almost the only
luxury that is not thought an extravagance in an econo-

152 THE DOMESTIC GOOSE.

mical farm-house ; for there are the feathers to swell the
mistress's accumulating stock of beds, there is the drip-
ping to enrich the dumpling, pudding, or whatever other
farinaceous food may be the fashion of the country for the
ser\^ants to eat, there are the giblets to go to market or
make a pie for a special occasion, and there is the whole-
some, solid, savoury flesh for all parties in their due
proportion.

They are accused by some of rendering the spots where
they feed offensive to other stock ; but the secret of this
is very simple. A Horse bites closer than an Ox, a
Sheep goes nearer to the ground than a Horse, but, after
the sharpest shaving by Sheep, the Goose will polish up
the turf, and grow fat upon the remnants of others. Con-
sequently, where Geese are kept in great numbers on a
small area, little will be left to maintain any other grass-
eating creature. But if the commons are not short, it will
not be found that other grazing animals object to feed either
together with, or immediately after a flock of Geese.

Many instances of the longevity of the Goose are on
record, and it is needless to repeat them. I have myself
seen one upwards of thirty years of age followed by a
thriving family ; but they are capable of reaching double
and treble that extent of life. Indeed, the duration of the
existence of the Goose seems to be indefinitely prolonged,
and not terminable by the usual causes of decay and old
age (like Pliny's Eagle, which would live for ever, did not
the upper mandible become so excessively curved as to
prevent eating, and cause death from starvation) ; and
reminding us of the accounts, apparently not fabulous,
which we hear in these modern times respecting the
Pelican and the cartilaginous fishes. One thing is certain,
that housewives do not consider Geese to be worth much
for breeding purposes, till they are four or five years old.
They will lay and produce some few young ones in the
course of their second summer ; but older birds fetch
much higher prices as stock. Three or four Geese may
be allotted to one Gander ; the male bird is known by

THE DOMESTIC GOOSE. 153

being generally white, and also by liis bold and patron-
ising carriage. He is an attentive sentinel while his
dames are incubating, but renders them no personal
assistance by taking his turn upon the nest — an error
which seems to have originated with Goldsmith. When
the young at length go forth to graze, he accompanies
them with the greatest parental pride and assiduity.

The Goose has the additional merit of being the very
earliest of our Poultiy : —

" On Candlemas day
Good housewife's Geese lay ;
On Saint Valentine
Your Geese lay, and mine."

In three months, or at most four, from leaving the egg,
the birds ought to be fit for the feather-bed, the spit, and
the pie. It is better, either to eat them at this early stage
as green Geese, or, to keep them another six months, till
after they have moulted and renewed their feathers, when
they can be fatted till they grow into the ponderous,
satisfactory, succulent joint which suits a healthy Michael-
mas or Christmas appetite. It will be found unprofitable
to kill them between these two epochs of their life. They
will be fatted by being shut up, in society, in a clean,
C|uiet, outhouse, with plenty of dry straw, gravel, and
fresh water, and are there to be supplied for a certain
length of time, continued according to the weight desired
to be laid on, with all the barley or oats they can eat.
The kind of grain used depends upon custom or con-
venience, some advocating barley, others oats ; a mixture
might perhaps be the most effectual. Barley-meal and
water is recommended by some feeders ; but full-grown
Geese that have not been habituated to the mixture when
young, will occasionally refuse to eat it. Cooked potatoes
in small quantities do no harm. A first-rate delicacy,
though rather expensive, would be produced by following
Penelope's system of feeding, and giving the birds steeped
wheat.

154 THE DOMESTIC GOOSE.

The Goose is not only very early in its laying, but also
very late. It often anticipates the spring in November,
and afterwards, vi^hen spring really comes in March, it
cannot resist its genial influence. The autumnal eggs
afford useful employment to Turkeys or Hens that choose
to sit at unseasonable times : and the period of incubation,
thirty days, is less tedious than that required for the eggs
of China Geese or Musk Ducks. A dry, airy lean-to or
shed, and the gleanings of a kitchen garden, are all that
are needful to rear the young. Their great enemy will be
the cramp, which may be kept off by making them sleep
on dry straw, and turning them out with their mother for
an hour or two every mild and open day. When winter
Goslings are expected, a Michaelmas planting (not sowing)
of lettuce and endive should be made ; the latter will be
found particularly serviceable, as also the tender parts of
turnip tops. A living turf laid down in the outhouse and
changed occasionally, will be relished. A little boiled
rice daily assists their growth, with corn, of course, as
soon as they can eat it. A rushlight burnt in a Goose-
house during the fifteen or sixteen hours of darkness in
winter, has been successfully employed to induce the
Goslings to eat. And when it is remembered that the
candle costs the fraction of a penny, while an early green
Goose is worth from seven shillings to half-a-guinea, it
will be seen that the expense is not thrown away. Almost
all breeders of Goslings administer, by cramming, long
half-dried pellets composed of raw egg and wheat flour ;
it is an old practice, but is unnecessary, except during
mid-winter.

We give Columella's directions for rearing : —
" And the Gosling, while he is very little, is shut up in
a pen for the first ten days, and fed along with his
mother : afterwards, when the fine weather permits, he is
led forth into the meadows, and to the fish-ponds. And
care must be taken that he is neither stung by nettles,
nor sent fasting to the pasture, but has his appetite satis-
fied beforehand with chopped endive or lettuce leaves.

THE DOMESTIC GOOSE. 15.5

For if he goes to pasture still weak and hungry, he tugs
at the shrubs and more solid herbs so pertinaciously
as to break his neck." — Columella, lib. viii., chap. xiv.
The Roman school of poulterers were in great fear of
nettles for their Goslings, and as a counter-irritative re-
medy, it was proposed to place nettle-roots under the
sitting Geese ; but one would say that the nettles, not
the Goslings, had the greatest reason for alarm.

Geese are slaughtered by being bled from the internal
parts of the throat, — a slow and cruel method. They, as
well as Ducks, should be let out to the pond a few hours
before execution, where they will purify and aiTange their
feathers as neatly as if they were going to their wedding
instead of to their death. Adult birds are almost exempt
from disease. When three-quarters grown, they occa-
sionally, though not often, " go light," as the country-
people call it, and waste and die like a person in a
consumption. This usually happens only with birds that
are shut up too closely to fat. The remedy is liberty
and grass.

I have seen the shell of a Goose's egg that had con-
tained three yolks.

The flight of the Domestic Goose is quite powerful
enough, especially in young birds, to allow them to escape
that way, were they so inclined. In the autumn whole
broods may be seen by early risers, taking their morning
flight, and circling in the air for matutinal exercise, just
like pigeons when first let out of their locker.

THE BERNICLE GOOSE.

" Birds which the vulgar call Banmganse, that is, Tree Geese,
because they are said to be produced on trees, from the trunk and
branches of which they hang. They say also that these creatures are
sometimes generated in the sea, from decayed planks, particularly fir-
wood. And this is altogether absurd." — Ortus Sanitatis.

" The Bernicle Goose, though an occasional visitor to Sutherland, is
much more rare than the Brent Goose. The Brent Goose is more
frequent on the east coast, while the Bernicle keeps to the W'estera
side of the county." — Charles St. John.

Several ornithological writers have lamented, with ex-
pressions of surprise, that so few of the larger water-birds
have been domesticated, and made to afford us a ready
supply of food, in return for their board and lodging. But
it should be remembered that there are two parties to the
proposed arrangement — the master and the slave. If the
captive resolutely persists in saying, " You may bestow
every care upon me, and lavish every comfort, but I iciU
not be the parent of a race of slaves, although I may show
a little personal thankfulness to yourself," the next move
for us to make is to procure young that are ignorant of
the fascinations of a wild life, and to endeavour to sub-
due, by kindness, titeir stubbon nature. If they remain
indomitably independent, and refuse to yield, we are
check-mated, and cannot proceed a step further. It is
not in om- power to increase the number of domesticable
birds. " The fear of you and the dread of you shall be
upon every beast of the earth, and upon every fowl of
the air, upon all that moveth upon the earth," is a promise
which will be undoubtedly fulfilled ; and thus, as the

THE BERNICLE GOOSE. 157

dominion of man over the earth daily and hourly extends
itself, those creatures that refuse to enter into his train,
will be crushed, and perish beneath his advancing foot-
steps ; for, " into your hand are they delivered. Every
moving thing that liveth shall be meat for you ; even as
the green herb have I given you all things."

The Bernicle Goose is one of those species in which
the imjDulse of reproduction has at length overcome the
suUenness of captivity ; and it is a curious fact, that
instances of their breeding have of late increased in fre-
quency, and we may therefore hope will go on increasing.
The young so reared should be pinioned at the wrist,
as a precaution. The probability is, that they would
stay at home contentedly, unpinioned, till hard weather
came, when they would be tempted to leave their usual
haunts in search of marshes, unfrozen springs, mud banks
left by the tide, and the open sea, where they would be
liable to be shot by sporting naturalists — a fate which
has done more than anything else to check the propaga-
tion of interesting birds in England — or might be induced
to join a flock of wild birds, instead of returning to their
former quarters.

Here is a warning example. The pinioning of a brood
of Egyptian Geese had been delayed too long ; they could
fly, and though they came to be fed as usual, would not
suffer themselves to be caught. In the wmter, during a
hard frost, they flew down to the marshes a few miles
distant. Their keeper happened to be on the road
thither, and seeing them in the air overhead, called to
them as usual. They knew his voice, wheeled about,
hovered for a moment, and then pursued their course.
Shortly afterwards they were shot by mistake for wild
birds, by a person who must have been aware that there
was a collection of water-fowl in the neighbourhood ; in
which, however, there are now only male Eg}'ptian Geese,
the mother of the brood having suffered the same fate.
Similar unfortunate mistakes are frequent. Does tlie
paragraph in the local newspaper about the " rare bird "

158 THE BERNICLE GOOSE.

shot by so and so, esquire, and the stuffed specimen in
the smart glass case, compensate for the slaughter ?

Broods of five, six, and seven Bernicle Greese have
been reared ; not an inconsiderable increase, if we only-
kept them to eat : but they have hitherto been chiefly
valued as embellishments to our ponds. Their small
size renders them suitable even for a very limited pleasure-
ground, and they are perhaps the veiy prettiest Geese
that have yet ajDpeared in our menageries. The lively
combination of black, white, grey, and lavender, gives
them the appearance of a party of ladies robed in those
becoming half-mourning dresses, that are worn from
etiquette rather than sorrow. The female differs little
from the male, being distinguished by voice and deport-
ment more than by plumage. Their short bill, moderate
sized webs of their feet, and rounded proportions, indicate
an affinity to the Cereopsis. The number of eggs laid is
six or seven ; the time of incubation about a month, but
it is difficult to name the exact period, from the uncer-
tainty of knowing the precise hour when the process
commences. The Geese are steady sitters. Their young
had better be crammed with very small pegs for the
first week or so, after which they may be entirely con-
fided to their parents. They are lively and active little
creatures, running hither and thither, and tugging at the
blades of grass. Their ground colour is of a dirty white.
Their legs, feet, eyes, and short stump of a bill, are
black. They have a grey spot on the crown of the head,
grey patches on the back and wings, and a yellowish
tinge about the forepart of the head. The old birds are
very gentle in their disposition and habits, and are less
noisy than most other Geese. Waterton mentions an in-
stance where the Gander paired with a Canada Goose, a
most disproportionately large mate for him to select.
The same thing has occuiTed in Norfolk, but in this case
the ludicrous union was altogether unproductive.

The service they may render as weed-eaters should not
be forgotten, though their size alone precludes any com-

THE BERNICLE GOOSE. 159

parison of them with the Swan in this respect. Sir
W. Jardine says that he has observed their feeding-grounds
to be extensive merses or flats partially inundated by
the higher tides, a circumstance that may furnish a hint
that their breeding may perhaps be promoted by their
being furnished with a little sea-weed during winter and
early spring. They are also sufficiently removed from
the typical Geese to make it possible that a few cockles,
limpets, shrimps, or small mussels would not be unwel-
come. A single pair would be more likely to breed than
if they were congregated in larger numbers : and the price
demanded by the London dealers is not extravagant for
healthy living specimens.

The young of the Bernicle Goose, like those of the
Canada and White-fronted Geese, when left entirely to
the guidance of their parents in this country, are apt to
be attacked by a sort of erysipelatous inflammation of the
head, similar to that from which the Domestic Fowl
suffers so nmch, and which proves equally fatal. The
eyelids swell till the bird is blinded ; its suflferings must
be extreme, even if it recover. The parts affected dis-
charge copiously a watery fluid. Frequent washing with
warm water and vinegar is the best remedy, and cram-
ming the bird to keep it alive, must be resorted to. Pills
of rue leaves, or a strong decoction of rue, as a tonic,
have been administered with apparent benefit. The
disease seems epidemic rather than contagious, though I
would not quite deny that it is so ; but of all remedies
warmth and dryness, particularly at night, are the most
indispensable. Goslings hatched about midsummer in
the Arctic regions know not what it is to feel-the absence
of the sun. A Scandinavian sunrmer's night, even in
those latitudes where the sun does sink for an hour be-
neath the horizon, differs from the day in little else than
stillness. There are no frosts succeeding a broiling day,
no chilling dews which require hours of sunshine to
remove, but all is, for the time, perpetually bright and
warm and genial. The difference between such a climate

IGO THE BERNICLE GOOSE.

and an English ]\Iay must be seriously felt by our tender
little pets, whatever care we may take to protect them.
This clear uninterrupted day, two or three months long,
of settled, delicious weather, gives a complete explanation
of the apparent paradox that birds should retire to the
regions, reputed absolutely icy, of the North, for breeding
purposes. But those who have made the precincts of
the Mediterranean their Elysium on earth, can have no
conception of the health, the vigour, the manly tone of
mind and body, to be inspired from Hyperborean breezes.
Oh ! that I had the wings of a Dove ; then would I
flee away with my little ones to the rich pine forests, the
rushing streams, the deep-cut inlets of the far North, and
be at rest, till the snow-drifts of October made us again
retreat, with the wild-fowl, to the temperate and hospitable
shores of Britain !

THE BRENT GOOSE.

" The Brent Goose comes to most of the inlets of the sea in im-
mense numbers during the winter : it is one of the best wild-fowl for
the table." Vol. I., p. 139. " Wigeon and Brent Geese also, and in
fact all wild-fowl, are good or bad eating, according to where they feed,
in the same way that the dog of the Chinese, which is fatted for tlie
table, must be very unlike in flavour to a fox-hound who has been fed
on horseflesh." p. 201. — St. John's Tour in Switzerland.

"The Brent Goose is an excellent bird; killed inland it is deli-
cious; it has a remarkable smell of truffles. Under the denomination
of the ' Wexford Barnacle,' (I can speak with certainty, Mr. F. Bruen,
M.P. for Carlow, having some time since sent me some,) it has an
uncommon reputation. I am told there is a particular weed in those
parts, of which these birds are so fond, that when it is carried ujf'the
river by the tide, they, although wild birds, follow it up to the bridges
on the skirts of the town, and are there killed. Their excellence is
attributed to the flavour derived from this food." — Mr. John Baily.

This, and the interesting little Sandwich Island Goose,
are the smallest of their tribe yet introduced to our aquatic
aviaries ; both being inferior in size to some Ducks. The
captive Brent Goose has not, that I am aware, bred in
any British collection. According to Audubon, it has
been known to produce young in captivity, but when, or
where, or on what authority, is not stated. To attain this
result here, the most likely method is, probably, to make
an approach to their natural habits by supplying them
with occasional marine diet. Fragments of shells, that
had apparently been swallowed whole, have often been
found in their gizzards. It might also be expedient to
assemble them in a flock, instead of keeping just a single
pair, so tliat they could consult their own individual
tastes in the choice of partners. Their picturesque effect,

162 THE BRENT GOOSE.

too, will be greater in this way. Their almost uniform
colour of leaden black, and their compactness of form,
make them a striking feature in the scene, though they
cannot be compared in beauty with many other water-
fowl. They may always be obtained from the London
dealers. There is so little difference in the sexes, that it
is not easy to distinguish them. Their chief merit, how-
ever, rests in their fondness for water-weeds, in which
respect they appear to be second only to the Swan. On
this account. Ware Goose is one of their trivial names.

" Brent Geese have the cunning, in general, to leave
the mud as soon as the tide flows high enough to bear an
enemy, and then go off to sea, and feed on the drifting
weeds." — Colonel Hawker.

" On the north-eastern shores of England, where we
have had opportunities of seeing them, they might be
considered as entirely maritime, not being known to leave
the water-mark, or ever to feed on the pastures or young
grajn. During ebb-tide, they fed on the banks of Zoslera
marina, then uncovered ; and Mr. Selby mentions the
ulva latissima as very frequently found in their stomachs ;
at other times they rest on the sandbanks, which are quite
open, and afford no shelter for approach ; or they ride, as
it were, just off the land, buoyant upon the wave, and
occasionally pluck the sea-grass or weeds which are yet
borne up within their reach." — Sir W. Jardine.

Brent Geese are quiet, gentle, and harmless, in cap-
tivity. Having eaten only Norfolk-killed specimens, I
cannot agree with those who praise them on the table.
They were fishy, strong, and oily ; but whoever is not
fond of such savours, may convert the birds into tolerable
meat, by having them skinned, and baked in a pie.

" Immense numbers of Brent Geese," says Mr. St.
John, " float with every tide into the bays formed by the
bar. As the tide recedes, they land on the grass, and
feed in closely-packed flocks. On the land they are
light, active birds, walking quickly, and with a graceful
carriage. On any alarm, before rising, they run together

THE BRENT GOOSE. 163

as close as they can ; thus affording a good chance to the
shooter, who may be concealed near enough, of making
his shot tell among their heads and necks. All Geese
and Swans have this habit of crowding together when
first alarmed.

" A wounded Brent Goose, which I brought home,
very soon became tame, and fed fearlessly close to us ;
indeed, I have frequently observed the same inclination to
tameness in this beautiful kind of Goose."

EGGS.

" Do you see that the resemblance of one egg with another has
passed into a proverb ? Yet, granting this to be true, I have heard
that there were in Delos many people who used to keep a number of
Hens for the sake of profit ; and when they inspected their Eggs, were
in the habit of pronouncing which Hen had laid that particular one." —
Cicero, H. Academicarum.

The Deliaci, it is clear, knew something about " Eyes
and no Eyes, or the Art of Seeing ; " for Eggs are popu-
larly supposed to be so much alike, that what can be said
about one Egg is thought applicable to every other laid by
the same species of bird, the common Hen for example ;
but there is nearly as much distinguishable difference
between the units in every egg-basket which is carried to
market, as there is between the faces in a crowd of men,
or the hounds in a pack. To every Hen belongs an indi-
vidual peculiarity in the form, colour, and size of the Egg
she lays, which never changes during her whole lifetime,
so long as she remains in health, and which is as well
known to those who are in the habit of taking her produce,
as the handwriting of their nearest acquaintance. Some
Hens lay smooth, cream-coloured Eggs, others rough,
chalky, granulated ones : there is the buff, the snow-white,
the spherical, the oval, the pear-shaped, and the empha-
tically Egg-shaped Egg. A farmer's wife who interests
herself in the matter, will tell you with precision, in looking
over her stores, " this Egg was laid by such a Hen " — a
favourite, perhaps — " this one by such another ; " and it
would be possible that she should go on so throughout
the whole flock of poultry. Of course, the greater the

EGGS. 165

number kept, the greater becomes the difficulty in learning
the precise marks of each. From a basket of thirty Eggs,
gathered in a farm-yard as they came to hand, eleven, laid
by one or two Hens, whose race we were desirous to con-
tinue, were selected in about two minutes by the friend
who supplied us with them. If four dozen Eggs, laid by
no more than four different Hens (especially if of different
breeds), were put at random on a table, the chances are
that it would be as easy to sort them as the four suits of a
pack of cards.

This fact might give rise to curious doubts in a court of
justice. When petty pilfering has been suspected about
a farm. Eggs have been minutely marked and returned to
the places whence they were taken ; and the parties, in
whose possession they were subsequently found, have been
convicted of the theft. And this — if we shut our eyes to
the crime (for it is a crime) of laying traps and throwing
temptation in the way of the weak — was satisfactory
proof. But there are some cases in which the identity of
an Egg could be sworn to without any marking whatso-
ever ; where the person robbed could affirm positively
" this Egg is my property, laid by such a Hen," — could
pick it out from a quantity laid by other Hens, and could
produce other Eggs to pattern it in proof of his assertion.
Few town-bred juries would believe this ; and yet it is
quite as possible as that a north-country shepherd should
swear to the countenance of a single sheep stolen from a
flock of several hundreds — after the death of the animal
too — which has been done.

A more practical and agreeable application of our
remarks may be made in the choice of Eggs for hatching.
It has been copied and re-copied from quarto to octavo,
through duodecimo and pamphlet, that small round Eggs
produce female, and long pointed ones male chicks. Now
I assert that the Hen who lays one round Egg, will continue
to lay all her Eggs round ; and the Hen that lays one ob-
long, will lay all oblong. Consequently, one Hen would
be the perpetual mother of Cocks, another must remain

166 EGGS.

the perpetual producer of Pullets ; which is absurd, as
daily experience proves. Every dairy-maid knows that
when a Hen steals a nest and hatches her own Eggs only,
the brood which she brings home contains a fair propor-
tion of either sex. I know well that if any of the said
Hen's female acquaintance spy out her secret hoard, they
will set other bipeds a good example by adding to, instead
of subtracting from, the property of her neighbour. But
such chance additions are not sufficient to account for
the mixture of Cocks and Hens in self-set broods, sup-
posing the theory to be correct, that the sex of the future
chick is denoted by the form of the Egg.

Here is an experiment in point. An old lady, whose
fowls were all white, gave me a small globular Egg,
as round as a ball ; it was added to a clutch of Speckled
Dorkings. The result was the due number of Dorkings,
and one white cockerel, which we kept till he began to
crow : it ought to have been a pullet, unless the com-
positor's fingers have been busy in reprinting one error at
least.

Another supposed test is the position of the air-bag at
the blunt end of the shell. We are told that, '* if it be
a little on one side it will produce a Hen ; if this vacuity
be exactly in the centre, it will produce a Cock." But,
take a basket of Eggs, examine them as directed, by
holding them between your eye and a candle, and you
will find very few indeed in which you can say that the
air-bubble is exactly concentrical with the axis of the
Egg. A Cock ought thus to be, like Ovid's Black Swan,
a rare bird. But in many broods, the cockerels bear a
proportion of at least one-third, sometimes two-thirds ;
especially in those hatched during winter or in unfavourable
seasons; the immediate cause being, doubtless, that the
Eggs producing the robuster sex possess a stronger
vitality ; the more remote cause being the same wise law
of Providence, through which, in the human race, more
males are born into the world than females, to meet the
wear and tear of war, labour, and accident.

EGGS. 167

" Neither," as Mr. Bissell shrewdly suggests, " are
these two tests, viz., the shape of the Egg, and the posi-
tion of the air-bubble, consistent with each other. Since
I have been an experimenter upon that subject," he
says, " and my experience is corroborative of all that
you have said, I will just give you the facts as they
occurred in one or two instances out of a great number of
similar ones.

" The fact of the situation of the air-bag being as varied
in a round Egg as in an oval or long one, seems to me, of
itself, to be fatal to the test by which we are told to dis-
tinguish the sex of future chickens ; for if the round Egg
produces a pullet, and an Egg wdth the air-bag a little on
one side produces the same, it argues that all round Eggs
should have the air-bag in that position (the same argu-
ment applies to the long or oval egg), or one test contra-
dicts the other. That such is not the case, and that the
position of the air-bag differs as much in a long Egg as it
does in a round, I need hardly assert, for the doubt may
be decided by the examination of a few Eggs by the light
of a candle. In hatching my Spanish Fowls, I was care-
ful to examine, and set none but round Eggs, with the
air-bag on one side, and if there is any truth in either
principle, I ought to have had all pullets ; but this,
instead, is the result : — From thirteen Eggs selected as
above stated, were hatched, in June, ten chickens, which
proved to be four cocks six pullets ; from eleven Eggs,
set early in July, were produced six chickens, viz., three
cocks and three pullets ; from thirteen Eggs, set in July,
were produced eight chickens, viz., five cocks and three
pullets ; so that you have about equal numbers of either
sex from Eggs which were as like each other in form, size,
and position of air-bag as it is possible for Eggs to be like
each other. So much for the over-wise ! "

In short, the Bubble Theory, as far as I have seen, is
properly described by its name ; and there are, I believe,
no known means of determining beforehand the sex of
fowls, except, perhaps, that Cocks may be more likely

168 EGGS.

to issue from large Eggs, and Hens from small ones.
Knowing, however, that the Egg of each Hen may
be recognised, we have thus the means of propagating
from those parents whose race we deem most desirable
to continue.

A correspondent of the Agricultural Gazette has re-
corded another experiment : — " During the last summer
I wanted to raise a stock of poultry from a favourite Hen
and Cock. They were of the black-breasted red Game
breed. The Cock was purely bred, but the Hen was a
little crossed. The Eggs she laid were of a deep buff
colour, and as she was the only Hen I had which laid
yellow Eggs, they were easily collected. When I had
26 eggs, I put 13 of the largest under a brood Hen to be
hatched ; one Egg got broken, the other 12 had chickens
in them ; one, however, died in the shell, and so the
number was reduced to 1 1 . Of these one died before I
could ascertain its sex; of the 10 remaining, 8 were
Cocks and 2 were pullets. The 13 smaller Eggs I also
put under a broody Hen, and she hatched me 10 chickens.
Of these 8 were pullets an(i 2 were Cocks. There is no
difference in the shape of the Eggs laid by the same
Hen ; in size they vary but little. I observe this pecu-
liarity, that although the Hen has yellow legs and the
Cock black, yet throughout 4 broods which I have had
from the same Hen and Cock this summer, every yellow-
legged chicken has proved a Cock, and every black-legged
one a pullet." Sir Thomas Brown was quite right : " that
the sex is discernable from the figure of Eggs, or that
Cocks or Hens proceed from long or round ones, as many
contend, experiment will easily frustrate. "

Horace, Columella, and Pliny had the same notions
respecting the shape of Eggs as are current now, but they
applied them to eating, rather than hatching purposes.
The long eggs were better tasted, according to them,
because they contained Cocks : " Those which are laid
round, produce a female ; the rest a male." — Pliny,
Lib. X., c. 74.

EGGS. 169

Again, as quaintly rendered by Philip Francis, D.D. :

" Long be your Eggs, far sweeter than the round,
Cock-Eggs they are, more nourishing and sound."

Horace, Serm. 1. ii.. Sat. 4, line 12.

The popular notion now is that Eggs with buff and
brownish shells have a higher flavour, and are more nutri-
tious. Aristotle's opinion is exactly the reverse of that
of the Romans. He says that, " Long and sharp Eggs
are females, but that those that are spherical and have a
convexity close to the sharp end are males." One rule
is just as good as the other; that is, good for nothing.
When any one will produce a brood consisting entirely of
jnillets hatched from Eggs selected with that view, I will
allow that there exist p)-actical criteria for judging before-
hand of the sex of an Egg.

" Preserved Eggs," says Cobbett, " are things to run
from, not after." Perhaps so, perhaps not, as the case
may be. At any rate, many articles of cookery, which
cannot be made without Eggs, are not things to run
from ; and, therefore, preserved Eggs must be had, unless
you choose to disappoint the little folks of their Christmas
plum-pudding. The greater part of the Eggs brought to
market in Norfolk during winter, are certainly displeasing
enough, quite uneatable as Eggs, and only not offensive
to the smell. They are saved from putrefaction by
immersion in lime-w^ater, to which salt is added by some
housewives. When wanted, they are fished out of the
tub, wiped, rubbed with a little silver-sand to give a fresh
looking roughness to the shell, and sold at the rate of
eight for a shilling, if the season happen to be severe.
Cooks say they answer iheir purpose : but it is assuredly
worth while to try for something better.

Reaumur's experiments with varnish, so well known
through the industry of compilers, appear to have suc-
ceeded. But varnished Eggs would be both too trouble-
some and too expensive to be the subject of more than
mere experiment. The best way of obtaining a practical

170 EGGS.

result is to inquire what method is pursued by any set
of people to whom preserved Eggs are a matter of neces-
sity, not luxury. Now there exists a tribe of men,
British subjects, whose daily food, whose staff of hfe, is
fowls and Eggs — both preserved during great part of the
year. In maps of the Ancient World, the orbis veteribus
notus, we see nations marked down as Ichthyophagi,
Fish-eaters, Lotophagi, Lotus-eaters ; and a new race,
peculiar to the present day, appears to be springing up,
the Mycophagi, or Fungus-eaters, who will be wise
if they listen to the warnings of Dr. Lindley. Had the
people of St. Kilda been known in those days, they
would have been styled Ornithophagi, Bird-eaters, and
Oophagi, Egg-eaters. Instead of their keeping Fowls,
the Fowls keep them. Martin in his voyage to the
Island of St. Kilda, (London, mdcxcviii.) says, " I
remember the allowance of each Man per diem, beside a
Barley Cake, was Eighteen of the Eggs laid by the Fowl
called by them Lavy* and a greater Number of the
lesser Eggs, as they differ in Proportion ; the largest of
these Eggs is near in bigness to that of a Goose, the rest
of the Eggs gradually of a lesser Size. We had the
curiosity after Three Weeks residence, to make a Calcule
of the number of Eggs bestowed upon those of our Boat,
and the Stewart's Birlin, or Galley, the whole amounted to
Sixteen thousand Eggs ; and without all doubt, the Inha-
bitants, who were tripple our Number, consumed many
more Eggs and Fowls than we could. From this it is easy
to imagine, that a vast number of Fowls must resoi't here
all Summer, which is yet the more probable if it be
considered, that every Fowl lays but one Egg at a time,
if allowed to hatch." — P. 12. Subsequently (p. &%.^
he tells us, " The Eggs are found to be of an Astringent

* Subsequently he says, " The Lavy, so called by the inhabitants of
St. Kilda; by the Welch, a Guillem ; it comes near to the bigness
of a Duck ; its head, Upper-side of the Neck all downwards, of a dark-
Brown, and White Breast, the Bill strait and sharp pointed; the upper
Chop hangs over the lower ; its Feet and Claws are Black,"

EGGS. 171

and Windy Quality to Strangers, but, it seems, are not
so to tlie Inhabitants, who are used to Eat them from
the Nest (or cradle 1). Our ]\Ien upon their arrival Eating
greedly of them became Costive and Feverish," &c. * * *
(Then follows the remedy, which seems to have asto-
nished the natives.)

But this diet is to be had fresh only during a short part
of the summer, and provision must be made to prevent
famine in the winter, when it is too stormy to fish ; there-
fore, says Martin, " They preserve their Eggs commonly
in their Stone-Pyramids, scattering the burnt Ashes of
Turf under and about them, to defend them from the Air,
dryness being their only Preservative, and moisture their
Consumption ; they preserve them. Six, Seven, or Eight
Months, as above said ; and then they become Appetiz-
ing (?)* and Loosening, especially those that begin to
turn." Later travellers inform us that the same system
still continues to be practised.

The shells of these sea-birds' Eggs are more fragile than
those of the common Hen, which circumstance must
cause them to be more difficult to preserve ; and turf-ashes
clearly make a sweeter and more effectual packing than
lime-water, or the means usually adopted in England.
But they are only to be had in certain localities. Wood-
ashes are too light, and cinder-ashes too loose to exclude
the air. The Irish plan of smearing fresh-laid Eggs with
butter answers well for a limited time, but is insufficient
to keep them through the winter. The plan I have found
to succeed best, and can recommend, is to dip each Egg
into melted pork-lard, rubbing it into the shell with your
finger, and pack them in an old fig-drum, or butter firkin,
setting every Egg upright, with the small end downwards.
Eggs thus prepared in August, directly after harvest, have
been boiled and eaten with relish by myself and family in
the following Januar}% They were not like the Eggs we
are used to in spring ; but I heard no complaint from the

* Docs this mean heavy on the chest, fiom the Italian a, ^ud pcito,
the chest ?

172 EGGS.

little ones, and they were much better than any kept Eggs
we could buy.

The following is a cheap and easy recipe on the same
principle. Pack the Eggs to be preserved in an upright
earthen vessel, with their small ends downwards. Procure
from your butcher a few pounds of rough tallow the same
day on which the sheep is killed ; have this immediately
cut into small pieces and melted down ; strain it from the
scraps, as is done with pork-lard, and pour it while warm,
not hot, over the Eggs in the jar till they are completely
covered. When all is cold and firm, set the vessel in a
cool dry place, till its contents are wanted.

The rough tallow will cost about Sd. a pound, and if
treated as directed will be free from its usual unpleasant
smell, caused by the fleshy parts being suffered to remain
in the fat till melting-day comes. When the Eggs are
used, the grease need not be M'^asted, but will serve for
many homely household purposes.

But for those who scorn preseiTed Eggs, and must and
will have fresh ones during the winter, the means most
desirable to obtain success are to have young hens —
pullets hatched early the previous spring are the best —
extreme liberality in feeding, and a cautious abstinence
from overstocking the poultrj'-yard. Eggs are the super-
fluity of the animal's nutrition — the profitable balance of
its stock of provision. A certain quantity of food will
keep a certain quantity of Hens in health, without being
sufficient to cause them to lay. Increase the quantity of
food, or decrease the number of Hens, and you have a
superabundance, which produces Eggs. But as the rejected
scraps of every family, and the refuse odds and ends of
every farming premises, are tolerably steady in their amount,
taking one month with another, it is better to have a small
number of Hens, leaving them to forage from the supply
which is constantly open to them, than to trust to extra
hand-feeding, which may be often neglected or shortened.

A warm and dry night's lodging is good, but not so
confinement during the day, even in the best of poultry

EGGS. 173

houses. The Hens will always keep themselves out of
the wet, and no care can compensate for the exercise and
variety of food afforded them by a state of liberty.

There is nothing so instructive as a case, wliether in
law, physic, or poultry-keeping. During the hard winter
of '4G-'47, our own Hens not laying, we obtained a
plentiful supply fresh laid from a neighbouring farm. The
Hens were common dunghill mongrels, the accommoda-
tion for them not so good as our own. But the Eggs
were the perquisite of the farmer's wife — her pin-money
by a mutual understanding — while the corn went into the
pocket of the farmer. The lady consequently permitted
her pullets, without the least remonstrance, to make a
large hole in a barley-stack, pull out the straws one by
one, and, when they had tasted an ear, if they did not
approve its flavour, try another. Whether the man
grumbled, and the wife pouted and carried her point, is
not for us to tell, if we knew. It is certain that the price
we were charged for the Eggs did not pay for the damage
done by their production.

A paragraph ft-om the Perth Courier ran the round of
the papers, and obtained considerable attention at the
time (Dec. 1847) from inexperienced poultry-keepers : —
"Hens will lay Eggs perpetually, if treated in the fol-
lowing manner. Keep no Roosters " — what an elegant
word ! — " give the Hens fresh meat, chopped up like
sausage meat, once a day, a very small portion, say half
an ounce a day to each Hen during the winter, or from
the time insects disappear in the fall, till they appear
again in spring. Never allow any Eggs to remain in the
nest for what is called Nest-eggs. When the Roosters
do not run with the Hens, and no Nest-eggs are left in
the nest, the Hens will not cease laying after the produc-
tion of twelve or fifteen Eggs, as they always do when
Roosters and Nest-eggs are allowed, but continue laying
perpetually. My Hens lay all winter, and each from
seventy to one hundred Eggs in succession. If the above
plan were generally followed, Eggs would be just as

174 EGGS.

plentiful in winter as in summer. The only reason why
Hens do not lay in winter as freely as in summer, is the
want of animal food, which they get in summer in the
form of insects. I have for several winters reduced my
theory into practice, and proved its entire correctness."

No allowance is here made for the different laying and
incubating capabilities of different breeds of Fowls ; and
the Reader will be wise in hesitating before he consents to
banish Cocks from his poultry-yard and Nest-eggs from
his hen-house. The act of laying is not voluntary on the
part of a Hen, but is dependent upon her age, constitution,
and diet. If she be young, healthy, and well-fed, lay she
must ; if she be aged and half starved, lay she cannot.
All that is left to her own choice is, where she shall
deposit her Egg, and she is sometimes so completely taken
by surprise, as not to have her own way even in that.
The poultry-keeper, therefore, has only to decide which
is the more convenient ; that his Hens should lay here
and there, as it may happen, about his premises, or in
certain determinate places, indicated to the Hens by
Nest-eggs. It is quite a mistake to suppose that the
presence of a Nest-egg causes a Hen to sit earlier than
she otherwise would. The sight of twenty Nest-eggs
will not bring on the hatching fever ; and when it does
come, the Hen will take to the empty nest, if there be
nothing else for her to incubate. Any one whose Hens
have from accident been deprived of a male companion,
will agree with me in saying that they have not done so
well till the loss has been supplied. During the inter-
regnum matters get all wrong. There is nobody to stop
their mutual bickerings, and inspire an emulation to please
and be pleased. The poor deserted creatures wander
about dispirited, like soldiers without a general. It be-
longs to their very nature to be controlled and marshalled
by one of the stronger sex, who is a kind, though a strict
master, and a considerate though stern disciplinarian.
It does not appear what should make Hens lay better
under such forlorn circumstances as are recommended in

EGGS. 175

the Perth paragraph. They will sit just the same, when
the fit seizes them, and so will Ducks ; as may be seen
amongst those cottagers who, to save the expense of bar-
ley, keep two or three Hens or Ducks only, and procure
from a neighbour a sitting of Eggs, as they want them.
It has been stated by Reaumur, who is a high authority,
that clear or unfertile Eggs will keep good longer than
those that would be productive ; but it is doubtful whe-
ther the difference is so great as to make it worth while
keeping the Hens in a melancholy widowhood on this
account. The most natural and least troublesome way
of having a winter supply of Eggs, is to procure pullets
hatched early in the previous spring, and to give them
all they can eat of the best barley, or if expense be dis-
regarded, of the finest wheat. But all people are not
so nice about their Eggs, particularly during a long sea
voyage.* For example, " It was upon one of the islands
that I went on shore, and I found there such a number
of birds, that when they rose they literally darkened the
sky, and we could not walk a step without treading upon
their Eggs. As they kept hovering over our heads at a
little distance, the men knocked many of them down
with stones and sticks, and carried off several hundreds of
their Eggs. After some time I left the island and landed
upon the main, where our men dressed and eat their
Eggs, though there were young birds in most of themr —
Commodore Byron's Voyage round the World.

Eggs for hatching should be as fresh as possible ; if
laid the very same day, so much the better. This is not
always possible when a particular stock is required to be
increased ; but if a numerous and healthy brood is all
that is wanted, the most recent Eggs should be selected.
Some books tell us that Eggs to be hatched should not be
more than a fortnight, others say not more than a month,
old. It is difficult to fix the exact term during which the

* " INIuch ilepenils on taste in matters of this sort ; and we once
liad a Londoner on a visit who " heaved the gorge" at the milk of new-
laid Eggs, but ate Scotch Eggs with much satisfaction." — J. S. W.

176 EGGS.

vitality of an Egg remains unextinguished ; it undoubtedly
varies from the very first according to the vigour of the
parents of the inclosed germ, and fades away gradually till
the final moment of non-existence. But long before that
moment, the principle of life becomes so feeble, as to be
almost unavailable for practical purposes. The chicks in
stale Eggs have not sufficient strength to extricate them-
selves from the shell ; if assisted, the yolk is found to be
only partially absorbed into the abdomen, or not at all ;
they are too faint to stand, the muscles of the neck are
unable to lift their heads, much less to peck ; and al-
though they may sometimes be saved by extreme care,
their usual fate is to be trampled to death by their
mother, if they do not expire almost as soon as they
begin to draw their breath. Thick-shelled Eggs, like
those of Geese, Guinea-fowl, &c., will retain life longer
than thin-shelled ones, as those of Hens and Ducks,
Those who are anxious to secure a valuable variety, one
chicken of which is worth a whole brood of ordinary
sorts, will run all risks ; after seven or eight weeks their
chance is not utterly gone. Some of the chicks will be
found dead in the shell, but those that are hatched, if they
survive the first eight-and-forty hours — the great difficulty
— are not afterwards more weakly or troublesome than
others. In the meanwhile air should be excluded from
the Egg as much as possible : it is best to set them on
end, and not to suffer them to lie and roll on the side.
Dry sand or hard-wood sawdust (not deal, on account
of the turpentine) is the best packing. But when choice
Eggs are expected, it is more prudent to have a Hen
waiting for them than to let them wait for her, A good
sitter may be amused for two or three weeks with a few
addle-eggs, and so be ready to take charge of those of
value immediately upon their arrival.

Eggs sent any distance to be hatched, should be tightly
inclosed in a wooden box, and arranged so as neither to
touch each other, nor the sides of the box. An oyster-
barrel answers excellently for a small number. Mr.

EGGS. 1 77

Cantelo, in his pamphlet, has recommended oats as a
packing, and no doubt they form an excellent vehicle,
taking little time to pack, filling all interstices, and more-
over being useful at the journey's end. The Eggs should
be shaken as little as possible, for fear of rupturing the
ligaments by which the yolk is suspended in the centre of
the Egg, and mixing the tvi^o strata of albumen surrounding
it and letting the yolk loose. Nor should they be suffered
to come in contact with any greasy substance that would
close the pores of the shell, so as to exclude air from the
chick. But my own experience of Eggs for hatching
received from any long distance, is so utterly discouraging,
as to forbid all future attempts, unless the parcel can be
carefully brought by hand. However well packed, they
get so recklessly knocked about by the superabundant
strength and activity of the railway porters, who would
handle a box of Eggs or a box of tenpenny nails in exactly
the same manner, that at the end of a couple of hundred
miles, and after shifting carriages three or four times, the
germs of the Eggs are as completely destroyed by the
concussion, as if they had been baked or boiled into
custards. Mr. Cantelo advises, " should any valuable or
rare Egg have a defect in the shell, it may be worth while
to gum a piece of paper over the part affected, as it is
through the extra-evaporation that it would otherwise fail
in hatching." The following case, which has been com-
municated to me, is a practical commentary. " A Duck's
egg was broken at the small end by a careless Hen when
within a week of hatching. Perceiving that the inha-
bitant within was a fine lively fellow, I closed it over
well with wax, and returned it to the nest. At the
proper time the duckling came out lively enough, and
proved the best of the brood." The same gentleman
(H. H.) experienced another curious instance of difficulty
in hatching. " A young pigeon was unable, for reasons
best known to himself, to get more than his head and
shoulders out of the egg. In this state he remained for
days, the parts not growing, and the old birds still feeding

178 EGGS.

him ! I released him afterwards, but he did not do
nearly so well then, and soon died."

•' After a Hen has sat a week, if you have a thin board
with a small orifice in it, place a candle at the back, and
hold up each Egg to the point of light ; you will see at
once whether the Eggs are fertile, when of course the
others may be removed, and made use of hard boiled for
young chickens. This hint I got from Mr. Cantelo's
Exhibition, where the number of Eggs made it a great
desideratum : but in any case it is much better to remove
the bad Eggs."— W.B. F.

Now we are on the subject of hatching we may as
well refer to the perplexity to which Poultry-keepers are
sometimes subjected, when Hens will sit, at seasons of
the year at which there is little chance of bringing up
Chickens. Some advise the Hen to be soaked in a pail
of water cold from the pump : but if they have a mind
to kill her, it is more cruel to do so by giving her fever
and inflammation of the lungs, than by simply knocking
her on the head. A less objectionable remedy, com-
municated by a gentleman who is not likely to speak
unadvisedly, is the following, of which, however, I have
no personal experience. " I have known one or two
doses of jalap relieve them entirely from a desire to sit ;
and in my opinion it is far better than the cold-water
cure. I have known English Fowls lay in three weeks
afterwards. " But why not let the poor creatures obey their
natural propensity 1 Or, surely, some neighbour would
gladly exchange a laying Hen for one that wanted to sit.
Others, borrowing an ancient piece of barbarism,* recom-
mend a large feather to be thrust through her nostrils;
that she may rush here and there in terror, and give up
all thoughts of sitting. The person who would be capable

* " The inclination to hatch is prevented by thrusting a small
feather through the nostrils." Columella, lib. viii., cap. 5. Pliny
more humanely prescribes the same operation as a cure for the roup,
" pituita." " A feather thrust through the nostrils, and moved every
day :" a seton, iu fact. Lib. x., c. 78.

EGGS. 179

of such cruelty, would properly walk arm-in-arm with the
man who had tied a tin-kettle to his dog's tail. The
wisest way is to guide, instead of thwarting the impulses
of nature. Let your good Hen indulge the instinct im-
2:)lanted in her by a wiser Being than you : give her a
sitting of Duck's or Goose's Eggs, and unless the winter
be extraordinarily severe, you must be a bungler if you do
not rear them by the aid of bread-crumbs, barley-meal,
and a kitchen fire. The autumnal laying of the China,
and also of the Common Goose, is very valuable for the
pur]30se. It need only be remembered that too much
confinement will give your Goslings the cramp. But it
is better to take a little pains, than to be guilty of the
above-mentioned cruelties, or to let the poor creature
spend her vivifying energies on an empty nest. Turkey-
hens frequently have this late fit of incubation, and on
the Continent are much more used as general hatchers
than they are with us. One which had been supplied
with Duck's Eggs, hatched fifteen. As soon as she found
out what sort of beings she had introduced into the
world, she glanced at them a look of that ineffable scorn,
which a Turkey's eye can so well express, strutted slowly
away, and never would notice them more. The Ducklings,
however, were reared in spite of her airs ; the fire-side
and their own innate vigour sustaining them under the
excusable neglect of their haughty foster-mother. One of
mine chose to sit on some of her own Eggs in the middle
of a turnip field at the end of October, 1847. This
Avould never do ; so we brought her home, and set her
upon seven Eggs of the Common Goose in a warm out-
house. She hatched six birds, one of which was killed by
accident. The remaining five she reared with the greatest
affection. A little ordinary care, with a liberal supply of
endive, cabbage-leaves, and other garden refuse, and in
time also, of barley, thus furnished us with a welcome lot
of early Geese.

However it is sometimes inconvenient for townspeople
to have Hens wanting to sit unseasonably. Mr. Bissell

N 2

180 EGGS.

says, " I have been sadly troubled in this way, and have
tried almost every known method of getting them to for-
sake their nests, when I have not wanted them to sit,
but without the least effect, until about two years ago I
tried the simple jjlan of jDlacing them in an aviary for about
four or five days at most, and feeding them but sparingly,
when they will, from the commencement of their confine-
ment, gradually leave off" cluckmg, and when they have
done so, you may again set them free without the least fear
of their wishing to take to the nest again ; and besides
getting rid of a great deal of trouble with them, they will
in a very short time commence laying again with renewed
vigour." Keeping a Hen out in a coop on the cool grass
for three or four days and nights has a similar tendency
to abate the hatching fever.

One of the most extraordinary feats of hatching on
record, is that performed by Pliny's Syracusan drunkard,
under whom, as he lay enjoying himself on the ground,
some Sicilian wag slipped a sitting of Eggs, which at the
proper time became Chickens.

Monstrous and misshapen Eggs are not uncommon.
They are to be seen in most collections ; and an Oologist
of ordinary experience would be less puzzled by them,
than by unexpectedly meeting with the Egg of a tortoise.
They have given rise to several absurd opinions, the
oldest of which is a belief in " Cock's eggs," abortions of
very small size, sometimes properly shaped, sometimes
spherical, and sometimes contracted in the middle like
an hour-glass, with a thick shell and little or no yolk.
We had a Hen, that laid one every day, till we put a
stop to the practice, by eating her. Similar bisiis have
also been produced by the thrush, the linnet, the robin,
and the plover. Country-people think "Cock's eggs"
unlucky, and commonly destroy them when they find
them ; the effectual way to have better luck with Eggs
would be to destroy the " Cock " that lays such unmarket-
able articles. Diseased ovaries are their undoubted cause,
followed frequently by the assumption of the manners,

EGGS. 181

and even of the plumage of the male. Such a change
gives plausibility to the popular notion of Cocks laying
Eggs, which is not yet exploded among the rustics.
Whether it was an old form of speech or grounded
on any vague belief of the sort, Martin, before quoted,
speaking of the number of Eggs laid by the Fulmar, uses
the masculine gender throughout ; thus, " he picks his
Food out of the Back of live Whales ; they say he uses
Sorrel with it, for both are found in his Nest ; he lays his
Egg ordinarily the First, Second, or Third day of May ;
which is larger than that of a Solan Goose Egg, of a
White Colour, and very Thin, the shell so very tender
that it breaks in pieces if the Season proves Rainy ; when
his Egg is once taken away, he lays no more for that year,
as other fowls do," <kc., p. 5.5.

In the days of ioinorance, people were now and then
thrown into consternation by the appearance of Eggs
marked with inscriptions or symbols, in relief, or intaglio.
But the evidence of their having been laid in that state is
so utterly wanting, and the chemical means of fabricating
them so simple, that it is needless in these times to enter
further into the matter. Shell-less Eggs may be attri-
buted, partly, to the want of a sufficiency of phosphate of
lime in the food of the Hens, and sometimes to over-
irritability in the Egg-organs, analagous to that which, in
the ]\lammalia, causes abortion.

Another strange, but unsupported belief, or dream,
which I must think originated in a joke, or cram, from
which imputation, the weight of Aristotle's authority does
not relieve it,* is the notion that there are Hens in exist-

* " Some domestic Hens, also, bring forth twice in the day ; and
6omc, after having been very prolific, have died in consequence;" —
History of Animals, Book vi., c. 1. — as they do now. " I am very
averse to any means being used to force Hens to lay, (such as
mingling c.aycnnc-pepper, &c. with their food,) as it induces premature
decrepitude. I am continually finding Fowls suffering from dropsy,
which I attribute to this cause. I have taken from a Ilcn two bags of
clear water containing a quarter of a pint, and dissection proved their
connexion with the ovarian system." — John Bailij.

182 EGGS.

ence that habitually lay more than one egg a day. One
author says, there are Hens wild in Sumatra that lay three
Eggs in a day ; but he omits to state who watched these
wild Hens to and from their nests. Another (Richardson)
describing the Cochin China fowl (2nd Edition, p. 38,)
says, " they are very prolific Hens ; Mr. Nolan's fre-
quently laying two, and, occasionally, three Eggs on the
same day, and within a few moments of each other."
The statement is confirmed by Irish Arithmetic. " One
of the Hens," he continues, " Bessy, exhibited by her
Majesty, laid 94 Eggs in 103 days," — not quite three
Eggs a day, according to our " calcule." But if this be
a fact, there is no limit to the improvement, of which these
double-barrelled Hens are capable, till by the aid of for-
cing and extra diet, they become, like Mr. Perkins's steam
gun, able to discharge Eggs at the rate of several dozens
in a minute.

Seriously, it is quite true that the Hen, like other
creatures that usually produce but one at a birth, has an
occasional tendency to produce twins ; but I believe it
will be found that such twins hitherto observed, liave been
united in one shell, and not produced sejmratel//. Double-
yolked Eggs are well known to cooks, and to farmers'
wives. Some with triple yolks occur now and then, but
rarely. Twin chickens may have rarely proceeded from
one Egg. The classic fable of Castor and Pollux looks
like some such experience among the ancients ; but those
Eggs, being oversized, are usually rejected for hatching,
and I remember no really authenticated instance of the
kind, unless the reader be good-naturedly disposed to
accept a case from Aristotle as such. However, his idea
of twinning in Hens evidently coincides with ours, in spite
of his having asserted that some fowls lay twice a day.
" Double Eggs, however, have two yolks, which some-
times, that they may not be confounded, are separated by
a thin interstice of the white ; and sometimes the two
yolks are in contact with each other without this inter-
stice. There are, also, some Hens that bring forth all

EGOS. 183

their Eggs double, so that in these also, the above-men-
tioned circumstance happens respecting the yolk. For a
certain Hen having brought forth eighteen double Eggs,
disclosed a chicken from each, those Eggs excepted which
were unprolific. Two chickens also were disclosed from
each of the double Eggs, but one of the chickens was
larger than the other. But the last chicken that was
disclosed was a monster." — History of Animals, book vi.,
chap. iii. — Taylor s Translation.

The following is a plausible, but by no means a con-
vincing case. " At Monklaw, near Jedburgh, there was
a Duck which laid two Eggs in a day. The fact was
proved by locking the bird up, when one egg was found
early in the morning, and another in the evening. This
remarkable Duck was killed by a servant ignorant of its
virtues." — Note to White's Natural History of Selbourne,
Captain Brown's Edition, p. 291. Now Mowbray says,
" the Duck generally lays by night, or early in the morn-
ing, seldom after ten o'clock, with the exception of chil-
ling and comfortless weather, when she will occasionally
retain her Egg until mid-day, or the afternoon." Suppose
then that the confined Duck, exercising her power of
retaining her Egg (a faculty often obstinately used by the
Turkey-hen, if it be desired to make her lay in other
places than she chooses), — suppose the Duck had laid
one, say at two in the morning, and another at ten in the
evening of the same day, that could scarcely be called
" laying two Eggs a day," unless the confinement had
continued, and the same productiveness been manifested
for several days in succession. It is here that proof 0/
the habit fails.* Now in regard to the other mode of

* The subjoined statement is from a friend on whose strict veracity
I can quite rely. " In the summer of 1849, I had a Cock and Hen
Malay. I kept them in a house with a little yard attached to it, and
am certain that no other Fowls could get to them, as the whole was
netted over. I have no other prodigy to tell of this Hen (which was
a bad layer before the occurrence, and not a layer at all since it) but
that she layed four Eggs within forty-eight hours. Thus : on Thurs-

184 EGGS.

twinning, the same Editor quotes a correspondent in
Loudon's Magazine of Natural History, who says, " I
have lately seen a preternaturally large, but perfect Goose's
Egg, containing a smaller one within it ; the inner one
possessing its proper calcareous shell." This is certainly
a very singular production, " We have frequently known
shells to have two yolks, but this is the only instance we
have met with of one Egg containing another entire one
within it." Other instances, however, are known. A
gentleman in my neighbourhood possesses one, if not two
Hen's Eggs, each of which contains within itself another
smaller Egg with a perfect and complete shell ; confirm-
ing the statement that twins, in the case of Eggs, are
inclosed in one common envelope, and not produced one
immediately after the other, as in mammalia.

Mr. Alfred Whitaker says, " I find no room for criti-
cism in your manuscript. Every fact asserted is borne
out by my own experience, with the exception that I
never saw an instance of one Egg containing another

day evening at six o'clock there were no Kggs ; tlie next morning there
were two ; on Saturday morning there was one more ; and on Saturday
evening before six o'clock another Egg was layed. Now this was
laying four Eggs certainly within forty-eight hours, but it may have
been within a still shorter space of time. I could not be mistaken
respecting the Eggs, because I then had only two mongrel Hens which
layed very taper Eggs, and some S. Hamburg Hens which layed purely
■white Eggs, whereas the Malay layed very large and yellow ones ; her
Eggs were likewise of a peculiar shape, all of them having a small
indenture or mark round them just about the middle. If all the Hens
had been kept together in one poultry-yard, I should have had no
more doubt as to which laid the Eggs in question, than I have now. I
have told perhaps half-a-dozen people of the circumstance, but have
reason to think that nobody believed me ; and this, added to the
opinions expressed in your book, would certainly have prevented me
from sending you tlie above account, but that I am perfectly convinced
of its correctness. I kept tlie Hen for three months after this occurred,
and fed her upon corn, green food, with meal now and then, but she
never laid another Egg whilst I had her." G. P. S. I can only
suppose this to be a case of retention of the Egg from disease, or other
cause, and is quite the contrary to being an instance of unusual
fecundity.

EGGS. 185

entire Egg within it. Double Eggs I have frequently seen.
Their size, and frequently a sort of suture across and
around the centre of the Egg, sufficiently indicate their
twin nature. Many years ago (in my boyhood) I placed
one of these double Eggs among a sitting of Eggs under a
Hen. Two live chickens were brought up to the hatch-
ing point, but that labour appeared to be too much for
their somewhat divided strength, and they were not
actually born alive. The fact, however, shows that the
Egg in question was a perfect twin Egg." This is a
very remarkable case, and deserved preservation in a
Museum.

