•1

IN MEMORIAM
BERNARD MOSES

fltii Dnttetic

A TBffATISE <

ON THE

HISTORY AND MANAGEMENT

or

(ta wnM uni Ito»tir

BY KEY. EDMUND SAUL DIXON, A.M.

HECTOR OF INTWOOD-'WITH-KESWICK, NORFOLK.

WITH LARGE ADDITIONS,

BY J. J. KERR, M.D.

ILLUSTRATED WITH SIXTY-FIVE ORIGBNAL PORTRAITS, ENGRAVED
EXPRESSLY FOR THIS WORK.

FOURTH EDITION, REVISED.

NEW -YORK:

C. M. SAXTON AND COMPANY,

AGRICULTURAL BOOK PUBLISHERS,
No. 140 FULTON STREET,

1857.

10 ^;(

several kinds .'if •£hangl?ae&;* - Giveldemnd, and other
varieties, not therein specifically 'noticed. In addition
to this, there were wanting some remarks on the history
and method of making Capons, a practice which Mr.
Dixon seems, without sufficient reasons, inclined to con-
demn. There have been omitted, also, certain portions,
not deemed necessary or interesting to the American
Fancier. «

In order that the reader may know how deeply Mr.
Dixon is interested in the prosecution of this and kin-
dred branches of Natural History, and how far his views
and statements may consequently be relied on, I take the
liberty of extracting the following from a letter I received
from him twelve months ago. He says, " I beg to thank
you very sincerely for your friendly offers of assistance,

and shall not hesitate to avail myself of them

As soon as the second edition of my book is finished,
which .will be much enlarged, [the second is the one used
in preparing this^] I propose setting about a second
volume on Domesticated and Captive Birds, to comprise
the Fancy Pigeons, Guans, Curassows, Gold and Silver

* The Editor is quite confident that the Fowl described in English
Treatises on Poultry, as the Cochin China, is, when pure, identical
with our thorough-bred Shanghaes. — He avails himself of this occa-
sion to say, that though, in the main, he accords with the views and
statements of his kind and valued correspondents, herein recorded;
yet he would not be understood as agreeing with them in every par-
ticular.

PREFACE. 11

Pheasants, etc., respecting which, any particulars of
their condition and cultivation in the New World may
be useful to me. I am daily expecting to receive from
a nobleman, a present of Passenger, Senegal, and other

Pigeons, to observe their habits in confinement

We have here Fowls nearly, if not quite answering to
all those you describe. At the great Birmingham Show,
last December, (1849,) at which I had the honour to act
as one of the judges, there were several such. I pre-
sume that you have good Cattle and Poultry Shows in
the United States."

Mr. Dixon is, from local circumstances, a man of more
leisure than the Established Clergy usually are ; and
his position, taste, and learning, afford him every means
of cultivating those branches of Natural History to
which his inclination has led him. We have, therefore,
in the present treatise, so far as Tie is concerned, all
that can be expected, on such a subject, from a man of
learning, taste, and experience. As for myself, I have
little to say, farther than that mine has been a conge-
nial and pleasing task ; the subject is one to which,
from early association and inclination, my attention
has been long directed. I have had my boyish experi-
ments, and the more mature trials of my manhood, on
many of the systems which I have since seen detailed
in the writings of the learned ; and it is to the result
of what I have found best in each of these, that I, in

12 PREFACE.

the following pages, would wish to direct the attention
of those who now have, or desire to have a Poultry-
house. I have consulted with many eminent and ex-
perienced individuals on the subject, and have freely
added to the work whatever I thought adapted to ren-
der it more valuable as a practical guide in the selec-
tion, breeding, and management of Domestic and Orna-
mental Poultry.

Of those to whom I am chiefly indebted, I would
gratefully mention Mr. Nolan, of Dublin ; Dr. Bennett,
of Plymouth ; Mr. Brown, of New York ; David Tag-
gar t, Esq., of Northumberland, Pa. ; Geo. P. Burnham,
Esq., Dr. E. Wight, H. L. Devereux, Esq., and Mr.
Morse, of Boston ; Mr. Blake, of Mass. ; and Mr. E.
R. Cope, of Philadelphia.

The portraits were drawn, chiefly from nature, and,
for the most part, under my own supervision, by Mr.
Croome, of Philadelphia, whose excellence as an artist,
is too well known to require a word of commendation.

J. J. KERR.

Philadelphia, February 18*, 1851.

The Editor avails himself of this opportunity to inform his
friends and correspondents, that on and after the first day of March
ensuing, he will make the city of New York his residence, where he
hopes often to hear from them, and especially from those who take
pleasure in the cultivation and observation of "Ornamental and
Domestic Poultry."

MR. DIXOFS PREFACE

TO THE FIRST EDITION.-

(CONDENSED.)

THE history of the present volume is very simple,
and, it may be, 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-
garden 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 obser-
vation 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 off. 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 exe-
cuted, were little satisfactory. "Anser, see Goose,"
" Goose, see Anser," is scarcely an exaggeration of what
often fell out. Several current Poultry-books were pur-

2 13

14 PREFACE TO

chased, which proved to be compilations of matter, valu-
able, indeed, in the hands of an editor practically ac-
quainted with his subject ; but these works are full of
errors, grossly evident even to learners, and of contra-
dictions 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 ques-
tions 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 sug-
gested 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
Grardener's Chronicle, readily accepted, favourably re-
ceived 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 de-
partment of Natural History, in addition to what has
been already published in the Agricultural G-azette. 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 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 no-
thing, are received with respectful attention by men of
education and ability, are embalmed in spirits, treasured

THE PIEST EDITION. 15

in museums, and portrayed by artists ; but a class of
creatures inferior to few on the face of the earth in
beauty — useful, companionable, of great value in an eco-
nomical point of view — are disregarded and disdained. It
is possible that any one claiming to be considered as an
educated 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, perhaps, the best modern treatise on the sub-
ject, only ventured to meet the public criticism under
the shelter of an assumed title.

But some very important speculations respecting or-
ganic life, and the history of the animated races now in-
habiting 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, affording a sufficient number of instances
for even the short life of man to give time to take some
cognisance of their progressive succession, — poultry af-
ford the best possible subjects for observing the trans-
mission or interruption 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
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 investiga-
tion 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

16 PREFACE TO

imagine, on strict inquiry, that the most careful breed-
ing 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 off-
spring like itself, and not reverting to either original
type, have been originated by the crossing of any two
wild species. Yery numerous instances of the failure of
such experimental attempts might be adduced. The dif-
ficulty under which science labours in pursuing this in-
quiry, 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 Spe-
cies, 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
to the conclusion that even sub-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,
however nearly resembling any other, has been pro

THE FIRST EDITION. 17

duced by a Creative Power. I am even disposed to
adopt this view towards many forms that are usually con-
sidered as mere varieties. 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.

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
by 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 difference of the ma-
ture 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 de-
cide 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 confu-
sion, would be obtained by examining the embryos of
birds, reptiles, and fishes, two or three days after the
hatching of the ovum had commenced.

2*

18 PREFACE TO THE FIRST EDITION.

But the reader has listened long enough to this prae-
ludium ; we will strike the final chords, which sound har-
moniously 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 ; with-
out 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 in-
debted 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
ungrateful omission not to mention specially the obliga-
tions under which the author feels himself bound to the
Editors of The Gardeners' Chronicle, and the Agricul-
tural Gazette.

CRINGLEFORD HALL, NORWICH,
October, 1848.

MR. DIXOFS PREFACE

TO THE SECOND EDITION.

(CONDENSED.)

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 cen-
sor 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
pronounce, 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 addi-
tional matter to the full extent that the space allowed
by the publisher would permit. The opportunity of at-
tending the great Birmingham Show of cattle, sheep,
swine, and poultry, at which the author had the honour

19

20 PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION.

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 assist-
ance, both previously and since, rendered by the gentle-
men connected with the management of that important
meeting, it may be said, without vain boasting, that a
fuller account is given of the Domestic Fowl, as at pre-
sent kept in England, than is to be found in any other
treatise on poultry.

CRINGLEFORD,

February, 1851.

CONTENTS.

CHAP I.
The Domestic Fowl Page 26

CHAP. II.
The Rearing and Management of Fowls 69

CHAP. III.
Eggs— Their Colour, Form, and Sex 100

CHAP. IV.
Eggs — Their Preservation for Culinary Purposes 106

CHAP. V.
Eggs — Their Preservation for Incubation 114

CHAP. VI.
Varieties of the Shanghae Fowl 126

CHAP. VII.

The Cochin China Fowl 143

Burnham's Importation of Cochin China Fowl 144

CHAP. VIII.
The Malay Fowl, sometimes (though erroneously) called Chitta-

gong. 160

21

22 CONTENTS.

CHAP. IX.
The Pheasant-Malay Fowl Page 168

CHAP. X.
The Guelderland Fowl 181

• CHAP. XI.

The Dorking Fowl 183

Coloured Dorkings 198

CHAP. XII.
The Spanish Fowl 203

CHAP. XIII.

The Game Fowl 214

The Mexican Hen-Cock Game Fowl 246

CHAP. XIV.

The Chittagong Fowl 270

The Java Fowl . 272

The Shakebag Fowl 270

The Jersey-Blue Fowl 273

CHAP. XV.
The Poland, or Polish Fowl 274

CHAP. XVI.

The Spangled Hamburgh Fowl 287

The BoltonGray, or Creole Fowl 288

CHAP. XVII.

The Rumpless Fowl, or Rumpkin 299

The Silky and Negro Fowls 302

The Frizzled, or Friesland Fowl 305

The Cuckoo Fowl 307

The Blue Dun Fowl 309

The Lark-crested Fowl .. 312

CONTENTS. 28

CHAP. XVIII.
The Smooth-legged Bantam Page, 315

CHAP. XIX.

The Dunghill Fowl 328

The Dominique Fowl 328

Col. Jaques' Chicken Coop 329

Mr. H. L. -Devereux's Method of Rearing Chicks without a

mother 330

Mr. E. R. Cope's Letter on Early Chickens 331

CHAP. XX.
Caponizing Fowls , 336

CHAP. XXI.
The Pea Fowl 344

CHAP. XXII.
The Ring-necked Pheasant 351

CHAP. XXIII.
The Turkey 359

CHAP. XXIV.
The Guinea Fowl 373

CHAP. XXV.
The Mute Swan, (Cygnus Olor.) 379

CHAP. XXVI.
The Wild, or Canada Goose 396

CHAP. XXVII.

The Domestic Goose 405

«

CHAP. XXVIII.
The Hong Kong, or China Goose 420

24 CONTENTS.

CHAP. XXIX.
The Bremen Goose Page 429

CHAP. XXX.

The White-fronted, or Laughing Goose 435

The White China Goose 440

CHAP. XXXI.

The Bernicle Goose 449

The Brent Goose 453

CHAP. XXXII.
The Tame Duck , 456

dbrnaramtal anfr Domestic

CHAPTER. I.

THE DOMESTIC FOWL.

PRELIMINARY to a description of the different breeds and
varieties of fowls, some general account of them, and their man-
agement, will be appropriate; and I know of nothing better
than the following, which I quote from Mr. Dixon. He says, in
answer to the question, What is the earliest dcate 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 probable arguments, that the
descendants of G-oiner 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

26 THE DOMESTIC FOWL.

Testament, except a doubtful allusion in the Vulgate transla-
tion of the book of Proverbs (xxx. 31), which is lost in the
authorized 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
passages are quoted by the- Rev. Mr. Pegg in his curious paper
on Cock-fighting, in the Archssologia, 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 un-
derstanding to the heart?" running thus in the Latin: " Quis
posuit in visceribus sapientiam, vel quis dedit gallo intelligen-
tiam?" which is commented on by St. Gregory, and the word
" gallus" spiritually interpreted as having reference to those
earnest preachers who 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. 18.
Unfortunately, even Hebrew scholars often find a difficulty in
fixing upon the animals intended by certain Hebrew words.
On referring to the Septuagint translation of the Old Testa-
ment 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

THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 27

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 Egyptians 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 Pi-
geons 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 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
o£ 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 commencement of the Christian era re-
corded 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
imported from different native stations, or assume that the dif-
ferences of those breeds were the artificial result of domestica-

28 THE DOMESTIC FOWL.

tion, — whichever case we take, Domestic Fowls must have
been held in familiar 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 an-
tiquity. 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 in-
habited 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."
Cdesar de Betto 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 throughout 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
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.
Reaumer, 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 opportunity of
adopting Sonnerat' s Jungle Fowl as the parent of Cocks and
Hens, and his vivid imagination made him very likely to have

THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 29

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 diffi-
cult to trace them to their source."

Those authors who, by a pleasant legerdemain, so easily
transform one of the wild Indian Galli into a Barndoor Fowl — •
who put the Jungle Cock, the Bankiva\iock, or the Gigantic
St. Jago (?)* bird under a bushel, 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 courtyard for a week or two, and make it straightway become

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

" There are in Sumatra the domestic Hen (ayam}, some with black
bones, and some of the sort we call Freezeland or Negro Fowls ; Hen
of the woods (ayam baroogo] ; ihejago 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 fa-
tigued, 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.

30 THE DOMESTIC FOWL.

as tame as a spaniel.* On such a notion comment is now su-
pererogatory. For a difficulty which speaks volumes, is, that
those birds which have been pointed out as the most probable
ancestors of the Domestic Fowl, do not appear to be more tame-
able 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 di-
minished and obliterated 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 ob-
serve 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 some approach to Ptar-
migan and Grouse; the Silky Fowl has a plumage akin to that
of the Apteryx and the Cassowary ; but in none do we see any
thing 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.

.* 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 there permitted to enjoy all the
sweets of liberty. The abundance and the choice of food have aug-
mented the bulk of the Tame Swan; 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 whe-
ther all these qualities are found to equal extent in the wild bird." M. Bail-
Ion, quoted by Buffon. Just so we may manufacture Donkeys from
Wild Asses, Pigs from Peccaries, Dunghill Cocks from Jungle Fowl,
nay, why not Men from Monkeys ? See the " Vestiges of Creation."

\

N.

THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 31

Still, our own Cocks and Hens must have had some proge-
nitors, 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, forever 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 dis-
tantly 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 Tur-
keys 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 circumstances as we now see
our Domestic Fowls?

. 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 Tur-
key, as we have in deciding upon that of the Cocks and Hens.
At a later point of time than that predestined for the disap-
pearance 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
underfoot, and sweeping every living thing before him in his
progress; but in some cases, at least, he is likely, for his own
sake, to rescue the most valuable part of the spoil from de-
struction, if it will only submit to be rescued, and not refuse
to accept a continued existence on such conditions. A family
of savages would soon consume and destroy a whole province
full of wild Cocks and Hens, were it ever so well stocked; but

32 THE DOMESTIC FOWL.

civilized Man can see his interest in their preservation,- and it
is lucky for Fowls that their destiny threw them in contact
with the Caucasian race instead of Australian aborigines. But
the increase of knowledge and humanity may even yet do some-
thing to extend a merciful and forbearing conduct towards ex-
isting 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 confinement in a menagerie. Now the utter
destruction of the Dodo appears, if we think of it, to have oc-
casioned 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 volu-
cm) 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, powerful 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 woulc[ alone insure the destruction of her progeny in an
unprotected state, in spite of all her 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 sin-

THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 33

gultus, or sobbing, as if she had suffered pain ; the notice thug
givren 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 hid-
den 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 es-
tablish their claim.

The antiquity which I thus assume for our existing race of
Cocks and Hens may perhaps startle some readers; but hear
Professor Owen on other analogous cases: "It is probable
that the Horse and the Ass are descendants of a species of pli-
ocene antiquity in Europe. There is no anatomical character

34 THE DOMESTIC FOWL.

by which the present Wild Boar can be distinguished specifi-
cally from that which was contemporary with the Mammoth.
All the species of European pliocene Bovidse 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 Scot-
land. 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 ex-
istence, 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 pe-
riod, which so abound in Mammalian 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 dis-
appointed if none are discovered even there. Dr. Buckland,
in his Reliquiae Diluvianse, mentions twenty-two localities of the
remains of antediluvian animals, and in only three of them are
relics of birds found.

THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 35

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 principii, this begging of the point at issue, has
unquestionably led to wrong conclusions, and left a host of
naturalists, particularly oeconomical 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
survivors of extinct races, survivors, because domesticable, of
extirpated, because defenceless creatures, and the difficulties
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 subju-
gated by man; for example, the yet untamed Aurochs of
Lithuania, which still survives only by virtue of strict pro-
tective laws enforced by the Emperor of Russia, and which
has had all the time, from the epoch of living Mammoths to
the present day, to become softened in disposition, but still
refuses to hear the voice of the charmer. In some few sad
instances, principally of birds, the work of extermination ap-
pears to have been completed before any fair experiment had
been tried, as with the Dodo and the Kivi Kivi. Other spe-
cies, on the contrary, as the Turkey, will probably long sur-
vive 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.

The Common Cock, the Gallus Gallinaceus and Aa.sx*»p of
the ancients would, at first sight, appear to have received one

36 THE DOMESTIC FOWL.

or two remarkable changes of form subsequent to its having
been saved from annihilation by becoming dependent 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, 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 Fowls
with top-knots; which he could hardly have avoided seeing in
the course of his unequalled opportunities 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 pecu-
liar, 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 ambiguous 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 Cock's comb." This
passage may not be considered conclusive; because, although
the Cockscomb 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 mentions
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

THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 37

delicacy ; and a dish of Cock's combs is one of the few things
in which modern taste coincides with theirs. The Latin crista
trust 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 head of
certain Ducks (fuligulce), and also properly adopted by Aldro-
vandi to express the top-knot of Polish Fowls. Theocritus
calls the Cock 3?om;eoxo<j>ov. We know something about the
red combs, but nothing of the red crests of Fowls.

There is a passage in jElian, which at first sight would
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 fowls,
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 cserulean, like the stone smaragdus." — Lib. xvi., c. 2.
The smaragdus 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 xo<j>oj, though variegated,
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

38 THEDOMESTICFOWL.

appearance in our days. Are they new species, the result of
clever combination and nurture, or of mere chance ? Not con-
ceiving that they are any thing 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 homestead
of the small farmer or the cottager. The lately 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 admira-
tion 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 repro-
duce 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 reappear, and they are both worth the
trouble they may give, it will probably be by a fresh importa-
tion from their original Indian home.

* I seriously doubt the existence of any such fowl. — ED.

THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 39

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 pacifi-
cation of the enormous Oriental Archipelago by the suppression
of piracy, are scarcely appreciable at this early period. Ac-
cording 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 necessaries
of daily life. Throughout the whole twelve thousand islands,
at almost every step towards the interior, 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 ad-
mitted 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 ex-
cessum of Blumenbach) as in the Dorking variety, is more

40 THE DOMESTIC FOWL.

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 cir-
cumstances, connected with them, such as the development of
the egg, &c., attracted so much of his attention. From Aris-
totle 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 rudimental 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 grew 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 afore-
said peculiarity/7 Analogous instances may be seen in Muse-
ums, 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 insure the production of
a double tail. From the time of Columella tx) the present
day, a fifth toe has been the well-known and distinctive cha-
racteristic of a certain breed.

Next to the Dog, the Fowl has been the most constant

THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 41

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 settle-
ment obtained by Man. As we approach the Poles, difficulties
arise in the way of their further companionship. In Green-
land they are occasionally kept only as curiosities and rarities.
And Sir Wm. Hooker tells us that Poultry of all kinds is
quite unknown to the Icelanders, except that a few are now
and then conveyed to the country by the Danes, who are ob-
liged 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 vegetables,
assisted by a little imported corn, were there sufficient induce-
ment to make the inhabitants take pains about their main-
tenance. 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 greater puzzle than to divine the origin
of the human population. The earliest discoverers 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. Gr. Forster, who
accompanied the expedition as Naturalist) saw great numbers
of hogs, dogs, and fowls. The last roamed about at pleasure

4*

r : x i r : : : : . - :

THE DOMESTIC FOWL, 43

likewise in great plenty in the Society Isles and Friendly Isles,
at which last they are of a prodigious sise ; they are also not
uncommon at the Marquesas, Hebrides, and New Caledonia ;
but the low isles, and those of the temperate sone, are quite
destitute of them." — Jfr. /taster'* Jo*r*<*l of Ofpfctm CooKs
Second Voyage. The pigs hav« been affirmed to differ specifi-
cally 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 sise. Our great com-
mercial and political intercourse 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 im-
proving our stock ; but it would certainly be interesting, and
might prove useftil, could we obtain a few new sorte, such as
the Friendly Island breed, from the less frequented spots in
the South Seas» Our Colonists and Missionaries in the Sand-
wich Islands and Tahiti might surely send us a few Cocks and
Hens in return for the many substantial benefits they have
derived from the mother country, Mr. Williams's theory,
which he supports by full details and arguments, is that Poty>
Bttia was originally colonised and occupied by emigrants from
the Malay peninsula and Sumatra, He says, "to QOittiftced
am I of the practicability of paribnning a voyage from Sumatra
to Tahiti in one of the large native canoes, that, if an object
of sufficient magnitude could be accomplished by it, I should
feel no hesitation in undertaking the task*" — MimoiMvg jEW-
taproot, p. 610. He also oilers a probable hypothesis for the
existence - ; i not races of Men in ihe South Sea Islands,

both derived from the great Asiatic Islands. If his views arc
conv v* trot alight clue to the introduction of Fowls

into the isolated recesses of the Pacific Ocean, which oaty
makes u« • x -.« to get a sight of some genuine

* Poultry, for the sake of comparfo% them with tfct
East Indian breeds. If they be found to rattftU* tta* fttattty.

44 THE DOMESTIC FOWL.

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 domestication, 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 ade-
quately. 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 twice its weight in butcher's meat,
and an ounce of snuff into the bargain :

"Non, mihi si linguae centum sint, oraque centum,
Ferrea 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 Jelly 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 Hen's 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

* 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. 45

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 lie 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 decrepit 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 of 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 inward tunicle of the Stomach, dried in the sun,
and powdered, binds and strengthens the stomach, stops vomit-
ing and fluxes, and breaks the stone.

" 6. Is a virtue rivalling that of Balm of Syriacum.

" 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 obtunds acrimony,
cures chapt lips, pains in the ears, and pustles in the eyes.

"9. The Weasand of a Cock, burnt and not consumed, given
before supper, is an antidote to the influence of the herb
Dandelion.

" 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 part of the Dung is esteemed the best.

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

46 THE DOMESTIC FOWL.

" Outwardly it dries running heads, and other scabs (the
ashes sprinkled on)." — Wittughby, book ii., 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 sixteen 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 attention than the foregoing. Hens were
sacrificed by the ancient pagans to -ZEsculapius, the God of
Medicine, on account of the services they were supposed to
render to the health of mankind. Fever, dysentery, melan-
choly, 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 of poultry, 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 profitableness, 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 disposition. Add to these, beauty of ap-
pearance and hardiness 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

THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 47

worse things might be said of her, and perhaps of many other
jealous tyrants.

The courage of the Cock is emblematic, his gallantry admi-
rable, 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 gesture, a deep chuckling
growl, gives the hint that turbulence is no longer to be per-
mitted ] 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 Guinea Fowl to court his single mate unin-
terrupted ; 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 attentions
to old ladies, and much more unaffected. Nor does he merely
act the agreeable dangler j when occasion requires, he is also
their brave defender, if he is good for any thing. "They
should sometimes offer resistance, and protect their flock of
wives, and even kill a serpent or other noxious animal that
threatens danger." — Col. 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 busi-
ness 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 catehing 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

48 THE DOMESTIC FOWL.

at arn of the childurn, he'd soon 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 hat I if placed before him." — H. H.

The Game Cock is in his native country really a more for-
midable 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 mad-
ness was ever known on the island, may be attributed to cli-
mate, and the state of 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 pro-
ducing hydrophobia 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." — Barrow's Voyage to Cochin
China.

" Omnes in primis Galli Gallinacei vitas actiones veri patris-
familias, et qui in eo omnem suam curam ponit, et studium,
ut families suae de omnibus necessariis prospiciat, significare
potest. Haec enim ales totS, die quicquid virium habet, id
totum ad suorum confert salutem, et nullius ret minus, quam
sui ipsius solicita est. Unde sapientissimus Pythagoras tarn
providam animalis, et erga suos promptam naturam considerans,
dixit, nutriendum quidem Gallum 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

THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 49

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 dependants, 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 kid-
nap 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. An-
other years he 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 repairing to her,
when she was sitting on some eggs in the crib of an outhouse,
and nestling 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
fond 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,

50 THE DOMESTIC FOWL.

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. IL, July 13, 1848.

"But all Hens are not alike: they have their little whims
and fancies, likes and dislikes, as capricious and unaccountable
as those of other females. Some are gentle, others sanguinary ;
some are lazy, others energetic almost to insanity. Some can
scarcely be kept out of the house ; others say, l Thank you, but
Td 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 ones, (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.

A fact respecting Fowls, that has not been sufficiently re-
garded, 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, re-
stricted only by the algebraic law of Permutation and Combi-
nation ; 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

THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 51

nearly allied varieties. In a few generations the character
reverts to that of one or other of the parents ; the peculiarities
of an old type reappear, and the new cross, on which the fancier
was beginning to glorify himself, vanishes. The more hetero-
geneous 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 grandmother, not of their actual parents.

"I have lately succeeded in producing a most magnificent
Irpbrid 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 Polish. 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 be the best and handsomest breed of all. A trial was
made vice versd, which brought them perfectly black, with
immense 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 set, but perhaps not remarkably sweet-
tempered to other chicks. I cannot explain this, unless we
take it on the rule that two negatives make an affirmative."
So far so good. A subsequent 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." —

n.H.

Will it? Or is this "crying back" only the beginning

52 THE DOMESTIC FOWL.

of the end? Peistlietserus may still have to utter his com-
plaint : —

" 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 experimentalizing amateurs
could produce similar instances. But the results of more dis-
cordant 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 Red 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 Ban-
tam, 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 Zoolo-
gical Society, differs much in voice, carriage, 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 doea
not look as if the amalgamation of the Jungle and the Domes-
tic Fowl were a very natural proceeding. "Le Roi, Lieute-
nant 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 be-
ing paired with European hen Pheasants, one succeeded the

THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 53

second year, and a hen Pheasant was hatched which could
never be made to breed. The two Cocks produced no more." — •
Buffos, 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 im-
proving 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 mathematicians 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 cen-
tre 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 imagined forth by those delicate
chemical unions of matter, such as gunpowder 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 delicately manipulated commingling of water, flour, and
oil. Unless the cook be skilful, the flour settles in one di-
rection, the water runs a second way, and the oil floats a
third; proving that melted butter, like gallinaceous monstrosi-
ties, is an unnatural affair. The Zoological Society also pos-
sesses 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 gray ; 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

5*

54 THE DOMESTIC FOWL.

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 pro-
gressive development and change is certainly unsupported by
evidence, though they and other domesticated animals are sup-
posed to be instances in which it is peculiarly likely to be ex-
emplified. Before the Christian era, the varieties of fowl were
not less numerous, but in many instances were probably iden-
tical with what we have at the present day. Columella par-
ticularly 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 warns his contemporaries
that Bantams, " pumiliones aves," will prove troublesome, by
preventing the eggs of larger birds from being properly ferti-
lized. 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 Rho-
dian, the Chalcidic, and the Medic, as tall birds of high cou-
rage, but prefers their own common sort, " nostrum vernacu-
lum," 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 Ibe substi-
tuted.

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

THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 55

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 exaggerated length to which some theorists have carried
it, to refute itself by the outrageous shock it gives to experi-
ence and common sense. Buffon thus accounts for the exist-
ence of various species of Pheasants :-^-a 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 resi-
dence in the southern or temperate provinces of China, has be-
come 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 provinces food
more plentiful and better suited to its nature ; but that it be-
trays the marks of a new climate in its air, port, and external
form — in all which it resembles the Painted Pheasant, but re-
tains of the original Pheasant the red orbits, which have been
even expanded from the same causes undoubtedly that pro-
moted 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 Linnaeus has conjectured in re-
spect to the vegetable world (where ?), it is not impossible but
the great variety of species of animals, which now tenant the

56 THE DOMESTIC FOWL.

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/'* — Zoono-
mia, 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 fonns of all spe-
cies. 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 the nose for the
purpose of pulling down 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 ac-
quired 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 penetrate the

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

THE DOMESTIC FOWL. 57

moister 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 pro-
duced during many generations, by the perpetual endeavour of
the, creatures to supply the want of food ', and to have been deli-
vered to their posterity with constant improvement of them, for
the purposes required.

"Would it then be too bold to imagine, that all warm-
blooded animals have arisen from one living filament, which
the great First Cause endued with animality, with the power
of acquiring new parts, attended with new propensities, di-
rected by irritations, sensations, volitions, and associations ; and
thus possessing the faculty of continuing 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 abi-
lities 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 pre-
mises that are not founded on proved facts, but on plausibility
and fashionable hypothesis merely. But we will now main-
tain 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, ex-
panded 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 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-

58 THE DOMESTIC FOWL.

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 un-
dergone, and every renovation of its inhabitants, have been
from the beginning foreordained by that all-wise and all-power-
ful Being, in whose presence (and we are ever in His pre-
sence) 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."

CHAPTER H.

THE REARING AND MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS.

I CANNOT but think that Mr. Dixon underrates the profitable-
ness of good Fowls in the keeping of intelligent breeders ; they
may be unproductive in ignorant and careless hands, but not so
when properly attended to. I understand that a very respect-
able gentleman of Rhode Island, quite experienced in the
breeding and management of all kinds of Fowls, is wont to
say, that four acres of land, devoted to the rearing of the best
varieties of poultry, will, at common prices, be quite as pro-
ductive as a farm of 150 acres cultivated in the ordinary way.
The eggs of the common and cheaper kinds which might be
used for incubators and nurses, would pay, or could be made
to pay, if preserved as herein directed, and sold at the proper
time, all expenses of feed, etc.; and it is well known that good
Capons of the larger breeds will bring in any of our larger
markets from 3 to 5 dollars per pair, and early spring chick-
ens from 20 to 25 cts per pound. To make poultry profitable,
then, it is only necessary that the better kinds be bred from,
that suitable places be provided for them, that they be proper-
ly fed, and carefully and intelligently managed — things which
have rarely conspired in any one instance heretofore to enable,
us to judge what might be made out of poultry under the most
favourable circumstances. I have deemed this preliminary
remark necessary before introducing the reader to what Mr.
Dixon has further to say on the rearing and management of

£0 THE REARING AND

Fowls. He says : — 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 kill, 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 depend-
ent 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 in-
dustrious, and so have a trifle to spare, or be the childless
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 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 re-
laxation. It is not by those who usually rear chickens , that
large profits are made, although the gross sum returned at the

* A laying hen can be kept on good corn at an expense of only
2 cts. per week. Where chickens have a run, they can be raised for
half what they may be sold for. — ED.

MANAGEMENT OP FOWLS. 61

end of the year may appear to be large.* The greatest gain-
ers 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 mar-
ket. 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 mil-
lion for dinner.

Those who set about keeping Fowls, as amateurs for the
first time, to whom alone we address ourselves, are recommended
to begin with a limited number, such as a Cock and four or
five Hens, of some distinct and choice breed j or, if it be de-
sired 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 amusement 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 de-
pends upon circumstances, that minute directions are almost
impertinent. The three grand requisites are cleanliness, dry-
ness, and warmth. Those who wish for any thing 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 comfortable cottage orne'e. But most

* The gross proceeds of eggs and poultry sold in the U. States
amount to twenty millions of dollars. In 1840, it was 12,176,170
dollars. — ED.

6

62 THE REARING AND

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 ani-
mals, 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 con-
struction 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 ex-
posed to the influence of cold. In the autumn of 1847 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 cannot 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.

Rough poles, two or three inches in diameter, with the bark
left on, make the best roosting perches; to which a hen- ladder

MANAGEMENT OP FOWLS. 63

should afford a convenient means of ascent, to save the birds
the strain of flying up, and perhaps frequent falls in conse-
quence of failure. A Tien-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 con-
venience, 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 separately 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

* Vide Mr. David Taggart's letter at the end of this chapter. — ED.

64 THE BEARING AND

apartments can be gravelled or littered, according to the re-
quirements of 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 fourpence a score, it would not do to lose them :
other provisions 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

MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS. 65

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; and that there is no
need 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 apace. 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 importance, 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 paragon. 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

* "Pestis, a rogue, a villain." — Ainsworth's Dictionary.

f The very first egg, however, which a Pullet lays is seldom quite
immaculate, but bears marks of the effort it has cost : those subse-
quently laid appear with greater purity.

6*

66 THE REARING AND

nutritious matter, collects it in her crop, a*nd converts it into
wholesome 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 her young ones crowding
around her, bristles her feathers to intimidate an imaginary
enemy, and, as if they were already there, she utters the
maternal " cluck" — " chioccia" — " glocientes" — " clock-hens ;"
"Sic enim apellant rustici aves eas quse volunt incubare."

In no other bird, that I am aware, is the desire of incuba-
tion 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. In-
deed, 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 re-
corded 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 supplied 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 immediately — let her
have the nest she has selected well cleaned and filled with
fiesh straw. The number of eggs to be given to her will
depend upon the season, and upon their and her own size.

MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS. 67

The wisest plan is not to be too greedy. The number of
chickens hatched is often in inverse proportion to the number
of eggs set; I have known only five to be obtained from six-
teen. 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 Goose's eggs. Iput if a Hen is really
determined to set, 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
growth 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 observa-
tions of the latter particularly 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

* I have, in -warm weather, had chicks at the end of the 18th day;
and a friend E. R. C. assures me that he had some to come out on
the 27th day.— ED.

68 THE BEARING AND

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
Knapp. l The shell of the egg appears to be designed for the
accomplishment of two purposes. One of the offices of this
calcareous coating, which consists of carbonate and phosphate
of lime, is to unite with the white of the Egg, and form, during
incubation, the feathers and bone of the future young onej
but as a large portion of this covering remains after the young
are produced, its other object is to guard from injury the partg
within I'"—//; H.

Shortly before the time of hatching arrives, the chickens
may be heard to chirp and tap against the wails of their shell.
Soon a slight fracture is perceived towards the upper end,
caused by force from 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 libera-
tion, 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

* I have known the fracture occasionally to be towards the email
end ; in each cases the chick may require assistance. — ED.

MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS. 69

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 tots is so necessary an instrument In a few
days after birth, when it is no longer wanted, it has disap>
peared ; not by falling off, I believe, which would be a waste
of valuable material, but by bein& 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 can ill be spared. It is better to wait a while*
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 ap-
pearance. 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 Ti» MUM 7 of such weakness
are various; sometimes insufficient warmth, from the Hen
having sat 0* too many eggs j sometimes the original feeble-
ness of the vital spark included in the egg, but most frequently
staleness of the eggs employed for incubation. The chances

* On finding an egg to be cracked, and no progress made during the
gpaoe of six hours, I hare ventured with the point of my knife la
render a little gentle assistance, but o* seeing any trace of Wood, I
instantly desist, and return the egg to the nest Such egg must,
however, be watched as assistance finally may be necessary.

70 THE REARING AND

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 in-
toxicated 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 manipula-
tion is as bad as the throat-tickling of the hard-fingered hang-
man. Animal heat will be their greatest restorative. At
night let them be quietly slipped under their mother; the
next morning they will be either as brisk as the rest, or as flat
as pancakes and dried biffins.

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 pro-
duce. At the time when I had an affectionate 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

MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS. 71

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 compressed, 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 fila-
ment of down. Chamaolion-like, the chick makes a good meal
on the atmosphere. A case in point may be seen when the
shell of a chrysalis is disrupted 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 chrysalides (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 hand-
some 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."

It 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 tremulous-
ness, the wings may be seen to extend as a curtain 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

72 THE BEARING AND

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 won-
derful must be the productive 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, laudanum, 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
every 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 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

* If wet food be given, the chick is obliged to take water, whether
it require it or not, in order to get a sufficient supply of solid food,
and diseased bowels will be likely to follow ; whereas, if the food be
dry, they can supply themselves with food and water according to
their pleasure. — ED.

MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS. 73

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 themselves
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 appa-
rently tender little weaklings crowded under their mother's
wings. It is just before arriving at this point of growth, that
artificially 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 performed 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 bou-
doir. 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 fulfilment of
their great promises. They hatch, but they cannot rear, and

74 THE REARING 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 Hospi-
tals with those calculated on the families of healthy English
cottagers, and the contrast will be a guide to the relative me-
rits of the natural and the 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 ? 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
any thing 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 afford-
ing 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

* My friend H. L. Devereux, Esq., of Dedham, Mass, writes me,
" My experience in raising Fowls is, that the young chicks are as
•well off without a Hen as with, provided you give them a dry, ivarm
place, they need much to be kept dry. I have this season raised
about a dozen fine pullets of the Forbes Stock, without a Hen, which
did better than those I let run with a hen. I gave them to eat,
cracked corn, wet with water or milk, curd, broken wheat, bread,
some potatoes, and, in fact, they will eat almost any thing you throw
to them." — ED.

MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS. 75

extent, it would be found that the expenses of superintendence
and nursing more than absorb all profit.

The artificial hatching described by Fortune ( Wanderings.,
p. 78j, 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 disregarded.

As to fattening fowls, Mr. Dixon says, the old Dutch mode
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 "VVecker records
that he learnt the following secret of fatting Hens from a
certain Hollander. 'In the kitchen/ he says, 'make to your-
self 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 of water; also, that, if
they are fed on brewer's grains, they lay more, as well as
larger Eggs.' " — Aldrovandi.

* 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."

76 THE REARING AND

A correspondent of the Agricultural Gazette, thus describes
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 fir&t three days to each was given about a
tea-spoonful of 'ghopr/ 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 generally 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 un-
happy 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 morning, when; after an hour

MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS. 77

or two's sunning, they were returned to the coops : no blind-
ness 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 sullenness, 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 flavouring 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 calaminth, 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

7*

78 THE REARING AND

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

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

" The other delicious Broths; which none but the Rich can
afford, are, the Bisk* of Pigeons; the Pottage of health;
Partridge Brotli 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 apart, 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 barded, i. e.} covered
before and behind, with a thin slice of Bacon, and wrapped
in Vine-leaves, in their Season.

"Fowls ^IQ 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 Ccetlogon.

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 pro-
cess 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

* Derived from biscuits, twice cooked.

MANAGEMENT OP FOWLS. 79

more likely to acquire a taint in close warm weather, than
8uck as are plucked and trussed dry. The Norfolk poulterers,
especially those in the neighbourhoods of Norwich and Great
Yarmouth, may, in 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 dry 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.

To those who desire to keep only a few Fowls for the sake
of fresh eggs, etc. etc., and who are quite limited as to space,
the following remarks of one of Mr. Dixon's correspondents,
will prove interesting. He says — " 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 hand-
ful 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

80 THE REARING AND

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 doubt-
less 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 correspondent. " I wish you
could see my poultry-yard, which is in fkct 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."— H. H.

It has been suggested that none of the writers on Poultry
have dwelt sufficiently upon the profit and convenience of those
who keep a few Fowls for the sake of their eggs, having ever-
lasting layers, with perhaps one or two sitting Hens to enable
them to keep up their stock. If the sitting Hens were such
as lay broicn eggs, and the others white ones, it would save
trouble. This arrangement could easily be carried out by se-
lecting 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 Hamburg, or the Andalusian
variety, imported by Mr. Barber.

Another plan, quite feasible, is to keep no Hens' whatever
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 pro-
vided with a stud of everlasting layers : — " Amongst all the
remedies I have seen recommended for diseases in Poultry, I

MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS. 81

have never seen Jalap mentioned, and I 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 entirely. In short, with me, it is a regular ( Morrison's
PilP 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 powdered 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 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. Galli-
naceous 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, &c., soaked in salt water : the
chances are that some of the Hens would be poisoned. Pi-
geons, I think, are the only domesticated birds to whose health
salt is beneficial, and they prefer it in combination with ani-
malised matters; the more offensive it is to our senses, the
more agreeable it appears to be to theirs,

82 THE REARING AND

" 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 themx 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 injurious to Fowls, unless they are in-
tended shortly for the table. All cooked vegetables, except
potatoes, I have found bad for them/' — L. J3.

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 stim-
ulating. The French plan, namely bread soaked in hot vin
ordinaire, beer, or cider, appears from experience to be better
suited to fattening 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 prin-
ciple of respect and affection for the deceased.

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

MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS. 83

necessary for thriftiness as food. Even in Italy, it was recom-
mended 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 unproductiveness 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 specimens 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 buy-
ing in a neighbouring village a fine brood of chickens, hatched
from eggs purloined from himself, and be thus considerately
saved all 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 forwarded
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 setting 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

84 THE REARING AND

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 appa-
rent. But whoever wishes to have most beautiful chickens,
"visu jucundissimos," must pair his Hen with a Cock Wood
Pigeon, or Partridge, or Pheasant. 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 physicking
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 specimen; 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 after-

MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS. 85

wards 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 recovered, are
still more rarely strong afterwards. It is the "pituita" of the
Roman writers, which they characterize 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 suffering, 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 appli-
cation. Rue pills, and decoction of rue, as a tonic, have been
administered with apparent benefit. Cleanliness, warmth,
dry ness, and good feeding, will, in a measure, keep off the
evil, but we cannot expect entirely to eradicate it from a race
of creatures so far removed from their 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 with-
out effect, when it occurred to me that the crop was more dis-
tended than ordinary, I therefore made an incision, and took

86 THE REARING AND

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, which 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 afternoon I saw the Hen in
question reeling about as if she were drunk ; presently she
put out her legs quite stiff and fell down with scarcely any
symptoms of life remaining. I took her up and felt her crop,
when I found she had been eating hard 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 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

MANAGEMENT OP FOWLS. 87

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 expoa&d to the meridian sun, and have obviated
it accordingly." — II. 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 sumcient to produce a similar disappointing result.
With 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
eoop has been left abroad in a garden or on a lawn, I have
known the family to be attacked by a rat or 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

88 THE REARING 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 Cyclo-
paedia," 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 pro-
duce. No notice, however, is taken of the worms which some-
times 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 inflammation caused
by cold and wet, I began to doubt the existence of the para-
sites, and stated as much to a gentleman, who replied, "I wish
to make you a little less sceptical about the fasciolae. I used
to think as you do, that it was merely inflammation, but a
little dissection of the trachea soon showed me the worms ad-
hering 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

MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS. 89

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 recommend the
attempt to destroy fasciolae 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 at1 the farther end,
down the windpipe. Give the wire a few turns, and the fas-
ciolae 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 fasciolse 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 annoyance and hin-
drance to their growth, than the fatal sweeping pest it is some-
times. I thought I would try turpentine, and find it, as I ex-
pected, perfectly useless. As, however, the fasciolae are some-
times too small to be brought up, turpentine might be of ad-
vantage to dip the end of the wire or feather before putting it
down the trachea.

" I do not think fasciolae 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. Fasciolae have raged with

90 THE REARING AND

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 speci-
men 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 the 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 un-
derstand, viz , how so many young birds can be reared together
without producing disease, and especially the fascioke or gapes.
In my own experience (and in some seasons we have killed
one hundred and seventy for the table in the coarse 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 Can-
telo 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
1 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 vermi-
fuge, 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 this year
(1847). My first two trips of Chicks had the ' gapes' very
badly. I gave them, a little spirit of turpentine in rice, and
afterwards put a little 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 sick-
ness. The reason of success from this treatment is very clear.

MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS. 91

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 water 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 wind-
pipe, 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 sto-
mach into the windpipe, it must be by travelling up the gullet,
entering the mouth, and then passing down the windpipe ;
that though salt does destroy intestinal worms, it must be ad-
ministered cautiously to Chickens, lest we poison the patient,
as well as the parasites ; and that the mere vapour of turpen-
tine will have little effect 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.

" Some time 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 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

92 THE REARING AND

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 ascertained
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 com-
plaint comes on, the poor little thing has not strength to con-
tend 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 Hens 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."— £. 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 poi-
sons are admitted at all, there is no guessing 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 gentleman lost a lot of valuable Ame-
rican 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 talce

MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS. 93

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 Bri-
tanniae," by Mr. Henry Denny, Curator to the Leeds Philoso-
phical 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 in-
sects whose very name was sufficient to create feelings of dis-
gust. ' Why not take up some more interesting or popular de-
partment 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 Poultry are : —

" Goniocotes hologaster (Louse of the Domestic Fowl).

<( Goniodes falcicbrnis (Louse of the Peacock). — This beauti-
ful (!) 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 hav-
ing 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 falcicornisj I was induced to
examine whatever other species of birds, &c., might come in
my way, to ascertain whether great diversity in size or ap-
pearance existed between the parasites of different species or

94 THE REARING AND

genera. This I soon found to be so considerable, that I re-
solved 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 Goniodes 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 sus-
pect this species is of rare occurrence.

" Lipeurusvariabilis (Louse of the Domestic Fowl). — Com-
mon on the Domestic Fowl, preferring the primary and se-
condary feathers of the wings, among the webs of which they
move with great celerity.