" The umbilical part of Eggs is within them from the
top, as it were a drop projecting inside the shell." —
Plini/, lib. X., c. 74. This evidently has reference to
the air-bubble. But I am in possession of an Egg of
more than ordinary size, laid by a Buenos Ayres Duck,
which has one end enclosed, terminating in a sort of
membranous funnel, or a continuation of the lining mem-
brane of the shell, giving the appearance of a divided
umbilical cord.* An instance whicli is not unique. " On
the day after my return from London, I was looking
round my farm-yard, and found a fresh nest in a calves'
stage with one egg in it. On taking it up my servant
said, ' Here is something curious,' and I observed that
the Egg was evidently double, and that a small portion of
the large end of the shell was soft, and that from the
centre of the soft j^art, a membranous substance was
protruding, looking like a dried up umbilical cord. I
opened the egg carefully, and found that this cord was
attached to an oval sac within, of a dark colour, filling
half the Egg, and that below this there was a perfect
yolk. I took out this sac with the cord attached to it
entire, and put it at once into spirits of wine. My sur-
geon, who is quite a naturalist and a very scientific man,

* " The stalks of Eggs, whereby they grow to the ovarium, ax faoi
solid after the manner of the footstalks of fruits, but hollow and
fistulous." — Willuijhhy,

186 EGGS.

was much interested with it. His impression was, that
the sac contained a chick, and that incubation had been
going on in the cloaca of the mother." — A. W.

As a tail-piece to this chapter may be mentioned the
use of Eggs for adornment of the person. Mr. Martin
Lister, of York, saith, " The Curruca or HedgeSjmrrow
lays sea-green or pale-blue Eggs, which, neatly emptied
and wired, I have seen fair ladies wear at their ears for
pendants." To fair-haired, clear-skinned maidens, they
would be especially becoming; encased in gold filligree
of Genoa, they might pass for turquoises of high price.
The fanciful decorations of a bandeau of pearly shells,
a flounce filled with fire-flies, and a necklace of Curruca
turquoise, only require a beautiful wearer to set them off
to the greatest advantage.

So much about Eggs for the present. People have
often been astounded by the phenomena of latent heat ; a
greater marvel is the fact of latent life.

THE DOMESTIC FOWL.

" I might be infinite should I prosecute at large all that might be
said of this bird, or write a full, exact, and particular history of it. If
any reader desires to know more of it, let him consult Aldrovandiis,
whose design was to omit nothing in his History which was either
known to himself or had been published by others." — WillughbYj
p. 156.

It has been the fate of Aldrovandi both to be plundered
most unmerfifully, and to be disrespectfully spoken of by
the majority of his plunderers, on the subject of Poultry
at least ; that is, by those who have robbed him at second
hand, because they were either too indolent or too unlearned
to labour through a heavy Latin folio. But if he did
sometimes take the wrong turn in hewing his way through
the dense unexplored forest that opposed his progress, it
is not magnanimous in us to sneer at him, who have
the Penny Cycloptedia, the Zoological Society, and the
British Museum to refer to. His works are a monument
of skill and enterprise ; and as an Encyclopaedia of Natural
History, as far as it had advanced at the close of the six-
teenth century, are of great value to those who can make
the misapprehensions, as well as the correct conclusions of
their predecessors, subservient to the advancement of
science. It is now nearly two hundred and fifty years
since " Alrl rocand us his Book " was published, and, in
the meanwhile, much fresh information has been collected,
much error swept away ; but on many important points,
particularly those respecting theory, we are still no wiser
than our forefathers.

188 THE DOMESTIC FOWL.

What is the earliest date of Poultry-keeping ? Nobody
knows. My own belief is, that it is coeval with the
keeping of sheep by Abel, and the tilling of the ground by
Cain — a supposition which cannot be far from probability
if there is any foundation for the legend that Gomer, the
eldest son of Japhet, took a surname from the Cock.
Indeed, it would be to him that Western Europe stands
indebted for a stock of Fowls from the Ark itself. For,
it is supposed by the erudite, and shown by at least pro-
bable arguments, that the descendants of Gomer settled
in the northern parts of Asia Minor, and then spread
into the Cimmerian Bosphorus and the adjacent regions,
and that from them the numerous tribes of the Gauls,
Germans, Celts, and Cimbrians descended. It is true
that there is no mention of Fowls by name in the Old
Testament, except a doubtful allusion in the Vulgate
translation of the Book of Proverbs (xxx. 31), which is
lost in the authorised version ; the Hebrew word translated
" gallus " in one place being rendered " greyhound " in the
other : " Gallus succinctus lumbos ; et aries : nee est rex,
qui resistat ei :" "a greyhound ; " (some think the war-horse
was meant), " an he goat also ; and a king, against whom
there is no rising up." It will be seen that the Latin
and the English by no means run parallel to each other.
There is another equally disputable passage in Ecclesiastes
xii. 4 : " And the doors shall be shut in the streets, when
the sound of the grinding is low, and he shall rise up at
the voice of the bird {i.e. at Cock-crowing) and all the
daughters of music shall be brought low." Both j^assages
are quoted by the Rev. Mr. Pegg in his curious paper on
Cock-fighting, in the Archseologia, vol. iii. A still less
certain reference occurs in the Book of Job, xxxviii. 36 :
" Who hath put wisdom in the inward parts % or, who
hath given understanding to the heart?" running thus
in the Latin : " Quis posuit in visceribus sapientiam, vel
quis dedit gallo intelligentiam % '' which is commented on
by St. Gregory, and the word "gallus" spiritually inter-
preted, as having reference to those earnest preachers who

THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 189

rouse men from the slumber of sin, and cry aloud that
the night is far spent, the day is at hand.

In our English version, " fowls " as articles of provision
are mentioned at 1 Kings, iv. 23, and again at Nehemiah,
V. IS. Unfortunately, even Hebrew scholars often find
a difficulty in fixing upon the animals intended by certain
Hebrew words. On referring to the Septuagint transla-
tion of the Old Testament into Greek, I find that, in the
passage in Kings, the words rendered in our version
'• fatted fowl " are literally " birds, select fatted ones
from the select." But in Nehemiah, instead of the
" fowls " of our translation, the Septuagint reads, " a
goat." So that, though we do not doubt that Cocks
and Hens were domesticated in those early ages, and
before them, still the special mention of them by name in
the Old Testament may be considered as doubtful. It
is curious that several creatures with which we may
believe that the ancient Eg}'ptians must have been
acquainted, are quite omitted from their paintings and
sculptures. Thus, there seems to be no representation of
Pigeons, or of Camels in their tombs or temples : whereas
other things, which we should have less expected to find,
as a flock of Domestic Geese, are depicted with great
accuracy. I have been anxious to find portraits of some
of the Fancy Pigeons upon ancient monuments, but
cannot, though I have found mention of several in ancient
literature.

The apparent omission of the name of the Domestic
Fowl from the Old Testament may possibly have arisen
from this .cause, namely : that tending them would be
the occupation of women, whose domestic employments
are less prominently brought forward by Oriental writers
than the active enterprises of men ; and also, that the
birds specially named there are the unclean birds, which
are to be avoided, whereas those which may be eaten are
classed in a lump as " clean." See Leviticus, xi. 13, and
Deuteronomy, xiv. 11. "Of all clean birds ye shall eat.
But these are they which ye shall not eat ; the eagle, and

190 THE DOMESTIC FOWL.

the ossifrage, and the osprey," &c. Turtle-doves and
young pigeons are only mentioned as objects of sacrifice,
not as articles of food.

Aristotle, who wrote about 350 years before Christ,
speaks of them as familiarly as a natural historian of the
present day would. It is unnecessary more than to
allude to the beautiful comparisons taken from them in
the New Testament. The Roman authors of the com-
mencement of the Christian era recorded that they were
classed into such a number of distinct varieties as could
only have been the result of long cultivation. Whether
we suppose that different breeds were collected and im-
ported from different native stations, or assume that the
differences of those breeds were the artificial result of
domestication, — whichever case we take, Domestic Fowls
must have been held in familar esteem for many, many
ages before we have any clear record of them. Either
supposition attaches to them a highly interesting and
quite mysterious degree of antiquity. Even in our own
country they appear to have existed at a time and in a
state of society when we should least have expected to
find them. " The inland parts of Britain are inhabited by

those whom fame reports to be natives of the soil

They think it unlawful to feed upon hares, pullets, or
geese ; yet they breed them up for their diversion and
pleasure." — Ccesar de Bello Gallico, lib, v. cap. xii.,
Duncan s Translation.

Dr. Kidd, in his Bridgewater Treatise, doubts whether
the Camel ever existed in a wild and independent state.
We do not go quite so far as that in scepticism in the
case of Fowls, but still believe that those who, at this
epoch, hunt for Cocks and Hens of the same species as
our tame ones, either on the Continent of Asia, or through-
out the whole inhabited vast Indian Archipelago, will
have undertaken but a fruitless search. For certain
writers have been at great pains for some years past, with
but little success, except in their own conceit, to pitch
upon the wild origin of our Domestic Fowls. The first

THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 191

decided attempts appear to have been made by Sonnerat,
and to have been followed up by succeeding French
writers, whose errors are glaring, and in whose praise
little can be said. Eeaumur, whose writings are really
philosophical and valuable, devoted his inquiries to more
practical objects, but Sonnerat was merely a blind leader
of the blind, if there is justice in the criticism of Mr.
Swainson, who pronounces that " Sonnerat's works
(Paris, 1776 and 1778), although often cited by the
French authors, are very poor ; the descriptions vague, and
the figures, particularly of the birds, below mediocrity,"
Buffon, who did not die till 1788, had therefore an oppor-
tunity of adopting Sonnerat's Jungle Fowl as the parent
of Cocks and Hens, and his vivid imagination made him
Yery likely to have adopted so apparently clear an account,
ready telegraphed for his reception. But instead of that,
he speaks hesitatingly and doubtfully of the derivation of
our Domestic Fowls from Wild Cocks, and seems to
despair of indicating their origin. He says, " Amidst the
immense number of different breeds of the gallinaceous
tribe, how shall we determine the original stock ? So
many circumstances have operated, so many accidents
have concurred : the attention, and even the whim of man
have so much multiplied the varieties, that it appears
extremely difficult to trace them to their source."

Those authors who, by a pleasant legerdemain, so
easily transform one of the wild Indian Galli into a Barn-
door Fowl, — who put the Jungle Cock, the Bankiva
Cock, or the Gigantic St. Jago (?)* bird under a bushel,

* St. Jago, one of the Cape de Verd islands, may furnisli wild
Guinea Fowl, but scarcely wld Cocks. The " Gallus Giganteus," the
great " St. Jago Fowl," is the offspring of an absurd misquotation from
Marsden, which has run the round of most compilations. Jago, the
native Sumatrau or Malay word for a particular breed, has been mis-
taken for " St. Jago," the name for an island. Marsden was well
acquainted with his subject, and there is nothing like referring to an
original authority.

" There are in Sumatra the domestic Hen (ayam), some with black
bones, and some of the sort we call Frcczland or Negro fowls ; Ilcn oi

192 THE DOMESTIC FOWL.

hocus pocus a little, lift up the cover, and then exhibit a
veritable Chanticleer — write as if they had only to catch
a wild-bird in the woods, turn it into a court yard for a
week or two, and make it straightway become as tame as
a spaniel.* On such a notion comment is now superero-
gatory. For a difficulty which speaks volumes, is, that
those birds which have been pointed out as the most pro-
bable ancestors of the Domestic Fowl, do not appear to
be more tameable than the Partridge or the Golden
Pheasant ; moreover, so remarkable an appendage as the
horny expansion of the feather-stem, as seen in Sonnerat's
Cock, would, according to what is generally supposed to
take place, be increased rather than diminished and obli-
terated by domestication ; and even if got rid of by any
course of breeding for a few generations, would be sure
ultimately, to reappear. Now, in some races of Fowls
known only to the moderns, or at least not recorded, we
observe feathered crests showing an affinity with the
Lophophori, the Pea Fowl, and perhaps distantly with
the Curassows ; in others, certain Bantams, for instance,
we find the feet and legs covered with feathers, indicating

the woods (ayani iaroogo) ; the jciffo breed of fowls, which abound in
the southern end of Sumatra, and western of Java, are remarkably
large ; I have seen a Cock peck off a common dining table : when
fiitigucd, they sit down on the first joint of the leg, and are then taller
than the common fowls. It is strange if the same country, Bantam,
produces likewise the diminutive breed that goes by that name." —
Marsden's History of Sumatra, p. 98.

* The Mute Swan is thus made to be descended from the Hooper.
" It has always had more attention paid it than its fellow subjects ; it
has never been kept captive (?) ; it has been destined to adorn the
pieces of water in our gardens, and tliere permitted to enjoy all the
sweets of liberty. The abundance and the choice of food have aug-
mented the bulk of the Tame Sw.m ; but its form has lost none of its
elegance ; it has preserved the same graces .and the same freedom in
all its motions ; its majestic port is ever admired : / doubt even
whether all these qualities are found to equal extent in the wild,
llrd." M. Baillon, quoted hy Bujfon. Just so we may manufacture
Donkeys from Wild Asses, Pigs from Peccaries, Dunghill Cocks from
Jungle Fowl, nay, why not Men from Monkeys ? Sec the " Vestiges
of Creation."

THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 193

some approach to Ptarmigan and Grouse ; the Silky Fowl
has a plumage akin to that of the Apteryx and the Casso-
wary ; but in none do we see anything like the bony
plates in the plumage of Sonnerat's Cock. A bird with
this peculiarity, either in the hackle, or in the wing, after
the fashion of the Bohemian Chatterer, would be the
greatest curiosity that a London dealer could produce.

Still, our own Cocks and Hens must have had some
progenitors, and if I may venture to offer an opinion, it is
this ; that the wild race, that which once ranged the
primaeval woods and jungles, unsubdued by man, is
now extinct, for ever gone, with the Dodos and the
Deinornithes. Such an idea quite agrees with what we
now see going on in the world. At no very distantly future
time, the Turkey will be in exactly the same position in
which I am supposing our Cocks and Hens to be now
placed. The race will continue to survive, only from having
submitted itself to the dominion of man. Wild Turkeys
are becoming every year more and more scarce in America,
and as population increases, and penetrates deeper into
the wilds, till the whole face of the country is overspread,
occupied, and cultivated, the Turkey in the New World
must share the fate of the Bustard in England, and where
shall we find it then, except under the same circum-
stances as we now see our Domestic Fowls 1

How long existing literature will endure it is impossible
to speculate ; but should it be swept clean away by any
social convulsion, our descendants, two thousand years
hence, will have as much difficulty in determining the
origin of the Turkey, as we have in deciding upon that of
the Cocks and Hens. At a later point of time than
that predestined for the disappearance of the wild Turkey,
but one equally inevitable, the last surviving specimens
of the Emeu and the Kangaroo, will be such as shall be
reared in captivity, for the gratification of the wealthy or
the scientific. Man has the power of trampling under-
foot, and sweeping every living thing before him in his
progress ; but in some cases, at least, he is likely, for his

o

194 THE DOMESTIC FOWL.

own sake, to rescue the most valuable part of the spoil
from destruction, if it will only submit to be rescued, and
not refuse to accept a continued existence on such con-
ditions. A family of savages would soon consume and
destroy a whole province full of wild Cocks and Hens,
were it never so well stocked ; but civilised Man can see
his interest in their preservation, and it is lucky for Fowls
that their destiny threw them in contact with the Cau-
casian race instead of Australian aborigines. But the
increase of knowledge and humanity may even yet do
something to extend a merciful and forbearing conduct
towards existing animals. Had the Dodo survived to
these days, it might perhaps date a renewed term of
existence from the day that it was subjected to confine-
ment in a menagerie. Now the utter destruction of the
Dodo appears, if we think of it, to have occasioned a
great loss to mankind : it might have proved a valuable
addition to our live stock. It was a gallinaceous, or
rather a columbine bird, covered with fine down. That
its flesh was good is proved by the fact of the whole race
having been eaten and consumed in so short a time,
though there do seem to have been two opinions, some
preferring Turtle-dove to Dodo. Its weight (fifty pounds)
made it of importance ; its unwieldiness and inability to
fly (being an avis not a volucris) made it easy to confine.
It was said to lay numerous eggs : but if it produced
only two or three young in the year, it was at least as
prolific as the Sheep. We do not find it stated what was
the food of the Dodo. Its strong scratching feet, power-
ful digestion, thick neck, and enormous beak, seem to
indicate that roots might be its main sustenance. Let us
hope that the beautiful Honduras Turkey will not be
permitted to be extirpated in like manner.

The size, inactivity, and sluggishness of such creatures
as these are the main cause of the extinction they are
undergoing as wild races ; but the common Hen has one
peculiar habit, which would alone ensure the destruction
of her progeny in an unprotected state, in spite of all her

THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 195

fruitfulness and her great maternal virtues. Her delight
at having laid an egg, expressed by loud cackling, which
is joined in by all her companions that are at hand, would,
by itself, be sufficient to prevent much increase of her
young. The Latin writers called the cry singultus, or
sobbing, as if she had suffered pain ; the notice thus given
of her delivery was equally public at that distance of
time as now. How the squaws and their picaninnies
would chuckle to have wild birds abounding around them,
that not only produced an excellent egg every day, but
told them where to find it ! But without going into the
wilderness, either east or west, what would become of the
larger ground-nesting birds in England, the Water-hen,
the Wild-duck (what has become of the Bustard ?), if
they were not as silent and stealthy in depositing their
eggs, and leading forth their young, as the Hen is noisy
and obtrusive? Even Le Vaillant's ape "Kees" could
learn to listen for the cacklings of his master's Hens, and
steal their eggs.

The habit which so large a bird as the Fowl has of
retiring to roost by daylight, and composing itself to
repose before it is hidden and protected by the shades of
night, would also be a certain source of danger in a wild
state. The craving hunter who wanted a meal, need not
fatigue himself by a search during the noontide heats. He
would have but to bear the pangs of appetite till evening
approached, and then stealing with no great caution under
the outstretched branches, he would find a ready prey
distinctly apparent between himself and the ruddy glare
of sunset. No wild race could survive a few years of
such facile, such tempting capture. Those who would
reply by saying that when Cocks and Hens were wild
they had not fallen into the imprudent fashion of roosting
before dark, and cackling when they dropped an egg, beg
the question which we are not disposed to grant them,
unless they can positively establish their claim.

The antiquity which I thus assume for our existing
race of Cocks and Hens may perhaps startle some readers ;

o2

196 THE DOMESTIC FOWL.

but hear Professor Owen on other analogous cases : " It
is probable that the Horse and the Ass are descendants
of a species of pliocene antiquity in Europe. There is
no anatomical character by which the present Wild Boar
can be distinguished specifically from that which was
contemporary with the Mammoth. All the species of
European pliocene Bovidce came down to the historical
period, and the Aurochs and Musk-ox still exist ; but the
one owes its preservation to special imperial protection,
and the other has been driven, like the Rein-deer, to high
northern latitudes. There is evidence that the great
Bos-primigenius, and the small Bos-longifrons, which
date, by fossils, from the time of the Mammoth, continued
to exist in this island after it became inhabited by Man.
The small short-horned pliocene Ox is most probably
still preserved in the mountain varieties of our domestic
cattle. The great Urus seems never to have been tamed ;"
note this : " but to have been finally extirpated in
Scotland. Of the Cervine tribe, the Red-deer and the
Roe-buck still exist in the mountainous districts of the
north ; but, like the Aurochs in Lithuania, by grace of
special protective laws." — British Fossil Mammals and
Birds, Introduction, p. xxxii.

But if our domestic Fowls were thus early called into
existence, where are their fossil remains to be found ?
The probabilities are against our finding them at all. We
can hardly expect them in any oceanic deposit ; and
" extremely rare," says Professor Owen, " are the remains
of birds in the fresh-water deposits, or marine drift of
the newer pliocene period, which so abound in Mamma-
lian fossils. The light bodies of birds float long on the
surface after death ; and for one bird that becomes
imbedded in the sediment at the bottom, perhaps ninety-
nine are devoured before decomposition has sufficiently
advanced to allow the skeleton to sink." — Id. p. 557. It
would probably be in their supposed original Asiatic
home that any successful search would be made ; but we
ought not to be disappointed if none are discovered even

THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 197

there. Dr. Buckland, in his Reliquice Diluviance, men-
tions twenty-two locahties of the remains of antedikivian
animals, and in only three of them are relics of Birds
found.

It certainly has long been thought that our domesticated
creatures, beasts as well as birds, must necessarily be
descended from some wild stock, which still exists in an
untamed state. This petitio priacipii, this begging of the
point at issue, has unquestionably led to wrong conclu-
sions, and left a host of naturalists, particularly (Econo-
mical writers, planted in the midst of difficulties which
are still unexplained. Where is the wild origin of the
sheep, or of the goat, to be found ? Some say here, some
say there, some fix on this species, some on that, and the
reader ends by " giving it up." But take the simple
theory that many of our domestic animals are the sur-
vivors of extinct races, survivors because domesticable, of
extirpated, because defenceless creatures, and the diffi-
culties vanish, and become reconcileable with what we
see around us. All those species which have of late
become, or are likely soon to become extinct, disappear
because they refuse to be subjugated by man ; for example,
the yet untamed Aurochs of Lithuania, which still sur-
vives only by virtue of strict protective laws enforced by
the Emperor of Russia, and which has had all the time
from the epoch of living IMammoths to the present day, to
become softened in disposition, but still refuses to hear the
voice of the charmer. In some few sad instances, prin-
cipally of birds, the work of extermination appears to have
been completed before any fair experiment had been tried,
as with the Dodo and the Kivi Kin. Other species, on
the contrary, as the Turkey, will probably long survive the
utter disappearance of their wild progenitors, solely on
account of having submitted with a good grace to the
dominion of Man. One of these, the Cereopsis, seems
likely to owe its rescue to the happy exertions of the
Zoological Society, which thus becomes an ark of refuge
amidst the flood of population.

198 THE DOMESTIC FOWL,

We may here, perhaps, be permitted to look forward a
little, and without being accused of extravagance, speculate
on the future destiny of still surviving tribes of animals.
If we take what has already occurred during " this
present infancy of the human race," as any indication of
what must inevitably happen when the whole earth shall
really by us be overspread, it is clear that all flesh-eating
ravenous animals, except the smallest and most insigni-
ficant, must retire from the face of this planet ; the Lion,
the Tiger, the Puma, and the Jaguar, rivals to Man in
their carnivorous propensities, must, as he becomes
pressed for subsistence, yield their prey to him, and
perish. Man must become the great dominant Carnivore ;
the butcher will fulfil the office of the Felidse, in keeping
the herbivorous races within due limits. And of them,
those which obstinately refuse to enter the pale of human
society, must eventually quit the scene where he plays
the first part. Roebucks, Antelopes, and Bisons, will
become evanescent.

But encroach as he will, Man cannot occupy the Seas.
Myriads of free Oceanic creatures will defy both his
powers of destruction and his yoke. And it is probable
that the earliest representatives of the Vertebrata which
preceded his reign, will be among the very last to yield
to his exterminating influence.

The Common Cock, the Gallus Gallinaceus and
AXeKTcop of the ancients would, at first sight, appear to
have received one or two remarkable changes of form
subsequent to its having been saved from annihilation by
becoming dependant on the care of Man, if we can believe
domestication to be capable of producing such changes.
The crest of feathers on the head is an extraordinary
metamorphosis to have occurred from an original fleshy
comb. There is no yet discovered instance, that I am
aware, of any wild crested breed. Aristotle makes such
a pointed and so clear a distinction between the feathered
crests of birds in general, and the combs of cocks, as to
lead to a strong suspicion that he was unacquainted with

THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 199

Fowls with top-knots ; which he could hardly have
avoided seeing in the course of his unequalled oppor-
tunities for research, had they existed in his day ; " certain
birds have a crest ; in some consisting of actual feathers ;
but that of Cocks alone is peculiar, being neither flesh,
nor yet very different from flesh in its nature." — Hist.
Anim., Book ii., Chap. xii. towards the end.

I can find no passage in the classical authors which
implies that the Cocks and Hens of their day bore a
feathered top knot. The Latin crista is at least an ambi-
guous word. If it occasionally means a plumed crest
like that of the Hoopoe, it is also most pointedly used for
a fleshy comb. Pliny, Lib. xxvii., chap. 93, says " The
Alectorolophus (a plant), which with us is called Crista,
has leaves like a Clock's comb." This passage may not
be considered conclusive ; because although the Cocks-
comb is a remarkable and striking plant, he might intend
to describe some other herb which bore tufts or tassels.
But in describing the Phoenix (Lib. x., chap. 2), he men-
tions that "it is adorned with wattles (using the same
word that he does to express the comb) on its throat,
and a feathered top-knot on its head." But further on
he puts the interpretation of the word beyond all doubt.
" Messalinus Cotta discovered the method of cooking the
web of Geese's feet, and fricaseeing them in small dishes
along with Cock's combs." — Lib. x. c. 27. Not even the
Romans would think a tuft of feathers any great delicacy ;
and a dish of Cock's combs is one of the few things in
which modern taste coincides with theirs. The Latin
crista must not, therefore, be translated by the English
crest when it has reference to Cocks and Hens. Cirrus
is the Latin word used by Pliny to denote the tuft of
feathers on the liead of certain Ducks {^fuligulcE), and
also properly adopted by Aldrovandi to express the top-
knot of Polish Fowls. Theocritus calls the Cock ^owiko-
Xocfjov. We know something about the red combs, but
nothing of the red crests of Fowls.

There is a passage in iElian, which at first sight would

200 THE DOMESTIC FOWL.

appear to contradict the notion that the ancients had no
top- knotted fowls, but which, in fact, strongly confirms it.

" And (in India) Cocks are produced of the greatest
size, and they have a comb which is not red like those of
our folds, but variegated like the corolla of flowers ;
and they have their rump-feathers not curved, nor twisted
into screws (as in the bird of Paradise), but broad ; and
they drag them after them, like Peacocks, when they do
not erect them and set them up ; and the colour of the
feathers of the Indian Cocks is golden and caerulean,
like the stone smaragdus." — Lib. xvi., c. 2. The smarag-
dus was the emerald ; a metallic lustre is clearly indicated.
That the bird in question was not the Gallus Gallinaceus
is certain, from the absence of the sickle feathers in the
tail. What it was, is not our bounden duty to decide.
It is not, moreover, stated that the Xocpos, though varie-
gated, did consist of feathers. It might have been a
helmet, like that of the Guinea-fowl. The earliest notice
of Crested Fowls that I am aware of, occurs in Aldrovandi ;
one of which sorts is " our common country Hen, all
white, and with a crest like that of a lark," a very useful
comparison that will serve to distinguish such-like from
the Polish Fowls ; the other, what he calls the Paduan,
evidently a variety of the Polish or Poland.

If birds with such peculiarities were unknown to the
ancients, it will be asked through what agency they have
made their appearance in our days. Are they new species,
the result of clever combination and nurture, or of mere
chance 1 Not conceiving that they are anything new
under the sun, although long unknown to us, I answer at
once, No. The mercantile enterprise and trading voyages
of the English, Dutch, Spaniards, and Portuguese, are
quite sufficient to explain their arrival, without having
recourse to a new creation. It is strange that any new or
remarkable breed, like Sir J. Sebright's Bantams, or the
Duke of Leeds' Shackbag, should invariably first appear
in the poultry-yards of the wealthy, and not in the home-
stead of tlie small farmer or the cottager. The lately

THE DOMESTIC FOWL, 201

introduced Cochin China Fowl, about which there is no
mystery, and of which her Majesty has just reason to be
proud, is a case in point. But it is not strange or unlikely
that gentlemen who have succeeded in obtaining some
exotic variety, should choose to conceal the source and
the channel by which it came into their hands, or even
take credit for having themselves raised and generated a
breed which excited the curiosity and admiration of their
neighbours. There are several varieties that are extinct,
or not to be obtained in this country, as the above-
mentioned Duke of Leeds' Fowl, and the White Poland
Fowl with a black top -knot. Attempts have been made
to reproduce them, both by the most promising systems
of crossing, and by acting on the imagination of breeding
Fowls, after the manner of Jacob's experiments with
Laban's flocks; all in vain. We can easily understand
how certain points in any race can be confirmed and made
more conspicuous by selection and breeding in and in,
but we are at a loss to know how to go to work to produce
something quite original and new. If these lost varieties
do re-appear, and they are both worth the trouble they
may give, it will probably be by a fresh importation from
their original Indian home.

The head-quarters of Domestic Fowl at the present
day are the islands of Java and Sumatra, and the Malay
Peninsula, a vast extent of but partially explored country,
seeing that the area of this last alone is very little less
than that of Great Britain, But the prospects opened
to natural history by Sir James Brooke's occupation of
Borneo, and his gradual pacification of the enormous
Oriental Archipelago by the suppression of piracy, are
scarcely appreciable at this early period. According to
the Quarterly Review (July, 1848), no regions of equal
extent on the surface of the globe supply equally rich and
varied materials for commerce, ranging from gold and
gems of the costliest kind, down to the humblest neces-
saries of daily life. Throughout the whole tv^'elve thou-
sand islands, at almost every step towards the interior,

202 THE DOMESTIC FOWL.

we have discovered some new article of merchandise, some
valuable kind of timber, some odoriferous gum, some
species of root, or fruit, or grain, not yet included in the
catalogue of human food, some rich mineral or vegetable
dye, calculated to improve the beauty of our European
fabrics ; and yet we have hitherto scarcely stepped beyond
the threshold of Borneo, Celebes, Palawan, Magindanao,
or New Guinea. All beyond the mere fringe of the coast
is unknown ; though rivers of great breadth and depth
court the entrance of steamers, and promise to reveal
new lands at every stroke of the paddle. Here is a
Paradise for poultry fanciers ; enough to make one entreat
to be admitted into the Sarawak service as an attache
and volunteer. What delight in tracking some secluded
river, or exploring some lovely valley, to behold in the
villages Cocks and Hens that would here sell for their
weight in silver, if not in gold ; or perhaps to stumble
on unknown Pea-fowl and Pheasants, a pair of which
would draw half Middlesex and Surrey to the Zoological
Gardens !

The addition of a fifth toe to the foot (the monstra
per excessum of Blumenbach) as in the Dorking variety,
is more likely than the crest to have supervened in the
course of time. I do not find it mentioned by any earlier
writer than Columella. The compilers of books on
Poultry have stated that it is noticed by Aristotle, but
I cannot hit upon the passage. In his treatise on the
Parts of Animals, book iv. chap. 12, he speaks of the
four toes of birds in general, noticing the peculiarities of
the Ostrich and the Wryneck, but not a word about the
fifth toe in Domestic Fowl, which he would scarcely have
passed over had he ever observed it ; particularly as other
remarkable circumstances, connected with them, such as
the development of the egg, &c., attracted so much of his
attention. From Aristotle to Columella is an interval
of about 400 years ; quite time enough to render such a
slight appendage permanent by hereditary transmission.
The new member would probably appear only in a rudi-

THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 203

mental form at first, and become more strongly developed
in the course of succeeding generations. A Cochin China
Cock in my possession has the outer toe of each foot
furnished with two distinct claws, which we may take to
be the earliest indication of a fifth toe. His chickens
inherit the same peculiarity. A correspondent (H. H.)
on whom I can rely, says " I had a Cock of the Golden
Polish variety that lost two of his claws by accident, and
in their place two smaller joints gi'ew from the end of
each toe, both provided with little claws. This became
hereditary, for next season there were two chicks hatched,
both having the aforesaid peculiarity." Analogous in-
stances may be seen in Museums, of lizards with two
tails ; the original single one having been lost by accident,
and two grew in its place. It is said, I know not with
what truth, that a slight notch made in the stump of the
decaudated reptile will ensure the production of a double
tail. From the time of Columella to the present day, a
fifth toe has been the well-known and distinctive charac-
teristic of a certain breed.

Next to the Dog, the Fowl has been the most constant
attendant upon Man in his migrations and his occupation
of strange lands. The carnivorous diet of the Dog is one
main cause of his pre-eminence. But search where you
will, except in the very highest latitudes, you will find in
New Zealand, Australia, the American Continents, the
West Indies, and in islands innumerable, Fowls sharing in
the possession and settlement obtained by Man. As we
approach the Poles difficulties arise in the way of their
further companionship. In Greenland they are occasionally
kept only as curiosities and rarities. And Sir Wm. Hooker
tells us that Poultry of all kmds is quite unknown to the
Icelanders, except that a few are now and then conveyed
to the country by the Danes, who are obliged at the
same time to bring with them a sufficient supply of
necessary food, i. e. grain, for their support, of which
the island furnishes none. Fowls, however, would get
on very well with a fish and meat diet with grass and

204 THE DOMESTIC FOWL.

vegetables, assisted by a little imported corn, were there
sufficient inducement to make the inhabitants take pains
about their maintenance. But a little powder and shot
procures them an abundance of wild-fowl that are much
more to their taste ; and fresh laid eggs would be little
cared for by people, who, like the Icelanders, prefer those
eggs of the Eider Duck which have young ones in them.

But the most mysterious though not the most ungenial
localities in which Fowls have hitherto been found are
the islands scattered over the vast Pacific Ocean. How
they got there is as great or a gi'eater puzzle than to divine
the origin of the human population. The earliest disco-
verers found the people to be possessed of pigs, dogs, and
fowls, all domesticated for the sake of being eaten. " On
the walk to Oree's house (in Huaheine) Dr. Sparrman
and I (Mr. G. Forster, who accompanied the expedition
as Naturalist) saw great numbers of hogs, dogs, and fowls.
The last roamed about at pleasure through the woods, and
roosted on fruit-trees." — Cook's Ind Voyage, 1772.

" Mr. Forster learned from the people the proper
name of the island, which they call Tauna : . . . . The
people of this island can be under no such necessity (of
eating human flesh) for the want of other animal food ;
they have fine pork and fowls, and plenty of roots and
fruits."— 7g/(/.

" The traditions of the people state, that fowls have
existed in the islands (Tahiti) as long as the people, that
they came with the first colonists by whom the islands
were peopled, or that they were made by Taarva at the
same time that men were made." — Ellis's Polynesian
Researches, vol. i., p. 302.

This account would assign an unfathomable antiquity
to the domestication of Fowls, confirmed by the following
legend : —

" Mr. Young said, among the many traditionary accounts
of the origin of the island and its inhabitants, was one,
that in former times, when there was nothing but sea, an
immense bird settled on the water and laid an egg, which

THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 205

soon bursting, produced the island of Hawaii. Shortly
after this a man and woman, with a hog and a dog, and a
pair of Fowls, arrived in a canoe from the Society Islands,
took up their abode in the eastern shores, and were the
progenitors of the present inhabitants." — Ellis's Mission-
ary Tour through Hawaii.

" The domestic Fowl was found in the Sandwich
islands by their first discoverer, and though seldom used
as an article of food, is raised for the supply of shipping."
— Ibid. p. 9.

Captain Cook remarked them on islands that had never
before been visited by civilised Man, and the very wide
range over which they are distributed precludes the
supposition of their having been introduced by Tasman or
any of the other early voyagers. " There is only one
tame species of birds, properly speaking, in the tropical
isles of the South Sea, viz. the common Cock and Hen :
they are numerous at Easter Island, where they are the
only domestic animals ; they are likewise in great plenty
in the Society Isles and Friendly Isles, at which last they
are of a j^rodigious size ; they are also not uncommon at
the Marquesas, Hebrides, and New Caledonia ; but the
low isles, and those of the temperate zone, are quite
destitute of them." — Mr. Forsters Journal of Captain
Cook's Second Voyage. The pigs have been affirmed to
differ specifically from the European breeds ; less has
been said about the Poultry. It appears that there are
different varieties in the different islands, some of very
large size. Our great commercial and political inter-
course with the East makes that the quarter from whence
our importations of Fowls are mostly drawn, either as
curious specimens, or for the sake of improving our stock ;
but it would certainly be interesting, and might prove
useful, could we obtain a few new sorts, such as the
Friendly Island breed, from the less frequented spots in
the South Seas. Our Colonists and Missionaries in the
Sandwich Islands and Tahiti might surely send us a few
Cocks and Hens in return for the many substantial

206 THE DOMESTIC FOWL.

benefits they have derived from the mother country. Mr.
Wilhams's theory, which he supports by full details and
arguments, is that Polynesia was originally colonised and
occupied by emigrants from the Malay peninsula and
Sumatra. He says, " so convinced am I of the practica-
bility of performing a voyage from Sumatra to Tahiti in
one of the large native canoes, that, if an object of suffi-
cient magnitude could be accomplished by it, I should
feel no hesitation in undertaking the task." — Missionary
Enterprises, p. 510. He also offers a probable hypothesis
for the existence of two distinct races of Men in the South
Sea Islands, both derived from the great Asiatic Islands.
If his views are correct, we have some slight clue to the
introduction of Fowls into the isolated recesses of the
Pacific Ocean, which only makes us the more anxious to
get a sight of some genuine South Sea Poultry for the
sake of comparing them with the East Indian breeds. If
they be found to resemble them closely, it will be an
additional confirmation of my belief that the lapse of
ages upon ages is insufficient to alter any one living
creature into a new species. And should this little book
ever penetrate so far into the other hemisphere, let it
persuade the Sandwich Islanders to preserve by domesti-
cation, and by transmission to this country, a stock of
their most interesting,* pretty, and unique little Geese,
before the race is quite swept out of existence.

As to the estimation in which Domestic Fowls are
justly held, it is impossible for me to proclaim their
merits adequately. Every county has a " strain " which
is superior to that of the other fifty-one counties. " That
strain again," as the Duke said to the singing-boy. Every
neighbourhood has some crack breed which is unrivalled
elsewhere ; every old woman, in every village, has some
pet Cock or Hen which she would not part with for

* They resemble the Anser albifrons in miniature, without the
•white front. They are so tame and attached as to follow their keeper
about the house, like dogs.

THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 207

twice its weight in butcher's meat, and an ounce of snuff
into the bargain :

in, mihi si lingute centum sint, oraqiie centum,
Ilea vox, a strong steel pen, unlimited paper,"

could I completely detail the virtues attributed to Cocks
and Hens,

Here is a list of " the Physical uses of a Hen and its
parts : —

" 1. The Jellij of an old Hen, made of a Hen cut with
calves' feet, and sheep's feet, or beef, boiled six or seven
hours in a close vessel, to which you may add spices, or
cordial waters, is a great strengthener and nourisher.

" 2. Cock Ale is made of Heni flesh, (a bit of a bull,
surely), boiled till the flesh falls from the bones ; then it
is beaten with the bones, and strained for wine or ale
with spices. — Note. The flesh of Hens is better than
that of Cocks, except Capons. The flesh of a black Hen,
that hath not laid, is accounted better and lighter.

" 3. Cock-broth is thus made : Tire an old Cock, till he
fall with weariness, then kill and pluck him, and gut
him, and stuff him with proper physic, and boil him till
all the flesh falls off, then strain it. This broth mollifies,
and by means of the nitrous parts wherewith that decre-
pit animal is endued, and which are exalted by that
tiring of him, cuts and cleanseth, and moves the belly,
the rather if you boil therein purging medicines. It is
famous for easing the pains or the Colic (boiled with
purgers and discutients) good against a Cough and Tartar
of the Lungs, (boiled with breast herbs).

" 4. The Brain thickens and stops fluxes, as that of the
belly (taken in wine). Women anoint therewith the gums
of Children to make them breed teeth.

" 5. The invrard tunicle of the Stomach, dried in the
sun, and powdered, binds and strengthens the stomach,
stops vomiting and fluxes, and breaks the stone.
"6. Is a virtue rivalling that of B.^Um of Syriacum.

208 THE DOMESTIC FOWL.

" 7. The Gall takes off spots from the skin, and is
good for the eyes.

" 8. The Grease of Hen or Capon is hot, moist, and
softening, between the Goose and Hogs' grease, and ob-
tunds acrimony, cures chapt hps, pains in the ears,
and pustles in the eyes.

" 9. The Weasand of a Cock, burnt and not con-
sumed, given before supper, is an antidote to the influence
of the- herb DandeHon.

" 10. The Dung doth all the same that the Pigeon's,
but weaker ; and besides, cures the Colic and pain of the
Womb. Moreover, it is good especially against the
Jaundice, Stone, and Suppression of Urine.

" Note. The white 2Mrt of the Dung is esteemed the
best.

" Give half a drachm, Morning and Evening, for four
or five days.

" Outwardly it dries running heads, and other scabs
[the ashes sprinkled on).'' — Willughby, Bookii., p. 157.

More medicinal properties are added ; so that a good
Hen seems to be a perfect walking doctor's shop.
Aldrovandi has filled more than 16 large folio pages with
an account of the medicinal uses of Fowls and their
Eggs, both for man and beast, which we do not quote
here, as they would meet with little more serious atten-
tion than the foregoing. Hens were sacrificed by the
ancient pagans to ^sculapius, the God of Medicine, on
account of the services they were supposed to render to
the health of mankind. Fever, dysentery, melancholy,
epilepsy, cough, colic, all yielded to some preparation
from gallinaceous materials. Even the surgeon was super-
seded by their virtues. A plaister composed of white of
egg and white frankincense cured broken bones ; the
albumen alone was a sovereign vulnerary. Oil of eggs
regenerated hair more surely than Rowland's Macassar,
Other preparations were remedial against poison, corns
on the toes, the bites of mad dogs and vipers, and
frenzy. In short, every one who had a tolerable stock

THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 209

of poultr)', had only himself to blame if he did not repel
the usual ills to which mortal flesh is subject.

It can, therefore, be no trifling amount of intrinsic
excellence which has earned for them such a universal
good opinion. Independent of all considerations of pro-
fitableness, they are gifted with two qualifications, which,
whether in man, beast, or bird, are sure to be popular;
those are, a courageous temper, and an affectionate dis-
position. Add to these, beauty of appearance and hardi-
ness of constitution, and it is no wonder that each old
wife thinks her own stud of Fowls invaluable. It is
recorded of Catherine the Second of Russia, who was
great in more senses than one, that she compelled a rival
to her throne to amuse himself with tending poultry, and
*' other imbecilities." The story was meant to tell against
her ; but worse things might be said of her, and perhaps
of many other jealous tyrants.

The courage of the Cock is emblematic, his gallantry
admirable, his sense of discipline and subordination most
exemplary. See how a good Game Cock of two or three
years' experience will, in five minutes, restore order into an
uproarious poultry-yard. He does not use harsh means of
coercion, when mild will suit the purpose. A look, a ges-
ture, a deep chuckling growl, gives the hint that turbulence
is no longer to be permitted ; and if these are not effectual,
severer punishment is fearlessly administered. Nor is
he aggressive to birds of other species. He allows the
Turkey to strut before his numerous dames, and the Gui
nea Fowl to court his single mate uninterrupted ; but if
the one presumes upon his superior weight, and the other
on his cowardly tiltings from behind, he soon makes
them smart for their rash presumption. His politeness
to females is as marked as were Lord Chesterfield's atten-
tions to old ladies, and mucli more unaffected. Nor
does he merely act the agreeable dangler ; when occasion
requires he is also their brave defender, if he is good for
anytliing. " They should sometimes offer resistance, and
protect their flock of wives, and even kill a serpent or

p

210 THE DOMESTIC FOWL.

other noxious animal that threatens danger." — Co/., lib, viii.
cap. 2. A Hen, that I caught to examine, screamed till
she called her husband to her assistance. Instantly his
spur was buried deep in the fleshy part of my thumb, nor
did his anger cease till the lady was at liberty. The same
Game Cock, whenever fowls were killed for the table,
made a point of attacking the man whose business it was
to secure them, tore his trowsers, and made all possible
bold resistance.

" A Black Polish Cock that our shepherd has, struck
him the other morning on the temples, as he was catching
one of the Hens, making the poor fellow faint and bleeding
for some time. He said 'he did not mind hisself, but if er
got vleeing at arn of the childurn, he'd soo7i het his head
off! ' I hope he will not. Some years back I had an
old Silver Polish that would spur some time with my
kat / if placed before him." — H. H.

The Game Cock is in his native country really a more
formidable creature than he is here. " The Dutch doctors
are of opinion, that certain cases of hydrophobia which
have occurred in Java, notwithstanding no instance of
canine madness was ever known on the island, may be
attributed to climate, and the state of the constitution as
affected by it. The bite of the large Indian rat, commonly
called the Bandicoot, is supposed to occasion hydrophobia
and certain death ; an opinion which, I understand, is
also entertained on the coast of Malabar. The bite of an
enraged man is said to be as certain of producing hydro-
phobia as that of a mad dog, two cases of which had
happened not long before our arrival. Dr. Le Dulx
mentions several instances of hydrophobia succeeding to
the bite of enraged animals, as in the case of a boy bit by
a Duck which he had disturbed in its amours, and of a
feeder of Cocks, who, being pecked in the hand by one of
these animals in separating it from its antagonist, died
under every symptom of hydrophobia and madness."
Barrovo's Voyage to Cochin China.

" Onines in primis Galli Gallinacei vitse actiones veri

THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 211

patris-familias, et qui in eo omnem suam curam ponit, et
studium, ut familise suoe de omnibus necessariis prospiciat,
significare potest. Usee enim ales tota die quicquid virium
liabet, id totum ad suorum confert salutem, et nuUius rei
minus, quam sui ipsius solicita est. Unde sapientissimus
Pythagoras tam providam animalis, et erga suos promptam
naturara considerans, dixit, nutriendum quidem Galium
esse ; at non immolandum." — Aldrovandi.

The first sentence does not quite construe, but means
to say that the actions of the entire life of the Gallinaceous
Cock show that he is a most excellent family man, placing
his whole care and study in providing all necessaries for
his household. For this bird devotes whatever energy he
has the livelong day to the good of his dependents, and
is solicitous about nothing less than self. Whence the
sage Pythagoras, considering the provident and attentive
nature of the creature, declared that the Cock ought to be
cherished, not sacrificed.

The Hen is deservedly the acknowledged pattern of
maternal love. When her passion of philoprogenitiveness
is disappointed by the failure or subtraction of her own
brood, she will either go on sitting till her natural powers
fail, or will violently kidnap the young of other Fowls, and
insist upon adopting them. A Hen in my neighbourhood
was kept incubating eleven weeks before she was allowed
to lead forth a clutch. One of my own took two chickens
away from the family of another Hen, and went about
with them the greater part of the summer. A black
Bantam belonging to H. H., " had a singular habit of
adopting in the first instance a single half-grown chick.
Another year she actually took a whole brood of eight
little things off their mother's hands, first doing battle
with her for them. These chicks she tended carefully
for nearly two months, and then turned them off in the
usual way."

In another case, and one which may be considered
more extraordinary, a Hen of rather a violent disposition
was much annoyed by a dozen small forsaken chickens

p2

212 THE DOMESTIC FOWL.

repairing to her when she was sitting on some eggs in the
crib of an outhouse, and nesthng under her at night. For
a whole week she was at constant warfare with these little
orphans, pecking them, and injuring some of them severely.
On a sudden, she seemed to change her mind, and from
that time became excessively vfond of them, and in a day
or two left her nest eggs, and proved a careful and tender
mother to them for several months. This Hen was a
Silver Poland.

" I witnessed this morning the daring courage of one of
my Hens, in knocking a Crow, stunned and senseless on
the earth, that had attacked a chick of hers. She did not
allow it time to seize the chicken, but struck at it with
both beak and spurs." — H. H., July 13, 1848.

But all Hens are not alike : they have their little whims
and fancies, likes and dislikes, as capricious and unac-
countable as those of other females. Some are gentle,
others sanguinary, some are lazy, others energetic almost
to insanity. Some can scarcely be kept out of the
house, others say, ' Thank you, but I 'd rather be left
to myself.'

" Finally, they differ in manners and disposition ; for
besides that some are called Domestic, others Wild, even
among the Domestic ones, some by their very nature are
so mild and familiar that they cannot get through life
without the society of mankind ; of which I am an eye-
witness. For, some years ago, I kept at my country seat
a Hen, which, besides keeping by herself all day long, and
wandering about the house apart from the companionship
of her fellows, in the evening would go to rest nowhere
but close to me among my books, and those rather big 07ies,
{eosque majores), although she was often driven away.
Some, on the other hand, so far from taking pleasure in
the society of men, are so shy as to avoid them utterly ;
others are cruel to their own young ; others suck the eggs
that themselves have laid." — Aldrovandi.

But with all their extreme usefulness to man, these
birds cannot claim even so much as a name, or a title,

THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 213

proper to themselves in our own and several other lan-
guages, both modern and ancient. If the commentators
are right, " the bird " was its Hebrew appellation.* Our
English " Cock and Hen " are mere general terms of sex,
as common to the whole feathered tribe, as the title of
Esquire is to all mankind. We are obliged to go round
about, and say " Domestic Cock," " Common Fowl,"
&c. ; sometimes " Cockerel " is substituted, which, after a
certain age is applied incorrectly. The Americanism of
" Booster," it may be hoped, will never be adopted on
this side of the water. The German Hattshahn is shorter,
but not at all less clumsy than the English appellation.
In Latin it was worse ; galUna was quite indefinite, and
Gallus gallinaceus and GaUina gaUinacea are words
better suited for a Christmas game at forfeits than to
enter into the language of a polished people. " PuUus,"
whence our " pullet," is as applicable to a young colt as
to a chicken. It is hard that one of the most valuable
birds in existence should be accurately indicated only by
means of a periphrasis.

However, an Anglo-Saxon relative thinks that I have
treated the most ancient civilised bird very harshly and
unfairly in denying him a name in our language. And
notwithstanding that Webster in his Dictionary takes my
view of the point at issue, he still thinks that " Cock " is
proper only to the bird in question ; and that the word
is derived, as Skinner, Lyer, and Richardson think, from
his cry or call, ti sono sen cantu quern edit. He imagines
that all those birds which have their gender denoted by
the terms cock and heii, were so honoured by our ances-
tors because the domestic (or, as Webster calls it, Barn-
door) Fowl was the most familiar to them : and that
neither of the words denoted gender at all, properly
speaking. The word Hen certainly has nothing to do
with gender ; to wit, German, Hahn, a Cock ; Danish,

* Called by the Grcsler 'AAe/cTpvif, and of old by a general
name, "Opwts." — Willughby.

2H THE DOMESTIC FOWL.

Hane, a Cock. Turkey-cock, Cock-sparrow, &c., have
usurped the proper name of Chanticleer. The Anglo-
Saxon words for Cock and Hen are scarcely different in
orthography, and not at all in pronunciation, from the
English. The version of Matth. xxvi. 34, "before the
cock crow," is certham th cocc craw. Hen, hcen, or henn
is a Hen in Anglo-Saxon. " A Hen's egg" is, an henne
ceg, the termination ne making the genitive. Really, we
may ask, ought not the Cock and Hen to be honoured as
the King and Queen of Birds ?

According to Aldrovandi, the Gauls, Galli, did not
derive the name of their nation from the Gallus, or Cock,
but from the Greek word ya\a, milk ; on account of the
lightness of their complexions ; for mountains, and a
rigorous climate exclude the heat of the sun from those
regions, and the skins of the inhabitants are not darkened
by it ! But he is informed by the most learned Joannes
Goropius that the Dan6s chose to be so styled, because
they devoted themselves to the pursuits of war, not so
much from greed, as from the desire of victory and glory
inherent in noble minds. The Gallinaceous Cock is an
epitome of such qualities, and therefore they took him
as their symbol. They called themselves De hanen,
contracted into Danen, on which account they were
accustomed to carry couples of Cocks with them in their
campaigns, for the double purpose of stimulating their
courage by example, and proclaiming the time by their
crowing.

We prefer consulting Dr. Lindley, to Aldrovandi, on
the nature and properties of the herbs Cockscomb, Cocks-
foot, or Pes Gallinaceus gramini similis, " like unto a
grass ;" Morsus Gallinse, Hoenderbeet or Hen's bit, Grassa-
gallina or Fat Hen, Ornithogalum or Hen's-milk, and
Hanensporn or Cockspur.

It could not be that attention should not be turned
to such remarkable creatures as our Fowls, which, like
familiar spirits, are constantly gliding before our eyes, and
prating tlieir unintelligible jargon into our ears. It would

THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 215

have been strange had no superstitious ideas been con-
nected with them in the ages of ignorance, and in coun-
tries remote from the hghts of civilisation and true
rehgion. I must confess myself to be much pained by
hearing the crowing of Cocks in the evening, particularly
the early part of it, and as unwilling to listen to it, as to
sail on a long voyage on a Friday.*

" Once every year the Mandariiis (of Tonquin) receive
an Oath of Allegiance to the King, from all the principal
Officers under him. This is done \vith great ceremony ;
they cut the throat of a Hen, and let the blood fall into
a bason of arrack. Of this arrack every man has a small
draught given him to drink, after he has publicly declared
his sincerity, and readiness to serve his Prince. 'Tis
esteem'd the solemnest tye by which any man ingage
himself." — Dampier's Voyages, vol. ii. p. 82. Every
nation has its ceremonies and binding forms, which so
long as they involve nothing false or irreligious or crimi-
nal, are to be respected, and not lightly ridiculed or
broken through, lest we abolish wholesome restraints that
are not easily reimposed in another shape ; but Aldrovandi,

* From sad associations, not from superstitious dread. The
evenings of the 20th and 19th of December of 1846 and 1847, re-
Bpectivel}' bereaved me of two most dear friends : in each case, shortly
before the spirit departed, the Cocks were crowing loudly.

" The notion of Cocks crowing often during the night before Christ-
mas, is familiar to us from the well-known lines in Hamlet :

" ' Some say, that ever 'gainst that season comes
Wherein our Saviour's birth is celebrate,
This bird of dawning singeth all night long :' &c.

" I was once staying at a friend's house in the month of January,
where the Cock crew every evening regularly at nine o'clock ; keeping
it up for about ten minutes and then desisting." — Jvnyns's Observa-
tions, p. 171. Although this is not the place for a commentary, we
may observe, that if Cocks always had a habit of crowing unusually
early and continually about the winter solstice, the declaration (which-
ever reading of the Evangelists we take) " The Cock shall not crow
till thou hast denied me thrice," assumes the character of a miraculous
Latervention, as well as of a prophecy.

216 THE DOMESTIC FOWL.

with whatever motive, gives a selection of absurdly false
miracles, lying legends, and blasphemous superstitions,
which it is impossible to notice more precisely without
giving pain to the really pious mind, and affording matter
for derision and shallow triumph to the scoffer.

A fact respecting Fowls, that has not been sufficiently
regarded, but which goes far to prove their high antiquity,
is the permanent character of the different varieties.
Before attending much to the subject, people fancy that
crossings and intermixtures may be infinitely multiplied
and continued, restricted only by the algebraic law of
Permutation and Combination ; and such is the current
opinion among many who are accustomed to see the
diverse colours and appearance of Fowls promiscuously
bred in a farm-yard. But the observant breeder knows
that such is not the case. Nothing is more difficult than
to establish a permanent intermediate race between even
nearly allied varieties. In a few generations the character
reverts to that of one or other of the parents ; the pecu-
liarities of an old type reappear, and the new cross, on
which the fancier was beginning to glorify himself,
vanishes. The more heterogeneous are the parents, the
more sudden is the return to old-established characters.
The hybrid progeny are either utterly barren, or their
young exhibit the likeness of their grandfather or grand-
mother, not of their actual parents.

'' I have lately succeeded in producing a most magni^
ficent hybrid breed between the Golden and Black Polish,
having the rich spotted body of the former, and the
handsome white crest of the latter. This was a work of
some difficulty and time, and I am still so particular as
to think it requires one more generation to bring them to
perfection." — " It struck me that the Golden would be
much improved by the handsome white crest of the
Black PoHsh. By selecting at first some of the former
that had a few white feathers on the head, and again
crossing the best of these Hens with a Polish Cock for two
seasons, they are at length approaching perfection, and will

THE DOMESTIC FOWL 217

he the best and handsomest breed of all. A trial was made
vice versa, which brought them perfectly black, with im-
mense black heads." — " It is rather a curious fact, that
my hybrids, though originating from two varieties of
Polish, neither remarkable for being good incubators, are
early and very good and steady birds to sit, but perhaps
not remarkably sweet-tempered to other chicks. I cannot
explain this, unless we take it on the rule that two nega-
tives make an affirmative." So far so good. A sub-
sequent report is, " My hybrid chickens are beginning to
come out, and I find many ' cry back,' as I had expected.
The only remedy is to hatch a good many, and then select.
In a few years the breed will be established." — II. H.

Will it ? Or is this " crying back" only the beginning
of the end 1 Peisthetaerus may still have to utter his
complaint : —

" Plague on thee ; but this bird of mine croaks ' back again.' "

However, the latest accounts are favourable.

This is an instance of the results of crossing between
two very closely related sorts, and many experimentalising
amateurs could produce similar instances. But the results
of more discordant and ill-assorted matches are more
immediate and striking. The Zoological Society possessed
in May, 1848, two birds bred between the Jungle Fowl
(Sonnerat's Cock) and the Eed Bantam, that bearing the
greatest resemblance to the Bankiva Cock. Their pedigree
and their relationship to each species is the same ; namely,
three-quarters Bantam and one-quarter Jungle Fowl. But
they would be pronounced by most persons to whom their
origin was unknown, to be, one a Bantam, the other a
Jungle Fowl. In 1849, the keepers informed me that if
hybrid chickens between the Jungle and Common Fowl
are made to go on breeding in and in, the progeny is at
last so weak, that it is impossible to rear them. A half-
bred Sonnerat's Jungle and Game Cock, obtained from
the Zoological Society, differs much in voice, carriage,

218 THE DOMESTIC FOWL.

and plumage, from any Common Fowl. He is not
sterile, having already been the parent of chickens, but
his disposition is strange and cruel: he has already
killed one valuable Hen and severely injured others by
lacerating their combs and heads. This does not look
as if the amalgamation of the Jungle and the Domestic
Fowl were a very natural proceeding. " Le Roi, Lieu-
tenant of the Rangers at Versailles, put a hen Golden
Pheasant to a cock Pheasant of this country, and obtained
two cock Pheasants very like the common kind : but the
plumage had a dirty cast, and only a few yellow feathers
on the head like those of the Golden Pheasant ; and
these two young males being paired with European hen
Pheasants, one succeeded the second year, and a hen
Pheasant was hatched which could never be made to
breed. The two Cocks produced no more." — Bvffon.
We reserve for the section on the Pheasant Malay Fowl,
what is to be said respecting the absurd notion, that a
cross with the common Pheasant has been instrumental
in improving our Domestic Poultry. Baptista Porta
states that he himself reared hybrids between a Dove,
" Columbus," and a dwarf Hen, which combined the
lineaments of either parent. We are not told whether
they proved prolific or sterile ; but, in fact, such strange
combinations appear to be in a state of what mathema-
ticians call " unstable equilibrium" — St. Paul's Cathedral
turned upside down, and balanced by a cunning professor
of gymnastics on the tip end of the cross — the centre of
gravity is in the wrong place, and the least touch, the
least hair's -breadth of wavering, is sufficient to bring
down ruin. Or an analogy may be imaged forth by
those delicate chemical unions of matter, such as gun-
powder and fulminating silver, where the elementary
particles are combined indeed, but can hardly be moved
without one flying one way and one another, leaving little
that is visible or satisfactory behind them. Or a more
homely comparison may be drawn from ill-made melted
butter, which is really not melted butter at all, but a

THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 219

delicately manipulated commingling of water, flour, and
oil. Unless the cook be skilful, the flour settles in one
direction, the water runs a second way, and the oil floats
a third ; proving that melted butter, like gallinaceous
monstrosities, is an unnatural affair. The Zoological
Society also possesses hybrids between the Guinea Fowl
and the Domestic Fowl ; curious creatures, that are sterile
hitherto, and look as if they intended so to remain. Their
plumage is barred, not spotted, with dirty white and grey ;
there is something between a ruff and a hackle hanging
around their necks ; and every poulterer who sees them
must wonder, not that they do not multiply, but that they
ever came into the world at all. It is very important,
not only for practical purposes, but also as involving a
great physiological principle, to show that species and
varieties are permanent, not ever-changing ; that like does
beget like ; and that creatures are not moulded and
modified according to circumstances, and do not remodel
their members or acquire new ones, as the exigency of
their situation for the time being demands. In the case
of Fowls, the theory of progi'essive development and
change is certainly unsupported by evidence, though they
and other domesticated animals are supposed to be in-
stances in which it is peculiarly likely to be exemplified.
Before the Christian era the varieties of fowl were not
less numerous, but in many instances were probably
identical with what we have at the present day. Colu-
mella particularly recommends as the best, those sorts
that have five toes and white ears — the marks of our
highly-esteemed breeds, the Dorking and the Spanish.
He vparns his contemporaries that Bantams, " pumiliones
aves," will prove troublesome, by preventing the eggs of
larger birds from being properly fertilised. He dismissed
the fighting breed as being foreign to his subject, which
treated only of profitable sorts, and had nothing to do
with cock-fighting. He mentions the Tanagric, the
Rhodian, the Chalcidic, and the Medic, as tall birds
of high courage, but prefers their own common sort,

220 THE DOMESTIC FOWL.

" nostrum vernaculum," for economical purposes, allowing,
however, that a first cross produces fine chickens. —
" But the Adrianic Hens are small indeed ; but they lay
every day. They are ill-tempered, and frequently kill
the (he does not say their own) young. And they are of
all sorts of colours." Many of our larger Bantams
exactly tally to this, particularly in the savage propensity
to kill chickens, which they discover to be substituted.

We may, therefore, infer that our existing Domestic
Fowls are not improvements or modifications of those
Cocks that are now found wild in the East, but that they
have as much right to be called original varieties or species
(whichever term it may be thought right to apply to them)
as any of those which are allowed to rank in the catalogues
of the naturalist. The converse opinion, namely, that
the forms of living creatures are undergoing perpetual
changes, according to the circumstances under which they
happen to be placed, has only to be stated in the exag-
gerated length to, which some theorists have carried it,
to refute itself by the outrageous shock it gives to expe-
rience and common sense. Buffon thus accounts for the
existence of various species of Pheasants : — •' Since no
naturalist or traveller has given the least hint concerning
the original abode of the Black-and- White (our Silver)
Pheasant, we are obliged to form conjectures. I am
inclined to suppose that, as the Pheasant of Georgia (the
common species of our preserves) having migrated towards
the east, and having fixed its residence in the southern or
temperate provinces of China, has become the Painted
(with us Golden) Pheasant ; so, the White Pheasant,
which is an inhabitant of our cold climates, or that of
Tartary, having travelled into the northern provinces of
China, has become the pencilled or silver kind : that it
has there grown to a greater size than the original Pheasant,
or that of Georgia, because it has found in those pro-
vinces food more plentiful and better suited to its nature ;
but that it betrays the marks of a new climate in its air,
port, and external form ; in all which it resembles the

THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 221

Painted Pheasant, but retains of the original Pheasant
the red orbits, which have been even expanded from the
same causes undoubtedly that promoted the growth of
its body, and gave it a superiority over the ordinary
Pheasant." By this sort of gentle transmutation, any
one bird may be easily manufactured from any other.
Dr, Erasmus Darwin proceeds boldly to the work, and
carries it out on a grand scale. "As Linnseus has con-
jectured in respect to the vegetable world (where ?), it is
not impossible but the great variety of species of animals,
which now tenant the earth, may have had their origin
from the mixture of a few natural orders.

" Such a promiscuous intercourse of animals is said
to exist at this day in New South Wales, by Captain
Hunter. And that not only amongst the quadrupeds and
birds of different kinds, but even amongst the fish, and,
as he believes, amongst the vegetables. He speaks of an
animal between the opossum and the kangaroo, from the
size of a sheep to that of a rat. Many fish seem to partake
of the shark ; some with a skait's head and shoulders, and
the hind part of a shark ; others with a shark's head and
the body of a mullet ; and some with a shark's head and
the flat body of a sting-ray. Many birds partake of the
Parrot : some have the head, neck, and bill of a Parrot,
with long straight feet and legs ; others with legs and
feet of a Parrot, with head and neck of a Sea-gull."* —
Zbonomia, vol. i. p. 499.

Again he continues, even yet more adventurously : —
" Another great want felt by animals consists in the
means of procuring food, which has diversified the forms
of all species. Thus, the nose of the swine has become
hard for the purpose of turning up the soil in search of
insects and of roots. The trunk of the elephant is an
elongation of tlie nose for the purpose of pulling down

* Some of our decoj-men call the Godwit a "half-bred Curlew ;"
whether they have any belief ia such a pedigree, they could not, per-
haps, themselves declare.

/

222 THE DOMESTIC FOWL.

the branches of trees for his food, and for taking up water
without bending his knees. Beasts of prey have acquired
strong jaws or talons. Cattle have acquired a rough
tongue and a rough palate to pull off the blades of grass,
as cows and sheep. Some birds have acquired beaks
adapted to break the harder seeds, as sparrows. Others
for the softer seeds or flowers, or the buds of trees, as the
Finches. Other birds have acquired long beaks to pene-
trate the nioister soils in search of insects or roots, as
Woodcocks ; and others broad ones to filtrate the water
of lakes, and to retain aquatic insects. All which seem to
have been gradually produced during many generations, by
the perpetual endeavour of the creatures to supply the want
of food, and to have been delivered to their posterity with
constayit improvement of them, for the purposes required.

" Would it then be too bold to imagine, that all warm-
blooded animals have arise^i from one living filament,
which the great First Cause endued with animality, with
the power of acquiring new parts, attended with new pro-
pensities, directed by irritations, sensations, volitions, and
associations ; and thus possessing the faculty of conti-
nuing to improve by its own inherent activity, and of
delivering down those improvements by generation to its
posterity, world without end ! " — Id. vol i. p. 505.

These extracts are not given from any disrespect to the
abilities or intentions of the writers, for they were both
men to whom science is much indebted, but to show what
strange and startling conclusions may be arrived at by
arguing from premises that are not founded on proved
facts, but on plausibility and fashionable hypotheses merely.
But we will now maintain unhesitatingly, that it was not
Man or his domestication, or any inherent tendency in the
creatures themselves, that gave feathered crests to the
Poland Fowl, dwarfed the Bantam, expanded the Dorking,
enlarged the Malay and Cochin-China Fowl, inspired
courage to the Game Cock, or made the Hen, next to
Woman, the most exemplary of mothers : unless we
believe it was Man who arranged the strata in the ribs

THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 223

of the earth, and prescribed to the sea its everchanging
boundaries. Man is powerful to have dominion ; God
alone is potent to create — His Providence to overrule.
Not by Man, nor Chance, nor by generative force of an
idol called Nature, have the things which we see, and the
diversities in our living fellow-creatures, been brought
about. No; most thankfully, no! Then would matters
have been far less harmoniously, far less benignantly
arranged. It is our greatest consolation to feel assured
that all the physical changes which this earth has under-
gone, and every renovation of its inhabitants, has been from
the beginning fore ordained by that all-wise and all-power-
ful Being, in whose presence (and we are ever in His
presence) the best and greatest of us would be crushed
into nothingness, did we not, to our comfort, believe that
He is not the Creator merely, but the Father and Protector
of every animated creature. " These wait all upon Thee,
that Thou mayest give them meat in due season. When
Thou givest it them, they gather it, and when Thou
openest Thy hand, they are filled with good. When Thou
hidest Thy face, they are troubled. When Thou takest
away their breath they die, and are turned again to their
dust."

THE REARING AND MANAGEMENT OF
FOWLS.

" Although every woman knows how to rear the gallinaceous trihe,
yet some precepts have been prescribed by the most assiduous ancient
Geoponics, which are unknown, not only to them, but perhaps even to
the erudite." — Aldrovandi.

There are two classes of Fowl-breeders : those who
rear them for amusement, and for the convenience of
having a few chickens at hand to kiU, and a few Hens on
the goodness of whose eggs they can depend ; and those
whose only object is to increase their stock as fast as
possible, as a matter of business, and solely for gain and
profit. It may safely be stated that the number of those
who can strictly be included in this latter division is
extremely limited. Even the poor cottager who has just
a couple of Hens, and is dependent upon some richer
neighbour for a supply of eggs that will produce chickens,
keeps them more because she finds pleasure in seeing the
good creatures busying about with their broods, than for
any profitable advantage she is likely to get by them. If
she be poor, with a large family, she no more presumes to
indulge herself with keeping Fowls, than she would with
a caged Lark, or Goldfinch, or Thrush. If she be lone and
industrious, and so have a trifle to spare, or be the child-
less wife of a thrifty husband, she may gratify her pride
with Cocks and Hens, to the envy of her neighbours.
Even on large farms it is more as save-alls and collectors
of scattered fragments, which would otherwise be wasted,
that Fowls are serviceable. And if the farmer were to

THE REARING AND MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS. 225

charge his wife with all the corn consumed in their
rearing and fatting, we may venture to assert that a much
smaller supply of them would be sent to market. These
observations are less applicable to Ducks, Geese, and
Turkeys ; but in no case is any account taken of the time
their tending demands, that being considered as part of
the household routine, or even in the light of a relaxation.
It is not by those who usually rear chickens that large
profits are made, although the gross sum returned at the
end of the year may appear to be large. The greatest
gainers are the travelling dealers who scour the country,
and buy, for the lowest farthing they can get them, small
lots of Fowls and eggs here and there, the superabundant
produce of various housewives, either disposing of them
immediately at advanced prices, or shutting up the birds
at once to be fatted for market. The poulterers and
feeders on a large scale in great towns doubtless derive a
remunerating trade. It is the middle-men who are the
principal gainers. And when we shall have succeeded in
producing peaches and nectarines for the million, for
dessert, we may calculate on rearing Poultry for the
million for dinner.

Those who set about keeping Fowls, as amateurs for the
first time, to whom alone we address ourselves, are recom-
mended to begin with a limited number, such as a Cock
and four or five Hens, of some distinct and choice breed ;
or, if it be desired to test the value of different sorts of
Hens, one or two of them may be admitted, care being
taken to separate all the cross-bred progeny for the fatting
coop and the dinner-table. It will add to the amuse-
ment derived, if, in the first instance, strong three-quarter
grown chickens are procured, instead of adult birds, so
that an opportunity is given of watching their progress
to maturity.

As to fowl-houses and other accommodations, so much
depends upon circumstances, that minute directions are
almost impertinent. The three grand requisites are
cleanliness, dryness, and warmth. Those who wish for

226 THE REARING AND MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS.

anything on a large scale, will find plenty of plans and
descriptions in books, so that if they choose they may lay
out as much money in a hen-house as would build a com-
fortable cottage ornee. But most people have little choice
in the matter : they must take or adapt such conveniences
as they find around them. The Fowls themselves are
not very fastidious ; but we may be sure that the more
we attend to the comforts of our domestic animals, the
more they will reward our trouble.

In the first place, then, the Fowls should have a good
roof overhead. Many such outbuildings are merely tiled,
my own, till lately, among the number. During summer
this construction is the best, as all night long the house
is ventilated with warm air passing through the interstices
of the tiles that have been heated by the sun the whole
day. Of course the roof is supposed to be in such good
repair, and the tiles so well overlapped, that no drippings
of water from above are admitted. But in winter such
draughts are very injurious, particularly as the Fowls will
roost as near to the roof as they can get, so that their
head, the most sensitive part, is most exposed to the
influence of cold. In the autumn of ] 847 I lost several
favourite birds — a valuable Turkey among the number —
solely from this cause, as I believe. The expense of
ceiling with lath and plaster is trifling, the winter comfort
of the Fowls must be much increased, and with it their
health and profitableness. Leaving the door open for a
while every day will sufficiently change the air in any
weather.

Some people allow their Fowls to roost abroad all
night, in all weathers, in hawthorn or elder-trees, that
stand near the fowl-houses. But the plan is a slovenly
mode of keeping even the humblest live stock : it offers a
temptation to thieves, and the health of the Fowls can-
not be improved by their being soaked all night long in
drenching rain, or having their feet frozen to the branches.
There is no difficulty in accustoming any sort of poultry,
except the Peafowl, to regular housing at night.

THE REARING AND MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS. 227

Rough poles, two or three inches in diameter, with the
bark left on, make the best roosting perches ; to which a
hen-ladder should afford a convenient means of ascent, to
save the birds the strain of flying up, and jDerhaps fre-
quent falls in consequence of failure. A hen-ladder is an
indispensable piece of furniture, though frequently absent.
The nests or laying places may be either wooden fixtures
contiguous to the wall, or the Hens may be accommodated
with shallow hampers here and there, out of the way of
dirt, and easily reached. The fixed nests should be
thoroughly whitewashed inside and out, at least once a
month during summer, to destroy fleas, &c. The hampers
may be taken down, shaken out, and completely purified
at intervals.

It is as well to have the fixed laying places made not
larger than is sufficient to accommodate a full-sized Hen,
in order to prevent two or more Hens from quarrelling
for the same nest. I have seen excellent laying and
sitting-boxes, of a convenient capacity, built with brick-
work, up against one or more sides of the fowl- house,
much in the same way as is seen in the lockers in old-
fashioned manorial dovecotes. Each box was fitted with
a loose, thin wooden bottom, to slide over the bottom of
stone or brickwork, and having a half-inch rim in front,
to keep the eggs from rolling out. The plan is a good
one. After each sitting, the sliding bottom of the box
can be taken out, scoured and scalded, and the brickwork
washed and white-washed, as may the wooden slide also.
A great convenience, especially where a numerous and
various head of poultry is kept, will be found in a range of
small separate fowl-houses about a cubic yard or a little
more in size, each with its own door fastened by a button,
and a latticed aperture to admit air over the door. Into
these, each breeding fowl, with her young, can be sepa-
rately driven from the coops at night, and remain there
without disturbance or quarrels till the proper time to go
abroad next day. Each of these private apartments can
be gravelled or littered, according to the requirements of

q2

228 THE BEARING AND MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS.

their occupants, and supplied with pans of water, green
turves, a cabbage, a handful of corn, or whatever else is
wanted. A recent traveller in Connemara found the
cottagers' Hens accommodated with neatly worked straw-
baskets, fashioned like a reticule, or a watch-pocket at the
bed's head. These were hung up against the wall at one
end of the hovel for the Hens to lay in ; the reason for
the arrangement being, that the sow and pigs occupied
the other end, and would surely devour any eggs that
were laid on the ground. Though eggs fetched only four-
pence a score, it would not do to lose them : other provi-
sions bore proportionate prices. The paradox of starvation
amidst cheapness and abundance is extremely puzzling.

If the floor of the fowl-house can be swept every day,
and sprinkled with fresh sand, gravel, or ashes, so much
the better. Dust and cobwebs on the walls, and up
the corners, are neither a decoration nor an advantage.
Cobbett says that no pigsty is what it ought to be, unless
it is clean enough and dry enough for a man, upon a
pinch, to pass a night in it with tolerable comfort ; we
say that no fowl-house is what it ought to be, unless it is
in such a state as to afford a lady, without offending
her sense of decent propriety, a respectable shelter on a
showery day. A false ceiling of wood suspended beneath
the roosting perches is a mode sometimes adopted of
keeping the floor of the house clean, by catching the dung
as it falls from the Fowls ; but the plan requires extreme
cleanliness on the part of the attendants ; the filth out of
sight is apt to be out of mind, and allowed to accumulate,
and is also brought too close under the Fowls themselves,
even if it be removed daily. To close all, a good door is
requisite, with a small wicket gate at the bottom, to allow
ingress and egress. It is better that Turkeys should not
roost in the same house, as they are apt to be cross to
sitting and laying Hens ; if they do, the wicket must be
of proportional size. My readers, I hope, will not be
offended at a hint that a hole that will admit a Turkey,
will also allow a Hen to pass j and that there is no need

THE REARING AND MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS. 229

to make a smaller aperture by the side of the larger, unless
they like the look of it. A first-rate lock can do no harm
on the door, as Columella advises, " That no cats or
snakes have access to the birds, and that other equally
noxious pests* be kept at a distance." Possibly even in
classical times there were such creatures as fowl-stealers.
With peace and plenty the newly arrived young Fowls
will thrive a^^ace. Soon after they are full-grown, the
comb both of the Cock and the Hens will be observed to
become of a more brilliant red, the Cock will crow more
lustily, and with more of a canto fermo than before, the
Hens will grow animated, restless, full of busy impor-
tance, as if a new idea had lately broke in upon their
minds. By-and-by they will commence prating and
cackling, and in a few days the delighted Pullet will lay
her first egg. It is hard to say which receives the most
pleasure at contemplating the smooth, immaculate pro-
duction, the Hen or her amateur owner.f And when,
time after time, the first instalment is followed by similar
deposits, she thinks herself, and is thought, a perfect para-
gon. Such are the pleasures of productiveness. Those
whose inherited wealth comes to them quarterly or
annually, without any thought or exertion on their part,
have no conception how bright and beautiful the money
looks of which they can say " I have fairly and honestly
earned it ; I have done something useful for it." So with
the Hen ; she is an industrious little save-all. She
rescues from waste many a minute portion of nutritious
matter, collects it in her crop, and converts it into whole-
some food for Man. After a while her own turn comes
to be served ; the pleasures of motherhood must be
accorded to her. Nature has been sufficiently tasked in
one direction ; she becomes feverish, loses flesh, her
comb is livid, her eye dull. She sees in her heated fancy

* " Pest is, a rogue, a villain." — Ainsworth's Dictionary.
"Y The very first egg, however, which a Pullet lavs is seldom quite
immaculate, hut hears marks of the effort it has cost : those suhse-
qucutl)- laid appear with greater purity.

230 THE REARING AND MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS.

her young ones crowding around her, bristles her feathers
to intimidate an imaginary enemy, and, as if they were
ah-eady there, she utters the maternal " cluck " — " chi-
occia" — " glocientes " — " clock-hens ; " " Sic enim apel-
lant rustici aves eas quae volunt incubare,"

In no other bird, that I am aware, is the desire of
incubation thus manifested. I am very much inclined to
attribute it to the imagination of the Fowl anticipating
the duties that are to follow. The cry is exactly the same,
although other various tones are afterwards made use of;
for example, the acute voice with which she calls her
chicks to partake of some dainty, which is also used by
the male bird to assemble his Hens on a similar occasion,
— and the short staccato note which gives warning of
danger from a hawk, or a strange dog. Indeed, the
language of Fowls, though inarticulate, is sufficiently fixed
and determined for us to know what some of it means.
But the Hen that "clucks" is evidently thinking about
her future young ; and she is not alone in indulging such
dreams of offspring. A caged Virginian Nightingale has
been recorded to go through the pantomimic actions of
feeding its brood in the spring {Gard. Mag.). A Bantam
Hen was barren, but always entered the nest daily, never
laying ; but at last became broody, was supphed with
eggs, and proved an excellent sitter and mother.

When the determination to sit becomes fixed, — there
is no need to indulge the first faint indications immedi-
ately— let her have the nest she has selected well cleaned
and filled with fresh straw. The number of eggs to be
given to her will depend upon the season, and upon their
and her own size. The wisest plan is not to be too greedy.
The number of chickens hatched is often in inverse pro-
portion to the number of eggs set ; I have known only five
to be obtained from sixteen. Hens will in general well
cover from eleven to thirteen eggs laid by themselves. A
Bantam may be trusted with about half-a-dozen eggs of a
large breed, such as the Spanish. A Hen of the largest
size, as a Dorking, will successfully hatch at the most five

THE REARING AND MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS, 231

Goose's eggs. But if a Hen is really determined to sit, it
is useless as well as cruel to attempt to divert her from
her object. The means usually prescribed are such as no
humane person would willingly put in practice. If the
season is too late or too early to give a hope of rearing
gallinaceous birds, the eggs of Ducks or Geese may
always be had ; and the young may be brought up, with
a little pains-taking, at any time of the year. And if it
be required to retain the services of a Hen for expected
valuable eggs, she may be beguiled for a week or ten days
with four or five old addled ones till the choicer sort arrive.

Three weeks is the period of incubation of the common
Hen. Sometimes when she does not sit close for the
first day or two, or in early spring, it will be some hours
longer ; more rarely in this climate, when the Hen is
assiduous and the weather is hot, the time will be a trifle
shorter. The growtli of the chick in the egg has been
so fully and so well described by many writers, from
Aristotle down to Reaumur, that I need merely refer the
reader to them. The observations of the latter par-
ticularly have appeared in almost every compilation that
has been published on the subject ; and I must think it
better taste for common inquirers to betake themselves to
such sources of information, illustrated as they are by
good engravings, than to desire that a set of half-hatched
eggs should be broken to gratify their curiosity. A
shattered and imperfectly formed chick, struggling in
vain in the fluid that ought to perfect its frame, till it
sinks in a gradual and convulsive death, is a horrible
spectacle, though on a small scale.

" The shell of all Eggs, when newly laid, is nearly
half as thick again as it is when the young bird has to
penetrate it. Otherwise, especially in the case of some
thick-shelled Eggs, those of the Guinea-Fowl for instance,
the tender little creatures would be scarcely equal to the
task. As to what becomes of the other part of the
shell, there is an ingenious theory by Knaj^p, ' The
shell of the egg appears to be designed for the accom-

232 THE REARING AND MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS.

plishment of two purposes. One of the offices of this
calcareous coating, which consists of carbonate and phos-
phate of lime, is to unite with the white of the Egg and
form, during incubation, the feathers and bone of the
future young one ; but as a large portion of this covering
remains after the young are produced, its other object is
to guard from injury the parts within ! ' " — H. H.

Shortly before the time of hatching arrives, the chickens
may be heard to chirp and tap against the walls of their
shell. Soon a slight fracture is perceived towards the
upper end, caused by force Ji-om within. The fracture is
continued around the top of the egg, which then opens
like a lid, and the little bird struggles into daylight. The
tapping which is heard, and which opens the prison doors,
is caused by the bill of the included chick : the mother
has nothing to do with its liberation, beyond casting the
empty shells out of the nest. At the tip of the bill of
every new-hatched chick, on the upper surface, a whitish
scale will be observed, about the size of a pin's head, but
much harder than the bill itself. Had the beak been
tipped with iron to force the shell open, it would not
have been a stronger proof of creative design than is this
minute speck, which acts as so necessary an instrument.
In a few days after birth, when it is no longer wanted, it
has disappeared ; not by falling off, I believe, which
would be a waste of valuable material, but by being
absorbed and becoming serviceable in strengthening the
bony structure, minute as the portion of earthy substance
is. And yet some people direct, that as soon as the chick
is hatched, this scale should be forced off with the finger
nail, because it is injurious !

All chicks do not get out so easily, but may require a
little assistance. The difficulty is, to know when to give
it. They often succeed in making the first breach, but
appear unable to batter down their dungeon walls any
further. A rash attempt to help them by breaking the
shell, particularly in a downward direction towards the
smaller end, is often followed by a loss of blood, which

THE REARING AND MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS. 233

can ill be spared. It is better to wait awhile and not
interfere with any of them, till it is apparent that a part
of the brood have been hatched some time, say twelve
hours, and that the rest cannot succeed in making their
appearance. After such wise delay, it will generally be
found that the whole fluid contents of the egg, yolk and
all, are taken up into the body of the chick, and that
weakness alone has prevented its forcing itself out. The
causes of such weakness are various ; sometimes insuf-
ficient warmth, from the Hen having sat on too many
eggs ; sometimes the original feebleness of the vital spark
included in the egg, but most frequently staleness of the
eggs employed for incubation. The chances of rearing
such chicks are small, but if they get over the first twenty-
four hours they may be considered as safe. But all the
old wives' nostrums to recover them are to be discarded :
the merest drop of ale may be a useful stimulant, but an
intoxicated chick is as liable to sprawl about and have
the breath trodden out of its body as a fainting one.
Pepper-corns, gin, rue, and fifty other ways of doctoring,
are to be banished afar, together with their subjects,
namely,

" All the unaccomplished works of Nature's hand.
Abortive, monstrous, or unkindly mixed.
Embryos, and idiots, eremites, and friars.
Into a Limbo large and broad, since called
The Paradise of Fools, to few unknown.''''

The only thing to be done, is to take them from the
Hen till she is settled at night, keeping them in the
meanwhile as snug and warm as possible. If a clever,
kind, gentlehanded little girl could get a crumb of bread
down their throats, it would do no harm ; but all rough,
violent, clumsy manipulation is as bad as the throat-
tickling of the hard-fingered hangman. Animal heat will
be their greatest restorative. At night let them be quietly
slipped under their mother ; the next morning they will
be eitlier as brisk as the rest, or as flat as pancakes and
dried biffins.

234 THE BEARING AND MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS.

Those who have ever undertaken the amusing task of
tending a brood of chickens from the shell, must have
observed the great change of apparent size which the first
few hours produce. At the time when I had an affec-
tionate assistant in such matters, we used often to remark,
how impossible it would be to re-pack again in the same
shell the creature which was contained in it only a little
while ago. We certainly never tried the experiment, but
the eye could measure with some degree of accuracy,
besides allowing for the elastic coat of down which before
had been flattened by moisture. How could the vivacious
little wretch have made such a sudden start ? Not from
what it had eaten or drunk, certainly. The solution
appears to lie in the fact which the best comparative
anatomists have recorded, that the bodies of most birds
are injected with air to a considerable extent. While the
embryo remains in the shell, its vascular parts are com-
pressed, or contain merely fluid for future nourishment,
but as soon as the lungs come fairly into play, air is made
to inflate many an unsuspected cavity, even, perhaps, to
the tip of every filament of down. Chamselion-like, the
chick makes a good meal on the atmosphere. A case in
point may be seen when the shell of a chrysalis is dis-
rupted by the emerging butterfly ; and the process is so
absolutely magical, that those who have never witnessed
it will be amply repaid for their trouble, if they collect a
few chrysalids (those of the gooseberry-moth, for
instance) out of their garden, and keep them under a
tumbler in their dressing-room, or on their side-board or
writing-table, or wherever they are most likely to secure
the chance of being in at the birth. The black, hairy,
quick-running caterpillar, which is so common, may be
secured, fed upon common groundsel, and will speedily
be metamorphosed into a handsome tiger-moth. Ten
minutes after it has burst its shelly covering, —

" Not all the Queen's horses, and all the Queen's men
Could get tiger-moth into his shell again."

THE REARING AND MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS. 235

Tt creeps out with a little moisture adhering to it, the
wings appear merely rudimental, soon it is seized with a
shivering fit, it grows larger with every successive attack of
tremulousness, the wings may be seen to extend as a cur-
tain is let down, the moisture is absorbed or evaporated, its
breathing-places in its sides are at work, it is thoroughly
injected with air, and none but those who know the
whole truth would believe, on seeing the narrow case
by the side of the expanded insect, that Euclid had been
practically contradicted, and that the greater had been
contained within the less. The chicks of Turkeys and
Guinea Fowls exhibit this sudden expansion even more
strikingly than those of Cocks and Hens.

But what are we to do with the new-come chickens ?
Let us leave them quiet with their mother six or eight
hours, or till the next morning. Now is the time to
listen to quackeries, and fooleries, and heaps of babble
and rubbish, if we do not choose the better part of being
as deaf as stones. How wonderful must be the produc-
tive energy which is at work in the universe, to replace
the myriads of chickens and children that have been laid
low by sage nursing ! Whole pepper-corns, gin, lau-
danum, tight-swaddling, cramming, dips into cold water,
suffocation with foul air, make us wonder that either
biped, plumed or unplumed, is to be found in any other
than a fossil state.

A roomy, boarded coop, in a dry sunny spot, is the
best position for them during the first month ; after which
it may be left open during the day for the Hen to retire
to when she pleases. In quiet grassy places, such as one
sees on the skirts of green commons and by the sides of
country churchyards, the Hen need scarcely be cooped at
all. As to food, let them have everj'thing which is not
absolutely poisonous. Sloppy matters are better avoided
till the little things are old enough to eat a few grains of
good barley, which they are before it is usually suspected ;
afterwards they do no harm. A little wheat, of the best
sample, will then not be thrown away upon them. Meat

236 THE REARING AND MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS.

and insect diet are almost necessary ; but raw vegetables
chopped small, so grateful to young Turkeys, are caviare
to chickens. But whatever be the bill of fare, the meals
must be given at short intervals ; as much as they can
swallow, as often as they can eat. The reader will please
to remember that when he came into the world, all that
was expected of him was to grow and be good-natured.
He had not to provide his long-clothes out of his mother's
milk, nor to elaborate pinafores from a basin of soaked
biscuit ; but for poor little chickens, the only known baby-
linen warehouse is situated in their own stomachs. And
with all their industry, they are only half-clad till flesh
and bone stop growing for a while, and allow down and
feathers to overtake them.

The period at which they are left to shift for them-
selves depends upon the disposition of the Hen. Some
will continue their attentions to their chicks till they are
nearly full grown, others will cast them off much earlier.
In the latter case it may be as well to keep an eye upon
them for a few days till they have established themselves
as independent members of the gallinaceous community.
For chickens in this half-grown state are at the most
critical period of their lives. They are now much more
liable to disease than when they were apparently tender
little weaklings crowded under their mother's wings. It
is just before arriving at this point of growth, that arti-
ficially hatched chickens are so sure to fail, whether hot
air, hot water, or sheepskin, be the substitute for the
mother's care. Mere incubation has long ago been per-
formed artificially with success in various ways. Any
lady or gentleman, at any time of the year, can effectually
complete that process by means of a spirit-lamp and a
sand-bath in their study or boudoir. The mere hatching
of chickens deserves little credit, however ingeniously
it is done. But to rear them on a great scale is the
difficulty that has not yet been surmounted in this
country. A visit to the purveyors of Poultry for the
Million is not repaid by the sight of an approach to the

THE REARING AND MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS. 237

fulfilment of their great promises. They hatch, but they
cannot rear, and are not likely to do so. The chicks for
the first week or two look well enough, and it is not to
be expected that the very first seeds of disorder should be
apparent ; but no farmer's wife would be pleased that her
stock had the look of those that get to be six weeks or
two months old. Compare the tables of mortality amongst
infants in the French Foundling Hospitals with those
calculated on the families of healthy English cottagers, and
the contrast will be a guide to the relative merits of the
natural and tlie artificial modes of rearing Chickens,
Turkeys, and Guinea-fowl. And what becomes of the
Hens belonging to such establishments which desire to
sit, but are prevented on principle from doing so, on eggs
at least 1 They are just put up to fatten as soon as they
become broody, and after a certain time killed to be eaten.
No one who knew anything about Fowls would select
such for his table from choice. It cannot be expected
that those Professors, who are unable to raise sufficient
chickens for the supply of a small neighbourhood, should
be able to communicate the art of affording plenty to a
nation, even by means of a patented apparatus and an
expensive license. Were all the chickens reared that are
hatched by Hens alone, poultry would be much more
abundant than it is at present. The artificial hatching of
Ducks and Geese is a more promising speculation than
the same attempt upon Fowls ; but if it were entered upon
to any extent, it would be found that the expenses of
superintendence and nursing more than absorb all profit.

The artificial hatching described by Fortune ( Wande)--
i?i(/s, p. 78), as successfully carried on in Chusan, was
only practised on Ducks ; and the season when he saw it
in operation was the end of May, a time of year when
there would be little difficulty in rearing Ducklings so
produced in England, if time and trouble were dis-
regarded.

It would be easy to gratify the eye of the reader, and
perhaps temporarily deceive his judgment, by a set of

238 THE REARING AND MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS.

tables speciously displaying the great profitableness of
rearing poultry, but as our only object is to give infor-
mation and sober advice, and not to excite a popular run
in any direction by exaggerated or interested statements,
we unhesitatingly recommend that those who set about
keeping Fowls for the sake of mere gain, either from
their increase or their eggs, use the utmost economy,
abstain from the indulgence of all Avhims and individual
tastes, and cautiously avoid overstocking themselves with
any undue quantity, that would make an inconvenient
demand either upon their provision or their attention.
Those whose principal aim is to supply their household
with poultry, will do so the most cheaply, though per-
haps not the most pleasantly or the most conveniently,
by purchasing at the nearest market. In the arithmetical
schemes that are put forth, no allowance is made for
casualties by accident, disease, or unfavourable seasons ;
nor can such drawbacks be calculated, except upon the
roughest average. It is assumed that any unlimited
number of Fowls can be kept in any premises, whether
damp or dry, sheltered or exposed, in a luxuriant park or
on a sandy heath, in a close town or in a rural homestead.
No allowance, or a very inadequate one, is made for the
labour demanded, which, though light, occupies a con-
siderable portion of the day ; nor for the damage done by
a large head of poultry to buildings, gardens, stack-yards,
growing crops of grain, and orchards. I have seen a
flock of full-grown underfed Turkeys, perched in a clump
of apple-trees, breaking the weaker branches by their
weight, and devouring the fruit. What would become
of plums and greengages in their presence ? Not a few
persons resident in the country have felt the nuisance of
being in the close neighbourhood of an extensive poultry-
keeper, whose marauding stock were committing perpetual
trespasses and depredations in their foraging rambles
out of bounds. The more, therefore, these arithmetical
statements enter into detail, the less are they applicable
to special instances ; and disappointment is the fate of

THE REARING AND MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS. 239

those who put faith in them. Half the poultry that is
sent to market is an encroachment by the farmer's wife
upon the returns that would otherwise be received by her
husband, whose corn-stack she diminishes, and the time
of whose servants she occupies. Supposing the interest
of the couple to be one, the lady's receipts from poultry
are in great measure cash taken out of one pocket and put
into the other. If the married pair have separate purses,
as will sometimes happen, the case becomes little better
than one of domestic robbery. But if, as is usually the
case, the poultry and the food to maintain them be kindly
given by the Master to a wife or a child, as a source of
pocket-money and healthy and suitable amusement, let
the donation be considered in the light of an allowance
granted, not of a profit made.

We now assume our Fowls to have got their full
growth, or nearly, as the Cocks at least increase some-
what in size till their third year. The breeder will at this
period have to determine which birds he retains for stock,
and which are to enjoy a less extended existence. On
the process of fatting Fowls, little that is new can be
offered, and tastes differ so exceedingly, that almost every
family has their own particular mode. Some think a
young Fowl killed by dislocation of the neck, not by bleed-
ing, and without any fatting, hung up in the feathers a
few days in the larder, like game, the greatest luxury ;
others like them to be brought by confinement and select
diet, to the greatest point of delicacy and insijiidity. For
this purpose rice may often be obtained at a cheap rate.
It should be boiled, not enough to lose its granular form,
in milk : meat broth used instead of milk is nourishing
and fattening, but diminishes the whiteness of the flesh
and the delicacy of the flavour. If Fowls were brought
to eat uncooked rice, it might prove unwholesome by
swelling in the craw. A rice diet has been asserted to
cause blindness in Fowls, but after considerable expe-
rience I have never verified the fact. Possibly such a
result might be caused by the uncooked grain. Cramming

240 THE REAEING AND MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS.

is quite unnecessary: cleanliness in all cases most expe-
dient. If any coarse or rank food is used, such as tainted
meat, rancid fat, or fish scraps, it will be apt to impart a
corresponding taint to the flesh. The purer the diet, the
more delicate will be the flavour. Eice boiled as above
directed, or barley-meal and milk, are either of them
excellent articles for the purpose, and easily obtained.
The locality and the cost price must often determine the
matters employed, care being only taken to avoid all that
is likely to prove hereafter offensive to the palate. For
it is an old notion, confirmed by modern experience, that
even laying Hens should not be allowed to eat unsavory
or strong- tasted substances, lest their eggs become tainted
with the flavour.

" Let bitter herbs be avoided, particularly wormwood,
for Hens that have eaten it lay extremely bitter eggs.
Some aver that the eggs from Hens that have eaten
impure food, are mostly putrid and even poisonous, and
if they have fed filthily, excrementitious. They should
also abstain from lupines (which are bitter) for the same
reason, and also because they produce small swellings
under the eyes, as Crescentiensis observed ; and Palladius
tells us, that unless these swellings are gently opened with
the needle and the core extracted, they blind the Fowls."
— Aldrovandi. It is certain that a peculiar flavour is
perceptible in the eggs of those Hens that have fed much
about dung-heaps, or run principally in fir plantations.

A well-fatted Fowl is undoubtedly a more economical
dish than a lean one. But Pliny tells us, with an
expression of disapprobation, that the people of Delos
were the first inventors of the luxury. He mentions the
sumptuary laws, that in old Roman times were passed to
restrain such indulgencies, and how they were evaded.
This seems, in him, to be very like affectation ; for living,
as he did, in the best society of a most voluptuous and
self-indulgent age, he must often, in the character of an
accessory after the fact, have been guilty of the misde-
meanour of fatting Fowls.

THE REARIXG AND MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS. 241

Willughby is a much more sensible fellow. " No
better flesh in the world (in my opinion) than that of a
year-old Pullet well fed, or a fat Capon ; nothing inferior
to, not to say better than that of a Pheasant or Par-
tridge. Some there are that think, and we also incline to
their opinion, that the flesh of those Hens is most sweet
and delicate which are fed at the barn-door, running about
and exercising themselves in getting their food, by scrap-
ing with their feet. And that the flesh of those is less
pleasant and wholesome, that are shut up in coops and
crammed. Some are so curious that they think those
limbs most wholesome which are most exercised, and
therefore in Wild- Fowl they prefer the wings, in Tame,
the legs."

The old Dutch mode of fatting is by no means a bad
one : —

" Cardan is the authority, that if you mingle fat
lizard (?),* saltpetre, and cummin, with wheat flour, and
feed Hens on this food, they will get so fat, and the
people who eat them will grow so stout, as to burst.
John Jacob Wecker records that he learnt the following
secret of fatting Hens from a certain Hollander. * In
the kitchen,' he says, 'make to yourself a box, divided
into many little boxes, each one with its own opening,
through which the Hens can thrust their heads out of doors,
and take their food. Therefore, in these little boxes, let
youthful Hens or Pullets be incarcerated, one in each :
let food be offered every hour, drink being interdicted for
the time. But let the food be wheat, moderately boiled.
The little boxes ought to be pervious below, that the
excrements may pass through, and be diligently removed
every day. But the Hens ought not to be shut up beyond
two weeks ; lest they should die from too much fatness.
I am told, also, that among some people they get gloriously
fat, and quickly, if beer is offered them for drink, instead

• May not " lacerta " in the original text be a misprint or slip of
the pen for " lacerate ? " If so, " fat lizard " should be replaced by
" torn or shred fat."

K

242 THE REARING AND MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS.

of water ; also, that if they are fed on brewer's grains,
they lay more, as well as larger. Eggs.' " — Aldrovandi.

A correspondent of the Agricultural Gazette thus de-
scribes the method which he successfully practised for
many years in India : — " The fowl-house, or rather feeding-
house, for only fattening Fowls were permitted to be in it,
was kept as cool as possible, (in Bengal, remember,) and
almost dark. Each Fowl had a separate pen ; they were
fed once, and only once a-day, with rice, boiled as rice
ought to be for Christians ; not to a mash ; but so that
grain from grain should separate. The quantity to each
Fowl was about two ounces (before boiling). For the
first three days to each was given about a tea-spoonful
of 'ghoor,' a coarse sugar — about half as much again of
treacle would be an equivalent. This commencing with
sugar was held to be very important ; it cleansed the
birds and disposed them to fatten ; no water was given ;
neither was any chalk or gravel, both being unknown in
the country. In about three weeks the Fowls were gene-
rally fat. I never, in England, have seen finer than those
I have killed within that time, not even at Mr. Davis's,
of Leadenhall Market. If they did not fatten in three
weeks, we supposed that they did not mean to fatten,
but this was a rare occurrence, and proceeded, no doubt,
from some ailment beyond my power of discovering ; but,
fat or otherwise, they were never tough. To boil the
rice in buttermilk is by far preferable to boiling it in
water ; let the Fowls be as young as you can, if of full
growth. Many people run away with an impression that
Fowls fed on rice will go blind ; it is dirt and sourness
that cause it. How often do we see a trough loaded with
meal food, sufficient for two or three days, placed before
the unhappy prisoner in the pen, who cannot escape from
it, or seek other and sweeter food ! When the Fowls
have done feeding, the trough should be removed, cleaned,
and exposed to the air until the next day's feeding time.
At my factory, in India, the troughs were every afternoon
thrown into a pond ; there they remained until next

THE REARING AND MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS. 243

morning, when, after an hour or two's sunning, they were
returned to the coops : no bhndness was known there."

We may observe that a temperature which feels cool
in Bengal, would be thought warm here ; and that, in
this country of rapid digestion, a single meal a day is
insufficient to fatten Fowls. It is a great point to keep
them without food the first twenty-four hours they are
shut up, allowing them to have drink only. If food be
offered to them as soon as they are deprived of liberty,
they will sulk and refuse it, and, perhaps, be several days
before they feed heartily ; but, if they be starved till they
feel a craving appetite, hunger will overcome their sul-
lenness, and they will afterwards greedily devour their
allowance.

The oldest and toughest Fowls may be made into a
savoury and nutritious dish by the following method,
which is given as a tried and warranted recipe, because
such birds are so often pronounced uneatable, thrown
away, and wasted.

When the Fowl is plucked and drawn, joint it as for a
pie. Do not skin it. Stew it five hours in a close
sauce-pan, with salt, mace, onions, or any other flavour-
ing ingredients that may be approved : a clove of garlic
may be added where it is not utterly disliked. When
tender, turn it out into a deep dish so that the meat may
be entirely covered with the liquor. Let it stand thus
in its own jelly for a day or two (this is the grand
secret) ; it may then be served in the shape of a curry, a
hash, or a pie, and will be found little inferior to pheasant
under similar circumstances.

The cookery of the middle ages abounded in practical
jokes. Here is a very witty one with a Chicken. " If
you wish a Chicken to jump in the dish, take," says
Albertus Magnus, " quicksilver, and powder of cala-
minth, and pour them into a glass bottle, seal it, and put
it inside the hot Chicken : for as the quicksilver gets
warm, it moves itself, and will make the chicken jump,"
The brilliancy of this trick is only to be rivalled by the

R 2

244 THE REARING AND MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS.

epigrammatic point of the question, " Did you ever see
a bun dance on a table 1"

A specimen or two may be given of the savoury messes
in which our great-grandfathers delighted.

" The other delicious Broths, which none but the Rich
can afford, are, the Bisk* of Pigeons ; the Pottage of
Health ; Partridge Broth with Coleworts, &c. &c., and the
Pottage of Fowls with green Pease. We put the Fowls
to boil with Broth, and skim them well ; then pass the
green Pease through a Frying-pan, with Butter, or melted
Bacon ; and afterwards have them stew'd a-part, with
Lettices ; and when the Fowls are done, we mix the
Broth and Pease together, and send it to the Table.

" Chickens are roasted either larded, or harded, i. e.,
covered before and behind, with a thin slice of Bacon,
and wrapped in Vine-leaves, in their Season.

" Fowls are pickled with Vinegar, Salt, Pepper, and
Lemon-peel, and are left in their Pickle till they be
wanted ; when wanted, they are taken out, put to drain,
and after they have been fried in Butter, they are put to
stew for a few Minutes, in some of the Pickle, and then
carried to Table." — Dennis de Costlogon.

Fowls for cooking that are required to be sent to a
distance, or to be kept any time before being served, are
plucked, drawn, and dressed immediately that they are
killed. The feathers strip off much more easily and
cleanly while the bird is yet warm. On special occasions,
such as Michaelmas, for Geese, and Christmas, for all
sorts of Poultry, when large numbers have to be
slaughtered and prepared in a short time, the process is
expedited by scalding the bird in boiling water, when
the feathers drop off almost all at once. But Fowls thus
treated are generally thought inferior in flavour, and are
certainly more likely to acquire a taint in close warm
weather, than such as are plucked and trussed dry.
The Norfolk poulterers, especially those in the neigh-
bourhoods of Norwich and Great Yarmouth, may, in

* Derived from biscuits, twice cooked.

THE REARING AND MANAGEMENT OP FOWLS. 245

this art, challenge the whole world for skill and neatness.
All bruises or rupturing of the skin should be avoided.
A coarse half-worn cloth, that is pervious to the air, like
a wire safe, and perfectly dr}"^ and clean, forms the best
wrapper. The colour of yellow-skinned Turkeys, which,
however, are equally well flavoured, is improved for
appearance at market by wrapping them twelve or twenty-
four hours in cloths soaked in cold salt and water,
frequently changed. For the same purpose the loose fat
is laid first in warm salt and water, afterwards in milk
and water for two or three hours. The Essex mode is
to dust with flour, both inside and out, any fowls that
have to travel far, or hang many days in the larder.

Capons would properly belong to this part of our
subject, but we have purposely avoided giving any
description of their manufacture ; not so much because
of the cruelty of the operation — for we are constantly
inflicting equal pain on animals in cases which are really
necessary, which pain, however, is soon forgotten — but
because it is, in the first place, an unnecessary refinement,
and, in the second place, the torture is not forgotten, but
the creature is converted into a miserable moping hypo-
chondriac, whom it is mercy to kill and eat. To my
own taste their flesh is insipid, flavourless, and fulsome,
quite inferior to that of Fowls as we usually have them ;
those who are dissatisfied with a fat Pullet, or a plump
Cockerel, nmst surely want a little wholesome exercise of
mind and body to restore a healthy appetite. Fasting,
or hard work, even, might do no harm in such cases.

But Capons, in point of fact, are getting out of date,
and taking rank with oxen roasted whole, and other
middle-age barbarisms. They are now rarely to be had
in London ; and, when procurable, are very expensive,
but not at all unfairly so, when it is remembered that
two or three Chickens may have been sacrificed before
one Capon has been nursed into convalescence. I venture
to predict that those who try their skill upon a brood of
their own, not other people's Chickens, will not soon

246 THE BEARING AND MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS.

repeat the experiment. That they may be had in toler-
able plenty in the South of France, and with difficulty in
England, is sufficiently explained by the difference of
climate alone. But, in whatever climate, they must be
classed in the list of uncalled-for luxuries, of unnecessarily
unnatural viands, such as diseased Goose-liver pies, fish
crimped alive, or even those frightful and portentous
dishes recorded by Dr. Kitchener in " The Cook's
Oracle." But if Capons must be made, any person of
common humanity will procure the services of a practised
adept in the art. A gentleman of fortune obtained an
old man from Dorking to act as head keeper over a
valuable collection of Poultry. " Daddy," as he was
called, was an expert caponizer ; but he is gone to his
grave without having communicated his secret of mani-
pulation, and I suspect that the whole race of Dorking
Daddies is dying out under similar circumstances. We
will not disturb their bones, in search of the mystic
formula. But one thing about Capons may be harmlessly
resuscitated. As —

the toad, ugly and venomous,

Wears yet a precious jewel in his head,

so the poor Capon, which, though ugly, is not half
venomous enough, carries a valuable gem in the part
which is usually antithetically opposed to the head.
" The Allectorius is a stone like crystal or hmpid water.
It is found in the liver of a Capon at the end of three
years. It is never larger than a bean : after this stone
is formed in the Capon, he never drinks." The Ortus
Sanitatis further informs us that ladies who wear the jewel
Allectorius are sure to be pleasing in the eyes of their
husbands.

Neither can there be any harm in giving directions
" To dress Capons with Oyster Sauce. The Capon must
be larded, i. e., the Fore and Hind-part covered with a
thin Slice of Bacon, and over it a buttered Paper ; then

THE REARING AND MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS. 247

it is put to roast ; the Oysters must be fried with the
Dripping of the Capon, and seasoned while frying, with
Mushrooms, an Onion, and a small bundle of fine Herbs :
When they are well fried, they are put in the Body of
the Capon, the Bundle of Herbs excepted, before it is
quite done."

Aldrovandi tells us that in Capons, which were more
the fashion in his days than they are now, the hackle,
tail-feathers, and spurs, grow to a much greater length
than in Cocks.

But whichever way of fatting and dressing Fowls is
adopted, it will be as well to beware of the Chinese mode
of preparing them for market, although it has had its
followers even in this country.

" The method of buying provisions in CJiina being by
weight, the tricks the Chinese made use of to augment
the weight of what they sold to the Centurion (Commodore
Anson's ship) were almost incredible. One tmie a large
quantity of Fowls and Ducks being bought for the ship's
store, the greatest part of them presently died. This
spread a general alarm on board, it being apprehended that
they had been killed by poison ; but, on examination, it
appeared that it was only owing to their being crammed
with stones and gravel to increase their weight, the
quantity thus forced into most of the Ducks being found
to amount to ten ounces in each. The hogs, too, which
we bought ready killed of the Chinese Butchers, had
water injected into them for the same purpose ; so that a
carcass, hung up all night that the water might drain
from it, had lost above a stone of its weight. And when,
to avoid this cheat, the hogs were bought alive, it was
discovered that the Chinese gave them salt to increase
their thirst, and having thus excited them to drink great
quantities of water, they then took measures to prevent
them from discharging it, and sold the tortured animal in
this inflated state."

Our indignation rises as we read ; but before it boil
over on the heads of pagans and infidels, let us remember

248 THE BEARING AND MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS.

that we, professing a religion of love and mercy, are guilty
of a practice equally cruel, but more stupid, because our
barbarity deceives nobody, nor is the animal relieved of
its sufferings by death. Who has not seen our miserable
milch-cows staggering to a cattle-market, with their udders
distended to the utmost limit that they are capable of
bearing, looking piteously at the hungry calf by their side,
which is muzzled with a basket, or simply with whip-
cord ? Everybody that goes to buy a cow at a public
fair or market, knows that she has not been milked for
twenty-four hours, or for three or four days, according as
her udder is capable of distention : no wonder that when
she is at last relieved, she can scarcely bear the operation,
flinches at the first touch, is restive, and, perhaps, has
the garget soon, and is good for little ever afterwards.
The Chinese, however, have a long-sighted cunning in
their proceedings, of which I do not think that even we
can yet be justly accused.

" When the Commodore first put to sea from Macao,
they practised an artifice of another kind ; for, as the
Chinese never scruple eating any food that dies of itself,
they contrived, by some secret practices, that the great
part of his live sea-store should die in a short time after
it was put on board, hoping to make a second profit of
the dead carcasses which they expected would be thrown
overboard ; and two-thirds of the hogs dying before the
Centurion was out of sight of land, many of the Chinese
boats followed her, only to pick up the carrion. These
instances may serve as a specimen of the manners of this
celebrated nation, which is often recommended to the
rest of the world as a pattern of all kinds of laudable
qualities." — Anson's Voyage round the World.

" But to return," says the good Chaplain who wrote
the narrative, — a hint we will now take.

There are a few cases, in which Fowls are kept under
peculiar circumstances, or for certain objects, that demand
some special notice. One is where parties, with plenty
of room and range, choose to have several different

THE REARING AND MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS. 249

varieties, and yet wish to preserve the breeds pure and
distinct, to some extent at least, without the trouble of
keeping the birds in ward all the year round. A frequent
mode is to billet various families of Cocks and Hens
amongst the cottagers in one's own neighbourhood. Those
labourers, and their wives, who are fond of Fowls, will
generally contrive to have some barn-door mongrels or
other, and may therefore just as well be supplied with
a distinct and valuable breed. A person living in the
country, in easy circumstances, is not likely to cultivate
the Poultry fancy for the sake of the few shillings he may
make by it at the end of the year ; and, therefore, may
be supposed willing to rejoice the heart of a poorer
neighbour, by the gift of a Cockerel and two or three
Pullets. By these means he can secure the continuation
of any choice and favourite variety, besides attaining
the higher object of strengthening those friendly feelings,
which ought to be cultivated as far as possible between
the rich and the poor.

In addition to this best plan, the same object may be
attained by secluding the Fowls in question, when a
sitting or two of eggs are particularly required, in some
light airy outhouse, feeding them well, and taking the
precaution to reject the first two or three eggs. At other
seasons of the year they may be left together. They
will become acquainted with each other, find their own
level, form their particular friendships, and cease to
quarrel much. The contrast of their various size, shape,
and colour, is lively and amusing on a sunny day. It is
also curious to watch what odd and unexpected articles
are now and then produced by this chance-medley of
breeding. The Cocks soon learn a discreet course of
behaviour, both towards each other, and towards the Hens ;
and there are seldom more addled eggs than would result
from cold or accident.

Those, on the contrary, who only want to keep a few
Hens for the sake of the fresh-laid eggs required by some
invalid wife, or child, or parent, may perhaps derive

250 THE REARING AND MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS.

assistance from the following system of management,
which has been kindly communicated to me by Mr.
Leonard Barber : — " There is one thing I think necessary
to impress upon those who keep Fowls in a confined
place, which is cleanliness. The droppings in their
roosting place should be taken up every morning, and a
handful of dry ashes strewed under their perches. I have
only a confined yard in which to keep my Fowls. The
plan I adopt is to give them every day plenty of fresh
cabbage leaves, and once or twice a week I have some
onions chopped up for them, of which, after a time, they
become very fond. I let them have a plentiful supply of
burnt oyster shells, I put the shells into the fire until
they are red hot, and well burnt. I then break them into
small pieces with the fingers, but not into powder. I
am satisfied that this is much better for them than crude
lime ; they eat great quantities of it. Their other food
consists of the best barley and oats, and to compensate
for the want of insects, I occasionally give them a little
raw meat. By adopting this plan I keep them in decent
health. The only thing they appear to want is more
exercise, which, I think, is the reason I cannot rear
chickens well, for with all my attention I find they are
stunted in their growth, no doubt from the want of a
sufficient run." I can only say that a Cockerel which
this gentleman did me the favour to send me, showed no
symptoms of stunted growth. He was a magnificent black
Spanish fellow, with all the distinctive marks of the breed
highly developed. He has since vanished, and is now
doubtless the pride of the thief or the receiver, in some
sequestered dingy back lane. What a contrast such a
situation for Fowls is, to that described by another cor-
respondent. " I wish you could see my poultry-yard,
which is in fact no yard, being part of our park, where
I always have the young broods, and as some of it is
now a hay-field, it is a nice place for them to run about
in."— if. H.