" Lipeurus polytrapezius (Louse of the Turkey). — A com-
mon parasite upon the Turkey. Their mode of progression is
rather singular, as well as rapid. They slide, as it were side-
ways, extremely quick from one side of the fibre of a feather to
the other, and move equally well in a forward or retrogade di-
rection, 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 stylifer will
be found on the breast and neck of the bird, the Lipeurus
polytrapezius 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 microscope of
fossil parasites, might determine the species of doubtful ex-
tinct birds and animals, by the same sort of reasoning as the

MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS. 95

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 power-
ful of this world, devoured by heart-eating cares and irre-
mediable disappointments. What a natural and almost true
superstition was that of the old Greek Nemesis ! The returned
ring of Poly crates 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 ? Nemesis is an exploded
phantom, self-denial a superstitious folty." 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 sunshine ? The check in careering prosperity, the

96 THE REARING AND

lice in the enameled panoply, remind us what we are in the
eight 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 following letter, received by the Editor, from an
esteemed correspondent, will, I am sure, be read with great
interest by the Poultry breeder and fancier. If its suggestions
be carried out to the letter, they will never have occasion to
complain of vermin. The sulphur of which he speaks has a
very decided tendency to the skin, and destroys the vermin on
poultry, as it is the parasite constituting the disease vulgarly
known as " the itch."

Northumberland, Oct. 15, 1850.

MY DEAR SIR, — I have several tolerably good reasons for
not replying to you sooner — absence, business, felon on the
finger, &c.

You wish me to give my views on "Henology," and par-
ticularly in relation to poultry-houses. On this latter subject
I do not feel prepared, either by practice or in theory, to give
satisfactory or reliable information.

In the country and in villages, where space is little worth,
and there is not much necessity for restriction, Fowls are gene-
rally allowed the " largest amount of liberty." And this,
with reasonable limitations, in connection with plentiful and

MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS. 97

various food, is indispensable to perfect health, rapid growth,
and a profitable yield of eggs. It is not possible to compensate
a laying Hen for the want of liberty. Coop her up — give her
grain, meat, vegetables, fruit, water, gravel, lime, every thing
that may be thought conducive to health and comfort, and
though her yield of eggs will greatly exceed that of alien confined
and kept in an ordinary way, it will by no means compare
with that of a Hen in a state of liberty, equally well kept,
one that breathes the wholesome, free, circulating air, and
picks grass, gravel, worms, and insects, to suit herself. The
want of range has almost as much effect on the comparative
barrenness of a Hen in winter, as the cold. Liberty and varied
abundance are the two greatest essentials for poultry, old and
young, to promote health, growth, beauty, and fertility.

Lice have very justly been considered the greatest draw-
back to the success and pleasure of the poultry-fancier, and
nothing short of unremitting vigilance will exterminate them,
and keep them exterminated. To attain this, whitewash
frequently all the parts adjacent to the roosting poles, take
down these, and run them slowly through a fire made of wood
shavings, dry weeds, or other light waste combustibles, until
every adhering louse and lousette is demolished. Flowers of
sulphur (which costs five or six cents a pound) given to Fowls
with Indian meal, is highly recommended; about one ounce
to a chicken, to be given in as short a time as they can be
induced to eat it. This to be repeated, at discretion. I have
tried these combined remedies, apparently with good result.
What share the sulphur had in it, I cannot positively say.
It certainly never injured the chickens, and very probably
improved their general health. In warm and moderate
weather, the best place for poultry to roost is in the open air,
where sunshine, and rain, and wind tend equally to the de-
struction of parasites.

Hens should be made to lay in portable boxes, that may be

98 THE REARING AND

carried out occasionally, and the hay or straw composing the
nest burnt in the box. In this way, thousands of vermin
may be destroyed. This is particularly beneficial, a day or
two before a Hen brings out her brood. Remove the eggs
with great care into a box freshly burnt out, and put it in the
place of the old one. Then immediately burn out the one
removed. As soon as the chickens are hatched, put them into
a well lined basket, and if the weather be cool, place them
near the fire. When all are out of the shell, give the Hen a
thorough greasing under the wings and thighs, on the breast,
and, most particularly, in the hollow between the rump and
vent. In this last spot, lice are sometimes found in a crawling
mass six or eight deep. Then the chicks may be safely re-
turned to the mother, and if compelled to roost in a fresh
clean place, they will keep clear of lice for weeks, and grow
twice as fast as lousy ones.

If perchance, through neglect or accident, they become
verminous, grease them on the parts named above, and on the
head and neck. This is the only effectual, certain mode. By
continued, systematic warfare, the a nasty critters" may be
kept down. If they are not kept down, the chickens will be.
I have known young Fowls so afflicted, three months old, no
larger than clean healthy Chicks of six weeks, running about
with their heads and necks as featherless and more naked
than the day they were hatched.

Before leaving this lousy subject, let me amuse you with
an incident of experimental philosophy. Last year, I thought
I had discovered the grand secret of effectual louse-murder.
I had six large Hens, sitting on about ninety choice eggs,
game, Creole, and booby. My early chickens had been much
injured by vermin, and I resolved to give these summer Chicks
a better chance. I greased every brooding Hen from head to
tail, and patiently waited the result. When the twenty days
of each expectant incubatrix had expired, I looked under her

MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS. 99

in vain for the sundered shells. No chick, nor chirp, nor
sign of life. In a couple of days I opened the eggs, and lo!
each little embryo Cock and Hen appeared "in statu quo" it
was when the grease was communicated from the Hen to the
egg, except that it was defunct ; — the very hour the pores of the
shells were closed by the grease, the chickens "went dead."

I mention this incident, inasmuch as Dr. Bennett, in his
Poultry Book, recommends eggs for hatching to be preserved
in grease. Try it, and I'll wager two Chittagong roosters
against a Bantam, you don't get a chicken.

You suggest six compartments as requisite to a perfect coop;
among the rest, one for laying, and one for sitting. This is
certainly desirable, if easily effected. But the trouble is, a
hen will generally sit where she has laid, and nowhere else.
In some cases they can be mov«d, but not often with success.

In connection with the subject of coops, I would mention,
what perhaps everybody knows who pretends to know any
thing about poultry : they should always be built fronting the
south or south-east, and furnished on that side with several
glazed windows, to give them, in winter, sun without cold.

Yours, very truly,

DAVID TAGGART.

There is no doubt in my mind, from considerable experience,
that almost any kind of grease or unctuous matter is certain
death to the vermin of our domestic poultry; and although, if
used properly, it will remove all vermin, yet, in the case of very
young chicks, it should only be used in a warm sunny day,
and they should be put into a coop with the mother, and the
coop darkened for an hour or two, and every thing made
quiet, that they may get a good rest and nap after the fatigue
occasioned by greasing them. They should be handled with
great care, and greased thoroughly; the Hen also. After
resting, they may be permitted to come out and bask in the
sun, and in a few days will look sprightly enough.

100

CHAPTER III.

ON EGGS : THEIR COLOUR, FORM, AND SEX.

" Do you see that the resemblance of one egg with another has passed into a pro-
verb? X"et, 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 in-
spected their Eggs, were in the habit of pronouncing which lien had laid that par-
ticular one." — CICERO, II. -Academicarum.

THE Deliaci, it is clear, knew something about (< Eyes and
no Eyes, or the Art of Seeing •" for Eggs are popularly sup-
posed to be so much alike, that what can be said about one
Egg is thought applicable to every other laid by the same spe-
cies 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 individual 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, granu-
lated ones : there is the buff, the snow-white, the spherical,
the oval, the pear-shaped, and the emphatically 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

ON EGGS: 101

such another;" and it would be possible that she should go on
so throughout the whole flock of gcfilfry? Of course} the
greater the number kept, the greater' Incomes* the difficulty in
learning the precise marks of each./, Erorti'^asliefc of 'thirty
Eggs, gathered in a farm-yard 'as 'they'da'nie 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 whatsoever; where the person robbed could amrm
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

9*

102 ON EGGS:

lays one round Egg, will continue to lay all her Eggs round ;
and ^he-Hen tbat lajs oae:oblong, will lay all oblong. Con-
sequently', one Eeri wo*iM^be the perpetual mother of Cocks,
aiio^h^r-mtiistwiemain tl^e .perpetual producer of Pullets; which
is absurd, as ctaily 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 proportion 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 substracting from, the
property of. her neighbour. But chance additions are not suffi-
cient to account for the mixture of Cocks and Hens in self-set
broods, supposing 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 re-
sult 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 compositor's fingers have been busy in re-
printing 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 unfavour-
able seasons ; the immediate cause being, doubtless, that the
Eggs producing the robuster sex possess a stronger vitality ;

THEIR COLOUR, FORM, AND SEX. 103

the raore 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.

" Neither/'' as Mr. Bissell shrewdly suggests, " are these
two tests, viz., the shape of the Egg and the position 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 distinguish the
sex of future chickens ; for if the round Egg produces a pullet,
and an Egg with 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 argument applies to the long or oval
Egg), or one test contradicts 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
careful 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 chick-
ens, 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

104 ON EGGS:

position of air-bag as it is possible for Eggs to be like each
other. So much for the over wise I"

In short, the Bubble Theory, as far as I have seen, is pro-
perly described by its name; and there are, I believe, no
known means of determining beforehand $he sex of fowls, ex-
cept, perhaps, that Cocks may be more likely 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 recorded
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 twenty-six Eggs, I put thirteen of the largest under a
brood Hen to be hatched ; one Egg got broken, the other
twelve had chickens in them : one, however, died in the shell,
and so the number was reduced to eleven. Of these one died
before I could ascertain its sex; of the ten remaining, eight
were cocks and two were pullets. The thirteen smaller Eggs,
I also put under a broody Hen, and she hatched me ten chick-
ens. Of these eight were pullets and two 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 peculiarity,
that although the Hen has yellow legs and the Cock black, yet
throughout four 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 discernible
from the figure of Eggs, or that Cocks or Hens proceed from

THEIR COLOUR, FORM, AND SEX. 105

long or round ones, as many contend, experiment will easily
frustrate."

Horace, Columella, and Pliny had the same notions re-
specting the shape of Eggs as are current now, but they ap-
plied 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.

106

CHAPTER IV.

EGGS I THEIR PRESERVATION FOR CULINARY PURPOSES.

I HAVE taken some pains to ascertain the best means of
preserving Eggs. I have visited country-produce dealers,
freely exchanged views with them on the subject, and the con-
clusion in every case was that lime-water ('tis not very mate-
rial whether salt be added or not) is the only means of pre-
serving Eggs that will remunerate for the trouble. I have seen
hogsheads of Eggs thus preserved in cellars from midsummer
to the following spring, and preserved very well too. The
water must be kept as highly charged with lime as it will bear.

Mr. Dixon, quoting Mr. Cobbett, says, "Preserved Eggs
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 EggSj and only not offensive to the smell. They
are saved from putrefaction by immersion in lime-water, 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

EGGS: THEIR PRESERVATION. 107

Cooks say they answer their 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 succeeded. But
varnished Eggs would be both too troublesome and too ex-
pensive to be the subject of more than mere experiment. The
best way of obtaining a practical result is to inquire what me-
thod is pursued by any set of people to whom preserved Eggs
are a matter of necessity, not luxury. Now there exists a
tribe of men, British subjects, whose daily food, whose staff of
life, is Fowls and Eggs — both preserved during great part of
the year. In maps of the Ancient World, the orbis veteribus
notus, w*e 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, besides 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 pro-
portion ; 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 Cal-
cule of the number of Eggs bestowed upon those of our Boat,

* 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."

108 EGGS: THEIR PRESERVATION

and the Stewarts JBirlin, or Galley — the whole amounted to
Sixteen thousand Eggs ; and, without all doubt, the Inhabit-
ants, who were triple our Number, consumed many more
Eggs and Fowls than we could. From this it is easy to ima-
gine, that a vast number of Fowls must resort here all Sum-
mer, 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. 66) he tells us, "The Eggs are
found to be of an Astringent and Windy Quality to Strangers,
but, it seems, are not so to the Inhabitants, who were used to
Eat them from the Nest (or cradle ?). Our Men, upon their
arrival Eating greedily of them, became Costive and Feverish,"
&c. * * * (Then follows the remedy, which seems to have
astonished 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 ; therefore, says Mar-
tin, "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 Appetizing (?)* 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-

* Does this mean heayy on the chest, from the Italian a,
the chest ?

EGGS: THEIR PRESERVATION. 107

Cooks say they answer their 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 succeeded. But
varnished Eggs would be both too troublesome and too ex-
pensive to be the subject of more than mere experiment. The
best way of obtaining a practical result is to inquire what me-
thod is pursued by any set of people to whom preserved Eggs
are a matter of necessity, not luxury. Now there exists a
tribe of men, British subjects, whose daily food, whose staff of
life, is Fowls and Eggs — both preserved during great part of
the year. In maps of the Ancient World, the orbis veteribus
notus, w"e 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, besides 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 pro-
portion ; 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 Cal-
cule of the number of Eggs bestowed upon those of our Boat,

* 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."

110 EGGS! THEIR PRESERVATION

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 super-
abundance, 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 con-
stantly 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 confine-
ment during the day, even in the best of poultry-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, whether in law,
physic, or poultry-keeping. During the hard winter of '46-'47,
our own Hens not laying, we obtained a plentiful supply fresh
laid from a neighbouring farm. The Hens were common dung-
hill mongrels, the accommodation 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 from 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 following manner. Keep

FOR CULINARY PURPOSES. Ill

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 win-
ter, or from the time insects disappear in the fall, till they ap-
pear 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 production 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 suc-
cession. If the above plan were generally followed, Eggs would
be just as 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 in-
cubating 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 some-
times 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 ;

112 EGGS! THEIR PRESERVATION

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 interregnum, mat-
ters get all wrong. There is nobody to stop their mutual bick-
erings, and inspire an emulation to please and be pleased. The
poor deserted creatures wander about dispirited, like soldiers
without a general. It belongs to their very nature to be con-
trolled 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 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 barley, 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 whether 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 disregarded, of the finest
wheat. But all people are not so nice about their Eggs, par-
ticularly 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

* " Much depends on taste in matters of this sort ; and we once
had 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.

FOR CULINARY PURPOSES. 113

darkened the sky, and we could not walk a step without tread-
ing 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 sbme 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 them " — Commodore £yronfs
Voyage round the World.

114

CHAPTER V.

EGGS I THEIR PRESERVATION FOR INCUBATION.

BEFORE quoting Mr. Dixon in continuation of this subject,
I will briefly mention the method of preservation I have used
for some time with great success. I put the Eggs on their
points in a box in a cool dry place; the temperature about
60° or 65°. I cover the bottom of the box with wheat branj
then put in a layer of Eggs, and cover them with bran also,
and so on while filling the box. The Eggs are kept dry, coolj
and, being covered, the evaporation of their contents is ef-
fectually prevented; at the end of six weeks, or even two
months, the Eggs are as full as when they were laid, and
almost as certain to hatch out.

"Eggs for hatching," says Mr. Dixon, 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 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

FOR INCUBATION. 115

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 themselves 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 although 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 Greese, 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 mean while, 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. 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 inter-

116 EGGS: THEIR PRESERVATION

slices, and moreover 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 two 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 rail-
way porters, who would handle a box of Eggs and a box of ten-
penny nails exactly in 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 communicated 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 inhabitant 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 him-
self, 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 him ! I released him afterwards,
but he did not do nearly so well then, and soon died."

FOR INCUBATION. 117

" 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. D. F.

Now we are on the subject of hatching, we may as well refer
to the perplexity to which Poultry-keepers are sometimes sub-
jected, 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, communicated 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 ?
Or, surely, some neighbour would gladly exchange a laying
Hen for one that wanted to sit. Others, borrowing an ancient
piece of barbarism,* recommend 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

* "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, in fact. Lib. x., c. 78.

118 EGGS: THEIR PRESERVATION

would be capable 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
implanted in her by a wiser Being than you : give her a sitting
of Duck's or Goose's Eggs, and, unless the winter be extra-
ordinarily 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 Com-
mon Goose, is very valuable for the purpose. 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 sus-
taining 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 would 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 baney, thus furnished us with a welcome lot of early
Geese.

FOR INCUBATION. 119

However it is sometimes inconvenient for townspeople to
have Hens wanting to sit unseasonably. Mr. Bissell says, "I
have been sadly troubled in this way, and have tried almost
every known method of getting them to forsake their nests,
when I have not wanted them to sit, but without the least
effect, until about two years ago I tried the simple plan of
placing 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 confinement, gradually leave off cluck-
ing, 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 unex-
pectedly 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, some-
times properly shaped, sometimes shperical, 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
lusus have also been produced by the thrush, the linnet, the
robin, and the plover. Country-people think t( Cock's eggs"
unlucky, and commonly destroy them when they find them;

120 EGGS: THEIR PRESERVATION

the effectual way to have better luck with Eggs would be to
destroy the "Cock" that lays such unmarketable articles.
Diseased ovaries are the undoubted cause, followed frequently
by the assumption of the manners, 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," &c., p. 55.

In the days of ignorance, people were now and then thrown
into consternation by the appearance of Eggs marked with
inscriptions or symbols, in relief, or intaglio. But the evi-
dence 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 attributed, 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,
analogous to that which, in the Mammalia, causes abortion.

Another strange, but unsupported belief, or dream, which
I must think originated in a joke, or cram, from which impu-
tation the weight of Aristotle's authority does not relieve it,*

* "Some domestic Hens, also, bring forth twice in the day; and
some, after having been very prolific, have died in consequence;" —
History of Animals, Book vi., c. 1, — as they do now. "I am very

FOR INCUBATION. 121

in the notion that there are Hens in existence 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 (2d Edition, p. 38) says, "they are prolific Hens; Mr.
Nolan's frequently 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 ninety -four Eggs in one hundred and threo 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 forcing
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, have been united in one shell, and
not produced separately. 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 reject**! for hatch-
ing, and I remember no really authenticated instance of the
kind, unless the reader be good-naturedly disposed to accept

averse to any means being used to force Hens to lay, (such as min-
gling cayenne-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 Hen two bags
of clear water containing a quarter of a pint, and dissection proved
their connection with the ovarian system." — John Bailey.

II

122 EGGS: THEIR PRESERVATION

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 sometimes, 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 interstice. There are, also, some Hens that bring
forth all their Eggs double, so that in these also, the above-
mentioned circumstance happens respecting the yolk. For a
certain Hen having brought forth eighteen double Eggs, dis-
closed a chicken from each, those Eggs excepted which were
unprolific. Two chickens also were disclo'sed 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 convincing
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 Whites Natural
History of Setbourne, Captain Brown's Edition, p. 291. Now •
Mowbray says, " the Duck generally lays by night, or early
in the morning, seldom after ten o'clock, with the exception
of chilling 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 Claying two Eggs a day," unless
the confinement had continued, and the same productiveness
been manifested for several days in succession. It is here

FOR INCUBATION. 123

that jproof of the Tidbit fails.* Now in regard to the other
mode of twinning, the same Editor quotes a correspondent in
London'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

* 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 Thursday evening at six o'clock there were no Eggs ; the 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 the above account,
but that I am perfectly convinced of its correctness. I kept the 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 re-
tention of the Egg from disease, or other cause, and is quite the
contrary to being an instance of unusual fecundity.

124 EGGS: THEIR PRESERVATION

Egg containing another entire one within it." Other in-
stances, however, are known. A gentleman in my neighbour-
hood possesses one, if not two Hen's Eggs, each of which
contains within itself another smaller Egg with a perfect and
complete shell; confirming the statement that twins, in the
case of Eggs, are enclosed in one common envelope, and not
produced one immediately after the other, as in mammalia.

Mr. Alfred Whitaker says, "I find no room for criticism
in your manuscript. Every fact asserted is borne out by my
own experience, with the exception that I never saw an in-
stance of one Egg containing another entire Egg within it.
Double Eggs I have frequently seen. Their size, and fre-
quently 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 hatching 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 remarka-
ble 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." — Pliny, 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, termi-
nating in a sort of membranous funnel, or a continuation of
the lining membrane of the shell, giving the appearance of a
divided, umbilical cord.* An instance which is not unique.
"On the day after my return from London, I was looking

* " The stalks of Eggs, whereby they grow to the ovarium, are not
solid after the manner of the footstalks of fruits, but hollow and
fistulous."— Willoughby.

FOR INCUBATION. 125

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 evi-
dently double, and that a small portion of the large end of the
shell was soft, and that, from the centre of the soft part, 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 t)val 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 surgeon,
who is quite a naturalist and a very scientific man, 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."—^. W.

As a tail-piece to this chapter, may be mentioned the popular
idea that Eggs are formed in clusters of three in the ovary of
the Hen ; I mentioned this, per letter, to David Taggart, Esq.,
of Northumberland, Pa., who is remarkably observant of every
thing connected with this subject, and he very kindly and
promptly replied to my inquiry as follows : — •

" It may be that Eggs are formed in the ovary in clusters
of three, but I am, very certain they are not laid so. A Hen
is just as apt to lay 2, or 4, 5, 7, 8, 10, or 11, in as many days,
as 3, 6 or 9. I will prove it, by giving in figures the laying
of one of my favourites, this season, up to the time of sitting
and afterwards. She commenced in January, and this will
account for the slow laying at first — 1, 2, 2, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8,
6, 7, 4, 4, 4, 5, 4, 4, 4, 4, 5, 11,— 102;— and then in this
fashion after giving up her chickens — 2, 3, 7, 5— (to be con
tinued). And let me add, she has never missed two successive
days. You will wonder at the minuteness of my observations,
but they are nevertheless mathematically correct and reliable/'

11*

126

CHAPTER VI.

VARIETIES OF THE SHANGHAE FOWL.

THE pure, thorough-bred Shanghae Fowl, in its varieties, is,
perhaps, the best, all things considered, of any which we know.
The portraits opposite represent a Stag, two Pullets, and a
Chick, which I bred last summer, and shipped to Henry Law-
rence, Esq., of Mobile. The Chick and Stag were unfortu-
nately lost on the voyage : their places I subsequently supplied
by others. The age of the Stag and Pullets, at the time they
were sketched, was about five months; the Stag had just com-
menced to crow, and weighed seven pounds and ten ounces ; the
Pullets had not begun to lay, and weighed each five pounds
and a half, good ; the age of the Chick was about six weeks.
The Stag and two Pullets are from a paU of Fowls, which I
designate the " HUNTRESS" variety, as they were brought
over in a ship of that name, direct from Shanghae, in the spring
of 1847. The father of the Stag and Pullets is now in the
possession of H. L. Devereux, Esq., of Boston. The father
of the Chick was imported last spring in the ship " TARTAR" —
he is a noble fellow, and is now in the possession of E. K. Cope,
Esq., of this vicinity. Of those imported in 1847, per ship
" Huntress," the Hen was of a bay or light yellowish colour,
and the Cock a yellow or reddish dominique. About one-half
of the Stags from this pair are in plumage like the father, the
other half are yellow, or red, black tails, and occasionally black

THE SHANGHAE FOWL. 127

on the breast. The Pullets all take after the mother, present-
ing a very uniform appearance.

The following is a sufficiently minute and accurate descrip-
tion of this variety. The Cock, when full-grown, stands about
twenty-eight inches high, that is, if he be a good specimen —
the female about twenty-two or twenty-three inches. I have
never seen a large comb or heavy wattles on the Hen, at any
age ; whereas, the comb of the male is high, deeply indented,
and his wattles double and large. I regard, however, as the
chief characteristics of this variety, not the comb and wattles,
nor even the reddish-yellow feathered leg, but the abundant,
soft, and downy covering of the thighs, hips and region of the
vent, together with the remarkably short tail and large mound
of feathers piled over the upper part of its root, giving rise to
a considerable elevation on that part of the rump. It should
be remarked, also, that the wings are quite short and small in
proportion to the size of the Fowl, and carried very high up
the body, thus exposing the whole of the thigh, and a consi-
derable portion of the side. These characteristics are not found
in the same degree in any other Fowl of which I have any
knowledge. This peculiar arrangement of feathers gives the
Shanghae Fowl in appearence, what it has in reality, a greater
depth of quarter, in proportion to the depth of brisket, than any
other Fowl. As to the legs, they are not very peculiar. The
colour is usually reddish-white or flesh-colour,, or reddish-yel-
low, mostly covered down the outside, even to the end of the
toes, with feathers. This last is not always the case. The
Stag, in the preceding illustration, has no feathers on his legs,
while the Pullets, his sisters, are rather heavily feathered. He
is, however, an exception to the rule, so far, at least, as his
particular family is concerned. But other families of Shang-
haes, equally pure, are but very lightly feathered. A gentle-
man of my acquaintance, Mr. A. Newbold, of Philadelphia, re-
ceived, in the spring of 1847, from Captain Lockwood, direct

128 VARIETIES OF THE

from the city of Shanghae, a Cock and Hen, as pure as any
Shanghaes I have seen; differing from other importations only
in being nearly smooth-legged, and not attaining to the weight
of other specimens. In the second or third generation there
was scarcely a feather-legged Shanghae on his premises.

The plumage of the thorough-bred Shanghae is remarkably
soft and silky, or rather downy, and is, in my opinion, equally
as good for domestic purposes as those of the Groose. They are
certainly quite as fine and soft, if not as abundant.

The fertile qualities of this breed may be inferred from what
has been attested concerning it. The gentleman from whom
I procured the stock previously herein portrayed, wrote to me
concerning the imported pair, that, although they had been for
several months from the ground, and, when they arrived, poor
and verminous, yet, on turning them out about the latter end
of May, from that time to the first of the ensuing October, the
Hen laid forty-eight Eggs and hatched out two broods. The
last brood included twelve Chicks, ten of which he raised
through the winter, thus proving themselves able to endure
our e^er-changing climate. I myself have found the pure
Shanghae to equal, if not to excel, any other Fowl in laying
qualities — perhaps, the Black Poland Fowl or the Creole may
lay a few more Eggs in a year, in consequence of not being so
frequently broody, but their Eggs are not so rich and nutri-
tious. Read the testimony of Mr. T. Ames, of Marshfield,
Mass. He says, " that one of his neighbours, Mr. Phillips,
has a Pullet of this breed, which laid one hundred and twenty
Eggs in one hundred and twenty-five days, then stopped six
days, then laid sixteen Eggs more, and stopped four days, and
is now laying ; and that he (Mr. Ames) has one that has done
equally well/' The Eggs are generally of a pale yellow or nan-
keen colour, not remarkably large compared with the size of the
Fowl, and generally blunt at the ends. I have known but one
thorough-bred Hen that laid a long Egg, and have never yet

SHANGHAE FOWL. 129

known one to lay what are called double Eggs. The comb is
generally single, though I have, in some* specimens, seen a
slight tendency to rose. I have never seen one with a top-
knot.

The flesh of this Fowl is tender and juicy, unexceptionable
in every respect — in fact, a dish fit for an Emperor. In view,
then, of the goodly size of the Shanghae, weighing, as the
males do at maturity, from ten to twelve pounds, and the fe-
male from seven and a half to eight and a half pounds, and
Stags and Pullets of six months respectively eight and six
pounds, — in view also of the economical uses to which its soft
downy feathers may be applied, also its productiveness, har-
diness, and, lastly, its quiet and docile temper, — in view of
these things, I am well pleased with pure Shanghaes. I know
not a better Fowl. In truth, I might say of it, as the pious
Isaac Walton was wont to say of the trout, his favorite fish —
" Grod might have made a better fish, but he did not •" so of
the pure unadulterated Shanghae.

130 VARIET.IE& OF THE

THE cut on the opposite page accurately represents im-
ported adult Shanghaes which their present owner, E. R. Cope,
Esq., procured from me last summer. They were imported
about the middle of last April, direct from the city of Shang-
hae, the head-quarters of this celebrated breed. The Cock I
suppose to be from eighteen to twenty months old — the pre-
cise age of the Hen is not known. One of the hens weighed,
while in my keeping last .summer, nearly eight and a half
pounds, and I would here remark that pure Shanghae Hens
rarely exceed that. By crossing them with a Malay Cock, or,
indeed, any large Cock, not a Shanghae, they might be thus
made to produce mongrels that would draw nine, ten, or even
more pounds; but beyond a first cross, fertility, and every
other valuable quality, would doubtless be sacrificed to the
increase of bulk.

I have just received a letter from my friend, H. L. Devereux,
Esq., of Boston, to whom I sent a pair of Shanghaes of my
1847 importation, and he writes, concerning them and their
progeny, as follows :

" FRIEND K. : — Yours of the 9th November, came duly to
hand, and just in the midst of our great Poultry Exhibition.
It would have pleased me amazingly for you to have seen with
your own eyes the vast amount of Poultry upon the ground.
Our tent was one hundred and fifty-four feet long, by 'one
hundred and fifty wide, filled completely with cages, reserving
room enough only for the people to walk. It was indeed a
magnificent exhibition, a report of which I will send you as

soon as issued I have not done much for the last three

weeks but prepare, attend to, and settle up the affairs of that

exhibition Next week I will endeavour to send you

aome matter for your forth-coming volume on Poultry

SHANGHAE FOWL. 131

I had almost forgotten to say, that the offspring of the Cock
and Hen I had of you, icere as good as any tiling in the whole
exhibition. I had, of those raised by a friend of mine, who
took the Fowls last spring, previous to my moving into the
country, two young Stags, and six Pullets, that were fully up
to any thing"

This importation, "which, to distinguish it from others, I will
call (from the name of the ship) the HUNTRESS IMPORTA-
TION, is quite equal to any I have yet seen. E. R. Cope, Esq.,
of this city, obtained from me some of my best Fowls of this
stock, and he himself will say what, on trial, he thinks of them,
as well as of some which we jointly imported from London.

DR. J. J. KERR,

My Dear Sir : — I take advantage of the first leisure mo-
ment to make good my promise " to let you know how I liked
my imported Chickens."

The coop contained, as you are aware, two Pullets and one
Stag of the ROYAL COCHIN CHINA breed, and one Pullet and
one Stag of thorough-bred MALAY Fowls.

The shipment was made at London, on the 15th July, but,
in consequence of a misdirection, did not reach me until the
latter end of August, so that the Fowls were in coop more than
four weeks.

The ROYAL COCHIN CHINAS "were in almost as fine order as
though they had been ranging over the lawns at ( '• Windsor,"
and one of the Pullets commenced laying within one week
after their arrival, and the other followed a few days later. I
was inclined to think, from this specimen, their laying pro-
pensities had not been over-rated, and I take pleasure in say-
ing they have fully maintained their reputation in this regard
up to the present time. The two Pullets produced three dozen
of Eggs, and, the wsather then becoming very hot and sultry,
they ceased laying. They commenced again in October, and

132 VARIETIES OF THE

continued laying until the cold weather set in early the present
month.

As regards the appearance of these Fowls, I am not inclined
to say a great deal, being fully convinced that your Artist, Mr.
Croome, will do justice to their fine proportions in the engraving
he is about to make.

To casual observers, their general appearance is not widely
different from the SHANGHAE Fowl, but, when closely exa-
mined, the body of the Pullet is longer than any I have seen of
its more northern relative (for related, and closely too, they
certainly are). There is less offal, the legs being shorter, and
one of my Pullets, the older of the two, has a deeper and bet-
ter developed breast, and greater breadth of back than any of
my Shanghae Fowls.

The Grower is a very handsome Fowl, with beautiful bright
plumage, the feathers soft and fine as down. He has a fine,
erect carriage, bright eye, great breadth of back, full chest and
deep in the quarter. His comb is single and serrated, thin
wattles, and legs feathered. The colour of the legs of these
Fowls is uniform — alight flesh-colour, while those of the Dub-
lin stock are varied. I have a Pullet of the latter stock, with
legs almost black, and I am informed others are green, yellow,
&c. &c. Although Mr. Nolan's (the Dublin) stock, may
" have taken a premium at a late fair at the side of the Queen's
Fowls," it could not have been for pure breeding, or else the
theory " that uniformity in the colour of the legs is the very
best evidence of pure and careful breeding/' is an exploded
idea ; and this latter I do not believe.

These Fowls are very quiet and peaceable, but the Stag does
not lack courage. They are always ready to take their food, but
are satisfied with a much smaller quantity than the Shanghaes.
I was a little fearful our cold winters might affect them un-
favourably, but we have already had some pretty cold days,
and they have shown no symptoms of feeling the change.

SHANGHAE FOWL. 133

My MALAY Fowls are evidently a primitive breed of Chick-
ens, unlike any thing I have seen, except the print of the
" Wild Indian Game," in Dr. Bennett's recent book on Poul-
try. My Pullet resembles the engraving referred to very
closely ; but as she was sent to me as a PURE MALAY FOWL, I
prefer calling her by that name. She is a dark-brown colour,
with a short, lofty tail, long neck, without comb or wattles, and
very compactly built. Her legs are long and bony, and all
her proportions indicate great strength. Although young,
(under a year,) she is mistress of the yard, the older Hens
having long since acknowledged her supremacy.

The Stag is a noble Fowl, small head, with very small comb,
and nearly no wattles, bright eye, long neck, broad back, and
stands high on two as strong and bony legs as can be produced.
His plumage is dark-brown, and brilliant red. He is a perfect
model of strength, very courageous, but always acts on the de-
fensive. He will not commence a battle unless the provocation
is great, but then his foe must beware. To conclude, both he
and his mate are two of the quietest Fowls in my collection,
and will, at any time, eat from my hand, and allow me to han-
dle them at pleasure.

My SHANGHAE Fowls have fully met my expectations in
all regards. They are very prolific in Eggs, grow large, and
are remarkably exempt from disease.

My Imported Cock, now under two years old, weighs
thirteen pounds. Notwithstanding his great weight, he is very
active, stands firm upon his legs, and has a very erect carriage.
His plumage is deep, brilliant yellow. He is very attentive
to his Hens, and exercises a most fatherly care over the Chicks
in his yard. This latter trait I consider invaluable in a rooster.

I was much amused, last fall, to observe the excellent care he
exercised over Chicks deserted by their mother. He fre-
quently would allow them to perch upon his back, and in this
manner carry them into the house, and then up the chicken-

12

134 VARIETIES OF THE

ladder, When they would reach that part of the ladder they
were in the habit of roosting upon, the Chicks would leave
his back and perch one under each of the old gentleman's
wings. This trait of character may not be singular, but I have
never noticed it to the same extent in any other rooster that
has come under my observation.

I have several very fine SHANGHAE Hens, some of them im-
ported, but as my space and time are both limited, I must
content myself by referring to one only. I select this one on
account of her peculiar colour, viz., a rich, brownish-red.
I have never before seen a SHANGHAE Hen with dark -red
plumage ; and this singularity, added to her fine proportions,
makes her a most desirable Fowl to breed from. It will not
be information to you, but for the benefit of some of your
readers not so familiar with this breed of Fowls, I will state
that the prevailing colour of the Hens is light-yellow nankeen,
dark-yellow, and occasionally a light-bay colour. This red
Hen weighs nine pounds, and I am fully convinced this is the
maximum weight of pure SHANGHAE Hens.

In conclusion, I will remark that I am well pleased with my
Fowls, and consider my ROYAL COCHIN CHINAS, MALAYS,
and SHANGHAES, if not the best in the country, certainly the
best of these varieties I have met with.

Yours very truly,

E. E. COPE.

Swedeland, December, 1850.

The following letter will show the estimation in which the
Kev. Mr. Bumstead holds the Shanghae Fowl :

Roxborough, Pa., December 13, 1850.
DR. J. J. KERR,
Dear Sir, — I much regret my absence from home on the

day that Mr. called to examine my Poultry. Since our

interview at the " Fair," my Fowls have much improved in

SHANGHAE FOWL. 135

appearance. My stock has also greatly increased, having
raised over fifty Chickens; both of the White and Brown
Shanghaes. Several of these are two months old, the largest,
most beautiful and hardy Chickens, for their age, I have ever
seen. They command general admiration. Though late in
the season when hatched, yet we have lost but two of the whole
number. They are heavily feathered, and have all the ap-
pearance of our common Pullets of three and four months
old.

I hazard nothing in saying, that, if the farmers of Penn-
sylvania knew the worth of these Fowls, no effort would be
spared to obtain them. Of the various breeds, none can ex-
ceed (so far as my experience goes) the Shanghaes and the
Cochin China Hens for laying. In the month of September,
I received from Frederick H. Whitney, Esq., of Dedham, Mass.
(who had a large assortment of imported Fowls), three Cochin
China, and two White Shanghae Fowls, and since that time,
they have laid more Eggs than the whole of my common
Fowls together. These Hens have laid almost daily, since
that time, and have hatched out five broods ; and for three
weeks past, there is not a day but they give me an Egg. One
of the White Shanghae Hens, though smaller in size than
the others, lays a very large Egg — her Eggs are of a chocolate
colour, and very rich. She is emphatically the Hen that lays
the golden Egg. And though I place no confidence in the
statement of those who assert that the Cochin China Hen fre-
quently lays two Eggs on the same day, yet I must say she
comes the next thing to it.

I have in my possession a Cochin China Cockerel, of a yel-
lowish-brown colour, a most perfectly formed bird — his plu-
mage the most glossy and beautiful — and though, but six months
old, of great size and power. The double joint of the wing
peculiar to this class of Fowls, is quite perceptible. He is
my pet bird, and consequently is treated with great kindness.

136 VARIETIES OF THE

I arn glad to hear you intend publishing a book on Poul-
try. No doubt but you will give us just the book we need for
this latitude. There is a deficiency in many of the works on
this subject, which you will be able to supply.

Tell our Pennsylvania farmers that one Rooster and two
Hens of the Shanghae breed, will give them more Eggs in
three months time, of a greater size and richer quality, than
five times that number of ordinary Hens will do in one year,
and will hatch out a finer brood, with less trouble and more
certainty, than any Fowls they have heretofore possessed. And
though it is said, we must never count the Chickens before they
are hatched, yet to this rule there is one exception, viz., the
Shanghae Fowls.

Respectfully Yours,

SAMUEL A. BUMSTEAD.

P. S. — I have also a large black Hen, the Eggs of which
very much resemble those of the Cochin China, quite brown in
their colour, and very rich. I have crossed this breed with
the Brown Shanghae, of which I have now some very fine
Pullets, to which I give the name of the Black Shanghae. I
wish much for you to see them. Will you not favour us with
a visit soon ?

There is a neighbour of mine, Mr. Samuel Hagy, who owns
a variety of Fowls, of a very valuable breed. He has the
large Spanish Fowl, and some of the Indian breed. He thinks
there are no Hens in the country that lay larger Eggs — they
always command a high price, and are eagerly sought for. I
shall be pleased to introduce you to his famed stock of Poultry.

S. A. B.

My post-office address is Leverington, Philadelphia county,
Pa., or Manayunk.

That variety of Shanghaes called the red, is thus described
by the following correspondent, who says : —

SHANGHAE FOWL. 137

"In the year 1849, there was brought out, on board of the
Ship Vancouver, from Shanghae, a breed of Fowls, which
differs from all others imported from Shanghae, in shape, size,
and form of the combs, and the shape and length of the wat-
tles. These Fowls have short legs, and their thighs are larger
in diameter than any others brought from that region.

" The body is very wide and deep, and the breast is broad and
full, giving the Fowls an uncommonly square appearance.
The comb is very large, compared with other Shanghae Fowls,
and is larger than that of the Black Spanish, pure specimens
of which I have in my yard — they are the original Spanish,
selected expressly for me in the interior of Fayal : the Eggs
from which have weighed from four to four and a half
ounces each, though the Hens seldom weigh over four pounds
each.

" The form of the comb of the Shanghae is circular, not an-
gular, as the comb of all others brought from Shanghae, and
is deeply serrated, and like the comb of the Black Spanish.
The wattles are larger than those of any other Fowls, not except-
ing the Black Spanish. The cheeks are red. The ear lobes, and is
also of that colour, and in keeping with the size of the wattles.
The legs and feet are fully feathered, more than in any other
breed.

" I still have the original, which have been carefully guarded,
and the progeny have improved in size upon the original stock.

JOHN FASSELL."

Tn a letter to the author, Mr. Geo. P. Burnham, of Boston,
Mass., who has bred several varieties of this stock, during the
past two years, speaks as follows : —

" For all the purposes of a really good Fowl, whether I
speak of beauty of model, good size, or laying qualities, I deem
the thorough-bred Shanghaes among the best, and generally

most profitable of domestic birds. For the last two years, I

12*

138 VARIETIES OF THE

have bred the Marsh stock, the Forbes, the Palmer, the Par-
sons, the Baylies, and my own importations ; and I have done
this practically and experimentally, with a view to obtaining
the most prolific, all circumstances considered.

" The Marsh stock breeds rather uneven, latterly; many of
the fourth and fifth generations coming deformed and im-
perfect; this stock is very good, however, and most of the
birds prove highly satisfactory. The Forbes and Palmer stocks,
for Shanghaes, are very superior. The Baylies and Parsons
importations are comparatively run out, from long and careless
breeding ; and the specimens this year, do not come up to the
original at all. The "Perley" Fowls, imported two or three
years since into Salem, are good, and the progeny come very
like the original ; but they are not so large, generally, as some
others. J. Fassell, Esq., of Roxbury, has an importation of
his own, which promise finely.

" From my own importations last season, I have several very
fine specimens of pure Shanghaes, uniform in colour and cha-
racteristics, and remarkably heavy for their ages — the Stags, at
five to six months old, weighing eight and a half and nine
pounds, and Pullets, of the same age, five and a half and six
and a half pounds each, live weight. At maturity, these
samples will weigh eighteen and nineteen pounds a pair, alive,
I do not doubt. The Cock and best imported Hen, (say
eighteen months old,) now weigh, after the first moult, seven-
teen and three-quarter pounds the pair ; the Cock is a very fine
one, heavily feathered to the toes, (as are also the Hens,) and
his colour is a dark brown and black. The Hens (pullets) are
of a fawn or pale buff. They are short-legged, comparatively,
but heavy bodied, handsomely plumed, and among the very
best layers I have ever yet seen. I send you a pair of the Pul-
lets, which you can judge of better upon examination. They
are & fine sample of the whole. I have a dozen more, precisely

DR. EBEN WEIGHTS WHITE SIIANGIIAE FOWLS.

SHANGHAE FOWL. 139

like them, (retained for breeding next spring,) and I deem
them very superior as Shanghaes.

u I have never seen their equals for laying early. In one
or two cases, the Cochin Chinas I imported, have commenced
to lay at four and a half to five months old. These Shanghaes
begin, invariably, at early six months old, and they are very
prolific, laying large Eggs, and a great many of them, before
showing a desire to sit. All things considered, they are cer-
tainly a valuable species of Domestic Fowl, and I am highly
pleased with them.

"I have now on the way, direct from Shanghae and Canton,
two fresh lots of the ' Cochin Chinas' and ' Shanghaes/
from which, (with the stock I have now reserved,) I shall breed
another year. The Fowls above alluded to were ordered in
November and December, (a year ago,) and I hope to be in
receipt of a fine lot, now, in a few days."

WHITE SHANGHAE FOWL.

THERE is a variety of Sbanghaes of the above name. They
are entirely white, legs usually feathered, and differ in no ma-
terial respect from the red, yellow, and dominique, except in
colour. It has been said that they rarely attain to the size of
the other varieties. Their legs are yellowish, or reddish-yel-
low, and sometimes of flesh-colour. I understand Mr. Giles,
of Providence, K I., to prefer them to all others. Their Eggs
are of a nankeen or dull-yellow colour, blunt at both ends. The
following communication on White Shanghaes, together with ori-
ginal drawings, from which the opposite portraits were made,
were obligingly furnished by Dr. Eben Wight, of Boston. He
keeps his Fowls, of which he has several choice breeds, on his
farm, at Dedham, Mass. He says :

140 VARIETIES OF THE

Among the many varieties of the Gallus race which have
been introduced into the New England States from China,
there is no variety which possesses so many good qualities as
the White Shanghaes.

The White Shanghaes are larger and more quiet than other
varieties. The flesh of these Fowls is much superior, not
sinewy or " stringy/7 as is the case with the flesh of most of the
other Shanghaes. The Eggs are larger, and these Hens are
more prolific than those of other colours.

In their habits they are more quiet, and less inclined to
ramble. These habits render the Hens invaluable for incuba-
tors and nurses, and the mildness of their disposition makes
them excellent foster-mothers, as they never injure the Chicks
belonging to other Hens. I am induced to speak more fully
of these characteristics, from the many vexatious losses I have
suffered in the experiments I have tried.

I have imported different breeds of Fowls from Europe and
elsewhere, and have received from many friends specimens of
choice Fowls, and my endeavours to propagate them have been
frustrated by the rambling or quarrelsome disposition of the
Hens which I have been obliged to use for incubators and
nurses. I have lost, oftentimes, by .quarrelsomeness of the
Hens, their entire broods; for instance, the Game Hens are
constant sitters and careful nurses to their own Chickens, Ibut
are exceedingly cruel to those of other Hens. The moment
one of their Chickens is injured, a fight is commenced, and the
Chickens, alarmed at the turmoil, crowding around their dams,
are many of them killed, and the victorious Hen, after her
opponent has retreated, will attack every Chick within her
reach, and oftentimes, in her desire for revenge, mistaking her
owns Chicks as belonging to her antagonist, destroys them. In
the mean time the vanquished will destroy every stranger's
Chick that comes within her reach.

A Hen of active and energetic disposition confined in a coop,

SHANGHAE FOWL. 141

will soon reduce her brood by the blows given in scratching.
The Chicks are knocked right and left, and those few which
may survive the confinement are destroyed by dew and rain,
lost in the grass, or, becoming tired, are left by their dam,
who, in the exuberance of her delight at her escape from
confinement, forgetting that her Chicks are not as strong as she
is, goes on her way rejoicing, till, finding a fat worm or grub,
she seizes it, and while seeking for her little ones, her attention
is attracted by some fat grass-hopper, and away she darts in
pursuit. Becoming somewhat fatigued herself, she calls her
Chicks to be brooded, and finding herself alone, she is alarmed,
and rushes to find her Chickens, and by her loud cries drown-
ing the feeble chirpings of her little ones, she finally returns to
her coop alone. It would have been better to have eaten the
Eggs than to have trusted them to such a Hen. Would it
not ? I have many a time thought so.