It has been suggested that none of the wTiters on Poul-

THE REARING AND MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS. 251

try have dwelt sufficiently upon the profit and convenience
of those who keep a few Fowls for the sake of their
eggs, having everlasting layers, with perhaps one or two
sitting Hens to enable them to keep up their stock. If
the sitting Hens were such as lay browji eggs, and the
others winte ones, it would save trouble. This arrange-
ment could easily be carried out by selecting one or two
Game or Cochin China Hens that lay dark eggs, and are
all excellent incubators, and having the laying Hens Black
Spanish, or Silver Hamburgh, or the Andalusian variety,
imported by Mr. Barber.

Another plan, quite feasible, is to keep no Hens what-
ever, except those which lay everlastingly, and to make
hen Turkeys perform the duty of incubating for all parties.

The following hint may be useful to those who are not
provided with a stud of everlasting layers ; — " Amongst
all the remedies I have seen recommended for diseases in
Poultry, I have never seen Jalap mentioned, and / have
ever found it most efficacious ; indeed, for many years I
have never used any other : as it appears to me to be the
natural medicine for Fowls. It is astonishing how soon
it sets them up. In the country, where they have a good
run, they may not require so much physic ; but even
there I should imagine it would be occasionally useful :
as for instance, when they have had the incubating fever
on them late in the season, and I have not wanted them
to sit, one or two doses have relieved them from it en-
tirely. In short, with me, it is a regular ' Morrison's
Piir for Fowls ; as it seems to cure all their complaints.
The dose for a full- sized Fowl is 15 or 16 grains. I
moisten a small piece of crumb of bread about the size
of a hazel nut, and mix the powder jalap with it."

An inquiry has been made whether common salt would
not be a good thing to promote laying in Hens that were
necessarily kept in close confinement. But among the
most experienced practical rearers of Poultry there is an
old, and I believe well founded prejudice against their
eating salted food, even in very small quantities. I have

252 THE REARING AND MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS.

seen in some books Glauber's salts recommended, but
should be sorry to try them, except as an experiment on
a lot of worthless or diseased Fowls. Gallinaceous birds
reared by the sea- side or on the banks of a salt-water river,
avoid the saline stream, and search for food and drink as
far inland as they can range. I know not either how
common salt could be administered to them. It is more
than doubtful whether the Hens would pick it from the
ground in its crystalline form, and it would be difficult to
distribute it in equal doses by means of bread, <fec., soaked
in salt water : the chances are that some of the Hens
would be poisoned. Pigeons, I think, are the only domes-
ticated birds to whose health salt is beneficial, and they
prefer it in combination with animalised matters ; the
more offensive it is to our senses, the more agreeable it
appears to be to theirs.

" I was told the other day of a gentleman at Highgate,
who knowing that salt was beneficial to Pigeons, gave
some to his Hens, in consequence of which they all died.
I have found a little hemp-seed efficacious for making
them lay, and a little good ale (I give them all that is left
at table) will have that effect — not bread soaked in ale ;
for it is a golden rule to know that all moist food is inju-
rious to Fowls, unless they are intended shortly for the
table. All cooked vegetables, except potatoes, I have
found bad for them." — L. B.

An abundant supply of lime in some form should not
be omitted ; either chopped bones, old mortar, or a lump
of chalky marl. The shell of every egg used in the house
should be roughly crushed and thrown down to the Hens,
which will greedily eat them. A green living turf, like
those given to larks, only larger, will be of service, both
for its grass, and the insects it may contain. A dusting-
place, wherein to get rid of vermin is indispensable. A
daily hot meal of potatoes, boiled as carefully as for the
family table, then chopped and sprinkled or mixed with
pollard will be comfortable and stimulating. The French
plan, namely bread soaked in hot vin ordinaire, beer, or

THE REARING AND MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS. 253

cider, appears from experience to be better suited to fat-
ting than to laying Fowls, After every meal of the
household, the bones and all other scraps should be col-
lected and thrown out. Hens are great pickers of bones ;
I have seen a Hen devouring the flesh and cleaning the
skeleton of her dead husband, doubtless on the native
Australian principle of respect and affection for the de-
ceased.

It is a singular fact, that pullets hatched very late in
Autumn, and therefore of stunted growth, will lay nearly
as early as those hatched in spring. The checking of
their growth seems to have a tendency to produce eggs ;
of course very tiny ones at first.

Fowls that are kept in close confinement will greatly
miss the opportunity of basking in the sun : warmth is
almost as necessary for thriftiness as food. Even in Italy,
it was recommended by Columella that " Fowl-houses
ought to be placed in that part of the farm which faces
the rising sun in winter : let them be joined to the oven
or the kitchen, so that the smoke may reach the birds, it
being particularly healthy for them." Modern amateurs
have thought it would be a good plan to have an Arnott
or Dean stove erected in their fowl-house, which could be
lighted an hour before the Cocks and Hens went to roost.
Sharp weather is always a sufficient excuse for the unpro-
ductiveness of Hens ; but it may be suggested that there
are cases in which Fowls do lay, without their owners
being much the better for the eggs. This, however, is
less likely to happen in an aviary, if I may be allowed so
to term it, than in the farm, or the unenclosed poultry-
yard. It is an unfortunate fact, that in the country,
where Fowls are allowed unlimited range, choice speci-
mens are remarkably apt to disappear ; and if they do not,
their eggs do. The proprietor is sure of just as many of
the select kinds as he can himself lay hands upon. He
may often have the satisfaction of buying in a neighbouring
village a fine brood of chickens, hatched from eggs pur-
loined from himself, and be thus considerately saved all

254 THE REARING AND MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS.

trouble of rearing them. These agreeable tricks are
played by a set of rascally half-poaching pilferers, who are
connected with the lowest class of dealers. If any fear of
detection arises, the " fancy" birds are immediately for-
warded to the metropolis, or some other large town at a
distance.

The curiosities and absurdities of the literature of
poultry-breeding are inexhaustible. One " Ornithologus"
states, on the report of his people, that in order to obtain
all female chicks from a sitting of eggs it is only necessary
to set the Hen while the moon is in the full, and to prefer
such eggs for the purpose as have been laid when the
moon was at the full, and also to contrive that they be
hatched at the full moon ; but Aldrovandi, who quotes
him, remarks, that it would be difficult to combine all
these conditions, seeing that chickens are hatched in three
weeks, and that there are four weeks from one full moon
to another.

The same Ornithologus testifies to having read in a
certain German manuscript, that if eggs are stained with
any colour, chickens of the same hue will be produced.
Others direct that the aviaries in which they are bred
should be covered, in every part, with white hangings ; with
what view is not apparent. But whoever wishes to have
most beautiful chickens, " visu jucundissimos," must pair
his Hen with a Cock Wood Pigeon, or Partridge, or Phea-
sant. Directions, too, are given from Aristotle, for
obtaining chickens with four wings and four feet.

It is not our intention to enter minutely into the phy-
sicking and doctoring of Fowls. One or two authentic
cases will be more instructive than a score of prescriptions.
The epidemic diseases to which they are subject are more
easily warded off by prophylactic than remedial measures.
In bad cases, either of roup or gapes, it is, nine times out
of ten, more humane as well as cheaper, to knock the
poor little sufferer on the head at once, than to let it linger
on to almost certain death. It is natural to try to do all
we can either for an old favourite, or for a valuable spe-

THE REARING AND MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS. 255

cimen ; but even when we succeed in restoring the patient,
it is usually only a temporary recovery ; and it cannot be
wise to keep such valetudinarians to become the parents
of future broods.

" When I came home the other day from the country,
I found one of my favourite Hens, which had lost nearly
all its feathers (being in full moult) in a sad way. It
appeared as if it had got a wry neck, and was tipsy, as it
kept falling down, and neither the Cock nor any of the
other Hens would go near it. I examined it, and found
there was nothing in its crop, and it was very thin. I
immediately gave it one grain of calomel in a small bread-
pill, and three or four hours afterwards I gave it fifteen
grains of jalap, and, as it was evidently better the next
day, I repeated the jalap pill for four successive nights,
and it now appears quite well and feeds heartily. After
the first dose of jalap its droppings were green and highly
offensive. I mention all this, as I have never seen a Fowl
similarly affected." — L. B.

The roup is an affection of the head, from which birds
that are really attacked seldom recover, and when reco-
vered, are still more rarely strong afterwards. It is the
"pituita" of the Roman writers, which they characterise
as " infestissima," most hostile to Poultry. A copious and
offensive discharge flows from the nostrils, in bad cases
from the eyes also ; indeed, the whole head occasionally
seems to suppurate. The creature is stupified by suffer-
ing, and blinded also by the disorder. All that can be
done is to keep it in a warm dry place, to wash the head
frequently with warm vinegar and water, to cram the bird
with nourishing food when it cannot see to eat, and to
protect it from the cruelties of other Fowls. A solution
of sulphate of zinc, as an eye-water, is a valuable cleansing
application. Rue pills, and decoction of rue, as a tonic,
have been administered with apparent benefit. Cleanli-
ness, warmth, drjmess, and good feeding, will, in a measure,
keep off the evil, but we cannot expect entirely to eradi-
cate it from a race of creatures so far removed from their

256 THE BEARING AND MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS.

native country as our Cocks and Hens are. Fowls are
seldom affected by the roup before they are at least three
quarters grown.

We now produce one or two surgical cases.

" Perhaps it may not be generally known that Fowls
are injured by eating hops. I mean the hops that have
been used in brewing and thrown aside. I had a Cock
of a valuable breed that appeared ill one morning, moping,
and scarcely eating any food at all. We tried all the
usual remedies without effect, v^^hen it occurred to me
that the crop was more distended than ordinary, I there-
fore made an incision, and took out a vast quantity of
these hops, evidently the cause of the disorder. The
bird now grew better, and had the crop been relieved
earlier, I think would have done well, but it was now
too much weakened, and died within a week after." —
H.H.

Another patient was treated with better success.

" The case of the Silver Hamburgh Hen, who was
poisoned, and recovered again, stands thus. She was a
very errant Hen, and the only one that I could not keep
in the proper fowl-yard. Now I had for some time been
feeding the Fowls on soft food, and one Saturday after-
noon I saw the Hen in question reeling about as if she
were drunk ; presently she put out her legs quite stiff and
fell down vs^ith scarcely any symptoms of life remaining.
I took her up and felt her crop, vs^hen I found she had
been eating liard food. It then occurred to me that she
must have been poisoned by corn laid by my neighbour
to destroy the sparrows ; which afterwards proved true.
Having a great partiality to that breed of Fowl, and
moreover the Hen being a gift from you, I felt great
reluctance to lose her ; and finding there was no chance
of saving her but by rough means, I resolved to open her
crop, which I did by making an incision of about three-
fourths of an inch, or an inch long, with my penknife,
and emptied her crop of as much as it could possibly
hold of wheat poisoned with nux vomica. I then poured

THE REARING AND MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS. 257

tepid water into her mouth, and rinced her out well that
way, letting it run out of her crop ; after which I carefully-
sewed her crop up, and gave her three antibilious pills,
not having any jalap in the house. It may be remarked
by the way, that a Hen can apparently take as much jalap
or pills, without inconvenience, as a man. Between hope
and despair, I put her at night into a warm place, and left
her bread and milk for her supper. Next morning, when
I went to see her, I found her as lively as possible : she
made her escape from me at once, and was immediately
joined by her husband. She had laid an egg during the
night, and always afterwards was as good a layer as any
other Hen. But although I could not myself find any
fault with my execution of the above surgical operation,
the Hens her companions did, and were so anxious to
unlace her boddice, and otherwise ill-treat her, that I
was obliged to keep her away from them. Some weeks
after the operation, the cotton with which I sewed her
up came away from her ; but before that time she lived
with the rest, and never, except on the day she took the
poison, showed any symptoms of illness. She is at
present alive and well, and yclept Susannah." — G. P. S.
The gapes is an inflammation of the respiratory organs,
causing Chickens to gasp for breath, and generally proving
fatal. Various forms and degrees of inflammation of the
lungs, accompanied by fever, are the great scourge of the
young of gallinaceous birds. Some attribute the fever to
their being overpowered by too much heat, but I cannot
believe such to be the cause of the symptoms. " Some
of my Chickens about ten days old, have died lately of a
sort of low fever, growing thinner and thinner in spite of
the best attendance and most nourishing food. I cannot
find out the cause, except their being too much exposed
to the meridian sun, and have obviated it accordingly." —
H. H. But a wetting in a sudden shower, a run through
long grass before the dew is off, an insufficient or irregular
supply of food and drink for a single day, are any of them
sufficient to produce a similar disappointing result. With

258 THE REARING AND MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS,

Chickens at a more advanced age, one very likely cause
is the Hen being permitted to go to roost, leaving them to
take care of themselves during weather that is too cold for
them to do without the warmth of their mother, instead
of her being confined with them all night in the coop.
Or when the coop has been left abroad in a garden or on
a lawn, I have known the family to be attacked by a rat
or a weasel ; the Hen has given the enemy a warm
reception, and the little ones have escaped for the time by
squatting in strawberry beds, and behind box edgings,
but they have all subsequently died from their night's
exposure. If these points of mismanagement are carefully
avoided, the malady will rarely make its appearance.
Some cruel French experiments are on record, in which
Chickens were purposely brought to an incurable state
of inflammation, by subjecting them to these baneful
influences.

In some cases the presence of parasitic worms in the
air-passages is a further aggravation of the inflammatory
symptoms. In the elaborate article on Bronchitis in the
" Penny Cyclopaedia," a figure is given of one of these
annoying creatures. It is stated that in quadrupeds the
bronchial tubes, and the windpipe, and often the larynx
and the fauces, are filled with small worms, forming a
kind of coat mixed with the mucus, or connected together
in knots of various sizes. The disease is said to be either
produced, or much aggravated by the presence of these
worms, and the irritation which they produce. No notice,
however, is taken of the worms which sometimes infest
Fowls similarly affected.

Having never detected any such worms in Chickens
that had died of the gapes, and believing that all the
apparent symptoms were to be accounted for by inflam-
mation caused by cold and wet, I began to doubt the
existence of the parasites, and stated as much to a
gentleman, who replied, " I wish to make you a little less
sceptical about the fasciolce. I used to think as you do,
that it was merely inflammation, but a little dissection of

THE REARING AND MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS. 259

the trachea soon showed me the worms adhering to the
inner membrane of the windpipe. I have actually found
as many as seven or eight in a single individual. If you
wish to be convinced, cut off the neck of the next Chick
that dies, the larger the better for investigation, and open
the trachea gently with your penknife, and your doubts
will be set at rest for ever. You are certainly right so far,
that no Chick can be cured that is either very young, or
very far gone in the disorder. But if not too young, and
taken in time, the fasciolae can easily be either brought up
by the insertion of a wire or feather, or so loosened that
the bird can cough them up. The inhalation of tobacco
smoke, and other useless and uncertain modes, are ten
times more distressing to the Chicken, and do not produce
the desired effect.

" Those writers, too, are totally wrong who reconamend
the attempt to destroy fasciolse by thrusting down a straw
and oil into the windpipe. Pray do not try the method,
as I have suffered enough by it ; the straw being a bad
thing in itself, and the oil, the smallest quantity of which
stops respiration, and is therefore used by entomologists
to kill insects, still worse. Several Chicks have died under
my hands by it. But the proper and only successful way
is, adroitly to put a small wire, or feather without any
web, except at the farther end, down the wmdpipe. Give
the wire a few turns, and the fasciolae will come up at
the end, or the bird will cough them up. This will, of
course, only do for Chicks not less than a fortnight or three
weeks old ; younger ones will not stand it, and must be
left to their fate, unless turpentine will save them.
Smoking them in a watering-pot, after Montague's plan,
is a doubtful remedy, and much more punishment to the
birds.

" This season (1848) the fasciolae have troubled me a
little, and I have extracted some, but my hand is not in
for it this year. The disease seems more a slight annoy-
ance and hindrance to their growth, than the fatal sweeping
pest it is sometimes. I thought I would try turpentine,

s 2

260 THE BEARING AND MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS.

and find it, as T expected, perfectly useless. As, however,
the fasciolse are sometimes too small to be brought up,
turpentine might be of advantage to dip the end of the wire
or feather before putting it down the trachea.

" I do not think fasciolse are ever engendered by wet;
but Chickens that have the disorder, in itself a weakening
one, become very much affected by a degree of damp that
would not otherwise have injured them. Fasciolse have
raged with me in the driest and hottest summers. You
will observe in those I sent that each worm is furnished
with a large round head, and mouth, like the head of a
pin, by which to attach itself to the inner membrane of
the trachea. A larger specimen than the one I sent (it is
about an inch long) has not yet occurred to me ; but I
know not how large they may grow. My way of late
years has been to confine the Hens very much in large
coops, and move them to entirely fresh places every other
day, when tlie Chicks forage for insects. There is one
thing with regard to the number of Chickens asserted to
be reared by the Chiswick hydro-incubator, which I
cannot understand, viz., how so many young birds can be
reared together without producing disease, and especially
the fasciolse or gapes. In my own experience (and in
some seasons we have killed one hundred and seventy for
the table in the course of the year) I am generally obliged
to move the broods from yards and houses to open fields,
and if a place is selected where no Chicks have ever been
reared, so much the better. How Cantelo manages I
know not : perhaps his establishment has not yet been
many years in the same place. On a farm newly built,
and ground reclaimed, I would undertake to breed any
number, as this overcrowding (which Mowbray called the
' taint') is the origin of nearly every disorder." — H. H.
These are useful and practical remarks ; but it will be
only doing justice to the merits of turpentine, which is a
powerful vermifuge, to give the report of another case.

" I have not been unsuccessful — or rather, I should
say, a deaf and dumb brother of mine — in raising Fowls

THE REARING AND MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS. 261

this year (1847). My first two trips of Chicks had the
' gapes ' very badly. I gave them a Httle sjiirit of turpen-
tine in rice, and afterwards put a httle salt in the water
given to them, and saved sixteen out of twenty. To all
the Chicks since hatched, I gave salt in their water, and
I have about eighty without any sickness. The reason of
success from this treatment is very clear. The ' gapes '
are merely bronchitis. The worms are formed in the
stomach (?), and, if you put an ounce of unslaked lime
into eight ounces of water, and draw it off, adding to this
some salt, and put about a table-spoonful in the w^ater
the Chicks drink, the insect is destroyed in the stomach
with certainty ; salt alone, regularly given, will have this
effect. When the insect gets from the stomach into the
windpipe, there is a difficulty. But spirits of turpentine
are absorbed into the lungs, and the breath discharges
part of the spirits through the windpipe, and thus also
destroys the worm. The common works on the treatment
of Chicks when ill of the ' gapes ' are full of irrational
matter, and perfect nonsense." — T. F.

It may be observed that, if the worms do get from
the stomach into the windpipe, it must be by travel-
ling up the gullet, entering the mouth, and then passing
down the windpipe ; that though salt does destroy in-
testinal worms, it must be administered cautiously to
Chickens, lest we poison the patient, as well as the
parasites ; and that the mere vapour of turpentine will
have little eftect upon worms that are deeply imbedded
in mucus.

We have now to notice another disgusting affliction to
which Fowls are liable, and which it would be more
agreeable to pass by altogether.

" Sometime ago I had a beautiful brood of Black
Spanish Chickens, and the day after they were hatched
I happened to take one in my hand, and was much struck
by observing on the top of its poll five or six large full-
grown lice, evidently caught from the mother. I then
examined the whole brood, and found them all similarly

262 THE BEARING AND MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS.

affected. Knowing that they would not thrive until I
had dislodged or destroyed the enemy, the next day
I attempted to pick them out ; but I found that, having
only been left one night, the whole poll was covered with
nits, and I could not get rid of them from their hanging
so tenaciously to the down, I procured some white
precipitate powder, and, with a small camel-hair pencil,
powdered them over. On examining them the next day,
I found the parasites had all disappeared, nor could I
detect one in their after growth. They grew and thrived
so remarkably afterwards, that I was convinced this was
a valuable discovery, and have ever since treated all my
broods the same, and have never lost one from sickness.
All Hens are affected with these parasites, and as they
do not dust themselves so frequently during the time of
incubation, they are more liable to them. I have ascer-
tained from observation, that as soon as the Chickens are
hatched, these pests leave the parent for the young, and
if they are not destroyed, they weaken the Chicken so
much, that if any complaint comes on, the poor little
thing has not strength to contend with it. The best
time to apply the precipitate is when they are two or
three days old, and at night after they are gone to roost ;
but the Hen must not be touched with it ; as, in pluming
her feathers she draws them through her beak, and the
precipitate being a strong poison, would no doubt prove
fatal to her. In fact, there is no occasion for it ; as I
could never detect them in her ; they had no doubt left
her for the young. A very small quantity should be
used ; as one pennyworth, purchased at a chemist's, is
sufficient for several broods." — L. B.

A slight application of spirit of turpentine and water
answers the same purpose, and may be preferred by many
persons who have a natural dislike to the use of poison.
For, where poisons are admitted at all, there is no guess-
ing what may be the end of them, and the relief of one
creature from parasites by these means, may cause the
death of another. For instance, after a sheep-dipping, a

THE REARING AND MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS. 263

gentleman lost a lot of valuable American Turkeys ; they
had devoured the poisoned maggots, ticks, &c., that dropped
from the sheep, and were themselves poisoned by them.
This is a warning never to allow sheep-dippings to take
place within the range of poultry, all of which, except
Geese, would be liable to the same fate.

There are some startling facts on the subject of parasitic
insects, to be found in the " Monographia Anoplurorum
Britannise," by Mr. Henry Denny, Curator to the Leeds
Philosophical Society, a work which, although with a
dog-latin title, that has doubtless limited its circulation,
is written in such plain and truthful English, as to make
the flesh creep on one's bones. It is not easy to enjoy
uninterrupted slumber the night after reading Mr. Denny's
Monograph.

" The author has had to contend with repeated rebukes
from his friends for entering upon the illustration of a
tribe of insects whose very name was sufficient to create
feelings of disgust. ' Why not take up some more interest-
ing or popular department of Entomology ? ' has been the
frequent remark made to him. He considered, however,
that if he wished to render any service to science, he must
not consult popular taste or ephemeral fashion, but must
take a page from that part of the great Book of Nature,
less generally read, and consequently less understood and
appreciated by the world at large."

The number and variety of species given is frightful ;
some of those which infest Poultrj^ are : —

" Goniocotes hologaster (Louse of the Domestic Fowl),

" Goniodes falcicornis {Lonse of the Peacock). — This
beautiful (!) parasite is common upon the Peacock, and
may be found, — after the death of the bird, — congregated
in numbers about the base of the beak and crown of the
head. During the year 1827, three or four specimens
of Pavo cristatus having passed through my hands, upon
each of which I observed, for the first time, several
examples of the large and well-marked parasite of this
bird, the Goniodes falcicornis, I was induced to examine

264 THE REARING AND MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS.

whatever other species of birds, <kc., might come in my
way, to ascertain whether great diversity in size or appear-
ance existed between the parasites of different species or
genera. This I soon found to be so considerable, that I
resolved upon forming a collection, and ascertaining what
was written upon the parasitic tribes.

" Goniodes stylifer (Louse of the Turkey). — Common
upon the Turkey, frequenting the head, neck, and breast ;
a very beautiful species. The males of this and all the
other species of Goviodes use the first and third joints of
the antennae with great facility, acting the part of a finger
and thumb.

" Goniodes dissimilis (Louse of the Domestic Fowl).
— I suspect this species is of rare occurrence.

" Lipeurus variabilis (Louse of the Domestic Fowl). —
Common on the Domestic Fowl, preferring the primary
and secondary feathers of the wings, among the webs of
which they move with great celerity.

" Lipeunis polytrapeziiis (Louse of the Turkey). — A
common parasite upon the Turkey. Their mode of
progression is rather singular, as well as rapid. They
slide as it were sideways extremely quick from one side
of the fibre of a feather to the other, and move equally
well in a forward or retrograde direction, which, together
with their flat polished bodies, renders them extremely
difficult to catch or hold. I have observed that where
two or more genera infest one bird, they have each their
favourite localities ; for while the Goniodes stijlifer will be
found on the breast and neck of the bird, the Lipeurus
poli/trapezius will be congregated in numbers on the webs
and shafts of the primary wing feathers.

" Menopon pallidum (Louse of the Domestic Fowl). —
Found in great abundance in Poultry, running over the
hands of those who are plucking Fowls, and difficult to
brush off, from the smoothness of their bodies." Those
who are desirous of fuller information should consult the
work itself.

It may be suggested that the discovery by the micro-

THE REARING AND MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS. 265

scope of fossil parasites, might determine the species of
doubtful extinct birds and animals, by the same sort of
reasoning as the order of fossiliferous strata is decided by
the organic remains found in them.

But what a contrast is here displayed ! The glittering
argus-eyed plumage of the Peacock, undermined by lice !
Ach ! Degrading ! We are but smoking flax. The
Pope, at his coronation, is reminded, by the outward
visible sign of extinguished flame, and by words, " Sancte
Pater, sic transit gloria mundi " — " Holy Father, thus
passes away the glory of earthly things." The Prelate,
encased with gold and gems, but wearing beneath his
outward show sackcloth, and perhaps vermin, voluntarily,
and the Peacock, with his unrivalled plumes, irritated by
these odious defilers, involuntarily, that in life move
among the webs hastily, and after death " attract notice"
about the seat of beauty and honour, the head and crest —
are the same in kind, — apparent magnificence balanced by
unseen evil. Like unto them also are the great and
powerful of this world devoured by heart-eating cares
and irremediable disappointments. What a natural and
almost true superstition was that of the old Greek
Nemesis ! The returned ring of Polycrates is the fate of
few mortals ; nor to be wished for. The boast, " Soul,
thou hast much goods, take thine ease," is apt to be
followed by heavy retribution.

" See how glorious, how splendid, how secure we are !
What can touch us, or ruffle our luxurious calm ? Why
need we humble ourselves, and go softly, and think of
our less happy brethren now and then 1 Nemesis is an
exploded phantom, self-denial a superstitious folly."
Yes : " all men think all men mortal — but themselves."
They who have felt no loss, no sorrow, have need to be
greatly fearful ! The black threads which the Sisters
weave into our web of life, are healthful as warnings,
merciful as threatenings, needful as preservatives. A
world was not saved without a sufficient sacrifice. How
shall frail and paltry individuals swim on in everlasting sun-

266 THE REARING AND MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS.

shine ? The check in careering prosperity, the lice in the
enamelled panoply, remind us what we are in the sight
of The Ever-present.

" And upon a set day, Herod, arrayed in royal apparel,
sat upon his throne, and made an oration unto them.
And the people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of
a god, and not of a man. And immediately the angel of
the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory :
and he was eaten up of worms, and gave up the ghost."

Let us be thankful for sorrows, humble and loving in
good fortune ; for it is of no use to sit in the sun,
reflecting his splendour by our trappings, and to be, like
Herod, stricken of worms at last.

THE CLASSIFICATION OF FOWLS.

" The more I deliberate upon the best mode of arranging the
different varieties of Poultry, the more I feel the difliculty of devising
any satisfactory arrangement. Thus, supposing you should arrange them
according to their combs and tufts, you place side by side fowls whose
valuable qualities are of a totally different nature. Furthermore, some
breeds, such as the Pheasant-Malay, and even the Hamburghs, are
uncertain with regard to their combs. Then the Polands are some of
them everlasting layers, and some not ; while others of them can only
be ranked as dunghills." — J. S. W.

It is evident that if Domestic Fowls be believed to be
merely altered forms of one or two wild races, under
the influence of altered food and climate, which we have
endeavoured to show that they are not, they must be
arranged on different principles to what they would be if
we allow them to take rank as original and independent
varieties or species. In the one case we have to search
out the wild bird nearest resembling any one domestic
breed, and form our series from that as a beginning, as
well as we can ; in the other case we have to become
well acquainted with all the wild and all the domestic
species of Gallics, and then arrange them in groups or in a
continuous line, according to their resemblances and rela-
tionships, without any reference to the circumstance of their
domestication or their untameability. The former plan can
be carried out by a little theory and bold guess-work ; the
latter requires industry, accurate observation, and oppor-
tunities which few individuals, if any, have at present at
command. In the meanwhile we may attempt something
like an artificial arrangement of Fowls, which may afford
a temporar}' assistance to the fancier, till a more scientific
scheme is worked out, and which may perhaps be the

268 THE CLASSIFICATION OF FOWLS.

means of leading to it, just as, to compare small things
with great, the artificial Linnean arrangement in Botany
has cleared the way and been preliminary to the great
natural system of classification that is now in vogue. Two
desiderata are still required for the attainment of this
object ; one or other of them is indispensable — the first,
a complete set of full-sized coloured figures of every
variety, giving both the sexes, the egg, and the new
hatched Chick, with accurate and technical descriptions
of their plumage and their characteristic properties ; the
second, a collection of stuffed specimens of the represen-
tatives of every breed, for comparison and reference. The
first can only be undertaken by a person of fortune ; the
second can scarcely be expected from our Museums or
Natural History Societies, devoted as they are to subjects
of wider range, and more general interest. It is to be
feared that Poultry will be considered beneath the dignity
of the Royal Agricultural Society ; * but such a work, or
such a Museum, would be no discredit to their taste ;
and, if the ladies of the leading members were to exert
their influence, something might perhaps be done to
illustrate a tribe of useful and engaging creatures,
in whom so large a portion of society is more or less
interested.

The correct mode of classifying Domestic Fowls would,
we believe, be to arrange them with the wild ones, in
natural order and sequence ; but in the present state of
our information, this is impossible, except in an unsatis-
factorily rough approximation. Fifty years hence, when
the successors of Sir James Brooke shall have explored
the Indian Archipelago, such a thing may be succcesfully
attempted.

It is a good exercise in this study, when, looking over
a farm-yard, or casting an eye on a roadside lot of Hens,
to endeavour to refer each one to some decided variety.

* The Society has since offered 201. for the hest Essay on Poultry,
the copyright of the Prize Essay to belong to them.

THE CLASSIFICATION OF FOWLS. 269

Traces of the Dorkings, of the Polish, and the Golden
and Silver Hamburghs, are very frequent. The best
judges agree that there is no such variety as the Barn-
door Fowl, (unless we agree to appropriate that name to
some one variety which has hitherto been scarcely distin-
guished with precision), but that such barn-door collec-
tions are merely a rabble of mongrels, in which the results
of accidental crosses have become apparent in all kinds
of ways.

We will take, then, the serrated upright fleshy comb to
be the typical distinction of the Cock — a feature which
Aristotle has pointedly indicated — ^just as Mr. Swainson
has tixed upon the broad bill of the Shoveller, to give
that bird precedence among Ducks. The sickle feathers
of the tail are perhaps equally characteristic of the genus,
but they differ little in the respective varieties. Neither
mark of distinction has, it is true, any functional office in
the organisation of the animal ; but it would be difficult
to find one which had, even the spurs being common to
many other gallinaceous birds which have neither comb
nor sickle feathers. In the Spanish Fowl, the comb is
more developed than in any other breed ; we will therefore
take that bird as our type, and suggest, with diffidence,
the following jyro tempore arrangement. The list by no
means professes to include all varieties ; but it will be
immediately seen how easy it is to assign a place in it to
such as are omitted. We pass from the single and upright
combed Spanish, through the smaller, or pendant, or rose-
combed breeds, to the commencement of the tuft in
the Lark-crested Fowls, placing the amply top-knotted
Polanders last.

I. FuLL-S

ZED Fowls.

Spanish

Hamburgh

Dorking

Cuckoo

Cocliin China

Blue Dun

Malay

Lark-crested

Pheasant Malay

Poland, or Polish

Game

270 THE CLASSIFICATION OF FOWLS.

II. — Bantams.

Sebright

Yellow, or Nankin

Black

White

Feather-legged, Creepers
or Jumpers

III. — Anomalous Fowls.

Rumpless I Silky

Frizzled Negro

We now proceed to give some account of each variety.

THE SPANISH FOWL.

The Spanish breed is, in all probability, of ancient and
remote origin, and does really seem to have reached us
from the country after which it is named. In North
Devon they call the Spanish Fowls " Minorcas ; " others
call them Portugal Fowl ; neither terms remove them far
from their old established location, if not their original
home. It is a noble race of Fowls, possessing many great
merits ; of spirited and animated appearance, of consider-
able size, excellent for the table, both in whiteness of
flesh and skin, and also in flavour, laying exceedingly large
eggs in considerable numbers. Amongst birds of its own
breed it is not deficient in courage ; though it yields with-
out showing much fight to those which have a dash of
game blood in their veins. It is a general favourite in all
large cities, for the additional advantage that no soil of
smoke or dirt is apparent on its plumage. The thorough-
bred birds of the fancy should be entirely black, as far as
feathers are concerned, and when in high condition dis-
play a greenish metallic lustre. The combs of both Cock
and Hen are exceedingly large, of a vivid and most
brilliant scarlet ; that of the Hen droops over on one
side. Their most singular feature is a large white patch,
or ear-lobe, on the cheek, which in some specimens
extends over great part of the face of a fleshy substance,
similar to the wattle ; it is small in the Hens, but large
and very conspicuous in the Cocks. This marked contrast
of black, bright red, and white, makes the head of the
Spanish Cock as liandsome as that of any variety we

272 THE SPANISH FOWL.

have ; and in the genuine breed the whole form is equally
good : but the scraggy, long-legged, mis-shapen mongrels
one often sees in the poorer quarters of a town are enough
to throw discredit on the whole race.

Spanish Hens are celebrated as good layers, and pro-
duce very large, quite white eggs, of a peculiar shape,
being very thick at both ends, and yet tapering ofFa little
at each. They are by no means good mothers of families,
even when they do sit, which they will not often conde-
scend to do, proving very careless, and frequently trampling
half their brood underfoot. But the inconveniences of
this habit are easily obviated by causing the eggs to be
hatched by some more motherly Hen.

It has been noticed that this variety of Fowl frequently
loses nearly all the feathers on the body, besides the usual
quantity on the neck, wings, and tail ; and if they moult
late, and the weather is severe, they feel it much. Nothing
else can reasonably be expected to take place with an
" everlasting layer." It often happens to the Guinea-
fowl ; and the reason of it is plain. If the system of a
bird is exhausted by the unremitting production of eggs,
it cannot contain within itself the wherewithal to supply
the growth of feathers. The stream that will fill but one
channel cannot be made to keep two at high-water mark ;
and therefore Mr. Leonard Barber justly observes, " With
regard to an anxiety about their constant laying, in my
opinion nature ought not to he forced, as it requires
a rest. But some people think it cannot be right if
their Hens do not lay every day ; and I would advise
such to have some early spring Chickens, which would
begin laying in the autumn and continue mostly through
the winter, and their old Hens would commence in the
spring."

" I have had Hens laying every day, but never wish
them to continue the practice, as nine times out of ten
they suffer afterwards." — H. H,

It is doubtful whether they are even yet thoroughly
acclimatised, for continued frost at any time much injures

THE SPANISH FOWL. 273

their combs ; frequently causing mortification in the end,
which has terminated in death. A warm poultry-house,
high feeding, and care that the birds do not remain too
long exposed to severe weather, are the best means of
preventing this disfigurement.

Some birds are occasionally produced handsomely
streaked with red on the hackle and back. This is no
proof of bad breeding if other points are right. On
the contrary, it is as near as may be the sort which
Columella's relation might have kept in Spain,* at the
time when he was improving the native sheep by the
importation of rams from Morocco eighteen hundred
years ago.

The Chicks are large, as would be expected from such
eggs, entirely shining black, except a pinafore of white on
the breast, and a slight sprinkling under the chin, with
sometimes also a little white round the beak and eyes ;
legs and feet black. Many of them do not get perfectly
feathered till they are three parts gi-own ; and therefore,
to have these birds come to perfection in this country,
where the summers are so much shorter than in their
native climate, it is necessar)' to have them hatched early
in spring, so that they may get well covered with plumage
before the cold rains of autumn. But, as Mr. Bissell
observes, " there is anything but an uniformity in the
time Spanish Chickens get their plumage ; the Pullets
are always earlier and better feathered than the Cockerels :
the latter are generally half naked for a considerable length
of time after hatching. But this is not universally the
case, for some of my best Cockerels were feathered toler-
ably well at an early age. This is a fact worth some
particular remark, as many superficial observers in this
neiglibourhood have invariably rejected, for breeding pur-
poses, the Cockerels which got their feathers early, sup-
posing from that fact that they were not pure bred. But

* " M. Columella patruus meus, acris vir ingenii, atque illustris
agricola." — Lib. vii. c. 2.

X

274 THE SPANISH FOWL.

I have not only found them to possess all the qualities of
the Spanish fully and truly developed, but that their
early feathers so screen them from the inclemencies of the
weather, that they are enabled soon to outstrip their
brethren in size."

The black, however, is not the only valuable race of
Spanish Fowl, although certain metropolitan dealers, who
have no right to offer an opinion, if they do not choose
to give information on the subject, presume to affirm that
there can be no such breed as speckled Spanish, it being
characteristic of that breed to be perfectly black. But
Mr. Swainson justly complains of the deficiencies and the
conduct of this class of people : and it is surprising that,
since the establishment of the Zoological Society, they
have not seen both the impolicy and the impracticability
of withholding information on natural history from the
public ; for I cannot suppose the folly of any attempt to
mislead. " Our first idea was to have drawn up (in the
volume on Birds) as complete a catalogue as possible of all
such foreign birds as were to be met with in our public or
private menageries, distinguishing such as were known to
have bred in confinement, and had consequently become
domesticated, from such as were merely acclimated, or
accustomed to our climate. This, without doubt, would
have been the most desirable plan of proceeding, and
would have given that information to the lovers of
aviaries, which is now so much wanted ; but further
inquiry showed us the utter impossibilifi/ of doing this, from
the total absence of the necessary materials. It has not
been heretofore the custom of recording., in print, informa-
tion of this nature. Those persons whose trade lies in
the buying and selling of living birds, and of which there
are several in London, are not persons capable of writing
upon such matters, even had they the inclination to reveal
what they no doubt consider the secrets of their craft. The
Zoological Society, on the other hand, by embracing
within its objects the whole animal kingdom, has hitherto
found itself so occupied, and its attention so distracted by

THE SPANISH FOWL. 275

the multiplicity of its concerns, and the paucity of its
working members, that nothing worth mentioning has
been communicated to the public on this interesting
subject. However desirable, therefore, such an exposition
as we at first contemplated would be, it never can be
carried into execution, unless b// the jjowerful and united
assistance of those who direct their time and attention
almost exclusively to the rearing and management of
birds." — Animals in Menageries, Part II. "Birds,"
pp. 147, 148.

A gentleman who has served in the British army, in
whose opinion, as a naturalist and a man of education, we
have as great confidence as in that of any mere fowl-
dealer, states, " In England there are tioo varieties of
Spanish Fowl, the Black, and the Grey, or Speckled, the
latter being of a slaty grey with white legs. In Spain
there must be many varieties of everlasting layers, for I
have seen a lot abroad that differed widely in appearance,
single combs, double combs, and great variety of colour."

Mr. Barber says, " Being of opinion that our breed of
Fowls required improvement, and having heard from a
Spanish friend that they had a very fine breed in the part
of Spain he came from, which were chiefly white or
speckled, I last year (1846) got him to procure me some,
and finding that they were such excellent layers, and that
they were so much admired by every one who saw them,
I got another importation about a month since (Nov. 6th,
lS47), amongst which there are three speckled black and
white, in shape and carriage very much like the spangled
Polish (except being much longer in the leg), having top-
knots and a tuft of feathers hanging under the throats, and
white legs. The others are pure white, in shape and
carriage exactly like the black Spanish, only wanting the
white cheek-patch. They are much larger and broader
than any of the black I have ever seen, aud they are very
fine in the neighbourhood of London. The Cock that
came with the first lot is entirely black, and long in the
legs, but without the white cheek-patch. In my opinion

X 2

276 THE SPANISH FOWL.

they are the most useful and ornamental breed of Fowls
both for the breeder and amateur. Their eggs are equal
in size and number to those of the black Spanish. Some
of mine last year weighed three, and some four ounces
each. They appear very healthy and hardy. My Fowls
came from the neighbourhood of Xeres de la Frontera, in
Andalusia, about twenty-five miles from Cadiz. They
have cost me about 10s. each, including freight, duty, and
expense of clearing."

Another gentleman says, " I have a few Chickens out,
from Mr. Barber's Andalusian Hens, some of which seem
to be the true old black Spanish, and others of a grisly
white, one of which has evident signs of a large future
muff, but not the slightest semblance of a top-knot at
present. They are without exception the very largest and
finest Chicks I ever saw, coming as they do out of eggs
fine certainly, but which do not exceed many of my
own."— iT. H.

Some of these birds are of a blue or grey, or slaty colour.
Their growth is so rapid, and their eventual size so large,
that they are remarkably slow in obtaining their feathers.
Although well covered with down when first hatched,
they look almost naked when half-grown, and should
therefore be hatched as early in the spring as possible.

The cross between the Pheasant Malay and the Spanish
produces a particularly handsome Fowl, and probably very
much resembling the old Hispanic type.

A black Spanish Cock has been taught to visit the sill of
his master's bedroom window every morning, and continue
crowing till he was rewarded with a piece of bread.

Mr. Barber subsequently adds, " The tufted Fowls I
had from Spain have not proved such good layers as the
speckled single-combed. I have kept a correct account
this season (1848) of the number of eggs I have had from
them, and it amounts to above 1400, and they are still
(Sept. 11th) laying. I began the season with twenty-
three Hens. One has reared a brood of Chickens. Two
died early in the season. This is a much larger number

THE SPANISH FOWL. 277

than T have ever had from any of the Black Spanish I
have kept. There is one great imperfection in these
Fowls, which I think it right to mention, and that is, I
have lost nine from laying, or rather, attempting to lay,
soft eggs, and they have all been Hens which laid the
largest eggs. However, I am inclined to think this is in a
great measure owing to the confined space in which they
are kept," There is no doubt of it, and that the evil
would cease were the Hens indulged with a more
extended range, where they could help themselves to
chalky earth, lime-rubbish, and other natural medicines
that are perhaps unsuspected by us. Nor have towns-
people an idea of the intense longing which their Fowls
feel for anything green, such as cabbage leaves, turnip-
tops, and so on. The thousand-headed cabbage is very
serviceable for them ; and those who have only a small
garden can provide some supply of green food for their
poultiy, by having the edgings of parsley, instead of box,
or thrift. The Fowls are very fond of it, as a variation
from cabbage leaves.

We cannot too much insist upon the value of early
Pullets for laying purposes in the autumn and winter after
they are hatched. No Fowls can surpass the Spanish in
this respect, A correspondent (J, S. W.) believes that
they are also more precocious in their constitution, and
that, in consequence, the Pullets lay at an earlier age than
those of other breeds. He had two Black Spanish Pullets
w'hich were hatched on the 2nd of February, and com-
menced laying on the 18th and 19th of the July following,
and kept it up through the icinter. The constant use of
a memorandum-book would fix many of these interesting
little facts. It would be useful to institute a competition
between different breeds. An experiment with a lot of
Chickens of distinct varieties, hatched on the same day,
and reared in the same yard under the same treatment,
would be instructive if the results were noted.

There is a large breed of Fowls brought from Constan-
tinople and the shores of the Black Sea. I have had no

278 THE SPANISH FOWL.

opportunity of seeing specimens, but it would appear to
be a branch of the Spanish. The Hens are described as
having a large flaccid comb, flapping about like a piece
of serrated red velvet, and as being astonishing layers,
seldom sitting. It is a speculation whether the Spanish
came to us from the East, southwards, via the Black Sea,
while the Polish might reach us overland through Russia.

THE DORKINGS. "

For those who wish to stock their poultry-yards with
Fowls of the most desirable shape and size, clothed in rich
and variegated plumage, and, not expecting perfection, are
willing to overlook one or two other points, the Speckled
Dorkings * are the breed to be at once selected. The
Hens, in addition to their gay colours, have a large ver-
tically flat comb,t which, when they are in high health,
adds very much to their brilliant appearance, particularly
if seen in bright sunshine. The Cocks are magnificent.
The most gorgeous hues are frequently lavished upon
them, which their great size and peculiarly square-built
form display to the greatest advantage. The breeder and
the farmer's wife behold with delight their short legs,
their broad breast, the small proportion of offal, and the
large quantity of good profitable flesh. When fatted and
served at table, the master and mistress of the feast are
satisfied. The Cockerels may be brought to considerable
weights, and the flavour and appearance of their meat are
inferior to none. Those epicures who now and then like a

* So called from the town of SuiTey, which brought them into
modern repute.

•f- A question has been raised at some Poultry shows, whether the
Dorkings should be imperatively required to have a single, or a rose
comb. Neither form ought to disqualify birds true in other respects ;
but we should decidedly prefer to make the acquisition of single-
combed specimens, both as marking their relationship to the Cochin
China, to be hereafter noticed, and as saving them from the suspicion
of a cross with either the INIalays or the Hamburghs, which a rose
comb is apt to induce. The finest White Dorkings that have come
under our notice have always had single combs.

280 THE DORKINGS.

Fowl killed by dislocation of the neck without bleeding
(the more humane way) will find that this variety affords
a tender and high-flavoured dish. The eggs are produced
in reasonable abundance, and though not equal in size to
those of Spanish Hens, may fairly be called large. They
are not everlasting layers, but at due or convenient inter-
vals manifest the desire of sitting. In this respect they
are steady, and good mothers when the little ones appear.
They are better adapted than any other Fowl, except the
Malay, to hatch superabundant Turkey's eggs. Their
size and bulk enable them to afford warmth and shelter
to the Turkey-poults for a long period. For the same
reason, spare Goose's eggs may be intrusted to them ;
though in this respect I have known the Pheasant-Malays
to be equally successful.

With all these merits they are not found to be a pro-
fitable stock if kept thorough-bred and unmixed. Their
powers seem to fail at an early age. They are also apt to
pine away and die just at the point of reaching maturity.
When the Pullet ought to begin to lay, and the Cockerel
to crow and start his tail feathers, the comb, instead of
enlarging and becoming coral red, shrinks and turns to a
sickly pink or even to a leaden hue ; and the bird, how-
ever well fed and warmly housed, dies a wasted mass of
mere feathers, skin, and bone. It is vexing, after having
reared a creature just to the point when it would be most
valuable for the table or as stock, to find it " going light,"
as the country people call it ; particularly as it is the
finest specimens, that is, the most thorough-bred, that are
destroyed by this malady. I do not believe that the most
favourable circumstances would prevent the complaint,
though unfavourable ones would aggi'avate it, but that it
is inherent in the race and constitution of the birds. They
appear at a certain epoch to be seized with consumption,
exactly as, in some unhappy families, the sons and
daughters are taken off all much at the same age. In the
Speckled Dorkings the lungs seem to be the seat of disease,

THE DORKINGS. 281

and it is to be regretted that no dissection was made in
cases where I had the opportunity.

A gentleman who has kept this breed of Fowls for nearly
twenty years, suggests that the foregoing remark ought to
be taken as the exception, and not the rule ; of course it
must, otherwise the whole race would have long since been
extinct. Moreover, a degree of robustness and fecundity,
which would be pronounced considerable in Curassows or
Pheasants, may justly be called feeble in Cocks and Hens.
The same word will have a different measure of force when
applied to different objects. He says, that having been
careful to introduce a fresh, well-selected Cock-bird or two
into the walk, every second or third year at farthest, he
has found the race uniformly hardy, healthy, and prolific.
The remedy is one of the best that can be devised ; but
the necessity for adopting it confirms, instead of dis-
proving our opinion, that the Cocks of this breed are
deficient in vigour. However, Mr. Baily, of Mount Street,
observes, as the result of his long experience, " A general
remark I would make on Fowl-breeding is, that no one
judges fairly of a breed, or sufficiently tries his opinion, if
he has for two years been breeding in and in ; and it is
not enough to say in defence of the sweeping condemna-
tion of a race, that he has only bred two years from the
birds, and consequently not long enough for the evil to
show itself; he must first inquire whether there were
relationship in the stock he began with ; perhaps he had
a Cock and Pullet brother and sister from a friend or
dealer, the progeny of similar relations, and from a yard
where a change of stock was absolutely necessary when
these were disposed of : he would thus unwittingly be
carrying on the unfortunate process, and honestly, though
mistakenly, consider that a defect in the constitution of
the Fowl, which is, in truth, a mal-practice of the owner
of it." There is certainly great force in the caution : the
Poultry shows, with compulsory sales, now coming into
fashion, offer one means of remedying the evil.

We are inclined to think that for persons who live in

282 THE DORKINGS.

grassy and thick-wooded situations, long-legged Fowls
are preferable to short-legged breeds like the Dorking,
they being carried higher above the damps and dews,
besides having a longer leverage of limb (if such an idea
is not altogether fanciful) to assist them in scratching for
the worms and insects with which such localities abound.
For instance, the average success of many country-people
in rearing young Turkeys, is greater, all along, than that
with Chickens.

Such people as are careless about seeing the full com-
plement of five toes, are advised to try the Surrey Fowls,
a nearly allied breed, or, as some call it, an improvement
of the Dorking. They are a very fine variety, and may
be had genuine from any of the respectable London
dealers. The Old Sussex, or Kent, are closely related to
these, if not absolutely identical.

But the serious and fatal maladies of Fowls are difficult
to trace to their cause, and still more difficult to cure by
the application of any remedy. It is unnecessary to more
than allude to the volumes of absurd, irrational and im-
practicable directions, that have been printed on the subject.
Many illnesses which we suppose to be of natural and
spontaneous origin are, there is no doubt, brought on by
the neglect and cruelty of boys and servants. Our domes-
ticated animals are dumb ; they cannot tell their master
what ill-treatment they have received in his absence ; and
they often severely, cruelly, suffer the displeasure of some
ill-natured underling, who dare not show his temper in
higher quarters. Many a fancied or real wrong has been
expiated by the Horse, the Dog, the Cat, or the Poultry.
Nay, there is no concealing it, and mothers should listen
to it, and think of it, as a motive to keep their lips guarded
and their brow serene — many a harsh word spoken in a
moment of irritation has been revenged in shakes and
pinches upon the helpless infant.

In a communication with which I have been favoured
by Dr. Bevan, the able author of the " Honey Bee," he
says, " Just about roosting time one of the Cocks (of a

THE DORKINGS. 283

very choice breed), was found apparently lifeless at the
back-door, lying on its side as though it had been knocked
down, which I really believe it had. I brought it to the
fire and placed it in a basket of hay. It soon began to
move, and became violently convulsed." The worthy
Doctor made a correct diagnosis of the malady, and so
avoided the mortification of administering a long list of
nostrums in vain. Some years ago we had a most beau-
tiful Dorking Cock, the admiration of ourselves and of all
who saw him. After a time he became ill, weak, and
dejected ; got worse, and died. Every ordinary comfort
and care were afforded, but we did not try any of the
extraordinary recipes that are current.

By-and-bye the discovery of cruel treatment to my pony
elicited the fact that the stable-boy was in the habit of
making the Cock " drunk ;" a j^rocess which is effected by
seizing the bird by the legs, and whirling him round and
round in the air, till the centrifugal force shall have sent
the blood to the head, and produced apoplexy. The
amusement consists in seeing the Cock stagger and reel
when placed upon the ground, and gradually recover, as
it unsteadily walks off. " Tipsy Hen" is an agreeable
variation of the sport. The cook had seen, and was indig-
nant ; but the lad's mother, when he entered my service,
had, like the enchantress of romance, given her son a word
of power. To the angry threat of the cook that she
would tell of the atrocity, it was replied, " If you do, /
will tell that every time it is your Sunday out, you go to
see the little boy you had two years ago." Cook was
thunderstruck at the mention of her " misfortune," and
was tongue-tied. And so the machinerj'^ of households
goes on.

I have subsequently found that in all cases of suspicious
death, the surest way of coming at the truth, and prevent-
ing further malpractices, is to hold a formal inquest, M'ith
a post-mortem examination ; and after a deliberate inves-
tigation to punish firmly, by rebuke or dismissal, any
outrage on the laws of humanity.

284 THE DORKINGS.

Well might Aldrovandi caution his poultr}'-loving
readers : " Therefore, he who wants to enjoy a profit
from these birds ought, in the first place, to select some
faithful body. For, unless he who has the care of the
Hens remains honest towards his lord, the gain will not
cover the expenses. An attendant of this sort, namely,
who climbs into the hen-house, and collects the eggs, and
turns by hand those which are incubated, will rightly be
called the Hen-keeper, or Guardian."

As to the casualities arising from the neglect or ill-
temper of servants, every farmer who has live stock to be
tended, has had abundant proofs. There is a peculiar
idiosyncracy in some individuals, which fits them to
take charge of certain animals. Some female servants in
the country have quite a passion for bringing up poultry,
and by their care and kindness will rescue apparently
moribund Chickens and Turkeys from the threatening
jaws of death. A groom or stable-man almost always
despises poultry, A gardener thinks it beneath him to
look after them. Even in public JMenageries the man
who has charge of a Lion deems it a condescension to tend
a few harmless birds. A clever little girl often makes an
excellent poultry-tender : boys are as mischievous and
untrustworthy as monkeys. When there is anything in
hand requiring peculiar watchfulness, it is not a bad
plan, if possible, to attend to it one's self.

Pure Dorking Hens are sometimes barren. I had one,
a perfect model to the eye, short, square, compact, large,
with plumage, comb, and weight all that could be wished
— the very Pullet that a fancier would have chosen to
perpetuate the breed. But she never laid, nor showed
any disposition to sit, and in consequence of her useless-
ness, at about two years old was brought to table. The
carving-knife soon demonstrated a mal-formation of the
back and side bones, and showed that the models of the
breeder may sometimes be too highly finished. This
certainly might be a case of breeding in-and-in. But
the Cocks, with all their outward trappings and sturdy

THE DORKINGS, 285

build, I must suspect to be deficient in vigour. If many
Hens are allowed to run with them, clear eggs will dis-
appoint those who want large broods of chickens. Three,
or at most four, Hens to a Cock will give the most suc-
cessful results.* These and a few other apparently trifling
facts seem to show that with the Speckled Dorkings (a
variety of great antiquity) the art of breeding has arrived
at its limits. That it lias limits is well known to per-
sons of practical experience. Sir J. S. Sebright says, " I
have tried many experiments for breeding in-and-in^
(for the sake of developing particular properties) " upon
Dogs, Fowls, and Pigeons : the Dogs became, from
strong Spaniels, weak and diminutive lap-dogs ; the Fowls
became long in the legs, small in the body, and bad
breeders."

" There are a great many sorts of fancy Pigeons ; each
variety has some particular property, which constitutes
its supposed value, and which the amateurs increase
as much as possible, both by breeding in-and-in, and by
selection, until the particular property is made to predo-
minate to such a degree, in some of the more refined sorts,
that they cannot exist without the greatest care, and are
incapable of rearing their young without the assistance
of other Pigeons kept for that jjurpose." — The Art of
Improving the Breeds of Domestic Animals, p. 13.

As mothers, an objection to the Dorkings is that they
are too heavy and clumsy to rear the chicks of any smaller
and more delicate bird than themselves. Pheasants,
Partridges, Bantams, Guinea-fowl, are trampled under-

* Chaucer's Cock Cbaunteclere, who was probably a Golden
Hamburgh, had a larger allowance : —

" This gentil cok had in his governance
Seven hennes for to don all his plesance,
Which were his sustcrs and his paramourcs.
And wonder like to him as of coloures,
Of which the faiiest, hewed in the throtc.
Was cleped faire Damoselle Pcrtelote."

Tlic Nonties Preestes Tale,

286 THE DORKINGS,

foot and crushed, if in the least weakly. The Hen, in her
affectionate industry in scratching for grubs, kicks her
lesser nurselings right and left, and leaves them sprawling
on their backs. Before they are a month old, half of
them will be muddled to death with this rough kindness.
In spite of these drawbacks, the Dorkings are still in high
favour ; but a cross is found to be more profitable than
the true breed. A showy, energetic Game-cock, with
Dorking Hens, produces chickens in size and beauty little
inferior to their maternal parentage, and much more robust.
Everybody knows their peculiarity in having a supernu-
merary toe on each foot. This characteristic almost
always disappears with the first cross, but it is a point
which can very well be spared without much disadvantage.
In other respects the appearance of the newly-hatched
chicks is scarcely altered. The eggs of the Dorking Hens
are large, pure white, verj'^ much rounded, and nearly
equal in size at each end. The chicks are brownish yel-
low, with a broad brown stripe down the middle of the
back, and a narrower one on each side ; feet and legs
yellow.

Of this breed Mr. Alfred Whitaker thus expresses his
opinion : — " I agree with you fully as to the usefulness of
this description of Poultry, but I do not view them exactly
through the same medium as to their beauty. Compared
with the Pheasant-Malays, they are short-necked, and
there is no arch or crest to the neck. Their colours vary
from a streaked grey to a mottled or spotted brown and
white, A neighbour here has some of the finest I ever
saw; the Cocks with very full double combs, and the
Plens generally with reddish-brown spots on a white
ground. To my eye the Cocks look heavy and stupid,
neither the head nor the tail being usually carried in
an erect position, or with any semblance of spirit. As
regards size they are magnificent, I saw one on my friend's
dinner-table three days since, quite as large as an ordi-
nary Hen Turkey ; it was a Cockerel about seven months
old. My experience of their laying and breeding qualities

THE DORKINGS. 287

agrees mainly with your statement, except that I should
lay still stronger emphasis on their fatal clumsiness as
mothers, which I am inclined to think is aggravated by
their extra toe behind, and the great length of their back
toes. They frequently trample to death their chickens
during the process of hatching, and in a small coop they
demolish them at a fearful rate. I think they never
should be cooped with their chickens : but a still safer
course would be to hatch the eggs under a mother of
a less rough physique, or perhaps by Cantelo's hydro-
incubator." The only question is, how the Hen is to be
employed when the sitting fit comes on, for they are
most persevering sitters. I have successfully hatched
both Turkeys and Geese under Dorking Hens. The latter
will stand a great deal of trampling and kicking about
without taking much harm from it. Mr. Whitaker con-
tinues, " I have crossed the Dorkings with Pheasant-
Malays. The first cross produces a tine bird, which is
large, though not prolific ; but if you were to cross the
breed with each other, they dwindle to nothing. The
doctrine of breeding is yet ill understood. I am disposed
to think that, where you have a real variety, breeding in
is the natural and best mode of procedure ; but that,
when you cross two thorough breeds, you have no guaran-
tee that the cross breed will be good further than the
first result."

It is a question how the Speckled Dorkings were first
introduced. Some maintain that the pure White Dork-
ings are the original breed with five toes, and that the
Speckled Dorkings is a recent and improved cross, by
which the size was much increased, between the original
White breed and the Malay, or some other large stock of
poultry. From this opinion I must entirely dissent, on
the ground of strong, though not absolutely conclusive,
evidence to the contrary. It seems to me that Columella's
favourite sort of Hen could not differ much from our
Speckled Dorkings. He says, " Let them be of a reddish
or dark plumage, and with black wings Let the

288 THE DORKINGS.

breeding Hens, therefore, be of a choice colour, a robust
body, square built, full breasted, with large heads, with

upright and bright red combs those are believed

to be the best bred which have five toes," &c. Except that
there is no mention of speckles (and he never describes
minute markings) the whole descrijDtion almost exactly
tallies with our birds of the present day. Pliny's account
agrees with this : " Superiority of breed in Hens is denoted
by an upright comb, sometimes double, black wings, ruddy
visage, and an odd number of toes." — Lib. x. c. Ixxvii.
It appears that Columella had the White sort, but he
rejected them ; for he advises, " Let the white ones be
avoided, for they are generally both tender and less viva-
cious, and also are not found to be prolific," faults which
are still attributed to them. I cannot, therefore, avoid
believing that from the robust, dark-coloured, five-toed
Fowl, white individuals have been from time to time
produced and propagated, exactly as we see in other
species of Gallinaceous birds that have long been in
domestication — Pea-fowl, Turkeys, and Guinea-fowl, for
instance ; and as the white variety of these is mostly
smaller and more dehcate than birds of the normal
plumage, so the White Dorkings are inferior in size, and
perhaps in hardihood. I think also that there is no in-
stance of any white species of Cocks and Hens having
been found wild (except the Silky Fowls, and those are
separated by Temminck into a distinct species) ; which is
some argument that dark and gaudy colours are the hues
originally characteristic of the genus.

THE COCHIN-CHINA FOWL.

Whether the breed now under consideration did
really come from Cochin-China or not, is probably known
only to the party who imported them, if to him. But
they certainly have been cultivated in this country, pre-
vious to their recent introduction to general notice as the
most conspicuous ornaments of the Royal poultry-yard.
A gentleman (W. S.) living in Monmouthshire informs
me, that nearly thirty years ago a friend sent him a Cock
and Hen of the " true Java breed." The Cock was so
fine, large, and handsome, that he was immediately made
" Cock of the walk." The present stock on that farm,
which I have seen, are entirely his descendants, and are
true Cochin-China Fowls ; so that in this case "Java"
and " Cochin-China " are synonymous. The first parents
of this lot came direct from India. But from whatever
Oriental region derived, it is a most valuable variety, and
the only fear is that statements of its merits have been set
forth so highly exaggerated, that they must lead to disap-
pointment, and cause the breed to be as much undeser-
vedly underrated, as it had been before foolishly extolled.
The size and weight ascribed to them are enormous.
To give an idea of their height and magnitude they have
been styled the Ostrich Fowl. It is an old, but very
bad system of giving names, to affix that of some other
creature, indicating certain supposed qualities ; for such
titles are apt to induce notions of relationship, or hybridity,
which are not easily dislodged from the minds of many
people. Cochin-China Fowls have been averred in the

290

THE COCHIN-CHINA FOWL.

Agricultural Gazette (Sept. 30, 1848) to weigh, the male
birds from 12 to 1.5 lbs., the hens from 9 to 10 lbs.
They certainly must be very fine indeed ; for the weights
specified are those of respectable Turkeys, not of Fowls.
My own Cochin-China Fowls, obtained from the Messrs.
Baker, now about eighteen months old, weighed, the
Cock, 6 lbs. 5 oz., the Hen, 41bs. 6oz. Some allowance
must be made for the circumstance that both were moult-
ing, and that the Hen had laid fairly during the season,
and had not yet (Oct. 4) relinquished the charge of her
second brood of Chickens. She laid exactly three dozen
eggs in the spring, and then sat. After rearing her chicks
admirably, she again laid a smaller number of eggs, and
sat. The best Cockerel and Pullet of the brood hatched
April 5th, and which had only ordinary care and feeding
bestowed upon them, weighed, on Oct. 4, 5 lbs. 8 oz., and
3 lbs. 13 oz., respectively.

The reader will be better able to judge what weights
Fowls may be reasonably expected to attain, after the
inspection of the following lists of the live weights of
various poultry, with which I have been obligingly favoured.
But as the birds were generally out of condition, in con-
sequence of their being mostly at that time on the moult,
and also from the previous wet season, the weights are
less than they would be under more favourable cir-
cumstances.
One list {H. H.) gives —

Black Polish Cock, three years old
Ditto Hen ditto

Ditto Pullet ....
Golden Polish Cork

Ditto Hen

i^Tiother Hen . . . .

Golden Polish Pullet

Malay Hen . . . .

Creole (Silver Hiimburgh) Hen .

Black Nondescript Hen .

Globe- crested Polish Hen .

Silver Polish Hen . ,

BS.

oz.

5

3

3

4

2

6

5

0

3

8

3

10

2

8

3

12

3

1

4

10

3

9

3

4

THE COCHIN-CHINA FOWL.

291

LBS. OZ.

" Game Cock 4 10

Ditto Hen 3 0

Young Blue Dun Cock ...... 3 6

Blue Dun Hen 3 0

Large Dun Hybrid Hen ...... 3 8

" Among these, the Malay Hen was moulting, and not
up to her usual weight by nearly a pound. It will be
observed that there is a great relative difference between
the Pullets and the grown Hens of the Polish breed.
All the Polish increase much in size and beauty the
second moult."

Another list, kindly furnished by Mr. Alfred Whitaker,
gives —

Pheasant Malay Cocks, two years old, average each
Ditto Cockerel, five months old

Ditto Hen

Ditto Pullet, seventeen months old

Ditto (crossed with Dorking Hen), four yea

Speckled Surrey Hen, two years old .

Spanish Hen .....

Two Dorking Cocks, each

Ditto Hens ......

Ditto ditto

Cock Turkey, two years and a half old .
Hen ditto, one year and a half old

Ditto ditto

Musk Drake (moulting)

rs old

LBS.

oz.

7

0

7

0

5

1

5

3

5

8

5

12

5

0

7

0

6

8

6

12

17

12

10

0

9

9

9

12

" The Dorkings belong to a neighbour, and are very fine
ones. The Hens, it will be seen, approach nearer to the
weight of the Cocks than is the case with the Pheasant-
Malays. The Spanish Hen is about to moult, and is
rather underweight."

Our own poultry-yard furnishes these : —

Turkey Cock, sixteen months old
Ditto Hen, three or four years old ,
White China Gander, six years old
White China Goose

LBS.

oz.

16

0

8

6

12

13

11

13

u2

292

THE COCHIN-CHINA FOWL.

long

five

ditto

Common China Goose, Cynoides, six years old
Cochin-Cbina Cock, about sixteen months old, moulting
Ditto Hen ditto ditto .

Malay Cock ditto ditto

Ditto Hen ditto ditto .

Pheasant- Malay Cock

Ditto Malay Hen, moulting . . , •

Grame Cockerel, about five months old .

Golden Hamburgh Cockerel, just arrived from a

journey, about five months old .
Ditto Pullet ditto ditto .

Cochin-China Cockerel, six months old
Another ditto

Silver Hamburgh Cockerel, after travelling, about

months old . . . . ,

Ditto Pullet ditto

Black Polish Hen, moulting
Golden Hamburgh, ditto
Andalusian Cockerel, four months old
Ditto Pullet ditto

Black Spanish Cockerel ditto
Ditto Pullet ditto .

Silver Polish Cockerel, four months and a half old
Golden Poland Pullet, about five months old .
White-crested Golden Poland Pullet, ditto .

It will appear from the foregoing, that for a Cock, of
any breed, to reach 7^ lbs., even live weight, he must be
an unusually fine bird ; but this has to be doubled before
we can rival the Cochin-China specimens above mentioned.
I have never yet seen Cocks and Hens weighing 15 lbs.
and 10 lbs, respectively : those most nearly approaching
these weights have been Malays, not Cochin-Chinas,
ancient and venerable birds, looking old enough and
tough enough to have performed the migi-ation from India
on foot. It has also been incorrectly asserted that " the
disposition of the feathers on the back of the Cock's neck
is reversed, these being turned upwards ; the wing is
jointed, so that the posterior half can, at pleasure, be
doubled up, and brought forward between the anterior
half and the body :" the only foundation for which ab-
surdity is, that in some of the half-grown Cockerels,

LBS.

oz.

10

10

6

5

4

6

6

14

4

8

5

7

3

8

4

2

° 3

8

2

4

4

14

4

13^

3

3

1

2

8

3

0

2

3

3

8

2

6i

2

11

2

11

2

14i

2

8

2

3

THE COCHIN-CHINA FOWL. 293

certain feathers, the wing-coverts, curl forwards ; but the
curHng disappears with the complete growth of the
plumage.* But the long bow is stretched even yet a little

* Mr. Bissell further explains the mystery : " I had a Cockerel that
■was unusually slow in getting his feathers, and, as may be expected,
■was very much pinched with the cold ; he would frequently squat
down upon the straw in a shed, to rest himself, and perhaps for warmth
also (which is a very usual thing for them to do) ; and in that
position I have frequently seen him, in the effort to keep himself
warm with the few flight feathers that he already had, turn them
under his wing and against his body, which I have no doubt has given
rise to the misrepresentation. I have carefully examined him, and
can testify that the conformation of his wings is the same as in all
other Fowl, and now he is older and better feathered, he never places
the feathers of his wing in the position I have now described.

" I find among my Cochins some feathered-legged specimens ; and
others that I have seen, which came from Windsor direct, have some
of them the same appendages, and I believe them to be quite pure
notwithstanding."

An Extract from a recent letter is given to illustrate still more
fully the Cochin-China Fowls. " Some here say that the Queen of
England's Fowls came from Shanghae .... I will give you some
idea of the few bloods I have at present. I have two varieties, if not
breeds, imported in 1847, direct from the city of Shanghae; the one
in the American ship Huntress, the other in the ship Tartar. They
differ somewhat from each other ; one being almost smooth-legged, the
other heavily feathered on the legs. The colours differ ; the smooth-
legged being all, the Cocks, some shade of yellow or red, the Hens
some shade of bay : these weigh, the Cocks when grown, 9 lbs., the
Hens, 6 or 6^ lbs. [These arc probably identical with our model
Cochin-Chinas.] The heavily feathered on the legs differ from the
above as to weight: the full-grown Cock will weigh 12 lbs. and the
Hen 8 lbs. As to colour, the Cocks come about one-half of the
number a reddish Dominiqtic, the other half red with some black
intermingled. Eggs of both kinds very much alike : the colour a
reddish yellow and would weigh from 2\ to 3 oz. each.

1 have another breed called the Malay or Chittagong, still larger,
the liens especially, than the last : they are usually, in colour, brown,
dark brown, or yellow, sometimes almost black; not heavily feathered
on the legs, and the Hens, good ones, will weigh from 9 to 10 lbs. I
have a three years old lien of this kind, which weighs 1 3^^ lbs. good ;
she is, however, a rarci avis. The Cocks do not weigh heavier than
the above kind, ranging from 11 to 1'2 lbs. The Eggs of this kind
are not quite so dark in colour as the last, but somewhat larger. The
first two kinds are decidedly the best layers, and altogether the most

294 THE COCHIN-CHINA FOWL.

further : " they sometimes lay two, and even three Eggs a
day, and that within a few seconds of each other." No
doubt of it ; however physiologically improbable the per-
formance of such a feat may be. And an American
newspaper kindly informs us how other Hens may be
taught to follow so good an example. " A cute Yankee
has invented a nest, in the bottom of which there is a kind
of trap-door, through which the Egg, when laid, imme-
diately drops ; and the Hen, looking round, and perceiv-
ing none, soon lays another ! " Natural History has a
hard struggle to come at correct conclusions in this depart-
ment of ornitholog}'.

The Cochin-China Cock has a large, upright, single,
deeply-indented comb, very much resembling that of the
Black Spanish, and when in high condition, of quite as
brilliant a scarlet ; like him also he has a very large
white ear-lobe on each cheek*. The wattles are large,
wide, and pendant. The legs are of a pale flesh colour :
some specimens have them yellow, which is objectionable.
The feathers on the breast and sides are of a bright
chesnut brown, large and well-defined, giving a scaly or
imbricated appearance to those parts. The haclde of the
neck is of a light yellowish brown : the lower feathers

practical Fowls, perhaps because the Hens are rather smaller."
J. J. K., Kensington, Philad : Penna : N. America, Jan. 1850.
The learned poultr3'-fancier will immediately appreciate the value of
the above. The name of Cochin-China is appropriated to the first
variety ; " Shanghae Fowls" may with advantage be given to the
second. We here recognise certain Fowls as, in no very forced
expression, encircling the globe. And after all, this is only a specimen
of what happens to find its way into the Shanghae maiket ; more is
without doubt in the back-ground. A task worthy of the spirit of
America would be to produce some of the South Sea and Pacific
Island poultry — from the more isolated groups (the Society or
Sandwich) the better — of the ancient aboriginal stock, as found by the
first European discoverers, Cook, &c.

* " I have seen a great many Cochin Fowl, and have observed that
but few of them had white ear-lobes ; I therefore conclude that it is
not an indispensable if even a required qualification." /. Bissell. — It
is however to be preferred, for beauty at least, if not as a mark of pure
blood.

THE COCHIN-CHINA FOWL. 295

being tipped with dark brown, so as to give a spotted
appearance to the neck. The tail-feathers are black, and
darkly iridescent ; back, scarlet-orange ; back-hackle, yel-
low-orange. It is, in short, altogether a flame-coloured
bird. Both sexes are lower in the leg than either the
Black Spanish or the IMalay.

The Hen approaches in her build more nearly to the
Dorking than any other, except that the tail is very small
and proportionately depressed : it is smaller, and more
horizontal, I think, than in any other Fowl. Her comb
is moderate-sized, almost small ; she has also a small
white ear-lobe. Her colouring is flat, being composed of
various shades of very light brown, with light yellow on
the neck. Her appearance is quiet, and only attracts
attention by its extreme neatness, cleanness, and com-
pactness. My male bird has two claws on the toe of one
foot, a peculiarity which is inherited by some of the
chickens.

The eggs average about 2 oz. each. They are smooth,
of an oval, nearly equally rounded at each end, and of a
rich buff colour, nearly resembling those of the Silver
Pheasant. The new-hatched chicks appear very large
in proportion to the size of the eggs. They have light
flesh-coloured bill, feet, and legs, and are thickly covered
with down, of the hue vulgarly called " carrotty." They
are not less thrifty than other chickens, and feather
somewhat more uniformly than either Black Spanish
or Malay. Nevertheless, it is most desirable to hatch
these, as well as other large-growing sorts, as early in
the spring as possible ; even so soon as the end of
February. And it deserves consideration, whether those
breeders are not the wisest, who do not allow their Hens
to hatch dnckeus after midsummer. A peculiarity in the
Cockerels is, that they do not show even the rudiments
of their tail feathers till they are nearly full grown.
They increase so rapidly in other directions, that there
is no material to spare for the production of these
decorative ajij^endages. A gentleman to whom I sent a

296 THE COCHIN-CHINA FOWL.

pair, wrote word that one of the Fowls had had the mis-
fortune to lose his tail on the journey. An egg hatched
at a distance was said to have produced something more
like an Eaglet than a Chicken. The Pullets are less
backward in shooting their tails, and this distinction
alone is sufficient to denote the respective sexes at a very
early age. The Cockerel is also later than others in
commencing to crow.

The merits of this breed are such, that it may safely be
recommended to persons residing in the country. For
the inhabitants of towns it is less desirable, as the hght
tone of its plumage would show every mark of dirt and
defilement, and also because the readiness with which
they sit would be an inconvenience, rather than not, in
families with whom everlasting layers are most in requisi-
tion. At present they are too expensive to have had
their edible qualities much tested. Most persons would
prefer gratifying a friend with the living, than their own
palate with the dead birds. But they are equal or
superior to any other Fowl for the table : their flesh is
delicate, white, tender, and well-flavoured.

The Cochin-China Fowl are said to have been presented
to her Majesty, Queen Victoria, from the East Indies,
and, by her liberality, imparted to such persons in the
country as were likely properly to appreciate them. It is
delightful to see so good an example in communicating a
valuable stock, and also in aiding Natural History by
making no secret of the source whence it was derived,
although, as we have seen, they are really no novelty.
The shape and size of the eggs of the Cochin-China Fowl,
their qualifications as layers and mothers, the frequency
of the fifth toe among them, and their general build and
carriage, point out their very near relationship to the
Dorkings : they are in truth the Dorkings of India. In
the west of England tliere has lately been introduced an
extra-sized variety of Fowl called the American (and
really imported from America), but derived from what
original source we cannot yet trace. These, however, do

THE COCHIN-CHINA FOWL. 297

not exhibit marks of much distinctness of race or purity
of blood, except their vast bullc, but display traces of both
the Malay and the Cochin-China type, inclining in the
best specimens to the latter, with a probable intermixture
of Dorking or Spanish blood. Such birds, except during
their early youth, would suit the purposes of Chinese
cooks, with whom sinews and tendons form the great
delicacies of the table, rather than of English artists, who
prefer to exercise their skill on what will furnish a suffi-
ciency of tender meat. Still they suggest the idea that it
may be found more profitable, in crossing for the larder,
to cross constantly two large breeds, than to go on with
one pure breed ; exactly as in raising a supply of sheep
for the butcher, the first cross between the Leicester and
the Southdown answers so well. So we will quote the
song of Hecate, and chant over the poultry yai'd,

" Black spirits and white.
Red spirits and grey.
Mingle, mingle, mingle,
You that mingle may."

Another Chinese Cock, as the old naturalists would
announce it. Dr. Bevan, of Machynlleth, Montgomery-
shire, has favoured me with the following : — " I only
commenced keeping Fowls last year (ISiT), when a Hen
purchased for the pot, stole a nest in the field. Having
heard of a particular breed, brought from China as a
present to the late Sir Robert Vaughan, which were said
to be capital layers, very much disposed to become fat, with
the flesh delicately white, approaching in flavour to that
of game, I begged the favour of a few eggs, and was able
to rear two Cocks and two Hens. AVhen hatched, and
for several weeks aftenvards, they looked more like young
Ducklings than young Chickens, and their feathers were
pushed fortli so slowly that, even when a month old, there
was very little appearance of wings, and none of tails, and
it was another month before they were able to fly half a
yard high. The two brothers continued very amicable
till they were six or seven months old j at that age the

298 THE COCHIN-CHINA FOWL.

strongest began to tyrannise, so I gave him to a friend.
The Hens began to lay when between five and six months
old, and they have continued to lay almost daily ever since.
The eggs, at first, were very small, but have been slowly
increasing, and at this time they weigh about an ounce
and a quarter ; one Hen lays perfectly white eggs, the
others are cream-coloured, and both are of a dumpy oval
shape. The Hens still retain a some'ichat peculiar appear-
ance, Slaving stout legs and thighs, and being almost as
broad as long. The tails continue short, not half the usual
length ; but the Cock, who is a very fine handsome
fellow, has but little peculiarity about him, only being, like
the Hens, of smaller size than the Barn-door Fowls.
They are remarkably tame, indeed, rather troublesome,
depending, in part, perhaps, on the manner in which they
have been brought up. They all seek the shelter of a
building by night, and one of the Hens never roosts, but
sits all night upon her nest. From what I have said, you
will infer that as yet I have not tasted the flesh of this
variety, nor shall, of course, till next autumn, but as the
other character I had of them is correct, I give credit for
that also. There is another Chinese variety in the neigh-
bourhood, the bones of which are said to be black.

"I will endeavour to describe my China Cock. He is
of not more than moderate size. His comb is single,
erect, and finely serrated, his shawl feathers of a brilliant
gold colour, reaching, when he stands up, nearly the
length of his body, and joining at that time, a few rows
of feathers of the same colour which extend to the tail,
which is jet black, with the feathers finely curled and
in moderate quantity ; his body is of a brilliant chesnut
colour, his thighs and breast black, but spangled with
pale chesnut patches. The thighs of both sexes are
remarkably full-feathered, which gives them a great
apparent breadth."

Another. " I lately saw a Chinese Cock with a rose
comb, and the plumage of the golden-spangled Hamburgh ;
his legs were yellow, or he might be taken for one of that
breed."— -J.S.W.

THE MALAY FOWL.

This breed is in high repute with many writers, as a
supposed connecting link between the wild and the tame
races of Fowls. Indeed, something very like them is still
to be found in the East ; and it would be useful to know,
as a certain test, whether the Kulm Cock be indocile, like
the Pheasant, or tameable, like the Fowl. The Penny
Cyclopaedia (article " Pheasant") gives the following
description of the native Indian bird ; —

" The Gigantic Cock, the Kulm Cock of Europeans
(a wild breed) often stands considerably more than two
feet from the crown of the head to the ground. The comb
extends backwards in a line with the eyes ; it is thick, a
little elevated, rounded upon the top, and has almost the
appearance of having been cut off. The wattles of the
under mandibles are comparatively small, and the throat
is bare. Pale golden-reddish hackles ornament the head,
neck, and upper part of the back, and some of these
spring before the bare part of the throat. Middle of the
back and lesser wing-coverts deep chesnut, the webs of
the feathers disunited ; pale reddish-yellow, long drooping
hackles cover the rump and base of the tail, which last is
very ample, and entirely of a glossy green, of which
colour are the wing-coverts ; the secondaries and quills
are pale reddish-yellow on their outer webs. All the
under parts deep glossy blackish green, with high reflec-
tions : the deep chesnut of the base of the feathers
appears occasionally, and gives a mottled and interrupted
appearance to those parts." {Jardine principally.)

300 THE MALAY FOWL.

Here is a description of some Malay Fowl supplied by
Messrs. Baker: —

Malay Cock. — Height twenty-seven inches and a
half. Comb small, double, hanging over on one side in
front, and extended in a line backwards. Bill yellowish,
feet and legs decided yellow ; hackle greyish yellow ;
breast, belly, and thighs black ; back and shoulders rich
brown ; wing-coverts iridescent black ; quill feathers the
same, but having half of the outer web on one side of
the quill mottled with white ; wattles almost absent ; tail
iridescent black; stature lofty; voice particularly sonorous,
and somewhat hoarse.

Malay Hen. — Comb very small, but face much
covered with red skin. Bill, legs, and feet yellow ; head,
neck, back, tail, and quills of a rich brown ; the lower
parts and thighs of a lighter hue ; neck long ; stature and
carriage lofty ; head small in proportion to the size of
the bird.

It may be suspected that Malays are underrated in
importance by Poultry-keepers, as much as they are over-
rated by naturalists. The common prejudice condemns
their flesh as coarse, stringy, oily, and ill-flavoured. But
it is a question whether many of those who pronounce
this unfavourable judgment have ever dined off" so costly
a dish as roast Malay Fowl. First-rate Malays are ex-
ceedingly dear in London. I have heard of as much as
5^. being asked for a superior Cock ; but, then, he was to
be " as big as a Donkey." It is odd, too, that what is
so faulty in an unmixed state, should be highly recom-
mended as a first cross. The yellowness of their skin
may be displeasing to the eye of a purchaser ; but many
of the finest-fl3,voured Game Fowls have this quality, and
both Pheasants and Guinea Fowls, when plucked for the
spit, are much more uninviting in their appearance. It
will be a pity if the Malays go out of fashion altogether,
and become lost to the country, like the Shackbags, in
consequence of the introduction of the more bepraised,
and it must be confessed, much more generally useful,

THE MALAY FOWL. 501

Cochin-Chinas. The Poultry Shows, however, in which
their striking appearance is so valuable, promise again
to bring them perhaps into undue favour. They are cer-
tainly a very distinct race of Fowls.

The Malay Hen lays eggs of a good size, and of a rich
buff or brown colour, which are much prized by the
numerous epicures who believe that this hue indicates
richness of flavour — a fact which has not yet been made
sensible to my own palate. The chicks are at first very
strong, with yellow legs, and are thickly covered with
light brown down ; but, by the time they are one-third
grown, the increase of their bodies has so far outstripped
that of their feathers, that they are half naked about the
back and shoulders, and extremely susceptible of cold
and wet. The grand secret of rearing them, is to have
them hatched very early indeed, so that they may
have got through this period of unclothed adolescence
during the dry, sunny part of May and June, and reached
nearly their full stature before the midsummer rains
descend.

The disposition of Malay Hens is very variously de-
scribed : doubtlessly with truth in the different cases. One
set, — " long in the leg, creamy brown with darker necks,
were very ill-tempered ; another individual, of a rich
creamy brown and grey neck, and very broad on the back,
was an invaluable sitter and mother. They are much
used by some to hatch the eggs of Turkeys, a task for which
they are well adapted in every respect but one, which
is, that they will follow their natural instinct in turning
off their chicks at the usual time, instead of retaining
charge of them as long as the mother Turkey would.
Goslings would suffer less from such untimely desertion."

I cannot refrain from mentioning a singular habit that
has been observed in some individuals of this breed :
" A multitude of facts has convinced me how wonderful
is the hereditary principle in the minds or instincts of
animals ; but some facts have made me suspect that we
sometimes put down to hereditariness what is due to

802 THE MALAY FOWL.

imitation. I will give an instance : a good observer and
breeder told me he had noticed that an Eastern breed of
Poultry (Malay I think) imported by Lord Powis, though
then reared during several generations in this country,
always went to roost for a short time in mid-day" (of
course instinctively, to avoid the noontide heats at home).
" Hence (if the fact be true, and I rarely believe anything
without confirmation) I concluded that this habit was
probably hereditary ; but mentioning this fact to a lady
who had some Eastern breed, she said she believed she had
noticed the same peculiarity, but with this addition, that
some chickens reared under the Eastern Hen, followed
(she knew not for how long) the same habit ; if so, we
clearly see that it may be a merely handed-down practice,
and not hereditary. To test it, the Eastern eggs ought
to have been hatched under a common Hen ; but my first
informant is now dead. This point, though trifling, is
really curious." — C. D.

I certainly have noticed Hens of various breeds occa-
sionally retiring to roost for a mid-day nap ; but never
knew any make a common practice of it. Domestic
Fowls have this peculiar whim ; when they are com-
pelled, by rain, snow, or severe frost, to take shelter during
the day, they do not retire to their dormitory, the Hen-
house, where they sleep at night, but prefer some other
building to which they can have access and use as a
drawing-room, and from which they will adjourn to bed,
when the proper time comes.

" I saw a lot of black Malay Hens in Hungerford
Market, and with them a red Cock with a black breast
and tail ; the quills of his tail were white. I was at first
inclined to think that they had a cross of the Spanish ;
but when I recollected to have seen Fowls of exactly
the same appearance, though somewhat smaller, in Devon,
I changed my opinion." — J, S. W.

There is considerable difference in the plumage of the
coloured Malays, something of which may be the effect of
age ; they are also found with flesh-coloured as well as

THE MALAY FOWL. 303

yellow feet and legs. The Black Malays are very hand-
some cavalier-looking birds : and the White Malays,
when clean, offer a curious combination of colour, —
snowy plumage mounted upon a pair of long bright-
yellow legs.

THE PHEASANT-MALAY FOWL.

This variety, together with some of the Hamburghs,
may claim the sad pre-eminence of having given occasion
to more disputes than any bird of its tribe, always except-
ing the Game Cock. It is highly valued by many farmers,
not on account of its intrinsic merits, which are consider-
able, but because they believe it to be a cross between the
Pheasant and the common Fowl, than which nothing can
be more erroneous. The Pullets and Cockerels are excel-
lent for the table, and when brought to market meet with
a ready sale, less because they are really fine birds, than
because the seller assures his customers, in perfect sin-
cerity, that they are half-bred Pheasants ; and the buyer
readily pays his money down, thinking that he has got a
nice Fowl, and a taste of Pheasant into the bargain —
something like the Frenchman, who was delighted at
breakfast, on finding that he was eating a little chicken,
when he had only paid for an egg.

So gross an error in Natural History ought to be
cleared away, as a belief in it might cause disappointment
to Poultry fanciers ; and particularly since the able author
of " British Husbandly" has given the weight of his
authority to the notion. He speaks of the "hybrid between
the Hen and the Pheasant having succeeded ; " and adds :
" Their flesh, however, has so much of the game flavour
of the Pheasant, coupled with the juiciness of the Fowl,
as to be greatly prized by connoisseurs in good eating ;
and therefore attempts are often made to propagate the

THE PHEASANT-MALAY FOWL. 305

breed by those who are careless of trouble and expense."
— Farming for Ladies.

To prevent this trouble and expense being thrown
away, it should be clearly known that the Pheasant breed *
of Poultry fanciers is no more a mule between the Hen
and the Pheasant, than the Cochin-China or Ostrich
Fowl is a half-bred Ostrich, or that the Bustard breed
of Turkeys sprang from a commixture with the great
Bustard. Dr. Latham has an Owl-pigeon and a Turkey-
pheasant on the same principle of nomenclature. The
really half-bred Pheasant, which is indeed obtainable by
trouble, expense, and, above all, by patience and perse-
verance, is not unfrequent in museums and collections.
Any offspring of these mules is rare : so that no breed is
originated ; only a set of isolated monsters. Mr. Yarrell
describes and figures several other mules between the
Pheasant and one or two gallinaceous birds nearly allied
to it. Those between the Common Fowl and the Pheasant
which I have seen, bore, in their outline, great resem-
blance to the genus Nycthemerus, the Golden and Silver
Pheasants : thus supporting the position assigned to those
birds by Mr. Swainson, namely, between the Fowls and
the Pheasants. And the great and varied talents of that
gentleman must claim respect from every student of
Nature, even though they may not be complete converts
to his circular system and quinary arrangement. But, in
confirmation of his views, it may be urged that existence
is not a chain, a simple series, as some have described
it, but an infinite net-work extending in all directions,
developing itself not superficially but cubically, like the
spherical undulations of light that flow from every fixed
star. Each animated being is a portion of this net-work ;
and from each, as from a centre, may be traced affinities
and relationships to all surrounding beings that are endued
with life.

The Nycthemerus and the mule Pheasant have tails
more or less horizontal. The Hen of the Pheasant-

* See infraj the synonyms of tlie Hamburgh Fowls.

X

SOff THE PHEASANT-MALAY FOWL.

Malay carries hers in a particular upright and Hen-like
manner ; the Cock has the curved and flowing feathers
of the tail, and every other mark of true Gallism. The
Pheasant-Malay Hen has semi-oval markings on the
breast, and shining blue-black hackle on the neck mixed
with dark brown, which do bear some distant resemblance
to the plumage of a Cock Pheasant, and might give rise
to the false notion of her origin ; but a glance at the
Cock bird shows how nearly he is related to the Game
Fowl ; a closer inspection shows the affinity of both to
the ordinary Malays.

" Pheasant Fowls," " The Pheasant Breed," are terms
which ought to be at once discarded, as being either
erroneous or unmeaning, or rather, both. By these terms
various people intend to indicate Golden Hamburghs,
Silver Hamburghs, Polanders, and even Bantams,* besides
the subject of the present section. An eminent London
dealer being asked what breed of Poultry he would
supply, if the "Pheasant Breed" were ordered, replied,
that he did not know ; for some gentlemen so called one
sort, and some another. Indeed, the name is vernacularly
applied to anything that bears the most distant resemblance
to a Pheasant. It has first to be shown that there is a
Pheasant breed of Fowls ; every specimen so-called that
I have hitherto seen, being referable to some one of the
varieties mentioned in these pages.

To pass slightingly over such a popular error would be
wrong, because it involves the great question of the
immutability of species. The result, then, of our inquiry
is this ; that hybrids between the Pheasant and the Fowl
are, for the most part, absolutely sterile ; that when they
do breed, it is not with each other, but with the stock of
one of their progenitors ; and that the offspring of these
either fail, or assimilate to one or other original type.
No half-bred family is perpetuated ; no new breed created
by human or volucrine agency.

* In Moiibray's work, 8th edition, a colotired engraving of Sea-
bright's Spangled is entitled, *' Bantam, or Pheasant Fowls."

THE PHEASANT-MALAY FOWL. 307

Some believers in the improvement effected by Pheasants
in our Common Fowls put their trust entirely in the
possibilitj/ of the fact, not in any evidence of what has
actually occurred. " One man, who had some of the
birds near a wood, indeed assured me that the breed was
easily reared, and that they grew more and more like
Pheasants every clutch ; but I noticed he had Hens of
other breeds going with his Pheasant-mules or hybrids,
male and female, and he was not sufficientlt/ intelligent to be
fxlli/ depended on. Besides, though his Cock and some
of the Hens were undoubtedly (?) true hybrids, yet, as he
lived close by the wood side, it is most probable that, as
in the former instance, the Cock Pheasant of the wood
usurped the attentions of the whole sisterhood, thus
accounting for the broods growing more like Pheasants
every generation. The most successful breeder of them
admitted that, after many trials (of paired hybrids), he
had " never brought up but two to be a'most Hens," and
that then they took the (meghrims) staggers and died." —
{Correspondent of the Agricidtaral Gazette, Jidy \st, 1848.)
Such naturalists as these are clearly got into a wood, and
likely to ramble about therein so long a time, that it is
hopeless to endeavour to extricate them.

Others say, " Consult some intelligent gamekeeper, and
you will alter your opinions." Well ; we are anxious only
for the truth, and are ready to be convinced by any proved
facts that a gamekeeper can produce. Accordingly, we
have consulted M. Le Roi, gamekeeper to the King of
France not of the French, before the first revolution,
when game was indeed preserved, and country gentlemen,
almost as much as kings, when they visited the country,
really could keep poachers in awe. He informs us of his
experience, thus : — " Man has tried to effect a violence
with the Cock Pheasant, to make it breed with a foreign
species ; and the experiments have in some degree suc-
ceeded, though they required great care and attention.
A young Cock Pheasant was shut in a close place, where
but a faint light glimmered through the roof : some young

X 2

308 THE PHEASANT-MALAY FOWL.

Pullets were selected, whose plumage resembled the most
that of the Pheasant, and were put in a crib adjoining
that of the Cock Pheasant, and separated from it only by
a grate, of which the ribs were so close as to admit no
more than the head and neck of these birds. The Cock
Pheasant was thus accustomed to see these females, and
even to live with them, because the food was thrown into
the crib only. When they had grown familiar, both the
Cock and Hens were fed on heating aliments ; and after
they discovered an inclination to couple, the grate which
parts them was removed. It sometimes happened that the
Cock Pheasant, faithful to nature, and indignant at the
insidt offered him, abused the Hens, and even killed the
first he met with ; but if his rage did not subside, he was
on the one hand mollified by touching his bill with a red-hot
iron, and, on the other, stimulated bg the application of pro-
per fomentations^ — Biffon's Natural History of Birds,
vol. ii., p. 302. His note attached is,—" The Wild
Pheasants never couple with the Hens which they meet ;
not but they sometimes make advances, only the Hens
will never permit them to proceed. I owe this, among
many other observations, to M. Le Roi, Lieutenant des
Chasses at Versailles." A promising commencement of
a new breed of Poultry !

But it might be objected that all this happened sixty
or seventy years ago, and that the nature of Pheasants
and Fowls has since been modified. We have therefore
consulted another intelligent keeper, who knows as much
about the subject as the best shot that ever handled a
gun. On stating my opinion of the absurdity of the
popular notions about the " Pheasant Fowls " to Mr. James
Hunt, the experienced servant of the London Zoological
Society, he replied, " You are quite right, sir ; those who
think differently have only to look at that," pointing to a
miserable, really half-bred Pheasant, that was then walking
before us.

Nor does the experience of Mr. Hunt differ much from
that recorded by his superiors. " Birds produced between

THE PHEASANT-MALAY FOWL. 309

the Pheasant and Common Fowl are of frequent occur-
rence. The Zoological Society have possessed several,
which were for a time kept together, but showed no signs
of breeding ; they are considered, like other hybrids, to be
unproductive among themselves, all being half-bred ; but
when paired with the true Pheasant or the Fowl, the case
is diflFerent. The Zoological Society has had exhibited
at the evening meetings two instances of success in this
sort of second cross. The first was in 1831 ; the second
instance in 1836." — Yarrell, vol. ii., p. 317. Two cases
only, and those in the second cross, ascertained during all
the time that the Society has had extraordinary means at
command, are exceptions so rare, as to confirm the rule
that such mules are barren, and incapable of founding a
family, and becoming the ancestors of a distinct race.
And yet an evidently sincere writer declares, — " From
what I have seen of the plumage of birds casually pro-
duced at the wood side (from crossing with Pheasants),
I believe a judicious and scientific selection would lead to
the production of very fine varieties, and that among
others, the dark Pheasant-plumaged breed, both of Ban-
tams, and common poultry, would reward the patient
inquirer. ' ' — Agricullural Ga;:;et/e, June 10,1848. Patience
may sometimes be its own reward ; but it is a sad thing
to get into a wood, if the German romancers are to be
listened to.

Those who still believe in the permanent combination
of the Pheasant with the Fowl, rest their faith entirely on
the " pure half-bred " birds whicli they procure from the
wood sides to begin with. But, we may ask, how do
tliey know that they are really such ? If they were only
told by some man who lived by the wood side, and reared
them from one of his Hens kept there, that they were half-
bred Pheasants, we must refuse to admit any such uncertain
hearsay evidence, as unworthy to have any weight in solving
what is one of the most important problems (in its conse-
quences) in Natural History. The Hen from which
birds that can be allowed to be half-bred Pheasants are

330 THE PHEASANT-MALAY FOWL.

obtained, must have been confined for some time pre-
viously with a Cock Pheasant, and utterly debarred from
the slightest possibility of association with the Domestic
Cock. In short, the evidence ought to be as clear and
unmistakeable as would be required in a trial for murder,
or in a claim before the House of Lords to a succession to
a Dukedom. When we have truly and actually got what
we are sure is a half-bred Pheasant, specimens of which,
though unfrequent, are by no means rare, it then remains
to be seen what becomes of them.

Mr. John Baily favours me with one instance of their
probable destiny. " Hybrids between Fowls and Phea-
sants are not at all uncommon, when such birds, tame-
bred, are kept together in a pen. For instance, a tame-bred
Cock Pheasant will breed with a Game Hen, but I do not
believe the stories of wild Pheasants visiting the ordinary
inhabitants of farm-yards. I have had numbers of such
mis-called Hybrids brought to me, to prove by ocular
demonstration their claim to unnatural origin ; but the
first sight proved the reverse, they were simply Spangled
Fowls.

" I have had many Hybrids. They are of all colours,
but generally the back and wings are chocolate-coloured,
the breast, hackle and tail black, and the legs dark. In
carriage they more resemble the Pheasant than the Fowl ;
they are tame sheepish-looking birds, having neither comb
nor gill, and no distinctly-coloured circle round the eye.
The tail-feathers are longer than those of a Fowl, although
not shaped like a Pheasant's ; and the tail itself is carried
more erect than a Pheasant's.

" It has always been my impression, that the production
of such a creature, however much coveted as a curiosity,
will always be regretted, when its tame, stupid, listless
air, and positive uselessness, is considered in comparison
with the magnificence of the Pheasant, and the courage
and beauty of the Fowl. I had one of them running with
common Hens for two or three years. I had a basket
nailed against the wall, for the Hens to lay in. There

THE PHEASANT-MALAY FOWL. 311

was a tree close to it. The unhappy hybrid, as though
aware of his anomalous position in the scale of creation,
and anxious to redeem it in some way, patiently waited
for the Hens to lay, and then began zealously to sit on
the eggs. This lasted for months ; and his (should it not
be ' its V) grief was visible whenever the egg was re-
moved."

The Pheasant-Malays are large, well-flavoured, good
sitters, good layers, good mothers, and in many points an
ornamental and desirable stock. Some hypercritical eyes
might object to them as being a little too long in their
make ; but they have a healthy look of not being overbred,
that would recommend them to those who rear for profit,
as well as pleasure. The eggs vary in size, some very
large in summer, smooth but not polished, sometimes
tinged with light bufi", balloon-shaped, and without the
zone of irregularity. Six eggs in December 1847 weighed
very nearly 12 oz. The Chickens when first hatched are
all very much alike ; yellow with a black mark all down
the back. The Cock has a black tail, with black on the
neck and wings.

I have been favoured with a communication from
Mr. A. Whitaker, of Beckington, Somerset, whose obser-
vations on domesticated birds I know to be so accurate
as to render him an authority. He says, " I do not feel
quite certain as to the particular sort of birds indicated
under the title of the ' Pheasant breed.' I have seen so
many and such diverse sorts called Pheasant Fowls that
I have long since ceased to attach any definite idea to the
designation. I fully concur in all you say in contraven-
tion of the popular notion of the existence of a prolific
hybrid between the Fowl and the Pheasant.

" I have for seven years had a breed of Fowls the
progenitors of which were sold to me in Hungerford
Market as * Pheasant-Malays.' The Cocks are a large-
sized bird, of a dark-red colour, with a small comb ; but
the beauty of the breed is with the Hens, which are of a
Pheasant colour in all parts of the body, with a velvety

312 THE PHEASANT-MALAY FOWL.

black neck. The shape of both male and female is good.
The neck is long and (as we should say of a horse) high
crested, giving them an appearance quite superior to other
Fowl in that particular. The colour of the Hens varies
from the warmth of the plumage of the Cock Pheasant to
the colder hue of the Hen Pheasant, but as I have always
bred from the high-coloured birds, I now have the better
colour generally predominating. The legs are white, and
also the skin. They are excellent birds on table, both as
to quality, shape, and size. They have no resemblance
to the Malay, except that the Cocks are rather high on
the legs, the Hens being the reverse. The combs of the
Hens are very small. The Hens never have a foul feather,
but I have never seen a Cock which does not show some
small mark of white on one of his tail feathers. You will
observe in the Hens of the Pheasant-Malay that the two
longest tail feathers are somewhat curved, which, when
the bird is full-grown, and in full feather, materially
improves the appearance. They do not arrive at their
full size until the second season. They lay well, but
late. Their eggs are very small in proportion to the
size of the birds. I should say that their weight was
on the average above that of the Black Spanish, while
their eggs are a third smaller. Baker, of London and
Chelsea (one of the best fancy dealers), told me that they
were a breed from Calcutta. They are certainly tender,
and apt to die in the moulting ; but the Hens, in my
opinion, are unrivalled in beauty, while the Cock is a
fine bird, though not so uncommon in appearance, except
to an experienced eye, which will detect peculiarity of
growth.

" If you do not know the Pheasant-Malays (which is
merely a market name), I will send you with pleasure a
Pullet and a late Cockerel. I am sorry that I cannot
send an earlier Cock bird, as I apprehend that now sent
will not attain average size. The Plumage of the Pullet
promises well. The Hens have scarcely any comb. The
Cocks always have a comb extending but a very little way

THE PHEASANT-MALAY FOWL. 313

backward, but standing up so high as always to fall a
little over on one side, I have never seen any variation
as to the combs or the colour of the neck and tail
feathers, either of males or females, which indicates them
to be a real variety. The only variation I have observed
is in the body-colour of the Hens, and this not in the
marking, but merely in the ground colour, which is some-
times paler and duller than is the case with that of the
Pullet I send. I would most cheerfully enclose some
eggs, but I have none, as they very rarely lay in winter.
The eggs are quite small, but of excellent flavour, neither
very white nor brown ; the shape varies considerably.
The Chicks are of a yellowish colour, with sometimes two
brown stripes down the back and a few specks about the
head, but more usually without either. They have,
however, invariably the hinder part of the back of an
intenser or browner yellow, almost amounting to a warm
fawn colour, I think that the Chicks should not be hatched
before May,"

The birds thus kindly offered were thankfully accepted ;
and after a railway journey of more than two hundred and
fifty miles, stepped out of their hamper uncramped, unin-
jured, and undismayed by curious inspectors, and with
evidently an appetite for breakfast. The Pullet was
certainly a great beauty ; and I was pleased to find them
of the same type as the "Pheasant breed " with which I
had been previously acquainted. Their richness of colour,
and increase of size, being the result of skilful selection
and feeding for several generations. The colour of the
legs being quite white, did not agree with the Norfolk
specimens, but the several varieties of Game Fowl exhibit
much greater differences amongst each other. However,
I now quite believe that the Norfolk specimens I had
seen, had a dash of the blood of that variety of Hamburgh
Fowls known as Copper Moss. This comparison of
individuals, bred more than three hundred miles apart,
establishes the existence of the Pheasant-Malays as a
permanent variety of Fowls. The only discrepancy, which

314 THE PHEASANT-MALAY FOWL.

is more apparent than real, lies in the varying size of the
eggs ; but I have seen so many changes in that respect in
the same Hen, under altered circumstances, as to attach
no importance to variation of size, unless shape and colour
were also found to be different.

The Cocks display considerable courage ; the Hens are
jealously affectionate towards their chicks, bustling, and
petulant, thus exhibiting in disposition an affinity to the
Game breed,

Mr. Whitaker adds : " My male birds have a very
peculiar feathering on the neck, — the neck feathers being
very long and full, dark-red, and black at the tips, but
the under part of a downy white. The consequence is
an appearance of mixed dark-red and white about the
neck, which is the more peculiar from its being so particu-
larly at variance with the glossy black neck-feathering of
the female. The feathering of the back and wings is rather
scanty, and the tail is not very full. The bird has a good,
erect carriage.

" The Chickens hatched in June always succeed better
than those that are hatched earlier. The Chickens of
this breed are very small at first, and but scantily supjolied
with down. As they begin to grow, they have a very
naked appearance from the slow development of their
feathers, and this renders them very susceptible of cold.
At six weeks old they are not above half the size of
Dorkings of the same age, but after two months they
grow very fast, and the Pullets feather well and show
indications of their permanent colour. The Cocks are
ragged in appearance until five months old, after which
they get their permanent plumage, and grow fast. As a
sort of profitable growth I cannot recommend them, but
the ornamental figure and colour of the Hens, I think, is
beyond question. The flesh, at table, is extremely good
and white ; and they lay abundantly, though late. I have
a strong suspicion from various peculiarities, that they are
of comparatively recent introduction into this country from
a much warmer climate.

THE PHEASANT-MALAY FOWL. 31

" I once attempted to describe to you (see page 185) an
oval abortion ; I have since found a second, in which the
similarity was complete. The upper egg which was con-
cealed within the other, below the unclosed orifice left
at the egg-stalk, was congested with blood in both cases,
while the lower egg or yolk (there being two in each
case within the shell) was quite natural. A fortnight
after I found the latter abortion, I looked into the same
nest, and saw there one of my Pheasant-Malay Pullets of
last year. On looking closely at her, I saw she was
dead ; and on opening her, another of these abortions was
seen, accompanied by general congestion of the ovarium
and a vast quantity of internal fat, which I find these birds
very much disposed to take on."

It is a common opinion among country-people* that
mis-shapen eggs are caused by the Hen that lay them
being too fat. It certainly does often happen that an
over-fat Hen lays deformed eggs, but I believe that the
cause has been mistaken for the effect ; and that the non-
production of the usual quantity of natural-sized eggs,
in consequence of some peculiar state of the egg-organs,
compels the superabundant nourishment taken by the
bird, to be deposited in the shape of fat, instead of being
secreted in the form of eggs.

THE GAME FOWL.

" Cock-fighting. The original of this sport is said to he derived from
the Athenians, on the following occasion. When Themistocles was
marching his army against the Persians, he by the way espying two
cocks fighting, caused his army to behold them, and made the following
speech to them : Behold these do not fight for their household-gods,
for the monuments of their ancestors, nor for glory, nor for liberty,
nor for the safety of their children, hut only because the one will not
give way to the other. This so encouraged the Grecians, that they
fought strenuously, and obtained the ^^ctory over the Persians ; upon
which cock-fighting was, by a particular law, ordained to be annually
practised by the Athenians, and hence was the original of this sport
in England derived." — Bailey's Universal Etymological English
Dictionary.

It would be easy to write a thick volume upon Fighting
Cocks and Hens. No other breed runs off into so many
varieties, which still are all true Game Fowls. The
catalogue of sorts is a long one ; and, as many of them
have been preserved, for several generations (of men),
distinct, in various noble and gentle families, we are led
to inquire whether a more minute subdivision of species
might not, in the end, lead to a more correct knowledge
of the whole genus. The only objection to this is, the
trouble it would cause to naturalists ; but this is not the
only instance in which the works of nature are difficult for
human wit to grasp. It would certainly be as interesting
to compare the leading varieties, well stuffed, in a museum,
as it would be difficult to have a quiet assemblage of them
in a court-yard.

It is not within the range of the present Essays to
hunt up the distinctions of the sporting fancy, particularly

THE GAME FOWL. 317

as Cock-fighting is said to have become obsolete ;* but an
allusion to those distinctions may excite the curiosity of
the naturalist. It is the temperament which gives the
bird its value in the eye of the sportsman ; its physical
qualities deserve the notice of the ornithologist. But
even now, many of the handsomest Game Cocks to be
seen, are already trimmed (in the comb at least), in case
they should be wanted in a hurry for a private spar.

The Game Cock approaches nearer to the Malay and
Pheasant-]\Ialay than to any other variety of Fowl. As
we have made the Spanish Fowl, on account of his well-
developed single comb, the type of the genus, so, in any
circular arrangement of the genus itself, we should make
the Game Fowl the centre from which the rest, in one
way, or another, diverge. There are the white-legged,
the yellow-legged, and the leadeu or black-legged Game
Fowl. These equally vary in the colour of their plumage ;
the Hens also differ, though not so much ; and as some
breeders think the darkest to be of the purest blood, a
deep-brown Hen, with dark legs and small leaden comb,
is thought to be the model bird ; but in all Game Hens,
I think, the tail will be found to be large, vertical, fan-like,
and well carried over the back — a distinction which con-
tinues to be very apparent in the first cross with any other
breed. The flesh, even of the yellow-legged, yellow-
skinned breeds is, justly, in high repute ; their eggs, also,
are much prized for the table, but my own palate is not
sufficiently discriminating to detect their peculiar supe-
riority to the eggs of other Hens. They are comparatively

* Not, however, quite so obsolete as the omnthus beds in which
the Cockfighteis of former days reposed. Blotnefield, in his History
of Norfolk, tells us of " two very good Inns for the entertainment of
travellers, the White Hart, much noticed in these parts, being
called, by way of distinction, Scole Inn ; the house is a large brick
building, adorned with imagery and carved work in several places, as
big as the life. Here was lately a very large round bed, big enough
to hold fifteen or twenty couple, in imitation (I suppose) of the
remarkable great bed at Ware. The business of these two inns is
much supported by the annual Cock -matches that are here fought."

318 THE GAME FOWL.

small, contain a somewhat larger proportion of yolk, are

taper, unequally elliptic, and mostly, though not always,
tinged with buff.

Another general merit of the Hens, is their excellence
as incubators and nurses ; a virtue in them which is no
new discovery.

" Florentius is the authority, that in the Alexandria
which faces ^gypt, certain Hens, from which the Fighting
Cocks are produced, are called Monositse, {i. e., one-
mealers, or such as eat only once a day) and that these
will go on sitting for the second or third time, in conse-
quence of their chicks being smuggled away as soon as
hatched, and brought up elsewhere. It thus happens that
a single Hen may hatch forty, and even sixty or more, at
one sitting." — Aldrovandi. I have heard of their being
kept on in this way, producing little Partridges and Phea-
sants, for nearly three months without giving their task
up, and quite believe the fact.

When they are at length permitted to receive their
reward in the shape of a brood of chicks, nothing can
exceed their admirable conduct. The very young Hens
with their first clutch, are apt to be over-anxious, and
not at all forbearing to other Fowls that come in their
way ; but that is a fault on the right side, and if the
feathers of intruders are now and then made .to fly abroad,
they must grow again. The delicate proportions of the
Game Hen adapt her to take charge of even the most
fragile gallinaceous birds ; while her courage and deter-
mination render her equal to the most robust. Every
breeder or experimenter should have a nursery of Game
Hens. They will be found much more generally useful,
and also successful, in this country than Turkeys, the
favourite incubators on the Continent.

The Game Cock is by means the aggressive sangui-
nary tyrant that he is commonly represented to be. He
will submit to no insult or intrusion within his own
domain ; but neither does he offer any unprovoked assault.
If his antagonist flee, he is satisfied, and does not pursue

THE GAME FOWL. 319

him, in order to perpetrate any bloody revenge. Other
poultry that are killed by Game Cocks generally draw
down the punishment upon themselves, by their own
impudent and continued aggression. The bird, too, is as
enduring of pain, as he is bold in combat. We were
compelled to prevent mischief by amputating the spurs of
a Game Cock : he bore the operation, and the subsequent
application of hot iron to prevent bleeding, without a
sound or a murmur : and when set down in the midst of
his Hens, was as lofty and imperious in his carriage as
ever. " Avis pugnax," " the pugnacious bird," is a term
applied by Aldrovandi, not to fighting Cocks, but to Ruffs
and Reeves. A false notion of their savage disposition is
also derived from the sight of the sparrings of the half-
grown chickens : but the Pullets will indulge in this game
as well as the Cockerels. It is very rarely that mischief
is meant by such tiltings. We might remember that the
play of all young animals is a sham fight. Young lambs
run races to obtain possession of a hillock from which the
strongest will rebut the weak. Puppies snarl, and growl,
and snap, and struggle, all in perfect good-nature. Kittens
will roll over each other, and grapple, and show in sport
the best method of disembowelling an enemy with their
hind claws, if one of the playmates were but a rat. Even
boys can play at French and English ; and a couple of
Cockerels will often stand beak to beak, making two or
three jumps with outstretched neck and ruffled hackle,
but with no more evil intention (for the present) than
many a gentleman when he sets to his partner in a quadrille.