Having, as I before stated, met with many vexatious losses,
I, as you must readily conceive, do most highly prize the
White Shanghae Fowls for their quiet dispositions. These
Fowls are not sluggish or stupid ; on the contrary, they are in-
telligent and confiding. To persons who have the " everlasting
layers," the Black Spanish, for instance, — a breed that never
shows the slightest desire to incubate, — the White Shanghaes
are invaluable for the purpose of rearing Chickens.

The Fowls of which the artist made the drawing from
which the portraits are engraved, were imported from Shang-
hae, and were there purchased as a pure race, and were war-
ranted as such. I received them directly from the ship,
and as evidence of the purity of blood, I mention that every
Egg that has been laid has incubated, and every Chick that
has been hatched, has been uniformly white, and there has not
been the slightest variation in form or plumage.

These Fowls will rank among the largest coming from China,
and, as a proof that they thrive well in this climate, I will in-

142 VARIETIES OP SHANGHAE FOWL.

stance that one of the progeny, a Cock, not yet eight months
old, being one of the first brood hatched, weighs fully eight
pounds, and the Pullets are proportionably large. They are
broad on the back and breast, with a body well rounded up ;
the plumage white, with a downy softness — in this respect
much like the feathering of the Bremen Goose; the tail
feathers short and full; the head small, surmounted by a~
small, single, serrated comb ; wattles long and wide, overlay-
ing the cheek-piece, which is also large and extending back on
the neck ; the legs are of a yellow hue, approaching a flesh-
colour, and feathered to the ends of the toes.

EBEN WIGHT.

Dedham, Mass., December 5th, 1850.

143

CHAPTER VII.

THE COCHIN CHINA FOWL.

As there occurs in this chapter of Mr. Dixon's book, several
lists giving the weight of different kinds of Fowls, and as Mr.
J. J. Nolan, of Dublin, seems to regard the weights thus given
as ridiculously small for first-class birds, I beg to offer a few
remarks on the subject. When the weight of a Fowl is men-
tioned, I at once inquire the age, as much depends on that. I
had a Pullet once, a mixture of Malay, Cochin China, and
perhaps Shanghae, that, when she came to her first laying,
being then about seven or eight months old, weighed exactly
nine and a quarter pounds ; when she came to her laying the
next season, being then about one year older, she weighed a
fraction over eleven pounds ; and when she began to lay the
third season, she weighed thirteen and a quarter pounds.
She then passed out of my hands, but I heard during the sum-
mer, from the gentleman who now owns her, that, on coming
to her laying on the fourth season, being then between three
and four years old, she weighed thirteen and a half pounds.
Another remark I would offer in this connexion : it is important,
in estimating the value and size of a Fowl, on having the weighjti
stated, to know not only the condition of the Fowl, and the age,
but also the season of the year. I have found both Cocks and
Hens to be at their maximum weight in February : they are
then recruited after moulting ; the Hens are about beginning

144 THE COCHIN CHINA FOWL.

to lay, and the Cocks are not reduced, as they are at the close
of the breeding season. The thirteen and a half pounds Hen
just mentioned, was reduced in her third moult from thirteen
and a quarter pounds to eight pounds ten ounces ! Others, of
course, are proportionately reduced by the same cause.

Very little is known of the origin of the Cochin China Fowl,
further than that some gentleman, three or four years ago,
presented a few to the Queen of England, who subsequently
had them bred at Windsor Park. In order to promote their
propagation, her Majesty made presents of them occasionally
to such persons as she supposed likely to appreciate them.
They differ very little in their qualities, habits, and general
appearance from our Shanghaes, to which they are undoubtedly
nearly related. The Egg is nearly the same size, shape, and
colour ; both have an equal development of comb and wattles,
the Cochins slightly differing from the Shanghaes, chiefly in
being somewhat deeper and fuller in the breast, not quite so
deep in the quarter, and being usually smooth-legged, while
the Shanghaes, generally, are more or less heavily feathered.
The plumage is much the same in both cases, nor have I dis-
covered any difference in the crow, it being in both equally
sonorous and prolonged, differing considerably from that of the
great Malay. Mr. Nolan says " that full-grown Cocks, from
one and a half to two years old, average a weight of from ten
to twelve pounds, the Hens from eight to nine pounds. The
male bird stands about two feet high ; the female about twenty-
two inches The Cock's comb is usually single, serrated.

and erect, of a brilliant scarlet, but not always single ; I have
had both single and double combs in the same clutch ; the
wattles are large ; they are quite free from top-knots ; the
hackles on the neck and hips, yellowish-brown ; the tail black,
with metallic lustre, and, when fully furnished, presents the
usual cock's plume ; the legs vary from a flesh-colour to an
orange-yellow, and are not so long as in the Malay ; the Eggs

THE COCHIN CHINA FOWL. 145

are generally buff-coloured, of large size, and blunt at the ends;
the Chickens progress rapidly in size, but feather slowly."

E. K. Cope, Esq., of this city, and myself imported a few
Fowls from London last summer; the three Cochin Chinas
whose portraits precede this chapter, were of the number, and
were procured of the Messrs. Baker, of Chelsea, and are now
in the possession of Mr. Cope, who ha£ had a good opportunity
tor becoming acquainted with their habits and qualities. His
estimate of them is expressed in the preceding chapter, in
connection with the Shanghaes.

146 THE COCHIN CHINA FOWL.

COCHIN CHINA FOWL.— BURNHAM'S IMPORTATION.

In reply to a request of the Editor, Geo. P. Burnham, Esq.,
of Boston, Mass., communicated the following, in reference to
his two importations of Cochin China Fowls, introduced into
this country in January and February, 1850. In a letter
dated December 1st, 1850, he writes : —

It affords me pleasure to give you a brief account of my
Cochin China birds, and, in accordance with your desire, I
would state that I have given them a thorough experimental
trial during the past year, and can " speak by the card," from
actual knowledge of the habits and qualities of those I have
imported and bred.

You are already aware that I obtained two lots of these
Fowls early in the present year— one batch, of six, from J. J.
Nolan, of Dublin, and the other six direct, by ship, from Can-
ton. All the imported male birds are now dead; three of
them were killed by fighting, and the fourth died suddenly, (in
my absence from home,) from some unknown cause. Of the
original Hens, I have but three remaining — one of Nolan's, and
two of the others. Of the young stock, however, I have re-
served twenty -five specimens — say, eighteen Pullets and six or
seven Cocks, (Stags,) which promise finely for another season.

For all the purposes of a really good Domestic Fowl —
whether I speak of productiveness, easy keeping, laying qua-
lities, size, disposition, beauty of form and plumage, or hardi-
ness, (in this climate,) after a careful comparative trial, I deem
the Cochin Chinas the best. This is saying much in their fa-
vour, I know ; but you ask my real opinion, and I give it ho-
nestly. To my fancy, they have no equals among the varieties
now known in America.

In the multiplying of all kinds of stock, it is admitted that
there are exceptions, or rather a choice, among the progeny

p

I

** el

THE COCHIN CHINA FOWL. 147

produced. I have found this the case with my Cochin China
Fowls, and I have selected my birds for future breeding, ac-
cordingly. One of the Nolan Cocks showed a slight germ of
feathering upon the legs; so with one of the Canton Hens.
A few of the Chicks were similarly marked, but this feature
does not appear to any extent. I breed from the smooth-
legged Fowls exclusively.*

My object in importing these birds was to obtain, if possible,
the best to be had, all things considered; but I look upon
fine flesh, and close-grained, juicy meat, as being of greater
consequence than mere size, beauty, or prolific qualities.
The Cochin Chinas are not so large, usually, as the Chittagong,
for instance ; but my experience leads me to prefer the former;
and I have tried both varieties — side by side — to arrive at
this conclusion.

My two best Cochin China Hens have this year laid — from
the middle of February to about the first of September —
almost constantly. In the six and a half months, they laid
over one hundred and sixty Eggs, each. Since the middle
of October, they have again commenced laying, and have done
as well. The Pullets out of this stock have laid at four and a
half to five months old, invariably. I breed both importations
together, now, and they do equally well, I find.

The old Fowls have weighed, when in their best condition — •
Hens, eight, eight and a quarter, and eight and a half pounds ;
the Cocks, from ten to eleven and a quarter pounds, each.
This is heavy enough to answer my wishes or expectations.

* If my friend B. rejects all that are more or less feathered on the
legs, he will, in time, reduce the size of his fowls, and vice versa.
See a pure Shanghae stag I raised last summer, portrayed on a pre-
ceding page — his legs are as smooth as an icicle. See also E. R.
Cope's Cochins, moderately feathered — also Mr. Giles's stock, all
equally pure feathered also. — ED.

148 THE COCHIN CHINA FOWL.

Though at times they have all inclined to do so, I have never
set but one of the imported Hens ; she proved an excellent
mother, and reared eleven out of thirteen of her Chicks. I
think them too clumsy, however, as sitters, and should avoid
it, if practicable.

My Cochin China Fowls have been much admired, and this
stock (old and young) has taken tliQ first premiums at all the
Fairs or Exhibitions in Massachusetts, where they have yet
been shown. This is some evidence of their excellence, in
view of the generally acknowledged fact, that there are some
very fine fowls here, out of other importations from Shang-
hae and Canton. I have found the young birds, latterly, very
hardy — though at first I lost a goodly number from breeding
too early.

The prevailing colour of my birds is yellow, or yellowish-
brown Pullets — and yellow and red, or yellow, red and brown
Cocks. They have never deviated from this range of colour,
except in two or three broods out of the dark Canton Cock —
all of which are now extinct. The Chicks come even in size
and plumage ; and down to the third generation, they have
bred exactly the same : this is a very satisfactory result, in
my estimation. I have never yet seen a black, a grey, a white,
or a speckled Chick, from this stock ! A very few specimens
have shown a dark leg; but, with the epicure, this is desirable,
and I do not discard these birds on that account — though my
own taste favours the yellow limb.

I am more and more confirmed in my opinion that the
" Cochin Chinas" and " Shanghaes" originate from the same
primitive stock. The difference between the two varieties is
distinct, but the general characteristics, (so far as my experi-
ence goes,) are similar. The Cochins are longer legged,
longer necked, and longer bodied, generally ; they should be
smooth-legged, and are usually a heavier Fowl at the same
age I think the pure Shanghae tribe are uniformly heavily

ME, GEO. P. BUKNIIAM'S EOYAL COCHIN CHINA FOWLS.

THE COCHIN CHINA FOWL. 149

feathered upon the leg ; and I would breed none others, for
Shanghai's. As to the comparative laying qualities of these
two, I have found but little difference among the best spe-
cimens ; either are excellent layers, and both breeds have now
their champions among our New England fanciers. For
one, /prefer the Cochin Chinas to any fowl I have ever yet
met with.

I have sent samples of my Cochin China stock to South
Carolina, Pennsylvania, Georgia, Louisiana, Ohio, Michigan,
Maine, and New York ; and, in every instance, they have more
than fulfilled the anticipations of purchasers. Other fanciers
prefer other varieties : I have bred them all, more or less, but
I am content with these ; and if the young stock prove as
good as the old Fowls have, I think it will be difficult to find
any variety to excel them.

I send you portraits of two groups. The first is a pair of
the " Royals," (so called to distinguish them from others,}
and were drawn from life, by S. E. Brown, of Boston. The
other group is a trio of this year's birds, drawn also from life,
by F. A. Durivage, from the stock I am now breeding. I
think they will compare favourably with the best specimens of
Domestic birds in our country, and I assure you the portraits
are very truthful. "With my best wishes for the success of
your contemplated work on Poultry, and the suggestion that
you can use this hastily prepared account in such way as may
be agreeable to you, I am,

Very truly, yours,

GrEO. P. BURNHAM.

Melrose, Mass., 1850.

At the Exhibition of Poultry in Boston, in October, 1850,
the Committee awarded to George P. Burnham the first pre
miums for Fowls and Chickens. The prize birds were the
" Royal Cochin Chinas" and their progeny, which have been

13*

150 THE COCHIN CHINA FOWL.

bred with care, from his imported stock; and which were
generally acknowledged at the head of the list of specimens.
At this show, Mr. Burnham declined an offer of $120 for his
twelve premium Cochin China Chickens, and, subsequently,
$20 for the choice of Pullets.

The committee of this Exhibition, in their published Report,
state, that "the specimens displayed on this occasion, em-
braced almost every known variety of the best Domestic
Fowls ; and the number of samples of Aquatic, Ornamental,
and Cage birds was very generous. The improvement made
in breeding, during the past twelvemonth, was very apparent
in the character of a large proportion of the fine gallinaceous
Fowls exhibited — these being, for the most part, from late im-
ported stocks, in many cases very carefully bred."

"The magnificent samples of Cochin China Fowls, con-
tributed by Gr. P. Burnham, were the theme of much com-
ment and deserved praise. These birds include his imported
Fowls and their progeny — of which he exhibited nineteen
splendid specimens. To this stock, the Committee unani-
mously awarded the first premiums for Fowls and Chickens;
and finer samples of Domestic birds will rarely be found in
this country. They are bred from the Queen's variety, obtained
by Mr. Burnham last winter, at heavy cost, and are unques-
tionably, at this time, the finest thorough-bred Cochin Chinas
in America."

I have said that the family of Shanghaes and that of the Co-
chin Chinas are very nearly allied. Under this impression, I
wrote a twelve month ago to the Rev. Mr. Dixon, giving him a
close description of two varieties of Shanghaes which I knew
to be pure — at least, I was certain they came from Shanghae ;
the varieties differing only in the one being about fifteen or
sixteen pounds per pair, and being comparatively smooth-
legged, and the other running from seventeen to twenty pounds
p^jr pair, and being well feathered on the legs in general, though

THE COCHIN CHINA FOWL. 151

not invariably. In answer to my letter, he says, " In reply to
yours of the 28th ult., you may take it for granted that the
stories respecting the Cochin China Fowls, that they have a
black horse-shoe mark across the breast, that the feathers of
the back of the neck are reversed, that the last joint of the
wing is contrived so as to be folded up, etc. etc., are apocryphal.
I have little doubt that your first named variety, (the variety
weighing from fifteen to sixteen pounds per pair,) l almost
smooth-legged, (the Cock some shade of yellow or red, the Hen
some shade of bay/) are the same as the Queen's Cochin
Chinas, especially if the Co«ks have a large, single, upright,
deeply indented comb, (which they have.) It is probable that
both your first varieties have been imported into this country,
and been crossed with each other, so causing a little difficulty
about their distinctiveness." — He says, in the same letter,
(( it is impossible to learn the native place of the Queen's
Fowls."

Of the smaller of the two varieties, which Mr. Dixon thinks
are identical with the Queen's Fowl, Mr. C. S. Sampson, of
Boston, got a beautiful pair of me, last spring, for which, I under-
stood him to say, he was offered twenty -five dollars, a few days
after he received them. The Cock weighed about nine pounds,
perhaps a little more, and the Pullet nearly six pounds.
They were the most perfect in model of any bird of the kind
I had ever, seen. Of the larger variety, Mr. Devereux of Bos-
ton, has a pair : the Cock is a noble fellow, indeed. Mr. H.
Lawrence, of Mobile, also obtained some of me, with which he
expressed himself as well pleased. So also Mr. Taggart, of
Northumberland, Pa., ; Mr. Hugh Wilson, of South Carolina;
Mr. Evans, of Baltimore ; Mr. Knorr, of West Philadelphia ;
Rev. Mr. Goddard, and Messrs. Remington, and E. R. Cope, of
Philadelphia ; besides many others whose names I cannot now
recall ; and all of whom, so far as I know, are perfectly
fied with them.

152 THE COCHIN CHINA FOWL.

Of this so much and deservedly lauded Fowl; Mr. Dixoa

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 previously to their recent intro-
duction to general notice as the most conspicuous ornaments of
the Royal poultry-yard. A gentleman (W. S.) living in Mon«
mouthshire, 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 immedi-
ately 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 re-
gion 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 disappointment, and cause
the breed to be as much undeservedly 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 no-
tions of relationship, or hybridity, which are not easily dis-
lodged from the minds of many people. The Cochin China
Fowls have been averred, in the Agricultural Gazette, (Sept. 30,
1848 ,) to weigh, the male birds from twelve to fifteen pounds,
the Hens from nine to ten pounds. They certainly must be
very fine indeed : for the weights specified are those of respect-
able Turkeys, not of Fowls. My own Cochin China Fowls,
obtained from the Messrs. Baker, now about eighteen months

THE COCHIN CHINA FOWL. 153

old, weighed, the Cock six pounds five ounces, the Hen four
pounds six ounces. Some allowance must be made for the
circumstance that both were moulting, and that the Hen had
laid fairly during the season, and had not yet (Oct. 4) relin-
quished the charge of her second brood of Chickens. She
laid exactly three dozen Eggs in the spring, and then sat. Af-
ter rearing her Chicks admirably, she again laid a smaller num-
ber 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, five
pounds eight ounces, and three pounds and thirteen ounces, re-
spectively.

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 consequence 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 circumstances.

One list (H. II.) gives —

LBS. oz.

" Black Polish Cock, three years old 5 3

Ditto Hen ditto 3 4

Ditto Pullet 2 6

Golden Polish Cock 5 0

Ditto Hen 3 8

Another Hen 3 10

Gulden Polish Pullet 2 8

Malay Hen 3 12

Creole (Silver Hamburgh) Hen 3 1

Black Nondescript Hen 4 10

Globe-crested Polish Hen 3 9

Silver Polish Hen 3 4

154 THE COCHIN CHINA FOWL.

IBS. 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 —

LBS. OZ.

" Pheasant-Malay Cocks, two years old, average each 7 0

Ditto Cockerel, five months old 7 0

Ditto Hen 5 1

Ditto Pullet, seventeen months old 5 3

Ditto (crossed with Dorking Hen), four years old 5 8

Speckled Surrey Hen, two years old 5 12

Spanish Hen 5 0

Two Dorking Cocks, each 7 0

Ditto Hens 6 8

Ditto ditto 6 12

Cock Turkey, two years and a half old 17 12

Hen dittto, one year and a half old 10 0

Ditto ditto 9 9

Musk Drake (moulting) 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 under weight."

Our own Poultry -yard furnishes these : —

THE COCHIN CHINA FOWL. 155

LBS. OZ.

Turkey Cock, sixteen months old 16 0

Ditto Hen, three or four years old 8 6

White China Gander, six years old 12 13

White China Goose 11 13

Common China Goose, Cynb'ides, six years old 10 10

Cochin China Cock, about sixteen months old, moulting 6 5

Ditto Hen ditto ditto 4 6

Malay Cock ditto ditto 6 14

Ditto Hen ditto ditto 4 8

Pheasant Malay Cock 5 7

Ditto Malay Hen, moulting 3 8

Game Cockerel, about five months old 4 2

Golden Hamburgh Cockerel, just arrived from a long

journey, about five months old 3 8

Ditto Pullet ditto ditto 2 4

Cochin China Cockerel, six months old 4 14

Another ditto 4 13£

Silver Hamburgh Cockerel, after travelling, about

five months old t 3 1

Ditto Pullet ditto ditto 2 8

Black Polish Hen moulting 3 0

Golden Hamburgh, ditto 2 3

Andalusian Cockerel, four months old 3 8

Ditto Pullet ditto 2 6J

Black Spanish Cockerel ditto 2 11

Ditto Pullet ditto 2 11

Silver Polish Cockerel, four months and a half old 2 14£

Golden Poland Pullet, about five months old 2 8

White-crested Golden Poland Pullet, ditto 2 3

It will appear from the foregoing, that for a Cock, of any
breed, to reach seven and a half pounds, 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 men-
tioned. I have never yet seen Cocks and Hens weighing fif-
teen pounds and ten pounds, respectively : those most nearly
approaching these weights have been Malays, not Cochin Chi-
nas— ancient and venerable birds, looking old enough and tough

156 THE COCHIN CHINA FOWL.

enough to have performed the migration from India on foot.
It has also been incorrectly asserted that lt 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 poste-
rior half can, at pleasure, be doubled up, and brought forward
between the anterior half and the body :" the only foundation
for which absurdity is, that, in some of the half-grown Cocke-
rels, certain feathers, the wing-coverts, curl forwards ; but the
curling disappears with the complete growth of the plumage.*
But the long bow is stretched even yet a little 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 phy-
siologically improbable the performance 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 perceiving

* 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 him-
self warm with the few flight-feathers that lie already had, turn them
under his wing and against his body, which I have no doubt has
given rise to misrepresentation. I have carefully examined him, and
can testify that the conformation of his wings is the same as in all
other Fowls, 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 feather-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."

THE COCHIN CHINA FOWL. 157

none, soon lays another !" Natural History has a hard strag-
gle to come at correct conclusions in this department of orni-
thology.

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 pendent. 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
hackle of the neck is of a light yellowish brown ; the lower
feathers beiDg 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, yellow-
orange. It is, in short, altogether a flame-coloured bird. Both
sexes are lower in the leg than either the Black Spanish or
the Malay.

The Hen approaches in her build more nearly to the Dork-
ing than any other, except that the tail is very small and pro-
portionately 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 compactness. My male bird has two claws on

* "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 indispensible, if even a required qualification." J.
BisselL — It is, however, to be preferred, for beauty at least, if not aa
a mark of pure blood.

14

158 THE COCHIN CHINA FOWL.

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 chick-
ens, 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 chickens 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 direc-
tions, that there is no material to spare for the production of
these decorative appendages. A gentleman, to whom I sent a
pair, wrote word that one of the Fowls had had the misfortune
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 re-
spective sexes at a very early age. The Cockerel is 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 light tone of its
plumage would show every mark of dirt or defilement, and
also the readiness with which they sit would be an inconve-
nience, rather than not, in families with whom everlasting layers
are most in requisition. At present, they are too expensive to

THE COCHIN CHINA FOWL. 159

have had their edible qualities much tested. Most persons
would prefer gratifying a friend with the living, rather than
their own palate with the dead birds. But they are equal or
superior to any other Fowl for the table : their flesh is deli-
cate, 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 there has lately been introduced an extra-
sized variety of Fowl called the American, (and really im-
ported from America,) but derived from what original source
we cannot yet trace. These, however, do not exhibit marks
of much distinctness of race or purity of blood, except their
vast bulk, 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 cioss
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

160 THE COCHIN CHINA FOWL.

answers so well. So, we will quote the song of Hecate, and
chant over the poultry yard,

"Black spirits and white,

Red spirits and grey,
Mingle, mingle, mingle,
You that mingle may."

Another Chinese Cock, as the old naturalists would an-
nounce it. Dr Bevan, of Machynlleth, Montgomeryshire, has
favoured me with the following : — a I only commenced keep-
ing Fowls last year, (1847,) 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 dis-
posed to become fat, with the flesh delicately white, approach-
ing in flavour to that of game, I begged the favour of a few
Eggs, and was able to rear two Cocks and two Hens. When
hatched, and for several weeks afterwards, they looked more
like young Ducklings than young Chickens, and their feathers
were pushed forth 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 ; at that age, the strongest
began to tyrannize, 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 somewhat peculiar appearance, having 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,

THE COCHIN CHINA FOWL. 161

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 neighbourhood, 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 chestnut-colour, his thighs and breast black, but
spangled with pale chestnut patches. The thighs of both sexes
are remarkably full-feathered, which gives them a great ap-
parent 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."
S. W.

14*

162

CHAPTER VIII.

THE MALAY FOWL — SOMETIMES (THOUGH ERRONEOUSLY)

CALLED CHITTAGONQ. (See Portraits of each.)

THIS is a majestic bird, and is found on the Peninsula from
which it derives its name. Its weight, in general, exceeds
that of the Cochin China, the male weighing, when full grown,
from eleven to twelve, or even thirteen pounds, and the female
from eight to ten pounds ; — height, from twenty-six to twenty-
eight inches. They present no striking uniformity of plumage,
being of all shades, from black to white } the more common
colour of the female is a light reddish-yellow, and I have ob-
served a mere suspicion of dunnish-blue, especially in the tail.
The Cock is frequently of a yellowish-red colour, with black in-
termingled in the breast, thighs, and tail. He has a small, but
thick comb, as seen in the portrait, generally inclined to one
side : he should be snake-headed, and free from the slightest
trace of top-knot ; the wattles should be extremely small, even
in an old bird ; the legs are not feathered, as in the case of the
Shanghaes^but, like them and the Cochin Chinas, his tail is
small compared with his size. In the female, there is scarcely
any show of comb or wattles. Their legs are long and stout ;
and their flesh is very well flavoured, when they have been pro-
perly fattened; and their Eggs are so large and rich, that two
of them are equal to three of those of our ordinary Fowls.

ME. E. R. COPE'S MALAYS.

(Imported.)

THE MALAY FOWL. 163

The Malay Cock, in his perfection, is a remarkably courageous
and strong bird. His beak is remarkably thick, and he is a
formidable antagonist when offended. His crow is loud, harsh,
not prolonged, as in the case of the Cochin China, but broken
off abruptly at the termination : this is quite characteristic of
the bird.

E. R. Cope, Esq., of this place, has some beautiful specimens
of the Malay, which he imported direct from the Messrs. Baker,
of Chelsea, England, who warrant them perfectly pure, and
good specimens. Mr. Cope kindly furnished the account of
them in a preceding chapter.

Mr. Dixon. says 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 Giyantic 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 back-
wards 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 com-
paratively 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 chestnut, 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

164 THE MALAY FOWL.

glossy blackish-green, with high reflections : the deep chestnut
of the base of the feathers appears occasionally, and gives a
mottled and interrupted appearance to those parts." (Jardine
principally.)

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 ex-
tended in a line backwards. Bill yellowish, feet and legs de-
cided 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 impor-
tance by Poultry-keepers, as much as they are overrated by na-
turalists. 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 judg-
ment have ever dined off so costly a dish as roast Malay Fowl.
First-rate Malays are exceedingly dear in London. - I have
heard of as much as 51. 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-
flavoured Game Fowls have this quality, and both Pheasants

THE MALAY FOWL. 165

and Guinea Fowls, when plucked for the spit, are much more
uninviting in their appearance. It will be a pity if the Ma-
lays 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, Cochin Chinas. The Poultry Shows, how-
ever, in which their striking appearance is so valuable, promise
again to bring them perhaps into undue favour. They are
certainly 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 epi-
cures 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 out-
stripped 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 described :
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 sit-
ter 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 na-
tural instinct in turning off their Chicks at the usual time, in -
stead of retaining charge of them as long as the mother Turkey

166 THE MALAY FOWL.

would. Goslings would suffer less from such untimely de-
sertion."

I cannot refrain from mentioning a singular babit that has
been observed in some individuals of this breed: " A multi-
tude 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 heredi-
tariness what is due to 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 any thing without con-
firmation,) 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 East-
ern Hen followed (she knew not for how long) the same habit $
if so, we clearly see that it may be a merely handed-down prac-
tice, and not hereditary. To test it, the Eastern eggs ought to
have been hatched under a common Hen; but my first in-
formant is now dead. This point, though trifling, is really
curious." — C. D.

I certainly have noticed Hens of various breeds occasionally
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 compelled, 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 pre-
fer some other building to which they can have access and us«
as a drawing-room, and from which they will adjourn to bed,
when the proper time comes.

THE MALAY FOWL. 167

" 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 recol-
lected to have seen Fowls of exactly the same appearance,
though somewhat smaller, in Devon, I changed my opinion." —
J. S. W.

168

CHAPTER IX.

THE PHEASANT- MALAY FOWli.

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 excepting the Game
Cock. It is highly valued by many farmers, not on account of
its intrinsic merits, which are considerable, but because they
believe it to be a cross between the Pheasant and .the common
Fowl, than which nothing can be more erroneous. The Pul-
lets and Cockerels are excellent 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 sincerity, 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 — some-
thing 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
Husbandry" has given the weight of his authority to the no-
tion. He speaks of the a hybrid between the Hen and the
Pheasant having succeeded •" and adds : " Their flesh, how-
ever, has so much of the game-flavour of the Pheasant, coupled

THE PHEASANT-MALAY FOWL. 169

with the juiciness of the Fowl, as to be greatly prized by con-
noisseurs in good eating ; and therefore attempts are often
made to propagate the 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 than the Bustard breed of Turkeys sprang from a commix-
ture 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 perseverance,
is not unfrequent in museums and collections. Any offspring
of these mules is rare : so that no breed is originated j only a
set of isolated monsters. Mr. Yarrell describes and figures
several other mules between the Pheasant and one or two galli-
naceous birds nearly allied to it. Those between the common
Fowl and the Pheasant which I have seen, bore, in their out-
line, great resemblance 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 gentle-
man must claim respect from every student of Nature, even
though they may not be complete converts to his circular sys-
tem 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, ex-
tending 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 aflinities

* See infra, bhe synonyms of the Hamburgh Fowls.

15

170 THE PHEASANT- MALAY FOWL.

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-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 re-
semblance 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, Po-
landers, 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 any thing 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 slightly 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

* In Moubray's work, 8th edition, a coloured engraving of Sea-
bright's Spangled is entitled, " Bantam, or Pheasant Fowls."

THE PHEASANT-MALAY FOWL. 171

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 perpe-
tuated, no new breed created by human or volucrine agency.

Some believers in the improvement effected by Pheasants
in our Common Fowls put their trust entirely in the possibility
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 no-
ticed he had Hens of other breeds going with his Pheasant-
mules or hybrids, male and female, and Tie was not sufficiently
intelligent to be fully 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 Agricultural Ga-
zette, July 1st, 1848. ) Such naturalists as these have clearly
got into a wood, and, are likely to ramble about therein so long a
time, that it is hopeless to endeavour to extricate them.

Others say, a 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 pre-
served, and country gentlemen, almost as much as kings, when

172 THE PHEASANT- MALAY FOWL.

they visited the country, really could keep poachers in awe.
He informs us of his experience, thus : — u 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 de-
gree succeeded, 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 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 fa-
miliar, 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 in-
suit offered him, abused the Hens, and even killed the first he
met with ; but if his rage did not subside, lie was on the one
hand mollified by touching his bill with a red-hot iron, andf
on the other, stimulated by the application of proper fomenta-
tions."— Bu/on'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 com-
mencement 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

THE PHEASANT-MALAY FOWL. 173

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 and Common Fowl are of frequent occurrence. 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 them-
selves, all being half-bred ; but when paired with the true
Pheasant or the Fowl, the case is different. The Zoological
Society has had exhibited at the evening meetings two in-
stances of success in this sort of second cross. The first was
in 1731 } 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 evi-
dently sincere writer declares, — " From what I have seen of
the plumage of birds casually produced 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 Bantams, and common poultry, would reward the patient
inquirer." — Agricultural Gazette, 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 which they procure from the wood-

15*

174 THE PHEASANT- MA LAY FOWL.

sides to begin with. But, we may ask, how do they 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 consequences) in Natural His-
tory. The Hen from which birds that can be allowed to be
half-bred Pheasants are obtained, must have been confined
for some time previously 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 Bailey favours me with one instance of their
probable destiny. " Hybrids between Fowls and Pheasants
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 miscalled Hy-
brids brought to me, to prove by ocular demonstration their
claim to unnatural origin ; but the first sight proved the re-
verse ; 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 car-
riage 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-

THE PHEASANT-MALAY FOWL. 175

feathers are longer than those of a Fowl, although not shaped
like a Pheasant's j 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 mag-
nificence 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 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' ?) grief was visible whenever the Egg was
removed."

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 over-bred, 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-buff, balloon-shaped, and
without the zone of irregularity. Six Eggs in December, 1847,
weighed very nearly twelve ounces. The Chickens, when first
hatched, are all very much alike j 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 observations 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

176 THE PHEASANT-MALAY FOWL.

particular sort of birds indicated under the title of tho
c 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 contravention 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 pro-
genitors of which were sold to me in Hungerford market as
1 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 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 appear-
ance 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 the
table, both as to quality, shape, and size. They have no re-
semblance 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 appear-
ance. 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,

THE PHEASANT-MALAY FOWL. 177

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
are apt to die in 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 ex-
tending but a very little way 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 mark-
ing, but merely in the ground colour, which is sometimes paler
and duller than is the case with 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 ahd 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, uninjured,

178 THE PHEASANT-MALAY FOWL.

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 among each other.
However, I now quite believe that the Norfolk specimens I
had seen, had a dash of the blood of that variety of Ham-
burgh 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 perma-
nent variety of Fowls. The only discrepancy, which 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 diiferent.

The Cocks display considerable courage; the Hens are
jealously affectionate towards their Chicks, bustling, and petu-
lant, 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 particularly 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

THE PHEASANT- MALAY FOWL. 179

those that are hatched earlier. The Chickens of this breed
are very small at first, and but scantily supplied 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.

" I once attempted to describe to you an oval abortion : I
have since found a second, in which the similarity was com-
plete. The upper Egg, which was concealed within the other,
below the unclosed orifice left at the egg-stalk, was conjested
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 Pul-
lets 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 care caused by the Hens 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 mis-

180 THE PHEASANT- MALAY FOWL.

taken for the effect ; and that the non-production of the usual
quantity of natural-sized Eggs, in consequence of some pecu-
liar state of the egg-organs, compels the superabundant nou-
rishment taken by the bird, to be deposited in the shape of
fat, instead of being secreted in the form of Eggs.

181

CHAPTER X.

THE GUELDERLAND FOWL.

THIS Fowl would seem to be quite an original one. There
is still less development of comb than in the true Malay; the
wattles, however, are more freely developed than in the latter.

A gentleman of Boston, who has some fine specimens in his
possession, writes me, concerning them, as follows : t( The
Gruelderlands, about which you inquire, are a breed of Fowls
introduced into this section by Captain John Devereux, a
brother of the Mr. D. who visited you a few days since. This
breed is of a jet-black plumage, without combs, the Cock some-
times showing two small red warts. The wattles are small,
particularly so in the Hen ; the body is short and plump ; the
legs are very long, compared with the body, and are thinly ,
covered, on the front and outside, with thick and stiff quill-
feathers, extending to the toes. The Eggs are large, white,
and oval in shape, and are very rich and palatable. The Hens
are not great layers nor sitters ; at least, they have not proved
so with me. The flesh I have not tried."

I have also been kindly furnished, by H. L. Devereux, Esq.,
of .Dedham, Mass., with the following account. He says,
" This splendid breed of pure black Fowls has never, to my
knowledge, been described in any of the poultry-books pub-
lished in England or this country. They were imported from

16

182 THE GUELPERLA.ND FOWL.

the north of Holland, in the month of May, 1842, by Captain
John Devereux, of Marblehead, Mass., in the ship Dromo, on
his voyage from Amsterdam to Boston ; and, since that time,
have been bred by him at his place in that town, entirely dis-
tinct from any other breed. They are supposed to have origin-
ated in the north part of Holland. The plumage is of a
beautiful black, tinged with blue, of very rich appearance, and
bearing a brilliant gloss. They have no comb, but a small
indented, hard, bony substance instead, and large red wattles.
Their legs are of a shining black, smooth, and without feathers,
except in a very few instances. Dr. B., in his work, is by somo
means led into error; where the legs are " heavily feathered,"
I am inclined to believe they have been crossed with the Shang-
hae; such crosses I have seen. Out of a flock of some twenty
or thirty, you may perhaps see some two or three slightly
feathered upon the legs. Such is the fact with regard to those
bred in our yard from the old imported Fowls. Their flesh is
white, tender, and juicy ; they are of good size, great layers,
seldom inclining to sit, bright active birds, and are not sur-
passed, in point of beauty or utility, by any breed known in
this country. The uniform aspect which is observable in their
progeny is a proof of the purity of the breed/'

The portraits were obligingly furnished by H. L. Devereux,
Esq., and represent a pair of these beautiful Fowls now in his
possession. He says, " The proof-impression of the Guelder-
lands I send you, is as good as can be done in Boston, and is,
I think, quite correct, except the feathered legs, which ought,
to answer the true description, be smooth."

183

CHAPTER XI.

THE DORKING FOWL.

THIS has been called the Capon Fowl of England. It forms
the chief supply for the London market, and is distinguished
by a white or flesh-coloured smooth leg, armed with five, in-
stead of four toes, on each foot. Its flesh is extremely deli-
cate, especially after caponization ; and it has the advantage
over some other fowls of feeding rapidly, and growing to a
very respectable size when properly managed. The weight to
which they sometimes attain goes much beyond that recorded
by Mr. Dixon. Indeed, the weight given by him for first-class
birds seems ridiculously small in comparison with that given
by some others. Mr. Nolan, of Dublin, remarks, that " the
humblest cottager in Ireland would smile at the idea of a
learned English ornithologist, stating that his specimens of
fine Dorking Fowl weighed only 7 Ibs. each, while our road-
side birds can be had from 7 to 9 Ibs." Mr. Nolan, I think,
is disposed to be a little sanguine, as we do not often meet
with " road-side Fowls" whose weight is as he states. A 9 Ibs.
bird, of any breed, is a sturdy fellow. But hear what he says
of the weight of his own Dorkings. He says that he has a
Cock in his possession, " out of condition and in heavy moult,
which weighs 10 i Ibs. ; if fed, and over moult, he would be

186 THE DORKING FOWL.

birds are extremely difficult to be had, as we found to our cost
when in England, and it was only by special favour we pro
cured some at last.

" Capt. Morgan has been upwards of two years endeavour-
ing to obtain this importation, and finally succeeded only
through a worthy clergyman, Mr. Courtney, of the town of
Dorking, a passenger with him on a recent voyage home from
the United States.

" He accompanied them by a note, apologizing for the high
price he had to pay, and further saying — 'The Chicken-
breeders of Dorking have adopted a sort of principle, that
they will send away no birds alive, except capons, as they
desire to retain them, as much as possible, among themselves,
in which, by caponizing, they carry on quite a profitable trade j
and they can only be had as a particular favour/ "

The pair of Fowls figured, were about two years old when
drawn, and, as a consequence, show a more full development
than would those of a less mature age. The weight of the
Cock was 8£ Ibs., that of the Hen fully 6i Ibs. When ca-
ponized, this breed has been known to weigh 9 to 12 Ibs.

Of this breed, Dickson, on Poultry, (1847,) says: — " These
Fowls, (Dorkings,) which form the principal supply for the
London market, are distinguished by having five toes, instead
of four, on each foot. Their flesh is extremely white, succu-
lent, and delicate, and they have the advantage of feeding
rapidly, and growing to a very large size when properly
managed. Capons and Poulards, though by no means so
common in England as in France, are sometimes made of
these Fowls, which, when caponized, grow to an enormous
size; a well-fed Capon having been known to weigh 15 Ibs. !

"The feathers of the Dorking Fowls are almost always
white, and the legs are short, white, and remarkably smooth.."

They have large plump bodies, with a broad full chest, like
the Partridge, and in this peculiarity hold the rank among

THE DORKING FOWL. 187

Poultry which the Durhams do among cattle. When pro-
duced at the table, there is no other breed I have seen equal
to them. They are also good layers, producing a good-sized
clear-white Egg, and, as sitters and mothers, cannot be sur-
passed by any breed of Fowls.

No sure criterion is found in the appearance of five toes, as
has been stated. But where it is not found, I should ap-
prehend a "cross." To describe a true Dorking is difficult,
although a breeder could at once recognise one.

Several writers state that they are long in the body. But
that is only true while they are young. As they come to ma-
turity, the other parts are filled up, and they appear more
like the form of a Linnet than any other bird.

The prominent points are these : a fine head, with brilliant,
reddish-tinged eyes — by some, termed ferret-eyed; single or
double comb, in both sexes; a graceful neck, rather short than
long; wide, deep, projecting breast; the body is not only
long, but is round, rather than flat or square; and the legs,
considering their size, short, and invariably of a silvery white.

I may add, that when crossed with other breeds, they in-
variably improve the form ; and while the quality of the meat
is improved, the amount of ofial is much reduced.

They are a hardy bird, and their young easily reared — a
fact of great importance in this climate.

That the Chinese possess a race of Fowls which have the
fifth toe, as fully developed as in the Dorking, is proved by
the fact, that I have in my possession a pair which were sent
from Nankin, (and arrived here in March, 1850,) as choice
specimens, having a snow-white plumage and other character-
istics of the true Dorking. The plumage, toes, the shape and
colour of the Eggs, lead me to believe that the Dorkings
originated in that section.

EBEN WIGHT.

Dedham, fc?., Dec. 5, 1850.

188 THE DORKING FOWL.

Mr. Dixon remarks, on the subject of Dorkings : — For
those who wish to stock their poultry-yards with Fowls of
the most desirable shape and size, clothed in rich and varie-
gated 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 vertically flat comb,f 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 satis-
fied. The Cockerels may be brought to considerable weights,
and the flavour and appearance of their meat are inferior to
none. Those epicures who now a.nd then like a 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 abund-
ance, and, though not equal in size to those of Spanish Hens,

* So called from the town of Surrey, 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, previously noticed, and as saving them from the suspicion
of a cross with either the Malays 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.
*

THE DOEKING FOWL. 189

may fairly be called large. They are not everlasting layers,
but at due or convenient intervals 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 profitable
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, however well-fed and warmly housed, dies,
a wasted mass of 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 jthe 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 unfavour-
able ones would aggravate 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 un-
happy 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, and it is to be regretted that no dissec
tion 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

190 THE DORKING FOWL.

taken as the exception, and no^ 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 disproving 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 re-
mark 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 condemnation 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 was 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 cer-
tainly 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 grassy
and thick-wooded situations, long-legged Fowls are preferable
to short-legged breeds like the Dorking, they being carried

THE DORKING FOWL. 191

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 suc-
cess 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 comple-
ment of five toes, are advised to try the Surrey Fowls, a nearly
allied breed, or, as some call it, an improvement of the Dork-
ing. They are a very fine variety, and may be had genuine
from any of the respectable London dealers. The Old Sus-
sex, 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 impracticable
directions that have been printed on the subject. Many ill-
nesses 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 domesticated animals are
dumfc^ they cannot tell their master what illTtreatment 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,
11 Just about roosting-time, one of the Cocks (of a very choice

192 THE DORKING FOWL.

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 beautiful 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-by 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 process 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 indignant; 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 machinery of households goes on.

I have subsequently found that, in all cases of suspicious death,
the surest way of coming at the truth, and preventing further
mal-practices, is to hold a formal inquest, with a post-mortem ex-
amination, and, after a deliberate investigation, to punish firmly
by rebuke or dismissal, any outrage on the laws of humanity.

THE DORKING FOWL. 193

Well might Aldrovandi caution his poultry-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 col-
lects the Eggs, and turns by hand those which are incubated,
will rightly be called the Hen-keeper, or Gruardian."

As to the casualties 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 kind-
ness 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 Menageries 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 excel-
lent poultry-tender : boys are as mischievous and untrustworthy
as monkeys. When there is any thing in hand requiring
peculiar watchfulness, it is not a bad plan, if possible, to at-
tend 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 uselessness, 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

194 THE DORKING FOWL.

Cocks, with all their outward trappings and sturdy build, I
must suspect to be deficient in vigour. If many Hens are
allowed to run with them, clear Eggs will disappoint those who
want large broods of Chickens. Three, or at most four, Hens
to a Cock will give the most successful 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 has limits is well
known to persons 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 sup-
posed value, and which the amateurs increase as much as pos-
sible, both by breeding in-and-in, and by selection, until the
particular property is made to predominate to such a degree,
in some of the more refined sorts, that they cannot exist with-
out the greatest care, and are incapable of rearing their young
without the assistance of other Pigeons kept for that purpose.'*
— The Art of Improving the Breeds of Domestic Aviinials, p. 13.

As mothers, an objection to the Dorkings is, that they are

* Chaucer's Cock Chatmteclere, who was probably a Golden Ham-
burgh, had a larger allowance : —

" This gen til cok had in his governance
Seven hennes for to don all his plesance,
Which were his susters and his paramoures,
And wonder like to him as of coloures,
Of which the fairest, hewed in the throte,
Was cleped faire Damoselle Pertelote."

The Nonnes Preestes Tale.

THE DORKING FOWL. 195

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 foot and crushed, if
in the least weakly. The Hen, in her affectionate industry in
scratching for grubs, kicks her lesser nurslings 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 profit-
able than the true breed. A showy, energetic Game-cock, with
Dorking Hens, produces Chickens in size and beauty little infe-
rior to their maternal parentage, and much more robust.
Everybody knows their peculiarity in having a supernumerary
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 ap- ,
pearance of the newly-hatched Chicks is scarcely altered. The
eggs of the Dorking Hens are large, pure white, very much
rounded, and nearly equal in size at each end. The Chicks
are brownish -yellow, with a broad brown stripe down the mid-
dle of the back, and a narrower one on each side; feet and
legs yellow. '

Of this breed Mr. Alfred Whitaker thus expresses his opin-
ion : — " I agree with you fully as to the usefulness of this de-
scription 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 Hens 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

196 THE DORKING FOWL.

size, they are magnificent. I saw one on my friend's dinner-
table three days since, quite as large as an ordinary Hen
Turkey ; it was a cockerel about seven months old. My expe-
rience of their laying and breeding qualities agrees mainly with
your statement, except that I should lay still stronger empha-
sis 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. Whit-
aker continues, " I have crossed the Dorkings with Pheasant
Malays. The first cross produces a fine 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 breed-
ing 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 guarantee that the cross breed will be good
further than the first result."

It is a question how the Speckled Dorkings were first intro-
duced. Some maintain that the pure White Dorkings 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 largf. stock of poultry. From this opinion I
must entirely dissent, on the ground of strong, though not ab-

THE DORKING FOWL. 197

solutely 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 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 men-
tion of speckles, (and he never describes minute markings,) the
whole description 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 vivacious,
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 indivi-
duals 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 delicate than birds of the normal
plumage, so the White Dorkings are inferior in size, and per-
haps in hardihood. I think also that there is no instance 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.

17*

198 COLOURED DORKINGS.

COLOURED DORKINGS.

AN esteemed correspondent writes to the Editor as follows,
concerning the above-named variety : —

You ask my opinion, whether or not the Coloured, Speck-
led, or Gray Dorkings, are thorough breeds ? I consider them
mongrels. I have seen many Fowls in this vicinity, which
were imported from England and Ireland under these names.
I have never known an instance in tyhich the progeny has
been like the imported Fowls. I think the only colour which
is thrown by the thorough-bred Dorking is white, with white
bill and legs, and a supernumerary hind-toe. The hind-toes
have a peculiar form and shape in the thorough-bred White
Dorking, which are not shown in the Coloured Dorkings.

The white breed of Dorjkings have, to my knowledge, been
bred "in-and-in" without any variation of these peculiar
marks, and without the slightest change in colour. The Co-
loured, Speckled, and Gray Dorking have not produced their
like in any instance, but have reverted to the different breeds
from which they were derived.

The great and well-deserved reputation which the breed of
Fowls known as Dorking Fowls, has acquired in England,
arises more from the superiority of its flesh over that of other
Fowls, than from its beauty of form, splendor of plumage,
the quality or size of its Eggs, or the weight of its body.

In the markets of London, Fowls with white legs and five
toes would always find purchasers, on account of the well-known
richness and flavour of the flesh, whatever might be its size,
whether caponized or not. And as large Fowls commanded
much larger prices than small ones, the breeders have been in-
duced to increase the size of the Fowls, retaining as much as

THE DORKING FOWL. 199

possible those peculiar characteristics, viz., the white legs and
the five toes, even at the risk of sacrificing the good qualities
of the flesh. For that purpose the Chittagong Fowl has been
used to cross with the White Dorking, on account of the near
resemblance of the colour of the legs and the great weight to
which the Chittagong Fowl attains.

That the colour of the Dorking Fowls was white, abundant
proof is furnished by Moubray, W. B. Dickson, and others.
Mr. James Main, who, early in this present century, .published
a book on Poultry, says, " The most valued variety for th-e
table, at present, is the Dorking breed. This is pure white, and
highly esteemed for the whiteness and delicacy of their flesh,
when served at table. They also fetch a higher price at
market. Among breeders, real Dorking Cocks sell for from
five to ten shillings each."

That the pure Dorking Fowl has become extinct, or nearly
so, in England, I will quote from a work on Poultry, written by
W. C. L. Martin, one of the scientific officers of the Zoological
Society of London, who, speaking of the Dorking Fowl, says,
" Surrey is noted for its Fowls, especially that breed which
passes under the name of Dorking, and which is cultivated in
the district surrounding that celebrated town. The Dorking
Fowl is a short-legged, plump, round-bodied Fowl, remarkable
for having five toes, that is, a supernumerary hind-toe. The
Dorking Fowl is of good size, and of a white colour, but such
are seldom seen." Mr. Martin is of the highest authority,
being, not merely a member of the Zoological Society, but one
of the scientific officers of that institution.

That the White Dorking had become exceedingly scarce in
Dorking and its vicinity, I will give you an extract of a let-
ter written by Captain E. E. Morgan, of the London packet-
ship Victoria, dated at London, April 14th, 1845, and pub-
lished in the American Agriculturist, July, 1845. It is as

200 THE DORKING FOWL.

follows : — " I shall write to Mr. Courtney again, who lives neap
Dorking. He told me, and I have also ascertained the same
fact myself from other quarters, that none is to be obtained
here, unless of a mongrel breed. " Mr. Courtney, in a letter to
Captain Morgan, says, " The Old White sort is altogether bred
out, and the Speckled and Gray varieties are now all the rage,
and altogether are, perhaps, the best barn-door Fowls in
existence."

The Reverend Edward Saul Dixon, the author of a work on
Ornamental and Domestic Poultry, published in London in
1850, says, " For those who wish to stock their Poultry-yards
with Fowls of most desirable shape and size, clothed in rich
and variegated plumage, and, not expecting perfection, are will-
ing to overlook one or two points, the Speckled Dorkings, so
called from the town in Surrey, which brought them into mo-
dern repute, are the breed to be at once selected/'

" It is a question how the Speckled Dorkings were first in-
troduced. Some maintain that the pure White Dorkings are
the original breed, and that the Speckled Dorkings are a recent
and improved cross."

After speaking of the good qualities of the Speckled Dorkings,
Mr. Dixon says, " With all these merits they are not found to
be a profitable stock if kept thorough-bred and unmixed. Their
power§ seem to fail at an early age. They are also apt to
pine away and die, just at the point of reaching maturity ; par-
ticularly the finest specimens, that is, the most thorough-bred,
are destroyed by this malady. These, and a few other appa-
rently trifling facts, seem to show that with the Speckled Dork-
ings, the art of breeding has arrived at its limits."

Mr. Dixon further says, " In the Speckled Dorkings the
lungs seem to be the seat of the disease. They appear at a
certain epoch to be seized with consumption. I do not believe
that the most favourable circumstances would prevent the com-

THE DOKKING FOWL. 201

plaint, though unfavourable ones would aggravate it; but that
it is inherent in the race and constitution of the birds."

The White Dorkings are hardy and active birds, and are not
subject to consumption, or any other disease.

Mr. Alfred Whitaker, a correspondent of the Gardeners'
Chronicle and Farmers' Gazette, an English publication, says,
in an article on the Speckled Dorkings, " I am disposed to
think that, when 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 guarantee that the cross
breed will be good further than the first result."

J. J. Nolan, of Dublin, Ireland, a dealer in fancy animals,
has, within the past year, put forth a work for the purpose of
advertising the articles in which he deals, in which he speaks
very highly of the Coloured Dorking, which he styles the
" True Dorking." He says, t( Breeders will find it necessary
to introduce, occasionally, fresh blood into their stock of Dork-
ing; otherwise they become unhealthy, and degenerate into a
dwarfish size ; and, if you expect productive Eggs, do not give
more than four or five Hens to a Cock." Nolan, in speaking
of the Old Sussex or Kent Fowl, says, " It is so nearly allied
to the Dorking, as to be almost impossible to separate them :
they may be called identical, as, in the same clutch, some of the
birds will have five toes, while others will have but four : those
with the five toes being denominated by the breeders, Dork-
ing ; and they designated those with only four toes, the Old
Sussex. Many fanciers prefer the old Sussex to the Dorking,
considering the additional toe as rather a deformity, and, when
perching, liable to accident. They are of all the various
colours of the Dorking : the description of that bird may in
every particular be applied to them. They require, as in the
Dorking, fresh blood introduced, or they become degenerate."
I have given these extracts for the purpose of showing that a

202 THE DORKING FOWL.

white race of Dorkings did exist, and that the coloured,
speckled, and gray varieties cannot be depended upon to re-
produce their own characteristics.

Yours, &c.

S. BRADFORD MORSE, JR.

East Boston, Mass., December l±th, 1850.

203

CHAPTER XII.

THE SPANISH FOWL.

WITH this variety of Fowls, I must confess myself not
much acquainted. I am familiar with their appearance and
general characteristics, but not so with their habits and quali-
ties. They are said (o possess many and rare merits. Their
appearance is certainly very fine, being spirited and animated.
The name " Spanish" is said to be a misnomer, as they were
originally brought by the Spaniards from the West Indies,
and, although subsequently propagated in Spain, it is now very
difficult to procure good specimens from that country. They
were taken in considerable numbers from Spain into Holland,
where they have, for many years, been bred with great care ;
and it is now from that quarter our best specimens come.

A thorough-bred Spanish Fowl 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 male and
female are very large, of a brilliant scarlet, and that of the Hen
drooping over on one side. Their most singular feature is a
white marlc on each check, of a fleshy substance, similar to the
wattles; which is small in the Hens, but large and very con-
spicuous in the Cocks. '* This marked contrast of black, bright
red, and white, makes the head of the Spanish Cock as hand-
some as that of any other variety ; and, in the genuine breed,

204 THE SPANISH FOWL.

the whole form is equally good ; but the scraggy, iong-leggedr
misshapen mongrels are often met with, enough to throw
discredit on the whole race."

I have seen and know enough to regard the Black Spanish,
in its purity, to be a truly distinct variety. A full-grown Cock
may weigh nearly 7 lbs.,and a Hen about 6 Ibs. The comb is
deeply serrated, and the wattles are very long, and the bird quite
free from top-knot. They are not very pugnacious. The Hens
are not inclined to sit, but are very good layers : Eggs large
and white.

F. BLAKE, ESQ., kindly furnished the portraits, and writes
as follows, concerning this ancient variety : —

Boston, December IQtJi, 1850.
J. J. KERR, M. D.

Dear Sir: — The Black Spanish Fowls, of which the artist,
Mr. Durivage, has produced a most faithful representation,
were presented to me by James Yates, Esq., of Lancashire,
England, through Capt. Wm. Harrison, of the British steamer
Canada, in the autumn of 1847. In describing them, Mr.
Yates remarks : " I found great difficulty in getting the pure
breed at first, and I do not know of any one in this country
that has it except myself. In breeding them, it is better to
get the Dorking Hen for hatching the Eggs."

I have seen no breed of Fowls more peculiar, and strikingly
attractive in its appearance, than this; and as regards their
laying qualities, and character for the table, I decidedly prefer
them to any others with which I have had experience.

The comb of the Cock is exceedingly large, deeply serrated,
of a brilliant scarlet, and quite erect. . The wattles are of pro-
portionate size, which, with the large and beautifully white
ear-lobe, or cheek-pieces, and brilliant jet-black plumage, pecu-
liar to this variety, affords a very striking and agreeable
contrast.

THE SPANISH FOWL.

The comb of the Hen is also quite large, but drooping, and
the white cheek-piece is less conspicuous.

The legs of both Cock and Hen are of a leaden hue ; the
under part of the feet, of a dingy yellow.

The Chickens, of which I have had between one and two
hundred during the past season, have been perfectly uniform
in all their characteristics, and this uniformity in the progeny,
I regard as one of the surest tests of thorough breeding. They
are literally everlasting layers. Their peculiar disinclination
to sit is very remarkable, and I regard it as their most valu-
able characteristic; for, in my experience, I have been exceed-
ingly annoyed by the constant propensity which some other
breeds have manifested in this respect. For the period of more
than three years, during which I have had them, the Hens
have not in a single instance manifested a desire to sit. Mou-
bray, Richardson, Dixon, and other writers, concur in express-
ing the most favourable opinions of their character. " As
table birds," says Richardson, " they hold a place in the very
first rank, their flesh being particularly white, tender, and
juicy, and the skin possessing that beautifully clear white hue,
so essential a requisite for birds designed for the consumption
of the gourmand. They are, besides, prolific, extremely
easily fed ; and, in short, I know of no Fowl I would rather re-
commend to the notice of the breeder."

Dixon, who, I think, may be regarded as one of the very
best authorities, remarks : " It is a noble race of Fowls, possess-
ing many great merits; of spirited and animated appearance,
of considerable size, excellent for the table, both in whiteness
of flesh and skin, and also in flavour ; laying exceedingly large
Eggs in considerable numbers ; but the scraggy, long-legged,
misshapen mongrels one often sees in the poorer quarters of a
town, are enough to throw discredit on the whole race. Find-
ing it too troublesome to preserve a variety of breeds in perfect
purity, I have, after considerable experience, fixed upon the

18

206 THE SPANISH FOWL. '

Black Spanish as my preference, and shall keep but one other
breed for sitters. I am not inclined to disparage other breeds,
(and I assure you the organization of our society in New Eng-
land, with its exhibitions, has excited an interest which renders
us somewhat sensitive upon this subject,) but 1 am satisfied
that, if persons interested will confine their attention to some
one favourite breed, avoiding a too frequent propensity for cross
breeding, we shall soon establish the fact, that there is no de-
scription of stock more susceptible of improvement than our
Domestic Poultry, and shall convince those who are somewhat
inclined to smile at our hobby, that the ordinary barn-yard
Fowl is of comparatively little value.

Respectfully yours,

FRANCIS BLAKE.

Mr. Dixon says : — 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 Por-
tugal Fowl. Neither term removes them far from their old-esta-
blished location, if not their original home. It is a noble race of
Fowls, possessing many great merits ; of spirited and animated
appearance, of considerable size, excellent for the table, both in
whiteness of flesh and skin, and also in flavour, laying exceed-
ingly large Eggs in considerable numbers. Among 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 con-
cerned, and, when in high condition, display 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

THE SPANISH FOWL. 207

droops over on one side. Their most singular feature is a
large white patch, or ear-lobe, an the cheek, which in some
specimens extends over great part of the face, of a fleshy sub-
stance, 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 handsome as that of any variety we have ; and in the
genuine breed the whole form is equally good : but the scraggy,
long-legged, misshapen mongrels one often sees in the poorer quar-
ters of a town, are enough to throw discredit on the whole race.

Spanish Hens are celebrated as good layers, and produce very
large, quite white Eggs, of a peculiar shape, being very thick
at both en,ds, and yet tapering off a little at each. They are,
by no means, good mothers of families, even when they do sit,
which they will not often condescend to do, proving very care-
less, and frequently trampling half their brood under foot.
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 ihe 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 un-
remitting 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 be forced, as it re-
quires 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

208 THE SPANISH FOWL.

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 ac-
climatized, for continued frost at any time much injures 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 hun-
dred years ago.

The Chicks are large, as would be expected from such Eggs,
entirely shining black, except a pinafore of white on the breast, f
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 grown ; and therefore, to have these birds come to per-
fection in this country, where the summers are so much shorter
than in their native climate, it is necessary 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 any thing but an uniformity in the
time Spanish Chickens get their plumage ; the Pullets are al-

* " M. Columella patruus meus, acris vir ingenii, atque illustria
agricola." — Lib. vii. c. 2.

•f- In this particular the Spanish Chicks are precisely like the
Black Polish Chicks.— ED.

THE SPANISH FOWL. 209

ways 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 tolerably well at an early age.
This is a fact worth some particular remark, as many superfi-
cial observers in this neighbourhood have invariably rejected,
for breeding purposes, the Cockerels which got their feathera
early, supposing from that fact that they were not purely bred.
But 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 Drethren in size."
The black, however, is not the only valuable race of Spanish
Fowl, although certain metropolitan dealers, who have no
right to oifer an opinion, if they do not choose to give infor-
mation 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 com-
plains of the deficiencies and the conduct of this class of people ;
and it is surprising that, since the establishment of the Zoolo-
gical 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 de-
sirable plan of proceeding, and would have given that informa-
tion to the lovers of aviaries, which is now so much wanted j
but further inquiry showed us the utter impossibility of doing
iliis, from the total absence of the necessary materials. It has

18*

210 THE SPANISH FOWL.

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 seve-
ral in London, are not persons capable of writing upon such
matters, even had they the inclination to reveal ichat 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 multiplicity of its concerns and
the paucity of its working members, that nothing worth men-
tioning has been communicated to the public on this interest-
ing subject. However desirable, therefore, such an exposition
as we at first contemplated would be, it never can be carried
into execution, unless by ike powerful and united assistance of
those who direct their time and attention almost exclusively to
the rearing and management of birds." — Animals in Menage-
ries, 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 two varieties of Spanish Fowl, the Black,
and the Gray, or Speckled, the latter being of a slaty gray
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 a 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, 1847,) amongst which there are three

"THE SPANISH FOWL. 211

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
throat, 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, and 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, they are the most useful
and ornamental breed of Fowls both for the breeder and ama-
teur. 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 ten shillings 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 with-
out 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." — H. H.

Some of these birds are of a blue, or gray, 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 pro-

212 THE SPANISH FOWL.

duces 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 bed-room 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 fourteen hundred, and they are still (Sept.
llth) 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 than I have ever had
from any of the BlacJc, 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, lam 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 unsus-
pected by us. Nor have towns people an idea of the intense
longing which their Fowls feel for any thing 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
poultry, 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.

THE SPANISH FOWL. 213

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 which were hatched on the 2d
of February, and commenced laying on the 18th and 19th of
the July following, and kept it up through the winter. The
constant use of a memorandum-book would fix many of these
interesting little facts. It would be useful to institute a com-
petition 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 Constantinople
and the shores of the Black Sea. I have had no 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.

214

CHAPTER XIII.

THE GAME FOWL.

Or all the varieties of Domestic Fowls, except, perhaps, the
Smooth-legged Bantam, the Game Fowl is the most symmetri-
cal. It is more slender in the body, the neck, the bill, and the
legs, than other kinds, and the various hues of the plumage are
more brilliant and showy. Their flesh is white, compact) — like
that of the race-horse as compared with the scrub, — delicate,
and very nutritious ; but the extreme difficulty of rearing the
Chickens, owing to their natural pugnacity, which shows it-
self at a very early period, deters most breeders, excepting
those who breed for the cock-pit. " Whole broods, scarcely
feathered, are sometimes stone-blind from fighting, to the very
smallest individuals : the rival couples moping in corners, and
renewing their battles on obtaining the first ray of light."
The game Eggs are rather smaller than common, but finely-
shaped, and extremely rich and delicate. The weight of this
Fowl is from 3| to 5j Ibs., though I have heard of 8 Ibs., and
my friend, Win. Wi§tar, Esq., near German town, assures me
that he has a Game Cock, thorough-bred, that now weighs
9£ Ibs. The practice of fighting Cocks is supposed to be of
Grecian origin. It was adopted by the Romans about 470
years before the Christian era. For the gratification of the
curious in this matter, I will extract, from a work recently
published in Ireland, the following account of Cocking : —

It is not particularly known when the pitched battle was

THE GAME FOWL. 215

first introduced into England. We have no notice of Cock-
fighting earlier than the reign of Henry II. William Fitz-
Stephen describes it, then, as the sport of school-boys, on
Shrove Tuesday ; the theatre was the school, and the school-
master, it seems, was the controller and director of the sport.
The practice was prohibited in the 89th of Edward III., but
became general under Henry VIII., who was personally
attached to it, and established the cock-pit at Whitehall, to
bring it more into credit. James the First was so remarkably
fond of it, that, according to Monsieur de la Bodenie, who was
ambassador for Henry IV. to the king, he constantly amused
himself with it twice a week. Under Elizabeth, it was not
less in vogue, and the learned Roger Ascham then favoured
the world with a treatise on the subject. There was then a
pit in Drury-lane, Horseferry-road, and Grray's-Inn-lane, St.
James's Park, and another in Jewin-street ', but the practice
was a second time prohibited, by an act under the Protector-
ship, in 1554. Our Dublin pits are of a more recent date, the
principal of which were in Clarendon-street and Essex-street,
where the Meaths and Kildares often proved the powers of
their Cocks. The lights were managed by men, who made a
livelihood by it, and were called handlers : they alone were
admissible within the " magic circle."

A cock-pit, like a race-course, in a sporting point of view,
was for every person, and selection of company was entirely
out of the question. The noble'lord, and the needy commoner,
were both at home, after they -had paid their tip for admis-
sion ; and persons who enter the pit to sport a crown, bet a
sovereign, or put down their pounds, are too much interested
upon the main, to consider who they may choose to (( rub
against" for the time being.

Cocking was kept up with great spirit at Newcastle. At one
of their last meetings, the cockers at the above place, in point
of extent, exceeded every thing of the kind known in Great

216 THE GAME FOWL.

Britain. Upwards of 200 Cocks were fought, and the fight-
ing generally good, particularly the Cocks of Baglin-hill and
Lockey, which all won great majorities. A remarkable cir-
cumstance occurred on the Saturday before fighting. A match
was made for 20 sovereigns, between Parker and Reed, feed-
ers, and won by the latter, after a hard contest. Parker's
Cock, however, came round so soon after, that his party made
a second match, to come off on the following Monday, for a
like sum, which was again won by Reed, after a severe battle
— a circumstance, perhaps, altogether unknown in the annals
of cocking. It is also calculated that, at the termination of
the races, which finished with cocking, upwards of 1,000 Cocks
had met their deaths. Newcastle, therefore, challenged the
world for cocking. Cheltenham, Chester, Gloucester, Nor-
wich, Lancaster, Preston, Stamford, &c. &c., were celebrated
for their Cocks. The patrons were the Earl of Derby, Sir
William Wynne, Ralph Benson, Esq., &c. &c.

The exterior qualifications of a Cock are, head thin and long,
or, if not, very taper ; a large, full eye ; beak crooked and
stout; neck thick and long, (a Cock with a long neck has a
great advantage in his battle, particularly if his antagonist is
one of those Cocks that will fight at no other place but the
head ;) his body short and compact, with a round breast, (as a
sharp-breasted Cock carries a great deal of useless weight about
him, and never has a fine forehand ;) his thighs fine and thick,
and placed well up to the shoulder, (for where a Cock's legs
hang dangling behind him, be- assured he never can maintain
a long battle ;) his legs long and thick, and if they correspond
with the colour of his beak — blue, gray, or yellow — I think it
a perfection ; his feet should be broad and thin, with very long
claws. With regard to his carriage, he should be upright, but
not stiffly so ; his walk should be stately, with his wings in
some measure extended, and not plod along, as I have seen
some Cocks do; with their wings upon their backs, like geese ;

THE GAME £OWL. 217

his colour rather gray, yellow, or rose, with black breast ; his
spurs rough, long, and looking inward. As to the colour he
is of, it is immaterial ; there are good Cocks of all colours ;
but he should be thin of feathers, short, and very hard, which
is another proof of his being healthy. Remember that a
Cock, with all his stoutness, length, and thickness of leg,
rotundity of breast, " fine forehand," firmness of neck, and ex-
tent of wing, ought not to weigh more than 4 Ib. 8 or 10 oz. ;
if he happen to have an ounce or two more in his composition,
he is out of the pale of the pit, and is excluded by all match-
makers, from (( fighting within the articles." A bird, to be a
bird, "fit for the white bag, the trimmed wing, the mat, and
the silver spur," must be light upon the leg, light-fleshed, and
large-boned, but still no more than 4 Ib. 8 or 10 oz.

A cock-pit was a large, lofty, circular building, with seats
rising, as in an amphitheatre ; in the middle of it was a round,
matted stage, of about 18 or 20 feet in diameter, and rimmed
with an edge, eight or ten inches in height, to keep the Cocks
from falling over in their combats ; there was a chalk ring in
the centre of the matted stage, of perhaps a yard diameter,
and another chalk-mark within it, much smaller, which was
intended for the setting-to, when the shattered birds were so
enfeebled as to have no power of making hostile advances to»
wards each other. This inner mark admitted of their being
placed beak to beak. A large and rude branched candlestick
was suspended low down, immediately over the mat, which
was used at the night-battles. The birds were weighed and
matched, and then marked and numbered; the descriptions
were carefully set down, in order that the Cock should not be
changed ; the lightest Cocks fought first in order. The key
of the pens, in which the Cocks were set and numbered, was
left on the weighing-table, or the opposite party might, if he
pleased, put a lock on the door. The utmost possible care, in
short, was taken, that the matched birds should fight, and no

19

218 THE GAME FOWL.

substitutes intruded. The following sketch of a set-to, is from
the pen of a celebrated amateur : —

The only persons allowed on the platform are the setters-to.
The first I shall name Nash; the younger ; he was followed by
a stout, plump, old, ostler-looking man, named Nash, the elder.
This person carried a white bag, containing one of the brave
birds for the battle. The two men stepped upon the mat ; the
hubbub is instantaneous — tl Two to one on Nash" — <c A guinea
on Nash'7 — " Nash a crown ;" the bets are laid on the setter-
to. From the opposite side of the pit, a similar procession
entered ; the setter-to, Fleming, by name, did not appear so
great a favourite as young Nash. The chuckle of the Cock in
his bag was answered deeply and savagely from the other,
and the straw seemed spurned in the narrow cell.

Nash's bag was carefully untied, and Nash himself took out
one of the handsomest birds I think I ever beheld ; he was a
red and black bird ; slim, masculine, trimmed, yet with feath-
ers glossy, as though the sun shone only on his nervous wings ;
his neck arose out of the bag, snake-like — terrible — as if it
would stretch upwards to the ceiling ; his body followed — com-
pact, strong, and beautiful ; and his long, dark-blue, sinewy
legs came forth — clean, handsome, shapely, determined, iron-
like ! The silver spur was on each heel, of an inch and a half
in length, tied on in the most delicate and neat manner ; his
large, vigorous beak showed aquiline, eagle-like ; and his black,
dilating eyes took in all around him, and shone so intensely
brilliant, that they looked like jewels ; their light was that of
thoughtful, sedate, and savage courage \ his comb was cut close •
his neck trimmed ; his wings clipped, pointed, and strong ; the
feathers on his back were of the very glossiest red, and ap-
peared to be the only ones which were left untouched ; the tail
was docked triangle-ways, like a hunter's. The gallant bird
clucked defiance, and looked as if he " had in him something
dangerous I" Nash gave him to Fleming, who held him up

THE GAME FOWL. 219

above his head, examined his beak, his wings, his legs, while
a person read to him the description of the bird from paper ;
and upon finding all correct, he delivered the rich, feathered
warrior back to Nash, and proceeded to produce his own bird
for a similar examination.

But I must speak of the senior Nash — the old man, the
feeder. When again may I have an opportunity of describing
him ? and what ought a paper upon cocking be accounted worth,
if it fail to contain some sketch, however slight, of old Nash ?
He wore a smock-frock, and was clumsily, though potently
built, his shoulders being ample, and of a rotundity resembling
a wool-pack ; his legs were not equal to his bulk ; he was un-
conversational, almost to a fault, and never made even the
slightest remark that did not appertain to Cocks or cocking ;
his narrow, damp, colourless eye, twinkled a cold satisfaction
when a bird of promise made good work on the mat, and some-
times, though seldom, he was elevated into the proffer of a
moderate bet; but generally he leaned over the rails of a small
gallery, running parallel with the coop, and, stooping attentively
towards the pit, watched the progress of the battle. I re-
marked he was extremely like a Cock — old Nash's beaked
nose, drawn close down, over his mouth ; his red forehead and
gills ; his round body ; and blue, thin legs ; and his silver-
gray, scanty, feathery hair, lying like a plume over his head,
all proved him Cock-like. This man, thought I, has been
cooped up in pens, or penned up in coops, until he has become
shaped, coloured, mannered like the bird he has been feeding.
I should scarcely have been surprised, if told, that old Nash
crowed when the light first dawned of a summer's morning.
I warrant he pecked bread and milk to some tune, and, per-
haps, slept upon a perch ! But Fleming lifted his bird from
the bag, and my whole mind was directed his way : this was a
yellow-bodied, black-winged, handsome Cock, seemingly rather
slight, but elastic and muscular ; he was restless at the sight

220 THE GAME FOWL.

of his antagonist, but quite silent ; and old Nash examined him
most carefully, by the paper, and delivered him up to Flem-
ing, upon finding him answer to his description. The setters-
to then smoothed their birds, and handled them, wetted their
fingers, and moistened their bandaged ankles, where the spurs
were fastened ; held them up opposite to each other, and then
pampered their courage and prepared them for combat.

THE FIGHT.

The mat was cleared of all persons except Fleming and
young Nash ; the betting went on vociferously ; the setters-to
taunted the birds with each other's presence — allowed them to
strike at each other at a distance — put them on the mat facing
each other — encouraged and fed their crowing and mantling,
until they were nearly dangerous to hold, and then loosened
them against each other, for the fatal fight.

The first terrific dart into attitude was, indeed, strikingly
grand and beautiful ; and the wary sparring, watching, dodg-
ing for the first cut, was extremely curious. They were beak-
point to beak-point, until they dashed up into one tremendous
flirt, mingling their powerful, rustling wings, and nervous
heels, in one furious, confused mass. The leap, the fire, the
passion of strength, certaminis gaudia, were fierce and loud :
the parting was another kind of thing, every way. I can com-
pare the sound of the first flight to nothing less than that of a
wet umbrella forced suddenly open. The separation was death-
like : the yellow, or rather the ginger bird, staggered out of
the close, drooping, dismantled, bleeding : he was struck.

Fleming and Nash severally took their birds, examined them
for a moment, and then set them again opposite to each other.
The handling of the Cocks was as delicate as if they had been
made of foam, froth, or any perishable matter. Fleming's
bird staggered towards his opponent, but he was hit dreadfully,

THE GAME FOWL. 221

and ran like a drunken man — tottering on his breast, sinking
back his tail — while Nash's, full of fire and irritated courage,
gave the finishing stroke, that clove every particle of life in
twain. The brave bird thus killed, dropped at once from the
(( gallant bearing, and proud mien/' to the relaxed, draggled,
motionless object that lay in bleeding ruin on the mat. I sighed
and looked thoughtful, when the tumult of the betters startled
me into a consciousness of the scene at which I was present.

The victor Cock was carried by me in all his pride, slightly
scarred, but evidently made doubly fierce and muscular, by
the short encounter he had been engaged in. He seemed to
have grown double the size : his eyes were larger.

The paying backward and forward of money, won and lost,
occupied the time until the two Nashes again descended with
another Cock.

Sometimes the first blow was fatal, at another time the con-
test was long and doubtful, and the Cocks showed all the ob-
stinate courage, weariness, distress, and breathlessness, which
mark the struggle of experienced pugilists. I saw the beak
open, the tongue palpitate, the wing drag on the mat : I no-
ticed the legs tremble, and the body topple over upon the
breast ] the eye grow dim, and even a perspiration break out
upon the feathers of the back. When the battle lasted long,
and the Cocks lay helpless near or upon each other, one of the
feeders counted ten and the birds were separated and set-to
at the chalk. If the beaten bird does not fight while forty is
counted, and the other pecks or shows signs of battle, the
former, is declared conquered.

The Cocks were the next object of curiosity. A covering
was hung before each pen, so that I heard rather than saw the
Cocks; but it was feeding time, and I beheld innumerable
rocky beaks, and sparkling eyes at work in the troughs ; and
the stroke of the beak, in taking up the barley, was like the-

19*

222 THE GAME FOWL.

knock of a manly knuckle on the table. Old Nash was mix-
ing bread and milk for his feathered family.

Now hear what Mr. Dixon says concerning the Game Cock :
— The Game Cock is by no means the aggressive, sanguinary
tyrant that he is commonly represented to be. He will sub-
mit to no insult or intrusion within his own domain; but
neither does he offer any unprovoked assault. If his antago-
nist flee, he is satisfied, and does not pursue 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 subse-
quent application of hot iron to prevent bleeding, without a
sound or a murmur ; and when set down iji 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 hil-
lock, 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

THE GAME FOWL. 223

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 Ice-
land : —

" Had I been the only person to witness the following cir-
cumstance 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 Mr. Browning, an officer of the
Talbot, whose ill-health confined him to 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 performing a sort of sham-fight for some time, dis-
perse and return to their homes. A desire to be an eye-wit-
ness 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 swimming,
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 Reikevig were running with
the greatest speed, while their companions of the neighbouring
country 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 eminence
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;

224 THE GAME FOWL.

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 stationary. The engagement was in
this manner kept up by different detachments, the Dogs con-
tinuing 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
Walk never interferes with such harmless frolics, which he
would do if they threatened any thing 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 lym-
phatic in their composition, but a happy combination 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 ena-
melled 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.

THE GAME FOWL. 225

A constantly pacific male is despicable in their eyes. " Eh !
si je veux qu'il me batte I" " If I choose my husband to beat
me, what business is that of yours ? 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 XIY. But civilized and uncivilized 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 Eng-
lish 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, 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 hand
some, but robust, and seemingly as savage as himself; her
conversation, likewise, was as frightful as his own. Both
seemed to be under the influence 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 con-
tempt, exclaimed, ( Cardls, que es eso T ' 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,

226 THE GAME FOWL.

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/' — Borrow 's Bible
in Spain, vol. ii. p. 53. The lady was as submissive, as affec-
tionate, 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 addi-
tional 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, 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 helplessly 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 communicated to each other in
phrases of Spanish, which language many of the French pri-
vates 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

THE GAME FOWL. 227

virtue of friendship, and abolish the act of slaughter? 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
what 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 unmen-
tionable. 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 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 faintuess 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 what-
ever kind, is utterly abolished, 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

228 THE GAME FOWL.

death : although one does see a few thorough-bred birds now
and then, and hears faint rumours of an occasional amicable
trial of strength.*

There is a very graphic account of a main, conducted secun-
dum artem in by -gone days, to be found in Elaine's <( Rural
Sports." But Cock-fighting is of older date than modern
fashionable refinement, and may possibly survive it. a The
Alexandrians," says Statius, quoted by the Quarterly Review,
" were indifferent soldiers, but the best of singers, and only
surpassed 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 couple of Cocks
up into the drawing-room, as an agreeable interruption to the
tiresome rubbers of whist. But before noblemen and their

* I am informed that, in certain places in Warwickshire, and in
the adjoining county of Staffordshire, the effects of Cock-fighting
still continue to be impoverishing, demoralizing, and degrading to
its followers, clothing them and their families in rags. It is no un-
common 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 Avretchedness 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 senti-
mental talk about its cruelty. People can go and see a poor girl, or
a reckless 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 the 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 gam-
bling, and preventing such assemblies ; and the police would be
better employed in preventing such ruinous infringements of the law,
than in many of the cases on which they try their 'prentice hand, in
a desperate effort to obtain their maiden conviction.

THE GAME FOWL. 229

drawing-rooms were invented hereabouts, these little turns-up
were unthinkingly made a source of amusement. Read what
an observant traveller, and really estimable 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} literally,
the causing fighting among Fowls, or Cock-fighting. The Ta-
hitians 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 be-
holding them destroy each other. lLong 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 ; a finely-carved fatapua, 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 taught
to open his mouth to receive his food and his water, which was
poured from his master's hand. It was customary 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 divi-
sion. They do not appear to have entertained any predi-
lection 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

20

280 THE GAME FOWL.

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 imme-
diately parted. This amusement was sometimes 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 fighting 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, than it resembles rather a se-
rious occupation than a sport. You seldom meet a man tra-
velling in the country, without a Cock under his arm, and some-
times fifty in a company, when there is a limbang in one of
the neighbouring villages. A countryman coming down, on
any occasion, to the qualloe, or mouth of the river, if he boast
the least degree of spirit, must not be unprovided with this
token of it. They often game high at their meetings ; par-
ticularly 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, attended with dreadful consequences, have often arisen
on these occasions.

" By their customs, there are four umpires appointed to de-
termine on all disputed points in the course of the tattles, and

THE GAME FOWL. 231

from their decision there lies no appeal, except the Gothic ap-
peal to the sword. A person losing, and who has not the ability
to pay, is immediately proscribed, departs with disgrace, and is
never again suffered to appear at the galangang. 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 withinside. A
man who has a 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 betooali, or invulnerable.

" Cocks 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 disputes, or knavish
impositions. The Malay breed of Cocks is much esteemed by
connoisseurs who have had an opportunity of trying them.
Great pains is taken in the rearing and feeding ; they are fre-
quently handled, and accustomed to spar in public, in order to
prevent any shyness. Contrary 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 being held to
him for that purpose, or it becomes a drawn battle ; and some-
times an experienced cocker will place the head of his van-
quished bird in such an uncouth posture, as to terrify the othei,
and render him unable to give this proof of victory. The
Cocks are never trimmed, but matched in full feather. The

232 THE GAME FOWL.

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 legulated. As,
in horse-racing, weight is proportioned 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 survive 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
accidently dropped in weighing and delivering, 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 j be-
sides his profit of twofanams (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."
— Marshal's History of Sumatra, pp. 236-8. London, 1783.

This extraordinary account is not without the confirmation
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 In-
dian 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

THE GAME FOWL. 233

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 in-
stant."— De Guigne's 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 corre-
spondence 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 inso-
lences, 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 de-
fence. For the Malayans here are great lovers of Cock-fight-
ing, and there were about one thousand 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 Neclin, 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. Dampier's
Voyages, vol. ii. (Supplement.) London, MDCO. p. 184.

20*

234: THE GAME FOWL.

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 di-
rections 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 re-
ceiving interruption. The -Cockerels three-quarters ^rown (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 encouraged 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 Grame
Cock will soon set all to rights. His very look and air inspire
health and cheerfulness into the dispirited Hens. He fertilizes
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 thrifty. " Bad the crow,
bad the egg," xaxov xopaxog xaxbv wor. 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 perhaps 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.

THE GAME FOWL. 235

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 yel-
low-legged tribe are very gaudy, bright, and strongly con-
trasted, though apt to be a little under-sized; the duck-winged
grays, so called from their iridescent wing-coverts, which re-
mind one of the speculum in a Duck's wing, are most harmo-
niously 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 in-
dustrious examination of them, with good opportunities, might
lead to very interesting conclusions. Meanwhile, 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 very 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 black ; legs, dark. Hens, brown of
various shades, the feathers 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,
beifcg marked with a deep brown streak on the head and neck,

236 THE GAME FOWL.

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 natu-
ral 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 sieze 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 wo to any un-
fortunate 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 GAME FOWL. 237

the mice about — the latter, of course, in great consterna-
tion. 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."
— W. 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 ex-
pression is applied to birds that are not Game. So the Staf-
fordshire 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 handsome 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 per-
fectly 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. u 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-co-
loured. Then, very nearly allied to these in colour, is the
Pole-cat Game Fowl, differing from the Furness only in hav-
ing more of light or straw-coloured feathers upon him, his
wings being of that colour, in addition 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, Staf-
fordshire Piles, and streaky-breasted Red Piles. Cheshire
Piles have always a thoroughly red back, with all the rest of

238 THE GAME FOWL.

the feathers white, excepting occasionally that the breast ia
streaked with red also. Staffordshire Piles are similar in mark-
ings to the Cheshire, but of a yellower cast, (or what is called
by breeders i carroty/) approaching to an orange-yellow; the
breast is also sometimes streaked with the same colour as the
back. White is the predominating colour both in the Staf-
fordshire 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 Coun-
ties, and, in the opinion of some, are the most chaste and beau-
tiful 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 rendered it extremely difficult to breed dis-
tinctly-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 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 part of one to which a
white feather can adhere. Poor Richardson, being induced to
write little books faster than he could clearly grasp their sub-

THE GAME F OW L. 239

jeets, perhaps did not understand his own expression; Ibut
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 ornithology, 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 Ibs.

11 The Hen is of a fine round shape, in colour resembling 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-propor-
tioned, inclining to length. The Hens are capital sitters and
nurses.

" 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 trained by making them spar in

240 THE, GAME FOWL.

warm rooms, with boxing-gloves, made to fit the heel, and pre-
vent 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 know-
ledge on the occasion of the trial mains, which always occur-
red previous 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 distinguishing the seve-
ral breeds, by special artificial marks attached to each cross,
so that a Cock marked so and so, was put down with a certain
number of Hens marked, say " light eyes," to breed at a par-
ticular 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

THE GAME FOWL. 241

out to be brought up at different farm-houses or cottages, and
regularly 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 pur-
pose of selecting the combatants for each main. It was neces-
sary 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 fight-
ing ] neither were the people allowed to hoffle the Hens, so as
to prevent 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 elsewhere. 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 cer-
tain number of each of the sorts he might choose for that par-
ticular 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 build-
ing at Knowsley, till the Trainer or Feeder could come and
gee to them, which was always 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
% few friends in his confidence, assembled to witness the trial,

21

242 THE GAME FOWL.

for which his Lordship almost always had down his own regu-
lar 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 aiford 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 among the
Feeders, so much so, that young Potter and Iloscoe 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 ad-
mission, unless with one of them, or as a very great and spe-
cial favour. After Lord Derby gave up his mains, Eoscoe,
and, since his death, his son, has been employed in the care
of the decreased number of G ame Fowls about Knowsley, for
the supply of the House with poultry and eggs, and with
liens for incubation ; but a good many more were given to
Iloscoe 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 Iloscoe to find out the small remaining stock. The
correctness of the breed now in his lordship's possession, there-
fore, depends entirely upon him. The terms used by Cockers

THE GAME FOWL. 243

for cutting the combs of Cock Chickens, is "dubbing;" and
birds of the first year are called Stags. The late Lord Derby
was so biased by his cocking tastes, \a 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, perriwig-
ged 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 conveyance, come
out on horse, ass, or mule, single, double, or treble if neces-
sary ; and many hundred 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 amuse-
ments of the f£te. The Mexican generals and other officers
follow in his wake, and the gratifying spectacle may not un-
frequently 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 raga-
muffin 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 Senoras
in their boxes did honour to the fete by their brilliant toilet,
the gentlemen promenaded round the circle in jackets, high
and low being on the same curtailed footing, and certainly in

244 THE GAME FOWL.

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 pre-
vious 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 pick-pockets, 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

THE GAME FOWL. 245

behaviour which throws over all these incongruities a cloak of
decency and decorum, that hides their impropriety so com-
pletely, 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 Messrs. and , or any other

two vehement orators ; applauding their biting re-marks and
cutting sarcasms, and encouraging them to crow over each
other. The President might have been the speaker, and the
Oorps diplomatique represented itself. In the evening a ball
is given in the plaza de gallos." — Life in Mexico, l>y 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/' — Walpole's Four Years in the Pacific,
vol. ii. p. 33.

246

THE GAME FOWL.

THE MEXICAN HEN-COCK GAME FOWL.

THROUGH the politeness of Geo. P. Burnham, editor of the
t( American Union/' Boston, I am able to present to my read-
ers, portraits and descriptions of the Mexican Game Breed.
It will be observed that the sickle feathers, proper to the
Cock's tail, are absent in this variety. This arises, doubtless,
from close breeding, or rather breeding in-and-in, as it is
called. The neck and rump hackles are but indifferently de-
veloped. For confirmation of breeding in-and-in being the
cause of this, I refer the readers to what Mr. Walker says
concerning Sir John Sebright's Bantams, in his treatise on
Intermarriage. I have occasionally witnessed the same thing

THE GAME FOWL. 247

ociurring among our own smooth-legged Bantams. Such are
reputed to be the best fighters. In a letter I received yester-
day, from my friend, David Taggart, Esq., of Northumber-
land, Pa., he says : " I was at Milton a few weeks, and stopped
at the public-house of Mr. Frederick Sticker, who has been
for many years, a breeder of Game Fowls. In his Poultry-
yard, I discovered two Fowls, that, with all my Chicken ex-
perience, puzzled me, at first glance, to know their sex. They
were both Cocks, one eighteen, the other seven months old.
Both had their heads shaved in regular Game-chicken style,
and neither had a feather on him that indicated a male bird,
with the exception of one or two of the longest tail-feathers,
slightly curved and bent over. I brought the younger one
with me, for the sake of his portrait, which I hope to send
you in my next letter. He has, you will observe, (vide Por-
trait,) no bright-coloured plumage, no long pendent feathers
on neck or back, nothing, in fact, to mark his sex, but a proud
stately gait, and erect mien. He is full-blooded Game,*»and
old Sticker calls him a Pheasant Fowl. It is only occasienally
they appear among his stock, deriving their strange appear-
ance from remote ancestors;" and, my friend, you might have
added, from breeding in-and-in for many years past ; at least,
I will venture to say so, without knowing further particulars
in this instance. Of two things I am quite certain, viz. : that
Hen-tailed Cocks have a popular reputation of being great
fighters, and that they generally, if not always, result from
breeding in-and-in. I will here take the liberty of quoting
Dr. Bennett's communication to the " American Union" news-
paper, concerning the Mexican Game Fowl, whose portraits
are given above. He says : " These Fowls are in many
resDects remarkable. The Spanish name, " Gallus Gallenos,"
or "Hen-cock," (Latin — Gallus Gallinaceus^ at once intro-
duces us to their principal peculiarity. The Cocks, to all
intents and purposes, resemble ordinary Hens — the only

248 THE GAME FOWL.

marked difference being in the size of the comb and wattles.
They are comparatively destitute of neck and rump hackles.
The colour is usually similar to that of a Partridge ; the legs
are dark and smooth, the eyes lustrous, and the plume-feathers
are shorter and less brilliant than those of other Fowls.

In size, they compare favourably with other Game Fowls.
Their general aspect is ferocious, and their movements are
lively and graceful. They are what "cockers" call/as^ fight-
ers. The particular Fowls here described, one of which is
represented in frhe picture, are those obtained by me from
John Giles, Esq., of Providence, and Dr. Eben Wight, of
Dedham, and are now owned by C. W. Mead, of Chicopee,
and Samuel Parker, of Worcester.

The Hen portrayed above, is an imported Cuban Game Fowl,
now owned by Mr. Mead. This breed are perfectly black, and
have all the points of the best sorts of Game Fowls. Their
prowess is wonderful, and it is rarely the case that one of them
survives a defeat.

The following letter from Col. Adam G. Summer, of Poma-
ria, S. C., to the author, gives so ample and beautiful a de-
scription of this Fowl, that further comment, here, is unne-
cessary : —

" This unique variety was introduced in 1844, by General
Waddy Thompson, of that State, on his return from Mexico.
It is a favourite variety with the Mexicans, and their Mexican
name is " Gallus Gallenos" — Hen-Cock, from the fact that
the male birds have short broad tails, and, in colour and plu-
mage, the appearance of the Hens of the same variety differing
only in the combs — which is very large and erect in the Cocks,
and small in the Hens.