Sir W. Hooker gives a very pleasing instance of animal
skirmishing, which he observed while making his tour in
Iceland : —

" Had I been the only person to witness the following
circumstance concerning the dogs in Iceland, I should
scarcely have ventured to relate the anecdote ; but my
scruples are removed, as, so far from this having been the
case, I was not even the first who saw it ; for ]\Ir. Browning,
an officer of the Talbot, whose ill health confined him to

320 THE GAME FOWL.

a room on shore, called my attention to it, by more than
once remarking to me that he had, from his window, in
the morning of several successive days, observed at a
certain hour a number of dogs assemble near his house, as
if by a previously concerted arrangement, and after per-
forming a sort of sham fight for some time, disperse and
return to their homes. A desire to be an eye-witness of
so singular a fact, led me to go to this gentleman's room
one morning, just as these animals were about to collect.
The spot they frequented was across the river, which there
are but two ways of passing from the town without swim-
ming, the one a bridge, the other some stepping-stones,
each situated at a small distance from the other. By both
these approaches to the field the dogs belonging to Keikevig
were running with the greatest speed, while their com-
panions of the neighbouring countiy were hastening to the
place of rendezvous from other quarters. We counted
twenty-five of them, not all of the true Icelandic stock
(the Fiaar-huundar'), but some of different kinds, which
had probably been brought to the country by the Danes ;
and I presume it was one of these, much larger and
stronger than the rest, who placed himself upon an emi-
nence in the centre of the crowd. In a few seconds, three
or four of them left the main body, and ran to the distance
of thirty or forty yards, where they skirmished in a sort of
sham battle ; after which one or two of these returned,
and one, two, or three others immediately took their
places ; party succeeding party, till most, if not all, had
had their share in the sport. The captain remained sta-
tionary. The engagement was in this manner kept up by
different detachments, the dogs continuing their amusement
in playfulness and good humour, though not without much
barking and noise, for about a quarter of an hour, when
the whole of them dispersed, and took the way to their
respective homes in a less hasty manner than they had
arrived."

Allowing for the inferior intelligence of Fowls, many of
the gambols of chickens are similar to this. The Cock of

THE GAME FOWL. 321

the Walk never interferes with such harmless frolics, which
he would do if they threatened anything serious. Were
I to compare the temperament of Game Fowls with that
of the human race, I should say they had not one atom of
the lymphatic in their composition, but a happy combi-
nation of the sanguine and the nervous. The Game
breed among Fowls has been likened to the Arabian
among Horses. Their frame is compacted of solid flesh
and gristle : even the feathers of the Game Cock (excepting
the standards and the hackle) fit very tightly and closely
to the body of the bird, giving it, when in high condition,
a sort of crustaceous or even enamelled appearance, as if
it were a piece of living Japan work.

But though we wish to clear the Game breeds from the
charge of blood-thirsty cruelty, we cannot hold them out
as patterns of gentleness and forbearance. Might, with
them, makes right. None but the brave, however well
they may deserve, or how much soever they may long for,
are likely to enjoy any favour from the present class of
rusty-fusty coloured beauties. Quiet people, unless they
have studied Phrenology, or kept Game Fowls, have little
idea how close a connexion there is said to be between
love and murder. But the ladies have long found it out;
there is no sweetheart like a soldier. A constantly pacific
male is despicable in their eyes. " Eh ! si je veux qu'il
me batte ! " " If I choose my husband to beat me, what
business is that oi 7/ours? A pretty state of things, when
a woman may not permit her own husband to beat her! "
So wrote the great Moliere, in the high-heeled, periwigged
reign of Louis XIV. But civilised and uncivilised nature
is alike. The southern she-savage, when her brute lifts
his waddy, to give her a tap on the head that would fell
an English ox, bows thankfully to receive the caress on
her indurated noddle, and triumphs that the compliment
was not bestowed upon either of the other squaws. Here
are some like doings in chivalrous Spain : —

" There was a burly, savage-looking fellow, of about
forty, whose conduct was atrocious ; he sat with his wife,

322 THE GAME FOWL.

or perhaps concubine, at the door of a room which opened
upon the court : he was continually venting horrible and
obscene oaths, both in Spanish and Catalan. The woman
was remarkably handsome, but robust, and seemingly as
savage as himself ; her conversation, likewise, was as
frightful as his own. Both seemed to be under the influ-
ence of an incomprehensible fury. At last, upon some
observation from the woman, he started up, and drawing
a long knife from his girdle, stabbed at her naked bosom ;
she, however, interposed the palm of her hand, which was
much cut. He stood for a moment viewing the blood
trickling upon the ground, whilst she held up her wounded
hand, then, with an astounding oath, he hurried up the
court to the Plaza. I went up to the woman and said,
' What is the cause of this ? I hope the ruffian has not
seriously injured you.' She turned her countenance upon
me with the glance of a demon, and, at last, with a sneer
of contempt, exclaimed, ' Cardls, que es eso? ' ' Cannot
a Catalan gentleman be conversing with his lady upon
their own private affairs without being interrupted by
you ? ' She then bound up her hand with a handkerchief,
and, going into the room, brought a small table to the
door, on which she placed several things, as if for the
evening repast, and then sat down on a stool ; presently
returned the Catalan, and without a word took his seat
on the threshold ; then, as if nothing had occurred, the
extraordinary couple commenced eating and drinking,
interlarding their meal with oaths and jests." — Bon-ow's
Bible in Spain, vol. ii., p. 53. The lady was as submis-
sive, as affectionate, and withal as petulant, as the Game
Hen, on whom her lord bestows three or four sharp pecks
in punishment for ill behaviour. We are conscious that
we are now decidedly wandering ; but, as a relief from the
description of quill feathers and the weight of eggs, must
really give an additional instance of the compatibility of
even friendship with slaughter.

" In the course of the day, our men went down to a
small brook, which flowed between the opposing armies,

THE GAME FOWL. 323

for water ; and French and English soldiers might be seen
drinking out of the same narrow stream, and even leaning
over to shake hands with each other. One private, of
my own regiment, actually exchanged forage-caps with a
soldier of the enemy, as a token of regard and good will.
Such courtesies, if they do not disguise, at least soften the
horrid features of war ; and it is thus we learn to reconcile
our minds to scenes of blood and carnage." — Recollections
of the Peninsula, p. 110.

" It was a strange thing to see, in the crowded wards
of the hospital, English and French soldiers lying help-
lessly side by side, or here and there performing little
kind offices for each other, with a willing and a cheerful
air. Their wants and thoughts, I observed, they com-
municated to each other in phrases of Spanish, which
language many of the French privates spoke fluently, and
our men understood well enough for all common purposes."
—Id. p. 168.

Game Cocks are led on to battle by blind instinct, and
have no higher directing principle. Shall we men ever
retain the virtue of friendship, and abolish the act of
slaughter 1 Or would the abolition of bloody warfare be
succeeded by some more villainous mode of gaining pre-
eminence over each other ?

As to Cock-fighting, I must believe it to have been
made the theme of much ignorant cant. Hawking is a
noble and honourable pastime. Cock-fighting is low and
disgraceful. I have never seen a Cock-fight, and probably
never shall. From w^hat one has heard, and read, it must
be most exciting sport ; but people who are proud of
"Waterloo, who dine off hunted hare, and breakfast on
shrimps that have been boiled alive, allude to it with
horror, as an atrocity incredible and unmentionable.
Cocks, however, must die. Would a Cock that had been
fought, be worse eating than a hare that had been hunted ?
And as to the mode of death, — ask a Cock which he
would choose, — to be hung up by the heels, and have the
cook run a knife up his throat, taking care that he bleed

324 THE GAME FOWL.

long, and die slowly, in order that his flesh may be so
much the nicer and whiter, — or, to be set face to face
with his adversary, and fight for his life ! — if he win, to
be petted and praised ; if he fall, to have his existence
cut short by one sharp merciful thrust, instead of the
lingering faintness of a culinary departure ? The combat
is a pleasure ; the survivorship, a fair chance.

But Cock-fights were shamefully barbarous ; they made
people so hard-hearted and unfeeling, and gave rise to so
much gambling : and as we have now no smooth-faced
villains, nor any lying, double-tongued, intriguing robbers
in the country ; as we never now get rid of rivals, or
people that stand in our way, by hunting them to death
with persecution and calumny; secret poisoning, also, and
infanticide, being unsuspected amongst us ; above all, as
gambling and swindling, of whatever kind, is utterly abo-
lished, particularly in London and some neighbouring
towns, such as Epsom, it will be a great pity if ever
another Game Fowl is hatched in England — the poultry
sent to market being so much more humanely put to
death : although one does see a few thorough-bred birds
now and then, and hears faint rumours of an occasional
amicable trial of strength.*

* I am informed that in certain places in "Warwiclcshire, and in the
adjoining county of Staffordshire, the effects of Cock-fighting still con-
tinue to be impoverishing, demoralising, and degrading to its followers,
clothing them and their families in rags. It is no uncommon thing
among the working people of that district to stake the whole of their
week's hard earnings upon a single fight. What must be the wretched-
ness and misery brought upon the families thus deprived of their only-
means of subsistence ? Cock-fighting, with these results, is a terrible
evil, for other reasons than mere sentimental talk about its cruelty.
People can go and see a poor girl, or a reclvless man, whom they believe
to be endowed with immortal souls, daily expose themselves to be
destroyed in a moment by lions and tigers, but they are too delicate
to witness the shedding of a cock's blood. It is the gambling which
is tlie great immorality ; of course, the assembling of so many low
characters must be dangerous to the well-being of society. But the
local magistrates surely have power, if they choose to exert it, of
legally putting down such gambling, and preventing such assemblies ;

THE GAME FOWL. 325

There is a very graphic account of a main, conducted
secundum artevi in by-gone days, to be found in Blaine's
" Rural Sports." But Cock-fighting is of older date than
modern fashionable refinement, and may possibly survive
it. " The Alexandrians," says Statius, quoted by the
Quarterly Review, " were indifferent soldiers, but the best
of singers, and only surpasssd by their compatriots, the
Alexandrian Fighting Cocks, as an appendage to Roman
supper-parties." We have heard of a nobleman of the
old school having a few couples of Cocks up into the
drawing-room, as an agreeable interruption to the tiresome
rubbers of whist. But before noblemen and their drawing-
rooms were invented hereabouts, these little turns-up were
unthinkingly made a source of amusement. Read what
an observant traveller, and really estiniable man, who
could not himself have been deficient in courage, either
physical or moral, has recorded.

" The most ancient, but certainly not the most innocent
game among the Tahitians, was the faatito-raamoa, lite-
rally, the causing fighting among Fowls, or Cock-fighting.
The Tahitians do not appear to have staked any property,
or laid any bets, on their favourite birds, but to have
trained and fought them for the sake of the gratification
they derived from beholding them destroy each other.
Long before the first foreign vessel was seen off their
shores, they were accustomed to train and fight their birds.
The Fowls designed for fighting were fed with great care ;
afinely-carved/wto/i2<«, or stand, was made as a perch for
the birds. This was planted in the house, and the bird
fastened to it by a piece of curious cinct, braided flat that
it might not injure the leg. No other substance would
have been secure against the attacks of his beak. Their food
was chiefly poe, or bruised bread-fruit, rolled up in the
hand like paste, and given in small pieces. The Fowl was

and the police would be better employed in preventing such ruinous
infringements of the law, than in many of the cases on wliich they
try their prentice hand in a desperate effort to obtain their maidea
conviction.

326 THE GAME FOWL.

taught to open his mouth to receive his food and his water,
which was poured from his master's hand. It was cus-
tomary to sprinkle water over these birds to refresh them.
The natives were universally addicted to this sport. The
inhabitants of one district often matched their birds against
those of another division. They do not appear to have
entertained any predilection for particular colour in the
Fowls, but seem to have esteemed all alike. They never
trimmed any of the feathers, but were proud to see them
with heavy wings, full-feathered necks, and long tails.
They also accustomed them to fight without artificial spurs,
or other means of injury. In order that the birds might
be as fresh as possible, they fought them early in the
morning, soon after day-break, while the air was cool, and
before they became languid from the heat. More than
two were seldom engaged at once, and so soon as one bird
avoided the other, he was considered as vi, or beaten.
Victory was declared in favour of his opponent, and they
were immediately parted. This amusement was some-
times continued for several days successively." — Ellis's
Polynesian Researches, vol i., p. 302.

It would appear from Mr. Ellis, that there are innate
ideas in the human understanding, one of which is Cock-
fighting. The Tahitians manifest their simplicity in fight-
ing for love, not for money. Other barbarians show
themselves to be more sophisticated.

" Throughout every rank of the people of Sumatra
there prevails a strong spirit of gaming. Cock-fighting
they are still more passionately addicted to, and it is
indulged to them under certain regulations. Where they
are perfectly independent, their propensity to it is so
great, that it resembles rather a serious occupation than
a sport. You seldom meet a man travelling in the
country, without a Cock under his arm, and sometimes
fifty in a company, when there is a bimhang in one of the
neighbouring villages. A countryman coming down, on
on any occasion, to the qualloe, or mouth of the river, if he
boast the least degree of spirit, must not be unprovided with

THE GAME FOWL. 827

this token of it. They often game high at their meetings ;
particularly when a superstitious faith in the invincibility
of their bird has been strengthened by past success. An
hundred Spanish dollars is no very uncommon risk, and
instances have occurred of a father staking his children or
wife, and a son his mother or sisters, on the issue of a
battle when a run of ill-luck has stripped them of
property, and rendered them desperate. Quarrels at-
tended with dreadful consequences, have often arisen on
these occasions.

" By their customs, there are four umpires appointed
to determine on all disputed points in the course of the
battles, and from their decision there lies no appeal
except the Gothic appeal to the sword. A person losing,
and who has not the ability to pay, is immediately pro-
scribed, departs with disgrace, and is never again suffered
to appear at the yalangang. This cannot with propriety
be translated, a Cock-pit, as it is generally a spot on the
level ground, or a stage erected, and covered in. It is
inclosed with railing which keeps off the spectators ;
none but the handlers and heelers being admitted within-
side. A man who has an high opinion of and regard
for his Cock, will not fight him under a certain number
of dollars, which he places in order on the floor ; his
poor adversary is perhaps unable to deposit above one
half : the standers-by make up the sum, and receive their
dividends in proportion, if successful. A father, at his
death-bed, has been known to desire his son, to take the
first opportunity of matching a certain Cock, for a sum
equal to his whole property, under a blind conviction that
he was betooah, or invulnerable.

" C'ocks of the same colour are never matched, but a
grey against a pile, a yellow against a red, or the like.
This might have been originally designed to prevent dis-
putes, or knavish impositions. The Malay breed of Cocks
is much esteemed by connoisseurs who have had an oppor-
tunity of trying them. Great pains is taken in the rearing
and feeding ; they are frequently handled, and accustomed

328 THE GAME FOWL.

to spar in public, in order to prevent any shyness. Con-
trary to our laws, the owner is allowed to take up and
handle his Cock during the battle ; to clear his eye of a
feather, or his mouth of blood. When a Cock is killed, or
runs, the other must have sufficient spirit and vigour left to
peck at him three times, on his bemg held to him for that
purpose, or it becomes a drawn battle ; and sometimes an
experienced cocker will place the head of his vanquished
bird in such an uncouth posture, as to terrify the other,
and render him unable to give this proof of victory. The
Cocks are never trimmed, but matched in full feather.
The artificial spur used in Sumatra, resembles in shape
the blade of a scimetar, and proves a more destructive
weapon than the European spur. It has no socket, but is
tied to the leg, and in the position of it the nicety of the
match is regulated. As in horse-racing, weight is propor-
tioned to inches, so in cocking, a bird of superior size and
weight, is brought to an equality with his adversary, by
fixing the steel spur so many scales of the leg above the
natural spur, and thus obliging him to fight with a degree
of disadvantage. It rarely happens that both Cocks sur-
vive the combat.

" In the northern parts of the island, where gold-dust
is the common medium of gambling, as well as of trade,
so much is accidentally dropped in weighing and deliver-
ing, that at some cock-pits, where the resort of people is
great, the sweepings are said, probably with exaggeration,
to be worth upwards of a thousand dollars per annum to
the owner of the ground ; beside his profit of two/hnams
(fivepence) for each battle.

" In some places they match quails, in the manner of
Cocks. These fight with great inveteracy, and endeavour
to seize each other by the tongue. The Achenese bring
also into combat the dial-bird [moori) which resembles a
small magpie, but has an agreeable, though imperfect note.
They sometimes engage one another on the wing, and drop
to the ground in the struggle." — Marsdeiis History of
Sumatra, pp. 236-8. London, 1783.

THE GAME FOWL, 32^

This extraordinary account is not without the confirm-
ation which it needs : —

" The Indians (of Manilla) in common with all Malays,
are passionately fond of Cock-fighting, but they are not
permitted to indulge at pleasure this inclination. An
Indian rarely walks out without a Cock, and as soon as
he meets another Indian with one under his arm, the two
birds are set down, and immediately engage : but battles
with steel spurs are only permitted in a place formed for
the purpose, which is farmed from the king at a rent of
twenty or twenty-five thousand dollars : here the Indians
assemble, and frequently bet on their favourite Cocks the
whole of what they are worth. The fate of the gamesters
is soon decided, for the Cocks being armed with sharp
spurs, one or the other is killed almost in an instant." —
De Guignes Observations on the Philippine Islands.

But abstinence from Cock-fighting sometimes meets
with its reward.

" The fort (at Achin) was but sorrily governed when I
was there ; nor was there that care taken to keep a fair
correspondence with the natives in the neighbourhood as
I think ought to be, in all trading places especially.
When I came thither there were two neighbouring
Rajas in the stocks, for no other reason but because they
had not brought down to the fort such a quantity of
pepper as the governor had sent for. Yet these Rajas
rule in the country, and have a considerable number of
subjects, who were so exasperated at these insolences,
that, as I have since been informed, they came down and
assaulted the fort, under the conduct of one of these Rajas,
But the fort, as bad as it is, is guarded enough against such
indifferent soldiers as they are : who, though they have
courage enough, yet scarce any arms besides back-swords,
cressets, and lances, nor skill to use artillery if they had
it. At another time they made an attempt to surprise the
fort, under pretence of a Cock-match ; to which they
hoped the garrison would come out, to share in the sport,
and so the fort left with small defence. For the Malayans

330 THE GAME FOWL.

here are great lovers of Cock-fighting, and there were
about 1000 of them got together about this match, while
their armed men lay in ambush. But it so happened
that none of the garrison went out to the Cock-match, but
one John Necklin, a Dane, who was a great gamester
himself ; and he discovering the ambush, gave notice of
it to the governor, who was in disorder enough upon their
approach ; but a few of the great guns drove them away."
— Mr.DampiersVoyages,\o\.\\. {Supplement). London,

MDCC, p. 184.

Not wishing, therefore, to stimulate our youth to Cock-
fighting, any more than we would lead them to over-
sensitive refinement or spurious humanity, we will give
no further directions about the rearing of Game chicks,
(although it would be very easy to do so) than to state
that instead of allotting twenty-four Hens to one Cock,
in a " ward " too, as has been currently published and
believed to be a good plan, one Cock, with two, or at
most three Hens, should be quietly located at large in
some spot where they are secure from giving or receiving
interruption. The Cockerels three-quarters grown (an
example to our lads) are not permitted to run as they
choose with any society that may offer, but are withdrawn
to quiet, rural, airy, grassy walks, where they are encou-
raged to scratch the ground as much as they like, to
increase their means of livelihood, and are removed from
the temptation (the possibility indeed) of having any but
the most discreet female society. Cocks so educated are
valuable for better purposes than for fighting and being
betted upon. They become first-rate fathers of families.
If a stock of Poultry is flagging and degenerate, the owner
hardly knows why, the admission of a good Game Cock
will soon set all to rights. His very look and air inspire
health and cheerfulness into the dispirited Hens. He
fertilises the eggs of every variety of Domestic Fowl,
from the little Black Bantam to the portly Dorking.
The issue of such crosses does not always resemble either
parent, but it is sure to be something pretty, useful, and

THE GAME FOWL. 331

thrifty. " Bad the crow, bad the egg," kukov KopaKos
KaKov (l)ov. Vice versa, good the Cock, good the Chick ;
there is certainly something in breeding.

The males of almost every variety are lovely creatures,
though tastes differ as to the preference. They do not
attain their perfect plumage till their third year, and per-
haps increase in beauty for a year or two afterwards.
I think I have heard that according to the modern rules
of the Pit, birds are not admissible after they have
attained a certain age and weight. But all this is nothing
to us. We are looking after ornamental, and incidentally,
useful qualities. The red birds, so called, are mostly
splendid and dashing in their appearance ; the yellow-
legged tribe are very gaudy, bright, and strongly contrasted,
though apt to be a little under- sized ; the duck- winged
greys, so called from their iridescent wing-coverts, which
remind one of the speculum in a Duck's wing, are most
harmoniously coloured, softly, yet brilliantly tinted, and
only not sufficiently rare to be admired with enthusiasm.

As before observed, it is not our present task to enter
into the minute and technical distinctions of Game Fowls.
An industrious examination of them with good oppor-
tunities, might lead to very interesting conclusions. Mean-
while, we will print one valuable and original record, as
a commencement.

" There are evidently two varieties of the Game Fowl,
if not more. (Assuredly.) The first, occasionally seen
in the yard of the farmer, is a bird over the average size,
and rather heavily formed ; rather too much comb ;
breast quite black ; neck, back, and wings of a A'ery deep
red, tail glossy green. The Hen plain brown, with a
lighter coloured neck, sometimes a little streaked with
ochre ; legs light coloured, or white.

" The other variety, which I much prefer, and now
possess, is a smaller Fowl, of a peculiarly light and
elegant make ; head very small and fine ; neck, light
orange-red ; breast, richly spotted, as are also, in a degree,
the wings ; back, very rich red ; tail, glossy greenish

332 THE GAME FOWL.

black ; legs, dark. Hens, brown of various shades, the
J'eathers being streaked with pale ochre down the middle,
the same as Pheasants ; comb, in the Cocks, very small,
and not large in the Hens.

'* These are most high-spirited birds, and will soon gain
the ascendancy of any yard. The eggs are slightly tinged
with yellow buff, rather small and long in shape. Hens,
good layers and sitters. Chicks, when first hatched,
exceedingly pretty, being marked with a deep brown
streak on the head and neck, that continues down the
back. They are hardy little things, and easy to rear. How
many degrees removed from the Pheasant this breed may
be, is difficult to say, (they are as widely removed as the
North from the South Pole, or Dogs from Cats, as far as
relationship is concerned,) but 'there is evidently a strong
family likeness. (True, if we regard natural affinity
merely.) The Pheasants here have no objection, at any
time, to an occasional admixture (socially, we believe, not
amatively) with the Domestic Poultry, I imagine : and
the parties will often meet in our shrubberies, to partake
of the berries of the Symphonia racemosa, or snowberry,
of which they are both excessively fond, and will often
jump up to some height to procure them. This breed
of the Game Fowl we have found excellent and high-
flavoured.

" Some years since I had a Game Hen sitting in a
cow-crib, with the usual quantity of eggs. Long before
any chicks could be making their appearance, I several
times noticed some living thing run from under the Hen
on taking her up. This I afterwards discovered to be a
fine mouse, that repaired there for warmth every day ;
and it was a curious sight on the day the chicks came
out, to see it nestling among them, the Hen looking on
most complacently. She was, however, very savage to
human kind, and would peck your hand severely if put
into the nest.

" But Poultry, in general, enjoy mouse-catching, and
will often, when a rick is taking in, watch for and seize

THE GAME FOWL. 333

them with uncommon certainty, and then peck them to
pieces and eat them." — H. H.

In confirmation of which, here is another case : — " I
think I told you my Dorking and Spanish Hens are
famous mousers. When a stack is got in, they prowl
about, and woe to any unfortunate mouse that escapes the
men's hands; while making off, they pounce upon it and
eat it up. A few days since, a boy in my yard saw a
weasel very busy in a pea-stack, driving the mice about
— the latter of course in great consternation. After
a little while, two mice bolted, jumped off the stack to
escape their implacable enemy, but fell into as bad hands;
for they were both seized by Hens, pecked to death, and
eaten up in no time. It was strange that a weasel should
act as a jackall to fowls. Yesterday I threw a large field-
mouse to a Hen, and watched her peck it, and then eat
it up."— IF. D. F.

" A red and white Game Cock of any breed, is called
a Pile ; thus I have heard a Malay Cock that was white
with a red back, called a Pile, but I am not quite sure
that the expression is applied to birds that are not Game.
So the Staffordshire Pile must be red and white." —

J. s. w.

The Furness Game Fowl. — " When, or from what
place this truly beautiful specimen of the Game tribe was
introduced, is quite a mystery even with the fanciers and
breeders of it. The Cock is a bird of singular and hand-
some appearance. The neck, body, and tail are of a
beautiful shining black, very rich and lustrous, with a
saddle of light buff. The Hen is perfectly black, with
occasionally a slight touch of gold in the hackle. In
some specimens both Cock and Hen had a golden hackle,
but I should say that such had been crossed with some
other variety." — F. S. B. " Besides this, there is the
black-breasted copper-winged Furness, which is entirely
black all over, except the wings, the feathers of which are
copper-coloured. Then very nearly allied to these in
colour is the Pole-cat Game Fowl, differing from the

334 THE GAME FOWL.

Furness only in having more of light or straw-coloured
feathers upon him, his wings being of that colour in addi-
tion to the markings of the Furness ; his breast and the
rest of his body being generally black, but sometimes his
breast is shady or streaked.

" The Piles are universally known as Cheshire
Piles, Staffordshire Piles, and streaky-breasted Red Piles.
Cheshire Piles have always a thoroughly red back, with all
the rest of the feathers white, excepting occasionally that
the breast is streaked with red also. Staffordshire Piles
are similar in markings to the Cheshire Piles, but of a
yellower cast (or what is called by breeders ' carrotty '),
approaching to an orange-yellow ; the breast is also some-
times streaked with the same colour as the back. White
is the predominating colour both in the Staffordshire and
the Cheshire Piles. Streaky-breasted Red Piles are in all
respects like the brown-breasted Red Game Fowls, with
this addition, that the wings are partly white, and the tail
also partly white.

" White Game Fowl are well known in the Midland
Counties, and in the opinion of some, are the most chaste
and beautiful variety of all, and are highly prized by those
who keep them. They differ in nothing from the class of
Fowls to which they belong, except in colour, which is
uniformly white. But for years past the breeders have
been so much in the habit of crossing the different coloured
birds, which no doubt improves them for fighting purposes,
that it has caused great confusion in the feather, and ren-
dered it extremely difficult to breed distinctly-marked
birds with certainty." — J. B.

The famous breed of Game Fowls belonging to the
Earl of Derby are black-breasted Reds, and do not differ
from other birds of the kind, except in being a select
family, with occasional judicious crosses, as with those of
Lord Sefton, Mr. Germain, Mr. Potter, Mr. Folkes, and
Dr. Taylor. Mr. Richardson has puzzled his readers by
stating, " that the breed has never yet been known to turn
tail, notwithstanding the pertinacious adherence of a white

THE GAME FOWL. 335

feather to the pile — a blemish that no breeding has been
able to eradicate, but which, notwithstanding the well-
known proverbial prejudice to the contrary, has, in this
instance, been the never-failing concomitant of courage."
Now a Pile is a peculiar kind of Game Fowl, not any
fart of one to which a white feather can adhere. Poor
Richardson, being induced to write little books faster than
he could clearly grasp their subjects, perhaps did not quite
understand his own expression: but through the kindness
of the Earl of Derby, I am enabled to give an account of
the breed, furnished by the person who has charge of the
birds : it is still retained in its original purity, for the sake
of its ornithological, not its gladiatorial value.

Mr, Thomas Roscoe states, " I have known the best
of Game Cocks to turn off when out of condition, but
not on any other occasion. The original blood has been
in the hands of John Roscoe and family, as breeders to
his Lordship, for sixty years, and I should suppose it came
to Knowsley in Lord Strange's days, the grandfather of
the present Earl.

" The Cock is a fine round-shaped bird, with white
striped bill ; daw eyes and fiery ; round and strong neck ;
fine, round, close-feathered hackle, feather points to
shoulders ; short, stiff, broad back, close-feathered and
hard ; tail long and sickled, well tufted at root ; wings
round and well prolonged, so as to protect the thighs ;
breast broad and black ; belly small and tight in the
pinions ; thighs short and thick, well set to the body ;
legs long and white ; smooth insteps ; claws strong ; nails
long and white ; the comb of a stag is rather large and
red, before being cut ; weight about 5 lbs.

" The Hen is of a fine round shape, in colour resem-
bling a partridge, with daw eyes, white legs, toes, and
nails, and large and fanned tail. The Chicks when first
hatched incline to yellow, with a darkish stripe down
their back, changing colour as they advance in age. The
eggs vary in colour ; I should prefer those inclined to
buff; they are generally well-proportioned, inclining to
length. The Hens are capital sitters and nurses.

336 THE GAME FOWL.

" We generally cut the combs of the young Cocks
when between six and nine months old ; the spurs are
left on to defend them on their walk, and are only cut
off when they are penned up previous to fighting, in
which state they spend about eleven days, and are triiined
by making them sparr in warm rooms, with boxing-
gloves made to fit the heel, and prevent them from
hurting each other. The feeding part, on which so
much depends, is a great secret'' [Every feeder has his
own secret, and no two secrets are probably the same.]

" I have known them frequently attack men, dogs,
calves, pigs, turkeys, and geese ; and a single bird has
killed seven of its opponents in one day when fighting in
our trial mains at Knowsley."

Neither John Roscoe, nor his son Thomas Roscoe,
ever had anything to do with the feeding of the late
Lord Derby's game birds, or the training them for the
Pit on their own account, but there were always regular
persons called " feeders " or " trainers," who made it their
business, and were employed by different gentlemen who
had mains, and under whose special care and direction
the birds were always placed for a certain time previous
to their being brought out to fight. Roscoe, and his son,
now living, having for many years seen the course and
the methods pursued by these trainers, and under whose
orders they had to act, have no doubt picked up, and
remember some of the secrets of the trade which used to
exist among them, and to be kept with very great
jealousy ; but they were never employed themselves as
feeders, except as any other servant might have been
who was supposed to have some little knowledge on the
occasion of the trial mains, which always occurred pre-
vious to the regular public mains of the match, in order
to test the goodness of the different crosses from which
the selection of the combatants was to be made. A
system was universally adopted by all Cockers of dis-
tinguishing the several breeds, by special artificial marks
attached to each cross, so that a Cock marked so and so,

THE GAME FOWL. 337

was put down witli a certain number of Hens marked,
say " light eye," to breed at a particular spot or farm, the
produce of which would be marked by the mixture of the
parents' marks. The eggs from these were all gathered
up regularly, and set, and the chickens put out to be
brought up at different farm houses or cottages, and regu-
larly looked after by old Roscoe, as Cocker, who kept a
regular book, in which they were entered as correctly as
any tradesman or mercantile firm would keep their
accounts ; so that at any moment Roscoe could tell Lord
Derby how many Cocks he had of any particular sort, of
what age, and where they each were, in case any should
be wanted, or for the purpose of selecting the combatants
for each main. It was necessary to ascertain that no
other Cock was kept by the farmer, nor one too near a
brood walk, nor any Turkeys, nor other nuisances that
might injure the Cocks by setting them fighting; neither
were the people allowed to hoffle the Hens, so as to pre-
vent their scratching. These, and various other such
matters, as the Dubbing, as the comb-cutting the young
Cocks was called, the marking of the chickens, &c., were
the office of Roscoe, for whom a horse was always kept,
that he might be able to go round to the distant farms, &c.,
and see that all was right, or else remove the birds else-
where. The chickens, as soon as hatched, were marked
and then put out to nurse among the cottagers of the
neighbourhood, who were allowed to keep as many Hens
of any kind as they liked, and often obtained thus a sort
of cross breed, which obtained some sort of notoriety.
They were also paid a certain sum for each chicken taken
away. When Lord Derby was about to fight a main, he
used to look over his Cock Book and select a certain
number of each of the sorts he might choose for that
particular main ; orders were then given to Roscoe to
bring up such Cocks from such and such a walk in his
book, and those selected as fit were placed under his care
in a particular building at Knowsley, till the Trainer or
Feeder could come and see to them, which was always

z

338 THE GAME FOWL.

at a particular period before the public main. These
birds were then put up by the Feeder as he would have
done for the main itself, and Lord Derby, with a few
friends in his confidence, assembled to witness the trial, for
which his Lordship almost always had down his own regular
Setter, and report was regularly made as to the conduct of
each bird in these preliminary combats. The birds
selected for these, were of course not the very best, but
generally chosen because of some slight defect or accident
which would have been undesirable to have produced in
the public Pit, but which did not interfere with the
powers or prowess of the bird, and would thus afford a
clue to judge of the qualities of his brethren. Some
sorts were thus of course at once condemned, and others
removed for further trial, and some selected for keeping
as stock for breeding and fighting. According to these
reports a sufficient number of each approved sort were
set aside from the stud-book for the regular main, and
collected shortly before it to be handed over to the
regular Feeder, of whom Lord Derby employed several.
The last who fed for his Lordship many years, was one
Potter, who has now been dead some time, and his son
has sometimes followed the same line. There used to be
very great jealousy observed amongst the Feeders, so
much so, that young Potter and Roscoe always slept in
the Pen-room previous to, and during a main, and the
key was never out of their possession, or the Feeder's ;
nor sometimes could even Lord Derby's son have obtained
admission, unless with one of them, or as a very great
and special favour. After Lord Derby gave up his mains,
Roscoe, and, since his death, his son, has been employed
in the care of the decreased number of Game Fowls
about Knowsley, for the supply of the House with
poultry and eggs, and with Hens for incubation ; but a
good many more were given to Roscoe to do as he pleased
with ; so that whenever the present Earl wanted to send
some to foreign countries, he could not tell where to
apply, and was obliged to have recourse to the present

THE GAME FOWL. 339

Roscoe to find out the small remaining stock. The
correctness of the breed now in his Lordship's possession,
therefore, depends entirely upon him. The terms used
by Cockers for cutting the combs of Cock chickens, is
" dubbing;" and birds of the first year are called Stags.
The late Lord Derby was so biassed by his cocking tastes,
as to consider the Fowl in its natural state not fit to be
looked at in comparison to one that was properly dubbed,
cut and trimmed for fighting : nor need this surprise us
if we remember how much depends upon habit and
fashion. Crop-eared dogs, nicked horses, perriwigged
beaux, powdered and hooped belles, have all been admired
as the beau ideal of their class ; and even in 1850, we
should rather like to see the face of a sheep-master on
his sudden and unexpected introduction to a flock of
long-tailed, undocked Leicesters.

That in some parts of the world Cock-fights are an
attraction even to ladies of high degree, appears from a
clever letter, dated June 15, 1840.

" The high-road leading from Mexico to San Augustin
is covered with vehicles of every description. Those who
are not fortunate enough to possess any wheeled convey-
ance, come out on horse, ass, or mule, single, double, or
treble if necessaiy ; and many hundreds trudge out on
foot. The President of the Republic himself, in his
carriage and six, and attended by his aides-de-camp,
sanctions by his presence the amusements of the fete.
The Mexican generals and other officers, follow in his
wake, and the gratifying spectacle may not unfrequently
be seen, of the President leaning from his box in the
plaza de gallos, or Cock Theatre, and betting upon a Cock,
with a coatless, bootless, hatless, and probably worthless
ragamuffin in the pit !

" We went to the gallos about three o'clock. The
Plaza was crowded, and the ladies, in their boxes, looked
like a parterre of different-coloured flowers. But whilst
the Seiloras in their boxes did honour to the fete by their
brilliant toilet, the gentlemen promenaded round the circle

z2

340 THE GAME FOWL.

in jackets, high and low being on the same curtailed
footing, and certainly in a style of dress more befitting
the exhibition. The President and his suite were already
there, also several of the foreign ministers.

" Meanwhile, the Cocks crowed valiantly, bets were
adjusted, and even the women entered into the spirit of
the scene, taking bets with the gentlemen sotto voce in
their boxes, upon such and such favourite animal. As a
small knife is fastened to the leg of each Cock, the battle
seldom lasted long, one or other falling every few minutes
in a pool of blood. Then there was a clapping of hands,
mingled with the loud crowing of some unfortunate Cock,
who was giving himself airs previous to a combat where he
was probably destined to crow his last. It has a curious
effect to European eyes, to see young ladies of good family,
looking peculiarly feminine and gentle, sanctioning by
their presence this savage diversion. It is no doubt the
effect of early habit, and you will say that at least it is no
worse than a bull-fight ; which is certain — yet cruel as
the latter is, I find something more en grand, more noble,
in the

' Ungentle sport that oft invites
The Spanish maid, and cheers the Spanish swain ;'

in the roaring of the ' lord of lowing herds ' ; the galloping
of the fine horses, the skill of the riders, the gay dresses,
the music and the agile matador ; in short, in the whole
pomp and circumstances of the combat, than when one
looks quietly on to see two birds peck each other's eyes
out, and cut each other to pieces. Unlike Cock-pits in
other countries, attended by blacklegs and pickpockets and
gentlemanly roues, by far the largest portion of the
assembly in the pit was composed of the first young men
in Mexico, and for that matter, of the first old ones also.
There was neither confusion, nor noise, nor even loud
talking, far less swearing, amongst the lowest of those
assembled in the ring ; and it is this quiet and orderly
behaviour which throws over all these incongruities a

THE GAME FOWL. 341

cloak of decency and decorum, that hides their impro-
priety so completely, that even foreigners who have lived
here a few years, and who were at first struck with
astonishment by these things, are now quite reconciled to
them.

" As far as the company went, it might have been the
House of Representatives in Washington ; the ladies in
the gallery listening to the debates, and the Members in

the body of the house surrounding Alessrs. and ,

or any other two vehement orators ; applauding their
biting remarks and cutting sarcasms, and encouraging
them to crow over each other. The President might have
been the speaker, and the corps diplomatique represented
itself. In the evening a ball is given in the plaza de
gallos.'^ — Life in Mexico, by Madame Calderon de la
Barca, p. 164.

Among the amusements at Lima, so late as 1849,
" The Cock-pit is a great attraction, and all classes
frequent it. The Cocks fight in spurs, so the fight is soon
over. My stay there was not long ; a very fierce-looking
fellow with a sword-stick said ' bet : ' I did ; a cock fell,
and he pocketed the money and walked off". Amusing!
Drinking coffee under the vines pleased me better.'' —
Walpoles Four Years in the Pacific, vol. ii. p. 33.

THE HAMBURGH FOWLS.

" A yerd she had enclosed all about
With stickes, and a drie diche without,
In which she had a cok highte Chaunteclere,
In all the land of crowing n'as his pere :
His vois was merier than the mery orgon
On masse daies that in the chirches gon :
Wei sikerer was his crowing in his loge
Than is a clok or any abbey orloge :
By nature he knew eche ascentioun
Of the equinoctial in thilke toun,
For whan degrees fiftene were ascended,
Than crew he that it might not be amended.
His combe was redder than the fin corall,
Embattled as it were a castel wall ;
His bill was black, and as the jet it shone,
Like asure were his legges and his tone (toes),
His nailes whiter than the lily flour,
And like the burned gold was his colour."

Chaucer, The Nonnes Preestes Tale.

It has been no easy task to reconcile the synonyms of
these breeds. Eichardson gives the name of Hamburghs
to the Gold and Silver Polands, a top-knotted variety.
Dickson, in his brief, careless, and very loose description,
is right in asserting the breeds, both of Golden and Silver
Hamburghs, to be combed. His Pencilled Dutch Fowl,
" regularly imported from Holland," is the same thing
under another name. He has also given a separate place
in his list to the Turkish Fowl, apparently unaware that
the GalUna Turcica of Aldrovandi is the Hamburgh
Fowl of modern London dealers. Richardson also gives
separate notices of the Dutch Every-day Layers, the

THE HAMBURGH FOWLS. 343

Turkish Fowl, and the Dutch Fowl, and thinks proper at
the same time to sneer at " inexperienced writers, com-
pilers rather." Moubray, to whom the merits at least of
originality and practical knowledge ought to be conceded,
appears to have been acquainted only with the English
stock. He says of The Coral, or Bolton Greys, " This
variety, apparently the crack breed of their vicinity, but
entirely unknown in the metropolis,* is described by the
Rev. Mr. Ashworth, Vicar of Tamworth, as follows : —
' Small sized, short in the leg, and plump in the make.
The colour of the genuine kind, invariably pure white in
the whole lappel of the neck ; the body white, thickly
spotted with bright black, sometimes running into a
grizzle, with one or more black bars at the extremity of
the tail ; they are chiefly esteemed as very constant
layers, though their colour would mark them for good
table-fowl.' Certain other breeds (in Lancashire) are
described, but they do not appear to possess any title to
distinction." In the eighth edition a coloured figure is
given, which quite corresponds with the Silver Ham-
burghs. Why they should be called Corals, it is difficult
to say, unless it be on account of their red comb ; which,
however, is not redder than that of other Fowls.

In some parts of the South of England they are styled
Creoles, a more apt title, as they really are a mixture of
blacks and whites. We give a clear and practical account
of them under that denomination.

" The Creole. — I have been unable to identify this
neat and pretty little species with any mentioned by the
few writers on Domestic Poultry. The ' Pencilled Dutch
Fowl,' spoken of by Dickson, appears to come nearest to
it. My specimens were imported from Lisbon, | by Sir

* The Silver Hamburghs are even now (1848) scarcely known in
Norfolk, the English county which, perhaps, enjoys the highest reputa-
tion of any for its poultry ; marks of crossing with the Golden
Hamburgh are occasionally to be seen in farm-yard fowls.

+ " Hamburgh giapes come from Spain and Portugal. What is the
origin of the name ? In the reign of Queen Anne, at the Methuen
treaty with Portugal, 1703, my grandfather accompanied the Marquis

344 THE HAMBURGH FOWLS.

Alexander Malet, a relative of mine, when Ambassador
abroad ; but I have found rather a difficulty in rearing
them, and have at present no male.

" The Hen has a rose comb, pure white neck and
breast, and the rest of the body most exquisitely pencilled
with bluish slate-colour and white, legs light blue. The
Cock has the back and neck greyish white, breast and
wings slightly spotted, tail nearly black, fine double comb.
These Fowls are the most perfect patterns of neatness in
make, and are under the average size. They are excellent
layers, and pretty fair mothers ; eggs rather small,
French-white, and slightly tapering at one end. The
chicks are white, except a dark streak on the head, and
down the nape of the neck — a curious fact, as when
adult, this is the only part without dark markings.
When their little barred wings begin to appear, they are
very pretty ; but are certainly rather difficult to rear,
many of those I have had dying off when a quarter
grown, from some cause, the only symptom being, the
skins turning black.

" There is also a spurious breed of this variety sold
in towns, that are larger, but by no means so neatly
made ; the necks mixed with specks, and the slate and
white markings confused on the body. They are beau-
tifully distinct in the true sort. We have found the
Creoles very good eating." — H. H.

In the neighbourhood of Keighley, in Yorkshire, on
the borders of Lancashire, the Bolton Greys are called
" Chittiprats," or " Cheteprats." Prizes are given for

of Pombal, as court agent and merchant. During the late wars my
grandfather received what were called ' assimilated papers,' licenses of
the Frenclr and other belligerent powers, for any vessel, from any
country whatever, to introduce, unmolested, certain articles — for
instance, sugars, into France, where they had none. This was done
only through the ports of Heligoland and Hamburgh, I believe. I
need not say these papers fetched a high price. Vessels coming from
Spain and Portugal took grapes as well as sugars, which were afterwards
shipped from thence to London, and I think the grapes acquired the
name of Hamburgh grapes. Had tliat name of fowls a like origin ? "
■ — K D. Santos.

THE HAMBURGH FOWLS. 345

the best by the Keighley Agricultural Society, and the
opinion of them current there, is, that they are 'very
handsome, very hardy, and excellent layers. In other
parts of the kingdom they are known by the trivial name
of " Narrowers."

Prince Albert's breed, so named by Mr. Smith, for-
merly of the Hippodrome, near London, are Bolton Greys,
that are said to be crossed with a dash of Game blood, to
improve their form. They are not to be distinguished
from the Silver Spangled Hamburghs.

We take the liberty of extracting another account of
them from the Agricultural Gazette for Oct. 14, 1848 :

" The Silver (Hamburgh) Fowls are worthy of notice,
both on account of their beauty and productiveness ;
they are small-bodied, have short blue legs, a veiy pretty
head, with a full comb, and a remarkably short bill,
rounded, and shaped somewhat like a sparrow's ; their
colour white, with very regular black dots or moons on
their wings and tail. They lay well ; mine commenced
early in February, and are laying now (Oct, 3) ; they do
not show any inclination to sit, but in a hatch their eggs
are very productive. I have had 14 chicks out of 15
eggs. It is necessary to keep a Game Hen or two, to
perpetuate the breed (by hatching the eggs, which they
will not often do for themselves.) I find rice at 125. to
l4s. per cwt., soaked all night in water, and then rolled
in Indian meal, a very economical and fattening food,
occasionally mixed with a little barley. My Hens would
have commenced laying earlier in the season, if their
roosting-place had been warmer." — W.JT.

Aldrovandi's account of his Turkish Fowls is as fol-
lows : — " O/i the Turkish Cock, and two Turkish Hens.
The Cock whose likeness we now give, is called the
Turkish Cock. His whole body was, in a manner, inclined
to white. Still the wing feathers were partly black,
the belly also was black;* the tail consisted of feathers

* " Had I been aware that your mind was not quite made up as to
the identity of the Bolton Greys with the Silver Hamburghs, I would

846 THE HAMBURGH FOWLS.

that were partly green, partly black, some also half-green,
some half-black. Plis whole body was exquisitely adorned
with lines that M-ere sometimes golden and sometimes
silver, and it is wonderful what a beautiful effect this
produced. His legs and feet were tinged with blue. The
Hen, which in like manner is called Turkish, was all
white, sprinkled over with black spots ; the feet tinged
with blue : the wattles were short, when compared with
those of the male. The next hen would seem the same,
except that her neck was yellowish, and she had a sharp
point on the top of her head, her feet altogether blue, and
an immaculate tail.

" I have observed another hen of this kind, whose
feet were entirely blue, spotted in the same manner as
the foregoing, with black and white, but behind its fleshy
crest it had another of white feathers like a Lark, and that
part of the neck aud shoulders which in the other is
black, in this changing from ash colour to dirty yellow."

It is a pity the description is not more precise. It
is not clear- whether the gold and silver lines are in-
tended to be in the same or different birds. The reader
may question the correctness of my translation ; but
-Aldrovandi's large wood-cuts remove all doubt as to the
variety intended. The figures given are evidently the
Hamburghs, the Hens, one Golden, and one Silver.
The very peculiar form of the comb, so recognisable at
the present time, is clearly marked in these old wood-
cuts. The fleshy rose comb of the Hamburghs terminating
in a sharp point behind, like the corner of a cocked hat
turning upwards, and which is seen in no other variety of
Fowl, is well described by " apicem in vertice gerit."
The smaller and occasionally more semi-circular comb of
the silver Hamburgh Hens is well delineated in the
Turkish Hen.

Bolton Bay is another provincial term for the Golden
Hamburgh, as Bolton Grey is for the silver. In order

have -written to Mr. M. to look out for a white-breasted cock, but I
begged him to send you a black-breasted one, if possible." — /. S. W.

THE HAMBURGH FOWLS. 347

clearly to fix the nomenclature, by the comparison of
individual specimens of different localities, I purchased,
in Hungerford Market, some birds that had been im-
ported from Holland, another specimen of Herring in
the New Road, and lately have been kindly supplied
with a pair of Bays, and also of Greys, from Bolton, in
Lancashire, and also with a Creole Hen from Wiltshire.
The result of the comparison, and of the unanimous
opinion of the London Poulterers, is, that the varie-
ties of Hamburgh, two Golden and two Silver, include
all these synonyms. The Bolton Bay from Lancashire
differed most in her markings from the normal type, which
we will suppose represented by Aldrovandi's Turkish
Hen : but all the main points were correct, and for this
difference I had been prepared. " When you receive
your Boltons be sure that you do not draw any con-
clusions from their colour alone, for that is extremely
varied. ]\Iany are quite as handsomely marked as the
Spangled Poland, or the Pheasant-Malay." The Bay Hen
I received was marked very like a Golden Poland, (the
crest, of course, being quite absent,) but that the ground
of the plumage was of much richer and browner hue.
Those persons, therefore, who wish to procure Hamburgh
Fowls from Lancashire, should be precise in their instruc-
tions, according to the description shortly to be given.
The Bolton Fowls average in that town 3s. each, which
is cheap for those who wish to obtain a stock of any of
these very distinct varieties. All the birds that I received
were very good specimens. The male Golden Hamburgh
is a particularly beautiful creature ; nothing but a full-
sized coloured drawing can give an adequate idea of the
extremely rich colouring and brilliant lustre of his plum-
age. It has been mentioned in the previous note that the
males of the Bolton Greys differ somewhat in the quantity
of black or dark grey which they wear, as also do those
of the Silver Spangled : the Hens, too, vary slightly, but
the difference is hardly more than would be seen amongst
a brood of chickens reared from the same pair of Fowls.

348 THE HAMBURGH FOWLS.

The Creole from the south of England was a very well-
bred specimen, having the peculiar comb, pointed behind,
described and figured by Aldrovandi.

A Golden Spangled Hamburgh Cock, from Lancashire,
of the sub-variety there called " Moss Fowl," has a large
very double comb pointed behind upwards, flat on the
top, but covered with small upright points ; the wattles
are large, and there is a small white ear-patch. The bill
is short and lead-coloured; feet and legs also lead-coloured.
Irides orange-brown. The hackle is composed of a mix-
ture of brown, black, yellow, and green ; back the same,
only darker. Tail, black, glossed with green, and having
grey down at the base of the feathers. Quills of the
wings, chesnut ; wing coverts, metallic black ; breast and
under part of the body, black.

The Hamburghs are commonly set down as everlasting
layers. But no strictly universal rule, that will apply
without fail to every case, can be laid down for Fowls
any more than for men. Here, however, is decided
evidence. " I have sufficient experience of the Bolton
Fowls myself to enable me to say that they are ever-
lasting layers when pure bred. My father had some very
handsome Fowls, a cross between them and a large
Poland Hen that was slightly inclined to sit. I can
recommend this cross to the notice of those who wish for
a larger breed than the Bolton. By retaining those with
the largest top-knots, a variety with large top-knots could
soon be obtained. (Yes, but could it be retained ?)
Some of the Bolton Grey Cocks have black tails and
breasts, and others have the breasts mottled black and
white : when these also have cream-coloured hackles, I
think them very handsome. As to the occasional variation
in the comb, I incline to the opinion that Hens more
frequently come single-combed than Cocks, in breeds like
the Hamburgh and the Malay." — /. S. W.

The Hamburgh Fowls are, beyond all other breeds,
especial favourites in the Midland and Northern Counties;
they are zealously cultivated there in all their sub- varieties,

THE HAMBURGH FOWLS.

849

and a visit to the great Birmingham show having afforded
a good opportunity of comparing their markings and
nomenclature, a sort of family tree of the breed is given
for the guidance of distant fanciers. We comprise the
whole race under the denomination of

HAMBURGHS.

Penoilled Fowls,
with light hackle,
thai is,

Ochrey YeUow.

Chittaprat.
Bolton Greys.
Pencilled Dutch.
SilverHamburgh.
Creole, or Coral

Bolton Bays.
Golden Ham-
burgh.

SpANGi.KD Fowls,

WITH DARKER HACKLE,

that is.

Either White ) f Yellow hacHe,
haclile, striped in '^ ^ ) striped in the
the centre with (* ° J centre with Black,
Black, 3 ( Brown, or Green.

Silver Spangled.

Gold Spangled.

„ Pheasant.

,, Pheasant.

„ Mooneys.

,, Mooneys.

,, Moss.

Red Caps.

Jii.B. The Adult

Copper Moss.

Cocks have in

some families

pure white hackle.

The terms " Silver and Gold Pheasant " are admitted into
this list, simply to point out what they are 7wt .• the
sooner they are discarded the better. Mr. James Bissell,
of Bradford Street, Birmingham, an enthusiastic and able
amateur, thus gives his opinion ;

" I like very much your forming the Moonies, Moss-
Fowl, Chittaprats and Bolton Bays into one family of
Hamburghs, and think you will, with a careful specifi-
cation of the sub-varieties, for ever set this point in dispute
at rest. I can see no objection (except old associations)
why the term ' Pheasant ' should not at once be aban-
doned in both the Silver and Golden varieties ; it has
doubtless given rise to much that is equivocal and often
false; [We have had Fowls sent us from long distances
to convince us of the amalgamation of Phasianic with
Gallic blood, when lo ! the specimens, on jumping out of
their hamper, were very handsome " Moss Fowls,"] but
the Fowl known in this neighbourhood and in the

350 THE HAMBURGH FOWLS.

Northern Counties under that term, of both colours, Silver
and Golden, I believe to be as permanent as any variety
we have, and their qualifications equal if not superior to
any Fowl I have ever met with ; therefore I am anxious
that they should be as accurately described as the Bolton
Bays and Bolton Greys, for I can -assure you that in the
Midland Counties and northwards they have been, and
still are, more extensively kept and more highly prized
than all the other varieties of fancy Fowl put together ; and
almost universally has there been the inquiry why they
have not found a place in the classification of Domestic
Poultry by the various writers upon the subject.

" You appear to have thought that the name of Moonies
was attached to the Silver- ?«o«-Pheasants only, and that
of Moss to the Golden ?io?i- Pheasants only, whereas both
these names are applied to either variety ; as, for example,
the same birds are called Silver Moss and Silver Moonies,
and if the colour be golden, they are called Copper Moss
and Golden Moonies, the terms Moss and Moonies being
synonymous, and as applicable to the Silver as the Golden-
spangled variety. There can be but one opinion as to
dividing them into the two distinct varieties of colour, viz.,
Golden Hamburghs and Silver Hamburghs, and we shall
find the characteristics of the Hamburgh breeds, whereby
we distinguish them from all other varieties, as uniform
and true of the one colour as the other, and will always
be distinct and apparent in the sub-varieties.

All Hamburghs must possess a very neat, florid rose or
double comb, not too large and bulky, which terminates
in a fine upward-tending point at the back of the head,
which gives an exquisite finish to their appearance, pure
white deaf-ears or ear-lobes, and light slaty-coloured blue
legs. Without the whole of the above characteristics, I
should deem them impure, and not worth breeding from ;
and I consider these three qualities indispensable in the
genuine Hamburgh Fowl. I think we should avoid
splitting them into too many sub-varieties, and beg to
submit this simple mode of doing so under each variety

THE HAMBURGH FOWLS. 351

of colour. Two sub-varieties of this Fowl will be clearly
identified under the definitions of Pencilled and Spangled
Hamburghs, and will embrace all the specimens I have
yet seen or heard of ; thus, in the Chittaprats and Bolton
Bays we have the Pencilled Hamburghs, in the Moss and
Moonies we have the Spangled Hamburghs. The marking
and chanideristics of each sort I will now describe.

Silcer Pencilled Hamburghs are about the size of ordi-
nary Game Fowl, and, when quite pure, are (with the other
varieties of Hamburgh Fowl) the most prolific layers we
have. Their ground colour is pure white ; the Cock has
very little black upon him at all ; the whole of the neck
and saddle hackles, breast, and back purely white, and not
(as in some specimens that have been shown as genuine
birds) marked or pencilled upon the breast. This defect
will always produce imperfect birds. The only parts that
should have any black upon them are the wings and
tail ; the former should be barred across with black, and
the latter should be black, with the feathers edged with
white, gradually blended into the black. The Hen should
have a pure white neck ; and spots of black upon the
hackles very much detract from the purity and beauty of
the Fowl, and should therefore be strictly guarded against
and rejected. The whole of the body, wings, and tail
should be delicately but distinctly pencilled with clear
black upon a clear white gi'ound ; and there are in gene-
ral about five such distinct pencillings or bars across each
feather upon the body, the extremes being marked the
most distinctly. The flight feathers of the wings, and
the tail feathers should be barred all the way up them.

Golden Pencilled Hamburghs are in all respects,
except the ground colour, the same as the Silver Pencilled
Hamburgh. It is a qualification that we should be very
tenacious about, that the Pencilled Hamburgh Cock,
either Golden or Silver, should not have any marking of
black upon him, except upon his wings ; for if he has, we
shall be disappointed in his progeny, as he will inevitably
produce spurious birds.

352 THE HAMBURGH FOWLS.

Silver Spangled Hamburghs. — These in their general
form and carnage veiy closely resemble the Silver Pen-
cilled, of which they are a sub-variety, their size being in
general a little larger. The ground colour of the Cock is
clear white, beautifully spangled with one spot or spangle
of clear black upon each feather, which is more distinct
and beautiful upon the breast than upon any other part of
him. The hackles of the neck and saddle are striped
down the centre with black, and clearly marginated with
white, the tail feathers mottled with black and white, the
black preponderating ; the comb double, and pointing
upwards at the back of the head, but not too large and
ponderous ; ear-lobes quite white, and the legs of a quiet
light blue colour.