" In Mexico, they are fought without training, and the Com-
mon Game Cook will not attack these hen-looking Cocks until
it is too late. The Mexican Cock is generally Pheasant-

THE GAME FOWL. 249

coloured, with cccasional changes in plumage from a light yellow
to a dark gray, and recently in the stock in Carolina there has
been a tendency to black tail-feathers and breast, as well as an
inclination to gray and light-yellow, and with a slight approxi-
mation to red hackles in some rare instances.

" The majority of the whole stock, however, preserves the
original Pheasant-colour. This variety has a strong frame, and
the largest and most muscular thighs of any Fowl I have as
yet seen. This gives quick power to his fierce action in fight,
and, if not killed immediately, he is sure to be victorious. I do
not know whether they will fight well in a cold climate like
yours. The Cocks are distinguished by large upright combs,
strong bills, and very large lustrous eyes. Their legs vary
from a dirty to a dark green-colour. The Hens differ so little
from the Cocks that a description is unnecessary.

" They are as good layers and sitters as any other game
breed-and are good nurses. The Cock, which was the pro-
genitor of all the stock now in the United States, was presented
to Gen. Thomp'son, by Gen. Santa Anna, just before he closed
his official career as Minister to Mexico, and was victorious in
a large main, fought by the famous Cock-fighting Mexicans.
Gen. Thompson sent to Queretaro for some Hens, and thence
sprang all the true Cock-Hens now in this country. Those
sent by my brother, Mr. Summer, to Mr. Giles, Dr. Wight, and
Mr. Burton, are from a pair presented to him by Gen. Thomp-
son, out of the original stock.

te Their crosses on other game breeds are highly esteemed
here as fighting Fowls, and their muscular forms adapt them
as well for the spit as for the pit. Wm. Summer, of Pomaria,
S. C., breeds them in their purest state, and regards them a
valuable Fowl for domestic purposes.

"A. G. SUMMER."

Mr. William Summer, in a letter to the author, dated " Po-

250 THE GAME FOWL.

maria, S. C., July 23d, 1850," in speaking of these Fowls,

says : —

(( I had concluded to send you a Hen of mine to make out
the pair — one that General Thompson sent me as particularly
fine ] though I say, in all sincerity of heart, that the pair sent
by me to Mr. John Giles was the best pair I have ever bred.
You are fortunate in securing them from him, as they will give
the very best representation of the breed when in full feather.
Mr. Giles, in a recent letter, informed me that the Cock had im-
proved very much."

Colonel Summer, in a letter of July 8th, 1850, observes : —

' Santa Anna, or, properly, 'Hen-Cock,' (Gallus Gallenos —
Spanish,) were brought from Queretaro, by Hon. Waddy
Thompson, and a pair presented to us by him has been bred
pure. I have their history from General Thompson."

OF A FOWL DENOMINATED THE YANKEE GAME, Dr. Ben-
nett gives the following description : — He says, " This Fowl
was originally produced by a cross" — (I don't«like crosses of
any kind, except, perhaps, a first cross, and that only for the
table, not for breeding purposes,) — " between the Plymouth
Rock and Indian Game Hen. But a few only have been
produced from this mixture. I have since bred, and shall
continue to breed, this race, from the Cock and Hen described
in the preceding articles; that is to say, from the Spanish
Cock of Mr. Stacy, and the wild Indian Hen of Mr. Estes.

t( This variety combines the great strength and size of the
Wild Indian Game Hen, and the sprightliness and beauty of
the Spanish Game, and thus partakes of the general cha-
racteristics of the two best kinds of Game Fowl. For loftiness,
carriage, hauteur, compactness of form, healthiness, neatness,
sprightliness, and general beauty, this sort are unrivalled ; and,
so far as fine flesh and captivating appearance are concerned,
they are, undoubtedly, the best breed in America." So says

THE GAME FOWL. 251

Dr. Bennett ; but I say, with due deference, that, being mon-
grels, they must, of necessity " cry back" to one of the original
progenitors ; and the first intimation of " crying back" will
prove but the beginning of the end ; so that, in the language
of Peisthetserus, the breeders and fanciers of mongrels shall
still have to utter their complaint : —

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

I cannot better illustrate this point, than by quoting a part
of a letter which I have just received from my friend, Mr.
Taggart, of Northumberland, Pa. He says, " In the spring
of 1839, my father purchased a pair of pure Creole Fowls in
Reading. Having charge of the Chicken department, I bred
them pure for two seasons. After that, I introduced one-eighth
or more of the blood of 'a large yellow breed of Fowls, to give
them additional size and strength ; always taking care to pre-
serve the white necks, spotted bodies, and blue legs of the un-
adulterated Creoles. Notwithstanding this precaution for
several years, I had among my broods a number of brown or
yellow Chickens. At last, the strain ran entirely out, and now
my Creoles are as pure, and breed as certainly as your Shang-
haes } but they have also gone back to the size of their Reading
progenitors."

An elderly friend of mine, residing some eighteen miles north
of Philadelphia, told me, last summer, that the Frizzled Fowl
was introduced among his Poultry, and, not being pleased with
the result, he made it a point to kill off all the young of that
variety, before they were old enough to breed from ; and that
he was seven, years in thus restoring his flock to their original
condition ; fewer and fewer appearing each year, until about
the seventh year, when, and since, none appeared.

I take pleasure in 'presenting the following letters of my
friend, Mr. Taggart, in relation to a peculiar variety of Game
Fowl in his possession ; also, in relation to some Chittagongs

252 THE GAME FOWL.

he obtained of me during the last summer. They will be read
with interest, especially as they abound, also, in many import-
ant miscellaneous remarks and suggestions : —
DR. J. J. KERR :

Dear Sir: — I certainly owe you a long letter, and if I am
not able to pay it to-night, you may very soon expect another,
and, this time, without fail.

Our term of Court came on early in the month, and lasted
two weeks. This, of course, had to be attended. Since then,
I have been waiting on my friend, Dr. Kobt. B. McCay, to
sJcetch a Chicken or two for me, which I have thought suffi-
ciently remarkable to deserve a place in the book. * * *

As ignorance is in all cases preferable to error, it is certainly
a writer's highest duty to know well what he undertakes to
teach. Impressed with this idea, my dear sir, the aid I shall
be able to afford you in your very laudable enterprise, must,
of necessity, be trifling and unimportant. I may furnish a few
striking facts in support of certain doctrines you will be likely
to advance. And this I will do right gladly, for I consider a
man who writes a book on a useful and interesting subject, one
of the greatest of mankind's benefactors

Accidental qualities may be transmitted from parent to
child, as the following will show : —

A friend of mine, the late Robert Grant, owned a fine large
breed of Game Fowls — shawl necks, or Irish grays ; the Cocks
weighing seven pounds. One of his roosters, when a mere
chicken, stepped into the fire, and roasted off his toe-nails.
He hardly ever got an offspring that did not, more or less, show
his parentage, by defective toes. I procured a couple of his
progeny, and have the Hen yet. Her Chickens and grand'
chickens have the same signs. Is it not wonderful, that a
mere accident should thus mark at least four generations ?

Two years ago, I purchased, from a gentleman in Blooms-

254 THE GAME FOWL.

rats are exterminated, as in all cases they should be, there
will be no trouble in raising almost as many Ducks as you have
Eggs. One year, from 94 Eggs, I had 91 hatched, and raised
87. Twenty-four of these were Musk, or Muscovy Ducks, as
they are erroneously termed. In speaking of the prolificness of
Ducks, I don't think this variety should be included. They
lay comparatively few Eggs. Ducks come early to maturity,
being nearly full grown, and in fine eating order at three months
old, far excelling, in this respect, all other Poultry, except
Geese.

Of the large white Aylesbury, and the still larger Rouen
Duck, I know nothing but what I have read.

But of all Poultry, Geese can be raised with the greatest
ease, in the sluwtest time, and at the least expense, provided you
live in the country, or in a village where grass grows in the
streets and alleys. I have only reared them once, but I am
certain Goslings can be brought up on grass alone. Though,
of course, they grow much faster if better fed. I fed mine
well, on Indian meal and milk, and sometimes on corn — this
in addition to good pasture — and see the result. They are
of common blood, and not remarkable in size. At 33 days
old, one weighed 5| Ibs. ; at 47 days, 6 Ibs. 15 oz. ; 54 days,
8 Ibs. 3 oz. ; 64 days, 8 Ibs. 14 oz. ; at 93 days, 11 J Ibs.,
when I killed them. For Eggs, Geese are no " great shakes ;"
but, to use a Crockettism, they're on a grow.

You have not asked my views on Turkeys ; but what little
I know, I may as well impart. I raised two broods, last sum-
mer, by way of experiment. The first lot, to the number of fif-
teen, were hatched in June, under Hens. With these I was very
successful, having lost but one. The Gobblers now weigh 11 or
12 Ibs.; the Hens, 7 or 8. I was very careful of them, feeding
them on the curds of milk, and waste bread, soaked in milk,
until they were four or five weeks old. After that, I was not so
particular : I kept them in the garden, and by the time they

THE GAME FOWL. 255

were eight weeks old, they had so stripped the onion-beds that
not a top was to be seen. It no doubt benefited them greatly.
With a later brood, I was not so fortunate : I raised but the
half of them, and they are stinted and puny. On the whole,
Turkeys may be set down as tender birds, and their rearing
attended with very uncertain results.

Great mistakes are sometimes committed by writers on
Poultry, in regard to the various periods of incubation of
Hens, Ducks, Turkeys, etc. I have taken some pains to as-
certain the true time of each, and I will give you the result :

A Hen, under ordinary circumstances, sits 20 days,

A Guinea Fowl 25£ "

A Duck 26 "

A Turkey 27 "

A Goose 29 "

A Musk Duck 32 or 33 days.

From these figures you will find but small and infrequent
variations. I never knew but one very decided exception.
Early in last March, I got a neighbour to set one of his Hens
for me. She was extremely poor, and her nest was in a bleak,
open, and empty hay-mow. March was a very cold month,
and the winds played all around her, above her, and under her.
She sat almost on the bare boards. About the 22d day, I be-
gan to think it was uno go/7 and broke one of the Eggs. I
found, to my surprise, a live Chicken, which still lacked four
or five days of perfection. On the 27th day, she brought out
eight rather puny Chicks. Some of them I was able to raise.
As the Hen began to keep her nest several days before the
Eggs were given to her, there can be no mistake as to the time.
I always note it down.

It has been asserted that Hens' Eggs have been hatched in
eighteen days. But this, you may depend, never happened
since the first Hen brought forth her first brood in Adam's

256 THE GAME FOWL.

chicken-house. It is contra naturam. Incubation may be
prolonged, but not hastened."*

Passages of the following letter from Mr. Taggart I have
incorporated in other parts of the book. I have concluded,
however, to submit it in full to the careful reader ; and also a
briefer epistle from the same hand, correcting one or two tri-
fling errors in former communications, and adding to some
views previously herein expressed.

DR. J. J. KERR :

Dear Sir: — Your very flattering letter of Wednesday, in-
duces me to resume my pleasant undertaking. I regret that
I have not more leisure to do justice to my friend, myself, and
the subject.

You express some little surprise at the minuteness of my
observations. But please, remember, that from my earliest
boyhood, I have been a devoted, constant, and intense admirer
of nature's live-stock. This disposition has grown with my
years, and will follow me, I trust, unaltered and undiminished,
to the grave. Menageries, Cattle Shows, and, most especially,
Poultry-yards, have always been my delight. When six or
eight years old, I knew almost every Cock and Hen in the vil-
lage. And, though my own stock sometimes numbers two or
three hundred, I can individualize, nay, give the age, history,
and genealogy of every Chicken. Thus much for your friend's
experience, and his reliableness as an observer.

In these hasty and ill-digested sketches, it must of neces-
sity happen, that many things are written which will neither

* I have had Chicks to hatch out on the evening of the 18th day ;
having been set early in the morning of the first day, of course, the
period of incubation was some ten or twelve hours over 18 days. My
friend, Mr. Cope, had one or two Chicks to hatch out on the 27th day;
none have come out with myself later than the 23d day. — ED.

THE GAME FOWL. 257

please the critic nor enlighten the poulterer. These it will
he your province to curtail, enlarge, alter, or expunge, accord-
ing to your older and hetter judgment. The clay is in the
hands of the potter : let him mould it as he will.

There is one very important item in Poultry-breeding, which
I have never seen sufficiently dwelt on in books, and that is,
the great advantage of having early spring-hatched Pullets, to
lay in October, November, and December, when Eggs are
scarcest, and command the highest price. I never kill a Pul-
let hatched earlier than May, until very cold weather, or some
other circumstance, '•has put an end to her winter laying. I
have seven young Hens, a cross between the Creole and
Booby, hatched in April, and all are now laying. One began
on the 18th October, and has laid 36 Eggs; and some of them,
if well managed, will lay all winter. On this account, early
maturity is very much to be desired in Chickens. And no
Fowl is longer in attaining maturity than a pure Booby, or
Bucks County Pullet, at least as far as Eggs are concerned.
Though hatched in March and April, they seldom lay in
autumn, while some other breeds feel bound to produce when
6 or even 5J months old. In estimating the value of breeds,
surely this is a consideration of great importance. At all
events, I will not recommend the Boobies, though, when
crossed with Creoles or other prolific birds, they do well
enough. In fact, they do very well themselves in spring and
summer ; but are not much worth in winter.

Last fall, I had a Game Pullet that began to lay on the 14th
of September, though she was hatched on the 29th of March.
I have never known greater precocity than this, unless you are
right in the age of my brown Chittagong. She began to lay
October 19th, and was, consequently, but five months old, if
you are not mistaken in her age, as I think you are. Be that
as it may, if mine are fair samples, the Chittagongs are highly
commendable, not only for their enormous size, but for the

22*

258 THE GAME FOWL.

early and rapid production of Eggs. But, " nous verrons" as
old Ritchie used to say.

If a goodly number of early Pullets of a prolific breed
were kept over, and well fed, instead of slaughtered to fill the
paunch of some impatient glutton, the great scarcity of Eggs
in late autumn and early winter, would, in a measure, cease.

It strikes me a Hybrid (the first cross) will come to matu-
rity sooner than did either of its progenitors ; and that a cross
between the Creole and the Polish or the Black Spanish would
produce the best laying Hens in the world. If I am able to
procure either of the two last mentioned, I will try it. All
these things are worthy of inquiry, and should be fully inves-
tigated.

If mongrelizing be, in no case, followed by permanent re-
sults, how is it that the Dorkings, which are said to be a
mixture, have been so celebrated for many years ? If, as you
assert, and as I am prone to believe, no permanent interme-
diate race can be established by crossing, it follows, ex necessi-
tate, that every well-defined breed has now, or has had a
separate and distinct original in the wilderness. All could not
have descended from the Gallus Giganteus and the Bankiva, for
all would in a few years revert back to the type of the one or the
other. But here, instead of furnishing you with my experi-
ence, I am presumptuously splurging out among theorems and
speculations — and that is not my task. Facts ! i them's the
jockeys for me !' as you very eloquently remarked about the
Shanghaes.

When I was a little boy, I owned a very odd-looking sort
of Fowls, called "Creepies," or " Creepers," from their ex-
ceedingly short legs ; and another kind, called " Bunties/'
which had no tails, and, in fact, no place for a tail to grow —
they had no rumps. The Creepers I have seen* of all sizes,
from two pounds to five, with legs much shorter than Bantams,
and entirely bare. Of these varieties, I have never seen moro

THE GAME FOWL. 259

*;han a passing notice ] and surely they are sufficiently remark-
able to deserve greater attention. I do not mean that the Creep-
ers are very distinctive in any other feature than their short
legs ; for I have seen them of all colours ; with combs double
and single, legs yellow, black, blue, and white ; with crests,
and without them : and *so of the other sort. Nay, I have
seen Fowls that were both "Creepers" and "Bunties." In
crossing the first-named with long-legged Chickens, if I re-
member correctly, the Hybrid had either the short legs of the
one, or the long legs of the other — no half-and-half — a full
Creeper, or no Creeper at all. While, in mixing the Bunties,
you will sometimes get one sort, and sometimes the other —
but generally an ugly-looking monstrosity, with a piece of a
tail, pointing towards the ground. But these are small mat-
ters, and you can notice them or not, as you like.

I do not remember writing to you of a very careful dissec-
tion my friend, Dr. Robt. B. McCay, and myself made of a
young Turkey, suffering with gapes. It was very small and
stunted from its birth. It had great difficulty in breathing.
Its lungs and other viscera seemed sound, but the windpipe
was almost filled with a number of double, and sometimes
triple-headed worms, which adhered with the utmost pertina-
city to the sides, raising, at the point of contact, an excrescence
or rough swelling. The worms were an inch in length, and
of this fashion : V^^^"\ . The extra heads, or necks, are
much more slender than the main trunk, and colourless, while
the other is dark. I have very frequently found them in
Chickens, while in others that manifested the same external
symptoms, there were none to be found. Whether this parasite
is the cause of the disease, or one of its effects, I am unable
to say without further experiments.

I have seen it stated somewhere, that a Hen, if allowed to
raise her own brood, will sit but once in a season. This is a
very gross error. I have known Hens to incubate three

260 THE GAME FOWL.

times in a year, with good success, and raise their own broods.
Nay, four times is possible, if you will be unwisely troubled
with a November brood. With a young Hen, the desire to
lay again soon returns, and she abandons her flock at five
weeks, and sometimes four, and even three iveeks. Under
these circumstances, a' Hen that brings out her early brood
on the first of April, deserts them about the first of May, lays
two weeks in an undisturbed nest, resumes the task of incu-
bation, and, on the 4th of June, brings out her second. At
the same rate, before the middle of August she hatches her
third litter. This is often the case with young Hens, that
have been well fed during their maturity, and not cooped up.
Old ones, whose ovaries are measurably exhausted, are not in
such a hurry to re-commence operations. I have seen such ones
running with their Chickens until they were nearly grown.

The turning of a sitting Hen's Eggs, is, I verily believe, a
humbug. In the first place, it seems unnecessary, as the em-
bryo is said to be always uppermost, let the Egg rest as it will ;
and, in the second place, the Hen herself never turns them,
except by accident. Sometimes, and especially when she re-
sumes her nest, the Eggs are not fixed to her liking — they do
not fit properly, and then she gives them a turn or two with
her beak, to adapt them to her fancy ; but certainly not to get
the other side up, as many people believe.

I can put- your readers in a sure way of finding out how many
Chickens they are going to have, before the Hen is half done
sitting. I can tell very easily at the end of a week, but it is
safer for a green hand to wait two or three days longer. The
advantage is, that by taking out the unfertile Eggs, you give
the others a better chance ; and, if you have two or three Hens
contemporaneously sitting, two may be able to cover the good
Eggs of three, and the third be ready for a new batch. This is
sometimes desirable. And now " pro modo operandi." Take
the Eggs (very carefully, of course,) into a darkened apart-

THE GAME FOWL. 261

ment, (the darker the better,) where, if possible, the sun shines
through a single crevice. Hold the Egg up to the ray of light,
and if it is bound to hatch, all below the vacuum in the " butt"
will be dark-coloured opaque j if not, it will be light-coloured
and yellowish, and not entirely impervious to the sunshine. It
sometimes happens a whole batch is worthless. In this case,
it is better that a Hen should cover them eight or ten days,
than twenty.

With double-yolked Eggs I have tried some experiments,
always putting them under Hens, if in season. And though
I have thus treated more than twenty, I have never got a live
Chicken. The first year I had my Creoles, one of the Eggs
was double, and I put it under with the rest. When the brood
was all hatched, I opened it , and, to speak pathetically, there,
in the repose of death, lay two perfect disunited Chickens.
They did not possess strength enough to get out. This is the
nearest I ever came to success. In the same season, an ordi-
nary-looking Egg, of the same Hen, when half hatched, was
accidentally broken. I took it from the nest, and discovered,
to my astonishment, an embryo, with two beaks, and almost
two entire heads. The heads branched at the eye, exhibiting
a perfect eye on the outside of each caput, and a deformed or
double one between them. In two or three other cases, the
vital principle of the one half seemed to germinate for a time,
but, probably on account of the barrenness of the other half,
never came to maturity. But in a large majority of the cases,
I might as well have set my Hens with bricks.

Talking of unnaturals, reminds me of a young Cock I once
had, whose legs were frozen off at the knees. He grew to be
a fine healthy Fowl ; and, the next summer, stumped it about
as gaily and as gallantly, as his more fortunate brothers. A
black man, who sometimes worked for us, was exceedingly
anxious to procure the breed; because, as he said, "dey
couldn't scrashde garden/'

262 THE GAME FOWL.

* * * * At last we missed him, and I always
thought the nigger stole him for the sake of the breed.

The nests of sitting Hens should be made shallow — not more
than four or five inches deep — so that, in stepping in, they may
not break the Eggs by a big jump; as they are very apt to
do, if the nests are deeper. Another improvement is, to turn
the box, that the opening may face the wall. Let the boxes
be placed on a platform raised a few inches above the ground,
with only two nests between the ports of entrance, that the
Hens may not be induced to enter the wrong ones by having
to pass them. See diagram : —

x x x — Gangway between nests and wall.
ABCD — Ports of entry.

Hen No. 1 goes to port A, and turns to the
right. No. 2 goes to same port, and turns left,

and so forth. The advantages of this plan are
obvious, for it insures both secresy and repose.

You ask my views on Chittagongs and Shang-
haes. I have partly given them already. The
Chittagongs, though they may not breed all alike,
are certainly huge and magnificent birds, and
_ withal precocious. My young Stag, unlike most
other large Fowls, is stately as a monarch*, which he certainly
is in my Poultry -yard. One Pullet has already won for her-
self " imperishable laurels" as a layer, and the other has
already entered the lists. The Shanghaes are very pure-looking,
and very beautiful. The Pullet is the handsomest she-fowl
I ever saw. She looks like a Durham heifer, if I may force
the comparison. But the Stag, poor fellow ! I am afraid is
going to die. If he does, look well to your chicken-roost
when I come down. He seems very much indisposed, — his
eyes are watery, and the parts about them swollen, — his feet

THE GAME FOWL. 263

are cold, and he has a fashion of shaking his head, which,
certainly, does not betoken good health. Though he has at
times been quite lively, he has always remained extremely
thin. His frame-work is gigantic, but he weighs less than 6| Ibs.

I hope you will give Mr. Allen's Appendix a dig, as regards
the weight of large Fowls. He says, "it takes an unusually
fine Cock of any breed, to weigh 7£ Ibs." This fall, I lost a
Booby Cock, fifteen months old, that weighed 10 J Ibs., and
when he took ill, he was rapidly on the increase. And I
doubt not, in another year he would have weighed 12 or 13 Ibs.,
but he was much the finest of his breed. They usually weigh
8£ or 9 Ibs., when a year old. I have a Hen of that sort, that
weighed last spring 8| Ibs., — the most of the Hens from 6 J to
7 J. Then, if Boobies so greatly exceed Mr. Allen's ultimatum
of 7£, what will Cochin Chinas, Shanghaes, and Chittagongs
do ? Poke it at him ! " I'll bade you .'"

In my last letter, I said something in favour of Ducks and
Geese, but not enough. Among other things, I said they
were hardy. This is so true, that I have never seen an adult
Duck or Goose sick or drooping, and scarcely ever a young
one. If they are lost, it is by cats and rats, but seldom by
disease. While Turkeys and Chickens may be seen moping in
corners, gasping and coughing, Ducks and Geese waddle about
in comfortable and greasy health, — always ready for their
rations, and, unless barbarously starved, always fit for the
table. All that is said or .written about fattening them is
vain and idle. Fed abundantly in any way, at liberty or
" cabined, cribbed, confined," a grown Goose or Duck is gene-
rally too fat for table use, unless large quantities of the "adi-
pose" are taken from it before cooking. I have seen whole
platefuls of "goose-grease" abstracted from a single bird,
though no extra pains had been taken with it. Then what
is the use of cruelly stuffing them, or more cruelly incarce-
rating them; as is often recommended ?

264 THE GAME FOWL.

It is a mistake to suppose that a pond of water or a running
brook is essential to the thrift of either Duck or Goose. It
may afford them facilities for washing their feathers ; but all
the water they need, is a panful, at all times by them, to drink.
No one has had better luck with them than myself, and my
web-footed bipeds never saw river, pond or brook, — nothing
more extensive nor permanent than a mud-puddle after a
shower.

While on the subject of web-feet, I will tell you the story
of Isaac 0' Banner's Game Chickens, lest you should never have
heard it. Of course, you will not put it in the book, for fear
there might be some mistake about it. Isaac had been to a
Cock-fight, and was so pleased with the pluck of the com-
batants, that he determined to have some of the same. A
friend promised him some Game Cock's Eggs, and, in fulfilment,
sent him those of Ducks. Isaac set them under his Hen, and
though he thought they were very slow about coming out, he
waited patiently till they broke the shell. But then, there
was no limit to his admiration and delight. He took one up
in his hand. He looked at its bill, and exclaimed, in great
glee, " Jiminy, what a neb ! If he takes hould, he'll niver let
go !" He glanced at its feet, and that capped the climax of his
extacy, and says he, " What a fine wide fut he's got ! — all
— would' nt thrip him up.1" But, alas for the vanity of
human hopes ! Isaac had to leave home, and the care of the
Chickens, for a season, devolved on his brother Amos. Now,
in feeding, it struck Amos that the Game Chickens shovelled
up a great deal more than their share, owing to their broad
"bakes." And being a great lover of justice, he picked them
up, and whittled their bills down to a point, that the others
might have an even chance with them. In consequence of
this treatment, Isaac O'Sanner's Game Chickens never won a
battle.

THE GAME FOWL. 265

As food for Poultry, many things are recommended, and
many things are good. But of all grains, economy properly
considered, Indian corn is probably the best as a standard- —
chopped for small ones, and whole or chopped for large and
half-grown Fowls. When made into meal, it can be mixed
with the surplus milk, or with the water that meat has been
cooked in, with great advantage. For young and growing
Poultry, — Turkeys, Greese, Ducks, or Chickens, — milk in any
shape, is most particularly beneficial. Fowls are very fond of
wheat, but it is too expensive. Oats are (or is, which say you ?)
light, and consequently not so cheap as they seern. One
bushel of corn is worth two of oats, for Poultry, and for almost
any thing else. As for rye, Chickens will scarcely eat it. In
winter, when Hens are of necessity prevented from getting
green food for themselves, they should be well supplied with
the leaves of cabbage, beets, and other vegetables, and with
the half-rotten apples. The very eagerness with which they
devour such things, after a long abstinence, is proof of their
utility. But of all extras for Fowls in winter, meat is the
most beneficial — from chopped beef-steak to cheese-maggots.
Furnish a Hen with animal food, and occasionally something
verdant, — put her in comfortable lodgings, where water and
pebble-stones and pounded bones can be had at all times, with
a dust-hole to wash lierself in, — and, if she be young, she will
quite probably forget that it is winter, and proceed to lay.
Old Hens cannot be so easily deceived. They are too cunning.
It is as much as a bargain to get them to lay by the first of
April. These stubborn old matriarchs should be served like
traitors to liberty — have their tails cut off, just behind their
ears; for, according to Napoleon, they have passed the grand
climacteric of a female's usefulness. You remember what he
told Madam De Stael. "But my pen wanders." Let us get
back to Chicken-feed.

Pounded oyster-shells and slacked lime are considered

23

266 THE GAME FOWL.

excellent ; and so they are, as containing calcareous matter for
the shells of eggs. But crushed bones are as good for this, and
better, for the Fowls will devour them ravenously — and much
better in another respect. Any one who has undertaken to pound
a fresh bone, must have noticed that in three or four slams
he almost hammered it into meat. In fact, it contains a large
amount of marrow, or greasy substance. Hence, the double ad-
vantage of feeding pounded bones to Hens in " wintry weather/'

As a general rule, April is the best month for Eggs, and
December the worst. They might be ranged in this order :
April, May, March, June, July, February, August, September,
January, October, November, December. Of course, this
arrangement would be much modified by circumstances. If
Hens are encouraged to sit as early and as often as possible,
the products of May, June, and July would be much reduced.
And if many early spring Pullets are kept, the yield of
October, November, and December will be vastly increased.

I enclose you not only a good likeness of the Fowl, which
I promised you, but a most excellent picture. It was done
by Dr. Robert B. McCay, and is the first Chicken that ever
sat for him. Is it not admirable ? You already have a full
description of the Fowl, in my last letter. The Doctor has given
him the spurs of eighteen months, instead of those of seven or
eight months; but this is the only noticeable error, and easily
corrected. I wish you could return me the portrait, when
you have done with it.

I fear from the looks of my other engagements, that this
must be the last of my contributions. I regret sincerely
that the agreeable task is done ; and if I had had more leisure,
my efforts should not only have been better finished, but mere
numerous. As it is, you are entirely welcome to them. And
believe me; for the present,

Your very tired and sleepy friend,

DAVID TAGGART.

THE GAME FOWL. 267

The name " Gray Eagle" in the following letter of my friend
Taggart, is the local name of a mongrel or mixed Fowl, in this
vicinity, partaking freely of the blood of the Shanghae, Chitta-
gong, and Malay varieties. They grow quite large, but like
the Chittagong, which they nearly resemble, do not breed uni-
formly in point of colour :

DR. JNO. J. KERR :

Dear Sir : — As I intend starting for Harrisburg to-morrow,
to join in the work of senator-making, I find it necessary to
send you a few explanatory lines this evening. My worthy
friend, Dr. McCay, promises to finish off the pictures, and
mail them to-morrow, so that you will receive them on
Tuesday.

The little half Jungle, or Game Hen, has been already
described, but I made a small mistake in regard to her
weight. She looks so very little that I estimated her at two
pounds, whereas, she draws three. Her feathers are extremely
short and close, and her build compact and solid. Her off-
spring out of blooded Cocks are the best Game Chickens I ever
saw. I intend to cross her with the " Sammy Rusk" Stag,
who, though only eight months old, weighs six and a half
pounds.

In regard to the Chittagongs, whose portraits will be sent
you in a group, I have already written pretty fully. In the
biggest sense of the word, they are majestic and noble-looking
birds, and for Eggs, I will put the brown Pullet against the
world. She has recovered from her sickness, and has resumed
laying with as much, or more vigour than ever. The gray
Pullet is also laying remarkably well, and has been, since the
7th of December. This I take it, is good work for winter. The
Stag, seven and a half months old, weighs nine and a half
pounds, and, but for the hard service he has undergone since his
urrival at puberty, he would have drawn considerably more.

268 THE GAME FOWL.

He has been running with a dozen or more laying Pullets,
The brown Pullet, seven and a half months old, weighs nearly
eight pounds ; and the gray, less than seven months old, draws
seven pounds and three ounces.

The Gray Eagle Stag I purchased from Miss Castor, will
make a rouser. From his marks, I take him to be an August
Chicken, and he weighs already, (December 12th,) over seven
pounds. He has not yet manifested the first symptom of vi-
rility, if such a term can be applied to feathered bipeds.

Of some smooth-legged Bantams, he says, " The German-
town Pigmies, after which we had so great a race, are doing
amazingly well, and are much admired."

I have just seen the portrait of my Chittagong : it is a beau-
tiful picture and a correct likeness, — with a slight exception ;
but this can be remedied by the engraver. His head and head-
gear are a trifle too large, but not much. His comb, and wat-
tles are really enormous, — as large as I ever saw them. My
friend has grouped the three together, and it will be necessary
to give them a whole page, lengthwise. As a work of art, and
as excellent likenesses, they are well worthy of a place. Will
the pictures, — the originals I mean, — be of any use to you after
the book is published ? If not, I would like exceedingly well to
have those we send, returned. I would like to hand them down to
posterity, that my grandchildren might know what fine Chick-
ens their grandpappy raised. I think I fore-Jiear some one, a
little older than the rest, bragging that granddad once helped
a great wise Doctor write a book about Chickens and such-like,
and then what a power of family pride there will be ! A Hen
couchant and a Rooster rampant will be the insignia of the
House of Taggart. All hail to the illustrious successors of
Columella and Aldrovandi ! — the peers and compeers of

THE GAME FOWL. 269

Rusk, Link, Leonard, and Palmer ! * But a truce to jesting,
and good-by.

Very truly your friend,

DAVID TAGGART.

* Famous Cockers, in the neighbourhood of Philadelphia. The
first is thought to keep the best game in the country. Mr. Taggart
purchased a very fine pair of him, this winter, which he intends to
breed pure with care. — Ej>«

23*

270

CHAPTER XIV

THE CHITTAGONG FOWL.

IN and around Philadelphia, we have a large Fowl, to which
the above name has heen incorrectly given, as, on further ac-
quaintance, it has proved to be a mongrel, and, like most
mongrels, comparatively worthless. Until within a short time,
it went under various names, as Ostrich Fowl, the Turkey
breed, the Big breed, the Booby, the Bucks County Fowl, and
even the Malay. It is difficult to trace its history. Some forty
years ago, several large Fowls were brought hither from differ-
ent parts of China, the East Indies, and the adjacent isles ;
subsequently, and within a few years, others were added.
These all, except in a few cases, have been mixed, and breed
indiscriminately ; and the result is the Fowl to which, accord-
ing to the caprice of the people, the above names have been
applied. It is of all colours, from black to white, frequently
speckled, sometimes red and black, and again dun. When
bred, it will generally produce its like in point of size, but
rarely in point of colour, showing it, unquestionably, to be a
mixture of several original breeds. They are not very good
layers, though their Eggs are very large and rich. Their legs
are sometimes lightly feathered, not always, and vary in colour
from yellow to a dark or bluish hue. I once had a Pullet of
this kind which weighed eleven and a quarter pounds ; the

THE CHITTAGONG FOWL. 271

usual weight for full grown males, is from ten pounds and a
half to twelve pounds; females, from eight to ten pounds.
They are generally quite leggy, standing some twenty-six
inches high, and the Hens twenty-two inches. A first cross
with the Shanghae would make a very large and valuable bird
for the table, not for breeding from.

Mr. Taggart, of Northumberland, Pa., is disposed to think
favourably of some Chittagongs he received from me, with a
pair of Shanghaes. They are all yet quite young. He says :

" Of all large breeds, it strikes me the Chittagongs are most
prolific. My Brown Pullet began to lay on the 19th of Octo-
ber, when not much over five months old. In twenty-two
days she laid eighteen Eggs, (or, I may say nineteen, for one
was double,) and then began to sit. Her laying was after this
fashion : 3, 3, 4, 3, 5. No doubt I could have kept her at it,
by changing her nest from time to time. It is extraordinary
that a Pullet of her age should lay lay so fast at this time of
year. After incubating a week, she grew very sick, and I was
forced to break her Eggs and take her off. When she began
to lay she weighed six and three-quarter pounds, now only five
pounds. But she is recovering.

" The Shanghae and the six-toed Chittagong Pullets are grow-
ing finely — the first draws five and three-quarters, the other
six pounds. But the Stags seem to have 'paused, the Chitta-
gong at eight and a quarter pounds, the ..Shanghae at six and
three-quarter pounds — he has always remained thin. I im-
pute their present slow progress to their hard service. Quite
a number of my Hens are laying, or preparing to lay, and these '
two gentlemen have a monopoly of the business."

Vide Mr. Taggart' s letters herein, for further remarks on
this variety.

272 TEtE SHAKEBAG FOWL.

THE JAVA FOWL.

I KNOW not of any person in this country who can boast of
having this Fowl in its purity. If the descriptions of it, as
given by some, (Willoughby among the rest,) be true, I am
quite certain I have never seen it. He describes it as carrying
its tail like a Turkey. A lady, in the vicinity of Philadelphia,
who has had some choice foreign Poultry for the last thirty
years, has a variety which she calls Java, but I am unable to
discover any thing peculiar about them. They are of almost
all colours, some feather-legged and some smooth ; comb and
wattles as freely developed as in the Shanghae and Cochin
China. Long Island, the head quarters of this variety, abounds
in a stout black Fowl, single, serrated comb, and full wattles.
I presume that, until we find a bird answering Willoughby 's
description, we must be content to call our large black Fowls,
Javas. Those on Long Island might weigh, per pair, from 14
to 16 Ibs. The slightest trace of a top-knot is not to be tole-
rated ; their legs are black and smooth. They are quite broad
across the rump, and have, on that account, sometimes, been
called " Saddlebacks." Their practical qualities are good.

THE SHAKEBAG FOWL,

COMMONLY called the Duke of Leed's breed, is said by
Mowbray to be extinct; if so, it will not be necessary to con-
sume much of the reader's time in describing a Fowl which he
may never .see. As a mere matter of history, we may state
that the Duke, being an enthusiastic Cock-fighter, was in the
habit of bringing his Cocks into the Pit in a bag, against any
that could be produced, and, when shaken out, from their supe-

THE JERSEY -BLUE FOWL. 273

rior strength and size, were found more than a match for any
competitor, and were subsequently denominated Shakebags.
They were supposed to be a cross of the Malay and English
Game : some think that they arose merely from improving the
size of the common Fowl, and not by any foreign cross. Mow-
bray says, "The only one I ever possessed was a red one, in
1784, weighing about 10 Ibs., which was provided for me, at the
price of one guinea, by Goff, the dealer, who then lived upon
Holborn Hill, in London, and who, at the end of two years, re-
ceived him back at half a guinea ; having allowed me, in the
interval, three shillings and six-pence each, for such thorough-
bred Cock-Chickens as I choose to send him. At that time
(1784) the real Duke of Leed's breed had become very scarce,
which induced the dealers to put Shakebag Cocks to Malay
Hens, by that means keeping up the original standard size,
but entirely ruining the colour and delicate flavour of the flesh.

JERSEY-BLUE FOWL.

THE colour of this variety is light blue, sometimes approach-
ing to dun ; the tail and wings rather shorter than those of the
common Fowl ; its legs are of various colours, generally dark,
sometimes lightly feathered. Of superior specimens, the Cocks
weigh from 7 to 9 Ibs., and the Hens from 6 to 8 Ibs. They
are evidently mongrels ; and, though once a good deal thought
of, yet, since the purer breeds, as the Shanghaes and Cochin
Chinas, have been introduced, they begin to be neglected, as
indeed all mongrels should be, so far as breeding from them is
concerned.

274

CHAPTER XV.

THE POLAND, OR POLISH FOWL.

THIS Fowl is said to be quite unknown in Poland, and that
it takes its name from some resemblance having been fancied
between its tufted crest and the square, spreading crown of the
feathered caps worn by the Polish soldiers; The Hens I know
to be among the very best layers, though their Eggs are not
so rich and highly flavoured as some others. They are gene-
rally bad sitters, or, rather, are not disposed to sit until late
in the season.

The best specimens are now procured from Holland; the
country of the Bolton Grays, Spangled Harnburghs, etc., etc.
The Cock weighs about 4 or 4J Ibs., and the Hen about 3 or
3j Ibs. The crest of a well-bred Cock is parasol-shaped,
hanging down over his beak and eyes, surrounded with a few
black feathers, and fronted by a small spiked comb. The
fleshy protuberance, out of which the crest grows, is usually
called King 'David's Crown. The wattles are very largely
developed; the legs are usually blue; the neck, body, and
tail should be black, and the butt of the wing, brass-marked.
The skin and flesh are white. Their form is plump and deep,
and the legs not very long. Mowbray says, " The Polanders
are kept as ornamental, but they are also one of the most
useful varieties, particularly on account of the abundance of
Eggs they lay, being least inclined to sit, of any other breed,
whence they are sometimes called everlasting layers; and it is

THE POLAND, OR POLISH FOWL. 275

usual to set their Eggs under other Hens. They fatten as
quickly as any other breed, and are in quality similar to the
Dorking; their flesh perhaps more juicy, and of a richer
flavour." There is an exception to almost every rule. I
once had a choice Poland Hen that gave me more trouble in
breaking up the sitting fever, and that, too, early in the
season, than any Henf4I had. In general, however, pure
Polands are not inclined to sit until near or after midsummer ;
consequently, they lay more Eggs than those that become early
broody.

The Eggs of this variety are of good size, and white ; but,
as previously stated, they are not so rich as some others ; the
yolks are of a pale straw-colour, and I have known the albu-
minous part often to be quite watery. There is also a strong
tendency of the white of the crest to mingle with the black
of the body, and vice versa. I once saw some Fowls, said to
be pure, of the stock of Mr. Bement, of Albany, of a reddish
hue all over, from the yellow or brass marking on the butt of
the wing mingling with the general plumage. The result of
my experience is, that it is very difficult to keep the white,
red, and black in their appropriate places, in breeding pure,
well-marked Polish Fowls; but, when all are right, I know
no more beautiful sight of the kind on a gentleman's lawn —
they are living, walking Japonicas.

Mr. Dixon, and his correspondents, will tell the rest of the
story in relation to Polish Fowls. He says, " There is no evi-
dence 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 Willughby, ' in his Ornithology gives
us many kinds, or rather rarities, of Hens. 1. A common
Hen, but white and capped.' 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

276 THE POLAND, OR POLISH FOWL.

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 iqpst 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 altogether 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 some-
thing distinct and primitive, by those who have quoted Aldro-
vandi 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 the fact is quite possible. Fowls brought
alive from India to Europe by overland journey, would suffer

* 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.

THE POLAND, OR POLISH FOWL. 277

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 travel-
ling 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 neighbouring 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
nomenclature. 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 any thing akin to the goats which
Captain Cook found there, " of the antelope kind, so extra-
ordinarily lean that hardly any thing can equal them," the
cross would be no great improvement. 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, however,
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.

24

278 THE POLAND, OR POLISH FOWL.

THE BLACK POLISH FOWLS are of a uniform black, both
Cock and Hen, glossed with metallic green. The head is or
namented 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 wat-
tles 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, ot
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, espe-
cially after a hard winter ; but they are exceedingly good lay-
ers, 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 successfully,
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 Shackbags are probably re

THE POLAND, OR POLISH FOWL. 279

coverable only by importation from Asia. I am given to un-
derstand, that an attempt will be made to reproduce them here
'by breeding. The experiment 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 Ham-
burghs ; 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 ap-
pearance. 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) in-
crease 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 characteristic, is not at present known.
It is a frightful appendage, 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 hand-
some ; the Cock having golden hackles, and gold and brown
feathers on the back ; breast and wings richly spotted with

280 THE POLAND, OR POLISH FOWL.

ochre and dark brown ; tail darker ; large 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 ochro
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
ab6ut 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 endeavour to rescue their
unfortunate companion.

THE SILVER POLANDS are similar to the preceding in shape
and markings, except that white, black, and gray, are ex-
changed for ochre or yellow, and various shades of brown.
They are even more delicate in their constitution, 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,

THE POLAND, CR POLISH FOWL. 281

much pointed at one end, in tolerable abundance, and, when
they sit, acquit themselves respectably.

The new-hatched Chicks are very pretty ; gray, 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 reach-
ing their fifth or six month. At a very early age they acquire
their peculiar distinctive features, and are then the most ele-
gant 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 com-
panions ; 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 ma'ke 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.

24*

282 THE POLAND, OR POLISH FOWL.

On the other hand, trust to chance for an occasional white one
among the black, and you get a fine bird.

There is a singular variety of the Polish, which has the en-
tire plumage of a uniform slaty-dun colour. Other curious
combinations of colour are probably to be found 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 certainly 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
entirely 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, occa-
sionally 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, frequently remaining "stuck,"
as the country people call it, for a whole month, without get-
ting bigger, and this when about a quarter or half grown, the
time of their life when they are most liable to disease. As

THE POLAND, OR POLISH FOWL. 283

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 uncon-
genial to their health. We would recommend persons whose
accommodation for Poultry is very limited, to select some
pretty family of Polanders, and keep them on the aviary sys-
tem ; when it will be 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 gaming in size,
hardiness, and beauty, especially the male birds. This fact,
which any amateur can verify for himself by observation, as-
suredly 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, per-
haps, Spanish Fowls, also separates them from those breeds, as
the Game, in which the Cocks and Hens are remarkably dis-
similar. 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 elegance,
— a point which is recorded here not from mere hearsay ; al-
though, to confirm it, Temminck quotes Sonnini's information
that the Polish 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 Zd. each. At the
Cape of Good Hope this breed is equally cultivated.

Polish Fowls are also currently reported as everlasting lay-
ers, which further fits them for keeping in small enclosures ;
but, as in the Ham burghs, individual exceptions 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.

284 THE POLAND, OR POLISH FOWL.

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 bred, that were as much inclined to sit
as any other Fowls." — J. S. W.

Both the Poland and the Lark-crested Fowls are, in Nor-
folk, trivially called " Copplecrowns."*

Before taking leave of the full-sized Fowls, it may be ob-
served that the initiated can often distinguish the various
breeds unseen, by their crow. A friend remarks, " there is
an Italian proverb : e 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 any thing of
a correct ear, may easily trace the family crow throughout.
Thus, the Game breeds -that I have kept, have always rather a
a shrill, but not inharmonious crow, with a very peculiar,

* In the "Tournament of Tottenham, or, the Wooing, Winning,
and Wedding of Tibbe, the Reeve's daughter there," an old bur-
lesque ballad, the Reeve says : —

"Whoso berys hym best in the turnament,
Hym schal be granted the gre be the comon assent,
For to -wynne my dozter wyth dughtynesse of dent,
And ' coppelV my brode-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 gray mare,
And my spottyd sowe."

THE POLAND, OR POLISH FOWL. 285

abrupt termination. The Blue Duns have somewhat the same
style of crowing, but with a more regular and gradual finale.
Cocks of the Silver Hamburg 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 Hamburg, and others. The Spanish, also, though
professing to come from a rich land in musical ability, are not
highly gifted with vocal powers. Their crowing is loud, in-
deed, and 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 accom-
plished singer. Bamtams 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 dis-
tance, 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 gratulation, has not yet, I think, been satisfactorily
explained.

"The growth of the spur in the gallinaceous order of birds

286 THE POLAND, OR POLISH FOWL.

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 wofully deceived when purchasing
Pheasants for the table; as they afterwards find to their
annoyance, when the bird is undergoing the process of masti-
sation."— H. H.

287

CHAPTER XVI.

HAMBURGH FOWLS.

THE SPANGLED HAMBURGH FOWL.

THIS beautiful variety is distinguished from other members
of the same family, by their large top-knots being coloured
instead of white, and the black and conspicuous muffle or
ruff on the throat and under the beak. There are two kinds,
the golden and silver spangled ; the ground of the feathers of
the golden spangled being a rich yellow, approaching to an
orange-red, with black spots or spangles. The silver spangled
differs from the preceding, by the ground of the feathers being
a silvery white. The comb, as in other highly-crested Fowls,
is quite small : the wattles are also diminutive; legs generally
blue ; skin and flesh white ; Eggs a moderate size, but abun-
dant; Chickens easily reared. In and about New York, a
few years since, this Fowl abounded — both the golden and sil-
ver varieties. They may weigh, say, three and a half pounds,
for the female, and from four and a half to five and a half
for the male. The Cock stands some twenty inches high, and
the Hen about eighteen inches.

288 HAMBURGH FOWLS.

THE BOLTON GRAY, OR CREOLE FOWL.

THE Bolton Gray or Creole Fowl is sometimes called
Dutch Every-day-layers, Pencilled Dutch Fowl, Chittaprats, &c.
They were originally imported from Holland to Bolton, a
town in Lancashire, England, whence they are named. The
ground colour is pure white, minutely shot or touched with
black, except on the neck, giving rise to the name Pencilled
Fowl, and from the frequency of their being brought over to
London, by Rotterdam steamers, they are called " Dutch Pen-
cilled Fowl," or " Dutch Every-day-layers." A good Cock of
this breed may weigh from four to four and a half pounds,
and a Hen from three to three and a half pounds. I have
found them good layers, but thought the Eggs to be watery
and innutritious. I wrote to a friend, who knows the Fowl
well, having kept the -variety for several years, and his reply
is, — " Of the richness of Creole Eggs, compared with those of
less prolific breeds, I am scarcely able to speak. Though I
have owned Creoles for a dozen years, I have never made any
careful comparison. But, from analogy, I would infer that an
Egg would prove rich in proportion as it was small, compared
with the Hen that produced it, cseteris paribus. A Cow,
nearly dry, generally gives much richer milk than one that
yields abundantly.

" The superiority of a Creole Hen does not consist as much
in rapid as in continued laying. She may not produce as
many Eggs in a month, as some other kinds, but she will lay
more months in the year than probably any other variety.
I have had Creoles seven or eight years old, that never became
broody, and which have laid, in that time, at least six hun-
dred Eggs, in this fashion: — First year, one hundred and
eighty or two hundred. Second, one hundred and fifty.
Third, one hundred to one hundred and twenty. Fourth,

HAMBURGH FOWLS. 289

seventy or eighty. Fifth, forty or fifty. Sixth, eighteen or
twenty. Seventh, almost total barrenness. This statement
shows the extreme folly of keeping Hens, after the third, or
even the second }Tear. For, besides the great falling off in
Eggs, these are apt to prove infertile when laid by super-
annuated Hens."

Mr. Dixon, in writing on the whole family of Hamburgh
Fowls, to which the Bolton Grays and so-called Silver and
Golden Pheasants belong, says : — First, of the Bolton Grays,
" 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 ave-
rage 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 skin's 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 beautifully distinct in the true sort.
We have found the Creoles very good eating." — H. H.

In the neighbourhood of Keighley, in Yorkshire, on the bor-
ders of Lancashire, the Bolton Grays are called " Chittiprats,"
or " Cheteprats.''" Prizes are given for the best by the Keighley
Agricultural Society, and the opinion of them current there,
is, that they are very handsome, very hardy, and excellent

25

290 HAMBURGH FOWLS.

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, formerly of
the Hippodrome, near London, are Bolton Grays, that are
said to be crossed with a dash of G-ame 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 very pretty head, with a full
comb, and a remarkably short bill, rounded, and shaped some-
what 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 fourteen
Chicks out of fifteen 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
12s. to 14s. per cwt., soaked all night in water, and then rolled
in Indian meal, a very economical and fattening food, occa-
sionally mixed with a little barley. My Hens would have
commenced laying earlier in the season, if their roosting-place
had been warmer." — W. X.

Aldrovandi's account of his Turkish Fowls, is as follows : —
" On 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 ;*

* Had I been aware that your mind was not quite made up as to
the identity of the Bolton Grays with the Silver Hamburghs, I would

HAMBURGH FOWLS. 291

the tail consisted of feathers that were partly green, partly
black, some also half-green, some half-black. His whole Kody
was exquisitely adorned with lines, that were sometimes golden,
and sometimes silver, Und it is wonderful what a beautiful
offect this produced. His legs and feet were tinged with blue.
The Hen, which, in like manner, was 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 and 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 ts not
clear whether the gold and silver lines are intended to be in
the same or different birds. The reader may question the cor-
rectness 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 Grolden 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 vtrtice gerit." The smaller, and occasionally
more semicircular comb of the Silver Hamburgh Hens, is well
delineated in the Turkish Hen.

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. — J. S. W.

292 HAMBURGH FOWLS.

Bolton Bay is another provincial term for the Golden Hani-
burgh, as Bolton Gray is for the Silver. In order clearly to fix
the momenclature, by the comparison of individual specimens
of different localities, I purchased in H^ngerfbrd market, some
birds that had been imported from Holland, another specimen
of Herring in the New Road, and lately have been kindly sup-
plied with a pair of Bays, and also of Grays, 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 varieties of Hamburgh, two
Golden and two Silver, include all these synonyms. The Bol-
ton Bay from Lancashire, differed most in her markings from
the normal type, which we will suppose represented by Aldro-
vandi's Turkish Hen ; but all the main points were correct,
and for this difference I had been prepared. " When you re-
ceive your Boltons, be sure that you do not draw any conclu-
sions from their colour alonej for that is extremely varied.
Many -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 pro*
cure Hamburgh Fowls from Lancashire, should be precise in
their instructions, 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 par-
ticularly beautiful creature } nothing but a full-sized coloured
drawing can give an adequate idea of the extremely rich colour-
ing and brilliant lustre of his plumage. It has been men-
tioned in the previous note, that the males of the Bolton Grays
differ somewhat in the quantity of black, or dark gray which
they wear, as also do those of the Silver Spangled. The Hens,

H A M B U K G F 0 W L S .

HAMBURGH FOWLS. 293

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. 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 co-
vered 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 mixture of brown, black, yellow, and
green; back the same, only darker. Tail, black, glossed with
green, and having gray 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 lay-
ers. 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 suffi-
cient experience of the Bolton Fowls myself, to enable me to
,say that they are everlasting 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 a larger
breed than the Bolton. By retaining those with the largest
top-knots, a variety with large top-knots could soon be ob-
tained. (Yes, but could it be retained ?) Some of the Bol-
ton Gray 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 breedf like the Hamburgh and the Malay." — J. S. W.

25*

294

HAMBURGH FOWLS.

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 ; and a visit
to the great Birmingham show, having afforded a good oppor-
tunity 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 denomina-
tion of

HAMBURGHS.

PEXCILLEI

WITH LIGH

tha

> FOWLS,

r H \CKLE

SPANGLI

TOTfPCT TtAUl

D FOWLS,

CEB HACKLE,

t is, Via

If
t, I Clear unmixed
0 J Ochrey Yellow.

i Either White "| f Yellow hackle,
hacklf, striped in 1 h J striped in the
the centre with f c j ceutrewith Black,
Black, J [ Brown, or Green.

Chittaprat.

Bolton Bays.

Silver Spangled.

Gold Spangled.

Bolton Grays.

Golden Ham-

" Pheasant.

" Pheasant.

Pencilled Dutch.

burgh.

" Moonies.

" Moonies.

Silver Hamburgh.

" Moss.

Red Caps.

Creole, or Coral.

Copper Moss.

KB. The Adult

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 not: 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 specification 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 abandoned in both the Silver and
Golden varieties ; it has doubtless given rise to much that is

HAMBURGH FOWLS. 295

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, la! the specimens, on jumping out
of their hamper, were very handsome " Moss Fowls/'] But the
Fowl known in this neighbourhood and in the Northern Coun-
ties under that term, of both colours, Silver and Golden, I be-
lieve 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 accu-
rately described as the Bolton Bays and Bolton Grays, 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 ram-Pheasants only, and that of
Moss to the Golden ??on-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 Ham-
burgh 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

296 HAMBURGH FOWLS.

gives an exquisite finish to their appearance, pure white deaf-
ears, or ear-lobes, and light slaty-coloured blue legs. With-
out 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 Humburgh 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 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 characteristics of each sort I will now describe.

"Silver Pencilled Hamburghs are about the size of ordinary
Game Fowl, and, when quite pure, are (with the other varie-
ties 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 ground ; and there are in general about
five such distinct pencillings or bars across each feather upon
the body, the extremes being marked the most distinctly. The

HAMBURGH FOWLS. 297

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 evidently produce spurious birds.

"Silver Spangled Hamburglis. — These, in their general form
and carriage, very closely resemble the Silver Pencilled, 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 on 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 Hgs
of a 4uiet 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
Pencilled Hamburgh Hens are these (they also apply to tho
Golden variety) : the hackles of the Silver Pencilled Ham-
burghs are purely white, while the hackles of the Silver Span-
gled 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

298 HAMBURGH FOWLS.

body, while the Spangled Hamburghs 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 rese'mbling those of young
Guinea Fowl.]

" 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 provincial 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 con-
s^ered as a model in Mr. Bissell's valuable communication.
The Silver Pencilled may fairly be called a tender breedr; 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.

299

. CHAPTER XVII.

THE RUMPLESS FOWL, OR RUMKIN.

BLAINE, in his Encyclopaedia of Rural Sports, (London,
1840,) says, " Of the feathered tribes of Ceylon, the most re-
markable 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 skeptical in us to question
whether it be now to be found wild in the forests of Ceylon,*

* It is hardly possible to cavil at Temminck's evidence of its ex-
istence there. In reply to Buffon's fairy tale that Cocks, when trans-
ported to Virginia, lose that portion of their person on which the tail
grows — a romance that seems to have imposed on the sober Doctor
Latham — he says, "We can positively state that Buffon's opinion
has not been confirmed ; this Rumpless 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 con-
structed with fine grass, and resembles the nest of Partridges. The
disposition of this bird is wild ; the Cock frequently utters his crow,
which, 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 distinct-
ive 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 feathers, as well as all
the coverts, which in other birds are planted on the rump ; this species

300 THE RUMPLESS FOWL.

but it certainly has been extant in 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
artificers 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 gray-plumaged Runi-
kins, 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, (mon-

is also distinguished from the other Cocks that we have described, by
having his comb round, and without indentations." [He then mi-
nutely describes the plumage.] " I am unacquainted with the colours
of the primitive female of this rare species, the Governor of Ceylon
to whom I am indebted for information respecting this wild Cock,
having sent me only a very old male, and a second individual, male
also, at the stage when the comb and wattles begin to show them-
selves : an adult male is deposited in the cabinet of Mr. Raye de
Breukelerwaert, at Amsterdam. These three individuals have the
same distinctive characters, and the colour of their plumage abso-
lutely 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 pos-
sible to furnish particulars of the origin of the domesticity of the
Rumpless Cocks ; the date of it, nevertheless, ought to be more re-
cent 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. 301'

stra 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 moun-
tains a hundred years ago, appear now to be quite extermi-
nated from the Isle of Man. Insular tribes of animals have
but little chance of suvivorship, as human population in-
creases. In New Zealand, the wingless bird — another de-
fective monster — appears to be now a fast- vanishing apparition
from the face of the earth.

I have found no mention of the Rumpless Fowl in classical
authors, but Aldrovandi was aware of its existence : —

" 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 Cock, how-
ever, has a sort of tail. It was all black, sprinkled with yel-
low 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 com-
pare 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 Rumpless
Fowl) was well known, and dispersed through the different
countries of Europe, the vulgar conceived ridiculous ideas,
brought forth by superstition, on the subject of these birds.

26

302 THE SILKY AND THE NEGRO FOWL.

" 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 improbable 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 the
foundations for doctrines which common sense cannot help be-
lieving 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 inhabit-
ants 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 that title deserve to be investigated — ought to excite
the curiosity of naturalists, though they have not much me-
rited 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.

THE SILKY AND THE NEGRO F 0 W L. 303

A great deal of confusion and uncertainty is current respecting
the Silky and the Negro Fowls ; and it cannot be expected
that a country clergyman, who has but limited means of in-
vestigation 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 breeding. 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 stimulate inquiry. There are, first, a Silky Fowl,
with white plumage and skin, red comb, and bones coloured
the same as in other Fowls ; called, sometimes, the Nankin
Silky Fowl. Secondly, another Silky Fowl with white plum-
age, 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, under-
sized white Fowls, with black combs and indescribable plumage,
that had been sent to her Majesty from the East, which I sup-
pose are the breed to which you refer. See the article
( Pheasant/ in the ' Penny Cyclopaedia.' My brother tells me
that he saw some very small White Silky Fowls which had
been brought from Calcutta. If I remember aright, her Ma-
jesty's were as small as any Bantams." — J. 8. W. Thirdly,
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, fourthly, I am led to believe that
there exists, what would be the true Negro Fowl, a bird with

304 THE SILKY AND THE NEGRO FOWL.

black comb, skin and bones, and with plumage which is black,
but not silky.

Instances of creatures having bones naturally discoloured, 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 organization, 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 xiv.
cap. 14, taken out of a certain map, fictitious. Perchance
it was no other than the frizzled or Friesland Hen, which Odo-
ricus de Foro Julii and Sir John Mandevil call the Wool-
bearing Hen. The birds which M. Paulas Venefus makes
mention of in these words, ' In the city Quelinfu, in the king-
dom 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." — Willugliby, p. 156. A daring
piece of skepticism 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 cosmographic 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 the Odoricus
of Forum Julii, (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, especially in botanical works, suggests the idea, that
many of them were merely symbolical, intended rather to give

THE FRIZZLED, OR FRIESLAND FOWL. 305

the hieroglyphic of the thing meant, than an actual verisimi-
lar 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 wrong 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
reversion of the feathers, rendering them of little use as clothing
to the birds, makes this variety to be peculiarly susceptible
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

26*

306 THE FRIZZLE D, OR PRIESLAND FOWL.

figure of the Frizzled Cock, and gives the following account
of it : —

"Pompilius Tagliaferrus, of Parma, not the lowest among
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 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 unskil-
fulness 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 throughout
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.

THE CUCKOO FOWL. 807

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; i. e. the
mere accidental result of promiscuous 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 corre-
sponding 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 naturalists 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 Naturae," or the writing of a
" Kosmos." The subject is certainly deserving of considera-
tion, and may be the means of affording important service to
natural history. Dr. Bechstein seems to have been not far
from suspecting that several distinct varieties might be detected
among the ordinary Fowls of 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.

310 THE BLUE DUN FOWL.

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 very 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
gray and yellow catkin of the willow, being of a soft bluish
gray, mixed with a little yellow here and there.

<l 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 progeni-
tor.) 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 pendent;
iris, orange-brown ; neck hackle, yellowish gray ; back hackle,
the same, intermixed with black ; legs, light lead-colour ; live
weight, 3 Ib. 11 oz. ; general tint, bluish dun ; claws, grayish
white.

THE BLUE DUN FOWL. 311

The theory that the colour of the Blue Bun 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 gray and white Spanish pro-
ducing whole-coloured slaty-gray birds, though of a darker
hue than the Blue Buns, in which the permanency of the
tint appears to be equally uncertain. It will be worth while
to keep some of the aberrant Chickens of the Blue Buns, 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 Buns" as a distinct
race, but await the consent- of able amateurs in Poultry. There
are Blue Bun families belonging to several breeds : we have
them in the Spanish, the Polish, the Game, and the Ham-
burghs, and it would be more correct to refer each Blue Bun
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
limitations ] thus, I never saw or heard of a brown or golden
Spanish Fowl. Meanwhile, descriptions of one or two other
Blue Buns will aid in attaining a clearer view. The first, a
decided Game Fowl, cannot differ much from ours. " You
say that your Blue Buns are perhaps the result of accidental
crossing, whereas they have been known, both in Yorkshire
and Lancanshire, 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 specie. 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 and tail of a dark red, gradually shading to a beautiful

312 THE LARK-CRESTED FOWL.

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 par-
ticular 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 Hamburghs
in every particular except in colour, and a disposition to sit,
which makes them more useful to the farmer, who must, 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, per-
manently bred without at all 'crving 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 perceived 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 repre-
sents, with a moderate, depressed, backward-directed crest, and

THE LARK-CRESTED FOWL. 313

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 dis-
crepancy will be apparent. I would distinguish the Lark-
crested from the Polish l^owls, by the former having an occipi-
tal crest, the latter more of a frontal one. Mr. Selby's volume
on Pigeons, in the Naturalist's Library, gives a figure and de-
spription of the Columba 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 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 ex-
clusion of any sort. They certainly have a remarkably neat
and lively appearance when rambling about . a homestead.
They look very clean and attractive when dressed for market :
an old bird, cleverly trussed, will be apparently as delicate and
transparant 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 of 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.

27

314 THE LARK-CRESTED FOWL.

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 ob-
tained 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 en-
tirely 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 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 distinct 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.

^-^v

*^&*^L^s4S

ME. WISTAE'S SEBEIGHT BANTAMS

815

CHAPTER

THE SMOOTH-LEGGED BANTAM.

THE small White, and also the Coloured Bantams, whose legs

A '-3 heavily feathered, are sufficiently well known to render a

articular description unnecessary. Bantam-fanciers generally,

with Sir John Sebright at their head, prefer those which have

clean bright legs, without any vestige of feathers.

The rule with fanciers is, that a thorough-bred Cock should
have a rose comb; a well-feathered tail, without the sickle
feathers, however; full hackles, a proud lively carriage, and
ought not to exceed a pound in weight. The nankeen-
coloured, and the black are the general favourites.

They are said to have been imported, by the late Sir John
Sebright, from India. For perfection of model, and beauty
of plumage, nothing can exceed them. The pair portrayed
on the opposite page are in the possession of Mr. Wistar, of
Germantown, and were procured for him by a friend in Eng-
land. They are, as may be seen in the portraits, beautifully
marked ; the ground of the feathers being a rich orange-brown
or cream-colour, and each feather pencilled round the edge
with black, with the greatest uniformity. They are sometimes
called the " Sebright Jungle Fowl." They are bred in and about
London, also in various part of England and Ireland, with the

316 THE SMOOTH-LEGGED BANTAM.

most scrupulous care. In London there are stated times foi
the exhibition and sale of these birds ; and Mr. Nolan tells us,
that " the regulations of the Society of London Amateurs, re-
quire that each exhibitor shall offer his birds for sale, after the
exhibition, and may bid himself, and put on a prohibitory
amount of purchase-money. It is on record that Sir John
bid up one of his diminutive Hens to £29, and bought her in
at that price. And it is recorded in the Illustrated London
News, of 20th February, 1847, that so late as that date, two
Hens and a Cock, of these beautiful emblems of pride and
consequence, sold for £50 and Is., being a shilling more than
the amount put on them by their owner. At the sale of the
late lamented baronet, the golden grounded birds averaged
£5 a brace, and the silver spangled £8 a brace; although
they are becoming comparatively abundant, they still keep up
a high price in the London market, if well marked. There
has been lately offered here, some fine specimens, from Sir
John's own stock, at a very low figure. I do not think any
thing could exceed their perfection of feather. A lady near
Shrewsbury has procured some fine specimens, of both gold
and silver spangled, from this neighbourhood ; if she still re-
tain them, I think she may challenge England ; as far as I
can judge, they are quite superior to those that took the
prize in London. Some ladies in the Queen's County, have
procured fine specimens from the late baronet's stock; I have
no doubt, but under their fostering care, the breed will be
kept up with as much ardour as during the lifetime of the
great poultry-patron Sir John, and that we will be breeding
them, as in the baronet's lifetime, ' to a single feather/ and
retain their character of the l prettiest of domestic birds/ The
male birds should stand about twelve inches high ; the stand-
ard weight being twenty-two ounces ; the plumage as above
described, (the rose-comb is preferred) ; the wattles are mode-
rately long; face and throat bare ; no top-knot or ruff on neck;

THE SMOOTH-LEGGED BANTAM. 317

as free as possible from hackle ; tail without the plume, or
what is called hen-tailed ; perfectly clean-legged."

Our author, Mr. Dixon, says of Bantams: — 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 Peacocks, the Geese, and the Swans, — and
should not have feared to encounter even an Emeu or a Cereop-
sis, had chance planted one in the way ; but a sudden fear and
trembling creeps over us as we draw near to these mysterious
•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 un-
seen and unsuspected places from whence they issued. But
twenty or thirty years back, 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 punishment 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 Cliaubuck. 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 (though

27*

318 THE SMOOTH-LEGGED BANTAM.

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 banished to Pulo Wai/,
during their lives.

" On Pulo Way 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 liveli-
hood ; 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
a great many, even in the City.

" Neither is this sort of punishment peculiar to the Achinese
Government,1 but, probably, used by the other Princes of this
Island, and on the Island of Java also, especially at Bantam.
They formerly, when the King of Bantam was in his pro-
sperity, deprived men of the right hand for a Theft, and may
still, for aught I know. I knew a Dutch-man so served : he
was a Seaman, belonging to one of the King of Bantam's
Ships." — Dampier's Voyages, vol. ii. p. 138.

The same king (an. 1688) expected to receive from his sub-
jects 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 confined 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 Ele-
phant, and so rides to the river in state to wash herself : but

THE SMOOTH-LEGGED BANTAM. 319

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 screen themselves from the sight of their Subjects :
Or if they sometimes go abroad for their pleasure, 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 overweening assumption and arrogance
from the excitement of the herb Bang, and their propensity
to make every rival turn tail, from the established court eti-
quette of the old Bantam regime.

THE YELLOW OR NANKEEN BANTAMS are about the most
useful of their tribe, and not the least ornamental. 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 appearance ; 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 proportion 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 Poul-
try. She is usually very successful in her efforts, only we now
and then have Chickens at unseasonable times of the year.

320 THE SMOOTH-LEGGED BANTAM.

For instance, one October she brought home seven little viva-
cious balls of down, that certainly would not have had to en-
counter 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 minatures of the Golden
Hamburgh Fowls, both Pencilled and Spangled. There is
the same double comb, pointed behind, the same blue legs and
characteristics of form and plumage. But it would be wrong
to conclude from these resemblances 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 re-
presented in another by corresponding, though quite distinct
species of the same genus.

THE SEBRIGHT BANTAM has very much thrown the pre-
ceding into the shade. Their beauty is of a different class,
but it is questionable whether their merits are greater. Here
we have delicate pencilling in the shape of brilliant colouring.
How and whence they first appeared in England is a mystery,
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

THE SMOOTH-LEGGED BANTAM. 321

for its own sake will not be justified in arriving at hasty con-
clusions 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 as-
surance 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 presume to show marked

attention, nay even, I declare ! to . Well, there is no

knowing to what lengths impudence will go, so long as Ban-
tams 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 tail, from which
the sickle feathers are absent, is carried well over his back. His
dependent wings nearly touch the ground. He is as upright
as the stiffest drill-serjeant, or more so, for he appears now and
then as if he would fall backwards, like a horse that over-rears
himself. 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 oc-
casional infliction of it, that will make him give in. The great
Hens, too, that look down upon him, and over him, think pro-
per 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, born to be controlled,
Stoop to the forward and the bold."

322 THE SMOOTH -LEGGED BANTAM.

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 G-old-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 twenty ounces. The
Gold-laced Jlen should correspond in all particulars, except
weight, which must not exceed one pound. Silver-laced Ban-
tams 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

THE SMOOTH -LEGGED BANTAM. 323

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 im-
possible. 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 prevent 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 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 waa
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 littlo
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

824 THE SMOOTH-LEGGED BANTAM.

flowing tail, waggish impudent eye, self-satisfied air and gait.
The Hen is of a duller jetty black, is less knowing in her man-
ner, and I think in every way of inferior capacity. They
have great credit for fulfilling their maternal duties well ; but
I have found them less affectionate 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 con-
tain 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 Chicks are covered with black down, which occa-
sionally has a grayish cast under the belly : bill, 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

THE SMOOTH-LEGGED BANTAM. 325

selected for them to pass their chickenhood in. When full
grown and plumed, they are not more tender than other Poul-
try, 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 bril-
liant, tind is sure to be un-neat in the places where they are
usually kept. Were they really guilty of the savage, object-
less, 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 na-
turalist 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.

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 unhealthy families of
Bantams, than as constituting any distinct variety. A suffi-
cient 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 merrily as ever to the last; but no*
having warmth sufficient to hatch, I always made her a present
every year of a few little Chicks." — H. H. Some of these are

28

326 THE SMOOTH-LEGGED BANTAM.

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 l Kriel,' (no such word is
to be found in Bailey's Dictionary,) those, as I have just said,
exist here and there ; they creep along the ground by limping,
rather than walking ; 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 unadvisedly 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, encir-
cled 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-foot-
ed, double-headed, and double-bodied Fowls, that occurred to
him in the course of his laborious researches.

The English edition of Buffon, informs us that Jumpers
are the 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 are especial favourites 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

THE SMOOTH-LEGGED BANTAM. 327

gardener and the nurseryman. Mr. James Cuthill, of Camber-
well, complains, 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 Straw-
berries through their depredations, and also, many an early
Cucumber that would have brought me 3s. Qd. 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 Bantams ; 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 Ban-
tams 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 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.

328

CHAPTER XIX.

THE DUNGHILL FOWL.

THIS is sometimes called the Barn-door Fowl, and is cha~
racterized by a thin, serrated, upright comb, and wattles pend-
ing from each side of the lower mandible ; the tail rises in an
arch, above the level of the rump; the feathers of the neck and
rump are long and line-like ; and the colour is finely variega-
ted. The female's comb and wattles are smaller than those
of the Cock ; is, herself, less in size, and her colours are more
dull and sombre. In the best specimens of this variety, the
legs should be white and smooth, like those of the Dorking,
and their bodies round and plump ; being mongrels, they breed
all colours, and are usually from 5 to 7 or 8 Ibs. per pair.

THE DOMINIQUE FOWL.

THIS seems to be a tolerably distinct and permanent variety,
about the size of the common Dunghill Fowl. Their combs
are generally double, or rose, as it is sometimes called, and
the wattles small. Their plumage presents all over a sort of
greenish appearance, from a peculiar arrangement of white and
blue feathers, which is the chief characteristic of the variety.
They are hardy, excellent layers, and capital incubators. I
would use them in preference to any other for hatching out the
Eggs of the larger kinds.

CHICKEN COOP. 329

Other varieties of the Domestic Fowl there are, which it ig
not deemed necessary particularly to notice, as the Adrian
Fowl, of which Aristotle says, they lay "everyday, and some-
times two Eggs a day," the Sausevere Fowl, the Alexandria,
the Carux, the Lonabardy, the Media, the Rhodes, the English
Dwarf and Raven, the Widow Hen, and the French large-
footed Fowl. Those which we deem the best have been, we
hope, accurately described, and their several qualities noticed;
and it now only remains to say, that should this trea-
tise ever reach a second edition, all Fowls with which we
meanwhile become acquainted, possessing qualities worthy of
notice, shall find a place in the work.

COLONEL JAQUES'S CHICKEN COOP.

The following extract of a letter, received from my friend,
H. L. Devereux, Esq., of Boston, will show the fancier the
success with which Chickens may be raised by an artificial
mother, and also give a capital idea of the right sort of coop for
young Chickens, whether to be raised with, or without their
natural mother. He says : —

I will now say a few words about Chicks and Chickens,
which, if you think worthy, you are at liberty to insert in your
forthcoming book. In all the Poultry books I have seen, there
are very poor specimens of " chicken coops," some with a bar-
rel turned down, and the poor Hen tied by the leg ; others,
with a coop shaped like a Major's cocked-hat; not one of them
properly answering the purpose for which they are intended.
The following drawing, which I send you, is from the original,
first got up by that veteran breeder, Col. Samuel Jaques, of
Ten Hills Farm. It is light, easy to be removed from one
place to another every day, or as often as you please. It has
a tight, and an open part, answering the double purpose of
setting the Hen, and keeping her and the Chicks in; until they

28*

330

CHICKEN COOP.

are able to take care of themselves. The dimensions are for
the tight part, IS inches high on the back, rising to 2*2 front,
and 18 inches each way on the bottom, with holes bored to
admit air. The top has a lid to open, and a slide in front, to
shut in the Hen. The front or open part may be 3 to 6 feet
long, slatted with laths, with a hole cut through the bottom,
for the Hen to scratch in.

Again, I think Chickens can be raised as well without as
with a Hen, even though you take the Chicks away in an hour
or less after coming from the shell. Some of my handsomest
Pullets were raised this past season without a Hen. In order
to do this, you want a small coop, built in a " lean-to" shape,
3 to 5 feet long, high and wide in proportion, with a small door
in front, and two squares of glass to admit light and sun, when
cold and rainy. A piece of sheepskin, with the wool on, nailed
to a board, would answer for them to run under and get warm.
A coop of this description was shown at the Norfolk County Fair,
in September last, by Mr. White, of Randolph, invented and
made by Mr. Edwin Allyn, of Boston.

EARLY CHICKENS.

The importance of early Chickens, and the method of rear-
ing them, are plainly set forth in the following extract, which
I make from a letter receded from my friend, E. R. Cope, Esq.
He says : —

EARLY CHICKENS. 331

There can be no debate about the importance of hatching
out Chickens early in the season, and it is equally important
to the farmer, who raises for profit, and the " Fancier/' who
desires to show some fine specimens each year.

It is well known that " spring Chickens" always command
a high price, and there is rarely a supply to be obtained. You
have doubtless seen, in the month of June, pairs of birds ex-
posed for sale, which, upon inquiry, you found to be ' spring
Chickens/ and the price seventy-Jive cents or upwards per pair.
These Chicks were probably hatched out in the month of
March or April ; and, of course, the owner had very little time
to put flesh upon their bones, to say nothing of fat : still they
were worth in the market, seventy-Jive cents. Now, suppose for
a moment, the birth of these Chickens could be dated back to
January, or even earlier, and brought to market in May or
June, plump and fat as Reed Birds. We would not have been
compelled to inquire of our friend the farmer, what description
of bird he had for sale, for their well-defined proportions
would have, at the first glance, informed you to what species
they belonged; and it is difficult to say what price you would
have been asked to pay for them.

But, asks our friend the farmer, how am I to raise Chickens
in the winter months ? I will tell you, my friend ; and when
you hear my answer, you will wonder you never thought of the
same plan before. Place a small stove in your chicken-house,
which can be heated with chips and wood, that otherwise might
rot around your wood-pile ; and, by this means, you can keep
up a temperature of 55 degrees, and raise Chickens just as
well (better, in my opinion, and with much less loss, than
when allowed to roam through the wet grass in spring and
summer,) as later in the season. Then again, those Fowls* you

* Good Shanghae or Cochin China fowls will begin to lay when
about five and a half or six months old. This with great certainty,
especially if the season be favourable. — Ed.

332 EARLY CHICKENS.

raise to fatten for winter sales, if hatched thus early, will com
inence laying about September, and produce you Eggs, at a
time when they command the best price.

A word to the Fancier : — If you adopt the system of early
hatching, you will see the advantage of it in the extra size
your Fowls attain the first season. You will not be subject to
the vexation of seeing your young Chicks die off, one by one,
when exposed to the hot sun of July, August, and September ;
for they will have attained size and strength to bear it. You
have probably had some Chickens out as early as April, and if so,
have you not observed how much better they thrived than those
clutches hatched out two or three months later ? And then,
when these April Fowls were nine months old, have you
weighed them ? and also, when your June Fowls reached the
same age, did you weigh them, and compare the weights ? Lest
you did not do so, I will tell you what would have been the
result : the early Fowls would have weighed twenty -five per
cent, heavier than the late ones ; and I am well satisfied, if the
experiment had been tried with January and June Fowls, the
result would have been thirty-three per cent, in favour of the
former.

Being fully satisfied of the importance of early hatching, I
this year temporarily arranged a small room for the purpose,
by placing in it an air-tight wood-stove, and a thermometer.
Around the stove, and fast to the floor, I nailed strips of
boards, four inches wide, and filled the enclosure thus formed
with clean sand, for the Chickens to dust themselves in. By
the time these arrangements were completed, (Nov. 2d, 1850,)
I had a clutch of eight Shanghae Chicks nearly ready to take
possession of the room. I would here remark, that I do not
set my Hens in this, warm room, but suffer them to hatch out
their Eggs in the chicken-house, where I keep no fire.

On January 16th, 1851, I had another clutch of Chicks,
(Royal Cochin China's, eight in number,) ready to remove to

EARLY CHICKENS.

the warm room ; and within a week, I expect to have two more
clutches hatched out.

In my stove-room, I am careful to have the temperature
kept regularly at fifty-five degrees ;* and, by means of my air-
tight stove this is easily accomplished.

My young stock thrives remarkably well, and, so far, I have
lost but one Chick, and this was from an accident, and not dis-
ease. Having access to the sand-bath before described, at all
times, they kept themselves entirely free from vermin, and,
in consequence, feather and generally improve faster than is
usually the case.

By giving this subject attention early in the season, say,
commence setting Hens the early part of October, I am well
persuaded any one may raise one to two hundred Chickens,
that can readily be sold in the market for seventy-five cents to
one dollar per pair, in the months of March, April, May, and
June. To a farmer, there will be no additional cost :%s before
remarked, the waste pieces around his wood pile will be ample
fuel ; and he will experience no difficulty in finding one of his
men ready to undertake the superintendence of the room, (it is
a nice, warm job for cold weather,) and also to attend to the
little business he is expected to look after during the winter.

The only additional cost to the Fancier, will be six dollars for
one cord of hickory wood, which will be all he can consume in
an air-tight stove during the winter, or, at all events, the above-
named quantity of fuel will keep a room twelve feet square
at a temperature of fifty -five degrees through the winter months.

My only object in writing the above, is to endeavour to at-
tract the attention of those who raise Fowls for profit or fancy
to a branch of the subject heretofore much neglected, and if
I succeed, even to a small extent, I will feel abundantly com-
pensated.

* I should prefer a temperature of not less than 60° nor more
than 70°.— Ed.

334 THE PORK-TAILED COCK.

THE GALLUS BANKIVA, OR THE BANKIVA COCK,

(See Frontispiece.)

Is nearly twice as large as our common Bantams. There in
no down around his eyes or upon his throat; his comb is
ample, irregular, and deeply serrated ; and the wattles are well
let down from each side of the lower mandible. He has neck
and rump hackles, long and slender, of a brilliant golden-orange
colour ; the upper part of the back is bluish black ; the centre
and lesser wing-coverts are of a rich chestnut colour; the tail
is black, with rich green, and blue reflections ; and all the un-
der parts are of a black or darkish hue. The specimen por-
trayed, as well as the others forming the frontispiece, were
presented to the Academy of Natural Science, in Philadelphia,
by Thos. B. Wilson, Esq. Its habitat is the East Indies.

THE GALLUS FURCATUS, OR THE FORK-TAILED COCK,
( Vide Frontispiece.)

WAS first described by M. Temminck, in 1813. It is nearly
two feet in length from beak to the extremity of the tail.
The cheeks are bare, and the head differs from the Gallus
Bankiva, in being furnished with a simple entire comb, and
the under mandible and throat with a single large wattle,
springing from the centre — all of a brilliant red colour. It
differs from other species in the form of the neck-hackles par-
ticularly. They are remarkably short and round, and of the
hue given in the figure. The tail is usually carried more in a
line with the body than in the Bankiva Fowl, and has a
slightly forked form ; hence the name. The beak, legs, and
feet are yellow. It is said to be abundant in Java, and is
often seen upon the edges of 'woods and jungles, but, upon
the slightest alarm, runs for cover.

SONNERAT'S WILD COCK. 335

GALLUS SONNERATII, OR SONNERAT'S WILD COCK,

( Vide Frontispiece.)

HAS been dedicated by M. Temminck, to its discoverer. The
first notice we find of it which can be trusted, is in the voyage
to India, by that traveller. He was of the opinion that this
Wild Cock was the stock from which our Domestic Fowls are
derived. But this is scarcely possible ; for, not to speak of
the difference in size, the plumage is quite different; indeed,
none of the domestic races in India bear the least resemblance
to it. It has hitherto, so far as I know, proved un tameable.
A gentleman of my acquaintance, who was some ten years in
the British service in India, informs me that on the return
home, they had some two or three hundred " Wild Cocks," on
board, all of which refused to eat, and died in a few weeks
out. It is about two-thirds the size of our smallest Dunghill
Fowls; in model is much more slender and graceful; the
comb is single, large, slightly indented, and the wattles are
double, and well developed. But the most singular part of
this bird is its' plumage. The stem, or shaft of the long
hackle feathers is of a bright golden-orange hue, and, in the
centre, and at the tip, dilate into a flat horny plate, similar to
what is seen in the wings and tail of the Bohemian Wax-
wing. Their appearance is both singular and beautiful.
The centre of the back, the throat, breast, belly, and thighs
are of a deep and rich gray, having the shafts and edges of a
paler tint. The tail is of a rich and deep green ; and the beak,
legs, and feet are yellow. About the females, there is nothing
peculiar that may not be seen on inspection of the portraits,
which are from nature, and singularly faithful. Indeed, mi-
nute descriptions throughout the work has been rendered unne-
cessary by the distinguished artist.

The peculiar structure of the neck-hackles of the Gallua

336 SONNERAT'S WILD COCK.

Sonneratii will be seen by an inspection of the cuts on the
opposite page. I procured feathers from the neck of the G-al-
lus Bankiva, and also from that of the Gallus Furcatus, as
well as from the Wild Cock of Sonnerat, so that the reader
may satisfy himself of two things : first, that the three birds
in question are quite distinct varieties ; and that it is scarcely
possible they are in any way the progenitors of our Domestic
Poultry, as some have asserted. That the Wild Fowls do not
mix or cross with each other, is obvious from the fact that
they are all remarkably uniform in size, plumage, and general
appearance. The gentleman above referred to, told me that
the two or three hundred on shipboard were all as much alike
as any flock of wild birds he ever saw.

The female of Sonnerat' s Cock is about one-third less than
he; she is rather a plain-looking bird, having scarcely any
comb or wattles. On the back, she is of a dirty brown-colour ;
and on the breast, the feathers are of a dull white, each laced
with black or brown. The plumage has no trace of the flat
horny structure which adorns the neck-hackles of the male ; nor
is any part of his plumage so, except the neck ; at least, the
rump-hackles* have it only, if at all, in a very slight degree.
I could not, on .inspection, perceive that they had any.

The Bankiva Hen is scarcely so large as Sonnerat's, and is
a still plainer looking bird ; her prevailing colour is brown,
the breast is of a rather livelier hue than the tack ; and she
also has little or no show of comb or wattles.

Doctor Latham says, that Sonnerat's Cock is by far the boldr
est and strongest, in proportion to his size, of any other ; and
that the Cock-fighters of Hindostan anxiously seek him, as he
rarely fails to secure a victory over the largest Game Cocks.

The specimens from which the drawings were made, were
purchased by Thomas B. Wilson, Esq., of Pennsylvania, at the
sale of the Duke of Rivoli's collection, and by him presented
to the Academy of Natural Science of Philadelphia.

* On clost;v inspection I found the rump hackles so characterized al«o.

SONNERAT'S WILD COCK.

337

The neck-hackle of the Gallus Bankiva is of usual length,
but is distinguished by having the tip nearly square, and edged
slightly with black, thus proving it, like the Gallus Sonneratii,
to be a distinct variety. There is nothing peculiar in the rump
hackle. The neck and rump-hackles of the Gallus Furcatus
are quite peculiar, being very broad and short, giving to the
plumage quite an imbricated appearance, unlike that of any
other species.

Neck-fiacJcles cf G.
Furcatus.

Neck-Jiackles of G. Neck-hacldes of G.
Bankiva. Sonneratii.

CHAPTER XX.

OAPONIZING FOWLS.

THE following history and method of caponizing, I extract
from Mr. Brown's Treatise on Domestic Poultry. He says : —

The art of making Capons has been practised from the ear-
liest antiquity, in Greece, India, and China, for the purpose
of improving the flesh of birds for the table, in tenderness,
juiciness, and flavour. But Capons, in point of fact, are
getting out of date, and are taking rank with oxen roasted
whole, and other barbarisms of the middle ages. They are
now rarely to be found in the London markets ; and when
procurable, are very expensive, but not unjustly so, when it is
to be remembered that two or three Chickens may have been
sacrificed, before ten Capons have been nursed into conva-
lescence. That they may be had in considerable abundance,
in China, the south of Europe, and, in a few instances, in our
own country, is not to be denied ; but wherever they may be
found, they cannot be classed otherwise than in the list of un-
called-for luxuries, of unnecessarily unnatural viands, such as
diseased goose-liver pies, fish crimped alive, or even those
frightful and portentous dishes recalled by Dr. Kitchener, in
the "Cook's Oracle." One thing, however, may be harm-
lessly resuscitated. As

"the toad ugly and venomous,

Wears yet a precious jewel in his head,"

CAPONIZING FOWLS. 339

so the Capon, which, though ugly, is not half venomous
enough, if we can be made to believe all we read, carries a
valuable gem in the part that is usually antithetically opposed
to the head.

Extracting a Crystal from a Caporis Liver.

From a very curious and ancient work on natural history,
in my possession, entitled " Ortus Sanitatis," (the Garden of
Health,) printed and published at Ausburg, in 1485, by Joan.
Cuba, a Dutch botanist, who travelled through Greece and the
East, I give above, a fac-simile of a wood engraving, repre-
senting the act of extracting a precious stone from the liver of
a Capon. " The Allectorius," says the author, " is a stone
like a crystal, or limpid water. It is found in the liver of a
Capon at the age of three years. It is never larger than a

340 CAPONIZING FOWLS.

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.

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

In England, the art of making Capons, it seems, is no new
thing, as the business of which formerly devolved upon females;
for old Leonard Mascall, in his minute directions for the ope-
ration, uses the feminine gender throughout.

MODE OP MAKING CAPONS AND POULARDES.

IF young Cocks are emasculated, so as to deprive them of
their natural reproductive feelings, it has a wonderful effect on
their condition, rendering them also more easy to fatten.
They are never afterwards subject to the natural process of
moulting,* and lose their previous strong shrill voice. They
become dull and melancholy, are detested by the Hens, buffeted
about by the other Cocks, and would soon fall victims to their
enmity, were they not removed to perform the remaining busi-
ness of their lives, " to eat, drink, sleep, and get fat," with all
possible expedition. In this state, they are called f( Capons."

In a similar manner, young Pullets may be caponized, so
as to deprive them of their reproductive powers, and render
them more easy tcT fatten. When thus operated upon, they
are usually, though improperly, termed "Hen Capons/' but
the French word, "poularde" is much to be preferred.

In performing the operation, the first thing to be considered
is the purchase or procurement of the requisite instruments.

* I am constrained to question this. — Ed.

CAPONIZING FOWLS.

341

Those most approved of by skilful operators consist of two
five or seven-pound weights for confining the Fowls ; a scalpel,

Scalpel.

for cutting open the thin skin which envelopes the testicles;
a silver retractor, for stretching open the wound wide enough

Retractor.

to operate within ; a pair of spring forceps, denoted by the
letter a, in the following page, having a sharp, cutting edge,
resembling that of a chisel, with a bevel half an inch in its
greatest width, for making the incision, and securing the thin

29*

342

CAPONIZING FOWLS.

membrane covering the testicles j q
a spoon-shaped instrument } b} with
a sharp hook at one end, for push-
ing and removing the testicles,
adjusting the loop, and to assist
in tearing open the tender cover-
ing of the testicles; and a double
silver canula, c, for containing
the two ends of horse-hair or
fibre, constituting the loop.

The cost of these instruments in
New York, is nearly as follows : —

Scalpel, ....
Silver Retractor, . .
Spring Forceps, . .
Spoon, with hook . .
Double Silver Canula,

1.50
0.87J
0.75
1.75

$5.50

C

Those who are not particularly
nice about the matter, may use
a cheap penknife instead of the
scalpel, and may obtain the other
instruments of a cheaper con-
struction, so that the whole will
not cost more than half the sum
indicated above.

The Cockerels intended for Ca-
pons should be of the largest
breeds, as the Dorking, the Bucks
County, Cochin China, or the
great Malay. They may be ope- |
rated upon at any time after they
are a month old, though at an age of from two to three
months is considered preferable. If possible, it should be

a

CAPONIZING FOWLS. 343

done before July, as it has been remarked that Capons made
later than this, never prove so fine.

Cockerel confined for Caponizing.