The Hen of this beautiful variety is one of the most
splendid and attractive-looking birds of her species, being
regularly spotted or spangled with one spot or spangle
only of clear black upon each clear white feather all over
her body, from her head to the end or tip of her tail ;
and here I would observe that the distinctive marks of
difference between the Silver Spangled and Silver Pen-
cilled Hamburgh Hens are these (they also apply to the
Golden variety) : the hackles of the Silver Pencilled
Hamburghs are purely white, while the hackles of the
Silver Spangled Hamburghs are regularly and distinctly
marked with black ; the other distinction is, that the
Pencilled Hamburghs have five or six bars or pencillings
across each feather of the body, while the Spangled Ham-
burghs have only one distinct spot or spangle upon each
of their feathers.

" Some of the purest and best bred of the Spangled
variety produce Cocks which, when adult, have purely
white hackles on the neck and saddle, but which, while
chickens in their first feather, have all the feathers of the
neck and saddle slightly spangled with black, but their
adult hackles come pure white. [We have known chickens
of this breed pass through changes of colour much resem-
bling those of young Guinea-fowl.]

THE HAMBURGH FOWLS.

353

" The Golden Spangled Hamburghs differ in nothing
except the ground colour of the body from the Silver-
spangled. While it is expedient to abandon their pro-
vincial names, I cannot too strongly urge the necessity of
attaching a proper importance to this variety of Domestic
Poultry. They are beautiful looking Fowls, excellent
layers, and although not so large, are as good a table Fowl,
in quality and juiciness of flesh, as the Dorking, and come
quite as early to maturity."

The Red Caps in our list are a family of the breed, with
their combs somewhat more developed than would be
considered as a model in Mr. Bissell's valuable commu-
nication. The Silver Pencilled may fairly be called a
tender breed ; but they will well repay a little extra care
and attention, which indeed they may be said absolutely
to require. Like the Bantams, they will occasionally
produce single-combed chicks ; such are considered as
aberrant, ill-bred, and to be rejected. Aldrovandi has
figured a single-combed Hen as one of his Turkish
Fowls.

And here let us pause, though mal-dpropcs of this
breed, to introduce a woodcut of the Birmingham
Poultry Medal, for the
Cocks and Hens there-
in represented are by
common consent called
Polish Fowls. The die
is the skilful production
of Mr. Thomas Ottley,
of Snow-hill, Birming-
ham, a cunning artificer
in gold, silver, and
bronze, also in various
white and yellow me-
tals, whose real nature
is a mystery to most

people. For the existence of the medal itself, as well as
of the important Exhibition in which it originated, we are

354 THE HAMBURGH FOWLS.

indebted to the self-denying exertions of Mr. T. B.
Wright and his able coadjutors. These gentlemen have
most efficiently shown that Nature is not repulsed by
Art, but heartily welcomed by her ; that the works of
God are ardently admired by those most proficient in the
works of Man ; and that the respective Patron Geniuses
of Agriculture and Manufactures may, if they choose,
meet and shake hands.

THE CUCKOO FOWL.

We here give, by the name by which it is usually
designated in the Norfolk farm-yards, a variety which
there is good reason to believe to be something old and
distinct, though they are generally looked upon as mere
barn-door Fowls ; ^. <?., the mere accidental result of pro-
miscuous crossing. But there are several forms among
the barn-door Fowls so called, that are seen to be repeated
generation after generation, the counterparts of which are
to be met with scattered here and there over the country.
So constant a repetition of corresponding features would
seem to declare, that there are several unnoticed and
undistinguished varieties of Fowl, which deserve to be
regarded and treated as we do other distinct sorts. The
objection to the adoption of this view and mode of
practice is, that it would inconveniently multiply the
number of species, and give additional trouble to natu-
ralists and poultry fanciers. But the multiplicity of
Nature's works always has been infinite, in reference to
man's power of understanding them. The only wonder,
if we reflect, is, that he has had the courage to grapple
with them at all. At any rate, the investigation of a few
families of Cocks and Hens, is a less laborious work than
the arrangement of a " Systema Naturas," or the writing
of a " Kosmos." The subject is certainly deserving of
consideration, and may be the means of affording import-
ant service to natural history. Dr. Bechstein seems to
have been not far from suspecting that several distinct
varieties might be detected amongst the ordinary Fowls of

A A 2

356 THE CUCKOO FOWL.

the farm-yard. It might answer the purpose of the
dealer to rear a pure stock of some of the handsomest
and most useful of these, and send them forth with
appropriate names, determined by competent persons,
fixing the appellation of the variety.

The Cuckoo Fowl, it may be supposed, was so called
from its barred plumage, resembling the breast of the
Cuckoo. The prevailing colour is a slaty blue, undulated
and softly shaded with white all over the body, forming
bands of various width. The comb is very small ; irides,
bright orange ; feet and legs, light flesh colour. The
Hens are of a good size ; the Cocks are large, approaching
the heaviest breeds in weight. The Chickens, at two or
three months old, exhibit the barred plumage even more
perfectly than the full-grown birds. The eggs average
about two ounces each, are white, and of porcelain
smoothness. The newly-hatched Chicks are grey, much
resembling those of the Silver Polands, except in the
colour of the feet and legs. This breed supplies an
unfailing troop of good layers, good sitters, good mothers,
and good feeders, and is well worth promotion in the
Poultry-yard.

In any closer grouping of the breeds of Poultry, the
Cuckoo Fowl might perhaps be safely referred to the
Surrey Fowl, and so to the Dorkings. Some of the grey-
barred Dorkings are scarcely to be distinguished from
them, except by the fifth toe. Still there is something
very permanent and remarkable in the peculiar style of
plumage, that ought not to be lost sight of. It is with
difficulty got rid of by crossing. Half-bred Spanish and
Dorking Fowls have quite retained the barred and shaded
feathers of the one parent, displaying the comb, ear-lobe,
and stature of the other. And this curious and decided
plumage is quite confined to one or two breeds, never
appearing, that I am aware, in others, such as the Game,
the Malays, and Hamburghs ; a circumstance which makes
us believe it to indicate an ancient descent from some
peculiar and original parentage.

THE BLUE DUN FOWL.

For an acquaintance with and a description of this
very neat and pleasing variety, I am entirely indebted to
the kindness of a valued correspondent, as also for good
living specimens of the birds. " The Blue Dun Fowls
were first procured by us from Dorsetshire, but I know
not from what part. They are under the average size,
and rather slenderly made, of a soft and pleasing bluish
dun colour, the neck being darker, with high single
combs, deeply serrated. The Cock is of the same colour
as the Hen, but has in addition some handsome dark
stripes in the long feathers of the tail, and sometimes a
few golden or even scarlet marks on the wings, which,
by their contrast, give the bird a very exotic look.
The Blue Duns are exceedingly familiar, impudent, and
pugnacious ; indeed I strongly suspect this sort to be a
variety of, or nearly related to, the Game Fowl, having
exactly that shape, and also disposition.

" I have fortunately hit upon a lovely little Hen for
you, but the Cock I must apologise for. His colour is
unimpeachable, but you must imagine that little crest to be
absent, and the comb to be single instead of double. His
brother, who fully intended waiting on you in Norfolk,
and was exceedingly perfect, was killed by a wire-guard
being blown down on him. I would send my grown
Cock, but I believe it would cause a mutiny among the
labourers, who sometimes give him and his wife the greater
part of their dinner, he being impudent enough to take it
either from their hands or mouths ! They have named
him Fred. It is the greatest fun to see a Cock of this

358 THE BLUE DUN FOWL.

sort keeping up a playful fight with another, rather his
superior, spinning and waltzing about him like a French
dancing-rrj aster. Without more convincing proof, I do
not quite approve of their being called Blue Bantams, as
although the breed is certainly small, it is still respectable
in size, and the eggs are veiy fair in that respect.

" The Hens are good layers, wanting to sit after laying
a moderate number of eggs, and proving attentive and
careful rearers of their own Chickens, but rather savage
to those of other Hens. The eggs are small and short,
tapering slightly at one end, and perfectly white. The
Chicks, on just coming from the egg, sometimes have a
ridiculous resemblance to the grey and yellow catkin of
the willow, being of a soft bluish grey, mixed with a little
yellow here and there.

" There is one peculiarity in this breed, which is, that if
the variety is kept perfectly unmixed with any other sort,
you will seldom obtain more than half the number of the
proper Blue Duns, the rest being either black or white.
(This would make us strongly suspect that if their history
were known, they are themselves but a cross between two
distinct varieties or species of Fowls, and that they must
themselves eventually disappear, by assimilation to the
type of one or other progenitor.) The white Chickens,
however, are afterwards sprinkled with dun feathers.
Perhaps the original sort may have been either black or
white, as we know animals will, after many cross-
breedings, ' cry back,' as it is called in some counties, to
the origin whence they arose.

" The Blue Duns are nearly equal to game of any
sort for eating. The hackles of the Cock are always
in great request for making artificial flies for fishing."
—H, H.

A Cockerel of this breed had the comb large, single,
deeply serrated ; bill, dark horn-colour, white at the points
of both mandibles ; ear-lobe, whitish ; wattles, large and
pendant ; iris, orange-brown ; neck hackle, yellowish grey ;
back hackle, the same intermixed with black ; legs, light

THE BLUE DUN FOWL. 359

lead-colour ; live weight, 31b. lloz. ; general tint, bluish
dun ; claws, greyish white.

The theory that the colour of the Blue Dun results from
a combination of white and black {i. e,, very dark purple
or slate-colour) in the progenitors, as betrayed by the
habitual " crying back " of the breed, is confirmed by the
fact of the speckled black and white, or grey and white,
Spanish, producing whole-coloured slaty-grey birds, though
of a darker hue than the Blue Duns, in which the perma-
nency of the tint appears to be equally uncertain. It will
be worth while to keep some of the aberrant Chickens
of the Blue Duns, and record what is the result of their
propagation inter se.

I am now much inclined to transfer these birds to the
Game Fowls, and altogether abolish the '* Blue Duns "
as a distinct race, but await the consent of abler amateurs
in Poultry. There are Blue Dun families belonging to
several breeds : we have them in the Spanish, the Polish,
the Game and the Hamburghs, and it would be more
correct to refer each Blue Dun to its own proper ancestry.
It is a nice question, which there is not space to discuss
here, how far colour is typical of certain species or sub-
species ; in some parts of a bird it never varies at all, but
in the general plumage it varies considerably, under limi-
tations ; thus I never saw or heard of a brown or golden
Spanish Fowl. Meanwhile, descriptions of one or two
other Blue Duns will aid in attaining a clearer view.
The first, a decided Game Fowl, cannot differ much from
ours. " You say that your Blue Duns are perhaps the
result of accidental crossing, whereas they have been
known both in Yorkshire and Lancashire for many years,
as a pure, unmixed, and distinct variety. They are also
the most courageous and impetuous of the Game Fowls,
seldom having been known to lose their first battle.
Their plumage is, I think, the most beautiful of any of
their species. The breast is of a rich dark slate-colour,
the feathers having a broad margin of a darker hue, the
saddle of a deep blood-colour, and the hackles of the neck

360 THE BLUE DUN FOWL.

and tail of a dark red, gradually shading to a beautiful
golden tint ; the tail black and flowing, with a brilliant
green shade. The Cock is thus a most gorgeous looking
fellow, of a strong muscular frame, without offal ; his legs
are blue. The Hen is marked in the same manner, all
over the back and body, with the hackle of the same
golden colour. The Chicks, when first hatched are of a
reddish brown, but with no particular distinctive markings:
this I have only from hearsay, from the man who keeps
them for us, and who has been a breeder of the variety
for many years." — F. S. B.

There is also a Blue Dun which resembles the Ham-
burghs in every particular except in colour, and a dispo-
sition to sit, which makes them more useful to the farmer,
who m.ust, if he keep but one variety, have Fowls which
will rear their own young, which none of the Hamburghs
will do. Mr. Bissell says : " These are very fine noble-
looking birds, and as useful as they are beautiful ; and
they have, to my knowledge, permanently bred without at
all ' crying back' or running out for some years."

THE LARK-CRESTED FOWL.

Here again, as with the Cuckoo Fowl, is a breed
that has been treated with undeserved disregard. Many-
London dealers might call them Polanders, and indeed
many ill-bred Polands have crests inferior to some of
these in size. But the shape of the crest, as well as the
proportions of the bird, are different. Aldrovandi per-
ceived the distinction. He calls the one " Our farm-
yard Hen, known to everybody, entirely white, and
crested like a Lark : " the other is his Paduan Fowl.
The first, of whatever colour, is of a peculiar taper form,
inclining forwards, as Aldrovandi's old-fashioned wood-
cut well represents, with a moderate, depressed, back-
ward-directed crest, and deficient in the neatness of the
legs and feet so conspicuous in the Polands ; the latter
are of more upright carriage and more squarely built
frame. Set the two side by side, and their discrepancy
will be apparent. I would distinguish the Lark-crested
from the Polish Fowls, by the former having an occipital
crest, the latter more of a frontal one. Mr. Selby's
volume on Pigeons in the Naturalist's Library, gives a
figure and description of the Columha dilopha or Double-
crested Pigeon, which has both these forms of top-knots
united on its head.

Lark-crested Fowls are of various colours ; pure snow-
white, brown with yellow hackle, and black. How far
these sorts required to be subdivided, has not yet been
investigated. The first of these are perhaps of a more
brilliant white than is seen in any other domesticated

362 THE LARK-CRESTED FOWL.

gallinaceous bird. The colour is much more dazzling
than that of the White Guinea-fowl, or the White Pea-
fowl. This white variety is in great esteem with many
farmers' wives, who will keep it, to the entire exclusion
of any other sort. They certainly have a remarkably
neat and lively appearance when rambling about a home-
stead. They look very clean and attractive when dressed
for market : an old bird, cleverly trussed, will be appa-
rently as delicate and transparent in the skin and flesh
as an ordinary chicken. The feathers are also more
saleable than those from darker coloured Fowls. My
own experience leads to the suspicion that if they are
a little more tender than other kinds raised near the barn
door, it is only a little ; and I must think them to be in
every way preferable to the White Dorkings, In the
Cocks a single upright comb sometimes almost entirely
takes the place of the crest. The Hens too vary in their
degree of crestedness, some not having above half a dozen
feathers in their head-dress. If they were not of average
merit as to their laying and sitting qualifications, they
would not retain the favour they do with the thrifty
housewives by whom they are chiefly cultivated.

These neglected varieties are well known to the
itinerant Fowl-dealers, who traverse the country in search
of chickens to be fatted for market. From them they
may easily be obtained at a reasonable price. The best
way would be to order a random lot of a score or two,
select the best for stock, and consume those which remain.
These people value Fowls entirely according to their age,
size, and weight. Almost the only exception is, that they
will now and then give a trifle more for a handsome,
showy, adult Cock bird, particularly if he exhibit marks
of Game blood. But the most amusing speculation is to
purchase eggs in country towns, from the wives of those
small farmers who bring their own produce to market,
and take the chance of whatever may be hatched from
them. By keeping ten or a dozen sitting Hens, and
obtaining eggs from different localities, a sufficient number

THE LARK-CRESTED FOWL. 363

of various chickens may be obtained in one season to
afford the breeder a good opportunity of exercising his
discriminating judgment. A very little experience will
soon point out which are mere half-breds of well-known
sorts, and which show symptoms of belonging to a dis-
tinct race, and that long before they have attained their
full growth, sometimes as soon as they have issued from
the shell. In a harmless lottery like this some prizes
are sure to turn up, the only blanks being addled eggs.

THE POLAND OR POLISH FOWL.

" When Peter Flamingo (feather-seller to the Court of Great
Britain) read or heard of the possible perfectibility of man, I am
certain that man appeared to him like a Poland Cock, with a natural
crest of feathers." — Douglas Jerrold's Story of a Feather, p. 1 6.

Certain Fowls with top-knots are called by the above
names, sometimes also Polanders. The Lark-crested
Fowls are distinct from these. Whence the title was
derived, I have endeavoured in vain to trace. Those who
doubt the likelihood of any new breed of Poultry coming
to us from Poland, are inclined to think the word a cor-
ruption of some term derived from the poU or head ; the
word " polled," which we now apply to cattle without
horns, would be more suitable to Fowls with top-knots.
Or, it might possibly be given in allusion to the plica
polonica, or Polish disease, in which the hair in the
human subject grows into an immense matted mass.

Whether the climate of Northern Europe have any ten-
dency to develop the growth of crests, " muffs," (as in
what are called Siberian Fowl, i. e. muffed Dorking,) &c.,
on the heads of Fowls, in a similar way in which that of
Angora is said to soften and lengthen the hair of various
animals, from the fur of cats and goats, to the hair and
beard of men, is a speculation which we have no present
means of pursuing.

There is no evidence that any breed of Fowls with top-
knots was known to the ancients ; but we first meet with
them in the middle ages. Aldrovandi, quoted by Wil-
lughby, " in his Ornithology gives us many kinds, or

THE POLAND OR POLISH FOWL. 365

rather rarities, of Hens, 1 . A common Hen, but white
and copped." This is the Lark-crested Barn-door Fowl.
But Aldrovandi also gives two large spirited figures, each
occupying the whole of his folio page, which he calls
Padua Fowls, but in which we recognise what would now
be called Polands,

This is his description : —

" There exist Cocks for the most part larger than our
own, which the common people call Paduan, even as such
Hens are larger than our own Hens. We exhibit the
likeness of the male and female. The male was most
beautiful to behold, highly decorated with five colours,
namely, black, white, green, red and ochre. For the
whole body was black. The neck was covered with very
white feathers. But the wings and the back consisted
partly of black, and partly of green. The tail likewise
was of the same colour, but the roots of the feathers were
whitish.* Some of the quill feathers (?) [' remigibus']
were white above. Its head was adorned with a very
handsome crest ; but the roots of the crest were white.
A red spot encircled the eyes. The comb was very small;
the bill and feet yellowish. But in the whole Hen there
was not the least white, except that white skin which is
usual about the openings of the ears, but she was alto-
gether black, shining with green. The feet were light
yellow; the comb very small, and scarcely of a red colour."

A difficulty about such varieties recorded so long ago
is the doubt whether the Cock and Hen were really of
the same breed.

The Paduan Fowl has been continually mentioned as
something distinct and primitive, by those who have
quoted Aldrovandi at second hand ; but we will for the
present, discard the term, and sweep the birds into the
class of Polands. Whether the Polish Fowls were really
first brought to us from Poland, I cannot yet trace ; but

* An abundance of white down at the root of the tail-feathers is a
great ornament in the Black Polish and Game Cocks, and a mark of
breeding.

366 THE POLAND OR POLISH FOWL.

the fact is quite possible. Fowls brought alive from India
to Europe by the overland journey, would suffer less than
such as were sent by sea round the Cape of Good Hope.
At the end of each day's journey they could be let loose
immediately that the spot for the night-bivouac was fixed
upon ; they would soon learn to return at dusk to their
travelling Hen-house, and would be well refreshed against
the next day's fatigue. Nor indeed, is there any reason
why Fowls should not permanently accompany wandering
and unsettled tribes of men, who usually have other live
stock constantly in their train, as well as their wives and
children. Mr. J. H. Drummond Hay found that the tent-
occupying Arabs of Western Barbary kept Fowls : —
" Every family," he says, " has its brood of chickens, and
these have their roosting quarters in a distant nook or
compartment of the tent." In Russia, the finest teas are
received overland from the East ; nor is it improbable that
a few Fowls may have been carried as far as the neigh-
bouring country of Poland, after having accompanied some
wealthy merchant, as live stock to be eaten by the way in
case of sickness, or short commons. But whether correct
or not, it would be difficult now to alter their nomencla-
ture. One of the Polish Fowls is supposed by some
writers to be descended from the wild Cock of St. Jago.
The assumed existence of such a bird is founded on an
error ; but if the Cocks of St. Jago are anything akin to
the goats which Captain Cook found there, " of the ante-
lope kind, so extraordinarily lean, that hardly anything
can equal them," the cross would be no great improve-
ment. But I take it, that no existing wild Gallus has
any more to do with the formation of our present breeds,
than we have shown that the Pheasant has. Mowbray
says, " Perhaps the genuine sort (of Polish) has always
five claws;" and he proceeds to derive "our famous
Dorking breed" from them, with the reservation, how-
ever, that such a speculation may be groundless, which it
decidedly is. For the fifth toe vanishes from the Dorkings
at a very early stage of crossing with any other breed.

THE POLAND OR POLISH FOWL. 367

The Black Polish Fowls are of a uniform black,
both Cock and Hen, glossed with metallic green. The
head is ornamented with a handsome crest of white
feathers springing from a fleshy protuberance, and fronted
more or less deeply with black. The comb is merely
two or three spikes, and the wattles are rather small.
Both male and female are the same in colour, except that
the Cock has frequently narrow stripes of white in the
waving feathers of the tail ; a sign, it is said, of true
breeding. The Hens also have two or three feathers on
each side of the tail, tinged in the tip with white. The
Hens do not lay quite so early in the spring as some
varieties, especially after a hard winter ; but they are
exceedingly good layers, continuing a long time without
wanting to sit, and laying rather large, very white, sub-
ovate eggs. They will, however, sit at length, and prove
of very diverse dispositions ; some being excellent sitters
and nurses, others heedless and spiteful. The chicks,
when first hatched, are dull black, with white breasts,
and white down on the front of the head. They do not
always grow and get out of harm's way so quickly as
some other sorts, but are not particularly tender. In
rearing a brood of these Fowls, one may observe some of
the Hens with crests round and symmetrical as a ball,
and others in which the feathers turn all ways, and fall
loosely over the eyes ; and in the Cocks, also, some have
the crest falling gracefully over the back of the head, and
others have the feathers turning about and standing on
end ; these are to be rejected, the chief beauty of the sort
depending on such little particulars. One Hen laid just
a hundred eggs, many of them on consecutive days,
before wanting to incubate ; after rearing a brood suc-
cessfully, she laid twenty-five eggs before moulting in
autumn.

The Black-topped White Polish is now, it seems,
lost to this country, if, indeed, there is any evidence of
its having ever existed here. Buffon mentions them as
if extant in France in his time. These and the Shack-

368 THE POLAND OR POLISH FOWL.

bags are probably recoverable only by importation from
Asia. I am given to understand, that an attempt will be
made to reproduce them here by breeding. The experi-
ment will be interesting either in its success or failure.

The Golden Polands are sometimes called Gold-
spangled, their plumage approaching to that of the Gold-
spangled Haraburghs ; but many of the finest specimens
have the feathers merely fringed with a darker colour, and
the Cocks, much more frequently than the Hens, exhibit
a spotted or spangled appearance. Many of them are
disfigured by a muff or beard ; but no such birds should
be allowed the entree of the poultry-yard, but dispatched
at once to the fatting-coop.

It is a question with the curious whether the muff at
the throat, is, or is not, an original appendage to these
birds. The earliest figures with which I am acquainted
(Aldrovandi's) increase the difficulty by displaying a pair
of Fowls, one with, and one without the muff. Albin
(1736) figures a Cock "of a peculiar Breed, which is
brought from Hamburgh by our Merchants," with a short
top-knot, a decided beard, and actual whiskers, "a tuft
of black feathers, which covered his ear." The Irish
fanciers decide, that, in the same clutch of chickens, the
produce of the same parents, those which have beards in
addition to their top-knots are to be called Hamburghs,
those with top-knots only, Polish. Others say, that the
beard comes from a cross with the Russian Fowl, which,
as near as we can ascertain, is a bearded Dorking. A
distinct race, of which the muff is one permanent charac-
teristic, is not at present known. It is a frightful ap-
pendage, and not easily got rid of if once introduced to a
poultry-yard : which makes me suspect either that the
original Polish were beardless, or that there were two
ancient races.

The Golden Polands, when well-bred, are exceedingly
handsome ; the Cock having golden hackles, and gold and
brown feathers on the back ; breast and wings richly
spotted with ochre and dark brown ; tail darker ; large

THE POLAND OR POLISH FOWL. 369

golden and brown crest, falling back over the neck ; but
little comb and wattles. The Hen is richly laced with
dark brown or black on an ochre ground ; dark spotted
crest ; legs light blue, very cleanly made, and displaying
a small web between the toes, almost as proportionally
large as that in some of the waders. They are good
layers, and produce fair-sized eggs. Many of them make
excellent mothers, although you cannot always get them
to sit early in the season. The chicks are rather clumsy
looking little animals, of a dingy brown, with some
dashes of ochre about the head, breast, and wings.
They are sometimes a little apt to die in the first week of
their existence, but afterwards get tolerably hardy, although
liable to make a stand-still when about half-grown.

It has been observed as a peculiarity in the temper of
this breed, that if you catch one of them, or if one is
attacked by any animal, the rest, whether Cocks or Hens,
will instantly attack the aggressor with fury, and endea-
vour to rescue their unfortunate companion.

The Silver Polands are similar to the preceding in
shape and markings, except that white, black, and grey,
are exchanged for ochre or yellow, and various shades of
brown. They are even more delicate in their constitu-
tion, more liable to remain " fixed" at a certain point of
their adolescence, and still more require and will repay
extra care and accommodation. Their top-knots are not
perhaps in general so large ; but they retain the same
neat bluish legs and slightly webbed feet. It is curious
that a bird which is quite incapable of swimming should
have webs on its feet, while the Gallinule, which swims
and dives well, has none. The Hens of the Silver
Polands are much more ornamental than the Cocks ;
though even they are sure to attract notice. They may
certainly be ranked among the choicest of Fowls, whether
we consider their beauty or their rarity. They lay
moderate-sized, French-white eggs, much pointed at one
end, in tolerable abundance, and when they sit, acquit
themselves respectably.

370 THE POLAND OR POLISH FOWL.

The new-hatched chicks ar very pretty ; grey with
black eyes, light lead-coloured legs, and a swelling of down
on the crown of the head, indicative of the future top-
knot, which is exactly the colour of a powdered wig, and
indeed gives the chick the appearance of wearing one.
They are easily enough reared for the first six weeks or
two months, the critical time with them being the interval
between that age and their reaching their fifth or sixth
month. At a very early age they acquire their peculiar
distinctive features, and are then the most elegant little
miniature Fowls it is possible to imagine. The distinction
of sex is not very manifest till they are nearly full grown,
the first observable indication being in the tail. That of
the Pullet is carried uprightly, as it ought to be, but in
the Cockerel it remains depressed, awaiting the growth of
the sickle feathers. The top-knot in the Cockerels is more
pendent backwards than in the Pullets. It is remarkable
that the Golden Polish Cock brings as true Silver Chicks,
and those stronger, with the Silver Polish Hen, as the
Silver Polish Cock would.

The Silver Polands have all the habits of their Golden
companions ; the main difference being the silvery ground
instead of the golden. The Silver variety will sometimes
even make its appearance if you breed merely the Golden
sort, exactly as the Black Polish produce now and then
some pure white chicks that make very elegant birds.
An attempt has been made to obtain the black top-knotted
White Polish from these, by acting on the imagination
of the parents. The experiment failed, though similar
schemes have been said to succeed with animals ; it
proved, however, one thing — namely, that it will not do
to breed from the White Polish as a separate breed.
Being Albinos, the chicks come very weakly, and few
survive. On the other hand, trust to chance for an occa-
sional white one among the black, and you get a fine bird.

There is a singular variety of the Polish which has the
entire plumage of a uniform slaty dun colour. Other
curious combinations of colour are probably to be found

THE POLAND OR POLISH FOWL. 371

here and there in the hands of careful breeders. One
has been lately raised, in which the golden plumage has
been crowned by a large globe-shaped white crest of
dense features : how long this will continue permanent,
remains to be tested. There was also a breed called
after Lord Erdley which obtained a prize at one of the
Poultry-shows in the Zoological Gardens.

The Polish are chiefly suited for keeping in a small
way, and in a clean and grassy place. They are cer-
tainly not so fit for the yard of the farmer, becoming
blinded and miserable with dirt. It is a main point to
procure them genuine, as the degenerate things one sees
in towns are frequently palmed on the buyer instead of
the handsome, deep-bodied, short-legged variety. I have
seen a slight sub-variety having the crest entireli/ white,
but inferior in shape and beauty. Indeed there is no
breed of Fowls more disfigured by mongrelism than this.
The Polish will, without any cross-breeding, occasionally
produce white stock that are very pretty, and equally
good for laying, &c. It is singular, however, that if you
attempt to make a separate breed of them, they become
puny and weak. It is better for those who wish for them
to depend upon chance : every brood almost of the black
producing one white chick strong and lively as the rest.

The Polish Fowls are excellent for the table, the flesh
being white, tender, and juicy ; but they are quite
unsuitable for being reared in any numbers, or for general
purposes : they are so capricious in their growth, fre-
quently remaining " stuck," as the country people call it,
for a whole month, without getting bigger, and this when
about a quarter or half grown, the time of their life
when they are most liable to disease. As aviary birds
they are unrivalled among Fowls. Their plumage often
requires a close inspection to appreciate its elaborate
beauty ; and the confinement and petting seems less
uncongenial to their health. We would recommend per-
sons whose accommodation for Poultry is very limited, to
select some pretty family of Polanders, and keep them on

B B 2

372 THE POLAND OR POLISH FOWL.

the Aviary system ; when it will he found that their
plumage improves in beauty with almost every moult.

But a great merit of all the Polish Fowls is this : that
for three or four years they go on growing and gaining in
size, hardiness, and beauty, especially the male birds.
This fact, which any amateur can verify for himself by
observation, assuredly points out a very wide deviation
in constitution from those Fowls which attain their full
stature and perfect plumage in twelve or fifteen months.
The similarity of colouring in the two sexes, almost a
specific distinction of Polish and perhaps Spanish Fowls,
also separates thern from those breeds, as the Game, in
which the Cocks and Hens are remarkably dissimilar. An
additional recommendation to the Polish is, that their
edible qualities are as super-excellent compared with
other Fowls, as their outward apparel is superior in ele-
gance,— a point which is recorded here not from mere
hearsay ; although, to confirm it, Temminck quotes
Sonnini's information that the Pohsh Fowls (les Coqs
huppes) are highly esteemed in Egypt for the goodness
of their flesh ; and are so abundant in Upper Egypt as
to be sold for '2\d. or 3«f. each. At the Cape of Good
Hope this breed is equally cultivated.

Polish Fowls are also currently reported as everlasting
layers, which further fits them for keeping in small
inclosures ; but, as in the Hamburghs, individual ex-
ceptions are often met with, however truly the habit may
be ascribed to the race. " I only know of the Golden-
spangled, Silver-spangled, and Black Poland that are
everlasting layers, though of the Black, I believe there
are two varieties, one smaller than the other. The
small ones are of a purer black, with larger top-knots,
and I think I have heard they are truer everlasting layers
than the large variety. Some of the large ones have
slight white tips to a few of their feathers. I am
altogether unable to point out any difference between the
Polanders that are everlasting layers, and those that are
not ; for I have seen several that apparently were pure

THE POLAND OB POLISH FOWL. 373

bred that were as much inclined to sit as any other
Fowls."—/. S, W.

Both the Poland and the Lark-Crested Fowls are, in
Norfolk, trivially called " Gopplecrowns."*

Before taking leave of the full-sized Fowls, it may be
observed that the initiated can often distinguish the various
breeds unseen, by their crow. A friend remarks, " there
is an Italian proverb : ' as the old Cock crows, so crows the
young,' and indeed,' the voice may be considered as a
tolerably fair guide for ascertaining whether the different
breeds of domestic Fowl are genuine or not. Amongst
individual Cocks of the same variety, there will indeed, be
frequently slight variations in the tone of crowing ; but yet,
a person having anything of a correct ear, may easily trace
the family crow throughout. Thus, the game breeds that
I have kept, have always rather a shrill, but not inhar-
monious crow, with a very peculiar, abrupt termination.
The Blue Duns have somewhat the same style of crowing,
but with a more regular and gradual finale. Cocks of
the Silver Hamburgh variety are generally even more
shrill than the two last mentioned, giving, however, a
longer finishing note. The Polish are not, I think,
remarkable for melody in crowing ; they are harsh-toned,
and frequently lack that agreeably sounding turn in the
crow, that you hear in the Game and Hamburgh, and
others. The Spanish, also, though professing to come
from a land rich' in musical ability, are not highly gifted
with vocal powers. Their crowing is loud, indeed, and

* In the " Turnament of Tottenham, or, the Wooing, Winning, and
Wedding of Tibbe, the Reeve's daughter there," an old burlesque
ballad, the Reeve says —

" AVhoso berys hym best in the turnament,
Hym schal be gi-anted the gre be the comon assent.
For to Wynne my dozter wyth dughtynesse of dent,
And ' coppdV my hrode-henne that was brozt out of Kent :
And my dunnyd kowe
For no spens wyl I spare,
For no cattell wyl I care,
He schall have my gi'ay mare,
And my spottyd sowe."

374 THE POLAND OR POLISH FOWL.

not SO very shrill, but squally and grating to the ear.
Some few individuals are better and richer in tone, but
those are the exceptions, not the rule. The Malay's
voice is hoarse, and not so loud as, from the size of the
bird, might be expected ; while that of the noble Cochin-
China is deep-toned, mellow, and prolonged, like the
closing note of an accomplished singer. Bantams are
more varied in their crowing powers than any of the
breeds above-mentioned, but one I possessed some years
since was so particularly musical, that his crow sounded
like two or three bars of an air whistled in a mellow key.
It has, I believe, been universally remarked, that the
Domestic Cock always claps the wings before, and the
Pheasant after crowing. The Cock, however, as I have
often noticed, will frequently give another clapping after
the song is ended. These birds must sleep very lightly
and watchfully, as, the instant an individual, roosting
separately and at a distance, begins his clamour, the
others answer, and the concert spreads from farm to farm,
throughout the village. To hear this natural alarum-bell
ringing far and wide between ten and twelve o'clock on
a December's night is singular enough. The cause of
these birds thus forestalling their morning note of gratula-
tion has not yet, I think, been satisfactorily explained.

" The growth of the spur in the gallinaceous order of
birds is often irregular and unaccountable. Among Fowls
especially, it is a very misleading guide to denote the age.
You may see an old Hen, eight or twelve years of age
without the slightest semblance of a spur ; and again, in
a last year's Hen you may observe them of some length,
and even in a Pullet of the same season (as in the case
of one of the Game Pullets you sent me,) the spur is
highly developed. The same remarks will apply, though
in a less degree, to Cocks also. Many are the persons
who have been thus woefully deceived when purchasing
Pheasants for the table ; as they afterwards find to their
annoyance, when the bird is undergoing the process of
mastication." — H. H.

BANTAM FOWLS.

Hermia. Now I perceive that she hath made compare

Between our statures, she hath urged her height ;

And with her personage, her tall personage,

Her height, forsooth, she hath prevailed with him, —

And are you grown so high in his esteem,

Because I am so dwarfish, and so low ?

How low am I, thou painted mavpolc ? speak ;

How low am I ? I am not yet so low,

But that my nails can reach unto thine eyes.

Helena. O, when she 's angrj', she is keen and shrewd :
She was a vixen, when she went to school ;
And, though she be but little, she is fierce.

Hermia. Little again ? nothing but low and little ? —
Why will you suffer her to flout me thus ?
Let me come to her.

Midsummer NigMs Dream. Act III.

We are now timorously approaching the most treasured
pets of the Fancy. We have advanced with a tolerably
steady footstep through the flocks of well-sized creatures
that crowded beside our path — the Turkeys, the Pea-
cocks, the Geese, and the Swans, — and should not have
feared to encounter even an Emeu or a Cereopsis, had
chance planted one in the way ; but a sudden fear and
trembling creeps over us as we draw near to these myste-
rious elves and pigmies of the feathered world. Gulliver
got on very well in Brobdingnag, so long as he did not
attempt any leap beyond his strength ; but the minute
Lilliputians teased him sadly by their numbers, their
activity, and the unseen and unsuspected places from
whence they issued. But twenty or thirty years back

376 BANTAM FOWLS.

Bantams would have supplied a more formidable muster-
roll than they now do.

Bantam is the name of a town and kingdom in the
island of Java, famous for its trade in pepper, of which
the Dutch despoiled us, and for its unrelenting punish-
ment of thieves. " The Laws of this country" (Achin,
the north-western part of Sumatra, famous for the juicy
and refreshing fruit called the Pumple-nose, and the
seductive and intoxicating herb Ganga or Bang) " are
very strict, and offenders are punished with great severity.
Neither are there any delays of justice here ; for as soon
as the Offender is taken, he is immediately brought before
the Magistrate, who presently hears the matter, and
according as he finds it, so he either acquits, or orders
punishment to be inflicted on the Party immediately.
Small Offenders are only whipt on the back, which sort of
punishment they call Ckaubtcck. A Thief for his first
offence, has his right hand chopt off at the Wrist : for
the second offence off goes the other ; and sometimes
instead of one of their hands, one or both of their feet
are cut off; and sometimes (tho' very rarely) both hands
and feet. If after the loss of one or both hands and
feet, they still prove incorrigible, for they are many of
them such very Rogues and so arch, that they will steal
with their Toes, then they are banish'd to Pulo Wat/,
during their Lives.

" On Pulo Waf/ there are none but this sort of Cattle :
and though they all of them want one or both hands, yet
they so order matters, that they can row very well, and
do many things to admiration, whereby they are able to
get a livelihood ; for if they have no hands, they will get
somebody or other to fasten Ropes or Withes about their
oars, so as to leave Loops wherein they may put the
stumps of their Arms ; and therewith they will pull an
oar lustily. They that have one hand can do well enough;
and of these you shall see a great many, even in the City.

" Neither is this sort of punishment peculiar to the
Achinese Government, but probably, used by the other

BANTAM FOWLS. 877

Princes of this Island, and on the Island Java also,
especially at Bantam. They formerly, when the King of
Bantam was in his prosperity, depriv'd men of the right
hand for a Theft, and may still for ought I know. I
knew a Diitch-m&n so serv'd : he was a Seaman belonging
to one of the king of Bantain's Ships." — Dampier's
Voyages, yo\. ii. p. 138.

The same king (an. 1688) expected to receive from
his subjects a very unusual mark of respect. " The Queen
of Achin^ as 'tis said, is always an old Maid, chosen out
of the Royal Family. What ceremonies are used at the
chusing her I know not : Nor who are the Electors ; but
I suppose they are the Oronkeys (Great Lords). After
she is chosen, she is in a manner confin'd to her Palace ;
for by report, she seldom goes abroad, neither is she seen
by any People of inferiour rank and quality ; but only by
some of her Domesticks : except that once a Year she is
drest all in white, and placed on an Elephant, and so
Rides to the River in state to wash herself : but whether
any of the meaner sort of People may see her in that
progress I know not : for it is the custom of most Eastern
Princes to skreen themselves from the sight of their
Subjects : Or if they sometimes go abroad for their plea-
sure, yet the People are then ordered either to turn their
backs towards them while they pass by, as formerly at
Bantam, or to hold their hands before their eyes, as at
Siam." — Idem. p. 142.

Our little friends the Bantams clearly show where
they come from. Their passionate temper arises from
the superabundance of pepper, their diminutive stature
from the Javanese practice of foreshortening, their turgid
comb from the succulent Pumple-noses, their over-
weening assumption and arrogance from the excitement of
the herb Bang, and their propensity to make every rival
turn tail, from the established court etiquette of the old
Bantam regime.

The Yellow or Nankin Bantams are about the
most useful of their tribe, and not the least ornamental.

S78 BANTAM FOWLS.

The Hens are mainly tinted with a ginger-yellow, and
have dull blue legs and feet, and small comb. There
is a sub-variety, in which they are more brown, after the
fashion of some Game Hens. The Cocks are decked
in red, orange, and scarlet, mostly with the false speculum
of iridescent wing-coverts, altogether of a flashy appear-
ance ; and, indeed, when good specimens of their kind,
are really beautiful little birds. Of late years they have
much gone out of fashion, but deserve to be rescued
from utter extermination. Their eggs are large in propor-
tion to the size of the layer, very rounded and full at
both ends. They are excellent mothers, particularly for
such delicate things as Partridges, Pheasants, and Guinea
Fowls. One Hen, however, that we have, prevents this
use being made of her powers, by invariably stealing a
nest, though at other times she roosts in the fowl-house,
with the rest of the poultry. She is usually very success-
ful in her efforts, only we now and then have chickens
at unseasonable times of the year. For instance, one
October she brought home seven little vivacious balls
of down, that certainly would not have had to encounter
the dead months of autumn and winter, had any other
opinion than their mother's been consulted.

The browner variety of this bird is sometimes called
the Partridge Bantam : such are almost miniatures of the
Golden Hamburgh Fowls, both Pencilled and Spangled.
There is the same double comb pointed behind, the same
blue legs and other characteristics of form and plumage.
But it would be wrong to conclude from these resem-
blances that it is a dwarfed Hamburgh Fowl ; all we can
say is, that this bird represents (as some naturalists
express it) the Hamburghs among the Bantams ; just as
many birds of one Continent are found represented in
another by corresponding, though quite distinct species of
the same genus.

The Sebright Bantam has very much thrown the
preceding into the shade. Their beauty is of a different
class, but it is questionable whether their merits are

BANTAM FOWLS. 379

greater. Here we have delicate pencilling in the shape
of brilliant colouring. How and whence they first ap-
peared in England is a mysteiy, and likely to remain so.
Sir J. S. Sebright has the credit of having " originated"
the breed, a reputation which we believe to be as well
deserved as that he " originated" the creation of the
feathered race in general. Those in his confidence were
accustomed to report that he would travel, " or send,"
as far as two or three hundred miles to obtain a choice
bird, which was doubtless true ; but had they added
many thousands of miles to the two or three hundred in
the " sending" part of the story, they would, we believe,
have been still nearer to the truth. That Sir John
treated his birds, when procured, with jealous care and
skilful nurture will be readily granted. But while breeders
continue to be so anxious not merely to conceal their
system of management (in the earliest stages at least) but
even to mislead inquirers, those who cultivate natural
history for its own sake, will not be justified in arriving
at hasty conclusions from such information.

We are at once struck with surprise at the impudence
of the Sebright Bantams. Oh! The consequential little
atom ! That such a contemptible minikin as that should
have the assurance to parade his insignificant person in the
presence of great ladies, the female members of families
of weight and substance, before the Misses, and still worse,
the Mistresses Dorking, Cochin-China, and Malay, to pre-
sume to show marked attention, nay even, I declare ! to
. Well ; there is no knowing to what lengths impu-
dence will go, so long as Bantams survive extermination.

Here is a little whipper-snapper ! Pretty, certainly,
and smart, but shamefully forward in his ways. His
coat is of a rich brownish-yellow ; almost every feather
is edged with a border of a darker hue, approaching to
black. His neat slim legs are of a light dull lead colour ;
his ample taii/'iwn icliich the sickle feathers are absent, is
carried well over his back. His dependent wings nearly
touch the ground. He is as upright as the stiflest drill-

380 BANTAM FOWLS.

Serjeant, or more so, for he appears now and then as if
he would fall backwards, like a horse that over-rears him-
self. His full rose comb and deep depending wattles
are plump and red : but their disproportionate size
affords a most unfortunate hold for the beak of his
adversary ; but he cares not for that ; a little glory is
worth a good deal of pecking and pinching, and it is not
a slight punishment, nor a merely occasional infliction of
it that will make him give in. The great Hens, too,
that look down upon him, and over him, think proper to
do battle with him on a first introduction, though they
afterwards find out that they might as well have received
him in a more feminine style ;

" For Hens, like Women, bom to be controlled,
Stoop to the forward and the bold."

The plumage of the Hens is similar to that of the
Cocks. They are very good layers, most excellent sitters,
assiduous and affectionate mothers, but most murderous
step-mothers : that is, if you attempt to change, or add
to, the number of the brood they have hatched themselves,
they will welcome the little strangers by making raw-head
and bloody-bones of them, before you can return from
fetching a pan of water to set before the coop. Their
own chickens are dark-brown when first hatched, with
no particular marks about them whilst young. This is
the variety figured by Moubray as the " Bantam or
Pheasant Fowls."

The Sebrights are divided into two varieties, — the
Gold-laced, and the Silver-laced. The model Gold-laced
Cock should be of a brilliant brownish-yellow, with every
feather, including his neck-feathers, narrowly laced or
marginated with black all round them : his flight and tail
feathers of the same ground colour as his body, but
tipped, instead of laced, at the ends with black ; rose
comb nicely pointed behind ; his legs dull light blue ; his
weight not to exceed 20 ounces. The Gold-laced Hen
should correspond in all particulars, except weight, which

BANTAM FOWLS. 381

must not exceed 1 pound. Silver-laced Bantams are
precisely the same as gold-laced, in all respects except the
ground-colour, which should be as nearly white as possible,
although they are generally inclined to be of an exceedingly
light and delicate cream- colour.

The Black Bantam is a most beautiful example of
a great soul in a little body. It is the most pugnacious
of its whole tribe. It will drive to a respectful distance
great dunghill Cocks five times its weight. It is more
jealous, irascible, and domineering, in proportion to its
size, than the thorough-bred Game Cock himself. Its
combativeness, too, is manifested at a very early period.
Other chickens will fight in sport, by the time they are
half grown, but these set to work in good earnest. One
summer we bought a small brood, as soon as they could
safely be removed from their mother : there were two
Cockerels among them. They were little things, beauti-
fully shaped, but ridiculously diminutive : fairy chickens,
some of our friends called them. They had not been
with us long, before the liberal supply of barley began to
excite them ; and the two little imps spent the greater
part of their time in fighting, which only made us laugh,
judging serious injury impossible. But shortly observing
one unusually triumphant (for it had always been a sort
of drawn game between them), and the other walking
about in an odd and uncertain manner, though firm and
fearless, I found that this latter had both its eyes closed
from wounds received the day before. I carried it to my
dressing-room, to relieve it by sponging, and set it on the
stain-cloth, while I went to fetch some warm water.
Still blind, it began crowing vivaciously. In a few
minutes, its eyes were unsealed, and it was returned to
the yard. But battle after battle was immediately fought,
and we were obliged to eat one of the combatants to pre-
vent the mutilation of both. We can consequently confirm
the statements of those who praise the excellence of their
flesh, particularly if it be accompanied by a little good bread
sauce. One, that I have seen, was in the constant habit

382 BANTAM FOWLS.

of fighting, or rather sparring, with a little spaniel that
belonged to the same owner. Though apparently attacking
each other with great fury, they never seemed to be really
in earnest. The arrival of strangers was generally the
signal for the commencement of this sham fight, which
ended without bloodshed as soon as one or both of the
combatants were out of breath. The spaniel was mostly
the first to give in, when the victor evinced as much
triumph as if he had vanquished a feathered foe.

The Black Bantam, in his appearance, is a pleasing
little fellow. He should have a full rose comb, clean and
sinewy legs, glossy plumage with almost metallic lustre, of
a different tint to the glancing green of the Spanish Fowl,
arched and flowing tail, waggish impudent eye, self-satisfied
air and gait. The Hen is of a duller jetty black, is less
knowing in her manner, and I think in every way of infe-
rior capacity. They have great credit for fulfilling their
maternal duties well ; but I have found them less affec-
tionate and careful than other Bantams. They are great
stayers at home, prowling very little about, and therefore
are desirable in many situations, such as suburban villas
that are surrounded by captious neighbours. They will
remain contented with the range of a moderate stable-yard,
and the least bit of shrubbery ; and will do much good by
the consumption of numerous insects. They are reputed
good layers during winter ; but that will depend on the
liberality with which they are fed. Cooks say that their
eggs, though small, are " very rich," which means, perhaps,
that they contain a greater proportion of yolk than those
of larger Fowls. Guinea-fowls' eggs are prized for the
same quality ; and any one may, at breakfast, observe how
much less a proportion of white there is in them, than in
those of the Turkey. Black Bantams' eggs are smooth,
tinged with buff, decidedly long-oval in most individuals,
and with a zone of irregularity towards the smaller end
in some.

The new-hatched chicks are covered with black down,
which occasionally has a greyish cast under the belly: bill,

BANTAM FOWLS. 383

eyes, feet, and legs black. The female chicks are not
bigger than the queen of the black and yellow humble-
bees, and their slender little legs appear fitter to belong to
an insect than a chicken. A desire to obtain the largest
possible brood, induced me to hatch some under a great
Dorking Hen, because she can cover so many eggs ; but I
only overreached myself. The big Hen was too heavy
and clumsy to officiate as nurse to such fragile atoms.

When brought up by their own mother, a spent cucumber
frame covered with a net, is a good place to keep them
the first month. The hottest and finest part of the season
should be selected for them to pass their chickenhood in.
When full grown and plumed, they are not more tender
than other Poultry, though they are better suited for
confinement in wards.

Those who keep any other variety of domestic Fowl,
and are desirous of having plenty of chickens, as well as
eggs, had better not permit a Black Bantam Cock to
enter upon their premises.

The White Bantam very much resembles the above
in every respect except colour : the rose comb may perhaps
in some specimens be a little more exuberant. But they
are not much to be coveted. The white of their plumage
is not brilliant, and is sure to be un-neat in the places
where they are usually kept. Were they really guilty
of the savage, objectless, and unnatural ferocity that is
attributed to them, they would all deserve to have their
necks wrung ; but the tale wants confirmation. The
"Illustrated News" for Feb. 20th, 1847, 'gives some
particulars.

The Feather-legged Bantams are now as completely
out of vogue as they were formerly in esteem. We ought
perhaps to have referred them to the anomalous Fowls.
The chief interest attached to them lies in their hinting to
the naturalist an affinity with the Grouse tribe. There
were several sorts of them in repute, but they are now
nearly extinct in this country. See Albin. Vol. III.,
p. 32.

384 BANTAM FOWLS.

Creepers, so called from the shortness of their legs,
and Jumpers, from their halting gait, are rather to be
considered as accidental deformities collected from un-
healthy families of Bantams, than as constituting any dis-
tinct variety. A sufficient proof of which is, that many of
them are scarcely able to propagate their kind. " The
Bantam I spoke of as living so long (seventeen years) was
of the Feather-legged sort, spotted cream and white, laying
menily as ever to the last ; .-Jjut not having warmth suffi-
cient to hatch, I always made her a present every year of
a few little chicks," — H. H. Some of these are the very
smallest of their genus, being not larger than Pigeons,
and not so tall. They are now much out of fashion,
and are rarely seen. They are well known, however,
to the middle-age curiosity collectors. " But the Hens
which Longolius calls pigmy, and renders into German by
'Kriel' (no such word is to be found in Bailey's Dic-
tionary) those, as I have just said, exist here and there;
„hey creep along the ground by limping rather than walk-
ing ; we call them dwarfs." — Aldrovandi.

Again : " Although we declared that we would not give
another figure of common Hens, we have thought right,
on account of their rarity, to exhibit one of the pigmy or
dwarf sort, which we have said that many people unad-
visedly consider as the Hadrian Hen (of classical authors),
although it belongs to the same kind. But this Hen was
all black except the larger feathers of the wings, which
were whitish at the tips ; she had likewise white spots
all round about her neck emulating the full moon, and
lastly, a round spot of an ochrey colour encircled her eyes.
Her head was top-knotted. The wattles, and comb,
which was very small, were of a rather intense red : the
feet were bright yellow : the claws small, exceedingly
white."

Aldrovandi gives a rich collection of three-footed,
four-footed, double-headed, and double-bodied Fowls,
that occurred to him in the course of his laborious
researches.

BANTAM FOWLS. 385

The English Edition of Biiffon informs us that Jumpers
are tlie same as Cambogia Hens ; which, however, does
not much add to our knowledge of the variety.

Bantams in general are great devourers of some of the
most destructive of our insects. The grub of the Cock-
chafer and the Crane-fly is an especial favourite with them.
Their chicks can hardly be reared so well as by allowing
them free access to minute insect dainties : hence the
suitableness of a worn-out hotbed for them during the
first month or six weeks. They are thus positively
serviceable creatures to the farmers, as far as their limited
range extends, and still more so to the gardener and the
nurseryman. Mr. James Cuthill, of Camberwell, com-
plains in the Gardeners' Chronicle for December 1, 1849,
of the plague of woodlice, from which he, and others
similarly engaged, had seriously suffered. " It matters
not," he says, " whether it is the blossom of a Cucumber
or that of a Pine-apple that comes in their way, the fruit
of a Melon or that of a Cucumber. I have lost many an
ounce of Strawberries through their depredations, and
also many an early Cucumber that would have brought
me Ss. Gd. in the market. The means I have employed
for their destruction have been toads, which are effectual ;
but they are expensive, being 4s. a dozen. Many of them
die, and except they are kept in quantity, the woodlice
cannot be kept down. My object now, however, is to
state that from some trials I have made, I am convinced
that woodlice may be killed by the use of Bantam Fowls.
This plan may be put in operation by any one, even at
this time of the year. I first had a hundred woodlice
caught at a rubbish heap, and gave them to three Ban-
tams ; they ate them up in something less than two
minutes, I had these birds in attendance when turning
over a rubbish heap, and not a woodlouse was allowed to
escape, nor any insect, the Bantams devouring every-
thing. It will thus be seen that, if Bantams were
encouraged and brought up in gardens, they would effect
much good ; and I am of opinion that it will soon be

c c

386 BANTAM FOWLS.

found as necessary to keep Bantams to kill vermin as it is
to keep cats to keep down rats and mice. They will
save various garden crops from injuries to which they
would be otherwise exposed. They would scratch a little,
to be sure, but so do cats ; and if the smaller kinds of
Bantams are kept (those about the size of a Partridge)
their scratching would do little harm." We give this
statement as being the experience of a practical man.

THE RUMPLESS FOWL, OR RUMKIN.

Blaine, in his Encyclopaedia of Rural Sports (London,
1840), says, " Of the feathered tribes of Ceylon, the most
remarkable is the tailless Cock [Gallus ecaudatus, Temm.
fig. 25), at present, we believe, only known in its wild
state in the forests," &c. It may appear too sceptical in
us to question whether it be now to be found wild in the
forests of Ceylon,* but it certainly has been extant in

* It is hardly possible to cavil at Temminck's evidence of its
existence there. In reply to Buffon's ftiiiy tale that Cocks when
transported to Virginia lose that portion of their person on which
the tail grows — a romance that seems to have imposed on the sober
Dr. Latham — he says, " We can p>ositively state that Buffon's opinion
has not been confirmed ; this runipless Cock was not originated in the
New World, since the primitive species inhabits the Island of Ceylon ;
the Hen makes her nest on the ground; it is rudely constructed with
fine grass, and resembles the nests of Partridges. The disposition of
this bird is wild ; the Cock frequently utters his crow, wliich, though
less sonorous than that of our Domestic Cocks, has still the same
cadence. The Cingalese designate this species by the name of
Wallikikili, which means Cock of the Woods. The distinctive
characters of this species consist in the want of the last vertebra of
the back, on which grows the carnosity that we term 'rump:' the
absence of this vertebra is the natural cause that Cocks and Hens of
this species are without the caudal featliers, as well as all the coverts,
which in other birds are planted on the rump : this S]>ecie8 is also
distinguished from the other Cocks that we have described by liaving
his comb round, and without indentations." [He then minutely
describes the plumage.] " I am unacquainted with the colours of the
primitive female of this rare species, the Governor of Ceylon, to wiiom
I am indebted for information respecting this wild Cock, having sent
tuo only a very old male, and a second individual, male also, at the
stage when the comb and wattles begin to show themselves ; an adult

CO 2

388 THE RUMPLESS FOWL.

Europe for the last two or three hundred years. In the
spring of 1848, a pair of very good specimens, with
brown and white plumage, were exhibited at the Surrey
Zoological Gardens, and labelled as " from Persia."
Twenty or thirty years ago, when weavers and other arti-
ficers took more delight in tulip-beds, stages of auriculas,
and fancy Fowls and Pigeons, than in the Physical v.
Moral Force Question, I have frequently seen grey-plumaged
Rumkins, as well as Frizzled Fowls and other curiosities,
walking about the streets, and " plains," and churchyards
of Norwich. Those sources of amusement are now much
neglected. But if the Rumkin be really a remnant of the
original Fauna of Ceylon, it will be a pity if it be suffered
to become extinct, although it be one of Blumenbach's
defective monsters [monstra per defectum). It is curious
that another island under the British rule should furnish
a quadruped similarly defective. Manx Cats are well
known for the peculiarity of having no tail. They are
still to be met with now and then ; but the native race,
or species of Pigs, which were wild in the mountains a
hundred years ago, appear now to be quite exterminated
from the Isle of Man. Insular tribes of animals have
but little chance of survivorship, as human population
increases. In New Zealand, the wingless bird — another
defective monster — appears to be now a fast vanishing
apparition from the face of the earth.

male is deposited in the cabinet of Mr. Ra3'e de Breukelerwaert, at
Amsterdam. These three individuals have the same distinctive cha-
racters, and the colours of their plumage absolutely correspond. The
different domestic races of this species are distinguished by different
coloured plumage ; most of the Cocks have indented combs like those
of our village Cocks ; others have also the double comb. I have not
yet met with one having a smooth comb, and without indentations;
this last race, if it exist, would be that which retains most of the
source, or first type. It is scarcely possible to furnish particulars of
the origin of the domesticity of the Rumpless Cocks ; the date of it,
nevertheless, ought to be more recent than that of the other species
which have produced the village Cocks ; but inquiries on this subject
cannot be established by proofs ; they lose themselves in the night of
time."