All things being in readiness, the first step to be taken is
to confine the Fowl to a table or board, by laying him with
the left side downward, the wings drawn behind the rump,
the legs extended backward, with the upper one furthest drawn
out, and the head and neck left perfectly free, as denoted in
the above cut. The feathers are next to be plucked from the
right side, near the hip joint, on a line with, and between, the
joint of the shoulder, as at a. The space uncovered, may be
from an inch to an inch and a half in diameter, according to
the size of the bird.

After drawing the skin off the part, backward, so that, when
left to itself when the operation is completed, it will cover the
wound in the flesh, make an incision with the bevel-edged
knife, at the end of the forceps, between the last two ribs,
commencing about an inch from the back-bone, and extending
it obliquely downward, from an inch to an inch and a half,
just cutting deep enough to separate the ribs, taking due caie
not to wound the intestines.

344 CAPONIZING FOWL.

Then, adjust and apply the retractor by means of the small
thumb screw, and stretch apart the wound sufficiently wide to
afford room to examine the parts to be removed.

Then, with the scalpel or a sharp penknife, carefully cut
open the skin, or membrane, covering the intestines, which, if
not sufficiently drawn up, in consequence of the previous con-
finement, may be pushed forward towards the breast-bone, by
means of the bowl of the spoon-shaped instrument, or, what
would answer equally well, with the handle of a teaspoon.

As the testicles are exposed to view, they will be found to be
connected with the back and sides, by means of a thin mem-
brane, or skin, which passes over them. This tender covering
must then be seized with the forceps, and torn open with the
sharp-pointed hook at the small end of the spoon-shaped in-
strument, after which, with the left hand, introduce the bowl
of the spoon under the lower, or left testicle, which is generally
a little nearer to the rump than the right one.

Then take the double canula, adjust the hair loop, and, with
the right hand, pass the loop over the small hooked end of the
spoon, running it down under the bowl of the spoon containing
the testicle, so as to bring the loop to act upon the parts which
connects the testicle to the back. Then, by drawing the ends
of the hair-loop backward and forward, and at the same time
pushing the lower end of the tube, or canula, towards the rump
of the Fowl, the cord, or fastening of the testicle is severed.

A similar process is then to be repeated with the uppermost
or right testicle, after which, any remains of the testicles, to-
gether with the blood at, or around, the bottom of the wound,
must be scooped out with the bowl of the spoon. The reason
for cutting out the left testicle first, is to prevent the blood,
which may issue, from covering the one remaining, and render-
ing it more difficult to be seen.

After the preceding operation is performed, which, if skil-
fully done, occupies only a few minutes, the retractor is taken

CAPONIZING FOWL. 345

out, the skin of the Fowl drawn over the wound, which may
be covered with the feathers that were plucked off" at the com-
mencement, and the Chicken may be released. As soon as it
is liberated, it will eagerly partake of grain or other food, and
in a few days be restored to health.

In some Fowls, the fore part of the thigh covers the two
hindmost ribs, in which case, care must be observed to draw
the fleshy part of the thigh well back, to prevent it from be-
ing cut; as otherwise, the operation to be performed might
be liable to lame the Fowl, or even cause its death.

For loops, nothing answers better than the fibre of a cocoa-
nut husk, which is rough, and readily separates the testicles
by sawing. The next best substance for the purpose, is the
hair of a horse's mane or tail.

The usual method of making Poulardes, in France, is, to ex-
tirpate the egg cluster, or ovaria, in a similar manner as the
testicles are extracted from the young Cocks ; but it has been
shown by Mr. Yarrell, in the " Transactions of the Royal So-
ciety," that it is quite sufficient merely to cut across the Egg,
tube, or oviduct, with a sharp knife. Poulardes may otherwise
be treated in the same manner as the Capons.

Capons are fattened precisely in the same manner as other
Fowls, by keeping them cooped up in a quiet, dark place, and
cramming, or otherwise feeding them abundantly.

346

CHAPTER XXL

PEA FOWL.

IN presenting this splendid Bird to the notice of the reader,
I have only to say, that Mr. Croome has faithfully and beau-
tifully portrayed it, and that Mr. Dixon admirably describes
it. After speaking of the perfection of its combination of
grace and beauty, he says : —

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, pre-
vents 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 conveniences
for keeping them in their proper places, I was 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 gar-
den at any particular hour of the day or evening, after a cer-

JAVANESE PEA FOWL,

PEA FOWL. 347

tain 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 Fowls are incorrigible ma-
rauders. -

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 com-
paratively trifling ;; though, like the Guinea Fowl, they are
great eaters of buds, cutting them out from the axillae of leaves
as cleanly as a surgeon's dissecting-knife would. They must
also have a dusting-hole, which is large and unsightly; but
this can be provided for them in some out-of-the-way nook ;
and, by feeding and encouragement, 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
dazzling effect may be as impressive as possible. Many gar«
denless castles and country-houses on the Continent would lose
their semi-barbarous and semi-ruinous appearance, by employ-
ing these birds as an embellishment. For they are not less
pleasing to the eye than the Stork, which is so much encour-
aged j and they would render in great measure the same ser-
vices, namely, the destruction of small reptiles, with the advan-
tage of remaining at home all the year round. Willughby
gives a ludicrous quotation from Johannes Faber, in reference
to the serpent-eating propensities of the Pea Fowl, which is too
coarse, both in idea and expression, for modern republication,

348 PEA FOWL.

though not otherwise objectionable. Something of the kind is
popularly believed, perhaps not utterly without truth, respec-
ting Herons and Eels. But to these Continental residences it
should be understood that no vineyard be at hand. The green-
ness and sourness of the grapes, which caused the Fox to re-
frain, 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 commanding the most enchant-
ing views In one part is a small piece of water, in the midst
of which is an island planted with trees and shrubs, and in-
habited, by numerous Pea Fowl.f Of course, they must be
pinioned, to prevent their escape. My own birds had no hesi-
tation 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,

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

f 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
theives 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 op-
portunity 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.

PEA FOWL. 349

or any other feathered beauty, but nothing can equal the mag-
nificence of a Peacock in full flight, sweeping 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 de-
struetiveness towards the young of other Poultry,* a propen-
sity respecting which I have heard and readf such contradic-
tory statements, that they can only be reconciled by the hy-
pothesis 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 produced 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 inoifensive ; others have, been mentioned to me
equally pacific. On the other hand, the list of murders un-
doubtedly 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, t

* Columella gives a fanciful reason for keeping Hens that have fa-
milies of Chickens from coming near Peahens that have broods, which
relieves the latter at least from all blame. "Authors are sufficiently
agreed that other Hens, which are rearing young of their own 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, and desert
them while still immature, clearly hating them, because neither in
size nor beauty are they comparable to the Peacock." — Book vii.,
chap. xi.

f See the " Penny Cyclopedia," article Pavonidee : " 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. H.

350 PEA FOWL.

we now and then see a favourite bird, with neck of lapis lazuli,
back of emerald, wings of tortoise-shell, and tail outshining the
rainbow, in some old-fashioned farm-yard, the pet of his mis-
tress, who is perhaps the most successful Poultry-woman in the
neighbourhood, and whose stock shows no sign of any mur-
derous 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, manifested by
the secresy with which she selects the place for her nest; nor,
if the Eggs are disturbed, will she go there again. She lays
from four or five to seven. If these are taken, she will fre-
quently 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 summers, for the Pea Fowl as for Turkeys ;
namely, that the poults require to be brooded longer than the
Hen is able convenienty 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. 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 diffi-
culty in rearing Pea Chicks. 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 dan-
gerous habitation for a little tender thing that could run and

PEA FOWL.

gqnat 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 intermediate low stables or other
building that would help them to mount from one to the
other. It must be a clever snake that would get at the cun-
ning little rogues when they were once perched on the feathery
branch of a bamboo. . . .

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 in-
stance, 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 respecting
them, which has given rise to serious theoretical errors and to
many false inferences, is, that they originated in the north, in
Norway or Sweden ; the climate in which Ptarmigan, Snow
Buntings, Alpine Hares, &c., 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 influ-
ence of climate on the forms of animals, leading him to
hazard the assertion, among others, that the Silver Pheasant
is only the common Pheasant changed to a lighter hue by mi-
gration to a more northerly region, while he forgot that the
Silver and the Common Pheasant are both natives of the same

352 PEA FOWL.

districts 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 discussed the Paon
Blanc, in his Hist. Nat. des Gallinaces, torn. ii.

THE KING-NECKED 1> 11 E A S A K I1

353

CHAPTER XXII.

THE RING-NECKED PHEASANT.

THE Phasianus Torquatus, or Ring-necked Pheasant, of
which the artist has given such a life-like portrait from nature,
is but a variety of the common Pheasant. It is, perhaps, a
trifle larger than the Brown Pheasant, with which it is asso-
ciated in almost every preserve in England. The Cock should
weigh about three pounds.

This genus may generally be characterized by a strong bill,
the upper part of which is convex, and naked at the base j the
nostrils are lateral and covered with a cartilaginous scale.
" The head is clothed with feathers, but the region of the eyes,\
for a considerable space, is covered with a naked verucose skin,
generally of a bright vermilion. The wings are short, but
firm and compact. The tail is remarkably long, and generally
wedge-shaped. The feet have the anterior toes united by a
membrane to the first joint. The hind-toe is articulated upon
the tarsus, which, in the male, is furnished with a strong
conical, sharp spur. The plumage of the male is generally of
the most brilliant tints." In the natural state, they live on
fruits and roots, and the larger seeds ; they are very active
on the ground, and though their short wings prevent them
from taking a long and sustained flight, their power is suffi-
cient to carry them away from ordinary dangers.

It is now generally admitted that the Pheasant was originally

30*

354 THE RING-NECKED PHEASANT.

introduced in Europe from the banks of the Phasis, (near the
Rioni,) a river in Chalchis, in Asia Minor. Of the time of
its introduction we are not certain. As early as the year
1299, it is mentioned (Echard's History) as worth four pence;
and two hundred of them made part of the great feast of the
Archbishop Neville, about the middle of the fifteenth century.

The markings and splendid hues of the plumage of the
male bird are generally known, and so well set forth by the
artist, that any detailed description will be unnecessary.

The ringed variety chiefly inhabits the forests of China,
where the common kind is also abundant ; but in this state
they never breed together. The Eggs of the former also
differ; they are of a pale bluish green, marked with small
blotches of a deeper tint, while those of the latter variety are
of an olive-white, and without any spots.

Of the habits of these birds, in a state of nature, we know
but little, and yet have no reason to doubt their similarity to
those exhibited in their present half domestic state in Europe
and this country.

As they are now found in preserves, woods with a thick
under-growth of brush, brambles, long grass, &c., interspersed
with open glades, which some little stream refreshes and the
sun enlivens, are their delight during the day, and from which
they run, morning and evening, to the open skirts, where some
favourite food abounds. It is in their way to such feeding
grounds, that they are so easily secured by unscrupulous per-
sons; for, never taking flight, unless disturbed, they run and
thread their way through these tangled brakes, and leave pas-
sages which are easily distinguished by the practised eye of
the poacher. During the winter, the Pheasant goes regularly to
roost ; but, in the summer, and when moulting, they do not
tree, but squat among the long grass, offering themselves, in
this way, an easy prey to another class of enemies, as Polecats,
Foxes, &c. The males, in general, associate among themselves

THE RING-NECKED PHEASANT. 355

during the winter, and separate from the females. They
come together again about the first of March, when the male
assumes an altered appearance ; the scarlet of his cheeks, and
around his eyes, acquires additional depth of colour, he walks
with a more measured step, with his wings let down, and
with his tail carried in a more erect position. Being poly-
gamous, he now takes possession of a certain beat, from which
he drives every male intruder, and commences his crowing,
attended with a peculiar clapping of the wings, which answers
as the note of invitation to the other sex, as well as of defiance
to his own.

As previously stated, the food of the Pheasant is tender
roots, insects with their larvae — as the autumn advances,
the ripening grains of all kinds are abundant, and the wild
fruits and berries, which a kind Providence has everywhere
provided, render this their time of feasting. As winter ap-
proaches, they are reduced to less various fare, and resort to
the fallow and turnip-fields, in search of roots, &c. In well-
kept preserves, during this season, they are always regularly
fed, and know the feeding-hour and call of the keeper cor-
rectly, and by this means they are prevented from straying.
The most successful and favourite food, at these times, is peas
or grain.

Although it is rather difficult to effect a cross between the
Pheasant and our Domestic Fowl, it has nevertheless been
done ; but, beyond a first cross, the thing is generally regarded
as impracticable. Poultry have been kept on the borders of a
wood abounding with Pheasants, and occasionally a few half-
bred birds are procured. Sir William Jardine had a specimen
of the cross in his possession, exhibiting all the mixed cha-
racters in perfection. M. Temminck also records a solitary in-
stance of a mule between the female common Pheasant and the
male Golden-Pheasant, which presented a curious but splendid
mixture; all his endeavours, however, to procure a second

356 THE EING-NECKED PHEASANT.

specimen were ineffectual. The common Pheasant breeds
also freely with the Ring-necked bird, and the offspring is pro-
ductive ; this by some is regarded as a proof that these two
birds are identical.

The following paragraph, which I quote from Mr. Nolan, of
Dublin, will be interesting to those who desire to try their
skill in breeding and rearing this beautiful bird. He says : —

" The Pheasant is not only beautiful to the eye, but most de-
licate when served to the table. Its flesh is considered the
greatest dainty. When the old physicians spoke of the whole-
someness of any viands, they made their comparison with the
flesh of the Pheasant. No matter with what care they have
been bred or propagated, they disdain the protection of man,
and shelter in the thickest covers and remotest forests. All
others of the Domestic Fowl submit to the protection of man ;
but the Pheasant never has, preferring the scanty produce of
acorns and berries to the abundant supply of a farm-yard. The
Hen Pheasant, in a wild state, hatches and brings up her brood
with patience, vigilance, and courage ; but when kept tame, she
never sits well. A substitute must be found in the clean-
legged Bantam, the larger Fowl being too heavy for the Chicks.
Her time of laying is about the middle of April, and, if in an
aviary, the Eggs should be immediately removed, and placed
in dry bran or chaff, until you wish to set them. They are
about twenty-four days coming out. After the young ones ap-
pear, they are not to be fed for twenty-four hours, after which
give them hard-boiled Egg, chopped fine, and mixed with oat-
meal, ant-mould, cheese, curd, lettuce cut fine, white flour
wetted with sweet milk, bread crumbs, bread and milk, with
very limited drink. Be particular to preserve them from cold
and moisture. You will have to confine the Hen, so as to pre«
vent her eating their food ; and you will have to provide them
with maggots. In the neighbourhood of Paris, where they rear
quantities of young Fowl, for the market, they prepare what

THE EING-NECKED PHEASANT. 357

they call a vermineer, by digging a hole in a dry, sandy spot,
in which they place a piece of flesh, which soon gets into mag-
gots, with which they feed the young "birds. My own vermi-
neer is of much simpler and economic construction. I have an
earthen pan, about two feet deep, and one foot diameter, into
which I put some bran ; on this I place a piece of liver or
carrion. I cover it with a common glass cap, and place it in
the sun. The flesh soon gets fly-blown, and speedily creates
quantities of maggots, and, with a long-handled spoon, I have
them thrown to the young birds. They should not get more
than one feed of those in the day. The more varied their
food, and the more frequently renewed, the better. Fresh,
and a little at a time. The green leaves of barley are ex-
cellent. At three months old, feed them on barley, with
a little wheat, boiled carrots, or potatoes, mixed with bread-
crumbs. Give a small portion of boiled rice during the moult.
If they should get the roup, give them fresh curd every day.
To make alum curd, take new milk, as much as your young
birds require, and boil it with a lump of alum, so as not to
make the curd hard and tough, but custard-like. A little of
this curd and ant's eggs, should be given to them twice a day,
in addition to their other food. Keep their vessels clean ; and,
if the disease still continue, give them, every second day, a
small dose of garlic in a little fresh butter. They are subject
to be vent-bound, which, if not attended to, will kill them.
The remedy is, with a sharp scissors cut close the down or
feathers about the vent, and anoint it with sweet-oil, and be
attentive that it be kept clean, otherwise you cannot rear them;
but, in handling them, be particularly cautious that you do it
with the greatest delicacy, as the least rough handling will
kill them. If they have a scouring, the alum curd will
check it.

There is no difficulty in breeding the common Pheasant in
a wild state ; but to keep them in an aviary, you will have to

358 THE RING-NECKED PHEASANT.

get a wire-trellis in front, sufficiently close to prevent the
sparrows and other birds robbing them of their food. The
saving of the food will very soon compensate you for the
wire-work, and insure your Pheasants being fed. At the top,
I would prefer close net-work of moderate-sized cord, well
painted. The reason is, if the birds get fluttered, they fly
straight up, and, by a dash against a hard substance, they fre-
quently fall dead, but by coming in contact with the net, they
receive no injury. Part of the aviary should be shedded, to
protect them from the inclemency of the weather ; and I would
recommend a retiring-place for the Hens to lay in, and perches
of about one inch diameter. I would advise the retiring-place
to be laid down with clean straw, but would prefer fine sand
for their walking-place. Wheat and barley are their best food,
with occasionally vegetable matter, lettuce, turnip-tops, cab-
bages, &c. One Cock is sufficient for three or four Hens.

359

CHAPTER XXIII.

THE TURKEY.

THIS is one of those Fowls, that, as yet, are found in the
wild, as well as in the domestic state. How long this may be,
is hard to say ; probably, not long ; for as civilization and im-
provements advance in North America, the country to which
they belong, they will, doubtless, share the fate of the Dodo
and Bustard, and be known only in history, or by the speci-
mens to be seen in the barn-yard.

As I know comparatively little of this Fowl from experience
in rearing it, I have sought information of those who " know
all about it" practically; and none more so than my friend,
D. Taggart, Esq., to whom I feel much indebted, for his valua-
ble correspondence on " Ornamental and Domestic Poultry/'

In answer to some inquiries, in relation to Fowls generally,
he says, " You have not asked my views on Turkeys, but what
little I know, I may as well impart. I raised two broods, last
summer, (1850,) byway of experiment. The first lot, to the
number of fifteen, were hatched in June, under Hens. With
these, I was very successful, having lost but one. The Gobblers
now weigh, (November 29th, 1850,) eleven or twelve pounds,
the Hens seven or eight pounds : I was very careful of them,
feeding them on the curds of milk, and waste bread, soaked in
milk, until they were four or five weeks old. After that, I was
not so particular. I kept them in the garden, and by the time

362 THE TURKEY.

the Bustard breed and the Dutch copper-coloured,) which,
however, is as much cultivated in Norfolk as the old local
stock, and birds of which kind often pass for true Norfolks,
because they have been procured 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 gray, and are of taller and slenderer proportions.
The plumage of the Cambridge breed varies very much ; some-
times it is entirely made up of shades of reddish brown and
gray, when it is called the Bustard breed ; sometimes of gray,
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 represented 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 any thing
like the same degree as the White Pea Fowl. 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 established 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 remarkable,
that in specimens which are else snow-white, the tuft on the

THE TURKEY. 363

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, relieving his snowy and
trembling flakes of plumage, is truly beautiful; and some few
farmers keep them, in spite of the disadvantages attending
them. A merit is, that they dress most temptingly white for
market. But they are unsuited 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 primaeval forests. The most striking
point in which they differ from the best plumaged of the
Cambridge breed, is the extreme brilliancy 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

364 THE TURKEY.

reputed to be the only possessor of these; and I believe hn
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 confi-
dence, that a horse was of no use to him, as he could not ride,
but that Earl Powys did possess something which he should
much value. This was reported to his lordship, and after
some difiiculty 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 telling
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 my re so than any breed
that I know. The shape of the Hens is also more elongated,
and there is a sprightliness about the head, which is also
better shaped. Audubon's plate of the Turkey strongly re-
minds 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 de-
scended 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 individuals 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

THE TURKEY. 365

of America ? Such a plan would most likely be less trouble-
some than the task of taming fresh-caught 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 conti-
nent to which we owe the original existence of the species
among us. Some slight notice of the Crested Turkey may be
expected in these pages, as Temminck (Pigeons et Gallinacesj
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, sometimes white ; and these Crested Turkeys
are sufficiently rare. Mademoiselle Backer formerly kept, in
her magnificent menagerie, near the Hague, a flock of Turkeys
of a beautiful Isabelle yellow, approaching to chestnut; 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 Cornellyson, Esq., beyond Chelmsford, in Essex: it
was of the bigness of the common Turkies, 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 movable and erectable 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 Guinea Fowl, a distinct species, and that it has failed
to propagate, and so is no longer to be seen among us. The
suspicion is confirmed by finding in " Wild Life in the Interior
of Central America, by Greorge Byam, 43d 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 ex-
tract. But the subject is most perplexing, and interesting
from its very mystery. A solution may possibly be effected

31*

366 THE TURKEY.

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 their
temper and disposition. A creature that does not attain its
full growth till its fifth or sixth 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' wives 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

* In Norfolk, Turkey Cocks are called Stags from their second
year upwards. A bird of the same year weighing, when dressed at
Christmas, 16 or 17 Ibs., is unusyyal and considered very good. The
extra weighty birds shown by the London poulterers are of a corre-
sponding age.

THE TURKEY. 367

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 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 tfye 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 out-house.
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 an-
ticipated 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-greediness of Chicks. In this case

368 THE TURRET.

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 the plumper for the ex-
tra 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 an hundred
Eggs, took the great trouble to turn each Egg every day with
her own hand, during the whole time of incubation. The re-
sult appears favourable j 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 un-
natural, all directions to immerse or " try" 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

* 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 own offspring. Air and exercise increase the strength of any

THE TURKEY. 869

swallow a whole pepper-corn;" which is as if «pre were to cram
a London pippin down the throat of a new-born babe. Others
again say, " Give them a little 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 ? 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 un-
disturbed 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 fol-

O * '

lowing morning. Then place her on the grass, in the sun,
under a roomy coop. If the weather be fine, she may be sta-
taioned 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

growing animal, but cold and hunger only dwarf 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 Do-
mestic 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 mountainous 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 ma
turity, endure so much hardship as those who have been better kept
in their infant state."

370 THE TURKEY.

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 hurry to eat ; but when they do begin, supply them
constantly 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 with
water or milk, nettle-tops, leeks, goose-grass, or cleavers, and
many other things, might be added to the list ; but it is pro-
bable 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 a meal at
three or four mouthfuls than to trouble themselves 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 every thing.

Young Turkeys are sometimes attacked by fasciolse, 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 hoard, laid under and about the coop, are useful :
. sometimes rubbing the legs with spirit will bring the circu-
lation back again, N.

The time when the Turkey Hen may be allowed full liberty
with her brood, depends so much on season, situation, &c.,
that it must be left to the exercise of the keeper's judgment.
Some, whose opinion is worthy of 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 compilers are pleased to term it : being about as much

THE TURKEY. 371

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 nou-
rishment. If let loose at this time they will obtain much by
foraging, and still be. thankful for all you choose to give them.
Caraway-seeds, as a tonic, are a great secret with some pro-
fessional people. They will doubtless, be beneficial, if added
to plenty of barley, boiled potatoes, chopped vegetables, 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 pounds, in eight or nine months? u Corn-sacks, coffers
for oats, barn-swallowers, ill neighbours to peasen," are epi-
thets deservedly earned. They will jump into the potato-
ground, scratch the ridges on one side, eat every grub, wire-
worm, 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 Gruinea 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 graminivorous propensities to the great disadvantage of
the farmer. The farmer's wife sees them not, says nothing,
but at Christmas boasts of the large amount of her Turkey-
money. One great merit in old birds (besides their orna-
mental value, which is our special recommendation) is, that in
situations where nuts, acorns, and mast are to be had, they will

372 THE TURKEY.

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.

3T3

CHA XI,.

374 GUINEA FOWL.

tation 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 procure
a sitting of Eggs from some friend or neighbour on whom you
can depend for their freshness, and also, if possible, from a
place where only a single pair is kept. 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 ijaay 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. Bennett'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, what-
ever, 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 appe-

GUINEA FOWLS. 375

tites, or would be stolen by sparrows, &c. ; but it should be
frequently administered 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 extraordindry power and quickness of digestion. The
newly-hatched Guinea Fowl is a tiny creature, a mere infini-
tesimal of the full-grown bird ; its growth is consequently very
rapid, and requires incessant supplies. A 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 cir-
cumstances, 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 abund-
ant supply of food can make up for a fast of a couple of hours.
The feathers still go on, grow, grow, grow, in geometrical pro-
gression, and drain the sources of vitality still faster than they
can be supplied, till the bird faints and expires from inani-
tion. I have even fancied that I have seen a growth of quill
and feather after death in young Poultry which we have failed
in rearing. The possibility of such a circumstance is sup-
ported 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 ne-
cessary 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

376 GUINEA FOWLS.

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 supplied 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, 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 re-
quire 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 immediately deve-
loped. 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 Fowls 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 permitted to enter
the garden, lest her family should acquire a habit of visiting it
at a time when their presence would be less welcome than for-
merly. They must still, however, receive a bountiful and
frequent supply of food ; they are not to be considered safe

GUINEA FOWLS. 377

till the horn on their head is fairly grown. Oatmeal, (i. e. groats,)
is a great treat, cooked potatoes, boiled rice, any thing 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.

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 insufiicient 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 preparation for the spit ; unable to refrain from its
diurnal visit to the nest, and consequently unable to furnish
itself with a new great coat. As the body of a good cow is a
distillery for converting all sorts of herbage into milk, and no-
thing else, or as little else as possible, so the body of the Gui-
nea Hen is a most admirable machine for producing Eggs
out of insects, vegetables, grain, garbage, or whatever an om-
nivorous creature can lay hold of.

From this great 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,

32*

378 GUINEA FOWLS.

but only an instance of habits modified by a change of climate,
similar to the cessation of torpidity, and to the brown, instead
of white, winter dress in animals brought from the arctic re-
gions to tempe'rate climates. 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 engen-
dered there. They are also found wild on the Island of As-
cension, but it is doubtful whether any accurate account of
their habits or mode of increase there is yet extant.

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 gray and brown. The spots
vary from the size of a pea to extreme minuteness. Rarely
the black and white change places, causing the bird to appear
as if covered with a net-work of lace.

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 pe-
culiar 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 beauty, with those of the original wild colour.

379

CHA:

.

. !,-

THE MUTE SWAN.

jfce, but who would willingly pay for the maintenance of a
pair of Swans and their annual brood of Cygnets, on enclosed
or artificial waters, if they knew but how to order them
aright.

Imprimis, then, they are called " Tame Swans," " Domestic
Swans :'; never were epithets 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. Professor 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 ex-
tended pinions. He evidently takes the Swan to be a do-
mesticated 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

THE MUTE SWAN. 381

Swan, whom he indulged in the free use of his wings, for the
gratification of observing his graceful evolutions in the air.*
But, at present, the discovery, and introduction, and disper-
sion of a species of Swan, that would be really tame, and stay
at home without being tied by the wing, as prolific, and
having a 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 ; unfortu-
nately, it does not state whether the pinioning knife had been
used. " At the residence of the governor of the province 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 some-
what 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
margin is toothed, just like the Concha Veneris (Cyprsea.)" —
Linnxus's Tour in Lapland, vol. ii. Mr. Yarrell, who, of all
naturalists, is perhaps best acquainted with the nice distinc-
tions 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 ornithology,

* "Its powers of flight were truly astonishing. It visited all the
sheets of water for many miles around. On taking its excursions
into the world at large, I would often say to it, in a kindly tone of
voice, as it flew over my head, ' Qui ainat periculum, peribit in illo ;'
as I too clearly foresaw that foes would lie in ambush for it." —
Essays, 2d Series, p. 122.

382 THE MUTE SWAN.

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 less than the Cygnus Olor. None
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
temporarily conceals its hatred of the trammels in which it is
compelled to live ; the very webs of its feet being sometimes
slit, to retard it in its unkind chase after other Water Fowl.
It does not shrink from the severest weather which we experi-
ence, but faces the pelting storm, as if anchored, in the most
exposed parts of the lake. For those to whom the 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 un-
favourable. 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 Sheldrake,
enjoy now and then a treat of cockles and shrimps, with per-
haps a barrowful of sea-weed 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 de-
scriptions of animals, should be informed that all living crea-
tures cannot be divided into two distinct ranks of Wild and
Tame, as, for example, the Horse and the Zebra among
quadrupeds, and the Blue Rock Pigeon and the Ringdove

THE MUTE SWAN. 383

among birds, just as they would separate the red and the
white men on a chess-board, but that there is a most perplex-
ing 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 determined never to enlist 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 Partridge, Rats and Mice, the House Spar-
row, 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-in-
tentioned persons, who seem to declare that the soul of man is
a carte blanche, and who would thereby, unthinkingly, deny
the doctrine of Original 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 llanche — you
cannot write, on either, whatever may be your pleasure 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 in-
terest, which will be found eventually to coincide with your
own.

Swans, then, are ferae naturae to all intents and purposes;
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 every autumn ; if they have been put up to fat for

384 THE MUTE SWAN

some time, so much the better, as they will the sooner become
tame, and contented with a small range — which I am sup-
posing 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-bird in his second year. In se-
lecting 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 cer-
tainty, 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 bold-
ness in the other, which is a tolerably safe guide, as well as an
appropriate and becoming attribute to the creatures themselves.
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 disappointment of nursing Cygnets

THE MUTE SWAN. 385

through their youth of three long years' duration. Bright-
ness and clearness of the orange on the bill, and full develop-
ment 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 disa-
greeable reminiscences connected with the spot where they
are to spend their lives. There are two ways 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 gam-
bols 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 feeding 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 travel-
ling companions who are on the way to the Artie 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 nerv-
ous system as much as from 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

33

386 THE MUTE SWAN.

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 ;
The words expressly are a limb of swan ;
Take then thy bond, take thou thy limb of swan ;
But, in the cutting it, if thou 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 shalt bewail
The consequence."

If any brook runs into and from the pond where they are
to remain, their escape through that channel must be pre-
vented 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 pre-
caution 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 con*
tained 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

THE MUTE SWAN. 387

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 themselves
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 shallowness and foulness, not to the extent
and clearness of the 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 Khone," 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 re-
membered 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 starva-
tion 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. Some-
times they may be tempted with a lock of unthreshed barley
or oats, thrown, straw and all, into the water, which they will

388 THE MUTE SWAN.

instinctively lay hold of and devour. Cygnets which havo
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 examination 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 afford some clue in similar cases.

"Swans wandering by night, in search of watercresses
chiefly, are always in danger from the different vermin which
prey upon poultry 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 de-
stroyed 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,

THE MUTE SWAN. 889

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 position as to indicate that it had been sur-
prised and killed by one of the larger weasels, a stoat, or a
polecat.

Considerable difference of opinion has been entertained re-
specting the diet of the Swan; some supposing it to be ex-
clusively vegetable, others believing that fish enter largely
into it. My own observations tend to prove that a very con-
siderable part of their nutriment is obtained from minute
insects and molluscs. The sluggish, weedy waters, where
Swans thrive best, abound with such creatures; 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 fish might
now and then not come amiss to them, and spawn would be
greedily devoured. A Swan must be considerably more de-
structive 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 vegeta-
tion, 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

83*

390 THE MUTE SWAN.

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 j 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 Con-
fervse and the Characeae, then the Callitricha aquatica, or
Water Starwort, and the long list of Potamogctons, 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 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 Hyaena 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. In-
deed, we are compelled to believe that they have been bounti-
fully created to fulfil this office of cleansing the half-stagnant

THE MUTE SWAN. 391

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 igno-
rant of King Mithridates or his antidote.

A curious instance of the animal diet of the Swan once
occurred to myself. The common brown shrimp, it is well
known, inhabits, and thrives in waters less strongly im-
pregnated with salt than the open sea, which is not the case
with several other species : and I was desirous of trying
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 ex-
periment. On arriving at their journey's end, the great ma-
jority were dead. They were all, however, 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
cord, sailed up, and began feasting on the dead shrimps, crush-
ing them in her bill before she swallowed them, and appearing
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 disposition 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

392 THE MUTE SWAN.

the fall of lambs, to depend much upon the season and the
•weather of the few preceding months. One year the threo
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 inoat. 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 interlopers. A blow from his
pinion on land is better avoided; and in the water he would
bother the strongest sniirnrner 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 dominions. Coming to close
quarters with them is the surest mode of defence. The blow
of a Swan's wing, to take effect, must hit from a certain dis-
tance. 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
possibly 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 gray, in-
clining to mouse-colour. The time of incubation is six we<?ks,
or thereabouts. A common notion in Norfolk is, that the
Cygnets cannot be hatched till a thunder-storm comes to break

THE MUTE SWAN. 393

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 Grlendower —

" 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 ar-
rived at the hatching point. What effect electrical oscillations
have on animal life we as yet know not, but our own feelings
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 float-
ing 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 nu-
tritious particles may thence be extracted. As hunger is
satisfied and 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 glently 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

394 THE MUTE SWAN.

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,
or 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 fat-
ting 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, with their other
food; but this is not continued for more than a fortnight. A
comb of barley is the established allowance to fat each Swan.
The corn is put into shallow tubs, set just under water. The
birds are considered worth from 10s. to 12s. each when they
are "hopped" or "upped" from their native streams; but
when brought into prime condition, 2L, formerly 21. 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 25 Ibs. to
28 Ibs. and sometimes, though rarely, 30 Ibs. They are never

THE MUTE SWAN. 395

better than in the month of November, when the gastro-
nomical enquirer, who is 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 Ibs. before Christmas, has been
known to shrink to 17 or 18 Ibs. by the end of January, in
spite of high feeding. Therefore, make hay while the sun
shines, Mr. Epicure. As, in the spring, the snow-drop 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 solem-
nized 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 gravy and currant-jelly, the latter hot as well as cold, in
respectful attendance. — And is that all? No, the best re-
mains behind. The hash next day is worth riding 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.*

*0ne of my correspondents in South Carolina, Hugh Wilson, Esq.,
informs me that, in the winter season, Swans are quite numerous in
that region, and are frequently taken alive. — ED.

396

CHAPTER XXVI.

THE WILD GOOSE.

THIS Bird is called by European writers, the Canada Goose.
It is capable of domestication, and, as a Wild Bird, breeds in
the Arctic regions, going south on the approach of winter ; its
migrations north, are the sure sign of returning spring. Over
all the Atlantic States, at least, the inhabitants are quite fa-
miliar with its passing and repassing.

It is said, with what truth I know not, that, though the
"Wild Goose will breed with the Domestic, yet the half-breds
will not breed with each other.

Mr. Dixon is under the impression, that what he calls the
Canada, (the same as our Wild Goose,) the Bernicle, and the
Brent Goose, are all occasionally mistaken for each other.
This he attributes to what he calls, and justly too, the compil-
ing system of Zoological literature; for he says, that the
history of the Anser Oanadensis, 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 appropriate language, or to commit a whole-
sale plunder of compilation upon the stores of preceding au-
thors. But, although unwilling to be guilty of this kind of
pillage, I must necessarily make some reference to the labours

i

THE WILD GOOSE. 397

of 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 pro-
minent 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 confine-
ment, 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, marks 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 insti-
tute 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 ex-
ternal 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 Audu-
bon 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

N

398 THE WILD GOOSE.

to domesticate many species of wild fowls, which would provo
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 d>
mestication 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
develop 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
coining to the decisive quarrels and battles that would set all
right; and in the end we have birds without mates, Eggs unferti-
lized, and now and then a few monstrous hybrids, which, how-
ever 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 gos-
lings. Many writers, Audubon among 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 dis-
pleasing. 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 barba-

THE WILD GOOSE. 399

rous to send a Goose down a chimney, than a child up it ?
This by the way : but all half-bred Canada Geese, that I have
seen, look as if they had kindly undertaken to act as substi-
tute for the poor little climbing boy or girl.

Not only are they suffered thus to herd with other varie-
ties, 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 unprac-
tised 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 Eng-
land. I never met with any one who had tasted it here, that
did not pronounce it detestable j 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 mis-
taken 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 pro-
duces. He adds, " every portion of it is useful to Man ; for be-
sides 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 unad-
visedly, recommend every flock of Canada Geese to be in No-

400 THE WILD GOOSE.

vember 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 water, possessed by our no
bility. 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 con-
tentedly 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 and stringy, and uneatable, if in-
deed they survived the pinching regimen so long. Many
people in the country make the same difference in their treat-
ment of their ornamental Fowls and their ordinary stock, that

THE WILD GOOSE. 401

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 expense, or received as highly valued presents
from friends, are turned out in a grassy wilderness, to shift
for themselves as best they may, while the Turkeys and Gos-
lings 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 Justin 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 ac-
ceptable 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 con-
ducting 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 spark-
ling 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

34*

402 THE WILD GOOSE.

settling them in their new abode is to confine them with hur-
dles 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 j but young birds, fresh taken from their parents, or
adult ones that have 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 fell 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 ac^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 gray, a colour very 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 forward for the table
better than by shutting them up to fat ; and before Christmas
the parents should be alone again 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,
(reckoning from the tip,) according to the scope they are to
be allowed, in the manner described for the Swan : the young

THE WILD GOOSE. 403

that are to be eaten had better remain unmutilated. I be-
lieve 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 roast-
ing or broiling similar "joints," we 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, 1850, to investigate
the edible merits of a well-conditioned Canada Goose, pro-
nounced 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 Chau-
cer's Franklin :

"Now certainly he was a fayre 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 ex-
aggerated. The young male has a frequent disposition to
neglect his own mate, and give himself up to unlicensed com-
panionship. 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 ;

404 THE WILD GOOSE.

but as often as we killed and roasted the object of his affec-
tions, 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
gray top-knot, was his especial favourite. When the Michael-
mas 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 ex-
change one out of the pair for another bird.

405

CHAPTER XXVII.

THE DOMESTIC GOOSE.

'Tis the opinion of some that our Common Goose is a mon-
grel, as the Dunghill Fowl, made up of several varieties as the
Gray-leg, White-fronted, Bean, and Pink-footed Goose, to
each of which it occasionally shows more or less affinity. As
to the practical qualities of this Fowl, we may say, on the best
testimony, they are very considerable. Mr. Taggart, in a re-
cent letter to me, says, " Of all Poultry, Geese can be raised
with the greatest ease, in the shortest time, and' at the least
expense, provided you live in the country, or in a-village where
grass grows in the streets and alleys. I have only 'reared them
once, but I am certain Goslings can be brought up on grass
alone ; though, of course, they grow much faster, if better fed.
I fed mine well, on Indian-meal and milk, and sometimes on
corn — this, in addition to good pasture — and see the result —
they are of common blood, and not remarkable for size. At
33 days old, one weighed 5£ Ibs. ; at 47 days, 6 Ibs. 15 oz. ;
54 days, 8 Ibs. 3 oz. ; 64 days, 8 Ibs. 14 oz. ; at 93 days, 11 i
Ibs., when I killed him. For Eggs, Geese are no ' great

shakes/ but, to use a Crockettism, ' they're on a grow/ "

On this subject Mr. Dixon says : —

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 common Goose, like that of the Fowl,

406 THE DOMESTIC GOOSE.

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 in-
cluded in their list of unclean birds. Among the Greeks and
Romans, it seems to have been the only really domesticated
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 a great part of the trouble
of composing the natural history of the Domestic Goose, if he
will only collect the materials that are scattered among
ancient authors. A very early notice of them occurs in Ho-
mer. Penelope, relating her dream, says,

" 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, what-
ever the Ganders might be,) the " limpid lake," the " pensive
hours," are not Homeric, but Popeiau. 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
tne 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 mem-
bers of the Royal Agricultural Society. If she entertained
her numerous suitors with fat roast Goose, it may partly ex-
plain 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

THE DOMESTIC GOOSE. 407

hack as A. u. c. 865, 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 supported 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 par-
ticularly 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 present
great scarcity of food ; a circumstance to which they owed
their preservation ; for by the cackling of these creatures, and
the clapping of their wings, Marcus Manlius 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 precipice in promiscuous ruin." — Livy, lib.
v. cap. 47 — Baker's Translation.

408 THE DOMESTIC GOOSE.

Lucretius, referring to this event (lib. iv. 686) attributes 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 great distance the odour of the hu-
man race."

Virgil, alluding to the same occurrence, (JEn. 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 Gray-leg or the White-fronted, as it does at present, a cir-
cumstance 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 defence of the
capitol, when the silence of the dogs would have betrayed

every thing It is possible, also, that they may have some

discernment of wisdom. Thus, one is said to have stuck per-
petually to the Philosopher Lacydis, never leaving him, either
in public, in the baths, by night, or by day." And again, at
xxvii. — " Our folks are wiser, who 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 Koman
knight at the same epoch. But (what is certain) Messalinus
Cotta, the son of Messala, the orator, discovered 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
crowding In some places they are plucked twice a year/'

THE DOMESTIC GOOSE. 409

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 inquire 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 several wild spe-
cies. None of these ancient accounts indicate any such fact ;
but, on the contrary, declare that the Domestic Goose was 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 Gray-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 says, that t( the
Gray-legged Goose is considered to be the origin from which
our valuable domesticated race is derived ;" and instances the
union of a pinioned wild Gray-legged Gander with a Domestic
Goose that had been assigned as his mate.* But those who
have kept many diiferent species together, well know what un-
accountable 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. Indeed, among Geese, it will be difficult to de-

* 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 the views here expressed : it is the only one
I have ever met with at all tending to contradict them.

S5

410 THE DOMESTIC GOOSE.

fine 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 re-
mains, that they were Lithoschemata, as Aldrovandus has it,
sketches in stone, abortive efforts of Nature, imperfect em-
bryos, 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. Ac-
cording to the Rev. L. Jenyns, —

" The Domestic Goose is usually considered as having been
derived from the Gray-legged Goose, but such a circumstance
is rendered highly improbable from the well-known fact that
the Common Gander, after attaining a certain age, is inva-
riably (?) white. Montague, also, observes that a specimen of
the Anser fcrus, 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 un-
known."— Jenyntfs Manual of Vertebrate Animals, p. 222,

The origin of the Domestic Goose is indeed unknown, if we look
to Man, 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 Gray-legged Goose is the most pro-
bable 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
Gray-legged Goose extinct; by no means an impossibility.
Then those who must have a wild original from which to de-
rive all our domestic animals would be compelled to fall back
on some other species still less probable. It is surely a simpler

THE DOMESTIC GOOSE. 411

theory to suppose that creatures that were cotemporary with
the Mammoth, have, like it, disappeared from the earth in
their wild state, but have survived as dependents on Man, than
to engage in attempts at reconciling incongruities and dis-
crepancies, 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 Albifrons 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 (Oycno'ides) ; but these are mere impurities,
which wear out, and the race returns to the well-known do-
mestic 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 suffi-
ciently separated from the Gray-legged by the colour of its
feet and legs j 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.

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 domestication ; 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.

412 THE DOMESTIC GOOSE.

The Domestic Gander is polygamous, but he is not an in-
discriminate 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 versd.

Of the Domestic Goose there really is but one variety, indi-
viduals of which are found varying from entirely white plumage,
through different degrees of patchedness with gray, to entirely
gray colouring, except on the abdomen. The Ganders are
generally, not invariably, white. -Such are sometimes called
Einbden 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 consti-
tutes only one species or permanent variety.

Mr. Bagshaw, of Norwich, annually fats several thousand
Geese for the London market. He has sometimes as many
as two thousand 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 permitted 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 dif-
ferent 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

THE DOMESTIC GOOSE. 413

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 with the China Goose.

The Toulouse Goose, which has been so much extolled and
sold at such high prices, is only the common domestic, en-
larged by early hatching, very liberal feeding during youth,
fine climate, and perhaps by age. I am in possession 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 all.
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 abundantly
and well, cannot be too often forced upon the attention of the
breeder, whether of fowls or quadrupeds. A pertinent illus-
tration of its effects, even upon Man, is given by the Rev. John
Williams, in his "Missionary 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 remark-
ably 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

36*

414 THE DOMESTIC GOOSE.

of the chiefs, by supposing that they were a distinct race ; but
in this we think he was incorrect. It may, perhaps, be at-
tributed 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 performing this
office, which they frequently did for three years, they were
provided with abundance of the best food. A child of Tino-
mana, of Rarotonga, had four nurses, and he was a little
monster. With this commencement, their subsequent train-
ing 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 magnifying glass of a
raree-show.

The following will be pronounced a mere case of malforma-
tion, 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 the two farthest joints of one
wing growing as if they had been twisted round, out of their
proper position. None of the old Geese have this peculiarity,
nor, as far as I can ascertain, does it arise either from ill-treat-
ment or the forcing themselves through narrow places. It
seems rather to be a natural lusus 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

THE DOMESTIC GOOSE. 415

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 each in the year, besides
Eggs; this gives five hundred Geese per annum, without
taking the chance of a second brood. Multiply five hundred
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 ap-
pearance at table, are with them unnecessary; grass by day, a
dry bed at night, 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 economical farm-house; for there are the
feathers, to swell the mistress's accumulating stock of beds ;
there is the dripping, to enrich the dumpling, pudding, or
whatever other farinaceous food may be the fashion of the
country for the servants to eat; there are the giblets, to go to
market or make a pie for a special occasion, and there is the

416 THE DOMESTIC GOOSE.

wholesome, 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. Consequently, 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 com-
mons 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 being, generally, white, and
also by his bold and patronizing 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

THE DOMESTIC GOOSE. 417

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 ear-
liest of our Poultry : —

" 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 succu-
lent joint which suits a healthy Michaelmas 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, quiet out-house, 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 convenience,
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 pro-
duced by following Penelope's system of feeding, and giving
the birds steeped wheat.

The Goose is not only very early in its laying, but also very
late. It often anticipates the spring in November, and after-

418 THE DOMESTIC GOOSE.

wards, when spring really comes in March, it cannot resist its
genial influence. The autumnal Eggs afford useful employ-
ment 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 out-house 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 suc-
cessfully 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 cram-
ming, long half-dried pellets, composed of raw Egg and wheat
flour ; it is an old practice, but is unnecessary, except during
midwinter.

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 satisfied beforehand with1 chopped
endive or lettuce leaves. For if he goes to pasture still weak

THE DOMESTIC GOOSE. 419

and hungry, he tugs at the shrubs and more solid herbs so
pertinaceously 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-irrative remedy,
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 exe-
cution, where they will purify and arrange 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 occasionally, 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 contained
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.

420

CHAPTER XXVHI.

THE CHINA GOOSE.

Or this mnf ty, three beautiful specimens were exhibited at
the late Agricultural Show, held in the county of Philadelphia.
They were owned by a gentleman, whose name I forget, living
in the vicinity of Tacony, near this city. In introducing this
variety to the reader, Mr. Dixon says : —

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 ?" said the inmates. " Don Juan Jose
Pedro Antonio Alonzo Carlos Geronimo, &c., &c., &c., wants to
sleep here to-night." "Get along with you/' was the reply:
" how should we find room here for so many fellows ?" 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, (Cygnus 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 na-
tural history. Its place of birth has excluded it from all mo-
nographs or limited ornithologies. In very few systematic
works is it mentioned at all, which is remarkable of a bird so
strikjrg in its appearance, which there is every reason to be-

THE CHINA GOOSE. 421

lievc must have been domesticated for a long period. The un-
certainty that has existed as to its correct name, and really na-
tive country, may be one 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 wood-cut of this bird, but he has evidently se-
lected the Gander, which is taller and more erect than the fe-
male, 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 grace-
ful carriage in the water, give it some claim to relationship
with the aristocracy of lake and river. Cuvier (Griffiths' edi-
tion) 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 de-
cidedly is, as is clear from its terrestrial habits, its powerful

* The epithet "Indian" has also answered the same accommo-
dating purpose. " The lesser kind I conjecture to be the right
Mambrine 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." — TopsdVs History of Foure-footed Beasts, p. 236.

422 THE CHINA GOOSE.

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,* and other authors about
its goosehood.

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 harmonize in a picture of Chinese still life ; or
in a Chinese garden, with artificially 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 exemption from the hatching
fever is the great merit of the " everlasting layers." If
liberally furnished with oats, boiled rice, &c., the 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

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

THE CHINA GOOSE. 423

of the creature is sufficient, but is as much dependent on feed-
ing 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, com-
pared with the rest of their congeners, owing to the 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 oc-
casion 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,

* "In opposition to this statement, permit me to say, that the
China Geese, if true bred, fly very well, at a considerable height and
long distances. As a proof that they fly, many years since, a la-
bourer coming to his work at Capesthorne, near Macclesfield — Mr.
Davenport's — found an Egg on the grass in the park evidently drop-
ped by some bird that had flown over, as no such Geese were known
there. The Egg was set, and produced a Chinese Goose, which lived
more than twenty years, having died about three years since; ap-
parently 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 her. 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.

424 THE CHINA GOOSE.

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 mi*
gration ; the Tame Goose cannot fly to this day." If China,
instead of Egypt, had produced the above fable, we should be-
lieve 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 inex-
haustible, so that when at last the Goose did make her nest in
earnest (which may be known by her 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 pos-
session of her milk-pan, which stands in a large boarded coop,
like»a dog-kennel. Once duly enthroned there, she will main-
tain her seat with proper perseverance and tenacity. A neigh-
bour 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 per-
formance. Hurry no man's cattle ; and you may as well try
to hurry the Emperor, as the Goose of China. Their time of
incubation is five weeks. I have always found them steady
sitters when they once begin in earnest, and exemplary parents.

THE CHINA GOOSE. 425

The Goose, on leaving her nest to feed, covers her Eggs care-
fully. 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 re-made and supplied with fresh Eggs. She continued
to sit for three weeks longer, as well as could be. At the end
of the usual period of five weeks, she gave up her task as use-
less, 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 fort-
night, 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 insurmountable;
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 ? The Eggs
were cooling fast; no time was to be lost. Difficult emer-
gencies excite brilliant efforts of genius. In an instant the
old man was undressed 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 harmoniously blended,

426 THE CHINA GOOSE.

and are well relieved by the black tuberculated bill, and tho
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. Slight
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, how-
ever, neglecting to pay proper attention at home. If there is
any other Gander on the same premises, they are sure to dis-
agree : 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 jElian's
Geese : — a The Geese, when shifting about Mount Taurus, are
afraid of the Eagles, and each one or them, taking a stone in
its mouth, that they may not cry out, as if putting a gag upon
themselves, fly through their course in silence, and in this
manner generally quite escape the notice of the Eagles."—

THE CHINA GOOSE. 427

Book v. chap. 29. We, however, prefer that our G-eese
should silence themselves with grass and corn.

The Eggs of the China Goose are somewhat less than those
of the domestic kind, of a shorty 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 any thing like good pas-
turage 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 ma-
turity 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 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 ex-
cellent 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. Hy-
brids 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

*"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
season, and have given Ganders to several friends to adopt the same

428 THE CHINA GOOSE.

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. 9

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

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 back,
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 Russia, vol. ii. p. 18.

429

CHAPTER XXIX.

THE BREMEN GOOSE.

THE following communication was kindly furnished me by
Samuel Jaques, Jr., Esq., accompanied with portraits of his
beautiful Bremen Geese. This, and. the Chinese or Hong
Kong variety, may be regarded as standing at the head of
their class.

Ten Hills Farm, near Boston, Mass., Dec. 12th, 1850.

J. J. KERR, M. D. :

Dear Sir, — My father — Col. Samuel Jaques — has had in-
timation from his friend, Dr. Eben Wight, of Boston, that you
were about to publish a work on the subject of Domestic
Fowls, Birds, &c., and that you would be pleased to receive
from my father some information relative to his Bremen
Geese — a name they have received in consequence of their
having come from that place originally. I have my father's
notes to guide me in making the following statements, as well
as his approbation that you should be furnished with them.

In the winter of 1820, a gentleman, a stranger, made a
brief call at my father's house; and, in course of conversation,
casually mentioned, that, during his travels in the interior of
Germany, he had noticed a pure white breed of Geese, of un-
usual size, whose weight, he supposed, would not fall much
short of twenty-five pounds each, providing they were well fed
and managed. At that period, a friend of my father's — the

430 THE BREMEN GOOSE.

late Eben Rollins, Esq., of Boston — kept a correspondence
with the house of Dallias & Co., in Bremen, and at his re-
quest, Mr. Rollins ordered, through that firm, and on my
father's account, two danders and four Geese, of the breed
mentioned by the stranger gentleman. The Geese arrived to
order in Boston, in the month of October, 1821; and I append
a copy of "Directions relative to the Geese from Bremen,"
given to the captain of the ship in which they arrived. I
hold the original in my possession ; and transcribe it verb,
et lit. : —

"Emden, 17 th August, 1821.

"The captain who is to take over these six Geese will find
the cages a little large; however, it is necessary that their
lodgings be sufficient wide, if they shall arrive sound in
America. Two Geese which were sent to Bremen last year
in a small box, died on their arrival there; being water-birds,
they want a much more careful management than Fowls; they
ought to have constantly fresh water in abundance; a quantity
of good sand and muscle scells, (shells,) serving for their di-
gestion, must be put into their feed-box ; there ought to be
always sand and straw below in their cage for litter; also above
the cage, as the birds perish otherwise by insects. The Geese
must be feeded ; they used to pick the straw from above down
to the feet. The Geese must be feeded with good clean oats,
and sometimes with cabbage leaves/'

Ever since my father imported the Bremen Geese, he has
kept them pure, and bred them so to a feather — no single in-
stance having occurred in which the slightest deterioration of
character could be observed. Invariably the produce has been
of the purest white — the bill, legs, and feet, of a beautiful
yellow. No solitary mark or spot has crept out on the plum-
age of any one specimen, to shame the true distinction they
deserve of being a pure breed : like, with them, always haa
produced like.

THE BREMEN GOOSE. 431

The original stock has never been out of my father's pos-
session ; nor has he ever crossed it with any other kind, since
H was imported in 1821.

I find, by reference to my father's notes, that, in 1826, and
in order to mark his property indelibly, he took one of his
favourite imported Geese, and, with the instrument used for
cutting gun-waddings, made a hole through the web of the
left foot. This was done on the 26th June : and now, in
1850, the same Goose, with the perforation in her foot, is
running about his poultry-yard, in as fine health and vigour as
any of her progeny. She has never failed to lay from twelve
to sixteen Eggs every year, for the last twenty-seven years,
and has always been an excellent breeder and nurse, as has
all of the stock and offspring connected with her. I had the
curiosity to weigh one of her brood of 1849, when nine months
old exactly, and his weight, in feather, sent up 22 Ibs. in the
opposite scale. This hugeous Anser has been preferred to
breed from, the coming season.

In 1832, a bull-dog killed several of my father's Geese, and,
among them, the two Ganders originally imported. For the
last eighteen years he has bred by his young Ganders — putting
them indiscriminately to parents and sisters — and reserving
the best of the produce, male and female, for breeding. In
so doing, he has never experienced any deterioration in weight,
feather, or stamina, as has been exemplified in the above-men-
tioned instance of the nine-months old Gander, so produced,
and whose food was almost exclusively grass.

As quality of flesh, combined with weight, is a main con-
sideration, I wish to mention, regarding the former, that the
flesh of the Bremen Goose is very different from that of any
of our best domestic varieties. It does not partake of that
dry character which belongs to other and more common kinds,
but is as tender and juicy as the flesh of a wild Fowl; besides,
it shrinks less in the process of cooking, than that of any other

432 THE BREMEN GOOSE.

Fowl. Some of the keenest epicures have declared that the flesh
of the Bremen Goose is equal, if not superior, to that of the
celebrated Canvas-back Duck. There is assuredly some comfort,
not uncombined with ease, in carving a bird that weighs seven-
teen pounds, and taking a slice from the breast, so long as to
be obliged to cut it into two, that one-half may cover no more
than the width of a common dinner-plate.

The Bremen Goose inclines to commence laying at an earlier
period than this northern latitude favours, which is in the latter
part of February. To give the young fair play, it is not ad-
visable that hatching should be finished before the first of June.
The mode of prevention used by my father is as follows : —

The whole of the breeding stock, male and female, are put
into a dark room — say about the twentieth of February — and
kept there until about the tenth day of April. When in
durance they are well fed once a day with corn, and allowed
sufficient water all along to drink. Once a week they are
allowed to get out for one hour, to wash and plume themselves,
and are then shut up again. While thus confined, they lose
the inclination to breed, and do not assume it while they
are kept shut up ; but, in eight or ten days after they are set
at liberty, the disposition returns, and they commence laying.

The mode adopted by my father to bring the broods of Gos-
lings forth in one day, is as under, and has been followed by
him for many years, with unvarying results. In 1840, he had
four Ganders and ten Geese for breeding purposes. At that
time, he had as many as thirty milk Cows in one stable, the
large door of which opened upon the farm-lane. Directly in
front of this door, he had his boxes, or nests, in which the
Geese laid their Eggs. These boxes I will describe in course.
The man who had charge of the Cows, had also the care of the
Geese, and he worked by the following instructions. First :
the Geese were to be carefully and properly fed. Secondly :
the Eggs were to be removed in the most gentle manner, every

THE BREMEN GOOSE. 433

day, from the nests, and placed in a basket of cotton, which
was kept in a moderate temperature and free from damp.
When all the Geese had begun to sit steadily, each was fur-
nished with a nest composed of chopped straw, and care was
taken that the nest was sufficiently capacious. The Eggs were
then set, and the Geese allowed to sit upon them.

Strict atte-ntion was enjoined upon the attendant, not to
allow more than one of the Geese to leave her Eggs at a time.
As soon as one leaves the nest, she makes a cackling noise,
which was to be the signal for the man in attendance to go
and shut up the boxes in which the remainder were sitting ;
consequently, when the Goose returned, she found only her
own box open. So soou as she had entered, the whole of the
doors were again opened, and the same rule observed through-
out the period of hatching. In following this style of manage-
ment, every Goose was kept to its own nest. There were one
hundred and twenty Eggs set altogether, twelve to each of the
ten breeding Geese before alluded; and at the end of four
weeks, which is the usual period of incubation, there were
eighty-eight Goslings produced, all in one day, and they formed
a beautiful sight.

When first hatched, the Goslings are of a very delicate and
tender constitution. My father's general practice, is to let
them remain in the box in which they were hatched for twenty-
four hours after they leave the shell ; but he regulates this
by the weather, which, if fair and warm, may tolerate the let-
ting the Goslings out an hour or two in the middle of the day,
when they may wet their little bills, and' nibble at the grass.
They ought not to be out in the rain at any time during the
first month. A very shallow pool, dug in the yard, with a
bucket or two of water thrown into it, to suit the temporary
purpose of bathing, is sufficient during the period named.

The practice of feeding my father follows, is not to give the
Goslings any grain whatever, after they are four days old, until

37

434 THE BREMEN GOOSE.

snow falls, when they require to be fed on corn for a time.
He thinks, however, that if well fed on grain from the time
they were hatched, they might weigh from 4 Ibs. to 7 Ibs. more
than by leaving them to grass-feeding alone.

By feeding his Geese until they are four days old, and then
literally "sending them to grass," the weight of my father's
Geese, at seven to eight months old, has averaged from 17 to
18 Ibs. each, after the feathers had been cleanly picked off.
He has no doubt that 25 Ibs. could be easily attained by a lit-
tle attention to feeding with grain.

The breeding-boxes mentioned above are made in the fashion
something like a dog-kennel, with a roof pitched both ways.
They are 30 inches long, by 24 inches wide, and are 24 inches
in height. The door is in the end, and is covered by a sliding
panel, which moves upwards, when egress or ingress is sought,
and may be shut down at pleasure. For the first month, the
Geese and Goslings are all shut up in the boxes at night, in
order to protect them against rain and vermin.

Having had the breed of Geese in question sent him from
Bremen, my father named them after that place ; but English
writers call this variety the "EMBDEN GEESE." It will be
seen from what I have stated above, that my father was the
original importer of this description, and therefore is entitled
to the credit of first introducing it to the United States.
It is certain that he had the Bremen Geese in his possession,
at least five years prior to the time when Mr. James Sisson,
of Rhode Island, imported his; and since 1821, my father has
furnished this breed to many parties residing in almost ' every
State in this Union, as also in Canada and Nova Scotia. His
charge has universally been five dollars for each, dead or alive.

I may have omitted details including some interest, but am
not at present aware of there being any such forgotten.
I am, dear Sir, respectfully yours,

SAMUEL JAQUES, JR.

435

CHAPTER XXX.

THE WHITE-FRONTED, OR LAUGHING GOOSE.

MR. DIXON observes that Ornamental Poultry may be di-
vided into three classes, not with reference to their beauty or
their natural arrangement, 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 unhesitatingly 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 Pea-JFowl, the White-fronted Goose, the Wigeon, the Ca-
nada Goose, the Egyptian Goose, and others, including per-
haps the Common Duck.

The third class embraces all those birds which, however fa-

436 THE WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE.

miliar they may become, so as even to eat from the hand of
their keeper, are yet in their hearts as un tameable as a fly; and
must, therefore, be kept in complete, though to many eyes in-
visible 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
Nycthemerus, and indeed all the inmates of our cages, avia-
ries, 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 Poul-
try. A bird must be found to belong undoubtedly to that,
before it can be promoted into the first class. The great diffi-
culty in looking over this unlimited 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 domes-
tic 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 Oygne 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 travelling far by land, to say nothing of
park-palings and mill-dams.^

The White-fronted Goose is an excellent example of our

THE WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE. 437

second class, and well deserves the patronage of those who
have even a small piece of grass. Its natural history 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 every
other original book on the subject, have been largely drawn
upon, I refrain from borrowing what he has written, particu-
larly 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
Groose 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,
perform 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 travelling re-
lations 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

37*

438 THE WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE.

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.

We have now had them 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 Gan-
der, whose delight it was to drive her from her nest, and way-
lay and beat her as she was returning to it from grazing, the
Eggs were all addled, and the poor bird, for some time after-
wards, 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
white-thorn, 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 ar-
ranged 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 sudden disappearance, by extract-
ing 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-men-
tioned China Goose. After the loss of her young, and the
abstraction of her worthless Eggs, she still persevered in sit-
ting, with vain expectation, on the empty nest. To prevent

THE WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE. 439

this, we filled the hollow with thorns. She then betook her-
self 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 the 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 Gooses' 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 supposition that their flesh would :&e fishy, as in
the sometimes scarcely eatable Brent Goose. But those who
are fond of game, will find it, 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-de-
pendent. The Gander is an attentive parent, but not a faithful
spouse. Indeed, it is time to contradict what has been pub-
lished 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 experi-
ments, 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

440 THE WHITE CHINA GOOSE.

Ganders unprovided with female companions ; but the couples
which had paired kept constantly together, and the three sin-
gle 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 season of
1846. Three Ganders of the four appeared to think that each
Goose, except his own, was at liberty to be unfaithful; and
that every Gander, except himself, was 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 WHITE CHINA GOOSE.

Or this variety, Mr. Dixon says : — " Every like is not the
same," is a principle that is beginning more and more to in-
fluence the reasonings of zoologists, and to affect their conclu-
sions with respect to Wild Animals. The important deductions
derived from minute differences, in creatures that are almost
in juxtaposition together, both systematically and locally, may
be seen in the late " Voyage of the Beagle round the World,"
and in the lt Quarterly Review," on "Broderip's Zoological
Recreations" (March, 1848). But with Domesticated Ani-
mals, a diametrically opposite axiom would seem to hold; they
are described and catalogued apparently on the rule that
"things maybe unlike, and yet the same." The many dif-
ferent 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

THE WHITE CHINA GOOSE. 441

and mixed into one. Believe it ! — those who think that the
Bernicle G-oose 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, had been discovered
in three adjacent islands of the Indian Archipelago, they would
probably have been formed into a separate genus, say Cygnb-
ides, or better, QEderamphus, of which the species might be,
first, albus, or galeatissimus, as typical; the next rufpes, and
the third, perhaps, bseticus, 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 terrestial 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 domesti-
cation on the neighbouring Asiatic continent, or both ; that the
islands became thickly peopled, or repeatedly visited by mari-
ners 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 un-
dergo the fate of the Dodo : they are exterminated. But their

442 THE WHITE CHINA GOOSE.

aptitude for domestication has preserved the race: they sur-
vive in our poultry-yards, artificial lakes, and Zoological Gar-
dens,* and, after a while, they are styled varieties of, nobody
indeed knows what. If they had refused to propogate in cap-
tivity, they would have become extinct, like the Uri of the
Hercynian forest.f

Is this an impossible or even an unlikely case ? Where are
we now to find a wild Cereopsis ? Where will our great-grand-
children 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 as-
sumed that individuals of different 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,
disappear 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

* " The forethought and industry of Man assists in the preserva-
tion and safety of not a few animals, and those things which the
earth produces. For there are many, both of beasts and plants, that
could not continue in existence, if deprived of the protection of
Man." — CICERO, De Naturd JDeorum II.

f " But not even when taken very small, can the Uri be reconciled
to the presence of man, and become tame." — CAESAR de Bello Gallice,
lib. ii. cap. 28.

THE WHITE CHINA GOOSE. 443

Guinea Fowl ; prolific mules are constantly occurring 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 indi-
vidual 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 organization,
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 arrive at last at the theory of
the development of all animated beings from Monads, as ad-
vocated 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 ap-
parent gaps in the chain or network are caused by the ex-
tinction 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
among us many Pre- Adamite animals* — the Common Badger,

* 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 de-
scendant of the great Trogontherium, is proved, not only by the dif-
ferences in the dental structure, pointed out in the preceding section,
-but likewise by the fact that Beavers, in no respect differing in size
or anatomical character from the Castor Europeans of the present day,
co-existed with the Trogontherium. Remains of the Beaver have been

444 THE WHITE CHINA GOOSE.

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 extermi-
nations successively going on, from the Christian era to the
present day. No undisputed record, however, is to be found
of the sudden emergence into life of a new tribe of creatures.
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 as-
serted 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 ex-
tended as they are at present, the sudden and unexplained
appearance of any living novelty in England, is by no means
of necessity its first appearance on any stage. It may be as

thus discovered by Mr. Green in the same fossilized condition, and
tinder 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 Meles
taxus 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 Mam-
mal 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 addi-
tional claim to his forbearance and protection, which the Badger de-
rives from his ancient descent." — OWEN'S British Fossil Mammals,
passim. ^

THE WHITE CHINA GOOSE. 445

old as the hills — some of them ; older than the English Chan-
nel, 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 with kindly rupture, forth disclosed
Their callow young ; but 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 the ground uprose,
As from his lair, the wild beast where he wons
In 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 ani-
mals, are altogether pursuing a wrong scent. They might just
as well search for the wild original of the Mammoth or the
Dodo. It is an assumption, unsupported 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 philosophical reason-
ing ; it is a begging of the question, which would not be ad-
mitted in the exact sciences. What a daring leap at a con-
clusion 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

446 THE WHITE CHINA GOOSE.

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 in-
dicated as a guide for future research, is, that existing varieties
and species which cannot be exactly identified in a wild state,
are, in all probability, the remains of extinct races, the frag-
ments of a ruin, not newly-raised " seedlings/' modern sports
and freaks of Nature. Man, as he extends his dominion over
earth and ocean, is generally a Destroyer, occasionally an En-
slaver, 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 su-
perior 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 gray feathers
have since appeared — " 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 gracefully
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 con-
ducive to the fecundity 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 Com-
mon Goose. This bird deserves to rank in the first class of
ornamental Poultry, and would be very prolific under favourable

THE WHITE CHINA GOOSE. 447

circumstances. You will see both varieties of Brown and
White China Geese on the water 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 con-
sequence of being overstocked with other things. Their head
keeper seemed only to consider them in the light of a variety
of the Cygnb'ides, but he spoke most decidedly of his experience
of the permanence, 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 con-
sidered as species were they now discovered for the first time,
on three 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
terrestial in their habits ; the knob on the head is not only of
greater proportions, but of a different shape. If they were
only what is commonly 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, in-
stead 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 invariably hatches and reara
the Goslings. Separate trials of each of the pair with the

448 THE WHITE CHINA GOOSE.

Common Goose and Gander have been made by him unsuc-
cessfully, 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 in-
cubation 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
sufficiently fat birds, which were hatched only on the 29th of
March last."

449

CHAPTER XXXI.

THE BERNICLE GOOSE.

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 arrange-
ment— 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 will 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 en-
deavour to subdue, by kindness, their stubborn nature. If
they remain indomitably independent, and refuse to yield, we
are check-mated, and cannot proceed a step further. It is not
in our 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 un-
doubtedly fulfilled; and thus, as the 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 footsteps; for, "into your hand are they

450 THE BERNICLE GOOSE.

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
impulse of reproduction has at length overcome the sullenness
of captivity; and it is a curious fact, that instances of their
breeding have of late increased in frequency, and we may
therefore hope will go on increasing. The young so reared
should be pinioned at the wrist, as a precaution. The proba-
bility 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 any thing else to check the propagation 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 winter, 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 Egyptian Geese, the
mother of the brood having suffered the same fate. Similar
unfortunate mistakes are frequent. Does the paragraph in the
local newspaper about the "rare bird" shot by so and so,
esquire, and the stuffed specimen in the smart glass case, com-
pensate for the slaughter ?

Broods of five, six, and seven Bernicle Geese have been

THE BERNICLE GOOSE. 451

reared ; not an inconsiderable increase, if we only kept them
to eat : but they have hitherto been chiefly valued as em-
bellishments to our ponds. Their small size renders them
suitable even for a very limited pleasure-ground, and they are
perhaps the very prettiest Geese that have yet appeared in
our menageries. The lively combination of black, white, gray,
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 deportment
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 uncertainty 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
confided 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 gray spot on the crown of the head, gray patches
on the back and wings, and a yellowish tinge about the fore-
part of the head. The old birds are very gentle in their dis-
position and habits, and are less noisy than most other Geese.
Waterton mentions an instance where the Gander paired with
a Canada Goose, a most disproportionately large mate for him
to select. The same thing has occurred 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 comparison
of them with the Swan in this respect. Sir^W. Jardine saya
that he has observed their feeding-grounds to be extensive

452 THE BERNICLE GOOSE.

merses or flats partially inundated by the higher tides, a cir-
cumstance 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 suffi-
ciently removed from the typical Geese to make it possible
that a few cockles, limpets, shrimps, or small mussels would
not be unwelcome. 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 much, and which
proves equally fatal. The eyelids swell till the bird is blinded;
its sufferings must be extreme, even if it recover. The parts
affected discharge 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 epi-
demic rather than contagious, though I would not quite deny
that it is so ; but of all remedies, warmth and dryness, par-
ticularly 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
summer's night, even in those latitudes where the sun does
sink for an hour beneath 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 and
an English May must be seriously felt by our tender little

THE BRENT GOOSE. 453

pets, whatever care we may take to protect them. This clear,
uninterrupted day, two or three months long, of settled, de-
licious weather, gives a complete explanation of the apparent
paradox that birds should retire to the regions, reputed abso-
lutely 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 hopitable shores of Britain !

THE BRENT GOOSE.

THIS, and the interesting little Sandwich Island Goose, are
the smallest of their tribe yet introduced to our aquatic avia-
ries; 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 na-
tural nabits, 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 ex-
pedient to assemble them in a flock, instead of keeping just a
single pair, so that they could consult their own individual
tastes in the choice of partners. Their picturesque effect, too.
will be greater in this way. Their almost uniform colour of

454 THE BRENT GOOSE.

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, however, 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 grain. During ebb-
tide, they fed on the banks of Zostera Marina, then uncovered ;
and Mr. Selby mentions the ulva latissima as very frequently
found in their stomachs ; at other times they rest on the sand-
banks, which are quite open, and afford no shelter for ap-
proach; 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 captivity.
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,

THE BRENT GOOSE. 455

before rising, they run together 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 to-
gether 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
oeautrful kind of Goose."

456

CHAPTER XXXII.

THE TAME DUCK..

MY friend, Mr. I). Taggart, of Northumberland, writes con-
cerning the Common Duck and its varieties, as follows: —

" You wish to be posted up in aquatic birds : I know some-
what of these, but probably not so much as yourself. In re-
gard to Ducks, they are much more prolific than they usually
have credit for, and even for Eggs, can be made a profitable
bird, if well fed and properly managed. Any Common Duck,
so treated, if not old, will yield, in a season, one hundred or
more, large, rich, and delicious Eggs. When they lay, it is
daily or nightly, and if kept from sitting, which is easily done
by changing tj^eir nests frequently, they will lay, with little
interruption, from February or March until August. But the
trouble is, a Duck lays only when Eggs are most abundant,
while Hens' Eggs may be procured at all seasons.

" The young of Ducks seldom die of disease, and if cats and
rats are exterminated, as in all cases they should be, there will be
no trouble in raising almost as many Ducks as you have Eggs.
One year, from 94 Eggs, I had 91 hatched, and raised 87.
Twenty-four of these were Musk, or Muscovy Ducks as they
are erroneously termed. In speaking of the prolificness of
Ducks, I do not think this variety should be included. They
lay comparatively few Eggs. Ducks come early to maturity,

THE TAME DUCK. 457

being nearly full grown and in fine eating order at three
months old ; far excelling, in this respect, all other Poultry,
except G-eese."

Of the Tame Duck, Mr Dixon says : —

One leading opinion seems to run throughout them all, that
our farm-yard Ducks are nothing more than the tamed de-
scendants 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 con-
tinent 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 import-
ant 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 pro-
bable 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 im-
perfect 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 translated "Swan" and "Pelican,"
are used generically for all web-footed Fowl. But, as Scotfc
says, " here the critics 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

39

458 THE TAME DUCK.

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 moro
sensible and practical than are to be found in modern works,
proceeds to offer instructions for making the Nessotrophion, or
Duckery. He speaks of it as a matter of curiosity rather than
profit; "for Ducks, Teal, Mallard, Phalerids, and such like
birds are fed in confinement." 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 flying out, nor Eagles
and Hawks of flying in." His mode of increasing his stock
shows that Ducks had not at that time become naturalized 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 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 ;) 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 immediately
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 JElian says about Ducks, we may conclude that

THE TAME DUCK. 459

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 characterizing the " Varia Historia"
as the production of " jElian, 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 be-
lieve that they were much more abundant while the great
part of Europe remained uncivilized, than they are now. And
in Book vii. 7, after having given the signs of the weather de-
noted 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 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 circumstance 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

* " You need not be at a loss to know a wild Duck. The claws in
the wild species are black." — COL. HAWKER.

460 THE TAME DUCK.

issue, but for its being exercised at all, and was little likely to
be much practised by any European nation, in the interval be-
tween 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 (1493) as the approximate date. The early
voyagers speak of finding them in the East Indies exactly
similar to ours ; and the transmission 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 bony structure. The
admirable 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 from the already domes-
ticated cattle of the Roman colonists, of those l boves nostri/
for example, by comparison with which Caesar 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 diffi-
cult and less certain mode of supplying the exigencies of the
agricultursit, than the importation 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 cul-
tivated 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

THE TAME DUCK. 461

descendants of the original wild cattle of North America :
there, on the contrary, the Bison is fast disappearing before the
advance of the agricultural settlers, just as the Aurochs, and
its contemporary, 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 diminish-
ing 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 adaption 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 old travellers,
and many of the modern emigrants, are not very precise in
their zoology, and indeed might sometimes be excusably puz-
zled. For instance, when Captain Wallis, soon after he dis-
covered 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

39* *

462 THE TAME DUCK.

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 derivation
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 pe-
culiarity of race. They are mostly of plumage similar to the
Mallard, though an ornithologist would immediately dis-
tinguish 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
themselves : 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 sum-
mer, without being shut up 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
common 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

THE TAME DUCK. 463

old lady has acted on for several years, escaping unscathed by
guns and dogs." — H. IT,

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 incalculable and unknown service by the destruction of
slugs, snails, worms, and the larvae of gnats, and other annoy-
ing 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 incu-
bate 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 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 ma-
terials 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 illustration to these
pages, Leech's admirable " Romance of Roast Ducks," from

464 THE TAME DUCK.

1 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 lion ; Phoebus, a cock ; Venus, a pigeon ; Minerva
loved an owl.

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

The Agreeable Surprise, Act 1.

In the Principality, they have a delicate way of serving
them boiled, with onion sauce. On attempting to reproduce
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 hetero-
dox 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 floured, 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 seasoned with a few drops of
Verjuice."

"To make a 'Ragout of Ducks,' they must be larded, fried,
very well seasoned 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 Coetlogonys Universal History, p. 827 et scq.

The reader will take his choice ; we only wish him a good

THE TAME DUCK. 465

appetite and pleasant company ; the living birds belong more
properly to our department.

Of White Ducks, the best is the Aylesbury, with its un-
spotted snowy plumage and yellow legs and feet. It is large
and excellent for the table, but not larger or better than seve-
ral others. They are assiduous mothers and nurses, especially
after the experience of two or three seasons. A much smaller
race of White Ducks is imported 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 ex-
tensive 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 anywhere, the
trained Decoy Ducks are selected to resemble the Mallard,
male and female, as nearly as possible. Both systems are
found to answer; the wild-coloured traitors arouse no sus-
picion, 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 handkerchief, or the rapid appearance and disappearance

* "The chief point to be attended to in England, is to get, if pos-
sible, some young wild Ducks bred up and pinioned. Or, by way
of a make-shift, 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 the 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,'
burn out their eyes with a hot needle, a practice at which I am sure
my English 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 Hawker's Instructions, p. 367.

466 THE TAME DUCK.

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 appear-
ance. It may be superfluous to remind the reader, that White
Ducks make but a sorry figure in towns or dirty suburbs, or
anywhere 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-gray 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 many other
mixtures. The Rouen Duck of Poultry-books can hardly be
separated from this miscellaneous rabble, and ought to be per-
mitted 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

* " Some of the tufted tame Ducks, near Salisbury, are very hand-
some, having crests as compact and spherical as any Polish Fowl ;
but whether this is, or was, any distinct variety, I will not under-
take to say."— H H.

THE TAME DUCK. 467

identical with the commonest Ducks which we have every-
where. The "Rouen," 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
e very-day brown, or brown and white, farm-yard Duck. We
should be told they were^/wer, 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 tliey charge six,
eight, or ten shillings, may be had of any country higgler for
Is. 6d. I am even uncharitable enough to suspect that in-
correct 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 elevate
the common sort into a choice and more marketable variety,
is confirmed by the omission of such a designation by Aldro-
vandi, and later by Buffon; both writers who swept every
thing into their net. Penguin Ducks are nearly as strange as

* I beg to acknowledge the gentlemanly and ready manner in
which Mr. John Baily, of Mount Street, Grosvenor Square, has ex-
pressed 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.

468 THE TAME DUCK.

the Hook-billed. Their peculiarity consists in walking up-
rightly, in feeble imitation 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 pre-
viously, does not alter the main fact ; while ships direct from
India would be very likely 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 persons es-
teem them highly, and usually send them to London alive,
where, if good specimens, they are eventually disposed of to
amateurs at the rate of eight or ten shillings each.

But from whatever quarter obtained, they are handsome
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 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

THE TAME DUCK. 469

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 sun-
shiny day of spring, the effect of these glittering Black Ducks
sporting 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 common 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 informa-
tion, but for handsome specimens.

The time of incubation of the Tame Duck is thirty days.*

* Does the Mallard differ in this respect from the Tame Duck ? I
think not. But, according to Audubon, "at length, in about three
weeks, 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 Mallards, 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 Ducks of the poultry-yard. The hybrids produced be-
tween the Mallard and the Muscovy Duck are of great size, and af-

40

470 THE TAME DUCK.

The best mode of rearing them depends very 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 liberty. All kinds of sopped food, barley meal, and
water mixed thin, worms, &c., 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 extensive 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 — be-
fore they take their afternoon's doze on the grass, with their
sleepy eyelids winking from below, 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

ford excellent eating. Some of these half-breeds now and then wander
off, become quite wild, and have by some persons been considered as forming
a distinct species. They also breed, when tame, with the Black Duck
(Anas Fusca] 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.

THETAMEDUCK. 471

due soaking, the monstrous mouthful easily slipped down.
They are cheerful, harmless, good-natured, cleanly creatures.
As Audubon says, " They wash themselves, and arrange their
dress, before commencing their meal ; and in this, other tra-
vellers (in America particularly) 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 advisable, 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 disposi-
tion 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 at-
tributed it chiefly to the exertions of unbidden would-be
sportsmen on our river. We still, however, have them in cer-
tain places in tolerable abundance. They are fond of frequent-
ing 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

472 THE TAME DUCK.

way is to commence handling them as soon as hatched, by
which means, and by confining them for some time within an
enclosed place, they soon become more reasonable. In every
case, I have not been able to trust them until the feathers be-
gan 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
bff. On one occasion, I had two of these birds, about a quar-
ter grown, that grew exceedingly slowly : they were very wild,
and one night made their escape to the river, where they re-
mained 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' im-
mersion 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
ine, 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 ad-
joining 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 immovably stuck at
the sides, and perished. Another time, in our great 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 com-
ing 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

THE TAME DUCK. 473

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 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 any thing else, and
the Ducks are preserved for them ! How they catch them has
always been rather a mystery to me, but it must be by lying
perdu in the sedge for them. This, however, would seem to
be but a poor chance.

" Wild Ducks, rendered tame and corn-fed, are certainly
superior to any, having the fine wild flavour, without its fishi-
ness. Beech mast are a good occasional diet for Wild Ducks,
if thrown into their piece of water;

"This season (1849) I have been particularly successful
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 at-
tained 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 ultimately
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 cap-

40*

474 THE TAME DUCK.

ture of either of her gentlemen friends. In domestic Fowls
this trait is often observed, but I was not prepared to find an in-
stance of it in an unreclaimed bird a great deal too young to
possess any maternal impulse.

INDEX.

AYLESBURY DUCK— The best kind of. Page 465

The WHITE CALL DUCK 465

The WHITE HOOK-BILLED DUCK. — The ROUEN DUCK 466

BERNICLE GOOSE — Becoming more and more productive in

captivity 450

Where to be pinioned — May be delayed too long 450

Description of the Bernicle Goose — -Number of Eggs laid 451

Young liable to a certain disease 452

BLACK SPANISH FOWL— A distinct variety 204

Weight of, atmaturity — Mr. Blake's Black Spanish 204

Laying qualities, etc 205

Mr. Dixon's account of them 206

Neither good sitters nor mothers 207

Young Chick's appearance, etc 208

Varieties of Spanish Fowls 209

Cross with Pheasant-Malay 211

Precociousness of 212

BREMEN GOOSE— Origin of the name 429

Colour of plumage, bill, feet, and legs 430

Laying, and weight of — Quality of flesh of. 431

Season of laying — Method of preventing unseasonable laying. 432

Period of incubation 433

Method of hatching and feeding the Young 433

Average weight at seven or eight months old. 434

Breeding boxes — Name of this variety in England 434

BRENT GOOSE— The smallest of the tribe 453

Has not bred in captivity in any British collection 453

Where they may be obtained — Not easy to distinguish the sex. 454

Not good for the table 454

475

476 INDEX.

CHICKENS, or CHICKS— How Mr. Devereux rears them with-
out a mother P 329

Proper Coop for — Importance of Early Chickens 330

Mr. Cope's mode of rearing them 331

Col. Jaques Chicken Coop 329

CHITTAGONG FOWL 2G7

Various names of — Found generally crossed 270

General characteristics of. 270

Mr. Taggart's appreciation of. 271

COCHIN CHINA FOWL 143

Little known of the origin of the Queen's Cochins 144

Character of the Egg 144

Mr Nolan's description of the Cochin China Fowl 144

The Editor's importation of Cochins 145

Mr. Burnham's importation — His description of 14G

The Shanghaes from the same stock 148

What Mr. Burnham was offered for choice specimens 149

Notices of his stock 150

Mr. Dixon regards the Shanghaes and Cochins as identical 150

See Mr. D.'sletter on page 151

Mr. Dixon's estimate and description of Cochins 152

List of the weight of various Fowls, Cochins included 153

Cochin China Fowls frequently feathered down the legs 156

White ear-lobes not necessary to purity 157

Weight and characteristics of the Eggs of Cochins 158

DISEASES AND REMEDIES OF FOWLS 84

The Hour, and its treatment — Surgical cases 85

The GAPES — its treatment 87

How to remove the fasdolce 89

VERMIN, how to remove 91

Startling facts concerning parasitic insects 93

Two important letters from D. Taggart, Esq, on the manage-
ment, etc., of Poultry 96

LICE, how to remove and destroy — Arrangements for laying... 97

Best destroyer of vermin 99

DOMESTIC FOWL — Antiquity of the keeping of. 25

Aristotle familiar with 27

The reputed wild originals of the Domestic Fowl, doubtful 28

Head quarters of the 38

Unknown to the Icelanders 41

INDEX. 477

DOMESTIC FOWL— Found in the Islands of the Pacific P. 41

List of the physical uses of a Hen and its parts 44

Courage and demeanour of the Domestic Cock 47

The Hen a pattern of maternal love 49

Permanent character of the different varieties 50

Experiments in crossing 51

The Dominique variety 328

Various kinds not particularly described 329

DOMESTIC GOOSE— Longevity of 416

Proper breeding age of — How many Geese to one Gander 416

How the male bird may be known 416

At what age they may be killed 4.17

The season of laying — Period of incubation 417

How the young should be fed 418

Columella's directions for rearing 418

How to be slaughtered 419

DUNGHILL FOWL— How characterized 327

Marks of the best variety '. 328

GAME FOWL— Portrait of Mr. Wistar's 214

Qualities of — An account of Cocking 214

Exterior Qualifications of a Cock 216

The Cock Pit 217

The Fight ;.. 220

Mr. Dixon's description of the Game Cock 222

Temperament of the Game Cock 224

Effects of Cock Fighting, (note) 228

Cocks of the same colour not matched 231

Malays fond of Cock-Fighting 232

Two Varieties of Game Fowl — Their Eggs and Chicks 235

Which are called Piles— The Furness Variety 237

White do. .do 238

The Earl of Derby's 238

Management of. 240

Mexican Cock-Fighting 243

The Mexican Hen-Cock Game Fowl 246

Account of Mr. Taggart's Hen-Cock Game Fowl 247

Dr. Bennett's account of the Yankee Game Fowl 250

Isaac O'Sanner's Game Chickens 264

S. Rusk's Game Fowl : 267

GOOSE— The Bernicle 449

478 INDEX.

GUINEA FOWL— Period ofincubation— Appropriate food of.. .P. 374

The way to feed the young 375

Prolificness of— Native country of 377

Varieties of 378

HONG KONG, or CHINA GOOSE— Multitude of names for 420

Description of. 421

The habitat of— Number of Eggs laid by 422

Worst flyer of all Geese 423

Period ofincubation 424

Habit on leaving her nest 425

Eggs hatched out by a husband and wife 425

Colour of China Goose 425

Most noisy of all Geese 42G

Age of maturity — Advantage of a cross with common Goose... 427

JAVA FOWL — Not known to exist here in its purity 272

Fowls on Long Island of this name 272

Description of 272

JERSEY-BLUE FOWL— A mongrel 273

Characteristics and weightof. 271

MALAY FOWL— Mr. E. R. Cope's opinion of. 133

Description of 133

The habitat of the Malay Fowl 160

Height, weight, and general characters of 160

Mr Cope's importation of Malays 163

Description of the Malay Fowl extracted from the Penny Cy-
clopedia 163

Mr. Baker's description of one — Malay Hen 164

Singular habit of this breed 166

Black Malays 169

PEA FOWL— Description of— Destructiveness of. 345

Her age when she begins to lay 348

Pied variety— White variety 349

PHEASANT— The Ring-necked 851

Proper food for 353

Difficulty of crossing with Domestic Fowls 353

The Common will breed with the Ring-necked variety 354

Period of incubation 354

REARING AND MANAGEMENT OF FOWLS— Its profita-
bleness .* 59

Two classes of Fowl-breeders 60

^ INDEX. 479

REARING OF FOWLS— The greatest gainers, the dealers P. 61

Amount of Eggs in the United States 61

How amateurs of Fowls should begin to keep them 61

Proper kind of house 61

Proper kind of nests 63

How the Fowl-house should be kept 64

How to treat a Hen when she wants to sit 66

Period of Incubation 67

What to be done at the end of incubation 69

What to be done when the Chicks are hatched out 72

Chicks may be reared without a mother 74

Dutch mode of fattening Fowls 75

Various modes of cooking Poultry 77

How to procure the greatest number of Eggs 79

Jalap as a medicine for Fowls — Dose of — Relation of salt to 81

Importance of lime for 82'

How Fowl-houses should be situated 83

How to obtain male or female Chicks 83

SHAKEBAG FOWL— History of 272

Supposed to be now extinct 273

SHANGHAE FOWL 132

Mr. E. R. Cope's opinion of 133

Rev. Mr. Bumstead's Shanghaes 134

Their laying qualities 135

The Red Shanghae 136

Dr. Eben Wight's White Shanghaes — Descriptions of 139

Habits and dispositions of. 140

Thriftiness in this climate 141

SWAN, BLACK— Its habits— Where originally found 382

How to distinguish the sex of 384

How to pinion the • 385

Way to feed the 386

Period of incubation - 392

The way to fatten— Weight of. 394

Mode of cooking < 395

SWAN, MUTE 379

Habits of. 385

The Hooper, the Polish, and Berwick 382

TAME DUCK — Mr. Taggart's opinion of the common Duck 456

Number of Eggs laid in a season 456

480 INDEX.

TAME DUCK— Young very healthy and easily reared P. 456

The Musk Duck is not so prolific 456

Mr. Dixon's account of the Tame Duck 457

Various modes of cooking Ducks 463

Native country of. 468

Black Indian Ducks — Their peculiarity 469

Period of incubation of the Tame Duck 469

The Mallard does not differ in this respect 469

Best mode of rearing 470

Some account of the Mallard Duck 471

How a Hen must be treated while sitting on Ducks' Eggs 471

TURKEY— When introduced into England— Varieties of. 361

The best kind 363

Crested 365

When full grown 366

Period of incubation 368

Proper food for the young — Diseases of the young 370

"Shooting the red." 4 370

WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE— First impression on seeing 437

Eggs of— Qualities of this variety 439

They pair like Pigeons 440

WHITE CHINA GOOSE 440

Meaning of genus, species, and variety, etc 442

Existing varieties and species, the remains of extinct races.... 446

Period of incubation of White China Goose 446

Characteristics of this variety — Eggs of. 446

WILD GOOSE— Will breed with the Domestic 396

Period of incubation 397

WILD FOWLS. — GALLUS BANKIVA — Its size 334

Characteristics— Habitat 334

GALLUS FURCATUS — By whom first described 334

Characteristics— Habitat 334

GALLUS SONNERATII 335

Erroneously supposed to be the progenitor of our Domestic

Fowl 335

Peculiarity of its hackle-feathers 335

Description of BankivaHen 336

Peculiarity of the neck-hackle of the Bankiva Cock 33T

STEREOTYPED BY L. JOHNSON AND CO.

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