THE RUMPLESS FOWL. 389

I liave found no mention of the Eumpless Fowl in
classical authors, but Aldrovandi was aware of its exist-
ence : —

" The Cock which they call the Persian, and which we
have here figured, differs from our own sorts mainly in
having no tail ; in other respects, it is very like them.
The comb, however, has a sort of tail. It was all black,
sprinkled with yellow lines : the first quill-feathers were
white, the rest black ; the feet ashy : the Hen was like
our own in respect to shape and carriage ; of an extremely
different colour to the male, whence I attach little weight
to diversity of colour, in these as in them. She was all
over of a ferrugineous colour, except the three quill-
feathers, which were black. Her comb, if you compare
it with the comb of the male, was much smaller."

Aldrovandi's Rumpless Cock is represented with a
large double comb, that is produced backwards, "veluti
caudam," like a tail. I am without information as to
their laying and sitting qualities. They are not small,
being at least of the average size of Fowls.

" This species," says Temminck, " has given rise to
many exaggerated tales. Before the domestic race (of
the EuTiipless Fowl) was well known, and dispersed
through the different countries of Europe, the vulgar con-
ceived ridiculous ideas, brought forth by superstition, on
the subject of these birds.

" The • Philosophical Transactions of the year 1693,'
inform us that the Cocks of Virginia have no rumps ; the
inhabitants of this colony affirm that when Cocks are
transported there they soon lose their rump ; but this
opinion is false, and has not been confirmed by modern
travellers. Buffon, who seems to put faith in this impro-
bable story, appears to conclude from it, that this species
originated in Virginia ; ' the more so,' says this naturalist,
'as the ancients were unacquainted with them, and
naturalists did not begin to mention them till after the
discovery of America.' "

Such are the marvellous effects of climate ! Such are

390 THE RUMPLESS FOWL.

the foundations for doctrines which common sense cannot
help beheving dangerous in tendency as well as false in
principle ! That such nonsense should influence the
opinion of learned philosophers ! — nonsense deserving
only to be answered by other nonsense. If this wasting
away of the indescribable part of the bodily frame be
general in Virginia ; if the inhabitants of that State really
are subject to the loss — shall we dare say it ? — of their
rumps, — what a profitable speculation it would be to send
out to them a few ship-loads of bustles, to try if they also
will disappear by the influence of the climate !

THE SILKY AND THE NEGRO FOWLS.

Anomalies have been called " finger-posts that point
the way to unsuspected truths." This strange genus — for
their claims to tliat title deserve to be investigated — ought
to excite the curiosity of naturalists, though they have not
much merited the favour of poultry-keepers. Even if it
be found that they produce prolific offspring when cooped
with our common Poultry, that circumstance cannot be
allowed to weigh for much in our present most imperfect
knowledge of the family. A great deal of confusion and
uncertainty is current respecting the Silky and the Negro
Fowls ; and it cannot be expected that a country clergy-
man, who has but limited means of investigation at
command, should be able, in a first endeavour, to throw
much light on a most intricate and difficult subject, or to
afford much final information on a class of creatures which
have a more appropriate place in the museum than in the
Poultry-yard. But they may safely be pronounced to be
worthless, as stock : they are kept in existence in this
country by importation from India, rather than by breed-
ing. They may be had in London for about 10s. each ;
for less, perhaps, occasionally ; and a collection of them,
and a comparison of their differences, is desirable for
scientific purposes. It may be presumed that in India
several kinds are to be found, with which we are totally
unacquainted. We have, however, quite enough to sti-
mulate inquiry. There are, 1st, A Silky Fowl, with white
plumage and skin, red comb, and bones coloured the same
as in other Fowls ; called sometimes the Nankin Silky

392 THE SILKY AND THE NEGRO FOWLS.

Fowl. 2ndly, Another Silky Fowl with white plumage,
but with dark skin, and comb, and dark bone, called
also, the Black-boned Fowl. Such as these are doubtless
those in the possession of the Queen. " I saw a lot of
ugly, undersized, white Fowls, with black combs and
indescribable plumage, that had been sent to her Majesty
from the East, which I suppose are the breed to which
you refer. See the article ' Pheasant' in the ' Penny
Cyclopgedia.' My brother tells me that he saw some
very small White Silky Fowls which had been brought
from Calcutta. If I remember aright, her Majesty's were
as small as many Bantams." — J. S. W. Srdly, There is
another kind of Silky Fowls, with plumage almost black,
with black comb and skin, and with bones that are
black, or of a dark colour : and, 4thly, I am led to
believe that there exists, what would be the true Negro
Fowl, a bird with black comb, skin, and bones, and with
plumage which is black, but not silky.

Instances of creatures having bones naturally disco-
loured, are, I think, rare. The only other one I can call
to mind is that of the gar-fish, which is not unfrequent
in the London markets, a most curious piece of organi-
sation, with a long beak like a snipe, a long body like an
eel, but flattened like a riband, and grass-green bones.
" The Wool-bearing Hen I take to be altogether fabulous,
and its figure in Aldrov. lib. 14, cap. 14, taken out of a
certain map, fictitious. Perchance it was no other than
the frizzled or Friesland Hen, which OdoricKS de Foro
Julii and Sir John Mandevil call the Wool-bearing Hen.
The birds which M. Paidus Venetus makes mention of
in these words, ' In the city Quelinfii, in the kingdom of
Mangi, are found Hens, which instead of feathers have
hairs like Cats, of a black colour, and lay very good
eggs' seem to be Cassowaries'' — Willughby, p. 156.
A daring piece of scepticism for those times ! However,
the Frizzled and the Silky Fowls are quite distinct.
Aldrovandi's own words are : — " The likeness of this
Wool-bearing Hen is taken out of a certain cosmo-

THE SILKY AND THE NEGRO FOWLS. 393

graphic map. There is a very great city towards the
East, in which the largest Cocks are produced. The
Hens are white as snow, and, according to Odoricus of
Forum JuHi, (three different towns rejoice in that name)
are covered not with feathers, but with wool like sheep.
Also Marco Polo, the Venetian, writes that in the city
Quelinfu, in the kingdom Mangi by name, Hens are
found, that in the place of feathers have hairs like cats,
are of a black colour, and lay most excellent eggs."
Aldrovandi's figure is black, with large wattles, and
elaborately jagged comb. The bird is covered with curly
locks. But an inspection of these old wood-cuts, espe-
cially in botanical works, suggests the idea that many of
them were merely symbolical, intended rather to give the
hieroglyphic of the thing meant, than an actual veri-
similar representation of it.

Temminck states positively that the Negro Fowl exists
in a wild state in India ; and that both it and the Silky
Fowls differ anatomically from the ordinary domestic
Fowls. Buffon wonders what it can be which the Negro
Fowls find to eat in their native home, so to change the
colour, not merely of their comb and skin, but of their
periosteum also.

Analogous to the Silky Fowl is the Lace Pigeon, so
called on account of the peculiarity of its feathers, the
fibres or web of which appear disunited from each other
throughout their whole plumage.

THE FRIZZLED, OR FRIESLAND FOWL.

It is difficult to say whether this be an aboriginal
variety, or merely a peculiar instance of the morphology
of feathers ; the circumstance that there are also Frizzled
Bantams would seem to indicate the latter case to be the
fact. School-boys used to account for the up-curled
feathers of the Frizzled Fowl, by supposing that they had
come the wrovg way out of the shell. They are to be met
with of various colours, but are disliked and shunned,
and crossly treated by other Poultry. Old-fashioned
people sometimes call them French Hens. The rever-
sion of the feathers rendering them of little use as clothing
to the birds, makes this variety to be peculiarly suscep-
tible of cold and wet. They have thus the demerit of
being tender as well as ugly. In good specimens every
feather looks as if it had been curled the wrong way with
a pair of hot curling-irons. The stock is retained in
existence in this country more by importation than by
rearing. The small Frizzled Bantams at the Zoological
Gardens, Regent's Park, are found to be excellent sitters
and nurses. Aldrovandi has an unmistakeable figure of
the Frizzled Cock, and gives the following account of it : —

" Pompilius Tagliaferrus, of Parma, not the lowest
amongst distinguished physicians, wrote to me respecting
this Cock, in these words : ' I send thee the effigy of a
monstrous Cock, although the painter has not satisfied
me in its delineation. But I wish you to know that
two things particularly worthy of admiration are to be
found in this Cock, which are scarcely ever seen in our

THE FRIZZLED, OR FRIESLAND FOWL. 395

own Cocks and Hens. The first and principal is, that
the feathers of the wings are situated in a contrary
manner to what they are in others, for the flat part of
them, which by the prescript of nature in others bends
inwards, in this is seen outwards, so that the whole wing
appears entirely reversed. I think another thing worthy
of notice, namely, that the small feathers of the neck are
erected towards the head, like curls, whither also the
whole tail appears to be bent.' So far he. But what
he records of this Cock, neither its portrait sent to me,
nor our figure sufficiently express ; which his words show
to have happened through the unskilfulness of the painter."
Aldrovandi seems to doubt the fact. His bird is drawn
with a large, deep-cleft comb.

Temminck makes a species of this bird. He says, it is
a native of Asia, and is found in a domestic state through-
out Java, Sumatra, and all the Philippine Islands, where it
succeeds well ; but he is uncertain in what country it is
still found wild.

It is curious that there should be a Frizzled Pigeon,
called by Fanciers, the Frill-back.

INDEX.

^LiAN on Pea Fowl, 13 — Goose,
61.

" Agricultural Gazette," Ex-
tracts from, 168, 242— On
Pheasant Fowls, 307— Silver
Hamburgh Fowls, 345.

Albin on the Goose, 53 — White
Hooked-bill Duck, 133 —
Madagascar Duck, 141.

Aldrovandi on Pea Fowl, 10 —
the Wigeon, 103 — Domestic
Goose, 1 42 — Domestic Fowl,
212 — Management of Fowls,
240— Game Fowl, 318— Ham-
burgh Fowls, 345 — On the
Poland or Polish Fowl, 365—
Bantams, 384 — Rumpless
Fowl, 389.

America, Turkey transmitted
from, 35.

Animals, extinction of, 128.

Anser Canadensis, 53.

Apteryx, the, 107.

Arabs of Western Barbary Fowl
Keepers, 366.

Aristotle on Eggs, 169 — Domes-
tic Fowl, 190.

Ashworth, Rev. Mr., on Ham-
burgh Fowls, 343.

Audubon on the Goose, 54 —
American Wood Duck, 74 —
the Wood Duck, 113— Tame
Duck, 124—136.

Aurochs, the, of Lithuania, 197.

Australia, Birds and Animals

described by Darwin, 105.

B.

Backer, Madlle., 39.

Badger, the, 118.

Bagshaw, Mr., of Norwich, large
feeder of Geese, 148.

Baily, Mr., on Wigeon breeding,
108 — as a dealer, 134 — on the
Brent Goose, 161 — on Dork-
ings, 281 — Hybrids between
Fowls and Pheasants, 310.

Baker, Messrs., description of
Malay Fowl, 300.

Bake well, Mr., 1 ] 9.

Bantam Fowls, 219. (See
" Fowls," 375.)

Barber, Mr. Leonard, manage-
ment of Fowls, 250 — descrip-
tion o' Spanish Fowl, 276.

Beaver Ducks, 135.

Bernicle Goose, 1 56.

Bevan, Dr., 282, 297.

Bewick, 89.

Birmingham Poultry Medal, 353.

Bison, the, 128.

Bissell, Mr., on Eggs, 167—
Cochin China Fowl, 293—
Hamburgh Fowls, 349.

Black Bantam, 381.

Black Polish Fowl, 367.

Black-topped White Polish Fowl,
367

Blue Dun Fowl (See "Fowl"),
357.

Bolton Bay Fowls, 346.

Borrow's " Bible in Spain,"
Extract from, 322.

Brent Goose, 161.

Brooke, Sir James, 201.

Buffon on Pea Fowl, 10— Do-
mestic Fowl, 218 — accounts
of different species of Phea-
sants, 220.

Burmese Pea Fowl, 12.

Burroughes, llev. Ellis, 32.

Bustard, the, 107.

Caius Joannes, 77.

Cambridge Turkey, 36.

Canada Goose, 53, 122.

Cantelo on packing Eggs, 177.

Carolina Duck, 110.

Chaucer, 2«5, 342.

Chickens, management of, 232,
233, 234, 235 — parasitic
worms in, 258 — faseiolse, 259
—lice, 261.

China Goose, 88.

" Chittiprats" or " Cheteprats,"
344.

Cicero, 126.

Classification of Fowls, 267 —
rules for, 268.

Cobbett, 47 — on Eggs, 160.

Cochin China Fowl, 201— 289.

Cock-fighting, 316, 323, 330.

Cook's Voyages, 205.

Columella on Pea Fowl, 4 —
Ducks, 125 — Domestic Goose,
154 — Dorking Fowls, 287.

Creepei-s, 384.

Crowing of Cocks, 373.

Cuckoo Fowl (See " Fowl "), 355.

Cuthill, Mr. James, of Camber-
well, on use of Bantam Fowls
for destroying wood-lice, 385.

INDEX. 307

Cuvier on the Goose, 54.
Cygnets, 28— a dish for table,
29.

D.

Dampieu's Voyages, extract from,

330.
Darwin, Mr., his description of

Australian birds and animals,

105.
Davy, Sir Humphry, 44.
Decoy Ducks, 132.
Denny, Mr. Henry, " Monogra-

phia Anoplurorum BritauuiBe,"

263.
Derby, Earl of, on Pea Fowl, 12

— his breed of Game Fowls,
334.

Dickson, on Hamburgh Fowls,

343, 377.
Dodo, the, 194.
Domesticability of the Swan, 15

— the Canada Goose, 55 —
Egyptian Goose, 64 — Musk
Duck, 72— China Goose, 90—
of various birds, 97— difficulties
with certain birds and quadru-
peds, 104— Tame Ducks, 124

— Bernicle Goose, 157 — the
Fowl, 203.

Domestic Goose, 142.

Domesticated animals, difficulties
in classifying, 115.

Dorkings, the (See "Fowl"), 279.

Duck, the Musk or Muscovy, not
aquatic, 66 — Willughby on, 67
— feathers not wet- repelling,
ib. — cause of the difference in
different birds, 68 — Dr. Ro-
get's discoveries, 69 — voice
and habits, 71 — voice of the
female, ih. — white variety, sup-
posed to be a distiu'ct species,
72 — native of South America,
ib. — eggs, 73 — appearance of
young, 74 — Audubon, ib. — as
food, 75 — appeai'ance, 76.

398

INDEX.

Duck, Madagascar, described by
Albin, 141.

Duck, the Tame, Audubon on,
124 — when domesticated, ib.
— Columella on, 125 — Pliny's
flight of Ducks, 126 — probable
importation from the East, 127
— Mallard, gradual extinction
of, 128 — Tame Duck derived
from the Mallard, 129 — several
varieties, 1 30 — their use, ib. —
laying, ib. — cooking, 131 — of
White Ducks, 132 — Call
Ducks, /&.— White Hooked-bill
Duck, 133 — other sorts, ib. —
Rouen Duck, 1 34 — Penguin
Duck, 135 — Labrador Duck,
ib. — Beaver Ducks, ib. — eggs
of, 136 — voice, i6. — incubation,
ib. — hatching, 137- — treatment
of, ib. — notes on the Mallard,
138—140.

E.

Eggs, difference, 1 64 — sexes, 1 65
— test, 166 — Mr. Bissell on,
167 —experiments, 168 — Cob-
bett on, 169 — preserved, 169,
170, 171, 172— nest eggs, 174
— for hatching, 175, 178 —
packing, 176 — monstrous, 180
— cock's eggs, ib. — inscriptions
on, 181 — two and three laid in
a day, ib. — two double, 182 —
as ornaments, 186,

Eggs of Pea-fowl, 9 — Swan, 27 —
Turkey, 41 — Musk Duck, 73 —
Guinea-fowl, 83 — China Goose,
90— White-fronted Goose, 101
—White China Goose, 122—
Black Beaver Duck, 1 36 —
Bernicle Goose, 158 — Do-
mestic Fowl, 230 — Spanish
Hen, 272— Cochin China Fowl,
293 -Game Fowl, 337— Blue
Dun Fowl, 358— Black Ban-
tam, 382.

Egyptian or Cape Goose, 61.
Ellis's Polynesian Researches,
326.

Fascicle in Turkeys, 47 —
Chickens, 259.

Feather-legged Bantams, 388.

Feather wet-repelling powers, 67
— Dr. Roget's discoveries, 69.

Fowls, rearing and management
of, 224 — Fowl breeders, ib. —
profits from keeping, 225 —
hints to Fowl keepers, ib. —
Fowl houses, 226, 228— laying
places and sitting-boxfes, 227 —
laying, 229 — desire of incuba-
tion,230 — directions for hatch-
ing, ib. — period of incubation,
231 — shells of eggs, ib. — ma-
nagement of the chicks, 232-5
— artificial hatching, 256 —
advantages and disadvantages
of keeping, 238-9— On Fatting,
232— Dutch mode, 241— me-
thod practised in India, 242
— receipt for cooking tough
fowls, 243, — cookery of the
Middle Ages, 243— Fowls for
cooking, 244 — Norfolk poul-
terers, ib. — Capons, 245 —
dressing, 247 — Chinese mode
of preparing fowls for market,
ib. — to keep the breeds dis-
tinct, 249 — Mr. Leonard Bar-
ber's Management of Fowls,
250 — to promote laying, 251
— general treatment, 253 —
absurdities, 254 — physicking,
ib. — the roup, 255 — surgical
cases, 256 — the gapes, 257 —
parasitic worms, 258 — Fas-
ciolae, 259 — treatment, 260 —
Lice, 261 — treatment, 263—
number of species which infest
Poultry, 263.

INDEX.

399

Fowls, classification of, difficulty,
2 67 -rules for, 2 08— list of, 270.

Fowl, Bantaui, Pets of the Fancy,
375 — from Java, 376 — Dam-
pier's Voyages, extracts from,
377 — Yellow or Nankin Ban-
tam described, ib. — The Se-
bright Bantam described, 37 i!
— Black Bantam, 381 — Game
qualities of this vai-iety, ib. —
eggs, 382 — White Bantam,
383 — Feather-legged Bantams,
ib. — Creepers, 384^Jumpers,
ib. — great devourers of insects,
385 — instance given by Mr.
CuthiU, ib.

Fowl, the Blue Dun, described,
357 — Hens good layers, 358 —
peculiarity in this bree 1, ib.
— Cockerel, ib. — colour, 359 —
should belong to Game Fowls,
ib.

Fowl, the Cochin China, Java and
Cochin China Fowls synonj--
mous, 289 — valuable variety,
ib.—s\ze and weight, /6. — com-
parative weight of fowls, 290
— the Author's Poultry-yard,
291 — extraoi'dinary weight of
this variety, 292 — Mr. Bissell
on, 293 — The Cock described,
294— the Hen, 295— eggs, ib.

— Chicks, ib Cockerels, ib. —

merits of this breed, 296 —
Cochin China Fowl presented
to her Majesty from the East
Indies, ib. — American variety,
ib. — crossing, 297 — another
Chinese Cock, ib.

Fowl, the Cuckoo, believed to be
distinct, 355 — so called from
its plumage, 356 — Hens, Cocks,
Chickens, Eggs, 256 — good
layers, ib.

Fowl, the Domestic, 187 — anti-
quity, 188-9— origin, 191-3—
the Crested, 199 — Cochin
China, 201 — extinct species,

ib. — head quarters of, ib. —
Dorking variety, 202 — malfor-
mation, 203 — companion of
man, ib — found in the islands
of the Pacific, 204 — legend of,
ib. — estimation in which dif-
ei-ent varieties- are held, 206
— physical uses of, given by
Willughby and Aldrovandi,
208— courage of the Cock, 209
— cases of hydrophobia. 210 —
habits of the Hen, 211— dif-
erent appellations, 213 — cus-
tom in China, 2 15 — permanent
character of different varieties,
216— hybridising, 217— Ban-
tams, 219 — concluding re-
marks, 222.

Fowl, the Dorkings, 279 — Speck-
led, the finest for table, 279—
useful for hatching other eggs,
280 — not profitable, ib. — " go-
ing fight." ib. — consumption,
ib. — Mr.Baily on, 281 — neglect
from domestics, 282-4 — Dr.
Bevan on, 282 — Dorking Hens
sometimes barren, 284 — Sir J.
Sebright, 285 — Chaucer, ib. —
characteristics, 286 — Mr. A.
Whitaker on, ib. — Speckled
Dorking, how introduced, 287
— Columella on, ib.

Fowl, the Frizzled or Friesland,
not liked by other Poultry,
394 — susceptible to cold and
wet, ib. — feathers, 395 — said to
be a native of Asia, ib.

Fowl, the Game, Cock-fighting,
316, 323, 330 — many varieties,
316 — Game Cock, 317 — the
Hen, ib. — Hens good incuba-
tors and nurses, 318 — qualities
of the Cock, ib. — Extracts
from Sir William Hooker,
Borrow, &c., 319-23 — evil
effects of Cock-fighting, 324—
among the Tahitians, 325 —
among the people of Sumatra,

400

INDEX.

326— Indians of Manilla, 3-29
— directions for rearing, 330
— plumage, 331 — two varieties,
ih. — Eggs and Chicks, 33'2 —
Poultry, good mousei's, ih. —
the Furness Game Fowl, 333 —
the Piles, 334— White Game
Fowl, ib. — Earl of Derby's
breed, ih — Mr. Richardson, ih.
— Mr. Thomas Roscoe, 335 —
training, 336-" dubbing," 339
— Cock-fighting in Mexico, 339.

Fowl, the Guinea, not a favourite
with poultry keepers, 77 — hints
on keeping, ib. — Chicks, 78 —
food, ib. — rearing of thechicks,
ih. — incubation, ib. — habits of,
81 — not polygamous, ib. —
voice, 82 — pairing, 83 — pro-
lific of eggs, i6.— hatching, ih.
— season, price, fatting, 86 —
pomted at by dogs, 87.

Fowl, Hamburgh, synonyms of
other writers, 342 — Moubray
on, 344 — Rev. Mr. Ashworth,
334 — the Coral or Bolton
Greys, 343 — the Creole, ib. —
the Hen, 344 — other varieties,
ih. — Prince Albert's breed,
345 — the " A'jncidtural Gn-
zette " on Silver Hamburgh
Fowls, ih- — Aldrovandi's de-
scription, ib. — Bolton Bay, 346
— different plumage, 347 —
good layers, 348 — favourites in
the Midland and Northern
Counties, ib. — the whole com-
prised under one denomina-
tion, viz., Hamburghs, 349 —
Mr. James Bissell's opinion, ih.
— SilverPencilled Hamburghs,
351— Golden Pencilled Ham-
burghs, ih. — Silver Spangled
Hamburghs, 352 — the Hen,
ih. — Red Caps, 353 — Birming-
ham Poultry Exhibition, with
a cut of medal, ib.

Fowl, the Lark-Ci-ested, unde-

servedly disregarded, 361 — of
various colours, ib. — good
qualities of, 362.

Fowl, the Malay, description of,
from " Penny Cyclopaedia,"
299— from Mr. Baker, 300—
as food, ib. — Malay Hen, 301
— eggs, chicks, and rearing, ib.
—disposition of hen, ih. — sin-
gular habit of roosting in mid-
day, 302.

Fowl, the Pheasant Malay,
merits of as food, 304 — error
of dealers respecting breed,
ib. — monstrosities, 305 — sup-
posed " Pheasant breed " erro-
neous, 306 — experience of M.
Le Roi, 307 — of Mr. James
Hunt, 308 — the Zoological
Society, 309 — Mr. John Baily,
310— Mr. A. Whitaker, 311
• — eggs, chicks, 313 — a per-
manent variety, ib. — Chickens,
314 — abortion, 315 — mis-
shapen eggs, ib.

Fowl, the Poland or Polish, as to
the derivation of the term, 364
■ — Aldrovandi's description,
365 — the Paduan Fowl, ib. —
whether brought from Poland
or not, ih.- — Mr. J. H. Drum-
mond Hay, 366 — Black Polish
Fowls described, 367 — Hens
good layers,i6. — Black-Topped
White Polish lost to this
country, ib. — GoMen Polands,
368 — singular varieties, ih. —
description of, ib. — Silver Po-
lands described, 369 — rearing
Chicks, 370 — curious combi-
nations of colour, ih. — Polish
Fowls excellent for table, 371
— beauty of plumage, ib —
other recommendations, 372 —
good layers, ib. — " Copple
crowns," 373 — different breeds
distinguished by the Cock-
crow, z6.— the s^mr, 374.

INDEX.

401

Fowl, the Silky and the Negro,
confusion respecting, 391 —
worthless as stock, ib. — de-
scribed, 392— Willughby, ib.

— Lace Pigeon, 393.

Fowl, the Spanish, antiquity of,
271 — excellence of this variety,
ib, — description of, ib. — Hens
good layers, 272 — not properly
acclimatised, ib. — the Chicks,
273 — difficulty of ' procuring
correct infomiation from Poul-
try dealers, 274 — Mr. Barber's
description of, 275— early Pul-
lets for laying, 277.

Fowl, the Rumpless or Rumkin,
Dr. Latham's account of, 387

— defective monsters, 388 —
Aldrovandi on, 389 — Tem-
minck,i&.— Phil. Trans, of 1693
on, ib.

Frizzled or Friesland Fowl, 394.
Furness Game Fowl, 333.

G.

Game Fowl, 316 (see Fowl).

Gapes, the, in Fowls, 257.

" Gardeners' Chronicle," extract
from, 385.

George IV., 37.

Golden Pencilled Hamburghs,
351.

Golden Polands, 368.

Goose, the Bernicle, 156 — breed-
ing, 157 — appearance, 158 —
incubation, ib. — hints on breed-
ing, 159 — the young attacked
by disease, treatment, ib.

Goose, the Brent, 161— Mr. St.
John on, ib. — Mr. Baily on, ib.
— treatment, ib. — colour, 162
— Col. Hawker, Sir W. Jar-
dine on, ib. — as food, ib.

Goose, tlie Canada, errors of
various writers, 53 — Cuvier,
Audubon, 51 — domesticability,
ib. — considered as an article

of food, 56 — stock birds, 57 —
feeding, ib. — Goslings, 58 —
treatment, 59 — Audubon's de-
scription, 60.

Goose, the Egyptian or Cape,
described, 61 — power of voice,
62 — fury exhibited in defence
of their young, 64 — time of in-
cubation, ib. — rearing, ib. —
longevity, ib. —habits, 65.

Goose, the China, number of
names, 88 — question as to place
of birth, ib. — Bewick, Cuvier,
89 — large number of eggs laid,
90 — deficient power of flight
compared with other species,
ib. — remarkable instance to the
contrary, 91 — sitting, 92 — in-
cubation, ib. — amusing method
of hatching, 93 — plumage, ib.
— White China Goose de-
scribed, ib. — more noisy than
other Geese, 94 — eggs, ib. —
Goslings, ib. — as food, 95 —
Hybrids, ib. — Jenyns, Rev.L.,
ib.

Goose, Domestic, antiquity of,
142, 145 — passage from Livy,
143— Virgil, Pliny, 144— Ori-
gin of, 145, 147 — Rev. L.
Jenyns on, 146 — varieties, 147
— polygamous, 148 — Hybrids,
ib. — but one variety, ib. — Tou-
louse Goose, 149 — usefulness,
151 — rearing, 151,154 — longe-
vity, 152— to kill, 153, 155—
Columella's directions for
rearing, 154.

Goose, the White Fronted or
Laughing, Ornamental and
Domestic Poultry, difference
between, 96 — domestication of
various birds, 97 — Temminck,
ib. — Natural History o^ 99 —
description of in confinement,
ib. — attachment to person, and
place, ib. — "laying" under
difficulties, 100— eggs, 101—

D D

402

INDEX,

as food, lb. — statement of M.
St. Genis as to pairing, ib.

Goose, the White China, Mr.
Alfred Whitaker on, 120— not
in London Collections, 121 —
pair procured by the author
through Mr. Whitaker de-
scribed, 122 — eggs, difficulties
in hatching, ib. — incubation,
ib. — Willughby on, ib.

Grey-legged Goose, 147.

Guinea Fowl, 77. (See "Fowl.")

Guinea Goose, 122.

H.

Hamburgh Fowls, 342. (See
« Fowl.")

Hawker, Col., on the Tame Duck,
127— Call Ducks, 132— Brent
Goose, 162.

Hay, Mr. J. H. Drummond, 366.

Hooker, Sir Wm., on Poultry,
203 — instance of animal skir-
mishing, 319.

Horace on Pea Fowl, 8.

Hunt, Mr. James, on Pheasant
Malay Fowls, 309.

Hybrid birds, 117.

Japan Pea Fowl, 11.
Jardine, Sir W., 162.
Java Pea Fowl, 11, 12.
Jenyns, Rev. L., 95 — on the Do-
mestic Goose, 146.
Jumpers, 384.

K.

KiDD, Dr., 190.

Labrador Duck, 135.
Lark-crested Fowl, 861.

" Fowl.")
Latham, Dr., account of

Rumpless Fowl, 387.

(See
the

Leicester, Lord, 38.

Le Roi, M., on the " Pheasant

breed" of Malay Fowls, 307.
Lice in Chickens, 261.
Linnaeus on the Swan, 17.
Livy, Rome saved by the Goose,

143.
Low, Professor, on the Swan, 16.
Lubbock, Rev. R., his " Fauna

of Norfolk," 98.

M.

Madagascar Duck, described by

Albin, 141.
Malay Fowl, 299. (See « Fowl.")
Marsh Ducks, 129.
Mallard, 126 — derivation of the

Tame Duck from, 129 — Notes

on, 138—140.
Marsden on Fowl, 192.
Mexico, Cock-fighting at, 339.
Milton, 119.
Moubray on the Swan, 24 — on

Hamburgh Fowls, 343.
Musk, or Muscovy Duck, 66.

(See " Duck.")

N.

Naples, Pea Fowl at, 3.
Norfolk Turkey, 36.

0.

Ornithological Society, as to
whether birds perfectly domes-
ticated there, 98.

Ortus Sanitatis, illustration of
Swan from, 33.

Ottley, Mr. Thomas, 353.

Owen's British Fossil Mammals,
118, 126, 196.

Paduan Fowl, 365.
Pea Fowl, magnificent appear-
ance of, 1 — destructive habits,

INDEX.

403

2 — their use in destrojdng rep-
tiles, 3 — Willughby's quotation
from Johannes Faber, ib. —
Columella on, 4 — alleged de-
structiveness to poultry, ib. —
rearing, 5 — Pea chicks, 6 —
attachment to man, 7 — natural
disposition, ib. — dressing for
table, 9 — eggs, ib. — different
species, ib. — Buffon on, 10 —
Aldrovaudi, 1 0 — Temminck, e'S.
— their sound displeasing to
some, ib. — Java species, 11 —
introduction to Europe, 12 —
Earl of Derby on, 13 — ^lian
on, ib.

Penguin Ducks, 135.

" Penny Cyclopoedia," description
of the Malay Fowl from, 299.

Pheasant Malay Fowl, 304. (See
'• Fowl.")

Pinioning Swans, 21 — birds in St.
James's Park, 114.

Pliny, 126.

Poland, or Polish Fowl, 364. (See
"Fowl.")

Powys, Earl, 37.

Prince Albert's Hamburgh Fowls,
345.

Pre- Adamite Animals, 118.

Pullets, Black Spanish, early
layers, 277.

Pulo Way, and its inhabitants,
376.

R.

Rabbits, remarkable, 119.

Red Caps, 353.

Richardson, Mr., on Game Fowl,

335,
Roget, Dr., 69.
Roscoe, Mr. Thos., description of

Game Fowl at Knowsley, 335.
Rouen, Rhone, or Rohan Duck,

134.
Roup, the, in Fowls, 255.
Rumpless, or Rumkin Fowl, 387.

(See " Fowl.")

S.
Santos, Mr. E. D., 344.

Sebright Bantam, 378.

Sebright, Sir J. S., on the hardi-
ness of animals, 42.

Sheep, the Merino, migratory,
104 — the New Leicester, 119.

Silky and Negro Fowls, 391 . (See
" Fowl.")

Silver Hambm'gh Fowls (" Agri-
cultural Gazette"), 345.

Silver Pencilled Hamburghs,351.

Silver Polands, 369.

St. Genis, M., 101.

St. James's Park, the enclosure
and aquatic birds, 114.

St "John, j\Ir., Wigeon breeding
in Sutherland, 108 — on the
Brent Goose, 161.

Spanish Fowl, 271. (See " Fowl. ")

Sumatra, Cock lighting at, 326.

Swainson on Pea Fowl, 1 —

Guinea Fowl — on Poultry deal-
ers, 274.

Swan, the Mute, beauty of, 15 —
not perfectly domesticated, 16
— Professor Low on, ib. — Wa-
terton on, ib. — Linnaeus on, 16
— Black Swan, 18 — directions
for keeping, 19 — pinioning, 21
— feeding, 22 — danger fi'om
vermin, 24 — Moubray on, ib.
■ — diet of, ib. — its use in a pond,
25 — breeding, 27 — danger in
approaching them at this time,
ib. — Cygnets, ib. — care evinced
by the parents, 28 — as a dish
for table, 29 — mode of di'essing,
30 — instances of their doing
well in a small space, 31 —
amusing illustration from the
« Ortus Sanitatis," 33.

T.

Tahitians, Cock-fighting among,

325.
Teal, the, described, 109 — not

domesticated, ib. — directions

D D 2

404

INDEX.

for keeping, 110 — their fla-
vour, 111 — food for, 112 —
fraud practised by native deal-
ers. z6. — Audubon on tlie Wood
Duck, 112 — their great beauty,
114.

Temmmck on Pea Fowl, 10, 289.

Toulouse Goose, 149.

Turkey, comparatively recent in-
troduction from America, 34
—Norfolk Turkey, 36 -Cam-
bridge Turkey, ib. — White
Turkeys, ib. — American Tur-
keys, 37 — Earl Powys, ib. —
Crested, 39— Madlle. Backer,
ib. — why the plumage of the
wild Turkey more splendid
than the domestic, ib. — hens
require change of air, 40 —
" stags," t6. — incubation, 41 —
hatching, ib. — Sir. J. S. Se-
bright on, 42 — treatment of
young recommended, 43 —
transmitted habits of, 44 — Sir
Humphry Davy, ib. — constant
attention required, 46 —
"Fasciolse," 47— Cobbett, ib.
— communication respecting
treatment of, from London-
derry, 48 — " shooting the
red," 49 — treatment, ib. — de-
structiveness of young Tur-
keys, ib. — fatting, 50 — man-
ners of the cock, 51 — intelU-
gence of the hen, 52.

V.

"Vestiges of Creation," 118.

W.

WaUis, Captain, 129.

Walpole's "Four Years in the

Pacific," 340.
Water Hens, not domesticated,

98.

Waterton on the Swan, 16 —
Canada Goose, 53.

Weight of Fowls, comparative,
290.

Whitaker, Mr. Alfred, on the
White China Goose, 120 — on
eggs, 184 — Dorking Fowls, 286
— " Pheasant breed," 311.

White Bantam, 383.

White China Goose, 93, 115.

White Ducks, 132.

White-fronted or Laughing Goose,
96 (see Goose).

White Game Fowl, 335.

White Hooked- bill Duck, 133.

Wigeon, Aldrovandi on, 103 — the
Wigeon migratory, 105 —
faculty of climbing, 106 — do-
mesticability of, 1 07 — Wigeon-
breeding in Sutherland, related
by Mr. C. St. John, 108— also
by Mr. Baily, ib.

Williams', Rev. John, " Mission-
ary Enterprises," 149.

WiUughby ou Pea Fowl, 3 —
Turkey, 51— Musk Duck, 67—
Guinea Fowl, 86 — White-
fronted Goose, 122 — eggs, 185
— Domestic Fowl, 187— phy-
sical uses of, 208 — Silky Fowl.

Wood Duck, instance of climb-
ing as given by Audubon, 106
— described by Audubon, 112
— high price of, 112 — affinity
to the Teal family, 112.

Yarrell, Mr., 31, 145.

Yellow or Nankin Bantam, 377.

Z.

Zoological Gardens, Pea Fowl in,
11 — doubts whether certain
birds perfectly domesticated
there, 98 — Pheasant and Com-
mon Fowl, cross between, 309.

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Mr. Eraser, Gardener to Lord Radnor

Mr. Markham, Gardener to the Hon. R. Clire, M.P.

Mr. Street, Gardener to the Hon. Mrs. H. N. Ferguson

Mr. Rourke, Gardener to the Hon. and Rev. Robert Plunfeett

Mr. Booth, Gardener to Sir C. Lemon, Bart., M.P.

Mr. Errington, Gardener to Sir P. Egerton, Bart., M.P,

Mr. Beaton, Gardener to Sir W. Middleton, Bart.

Mr. Green, Gardener to Sir E. Antrobus, Bart.

Mr. Lauder, Gardener to Sir W. E. Boughton, Bart.

Mr. Todd, Gardener to Sir E. Filmer, Bart.

Mr. Whiting, Gardener to H. T. Hope, Esq., M.P.

Mr. Falconer, Gardener to A. Palmer, Esq.

Mr. R. Fish, Gardener to Col. Sowerby, Putteridgebury

Mr. J. L. Snow, Swinton Park

Mr. Hamilton, Gardener to F. A. Phillips, Esq., Thomfiel

Mr. McEwing, Gardener to the Duke of Norfolk

Mr. Munro, Gardener to Lord Clarendon

Mr. James Drummond, Gardener, Blair Dnunmond

Mr. Jleehan, Gardener to Col. Harcourt, St. Clare, Isle of Wight

Mr. Duncan, Gardener to J. Martineau, Esq., Basing Pai'k

Mr Shei-wood, Gardener to J. R. Mills, Esq., Englelield

Mr. Watson, Gardener, ToUington Pai'k

Mr. Gordon, Hardy Department, Horticultural Gardens, Chiswlck

Mr. Thompson, Fruit Department, Horticultural Gardens, Chiswick

Tbe Gardeners' Cbronlcle and Agrrlcultural Gazette

is published every Saturday, price 6d., Stamped to go free by
post, and may be ordered of all Booksellers and Newsvenders.

Office for Advertisements and Communications, 5, Upper
Wellington Street, Covent Garden.

Price Ss. Sd. meat cloth,

THE TREE ROSE.

PRACTICAL INSTRUCTIONS FOR ITS FORMATION AND
CULTURE, ILLUSTRATED BY 24 WOODCUTS.

Reprinted from the "Gakdenees' Cheonicle," with additional matter by
the Author and others.

CONTENTS.

Annual pruning time, principle of

execution, &c.
Binding up
Budding knife
Budding, time of year, day, time of

day, state of the plant, care of

buds
Budding upon body
Bud, insertion of, into stock
Bud, preparation of, for use
Buds, dormant and pushing
Buds, failing

Buds, securing a supply of
Caterpillars, slugs, and snails, to

destroy
Causes of success
Dormant buds, theory of replanting

with, explained
Guards against wind
Labelling
Loosing ligatures
March pruning
Mixture for healing wounds
Plantingout, arrangement of trees, &c.
Pruning for transplantation
Pushing eye, spring treatment of

dwarf shoots from
Roses, different sorts on the same

stock
Roses, short list of desirable sorts far

budding with a pushing eye
Sap-bud, treatment of
Shape of trees
Shoots and buds, choice of

Shoots for budding upon, and their
arrangement

Shoots, keeping even, and removing
thorns

Shortening wild shoots

Stocks, planting out for budding
upon; the means of procuring;
colour, age, height; sorts for dif-
ferent species of Rose, taking up,
trimming roots, sending a distance,
shortening heads, &c ; saw proper
for the purpose

GRAFTING.

Aphides, to keep down
Free-growers, remarks on
Graft, binding up and finishing
Grafting, advantage of
Grafting, disadvantage of
Operation in different months
Preliminary observations
Roses, catalogue and brief description

of a few sorts
Scion, preparation and insertion of
Scion, choice and arrangement of
Stock, preparation of

APPENDIX.

A selection of varieties
Comparison between budding and
grafting

Published at the Gardeners' Cbronlcle and Agrrlcultaral

Gazette Office, 5, Upper Wellington-street, Co vent Garden,
London.

Price 3d. each, or 5s. for 25 copies for distributionf

THE COTTAGER'S CALENDAR OF

GARDEN OPERATIONS,
BY JOSEPH PAXTON,

GAEDENER TO HIS GRACE THE DUKE OF DEVONSHIRE, ETC., ETC.,

Above Fifty-Jive Thousand copies have teen sold up to the present time, April, 1850 .
INDEX OF CONTENTS TO PAXTON'S COTTAGER'S CALENDAK.

African Lilies

Cucumbers

Marigold

Rustic Vases

Agapanthus

Cultivation in

Marjoram

Sage

Anem6nes

Windows

Manures

Sklvias

Annuals

Currants

Marvel of Peru

Savoys

Apples

Dahlias

Mesembrydnthe-

Saxifrage

Apricot

Daisies

mums

Scarlet Runner

Auriculas

Dog's-tooth Vio-

Mignonette

Beans

Beans

lets

Mint

Sea Daisy or

Beet

Exhibitions, pre-

Mushroom

Thrift

Biennials

paring for

Mustard

Sea Kale

Black fly

Ferns, as protec-

Narcissus

Seeds

Books for Cotta-

tion

NemiipMlas

Select Flowers,

gers

Fruit

CEnothera bifrons

Vegetables, and

Borage

Fruit Cookery

Onions

Fruits

Borecole

Fuchsias

Paeonies

Snails and Slugs

Box edgings

Gentianella

Parsnip

Snowdrops

Broccoli

GiUias

Parsley

Soaps

Brussels sprouts

Gooseberries

Peaches

Spinach

Budding

Grafting

Pea-haulm

Spruce Fir

Bulbs

Grapes

Pears

Spur pruning

Cabbage

Green fly

Peas

Stews

Cactus

Heartsease

Pelargoniums

Stocks

Calceoldrias

Herbs

Perennials

Strawberries

Califomian An-

Herbaceous Pe-

Persian Iris

Summer Savory

nuals

rennials

Pettoias

Sweet Williams

Campdnulas

Heliotrope

Phlox

Thorn Hedges

Carnations

Hollyhocks

Pigs

Thyme

Carrots

Honeysuckle

Pinks

Tigridia Pav6ma

Cauliflowers

Horse-radish

Planting

Transplanting

Celery

Hyacinths

Plums

Tree lifting

Cherries

Hydrangeas

Polyanthus

Tulips

China Asters

Hyssop

Potatoes

Turnips

China Roses

Indian Cress

Privet

Vegetable

Chrysdnthemums

Iris

Propagating

Cookery

Chives

Kidney Beans

Pruning

Venus's Looking-

Clarkias

Lavender

Pyracdntha

glass

Clematis

Layering

Radishes

Verbenas

Collinsias

Leeks

Ranunculus

Vines

Coleworts

Leptosfphons

Raspberries

Virginian Stock

Cress

Lettuce

Rhubarb

Wallflowers

Creepers

Lobelias

Rockets

Willows

Crocus

London Pride

Roses

Zinnias

Crown Imperials

Lychnis, Double

Rue

ILLUSTRATED WITH SEVERAL WOODCUTS.

Published at 3cZ. each, or 5s. per 25 copies, for distribution
amongst Cottage Tenantry, and delivered anywhere in London, on
a Post-office Order, payable to James Matthews, being sent to the
Gardeners' Cbronicle and Agricultural Gazette Of&ee,

5, Upper Wellington-street, Covent Garden, London.

Price As. 6(?., neat cloth,

RURAL CHEMISTRY:

AN ELEMENTARY INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF THE SCIENCE
IN ITS RELATION TO AGRICULTURE.

By EDWARD SOLLY, F.R.S., F.L.S., F.G.S.,

HON. MEMB. BOY. AGR. .*OC. ENG., FROF. OP CHEMI8TB1 TO THE HORTICULTUEAL
SOCIETY OF LONDON, LECTURER ON CHEMISTRY IN TUE HON. E. I. COM-
PANY'S MILITARY SEMIHAET AT ADDISCOMBE, &C. &C.

Second Edition, revised and enlarged.

Preface to the Second Edition. — In preparing a Second
Edition of this little book, the opportunity has been taken of
correcting several errors which the First Edition contained. The
whole has been carefully revised, and such additions have through-
out been made, as the advanced state of knowledge rendered
necessary. In particular, the Tables of Analyses have been
greatly extended, by the addition of the latest and most complete
Analyses of almost all those plants which are cultivated as crops,
as well of the principal substances employed as manm-e.

INDEX TO SOLLY'S RURAL CHEMISTRY.

Acetates

Acids — acetic — benzoic

— carbonic — citric —
humic — lactic — malic

— muriatic — nitric —
oxalic — phosphoric —
pyroligneous — silicic
— sulphuric — sulphur-
ous— uric — organic —
tests for

Acti on of plants on the air
Affinity, chemical
After-damp in mines
A ir contains carbonic
acid — contains water

— inflammable — ne-
cessary to life — compo-
sition— compression

Alabaster

Albumen — coagulation
Ale

Alkali, test for — volatile
Alkalies — vegetable
Alloys
Almonds
Alum

Alumina — phosphate —
silicate of — in soil, use
Aluminum, oxide

Ammonia, absorbed by
charcoal, &c. — carbon-
ate of — fixing of —
muriate — phosphate —
sulphate — urate of

Ammoniacal liquor

Analysis

Animal heat — manures
— principles, proxi-
mate— substances

Animals, breathing

Aquafortis

Argol

Artichoke, Jerusalem

Arrow-root

Ashes — coal^ lixiviated
— of plants — sea-weed
wood — turf

Atom

Attraction

Azote

Barilla

Barley — barley-straw

Base

Batatas

Bay salt

Bean, field — kidney —
straw

Beech ashes — nuts

Beet — beet-root sugar

Bell metal

Bile

Binary compounds

Bittern

Bleaching

Blood, circulation of

Blubber

Bones — and sulphuric
acid

Bran

Brass

Bread

Bricks

Brimstone

Bromides — Bromine

Buckwheat

Butter

Cabbages — red — pick-
ling

Calamine

Calcium

C alcium — chloride

Calomel

Candle, burning of

Cane, sugar

Carbon in plants

Carbonate — ammonia —

iron — lead — lime —

[Over.

INDEX TO SOLLY'S RURAL CHEMISTRY.

magnesia — potash —
soda — decomposed by-
acids
Carbonic acid gas— ne-
cessary to plants —
oxide
Carburetted hydrogen
Carcases
Carrot
Caseine
Castor oil
Cellars, foul air in
Chalk

Changes, chemical
Charcoal— absorbs am-
monia
Charring
Cheese— toasted
Cheriy-tree gum
Chlorides — calcium-
gold— magnesium—

potassiimi — silver

sodium — zinc
Chlorine
Churning
Chyle
Chyme

Cider, carbonic acid in
Cinnabar

Clay— burnt— iron ore
Climate
Clover

Coal-ashes— gas— tar-
naphtha
Cocoa-nut oil
Cohesion
Coke

Colophony

Colour of soil— vegetable
Colours, changing of
Colouring matters
Colza
Combination, changes

produced by
Combustion, results of
Composition of animal
matter — of organic
matter— of plants— of
soils— of stones— of air
Compounds, binary— de-
finite — saline — tem-
ary and quaternary
Contagious matters
Copper, oxide— pyrites

— sulphate
Copperas
Com

Corrosive sublimate
Cream

Cream of tartar
Crops, rotation of
Cultivated lands

Decay, influence of lime
— like burning — of
humus — results — of
under water

Deliquescence

Dew-
Dextrine

Diamond

Diastase

Diseases of plants

Distillation

Ditch scrapings

Double salts

Dough

Draining— drainage wa-
ter

Dung— coTV- farm-yard
— horse— pig— sheep
—rabbit
Dutch rushes
Dyeing
Earth nut
Earths— alkaline
Effervescence
Egg, TThite of
Electricity, influence on

plants
Elements I

. Embryo
Equivalent
Excrements
Expansion
Fallofrinsr
Pat

Feathers

Fermentation, putrid
Fertility
Fibre, woody
Fibrin, vegetable
Fir-aslies

Fire— fire-damp explo-
sion
Fish, refuse
Flame
Flax
Flint
Flour

Flowers— effect on air
Fluorides— fluorine
Food of animals — of

plants
Formation of seed — of

soils
Freezing— effects of
Fi-uit, unripe— ripening
Fumigation
Fungi

Fur from water
Gas— gas coal— inflam-
naable — manufacture
of— liquor, strength of
—works

Gelatine
Germination
Germination accelerated
Glass
Gliadine

Glue— glue refuse
Gluten

Gold, chloride
Gold of pleasure
Gooseberries
Grapes— seed— sugar
Grass
Greaves
Green vitriol
Growth of plants
Gum arable — cherry-
tree resin
Guano — adulteration of
Gunpowder
Gyjjsum
Hair

Hartshorn
Hay

Heat, animal— influence
on plants — latent —
sensible
Hemp-seed
Hoofs
Hordein
Horns
Humates

Humus, decayof— excess
Hydrogen, carburetted
— its lightness — sul-
phuretted
Ice

Indian com
Indian mbber
Indigo

Inflammable air
Inorganic matter in

plants — manures
Inulin
Iodides

Iodine— in sea water
Iron — combustible —in
plants — oxides of —
peroxide— protoxide-
pyrites — i-ust- slags
—smelting — sulphate
of— sulphuret
Inigation
Isinglass
Ivory
Kelp
Lead-carbonate-oxides

—sulphuret— white
Leaves— office of— use of
Legumine
Lemons, oil of
Lentils — straw
Lettuce

[Over.

INDEX TO SOLLY'S RCRAL CHEMISTRY.

Light, effects of— influ-
ence on plants

Lighting a lire

Ligniu

Lime — action on soil —
lime and salt — biphos-
phate — burning — car-
bonate — caustic — hy-
drate— in plants — mu-
riate — nitra te — oxa-
late— phosphate — sili-
cate of — sulphate — su-
perphosphate — when
useful — when not

Limestone, magnesian

Limes, juice of

Linseed

Litharge

Liver

Lucerne

Lungs of animals

Magnesia, carbonate —
in plants- — muriate —
phosphate — silicate of
— sulphate

Magnesian limestone

Magnesium — chloride —
oxide

Maize — straw-
Malt — malting

Manganese in Plants —
oxide of

Mangold wurzel

Manures— animal— farm-
yard — green — inor-
ganic— loss of — liquid
— organic — presei-va-
tion of saline — strong
— vegetable— tanks for

Maple sugar

Marble

Marl

Matches

Mechanical division

Mercmy, chlorides —
oxides of

Metallic alloys — oxides
— salts

Metals

Milk — skimmed

Minium

Mixture

Mordants

Mortar

Mosaic gold

Mould — mouldering —
mouldiness

Mucilage

Muriate of ammonia —
of lime — of magnesia
— of potash — of soda —

Muriatic acid

Muscle

Jlustiird, black — white
Naphtha, coal tar
Nascent

Natural vegetation
Night soil — disinfected
Nitrate of lime — of pot-
ash— of soda — of silver
Nitre beds — cubic
Nitric acid, action of
Nitric acid in manure
Nitrogen
Oak ashes
Oats — oat straw
Oil cake — castor — cloves

— cocoa-nut — di-ying
— fixed — of lavender —
of lemons — linseed —
mustard — olive — pop-
py— rape — of turpen-
tine— volatile — of vit-
riol— dregs — seeds

Oily matters

Ores, roasted

Organic acids — manures
— matter — substances
— substances in soils

Oxalis

Oxide, carbonic — of cop-
per— of iron — of lead

— of manganese — of
mercury — of silver —
of tin — metallic

Oxygen

Paper bleached

Paring

Parsnip

Paste

Pearl-ash

Peas — pea-straw

Peroxides

Per-salts

Petre — salt

Pewter

Phosphates — earthy — of
alumina — of ammonia
—of lime— of magnesia

Phosphoric acid in plants
— in water

Phosphorus

Pine-apples

Plants, composition —
death — decompose car-
bonic acid — effect on
air — food — growth —
nutrition — elements —
burning — use of

Plaster stone

Ploughing, subsoil

Pond mud

Poppy seed — oil

Potash, bitartrate — car-

bonate — caustic — In
plants — in the soil —
muriate of— nitrate —
salts of— silicate — sul-
phate

Potassium — chloride

Potato-haulm — starch —
sweet

Pottery

Protein ,

Proto-salts

Protoxides

Pnming

Putrefaction, influence of
lime

Putty powder

Pyrites — copper

Pyroligneous acid

Pyrolignites

Quartz

Quaternary compounds

Quicklime

Quicksilver

Rape-seed— oil of

Red cabbage

Red lead

Rennet

Resins

Respiration

Rhubarb

Rice

River mud — water

Road drift

Rocket

Rocks, disintegration of

Roman vitriol

Roots

Rotation of crops

Ruby

Rushes, Dutch

Rust of iron

Rye — rye straw

Saccharine matter

Sago

Saintfoin

Sal-ammoniac

Saline compounds

Saline manures

Salt — and lime — briny —
common — in sea- water

Saltpetre — spirit of —
rock — sea — solution in
water

Salts, Epsom — Glau-
ber's— of hartshorn —
of iron — of magnesia —
of the metals — of pot-
ash— of soda

Sand

Sapphire

Sawdust

Sea fowl, excrements of
lOver.

INDEX TO SOLLYS EURAL CHEMISTRY.

Sea-Tvater — weed

Seed, formation of

Seeds, germination of

Shells — shell sand

Silex — silica, chloride —
in plants — in soil, use

Silicate of alumina — of
lime — of magnesia — of
potash — of soda

Silicic acid — silicon

Silver — oxide — nitrate-
salts of — sulphuret

Skin

Slaking of lime

Smells, foul

Smelting

Soap — boiling — decom-
position of — ash

Soda — carbonate — in
rocks — in plants — mu-
riate— nitrate— in soils
— silicate — sulphate

Sodium — chloride

Soil, colour — analysis —
composition — exhaus-
tion— formation— mix-
ture— nature

Solder

Soot

Sorrel

Spirit of salt — of wine

Starch

Steam

Still

Straw — of barley — of
buckwheat — of lentils

— of maize — of oats —
of rye — of vetch — -of
wheat

Subsalts

Subsoil — ploughing

Substratum

Suffocation

Sugar — ^of lead

Sugar-refiners' waste

Sulphates of alumina —
ammonia — copper —
iron — lime — magnesia
— of potash — of potash
and alumina — of soda

Sulphm- — in plants

Sulphuret of iron — of
lead — of silvei- — of tin

Sulphuretted hydrogen

Sulphuric acid

Sulphui'ous acid

Sunflower — seed

Super-salts

Super-phosphate of lime

Super-tartrate of potash

Swedes

Tapioca

Tarnish on silver

Tartaric acid

Tartrates

Teeth

Ternary compounds

Tests, vegetable

Thermometer

Tiles

Tin, oxide — plate — sul-
phui'et

Tobacco

Treacle

Tropical countries

Tubers

Turnips

Turpentine — oil of

Urate of ammonia

Urea

Uric acid

Urine, cows' — horses' —
human — putrid — pigs
— sheep

Vapour, condensed

Vapour in the air

Vegetable alkalies— tests

Vermilion

Vetch — straw

Vinegar

Vitriol, bliTe — green —
oil of — white

Volatile alkali — oil —
substances

Walnuts

"Water, air in — action on
lead — its composition
— its fi'eezing — impur-
ities in — phosphoric
acid in — pure — rain —
sea — soft — spring —
hard

Weeds — weed ashes

Wheat grain — straw —
starch

White lead

Wine

Wool — soap

Yeast

Zinc — chloride — oxide

Published at the Office of the Gardeners' Chronicle and
Agricultural Gazette, 5, Upper Wellington-street, Covent
Garden, London.

tONDON :
BEADBtJEY ASB EVANS, PEINTEES, VFHITEFEIAE8.